Dear Newsgroup ~
Please find below a slightly different Merlay-Somerville-Griffith
descent than one I posted previously. In this arrangement, I've set
forth a new line of descent from King William the Lion of Scotland
through an intermarrage of the Roos and Merlay families.
For interest's sake, I've listed below the numerous 17th Century New
World immigrants who descend from Isabel de Roos, wife of Sir Roger de
Merlay, of Morpeth, Northumberland [Generation 4 below]:
1. Via Joan de Somerville, wife of Ralph de Cromwell, Knt.
William Bladen, Kenelm Cheseldine, Grace Chetwode, William Farrer,
Muriel Gurdon, Anne & Katherine Marbury, Thomas Owsley, Richard
Saltonstall, Mary Johanna Somerset.
2. Via Joan Griffith, wife of Richard Vernon, Knt.:
Robert Abell, Thomas Booth, Obadiah Bruen, Henry Corbin, Henry, Jane &
Nicholas Lowe.
3. Via Rhys Griffith, Esq., of Stickford, Lincolnshire:
William Asfordby, Joseph Bolles, Diana & Grey Skipwith.
4. Via Margaret Griffith, wife of Robert Willoughby, Knt.
Charles Calvert, Henry, Jane & Nicholas Lowe, Mary Johanna Somerset.
For the links between the various immigrants and the
Merlay-Somerville-Griffith descent presented below, see Douglas
Richardson, Plantagenet Ancestry (2004) and Magna Carta Ancestry
(2005).
Best always, Douglas Richardson, Salt Lake City, Utah
Website:
http://www.royalancestry.net+ + + + + + + + + + + + + +
SCOTLAND-ROOS-MERLAY-SOMERVILLE-GRIFFITH LINE
1. WILLIAM THE LION, King of Scotland, died 1214. By a mistress,
_____, daughter of Richard Avenel, he had one illegitimate daughter,
Isabel.
2. ISABEL OF SCOTLAND, illegitimate daughter. She married (1st) Robert
de Brus. She married (2nd) at Haddington, East Lothian, Scotland early
in 1191 ROBERT DE ROOS (or ROS), of Helmsley and Hunsingore, Yorkshire,
and Wark, Northumberland, Sheriff of Cumberland, son of Everard de
Roos, Baron of Helmsley, by Roese, daughter of William Trussebut, of
Warter, Yorkshire, Baron of Hunsingore, Yorkshire, born about 1170-2
(aged 13 in 1185, had livery of his lands in 1191). They had four
sons, William, Knt., Robert, Peter, and Alexander. He succeeded to his
father's lands in 1191, paying a relief of 1,000 marks. In 1195 he
served as Bailiff and Castellan of Bonneville-sur-Touques in Lower
Normandy. In 1196 King Richard I handed a French prisoner, Hugh de
Chaumont, over to Robert's keeping. Robert imprisoned him in his
castle at Bonneville. Robert's servant, William d'Epinay, the
keeper of the castle, was afterwards bribed into conniving at Hugh's
escape. King Richard, angry at the loss of such important a prisoner,
ordered d'Epinay to be hanged, and fined Robert 1,200 marks. In 1200
Robert escorted his wife's father, King William the Lion, to do
homage to King John at Lincoln. The same year he received from King
John a grant of all the honours and lands which had belonged to Walter
Espec in Northumberland, including Wark, where Robert built a castle.
In 1203 he was again at Bonneville-sur-Touques, and appears to have
been in John's service in Normandy during the later months of that
year. In February 1205/6 he proposed to make a pilgrimage to
Jerusalem. On 25 May 1205 he had livery of his share of the manor of
Braunston, Northamptonshire, formerly belonging to his grandmother,
Aubrey de Harcourt. In 1207 he seems to have let another prisoner, a
certain Thomas de Bekering, escape, for which offence he was acquitted
of a fine of 300 marks in Dec. 1207. In 1209 he was sent by the king
with others to meet the king of Scotland. In 1213 the king committed
to him the forest and county of Cumberland. In 1213 he was one of the
witnesses to John's surrender of the kingdom to the pope, and was one
of twelve men who undertook to compel John to keep his promises made in
favor of the English church. He joined the confederacy of the barons
at Stamford in Easter week, 1215. He was one of the twenty-five barons
elected to guarantee the observance of Magna Carta, signed by King John
15 June 1215. In consequence he was among the barons excommunicated by
Pope Innocent III 16 Dec. 1215. In Jan. 1216 the king granted his
lands to William, Count of Aumale. He was summoned to deliver up
Carlisle Castle, but it led to nothing. He returned to his allegiance
in November 1217, and his Cumberland estates were confirmed to him in
1218. His other lands were restored in 1220. In 1221 he was summoned
to help in besieging and destroying Skipsea Castle. He was a
benefactor of Rievaulx, Newminster, Kirkham, and the Templars. He
founded a hospital for lepers at Bolton, Northumberland. He took the
monastic habit before 23 Dec. 1226, when his son did homage for his
lands. ROBERT DE ROS died sometime in 1227, and was buried in the
Temple Church at London.
3. ROBERT DE ROOS, Knt., of Wark, Northumberland and Samquhar in
Nithsdale, Scotland, younger son. He married an unidentified wife,
_____. They had two sons, William and Robert, and two daughters,
Isabel and Ida (wife of Roger Bertram, Robert de Neville, Knt., and
John Fitz Marmaduke, Knt.). He fought in France in 1230, was Justice
of the King's Bench in 1234 and went on circuit in Lincolnshire,
Yorkshire, and Northumberland. He was Chief Justice of the Forests of
Nottinghamshire, Derby, Yorkshire, Lancashire, Northumberland, and
Cumberland on 27 Nov. 1236. He had a grant for free-warren in Wark,
Carham, Presson, Mindrum, Downham, Moneylands and Learmouth,
Northumberland, 28 Dec. 1251. He lent his Castle of Wark to the King
from 28 August 1255 till 12 May 1256. In 1255, with John de Balliol,
he was appointed Guardian of Margaret, Queen of Scotland, but was
accused of unfaithfulness in that trust. He was summoned to appear at
the English Court, and eventually submitted, whereupon his lands were
seised by the King. On subsequent investigation, he was found to be
not guilty, and Wark Castle was restored to him and his older brother,
William, 7 Nov. 1259. In 1266 he conveyed the reversion of the manor
of Wark, Northumberland to his younger son, Robertd de Roos. SIR
ROBERT DE ROOS was living in 1267, but died shortly before Nov. 1269.
4. ISABEL DE ROOS, married before Hilary Term 1241 ROGER DE MERLAY,
Knt., of Morpeth, Benton, Killingworth, North Weetslade, South
Weetslade, and Walker, Northumberland, Burton Agnes, Yorkshire, etc.,
2nd but eldest surviving son and heir of Roger de Merley, of Morpeth,
Northumberland, by his 1st wife, Ada, daughter of Duncan, Earl of Fife.
He was of age in 1239. They had four daughters, Mary (wife of Thomas
de Greystoke), Margery (wife of Walter de Bolebec), Alice (wife of
Robert de Thweng), and Isabel. He founded a chantry in Stannington,
Northumberland for the maintenance of one chaplain to say divine
services at the altar of St. Mary for the souls of himself, his
ancestors and successors. In 1257 he was granted a weekly market and a
yearly fair to be held at the manor of Witton Underwood,
Northumberland. About 1257 he confirmed the gift which his cousin,
Hugh Gobion, Knt., made of all his lands in Yeddingham, Yorkshire to
the nuns of Yeddingham. SIR ROGER DE MERLAY died shortly before 4
December 1265. His widow, Isabel, married (2nd) before 1271 Adam de
Everingham, of Laxton, Nottinghamshire.
5. ISABEL DE MERLAY, daughter and co-heiress, born about 1257 (aged 8
in 1265). She was co-heiress in 1268 to her sister, Alice de Merlay,
wife of Robert de Thweng, by which her share of the Merlay estates
increased from a one-third to one-half share. Isabel married (1st)
before 1270 Robert de Eure. He was living in 1271, but died in or
before 1272. She married (2nd) before 7 May 1275 ROBERT DE SOMERVILLE,
Knt., of Wichnor (in Tatenhill), Alrewas, Curborough House (in
Streethay), and Tunstall, Staffordshire, and, in right of his wife, of
Great Benton, Witton Underwood, Horsley, Stanton, and Wingates,
Northumberland, and Knaptoft, Leicestershire, benefactor of Repingdon
and Worksop Priories, son and heir of John de Somerville, Knt., of
Wichnor (in Tatenhill), Curborough House (in Streethay), Tunstall,
Staffordshire, etc. They had six sons, Edmund (clerk), Robert, Roger,
Knt., Adam, Philip, Knt., and John, and two daughters, Joan (wife of
Ralph Cromwell, Knt.) and Isabel. In 1294 he acquired the other half
share of the manor of Burton Agnes, Yorkshire by an exchange with his
wife's nephew, John de Greystoke. He was summoned to serve against
the Welsh in 1277 and 1282 and against the Scots in 1296. In 1290 he
was granted a weekly market and yearly fair in Witton Underwood,
Northumberland, together with free warren in Windegates, Horsley, and
Sheles, Northumberland. SIR ROBERT DE SOMERVILLE died shortly before
17 October 1297. His widow, Isabel, died shortly before Thursday
before Christmas 1300.
Children of Isabel de Merlay, by Robert de Somerville, Knt.:
i. PHILIP DE SOMERVILLE, Knt. [see next].
ii. JOAN DE SOMERVILLE, married RALPH DE CROMWELL, Knt. [see
CROMWELL]. Joan and Ralph are the great-grandparents of Sir Ralph de
Cromwell (died 1398), 1st Lord Cromwell.
6. PHILIP DE SOMERVILLE, Knt., of Wichnor (in Tatenhill), Alrewas,
Newbold, Tunstall, etc., Staffordshire, Witton Underwood,
Northumberland, etc., Knight of the Shire for Staffordshire, Sheriff of
Bedfordshire and Buckinghamshire, younger son, born about 1287 (aged 50
in 1337). He married before 1308 MARGARET DE PIPE, daughter of Thomas
de Pipe, Knt. They had two daughters, Joan and Elizabeth (wife of John
de Stafford). In 1300 his older brother, Edmund de Somerville,
assigned him various lands which had been held in dower by their
mother, Isabel. In 1308 and again in 1312 the Sheriff of Staffordshire
was ordered to distrain Philip and his wife, Margaret, and to produce
them in Court to complete a fine levied at York between William de
Jarpenville, plaintiff, and the said Philip and Margaret, deforciants
of two messuages and lands in Draycott-under-Nedewode, Staffordshire,
as agreed between them. In 1316 Reginald de Leghton and Alice his wife
and others sued him for a messuage and 45 acres of land in Tunstall,
Staffordshire; Philip prayed a view, and the suit was adjourned to the
morrow of St. John the Baptist. In 1317 he sued Edmund de Somerville
in a plea that he should warrant to him a messuage and 45 acres of land
in Tunstall, Staffordshire, which Reginald de Leghton and Alice his
wife, and others claimed. In 1318 Alice widow of William de
Jarpenville recovered a third of two parts of the manor of Draycott,
Staffordshire as dower against him. The same year Reginald de Leghton
and Alice his wife and others sued him for a messuage and 45 acres of
land in Tunstall, Staffordshire; Philip called to warranty Edmund de
Somerville who appeared and warranted the tenements to him. In 1323 he
sued Walter de Montgomery and Joan his wife, Vincent de Gresley, and
others for coming vi et armis to Alrewas, Staffordshire, and forcibly
removing cattle which he had lawfully impounded there, and for beating
and illtreating his servants. In 1324-5 he and Philip de Luttele were
appointed commissioners to establish uniform measures of wine, beer,
and wheat in Staffordshire. His wife, Margaret, was living in 1325.
He was heir in 1337 to his younger brother, Roger de Somerville, Knt.,
of Burton Agnes, Yorkshire. He may be regarded as the second founder
of Balliol College at Oxford University, to which institution he added
new scholars to the number of fellows as well as one chaplain. SIR
PHILIP DE SOMERVILLE died 23 (or 29) January 1355, and was buried at
Burton Agnes, Yorkshire.
Children of Philip de Somerville, Knt., by Margaret de Pipe:
i. JOAN DE SOMERVILLE [see next].
ii. ELIZABETH DE SOMERVILLE, married before 1342 JOHN DE STAFFORD.
They had one daughter, Maud (wife of Edmund de Vernon and Richard de
Stafford, K.B., Lord Stafford). Elizabeth died before her father's
death in 1355. No living descendants.
7. JOAN DE SOMERVILLE, daughter and co-heiress. She married about 12
February 1325 (date of settlement) RHYS AP GRIFFITH, Knt., of
Llansadwrn in Cantrefmawr and Dryslwyn, Carmarthen and Narberth castles
in Wales, and, in right of his wife, of Wichnor (in Tatenhill),
Alrewas, etc., Staffordshire, Bellasis, Long Benton, Stannington, and
Witton-Underwood, etc., Northumberland, Burton Agnes, Yorkshire,
steward of Cardigan, forester of Glyncothi and Pennant, deputy to the
royal justice of South Wales, sheriff of Carmarthen, steward of
Cantrefmawr, son and heir of Gruffydd ap Hywel ap Gruffydd ab Ednyfed
Fychan, of Llansadwrn, by Nest, daughter of Gwrwared ap Gwilym of
Cemais. He was an adult by 1309. They had two sons, Rhys, Knt., and
Henry, Knt. He was an active organizer of native levies in south-west
Wales and served in the Scottish expeditions and the French campaign.
In 1327 he disobeyed the king's summons to resists the Scots under
Robert Bruce. In 1330 he was involved in the abortive insurrection of
the Earl of Kent. He escaped overseas but was sub subsequently
recalled. He was present at the battle of Crecy. SIR RHYS AP GRIFFITH
died at Carmarthen, Wales 10 May 1356, and was buried at Carmarthen
Priory. In 1371 his widow, Joan, and her son, Rhys, gave seisin of
their wood in Witton Underwood, Northumberland to William Heron, Knt.
Joan died at Stockton, Warwickshire 8 October 1376.
Children of Joan de Somerville, by Rhys ap Griffith, Knt.:
i. RHYS AP GRIFFITH, Knt. [see next].
ii. HENRY AP GRIFFITH, Knt., of Bellasis, Long Benton, North
Horsley, Stannington, Tranwell, Wingates, and Witton, Northumberland,
2nd son. He married before 13 April 1371 JOAN _____. They had two
daughters, Joan (contracted to marry Robert Raymes) and Margaret (wife
of William de Carnaby, Knt.). SIR HENRY AP GRIFFITH died 15 May 1372.
No living descendants.
8. RHYS [AP RHYS] AP GRIFFITH, Knt., of Wichnor (in Tatenhill),
Alrewas, Draycott, Newbold, and Tunstall, Staffordshire, Orreby,
Lincolnshire, Bellasis, Long Benton, Stannington, Wingates, and
Witton-Underwood, etc., Northumberland, Stockton, Warwickshire, Burton
Agnes, Yorkshire, son and heir, born about 25 December 1325. He
married (1st) before 1370 ISABEL DE STACKPOLE, daughter and heiress of
Richard de Stackpole, of Stackpole, Angle and Lony (descendant of
Charlemagne). They had one daughter, Joan. He married (2nd) before
1376 MARGARET LA ZOUCHE, daughter of _____ la Zouche. They had two
sons, Thomas, Esq., and Rhys. In 1371 he granted all of his
Northumbrian lands to his brother, Henry ap Griffith. SIR RHYS AP
GRIFFITH died 26 May 1380, and was buried in Polesworth Abbey,
Warwickshire. On 30 May 1380 William le Latimer, Lord Latimer, was
granted the keeping of the manor of Burton Agnes, Yorkshire, late of
Rhys ap Griffith, Knt., to hold until the lawful age of the heir. On
the same date Richard de Ravenser was granted the similar keeping of
the manor of Orreby, Lincolnshire. On 8 June 1380 John Holand, Knt.,
the king's brother, was granted the keeping of all of the lands late
of Rhys ap Griffith, Knt., until the lawful age of the heir. Rhys'
widow, Margaret, married (2nd) after 6 November 1385 William Walsall
(died 1414), of Rushall, Staffordshire, Knight of the Shire for
Staffordshire, Escheator of Shropshire, Staffordshire, and the Welsh
Marsh, Sheriff of Shropshire and Staffordshire, 1377, Sheriff of
Staffordshire, 1381-1383, 1389-1390, 1396-1399, 1406-1407, Constable of
Stafford, Carmarthen and Dynevor castles, Marshal of the Hall to King
Richard II, 1395-1399. They had one daughter, Katherine (wife of
William Grobbere). For most of his adult life, William was actively
employed as an officer of the Crown in the north Midlands, Shropshire
and Wales, where his usefulness was recognized and rewarded. In 1388
he and Margaret bound themselves in recognizances of 205 marks to John,
Lord Neville, joining three years later with Sir Nicholas Stafford to
make a similar undertaking in the sum of 1,000 marks. In 1413 William
and Margaret sued John de Waldegrave and John Depyng, clerk, executors
of the will of Warine Waldegrave for a debt of 40 marks. In 1416 his
widow, Margaret, sued Richard Myners, Esq., of Blakenhale for treading
down and consuming her corn and grass with his cattle to the value of
100s. at Blakenhale. In 1416 Thomas Gyfhard sued her for a debt of 4
marks. She failed to appear, and the Sheriff was ordered to attach
her. In 1419 she sued Nicholas Hubert, yeoman, of Alrewas,
Staffordshire, for breaking into her close at Wichnor, and cutting down
her trees to the value of 100s. In 1425 she sued Robert Ryall, souter,
of Barton under Nedewode for entering her free warren at Wichnor and
taking hares, rabbits, and pheasants. In 1428 she sued Robert Rialle,
corveser, of Barton under Nedewode and others for entering her free
warren at Tunstall and Tatenhill, and cutting down her trees and
underwood, and chasing and taking hares and rabbits, pheasants, and
partridges. In 1430 she sued Roger Chare, butcher, of Barton under
Nedewode and another for breaking into her close and houses at Wichnor.
The same term she sued William Chambre, of Fald, for taking by force
her native, Robert Baker, from Tunstall, and goods and chattels worth
100s., and for entering her free warren at Tunstall, and taking hares
and rabbits, pheasants and partridges. She died testate shortly before
Trinity term 1430, when her executor, William la Zouche, Knt., sued
William de Whichenore, yeoman, to render a reasonable account for the
time he was receiver of the money of Margaret.
Child of Rhys ap Griffith, Knt., by Isabel de Stackpole:
i. JOAN GRIFFITH, married RICHARD VERNON, Knt., of Haddon,
Derbyshire [see VERNON].
Children of Rhys ap Griffith, Knt., by Margaret Zouche:
i. THOMAS GRIFFITH, Esq. [see next].
ii. RHYS GRIFFITH, living 1411.
10. THOMAS GRIFFITH (also known as THOMAS AP RHYS, THOMAS AP GRIFFITH),
Esq., of Wichnor (in Tatenhill), Alrewas, etc., Staffordshire, Witton
Underwood, Northumberland, etc., son and heir, born 19 (or 24) May 1377
(aged 5 in 1382, 19 in 1396). He was heir sometime after 1386 to his
first cousin once removed, Maud de Stafford, wife successively of
Edmund de Vernon and Richard de Stafford, K.B., Lord Stafford, by which
he inherited a 1/4th share of Bellasis, Long Benton, and Stannington,
Northumberland. He was also heir in 1387 to his 1st cousin, Margaret,
wife of William de Carnaby, Knt. (daughter of his uncle, Henry ap
Griffith, Knt.), by which he inherited another 1/4th share in Bellasis,
Long Benton, and Stannington, Northumberland. Thomas married ANNE
BLOUNT, daughter of Walter Blount, Knt., of Barton Blount, Derbyshire,
by Sanche de Ayala, daughter of Diego Gomez de Toledo, Alcalde maior de
Toledo. They had one son, John, Knt. In 1401 he granted the marriage
of Robert Corbet, a minor, to his grandfather, John Corbet. In 1405
Thomas sold all of his Northumbrian property, including the manor of
Witton Underwood, to Roger Thornton, of Newcastle. In 1414 he was
fined £15 for giving liveries against the Statute to Thomas Stokes,
Gent., of Stotfold, and two others. The same year he and many others
were distrained by the Sheriff of Staffordshire for failure to appear
in court to answer for diverse transgressions, extortions, and
contempts. In Trinity term 1431 he sued John Gunstone, yeoman, William
Jones, yeoman, and others in a plea that each of them should render a
reasonable account for the time they were the receiver of his money.
THOMAS GRIFFITH, Esq., died intestate 28 Feb. 1432/3, and was buried in
the chantry of the Blessed Virgin Mary at Alrewas, Staffordshire. In
Trinity term 1435 John Griffith, Knt., administrator of the goods and
chattels of Thomas Griffith, Esq., sued Richard Lowe, Gent., of Coven,
to render a reasonable account for the time he was bailiff of Thomas in
Stafford.
11. JOHN GRIFFITH, Knt., of Wichnor (in Tatenhill), Staffordshire, and
Burton Agnes, Yorkshire, son and heir. He married KATHERINE TYRWHIT
(or TYRWHITT), daughter of Robert Tyrwhit, Knt., of Kettleby,
Lincolnshire. They had two sons, Walter, Knt., and Rhys, and one
daughter, Margaret (wife of Robert Willoughby, Knt.). In 1440 he
unsuccessfully sued Roger Thornton for the manors of Sheles, Wingates,
and Witton, and a moiety of the manors of Bellasis, Killingworth, Long
Benton, Stannington, and Tranwell, Northumberland, all of which Roger
Thornton the elder bought from John's father, Thomas Griffith. His
wife, Katherine, died 1457. SIR JOHN GRIFFITH died 20 June 1471, and
was buried in the church of Tatenhill, Staffordshire.
Children of John Griffith, Knt., by Katherine Tyrwhit:
i. WALTER GRIFFITH, Knt., of Burton Agnes, Yorkshire, son and heir.
He married (1st) 6 November 1435 JOAN (or JANE) NEVILLE. They had two
children, both of whom died in young adulthood. His wife, Joan, was
living in 1457. He married (2nd) about 1463 AGNES CONSTABLE, daughter
of Robert Constable, Knt., of Flamborough, Yorkshire. They had one
son, Walter, Knt., and one daughter, Agnes (wife of Gervase Clifton).
SIR WALTER GRIFFITH died 9 August 1481, and was buried in the church of
Burton Agnes, Yorkshire.
ii. RHYS GRIFFITH, Esq., of Stickford, Lincolnshire, died 1489. He
married _____. They had one daughter, Joan (wife of Lionel Dymoke,
Knt., of Mareham-on-the-Hill, Lincolnshire) [see DYMOKE].
iii. MARGARET GRIFFITH, married ROBERT WILLOUGHBY, Knt., of Wollaton,
Nottinghamshire [see WILLOUGHBY].