Vol II File 9: The Paternal Ancestry of Homer Beers James

12. Braci (Bracy) Line

The Lygon family in England traces its history from the Manor of Madresfield in Worcestershire. This manor has been in continuous possession of the descendants of its first owners, the de Bracys, from near Domesday (1086) down to the present time. The manor has passed from father to daughter twice in that time, once in 1420 when Joan, only child of William de Bracy, married Thomas Lygon, who took up his residence there. The other time was in 1713 when Reginald Pyndar married Margaret Lygon, whose eldest son became heir to the manor assumed the surname of Lygon. It still remains in the possession of the Lygons and was the seat of Sir William Lygon, 8th Earl Beauchamp of Powyck. (Ref: "The Lygon Family and Connections" (1947)). This record of the de Bracys and Lygons goes back to the time of the Norman Conquest, and when Warndon and Madresfield were possessed by the early de Bracy ancestors. Robert de Bracy was a favorite name in the de Bracy family and one "Robert" held the manor of Warndon in Worcester at Domesday. This was before the time surnames came into general use in England. (Ref: Nash II, p.452). A Richard de Bracy of Worcestershire occurs in 1168, and a William de Braci in 1176-77.

1. William de Bracy is the first name shown in connection with the manor of Warndon in 1166 (Red Book Exchequer). He was succeeded by his son, Robert.
2. Robert de Braci was the successor to William in 1192. In 1196 Robert de Braci of Madresfield held one knight's fee; in the Book of Fees he is recorded as holding one hide in Holdfast, half a hide in Easton, and two hides in Warmedon in 1208-09. Walter de Baldenhall made a claim against him of half a Knight's fee in Madresfield as his share of the inheritance of this Knight's fee which six sisters had divided between them. He died in 1220. (Ref: Nash II, p. 318). A Robert de Braci was justice of assize in a plea of novel disseisin at Dunstable in 1228; but whether he was a member of the Worcestershire family does not appear. The first Bracy mentioned in the Muniments is Humphrey de Bracy of Eldfield about 1250. His exact relationship to the Madresfield Branch is, however, obscure and the Deed in which he is named did not originally form part of the family papers.
3. Robert de Bracy, who accompanied Maude de Cantilupe to Scotland in 1252 held one-third of a carucate at Ashton in the Hundred of Oswaldelawe. He had been in the company of John Esturmy, who was a rebel, and his land was in consequence taken into the king's hands.
4. William Braci, probably son of Robert de Braci, was Lord of Madresfield in 1250. He was exempted in 1253 from being put on the assizes and juries (Patent Rolls 199). He made a grant of Land in the Manor to Gilbert Fremon of Clevelode. This was in the last years of the reign of King Henry III and is the earliest mention of Bracy of Madresfield in the Muniments. A positive date for this William de Bracy is afforded by the grant to Richard, son of Adam Chut, in 1280. A subsidy of 10 shillings for his lands in Madresfield was paid by him in 1280. In 1283 William de Bracy and Robert de Bracy were witness to a charter of Great Malvern Priory. William de Bracy's wife was Maud de Warren (Warenne), daughter of William de Warren, sometimes called William de Blauminster who is mentioned in 1281. Eyton in his Antiquities of Shropshire (Vol X, p. 15-21) shows that William de Warren was a great-grandson of William, 2nd Earl of Warren, who died in 1135, and his wife, Isabella de Vermandois, granddaughter of King Henry I of France. William de Bracy was in ill health in 1282, but lived until 1289, when he died and was buried at Great Malvern. (Vic. Hist. Worc., Vol IV, p. 120.) In 1290 there is a mention of the Lady Maud in the Muniments. The Henry who appears in the grant to Maud de Bracy, wife of William, was probably her younger son; he and his wife Alice were parties to a Fine concerning land in Clevelode in 1323; this Henry de Bracy was father of Robert who is witness to a charter of his cousin in 1345.
5. Robert de Bracy is first shown fighting against King Henry III at the famous Battle of Evesham in 1265, and had lands as Ashton (Inquisitions October 1265). Evesham is only a few miles from Madresfield. In the Patent Rolls he is frequently mentioned as a conservator of the peace and as a commissioner for Worcester 1297 to 1310, and in Gloucester 1313 (Close Rolls) and for various purposes up to 1321. Robert de Bracy was a witness in Worcester 1282 and 1289, assessor of the Subsidy for Worcester 1283. In 1291, he was a witness to a charter of the Bishop of Worcester. In 1297, he was enrolled as a Knight of Essex, non-resident, for defense of the coast, and having lands worth 20 pounds in Salop, was summoned to serve overseas. These lands were evidently those of his wife, for he and his wife Maud _______ had a suit on account of lands in Salop June, 1301 (Close Rolls). Robert de Bracy was Knight for the shire of Worcester 1300 to 1305 (Parliamentary Writs) and was appointed to raise Knights in Worcester for defense of the realm January 14, 1300 (Close Rolls). These were probably for service against the Welsh or Scots against whom King Edward I. was waging war. In the Madresfield Muniments his name occurs in eight deeds; the earliest for which there is a positive date is on June 17, 1302, and the latest in 1316. In 1316, Robert held three Knight's fees in Wermyndon, Madresfield and Leye, and Peter de Salso Marisco (Saltmarsh held a messauge of him in Hagberewe by the service of a half of a Knight's fee and rendering a pair of gloves yearly. A settlement of the manors of Madresfield, Warmyndon, and Leigh was made by him in 1317, on Robert de Bracy, son of William de Bracy, and Joan his wife. The younger Robert de Bracy was clearly a grandson, and the settlement was probably made on the occasion of his marriage. When the elder Robert de Bracy died does not appear, but it was probably after 1321 when Robert de Bracy(No. 7, below) occurs as a witness. This Robert de Bracy was a commissioner for raising the men of Worcester against the Scots August 5, 1316. He was Overlord of Hanley Castle June 20, 1327 and an overlord in Salop May 25, 1335.
6. William de Bracy, son of Robert, does not appear often in the records, as his father evidently lived to be aged. On February 28, 1320 he was inspector of a charter of William de Blauminster because Blauminster had given Stone Church lands to Reney Abbey. A grant of free warren in his lands was made to Robert de Bracy in 1328, in which year William was appointed keeper of the manor of Hanley Castle and of the chase at Malvern. William de Bracy was Knight for the Shire of Worcester in 1338.
7. Robert de Bracy, his son, is mentioned in June 1333, when he and his brother Richard were accused of hunting unlawfully in Malvern Chase. Robert de Bracy was clearly a great huntsman; in 1334 there was a complaint against him for breaking the bishop's park at Blockley; in 1347 Hugh Le De Spencer complained that Sir Robert accompanied by his brother Richard and Walter de Bradeles, the parson of Madresfield, had entered his chase at Malvern, co. Worcester, and carried away his deer and fish (Patent Roll, p. 469). There was a like charge against Sir Robert in 1354. However, this did not interfere with his appointment to act on a variety of commissions in the county, nor with his service a a justice of the peace. He was commissioner of Oyer and Terminer, when about 1343 he investigated the shortage of the Collector for the town of Wyche in Worcester. In 1345 he was Lord of Madresfield. He fought as a knight at Crecy in the division of the Prince of Wales. He was with Thomas Beauchamp, Earl of Warwick, and was therefore in the thickest of the fight. Wrottelsey in his "Crecy and Calais" (p. 179) says: "Among those who served in person who were exonerated from the assessment to find men at arms and arches, was Sir Robert Bracy who served in the retinue of Thomas Beauchamp, Earl of Warwick, at the date of the passage of the Hogue in Normandy and at the Battle of Crecy and siege of Calais." In 1348 Sir Robert Bracy was Commissioner of Oyer and Terminer to investigate the death of John, son of William de Cartere, killed at Worcester. It was found that certain persons had violated the sanctuary of the Church of St. Mary at Worcester and killed the said John (Patent Rolls, p. 179). Also in 1348 he was exempted for life from serving on assizes, etc. (Patent Roll, p. 452). He was knight of the shire of Worcester in 1361 (Close Rolls, pp. 65-66), but was dead before 1378, as Juliana _____, his wife, as relict of Robert de Bracy, was patron of the church at Warndon in 1378 (Nash II, 452). In the deeds of Madresfield, Robert II de Bracy appears only between 1344 and 1357. But he may be identified with the Robert de Bracy who was on the commission of peace for Worcestershire in 1362, and was a commissioner of array in that county in 1366. The Robert de Bracy who was keeper of Salcey Forest, Northants, in 1378-89, forester of Dean in 1384, and warden of the Marshalsea in 1383, is probably the younger son of Robert II.
8. William de Bracy succeeded his father, Sir Robert de Bracy. There is reference to William Bracy, son of Robert, in 1346 when he accounted for one-fifth of a Knight's fee in Holdfast, which Robert de Bracy formerly held. William de Bracy was a patron at Warndon, 1370 to 1376 (Nash). On May 6, 1385, William de Bracy, as Lord of Warndon, joined with his wife Joan _______ in a grant to John Henry of Smyghte; this Deed is the earliest on which a Bracy seal showing the arms (a fess, in chief two mullets) has been preserved. William Bracy, Lord of Madresfield, occurs in deeds between 1388 and 1390, and William Bracy, Lord of Warndon and Madresfield in 1396; but whether these deeds refer to the father or the son is uncertain. In 1376 William Bracy went to Ireland with James Butler, Earl of Ormond, on the King's service. He probably died about 1390 as his wife, Lady Joan Bracy, held her first court for the manor of Madresfield in that year.
9. William de Bracy, son of William de Bracy, married in 1404, Isabel _______ and had an only daughter, Joan. See below. In the 7th year of King Henry VI (1428-29) William was an esquire returning into the exchequer to attend the King in person with horse in arms in France. This was probably after Joan of Arc had captured Orleans in that year and the English were marshaling their forces against her. (Nash II, 452). He presented to the church at Madresfield in 1415-19-20-33 and in 1431 he was returned as Lord of the manor of Madresfield (Feudal Aids V., p. 327). He is described in 1431 holding Madresfield by the service of half a Knight's fee. In September 1432 he and his wife are joined in a lease of a messuage called Holond in Madresfield. He was witness to a deed relating to land at Madresfield on January 10, 1435. He must have died before February 6, 1450, when Isabel demised the Manor of Madresfield to her grandson William Lygon, reserving to her use the Gatehouse within the upper and lower chambers and two chimneys attached thereto. There is no later reference to Isabel, who must have been about 70 years of age in 1450 and probably died not long after.
10. Joan Bracy married, before 1423 (proably 1419), Thomas Lygon, son of Richard Lygon. See his lineage elsewhere in Volume II. On January 20, 1423, the Manor of Madresfield of Warndon was settled by William and Isabel Bracy on Thomas and Joan Lygon.
- 1. William Lygon, married Elizabeth Arundel, daughter of Rainford Arundel
- 2. Thomas Lygon. See below.
11. Thomas Lygon, second son of Thomas Lygon and Joan Bracy, born at Madresfield Court, married Anne Gifford, daughter of Nicholas Gifford.
- 1. Jane Lygon
- 2. Richard Lygon, eldest son of Thomas. See below.
  
  He died on April 10, 1507.
12. Richard Lygon did not outlive his father very long, so he does not appear very often in the record. He also was born at Madresfield Court. He was over thirty years of age at his father's death. He must have married Anne Beauchamp not later than 1490, since his eldest son was of age in 1512. This was a very important marriage, for Anne Beauchamp was 2nd daughter and co-heir of Richard Beauchamp, 2nd Lord Beauchamp of Powyck, which title is now held by Richard Lygon's descendant, the present Sir William Lygon, 8th Earl Beauchamp of Powyck. Richard died in 1512.

See continuation of this lineage elsewhere in the Lygon Line.

13. Braose Line

Ref: Burke, pg. 72-73.

Ref: Crispin and Macary

The baronial family of Braose came from originally from Briouze, near Argentan, Normandy. William de Briouse was one of the most powerful barons in William the Conqueror's army. He received large possessions, chiefly in Sussex, including the whole Rape of Bramber, where he built Bramber Castle, which was his seat. In 1075 he executed the foundation charter of the Sele Abbey, Sussex, founded the Abbey of Braiose in the time of William I. and made grants to St. Florent Saumer. Gunnora, his mother, in 1082 held lands from Hugh Pincera and Roger de Cuilli. The date of his death is unknown, but he was succeeded by his son, Philip de Briouse, during the reign of William Rufus; he increased the vast estates of his father by marriage with Beta, sister and co-heir of William, Earl of Gloucester. He is mentioned by Oderic Vital in 1096 as supporting William Rufus against his brother Henry, who held the strong castle of Domfront in Normandy, from which he carried on his operations. Philip was the ancestor of the house of Braose, barons of Bramber, Brecknock, Gower, and Totness, and of William de Braose, who obtained from King Henry II. a grant of the "whole kingdom of Limerick" in Ireland for the service of sixty knight's fees. Numerous branches existed also in Sussex, Bedford, Hampshire, Norfolk, Suffolk, Wales, and from him descended also the Wingfields, Viscounts Powerscourt. The family must not be confused with that of Brius, Bris, or Brix, of which Robert de Brix was the representative at Hastings. (Reference: Crispin and Macary).

1. William de Braosecame to England with William the Conqueror, and held at the General Survey considerable estates in the counties of Berks, Surrey, Dorset, and Sussex. He was succeeded by his son, Philip.
2. Philip de Braose. He had a son, William.
3. William de Braose married Berta, daughter of Milo de Gloucester, Earl of Hereford, and co-heir of her brother, William, Earl of Hereford, by whom he acquired Brecknock, with other extensive territorial possessions. He had two sons as follows:
- 1. William de Braose. See below.
- 2. Reginald de Braose
  
  He was succeeded by the eldest son, William.
4. William de Braose likewise inherited the large estates of his grandmother, and besides possessed of the honor of Braose, in Normandy. This feudal lord was a personage of great power and influence during the reigns of King Henry II. and King Richard I., from the former of whom he received a grant of the "whole kingdom of Limerick, in Ireland," for the service of sixty knight's fees, to be held of the king and his younger son, John. For several years after this period he appears to have enjoy the favor of King John, and his power and possessions were augmented by divers grants from the crown. But in the 10th year of the king's reign, when the kingdom labored under an interdiction, and John deemed it expedient to demand hostages from his barons to ensure their allegiance, should the Pope proceed to the length of absolving them from obedience to the crown, his officers who came upon the mission to the Baron de Braose, were sent by Maud, his wife, and peremptorily informed that she would not intrust any of her children to the king, who had so basely murdered his own nephew, Prince Arthur. De Braose rebuked her, however, for speaking thus, and said that if he had in any way offended the king, he was ready to make satisfaction, according to the judgment of the court, and the barons his peers, upon an appointed day, and at any fixed place, without however giving hostages. This answer being communicated to the king, an order was immediately transmitted to seize upon the baron's person, but Braose having notice thereof fled with his family to Ireland. This quarrel between the king and Braose is, however, differently related by other authorities. The monk of Lanthony states, that King John disinherited and banished him for his cruelty to the Welsh, in his war with Gwenwynwyn, and that his wife, Maud, and William, his son and heir, died prisoners in Corfe Castle. While another writer relates, "that this William de Braose, son of Philip de Braose, Lord of Buelt, held the lands of Brechnock and Went, for the whole time of King Henry II., King Richard I., and King John, without any disturbance, until he took to wife the Lady Maud de Walerie, who in revenge of Henry de Hereford, caused divers Welshmen to be murthered in the castle of Bergavenny, as they sat at meat; and that for this, and for some other pickt quarrel, King John banished him and all his out of England. Likewise, that in his exile, Maud, his wife, with William, called Gam, his son, were taken and put in prison; where she died, the 10th year after her husband fought with Wenwynwyn, and slew three thousand Welsh." From these various relations, says Dugdale, it is no easy matter to discover what his demerits were; but what usage he had at last, take here from the credit of these two historians, who lived near that time. "This year, viz. anno 1240," qouth Matthew of Westminster, "the noble lady Maud, wife of William de Braose, with William, their son and heir, were miserably famished at Windsore, by the command of King John. ; and William, her husband, escaping from Scorham, put himself into the habit of a beggar, and privately going beyond the sea, died soon after at Paris, where he had burial in the abbey of St, Victor." And Matthew Paris, putting his death in the year 1212 (which differs a little in time), says, "That he fled from Ireland to France, and dying at Ebula, his body was carried to Paris, and there honorably buried in the abbey of St. Victor....Being by inheritance from his mother, Lord of Bergavenny, he made grants to the monks of that priory, conditionally, that the abbot and convent of St. Vincenti, in Maine should daily pray for the soul of Maud his wife."

This great, but unfortunate personage, had issue by his wife, as follows:
- 1. William de Braose, who perished by starvation with his mother, at Windsor. He married Maud Clare, daughter of the Earl of Clare, with whom he had the town of Buckingham, in frank marriage. They had a son as follows:
  - 1. John Braose, surnamedTadody. He had been privately nursed by a Welsh woman, at Gower. This John de Braos had grants of lands from King Henry III. and held also the Barony of Brembye, in Sussex, where he died in 1231, by a fall from his horse, his foot remaining in the stirrup. He married Margaret, daughter of Llewellyn, Prince of Wales. They had the following children:
    - 1. William de Braose., in the 41st year of King Henry III., when Llewellyn ap Griffith menaced the marches of Wales with a great army, was commanded by the king to defend his own marches about Gower. He died in 1290. He married (1) Isabel Clare. They had a son, William de Braos, who in the 22nd year of King Edward I., has summons to attend the king with other great men, to advise regarding the important affairs of the realm. For several years afterwards he appears to have been constantly engaged in the wars, and always distinguished himself. He married Aliva Moultondaughter of Thomas de Moulton. . They had a daughter, Aliva (Alice) Braos, who married John de Mowbraygreat grandson of William de Mowbray, the Surety.
      
      See continuation of this lineage in the Clare Line and the Mowbray Line.
    - 2. Giles de Braose, Bishop of Hereford.
    - 3. Reginald de Braose, who succeeded his brother, the bishop, in representation of the family. See below.
    - 4. John de Braose, who is stated to have had from his father the manor of Knylle, or Knill, in the marches of Wales, and thence to have adopted the surname of Knill, and to have been ancestor of Jenkin Knill, Esq., of Knill, married Anne Devereaux, daughter and heiress of Richard Devereaux, son of William Ferrers, Lord Ferrers, Knight of the Garter, and died in 1508.
    - 5. Joane Braose, married Richard Percy, Lord Percy.
    - 6. Loretta Braose, married Robert Fitz-Parnell, Earl of Leicester.
    - 7. Margaret, married Walter de Lacy.
    - 8. Maud Braose, married Griffith, Prince of South Wales, living circa 1188, son of Rhys ap Griffith, Prince of South Wales, called "the Lord Rhys," and dying in 1202, left, with junior issue, two sons: Rhys ap Griffith, Prince of South Wales, whose only daughter and heiress, Gwellian, married Gilbert de Talbot, ancestor of the Earls of Shrewsbury, and Owen ap Griffith, Prince of South Wales, ancestor of the dynasty of South Wales.
      
      When the contest between King John and the barons broke out, Giles de Braose, Bishop of Hereford, arraying himself under the baronial banner, was put in possession of the people of Bergavenny and the other castles of the deceased lord; and being then assuaged, granted part of those lands to the bishop's younger brother and heir, Reginald.
5. Reginald de Braose had his grant confirmed by King Henry III., and he had livery of the castle and honor of Totness, with the honor of Barnstaple, having had previous possession of other estates. He married Groecia Bruere, daughter of William de Bruere, and dying in 1221, was succeeded by his son, William.
6. William de Braose fell victim to the jealousy of Llewellyn, Prince of Wales, who suspecting an intimacy between him and the princess, his wife, King Henry's sister, invited him to an Easter feast, and treacherously cast him in prison at the conclusion of the banquet. He was soon afterwards put to death with the unfortunate princess. He had married Eve (Eva) Marshal, daughter of William Marshal, and sister of Richard, Earl of Pembroke, by whom he had four daughters, his co-heirs as follows:
- 1. Isabel Braose, married (1) Prince David, who on the demise of his father, 1240, usurped the crown of North Wales, eldest son (by Joan, his 3rd consort, natural daughter of John, King of England) of Llewellyn, the Great King of North Wales. David ap Llewellyn d.s.p. Isabel his widow married (2) Peter FitzHerbert.
- 2. Maud Braose, married Roger Mortimer, Lord Mortimer, of Wigmore. She died in 1301. See the continuation of this lineage in the Mortimer Line.
- 3. Eve Braose, married William de Cantilupe, Lord of Abergavenny, jure uxoris, and left a son, and two daughters as follows:
  - 1. George Cantilupe, d.s.p.
  - 2. Millicent Cantilupe, married (1) John de Montalt, and (2) Eudo le Zouche, ancestor by her of the Zouche, of Haryngworth. See the continuation of this lineage in the Cantilupe Line.
  - 3. Joan Cantilupe, married Henry de Hastings.
  - 4. Eleanor Braose, married Humphrey de Bohun VI. See the continuation of this lineage in the Bohun Line.
    
    The line of this branch is thus terminated in three heiresses. See continuation of each of the three sub-branches of the lineage elsewhere in the Mortimer, Cantilupe, and Bohun Lines.

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