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

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.

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• 1. William Marshal, born in 1146 and died in 1219, was of the great baronial family of Marischal, marshal to the king. See Burke, pg. 358-359. This William is first mentioned as receiving from Prince Henry, the rebellious son of Henry II., upon the prince's deathbed, his cross, as his most confidential friend, to convey to Jerusalem. He married Isabel (Eva) Clare, only child and heiress of Richard de Clare (surnamed Strongbow), Earl of Pembroke, conqueror of Ireland and Justice of Ireland. She had been under the guardianship of Henry II., who gave her in marriage in 1189. Through his wife, William acquired the Earldom of Pembroke, in which rank he bore the royal scepter of gold surmounted by the cross, at the coronation of King Richard I.; and he was soon afterwards, on the king's purposing a journey to the Holy Land, appointed one of the assistants to Hugh, Bishop of Durham, and William, Earl of Albemarle, Chief Justice of England, in the government of the realm. He was brother and male heir, of John Marshal, otherwise Mareschall. This family enjoyed the office of marshal of the King's House, and from that post assumed its surname; which gave occasion, says Banks, to their being often styled Earls Marshal, as well as Earls of Striguil and Pembroke; but such denomination was matter of curiality more then of reality. The manor of Hempsted-Marshal, in Berkshire, belonging to the Marshals, was held of old by grand serjeanty of the Kings of England, to be the knights marshal, as the offices of steward, constable, etc. were in those times granted. Upon the decease of his brother, John Mareschall, marshal of the king's house, in 1199, he became Lord Marshal; and on the day of the coronation of King John, he was invested with sword of the Earldom of Pembroke, being then confirmed in the possession of the said inheritance. In the first year of the monarch's reign, he was appointed sheriff of Gloucestershire, and likewise of Sussex, wherein he was continued for several years. In the 5th year he had a grant of Goderich Castle, in the co. Hereford, to hold by the service of two knight's fees; and in four years afterwards, he obtained, by grant from the crown, the whole province of Leinster, in Ireland, to hold by the service of one hundred knight's fees. Upon the breaking out of the baronial insurrection, the Earl of Pembroke was deputed, with the Archbishop of Canterbury, by the king, to ascertain the grievances and demands of those turbulent lords; and at the demise of King John, he was so powerful as to prevail upon the barons to appoint a day for the coronation of Henry III., to whom he was constituted guardian, by the rest of the nobility, who had remained firm in their allegiance. He subsequently took up arms in the royal cause, and after achieving a victory over the barons at Lincoln, proceeded directly to London, and investing that great city, both by land and water, reduced it to extremity, for want of provisions. Peace, however, being soon after concluded, it was relieved. His lordship, at this period, executed the office of sheriff for the cos. of Essex and Hertford. This eminent nobleman was no less distinguished by his wisdom in the council and valor in the field, than by his piety and his attachment to the church, of which his numerous munificent endowments bear ample testimony. He had by his wife, Isabel, five sons, who succeeded each other in his lands and honors, and five daughters, as follows:
  
  • 1. William Marshal, 2nd Earl of Pembroke, who , in the time of his father, was as strenuous a supporter of the baronial cause as that nobleman was of the royal interests, and was constituted a Surety, one of the twenty-five barons appointed to enforce the observance of the Magna Charta, being then styled "Comes Mareschal, Jun." After the decease of King John, however, he made his peace, and becoming loyally attached to the new monarch, obtained grants of the forfeited lands of his former companions, Saier de Quincy, Earl of Winchester, and David, Earl of Huntingdon. He was subsequently engaged against the Welsh, and defeated their Prince, Llewellyn, with great slaughter; and in the 14th year of Henry III., he was captain-general of the king's forces in Brittany. He married Alice Betun, daughter of Baldwin de Betun, Earl of Albemarle; and (2) Eleanor (Alianore) Plantaganet, daughter of King John, and sister of Henry III., but had issue by neither. He died in 1231, and was succeeded by his next brother, Richard.

  • 2. Richard Marshal, 3rd Earl of Pembroke. He returned to England upon the decease of his brother, and repairing to the king, then in Wales, offered to do homage for his inheritance, but Henry, at the suggestion of Hubert de Burgh, justiciary of England, declined receiving it, under the plea that the late earl's widow had been left in a state of pregnancy, and the king, at the same time, commanded Marshal forthwith to depart the realm within fifteen days; upon which he repaired to Ireland, where his brother then were, who, with the army, received him cordially, and, delivering up the castles to him, did their homage. He immediately afterwards took possession of the castle of Pembroke, and prepared to enforce his rights by arms; but the king, fearing to disturb the public tranquillity, accepted his fealty, and acknowledged him Earl of Pembroke. This reconciliation was not, however, of long endurance, for we find him soon afterwards in open hostility to the king, defending his own castles, storming and taking others, fighting and winning pitched battles, until his gallant career was finally arrested by the treachery of his own followers in Ireland, where, being inveigled, under the pretext of entering into a league of amity, he was assailed by superior numbers, and mortally wounded. Described by Matthew Paris as the "flower of chivalry", he died in 1234, and was buried at Kilkenny. As he was unmarried, his estates and honors devolved upon his brother, Gilbert.

  • 3. Gilbert Marshal, 4th Earl of Pembroke. He was restored to the whole of the late earl's lands by the king, although he had taken part in the proceedings of that nobleman. But not withstanding this act of grace, he never appears to have been cordially reconciled to the crown. His death occurred in 1241, and was occasioned by a fall from his horse at a tournament. He married (1) Margaret, daughter of William, King of Scotland, and (2) Maud de Lanvaley; but having no issue, he was succeeded, at his death in 1241, by his brother, Walter.

  • 4. Walter Marshal, 5th Earl of Pembroke. He had no little difficulty in obtaining livery of his inheritance, for when he came to do his homage, the king upbraided him with the injuries he had sustained from his predecessors. First, that Earl William, his father, had traitorously suffered Louis of France to escape out of England. Next, that Earl Richard, his brother, was a public enemy, and slain in fight as his enemy. That Gilbert, his brother, to whom at the instance of Edmund, Archbishop of Canterbury, he had more through grace than favor, vouchsafed livery of his lands, had against his expressed prohibition, met at the tournament, wherein he was killed. "And thou," continued the king, "in contempt of me, wast also there. With what face, therefore, canst thou lay claim to that inheritance?" Whereupon Walter replied: "Though I could give a reasonable answer to what you have said, nevertheless I refer myself solely to your highness. You have hitherto been gracious to me, and reputed me as one of your family, and not amongst the meanest of your servants. I never demerited your favor, but how, in being at this tournament with my brother, whom I could not deny; and if all who were there should be thus disinherited, you would raise no small disturbances in your realm. Far be it from a good king, that I should suffer for the faults of all, and that amongst so great a number be the first punished." The king soon after, through the intercession of the Bishop of Durham, vouchsafed him livery of the earldom and the marshal's office. He married Margaret Quincy, daughter of Robert de Quincy, but dying s. p. in 1245, was succeeded by his only remaining brother, Anseleme.

  • 5. Anselme Marshall, 6th Earl of Pembroke, who enjoyed the honors but eighteen days. He died December 5, 1245, d.s.p., by his wife, Maud Bohun, daughter of Humphrey de Bohun, Earl of Hereford, whereupon all his honors became extinct, and his great inheritance devolved upon his sisters, as co-heirs.

  • 6. Maud Marshal, married (1) Hugh Bigod, Earl of Norfolk; (2) William de Warren, Earl of Surrey; and (3) Walter de Dunstanville. This lady, upon the death of her youngest brother, Anselme, Earl of Pembroke, s.p., in 1245, and the division of the estates, obtained as her share, the manor of Hempsted-Marshal, in Berks, with office of Marshal of England, which was inherited by her son, Roger Bigod, 4th Earl of Norfolk, and surrendered to the crown by her grandson, Roger Bigod, 5th Earl of Norfolk. Maud, Countess of Norfolk, had likewise the manors of Chepstow and Carlogh.

  • 7. Joane Marshal, married Warine de Montchensy.

  • 8. Isabel Marshal, married (1) Gilbert de Clare, Earl of Gloucester, and (2) Richard, Earl of Cornwall. This lady had, as her portion, Kilkenny.

  • 9. Sybil Marshal, married William de Ferrers, Earl of Derby, to whom she brought Kildare.

  • 10. Eve (Eva) Marshal. See below.
    

    For fifty years he was the finest friend to four successive English kings. The 1st Earl of Pembroke died in 1219, and was succeeded by his son, William. For a detailed account of his life, see Painter's "William Knight Errant, Baron and Regent of England," John Hopkins Press, Baltimore, MD., 1933.

• 2. Eve Marshal married William de Braose, of Brecknock.
  

  See the continuation of this lineage in the Braose Line.

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