Vol II File 14: The Paternal Ancestry of Homer Beers James
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Vol II File 14: The Paternal Ancestry of Homer Beers James
22. Huntingfield Line
Ref: Wurts, pp. 84-86.
Ref: Burke, pp 293.
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1. Roger de Huntingfield held the manor
of Huntingfield, co. Suffolk, as undertenant of Robert Malet in
the time of King Henry I. His son and heir was William.
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2. William de Huntingfield, with the consent
of his son Roger, gave the whole Isle of Mendham, co. Suffolk,
and divers other lands, to the monks of Castle Acre, co. Norfolk,
thus founding the Cluniac Priory of Mendham during the reign of
King Stephen. He died in 1155 and his wife Sibyl ________, in 1189. They had a
son, Roger.
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3. Roger de Huntingfield, who in 1199
gave 200 marks for land in Norfolk and Suffolk. He and his wife,
Alice of Senlis,
died in 1204, leaving a son, William.
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4. William de Huntingfield, the Surety.
He married Isabel Gressinghall,
widow of Osmond de Stuteville.
He was made constable of Dover Castle in the 5th year of King
John, and as hostages for his loyalty to the king, delivered up
his son and daughter, the former to remain with the Earl of Arundel,
the latter with Earl Ferrers. He was one of the five wardens
of the Ports of Norfolk and Suffolk from 1210 to 1212 and the
following year he was one of the itinerant justices at Lincoln,
and was high sheriff of Norfolk and Suffolk until the end of 1214.
He witnessed King John's grant of freedom of election to churches
in 1214. He was governor of Sauvey Castle, in Leicestershire,
when he joined the cause of the barons in arms against King John,
being finally one of the twenty-five sureties, and was excommunicated
by the Pope, and his lands given to Nicholas de Haya. Very likely
the cause of the protector's severity toward Huntingfield was
that he was one of those who platted to have the Dauphin come
to England and, after the landing, was very active in reducing
the courts of Essex and Suffolk to his authority. He fought at
Lincoln, May 20, 1217, and was taken prisoner by the King's forces.
William had a daughter Alice Huntingfield, who married twice,
but the name of her first husband has not been preserved. Her
father paid to the king a fine of "six fair Norway Goshawks,"
in the 15th year of King John, for permission to marry Alice,
his daughter, then a widow, to Richard de Solers. William de
Huntingfield, the Surety, died in 1220, leaving a son, Roger.
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5. Roger de Huntingfield, who died on
or before July 10, 1257, having married, as his second wife, Joan Hobrugg, who died before September
7, 1297, daughter of William de Hobrugg.
They had a son, William.
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6. William de Huntingfield, of Huntingfield
and Mendham, Suffolk; and other estates, was born August 24, 1237.
He sided against the king in the Baron's War. From 1263 to 1287
he was summoned for military service and to attend King Edward
I. at Shrewsbury June 28, 1283. He married Emma Grey, who died in 1264, the
daughter of John de Grey of Shirland, co. Derby and his first
wife Emma, daughter of Geoffrey de Glanville.
William de Huntingfield died before November 2, 1290, possibly
in 1283. Their son was Roger. There is a conflict here, because
Wurts reports that William married (1) Emma Glanville, by whom
he had Roger.
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7. Roger de Huntingfield's seal is appended
to the Baron's letter to the Pope in 1300. He married in 1277,
Joyce Engaine,
daughter of John d'Engaine of Laxston,
co. Northamptonshire, whose wife was Joan, daughter and heiress
of Gilbert de Greinville. Roger de
Huntingfield died November 20, 1302. It is probable that Joyce,
his wife, died in 1312. Their son was William de Huntingfield,
whose son, Roger, had a son, William, born 1330, died without
issue, and therefore the Barony became extinct. The next heir
to his grandfather William de Huntingfield, was found to be the
grandfather's daughter Eleanor, the younger William's aunt, who
was married to John de Norwich, brother of William's mother Cicely,
Cicely and John being children of Judge Walter de Norwich. Blanche
Norwich was certainly not her daughter, as has been presumed,
as Eleanor Huntingfield, wife of John de Norwich, died without
issue; thus, there can be no descendants of Baron Huntingfield
through the Norwich family. The inheritance passed to the descendants
of Joan Huntingfield, daughter of Roger and his wife Joan Engaine.
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8. Joan Huntingfield married Richard Basset, Lord Basset of Great Weldon
co. Northampton, son of Ralph Basset
and his wife Alianora, daughter of Henry Wade.
On January 26, 1296-97 he was summoned to attend King Edward
I. at Salisbury. On June 24, 1314 he was taken prisoner at the
battle of Bannockburn, and died before October 18 of that year.
He and his wife had the following children:
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1. Richard Basset
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2. Roger Basset
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3. Ralph Basset.
See below.
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9. Ralph Basset, 1st Lord Basset of
Weldon was born in 1300 at Huntingfield and was baptized in the
church there. He died before May 4, 1341. He married Joan Sturdon of Winterbourne, co. Gloucester.
She later married Robert de Fourneux. Ralph and Joan had the
following children:
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1. Richard Basset, d.s.p. before his father.
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2. Ralph Basset, became 2nd Lord Basset
of Great Weldon. His wife was Joane de la Pole. They had a son,
Ralph Basset, whose son, Richard Basset, d.s.p. January 9, 1399.
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3. Joan Basset.
See below.
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4. Alianore Basset, who died in 1388, was
married to John Knyvett, who died in 1381, of Wynwick in Northamptonshire,
Lord Chancellor of England, Chief Justice of the king's bench,
Executor of the will of King Edward III. He was son of Richard
Knyvett by Joan his wife and a great-great-grandson of John Knyvett,
ruler of Southwick. There was issue.
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10. Joan Basset married Thomas Aylesbury of Milton Keynes, co.
Bucks.
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11. John Aylesbury of Milton Keynes
married Isabel le Strange,
daughter of Eubulo Strange
(Unable to trace this member of the Strange family to information
in Burke.)
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12. Thomas Aylesbury, married Katherine Pabenham. They had at least two
daughters as follows:
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13. Eleanor Aylesbury, married Humphrey Stafford., of Grafton, co. Worcester,
Governor of Calais, died in 1450, son of Humphrey Stafford and
his wife Elizabeth Burdet. See the continuation of the lineage
in the Stafford Line.
23. Lacy Line
Ref; Wurts, pp. 87-91.
Gautier (Walter) de Lacy was a member of
a prominent Norman family from Lassy on the road from Vire to
Auvray. Walter de Lacy subscribed his name to a charter of William
FitzOsberne, and it appears certain that a Walter and Ibert de
Lacy were at the Conquest from which it can be surmised that "cil
de Laci" of Wace was meant for Walter de Lacy and that "chevalier
de Lacie" was intended for Ilbert de Lacy. It is supposed
that they were brothers In 1069 Walter was sent to Wales with
William FitzOsberne against the people of Brecknock; subsequently
he assisted Wulstan, Bishop of Worcester, and Ours d'Abetot, then
Sheriff of that county, in preventing the passage of the Severn
by the Earls of Hereford and Norfolk. He founded the church of
St. Peter at Hereford, during the building of which he fell from
a ladder and was killed in 1084. Walter married Emmelin, by whom
he left three sons, Roger, Hugh, and Walter, as well as two daughters,
Ermeline and Emma. Roger, his heir, possessed ninety-six lordships
in 1086 (Domesday), sixty-five of which were in Gloucestershire,
the balance being in Shropshire, Herefordshire, Worcestershire
and Berkshire. He lost his estates because he conspired with
Bishop Odo against William Rufus and later attached himself to
Robert de Mowbray. His nephew Gilbert, by his sister Emma, became
the ancestor of the Lords of Ulster, conquerors of the greatest
part of Ireland. The branches of the house were so numerous that
forty coats of arms were recorded. (Reference: Crispin and Macary,
"Falaise Rolls").
Ref: Burke, pp. 309-311.
Ilbert de Lacy, the other De Lacy, was for
his services at Senlac, rewarded by the Conqueror with the whole
district of Blackburnshire in Lancashire, with 170 lordships,
of which 150 were in Yorkshire. He held the town and castle of
Pontefract, a great stronghold, which became his seat, the remainder
was in Lincolnshire and Nottinghamshire. Ilbert founded inside
his fortress a collegiate chapel, dedicated to St. Clement, and
also built the foundation for the abbey of St. Oswald at Nostall,
completed by his eldest son and heir. He married Hawise by whom
he left two sons, Robert, who succeeded him, called de Pontefract,
and Hugh (Reference: Crispin and Macary, "Falaise Rolls").
These two distinguished members of this ancient
family, namely Walter de Laci and Ilbert de Laci, came to England
with William the Conqueror, but in what degree allied, if at all,
as stated above, has not been ascertained. However, it is known
that Ilbert left two sons, Robert and Hugh. Robert de Lacy, the
eldest son, was known as Robert de Pontefract.
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1. Ilbert de Laci, to whom
King William gave the castle. and town of Brokenbridge, co. York,
which he afterwards denominated, in the Norman dialect, "Pontefract,"
had besides other territorial grants of vast extent; and at the
time of the General Survey possessed nearly one hundred and fifty
(150) lordships in Yorkshire, ten in Nottingham, and four in Lincolnshire.
This Ilbert left two sons, Robert and Hugh. Robert de Laci,
otherwise Robert de Pontefract, had a confirmation from King William
Rufus, of all those lands whereof Ilbert, his father, died possessed.
Attaching himself, however, to the interest of Robert Curthose,
after the death of Rufus, himself and his son, Ilbert were expelled
the realm by King Henry I., and the honor of Pontefract bestowed
upon Henry Travers; which Henry, having shortly after been mortally
wounded by one Pain, a servant of his own, caused himself to be
shorn a monk, and so died within three days. After that the king
gave this honor to Guy de la Val, who held it until King Stephen's
time, when, it is stated by an old historian, that Robert de Laci's
eldest son, Ilbert, was restored to the honor. Ilbert had two
sons as follows:
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1. Ilbert de Lacy (the personage mentioned
above as exiled with his father), by the special favor of Stephen,
re-obtained his Barony of Pontefract, and was afterwards one of
the staunchest adherents of that monarch. In the 3rd year of
that reign he was principal commander at the celebrated battle
of the Standard, fought at Northallerton, where the Scots sustained
so signal a defeat from the northern barons. He subsequently
obtained a pardon on behalf of his servants, for all forfeitures
whatsoever; and especially for the death of William Maltravers.
He married Alice Gant, daughter of Gilbert de Gant, but dying
without issue, he was succeeded by his brother, Henry.
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2. Henry de Lacy, 2nd son of Robert de Pontefract
(de Laci), was received into favor by the empress, and her son,
King Henry II., and obtained from them a remission of the displeasure
which King Henry I. bore towards Robert, his father; as also of
the forfeiture, which he himself had made before he did his homage;
with full restitution of his whole honor of Pontefract, and all
other his lands in England and Normandy. He married Albrida _________,
her first marriage, and was succeeded by his son, Robert de Lacy,
who attended as one of the barons at the coronation of King Richard
I. Robert de Lacy died without issue in 1193, when his half-sister,
Albreda Lisours (the daughter of his mother, Albrida, by her second
husband, Eudo de Lisours,)possessed herself of the Barony of
Pontefract.
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2. Albrida _______ married (1) Henry de
Lacy, and (2) Eudo de Lisours.
She had a daughter from the second marriage, Albreda.
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3. Albreda Lisours was married to Richard FitzEutace, feudal lord of Halton,
and constable of Chester. She possessed herself of the Barony
of Pontefract, and all the other lands of her deceased half-brother,
under the pretense of a grant from Henry de Lacy, her first husband.
By Richard FitzEustace, she had a son, John.
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4. John Fitz-Eustace, later de Lacy
became heir to his half-uncle, Robert de Lacy, son of Henry de
Lacy, assumed that surname, and inherited the Baronies of Halton
and Pontefract, with the hereditary Constable of Chester. He
married Alice Vere.
He died in the Holy Land in 1179. He was succeeded by his son,
Roger.
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5. Roger de Lacy was the constable of
Chester. Under the banner of Richard the Lionhearted, Roger assisted
at the siege of Acon, in 1192, and shared in the subsequent triumphs
of that chivalrous monarch. At the accession of John, he was
a person of great eminence, for we find him shortly after the
coronation of that prince, deputed with the Sheriff of Northumberland,
and other great men, to conduct William, King of Scotland, to
Lincoln, where the English king had fixed to give him an interview;
and the next year he was one of the barons present at Lincoln,
when Davis, of Scotland, did homage and fealty to King John.
In the time of this Roger, Ranulph, Earl of Chester, having entered
Wales at the head of some forces, was compelled, by superior numbers,
to shut himself up in the castle of Rothelan, where, being closely
besieged by the Welsh, he sent for aid to the constable of Chester.
Hugh Lupus, the 1st Earl of Chester, in his charter of foundation
of the abbey of St. Werberg, at Chester, had given a privilege
to the frequenters of Chester fair, "That they should not
be apprehended for theft, or any other offense during the time
of the fair, unless the crime was committed therein." This
privilege made the fair, of course, the resort of thieves and
vagabounds from all parts of the kingdom. Accordingly, the constable,
Roger de Lacy, forthwith marched to his relief, at the head of
a concourse of people, then collected at the fair of Chester,
consisting of minstrels, and loose characters of all description,
forming altogether so numerous a body, that the besiegers, at
their approach, mistaking them for soldiers, immediately raised
the siege. For this timely service, the Earl of Chester conferred
upon De Lacy and his heirs, the patronage of all the minstrels
in those parts, which patronage the constable transferred to his
steward; and was enjoyed for many yeas afterwards. Roger died
in 1211. Roger was succeeded by his son, John.
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6. John de Lacy , born in 1195, hereditary
constable of Chester, in the 15th year of King John, undertook
the payment of 7,000 marks to the crown, in the space of four
years, for livery of the lands of his inheritance, and to be discharged
of all his father's debts due to the exchequer, further obligating
himself by oath, that in case he should ever swerve from his allegiance,
and adhere to the king's enemies, all of his possessions should
devolve upon the crown, promising also, that he would not marry
without the king's license. By this agreement it was arranged
that the king should retain the castles of Pontefract and Dunnington,
still in his own hands; and that he, the said John, should allow
40 pounds per year, for the custody of those fortresses. But
the next year he had Dunnington restored to him, upon hostages.
About this period he joined the baronial standard, and was one
of the celebrated twenty-five barons, one of the Sureties, appointed
to enforce the observance of the Magna Charta. But the next year,
he obtained letters of safe conduct to come to the king to make
his peace, and he had similar letters, upon the accession of Henry
III., in the second year of which monarch's reign, he went with
divers other noblemen into the Holy Land.
John de Lacy (Lacie), 7th Baron of Halton
Castle, and hereditary constable of Chester, was one of the earliest
who took up arms at the time of the Magna Charta, and was appointed
to see that the new statutes were properly carried into effect
and observed in the counties of York and Nottingham. He was excommunicated
by the Pope. Upon the accession of King Henry III. he joined
a party of noblemen and made a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, and
did good service at the siege of Damietta. In 1232 he was made
Earl of Lincoln and in 1240, governor of Chester and Beeston Castles.
He died July 22, 1240, and was buried at the Cisterian Abbey
of Stanlaw, in co. Chester. The monk Matthew Paris, records:
"On the 22nd day of July, in the year 1240, which was St.
Magdalen's Day, John, Earl of Lincoln, after suffering from a
long illness went the way of all flesh." He married (1)
Alice, daughter of Gilbert de Aquila, but by her had no issue.
She died in 1215 and, after his marked gallantry at the siege
of Damietta, he married (2) Margaret Quincy, only
daughter and heir of Robert de Quincy, Earl of Winchester, by
Hawyse, 4th sister and co-heir of Ranulph de Mechines, Earl of
Chester and Lincoln, which Ranulph,
by a formal charter under his seal, granted the Earldom of Lincoln,
that is, so much as he could grant thereof, to the said Hawyse,
"to the end that she might be countess, and that her heirs
might also enjoy the earldom;" which grant was confirmed
by the king, and at the especial request of the countess, this
John de Lacy, constable of Chester, was created by charter, dated
Northampton, November 23, 1232, Earl of Lincoln, with remainder
to the heirs of his body, by his wife, the above-mentioned Margaret.
In the contest which occurred during the same year, between the
king and Richard Marshal, Earl of Pembroke, Earl Marshal, Matthew
Paris states that the Earl of Lincoln was brought over to the
king's party, with John le Scot, Earl of Chester, by Peter de
Rupibus, Bishop of Winchester, for a bribe of 1,000 marks. In
1237, his lordship was one of those appointed to prohibit Oto,
the pope's prelate, from establishing anything derogatory to the
king's crown and dignity, in the council of prelates then assembled;
and the same year he had a grant of the sheriffalty of Cheshire,
being likewise constituted Governor of the castle of Chester.
The earl died in 1240, leaving Margaret, his wife, surviving,
who remarried William Marshal, Earl of Pembroke. He and his wife
had the following children:
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7. Maud Lacy (Lacie) married, as his
second wife, Richard de Clare
, 6th Earl of Hertford, on or before January 25, 1237 or 1238.
She was living in 1287, but died before March 10, 1288-1289.
They had sons: Gilbert de Clare, The Red Earl", and Thomas
de Clare.
See the continuation of this lineage in the
Clare Line.
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