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Vol II File 7: The Paternal Ancestry of Homer Beers James

Ref; Crispin and Macary, "The Falaise Rolls". pg 98.

Ref: Burke, pg. 53.

• 1. Wigot de St. Denis. According to Wace, the Bigot family originated in Maletot, near Caen, Canon (chanon) in the arrondissement of Lisieux and either Les Logesd, near Aunay, or another commune of the same name, near Falaise. The original name of the family was Wiggott, Wigott, Bygod. The family of Bigot or Wigot, was descended from Wigort de St. Denis, one of the great nobles of Normandy, who made grants to Cerisy abbey in 1042, and in 1050 witnessed a charter of Duke William at the head of the Norman barons. He married a sister of Turstin Goz, father of Richard d'Avranches, by whom his younger son, Roger Wigot or Bigot, was ingratiated into the good graces of Duke William of Normandy.

  2 Roger Bigod was present at Senlac and received large grants for his services at the Conquest, comprising one hundred and twenty three (123) manors in Essex and Suffolk, only six being in the latter county, besides divers manors in Norfolk. Roger adhering to the party that took up arms against William Rufus, in the first year of that monarch's reign, fortified the castle at Norwich, and wasted the country around. At the accession of King Henry I. being a witness of the king's laws, and staunch in his interests, he obtained Framlingham in Suffolk, as a gift from the crown. He must have been a young man at that time, as he did not die until 1107, when he was buried in the Abbey of Whetford in Norfolk, which he had founded in 1103. Roger married Adeliza Grantesmesnil, daughter and co-heir of Hugh de Grantesmesnil, High Steward of England. He and his wife had seven children as follows:
  

  • 1. William Bigod, his eldest son and heir, was dapifer to the king and perished with the king's children and several of the nobility in the wreck of the "White Ship", which occurred in the 20th year of King Henry I. William was succeeded by his brother, Hugh. William d.s.p.

  • 2. Hugh Bigod. See below.

  • 3. Five other children, unidentified.
    

  • 3. Hugh Bigod, 2nd son of Roger, 1st Earl of Norfolk, also Steward to King Henry I. He was mainly instrumental in raising Stephen, Earl of Boulogne, to the throne, upon the death of King Henry I. and was rewarded by the new king with the Earldom of the East Angles, commonly called Norfolk, and by that designation we find him styled in 1140 (6th year of King Stephen). He remained faithful in his allegiance to King Stephen through the difficulties which afterwards beset that monarch, and gallantly defended the castle of Ipswich against the Empress Maud and her son, until obliged at length to surrender for want of timely relief. In the 12th year of King Henry II. this powerful noble certified his knight's fees to be one hundred and twenty-five "de veteri feoffamento," and thirty-five "de novo," upon the occasion of the assessment in aid of the marriage of the king's daughter; and he appears to have acquired at this period considerable degree of royal favor, for we find him not only re-created Earl of Norfolk, by charter, dated at Northampton, but by the same instrument obtaining a grant of the office of steward, to hold in as ample a manner as his father had done in the time of King Henry I. Notwithstanding, however, these and other equally substantial marks of the king's liberality, the Earl of Norfolk sided with Robert, Earl of Leicester, in the insurrection incited by that nobleman in favor of the king's son (whom Henry himself had crowned,) in the 19th year of the monarch's reign; but his treason upon this occasion cost him the surrender of his strongest castles, and a fine of 1,000 marks. After which he went into the Holy Land with the Earl of Flanders, and died in 1177 in the 23rd year of King Henry II. He married twice, (1) Juliana Vere, daughter of Alberic de Vere, Great High Chamberlain in 1133, and Adeliza (Alice) Clare, daughter of Gilbert de Tonebruge, by whom he had a son:
    
    • 1. Roger Bigod. See below.
      

      He married (2) Gundred _______, by whom he had two sons as follows:
      

      • 1. Hugh Bigod. No details available.

      • 2. William Bigod. No details available.
        

        He was succeeded by his eldest son, Roger.

  • 4. Roger Bigod, 2nd Earl of Norfolk and Suffolk, born before 1150, hereditary Steward of the Household for King Richard I. He was made one of the ambassadors from the English monarch to Philip of France, for obtaining aid toward the recovery of the Holy Land. Upon the return of King Richard from his captivity, the Earl of Norfolk assisted at the great council held by the king at Nottingham; and at his second coronation, he was one of the four earls that carried the silken canopy over the monarch's head. He was summoned to parliament in 1177. In 1191, he was keeper of Hereford Castle. He was Chief Justice in the King's Court from 1195 to 1202. In 1200 he was sent by King John as one of his messengers to summon William the Lion, King of Scotland, to do homage to him in the parliament which was held in Lincoln, and subsequently attended King John into Poitou, but on his return he was won over to the cause by the rebel Barons and became one of the strongest advocates of the Charter of Liberty, for which he was excommunicated by Pope Innocent III. He was a Surety of the Magna Charta. He married (1) Isabel Plantaganet, daughter of Hamelin (Hamelyn) Plantaganet, Earl of Warren (Warrenne) and Surrey. They had several children as follows:
    
    • 1. Hugh Bigod, his successor. See below.

    • 2. William Bigod, married Margaret Sutton, daughter of Robert de Sutton, with whom he acquired considerable property.

    • 3. Thomas Bigod.

    • 4. Margery Bigod, married William de Hastings, whose father, William, was Steward to King Henry II. William the father, married (1) Maude Banaster, daughter of Thurstan Banaster, by whom he had the son, William. He also married (2) Ida ________, daughter of Henry, Earl of Ewe, and had a son from this marriage, Thomas de Hastings, ancestor of the Earls of Huntingdon.

      See Burke, pg. 266. They had a daughter, Ida Hastings, who married Stephen de Segrave, and a son, Henry de Hastings, who owned extensive lands in six counties and married Ada, 4th daughter of David, Earl of Huntingdon and his wife Maud of Chester. Earl Henry died in 1249, leaving besides Eleanor Hastings, wife of William Harcourt, a descendant of the Surety Saire de Quincy, a son and heir, Henry de Hastings who married Eve, also called Joan Cantilupe, descended from the Braos family. He was known as Baron Hastings and died in 1268. His son and heir was John Hastings, 2nd Baron Hastings, and Baron of Bergavenny. He took an active part in the wars of King Edward I and in 1290 was one of the competitors for the crown of Scotland as grandson of Ada of Huntingdon. His first wife was Isabel Valence, daughter of William de Valence, Earl of Pembroke and half brother of King Henry III. They had children. Baron Hastings married (2) Isabel Despencer, daughter of Hugh Despencer, Earl of Winchester. He died in 1313. They also had children.

    • 5. Adeliza Bigod, married Alberic (Audley) de Vere, Earl of Oxford, who d.s.p.

    • 6. Mary Bigod, married Ralph FitzRobert, Lord of Middleham.
      

      Roger died in 1220 (before August 1221), and he was succeeded by his eldest son, Hugh.

  • 5. Hugh Bigod, 3rd Earl of Norfolk and Suffolk, the eldest son, was born before 1195. He was the hereditary steward of the king's household, and hereditary bearer of the Barons of St. Edmund. Not many particulars of this Baron's life have been preserved, as he enjoyed for only a few years the title of Earl of Norfolk and Suffolk, and his father's estates and honors, to which he had succeeded in the 5th year of King Henry III. He died four years later, in February 1224-25. He married Maud Marshal, eldest daughter of William Marshal, 3rd Earl of Pembroke, and his wife, Isabel Clare, daughter of Richard de Clare, the Strongbow, 2nd Earl of Pembroke, and his wife, Eva, daughter of Dermot MacMurcha, King of Leinster, Ireland. She was also the sister of the Surety William Marshal, and by her (who married (2) William, Earl of Warren (Warrenne) and Surrey) had the following children:
    
    • 1. Roger Bigod, his successor, 4th Earl of Norfolk, whose guardianship Alexander, King of Scotland, obtained for 500 marks. He attained high reputation in all martial and warlike exercises. Skillful and valiant alike in the tilting and battle field, he held high rank among the chivalrous spirits of his day, and won many a trophy in court and camp. In the tournament held at Blithe, in Nottingham (21st year of King Henry III., 1237), which terminated in a conflict between the southern and northern lords, the Earl of Norfolk was pre-eminently distinguished, and in a few years afterwards he gained new laurels at the battle of Antoigne(?). But the most distinguished event in his lordship's life was his personal dispute with King Henry III., as stated by Dugdale: - "In the 39th year of King Henry III. the Earl of Norfolk, making a just apology for Robert de Roos (Ros) (a great baron of that age), then charged with some crime, which endangered his life, he had very harsh language given him by the king, being openly called traytor; whereat, with a stern countenance, he told him (the King) that he lied; and, that he never was, nor would be a traytor; adding, 'if you do nothing but what the law warranteth, you can do me no harm.' - 'Yes,' qouth the king, 'I can thrash your corn, and sell it, and so humble you.' To which he replied, 'If you do so, I will send you the heads of your thrashers.' But by the interposing of the lords then present this heat soon passed over, so that (shortly after) he was, together with the Earl of Leicester and some others, sent on an embassy to the King of France, to treat with him for restoring some rights which he withheld from the king." He was subsequently appointed by the barons, after their victory at Lewes (48th year of Henry III.), Governor of the castle of Orford, in Suffolk. To this nobleman, by reason of his mother Maud being the eldest co-heiress of William Marshal, Earl of Pembroke, the Marshalship of England, with the rights thereunto belonging, was assigned. He married Isabel, sister of Alexander, King of Scotland, but died issueless in 1270, when all his honors and possessions devolved upon his nephew (refer to Hugh, 2nd son of the 3rd Earl), Roger Bigod. See below.

    • 2. Hugh Bigod, an eminent lawyer, appointed Chief Justice of England by the barons in 1257. He married (1) Joane Burnet, daughter of Robert Burnet, by whom he had issue:
      
      • 1. Roger Bigod, his successor, 5th Earl of Norfolk, 2nd Earl Marshal of this family. This nobleman took part in the wars of King Edward I., having previously, however, in conjunction with the Earl of Hereford, compelled even that resolute monarch to ratify the Great Charter and Charter of the Forest. He married (1) Aliva Basset, daughter and heiress of Phillip Basset, Lord Basset, and a widow of Hugh Despencer, slain at Evesham, and (2) Joane Avenne, daughter of John de Avenne, Earl of Bayonne, but had no issue by either. In the 29th year of Edward I. the earl constituted that monarch his heir, and surrendered into his hands the marshal's rod, upon condition that it should be returned in the event of his having children, and that he should receive 1,000 pounds prompt, and 1,000 pounds a year for life; in consequence of which surrender his lordship was recreated Earl of Norfolk in 1302, with remainder to his heirs male by his first wife, but dying without issue, as stated above, in five years afterwards, the Earldom thus became extinct in the Bigod family, although he left a brother, John.

      • 2. John Bigod, Knight, heir-in-law, brother to Roger, whose right seems to have been annihilated in this very unjust and extraordinary manner, and so completely destroyed that he did not even inherit any of the great estates of his ancestors. He left a son, Roger Bigod, Knight, of Lethingham. He left a son, John Bigod, Knight, who had a daughter, Lady Joan Bigod, who married William Chauncy, Knight, last Baron of Skirpenbeck, in Yorkshire. This line descends in seven generations to Rev. Charles Chauncy, Doctor of Divinity. He removed to New England in 1638, and became the second President of Harvard College, Cambridge, MA. Rev. Charles Chauncy of the mid-1700s was a close associate and personal friend of Jonathan Mayhew. Together they are credited with contributions toward the American Revolution. See his lineage in the Mayhew Line of Volume III.
        

        He married (2) Joane Stuteville, daughter of Nicholas Stuteville, and widow of ______ Wake, but had no issue. He fell under the baronial banner at the battle of Lewes.
        

      • 3. Ralph Bigod See below.

      • 4. Isabel Bigod. See below.
        

        Hugh was also one of the Sureties of the Magna Charta. In the right of his wife Hugh acquired the Earldom of Pembroke, and in this rank bore the royal scepter at the coronation of King Richard I. He and was succeeded by his eldest son, Roger.

  • 6. Ralph Bigod, 3rd son of Hugh, married Berta Furnival, daughter of Lord Furnival. According to Wurts he is the brother, not the father of Isabel Bigod, shown below. If this is the case, then she would appear above as another child of Hugh. This possible error does not disrupt the lineage.

  • 7. Isabel Bigod married (1) Gilbert de Lacy, Lord of Meath in Ireland, son of Walter de Lacy, Lord of Meath and his wife Margaret Braos. Gilbert de Lacy had died during his father's lifetime in 1230 and Walter's only heiresses were his two granddaughters, children of this son Gilbert de Lacy and his wife, Isabel. Isabel married (2) John FitzGeoffrey (FitzPiers?), Lord of Berkhampstead, Sheriff of Yorkshire, in 1234, Lord Justice of Ireland, in 1246, son of Geoffrey FitzPiers, Earl of Essex, by Aveline his 2nd wife. See Burke, pg. 208. John, being next male heir of that family on the death of William FitzPiers, Earl of Essex, in 1227, paid a fine to the king of 300 marks for those lands which were his father's and did by hereditary right belong to him, whereof this last Earl William died seised. In the 18th year of Henry III., this John was constituted Sheriff of Yorkshire; and in the 21st year of the same reign, upon the treaty then made between the king and the barons, whereby, in consideration of the great charter and charters of the forests being confirmed, a thirtieth part of all men's moveables were given to the king, this feudal lord was admitted one of the privy council held at London, he was one of those at the time sent to the Pope's legate, to prohibit his attempting anything therein prejudicial to the interests of the king and kingdom. In eight years afterwards, John Fitz Geoffrey was one of the commissioners sent from King Henry (with Roger Bigod, Earl of Norfolk, and others) to the council at Lyons, in order to complain of the great extractions made upon the realm by the holy see; and the next year, 1246, was constituted Justice of Ireland, where, for his services, he received a grant from the crown of the Isles of Thomond. John was the feudal lord of Berkhampstead and Kirtling manors, and of Shere, Fambridge and other estates. He died in November 1258. They had the following children:
    
    • 1. John FitzJohn, died in 1258, succeeded by a son, John Fitz-John. He also had a daughter, Maud FitzJohn, widow of Gerard de Furnival, who married (2) William de Beauchamp, 6th Baron de Beauchamp, of Elmsley, created Earl of Warwick, who died in 1298, leaving a daughter Isabel Beauchamp, who married Patrick de Chaworth, d.s.p.m., in 1282, son of Patrick, 4th Baron de Chaworth, and Hawise, his wife, daughter of Thomas de Londres, of Kidwilly, in Wales. The had a daughter Maud Chaworth, widow of Henry Plantaganet, 3rd Earl of Lancaster, who died in 1345. She married (2) Hugh Despencer. See the continuation of this lineage elsewhere in Volume II.
      

      The son, John, married Margery Basset, daughter of Philip Basset, Justice of England. Joining Montfort, Earl of Leicester, and the other turbulent barons, this John Fitz-John had a chief command at the battle of Lewes; after which, marching towards Wales, he reduced Richard's Castle (the chief seat of Hugh de Mortimer), and the Castle of Ludlow. He was subsequently constituted, by grant of the barons, Sheriff of Westmoreland, and keeper of the castles in those parts; and likewise Governor of Windsor Castle; but sharing the fate of his party at the battle of Evesham, he became a prisoner in the hands of the royalists, when the inheritance of his lands appears to have been given, by the king, to Clare, Earl of Gloucester; but he had permission afterwards to compound for them under the "dictum of Kenilworth." He was summoned to parliament as a baron, December 14, 1264, but d.s.p. in 1276, when that dignity expired. He was succeeded in his estates by his brother, Richard.

    • 2. Richard FitzJohn, who upon doing homage, and paying his relief, had livery of all his lands in the counties of Norfolk, Bucks, Devon, Surrey, Wilts, Southampton, Essex. and Northampton. In the 10th year of Edward I., he was in the Welsh wars, and was summoned to parliament as a baron, June 23, 1295, but d.s.p. in 1297, in Gascony during the wars of France, when the barony of Fitz-John became extinct, while his lands devolved upon his heirs: Maud, Countess of Warwick, his eldest sister, who died in 1300; Robert Clifford, son of Isabel Clifford, daughter of Isabel Fitz-John, who married Robert de Vipount, his 2nd sister, and Idonea Leyburne, another daughter of Isabel; Richard de Burgh, Earl of Ulster, son of Aveline, his 3rd sister; and Joane, wife of Theobald le Boteler, his 4th sister. Richard married Emma _______, who died January 26, 1331-32.

    • 3. Maud FitzJohn (FitzGeoffrey). See below.

    • 4. Isabel FitzGeoffrey, married Robert de Vipount

    • 5. Aveline FitzGeoffrey

    • 6. Joan FitzGeoffrey
      

  • 8. Maud FitzJohn (FitzGeoffrey), the oldest daughter, Countess of Warwick, died April 16 or 18, 1301 and was buried at the Grey Friars', Worcester. She married (1) Gerard de Furnival, Lord of Hallamshire, son of Thomas de Furnival, and grandson of Thomas de Furnival, slain by the Saracens in the Holy Land. This older Thomas de Furnival was the guardian of William de Mowbray, son of Roger de Mowbray, the Yorkshire baron. Maud and Gerard had a son, Thomas de Furnival, who in the 22nd year of Edward I., had summons, among other great men, to attend the king, in order to advise of the affairs of the realm. This Gerard de Furnival died before October 18, 1261. Maud married (2) William de Beauchamp, Earl of Warwick. He died at Elmley June 5 or 9, 1298.

  • 9. Isabel Beauchamp married Patrick de Chaworth, son of Patrick de Chaworth and Hawise, daughter of Sir Thomas de Londres.

  • 10. Maud Chaworth married Henry Plantaganet, Earl of Lancaster.
    

    See the continuation of this lineage in the Beauchamp Line and Chaworth Line.

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