Vol II File 17: The Paternal Ancestry of Homer Beers James

[Contents] [Next] [Previous] [Bottom] [Home] [Mail]

Surnames: ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ
No Surnames: ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ

Vol II File 17: The Paternal Ancestry of Homer Beers James

26. Marshal Line (Earls of Pembroke)

The earliest notice of this family occurs in the time of Henry I., when Gilbert Mareschall, and John, his son, were impleaded by Robert de Venoiz, and William de Hastings, for the office of Mareschel to the king, but without success. The son (bearing the same surname, derived from his office), John Mareschall, attaching himself to the fortunes of Maud, against King Stephen, was with Robert, the consul, Earl of Gloucester., at the siege of the Winchester Castle, when the party of the empress sustained so signal a defeat. Upon the accession of Henry II., however, his fidelity was amply rewarded by considerable grants in co. Wilts; and in the 10th year of that reign, being then marshal, he laid claim, for the crown, to one of the manors of the see of Canterbury, from the celebrated prelate, Thomas a Becket, who about that period had commenced his contest with the king. This John was succeeded by his son and heir, John Mareschall, to whom King Henry II. confirmed the office of marshal, and the lands which he held of the crown of England, and elsewhere. At the coronation of Richard I., the John Mareschall bore the great gilt spurs, and the same year obtained a grant from the crown of the manor of Boseham, in Sussex, in fee farm, paying 42 pounds yearly, to the exchequer; with other extensive lordships. He died soon after, and it appears without issue, for his brother, William Mareschall, Earl of Pembroke, succeeded as his heir. We now come to the nephew of the said William, Earl of Pembroke, Sir John Marshal, who married Aliva, elder daughter and co-heir of Hubert de Rie, feudal lord of Hingham, co. Norfolk, by whom he acquired that lordship. Espousing the cause of King John against the barons, Sir John Marshal acquired from the crown, all the forfeited lands of the Earl of Evreux, in England, as also the lands of Hugh de Gornay, lying in the counties of Norfolk and Suffolk, whereof the said Hugh was possessed when he deserted the royal banner; and he likewise obtained a grant in fee, of the office of Marshal of Ireland. He was subsequently, in the same reign, constituted guardian of the marches of Wales, and sheriff of Lincolnshire, and afterwards joined with John Fitz-Robert, in the sheriffalty of the cos. of Norfolk and Suffolk, and the custody of the castles of Norwich and Orford. He was likewise made governor of Dorchester Castle; moreover, he had the same year, livery of the office of marshal of Ireland, and whatsoever did appertain thereto; so that he should appoint a knight to execute its duties effectually. Continuing steadfast in his allegiance to King John, he was made sheriff of Worcestershire, and governor of the castle of Worcester; and he was one of those who marched with the king into the north, to waste the lands of the insurrectionary barons there. Upon the accession of Henry III., Sir John Marshal was constituted sheriff of Hampshire, and governor of the castle of Devizes, in Wilts, and retained, during the remainder of his life, the favor of that monarch. He died in 1234, and was succeeded by his son, John.

John Marshal, who dying in 1242, was succeeded by his son and heir, William.

William Marshal, who, adopting a different line of politics, joined the baronial standard, in the 49th year of the reign of King Henry III., and died about the same period (1264), leaving two sons, John and William, then underage, who, the next year, through the intercession of William de Saye, obtained the king's pardon for their father's transgression, and had permission to enjoy his lands, with whatever possessions they had, by gift of Aliva, their grandmother.

The elder of these sons, John Marshal, died in the 12th year of Edward I., and was succeeded by his son, William Marshal, who in the 34th year of Edward I., was in the wars of Scotland, and was summoned to parliament as a Baron, from January 9, 1309, to November 26, 1313. He died in the next year, and was succeeded by his son, John.

John Marshall, 2nd baron, in the 7th year of Edward II., this John attended the Queen into Scotland, and the ensuing year doing his homage, had livery of his lands, lying in the cos. of Norfolk and Lincoln. He died soon after, about the year 1316, leaving his sister, Hawyse, wife of Robert, Lord Morley, his heir, who carried the Barony of Marshal into the Morley family, from which it passed into that of Lovel, and thence to the Parkers, when it fell into abeyance, at the decease of Thomas Parker, Lord Morley, in 1686, between the issue of that nobleman's aunts, Katherine, wife of John Savage, 2nd Earl Rivers, and Elizabeth, wife of Edward Cranfield, Esq., and amongst whose descendants it so continues.

=============================================================

[Contents] [Next] [Previous] [Top] [Home] [Mail]