e. TWO LINES FROM KING EDWARD I OF ENGLAND (1239-1307); MATERNAL
TWO LINES OF DESCENT FROM EDWARD I, KING OF ENGLAND (d. 1307 CE) AND HIS TWO QUEENS TO DIANA (SKIPWITH) DALE, d. JULY 31, 1696, 2ND WIFE OF MAJ. EDWARD DALE OF LANCASTER CO., VIRGINIA.
Edward I is the king in the film “Braveheart.” He was the great-grandson of Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine. The motto on his tomb says “Pactum Serva:” Keep Troth. When his tomb was opened in 1774, his height was measured at 6 feet 2 inches.
I don’t know why Hollywood depicts Medieval kings and their families as residing in dank, unadorned castles. The families would have had the finest furniture available in the civilized world, the best cloth, tapestries, rugs, expensive religious artifacts, games, musical instruments, bird-cages, and books. Henry III had a private zoo.
Margaret of France bore Edward I three children: Thomas, Edmund, and Eleanor. Edmund was the father of Joan of Kent, who married as her second husband Edward the Black Prince; they were the parents of the ill-fated Richard II.
Prestwich (1997) gives this account of the infancy of Thomas of Brotherton:
“Vast quantities of cloth were needed: Thomas’s first cradle and bed used thirteen ells of fine Lincoln scarlet, his second the same quantity of dark blue cloth. Fur coverlets were also provided, with sheets made from fifty-five ells of Rheims linen. There were hangings with heraldic arms, and at Edward’s orders the young prince’s chamber was draped with striped cloth. [Allegedly] Thomas was a patriotic baby, who rejected the milk of his French wet-nurse, and began to thrive only when he received good English milk. One of Thomas’s wet-nurses died, and the queen certainly employed a doctor to examine and approve the milk of another.” [An ell equals 45 inches.]
1. Edward I, King of England; m. (2) Margaret of France (half-sister of Philip IV, King of France), d. 14 Feb 1317/8 at Marlborough Castle in Wiltshire, buried in the church of Grey Friars, London 15 Mar 1317/8 (Marlborough Castle by tradition was the Queen’s dower house; last used by Queen Philippa, d. 1369, wife of Edward III, after which it reverted to the Crown and fell into ruins)
(The coronation chair of King Edward I, with the Stone of Scone beneath the seat. The Stone has since been returned to Scotland. The chair was last used in 1953 at the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II.)
2. Thomas of Brotherton (half-brother of Edward II, King of England), Earl of Norfolk, Earl Marshal, b. 1 Jun 1300, will made 4 Aug 1338, d. Sep 1338; m. (1) Alice de Hales, d. by 12 Oct 1330, dau. of Sir Roger Hales of Harwich, co. Norfolk coroner [a]
3. Margaret Plantagenet (“Mareschal”), Duchess of Norfolk, b. ca. 1320, d. 24 Mar 1398/9; m. (1) John de Segrave
[Behind this rather obscure note is a story: it's from the records of the Gild of Corpus Christie of the Church of St. Bene't's in Cambridge, showing Margaret Marshal with her second husband, Walter Manny or Mauny, and her daughter Elizabeth de Mowbray (see below). The records are linked to a historical event: the burgesses of Cambridge desired to found a new college at the University in the wake of the plague. They enrolled many prominent figures in the Gild, which assured their success. So was founded Corpus Christi College, which continues today.]
4. Elizabeth de Segrave, b. 25 Oct 1338, d. bef. husband; m. John de Mowbray, 4th Lord Mowbray, b. 25 Jun 1340, d. 9 Oct 1368
5. Eleanor (Alianor) de Mowbray, b. ca. 25 Mar 1364; m. John de Welles, 5th Lord Welles, b. 20 Apr 1352, d. 26 Aug 1421
(It seems as though St. George himself could not have defeated this mighty Scot. While I don’t doubt this spectacle took place, viewed from an English perspective, some elements are quite incredible. A medieval suit of armor was nearly a ball and chain, and Lord Welles being led like a lamb, if true, implies a concussion.)
6. Ives (or Eudes or Eudo) de Welles, liv. 1407, d. via patris (before father); m. Maude de Greystoke (Maude was the 2nd g-granddaughter of Roger de Mortimer, 1st Earl of March, hanged 1330)
(Ives de Welles, who would have been the 6th Lord Welles had he lived, deserves to be remembered for something—even if it’s his wife’s notorious ancestor. The following is the connection of Maude de Greystoke to Roger de Mortimer, 1st Earl of March.)
The Earldom of Warwick was an ancient peerage, dating to 1088. Thomas de Beauchamp, 11th Earl of Warwick, was a founding Knight of the Garter. His wardship was first granted to Hugh le Despenser, and then to Roger de Mortimer, who obtained a papal dispensation to marry Beauchamp to his daughter Katherine. Beauchamp was with the Black Prince at Cressy. At Poitiers, he took prisoner the Archbishop of Seinz, whom he ransomed for 8,000 pounds. During a campaign in France he fell ill of the pestilence and died on 13 Nov 1369.
The following case in the plea rolls from Shropshire dated 1428 involves ancestors of Roger de Mortimer’s wife, Joan:
Peter de Geneville had three daughters, the eldest being Joan, wife of Roger de Mortimer. In order to secure the whole of the Geneville estates, and an undivided one of two parts of the Lacy fief, Roger de Mortimer had Joan’s sisters Matilda and Beatrice placed in a nunnery.
7. Lionel de Welles, K.G., 6th Lord Welles, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland and Lord Chancellor of Ireland, b. 1406, killed 29 Mar 1461 as a Lancastrian at the Battle of Towton; m. (1) 15 Aug 1417 Cecily (or Joan) Waterton (an example of child marriage among the nobility), daughter of Robert Waterton and Joan de Everingham
(Record of Lionel de Welles, also called “Leo,” as a Knight of the Garter, elected as a consequence of the death of Sir Edward Hull. The Order was instituted by King Edward III, and is still in existence, based at Windsor Castle.)
(Tomb of Lionel de Welles and wife Cecily Waterton in Waterton Church, Methley, Yorkshire. Cecily looks Sphinx-like with her nose lopped off, but one gets a sense of the elegant dress of wealthy women in the late Medieval period. Considering that this monument is over 500 years old, it’s in a remarkable state of preservation, probably because it’s in a church rather than an abbey. Many old tombs in abbeys, including those of royal families, were destroyed during the reign of King Henry VIII.)
8. Margaret de Welles; m. (1) Thomas Dymoke, b. ca. 1428, beheaded 12 Mar 1470 before the Battle of Stamford
(To the Dymoke family, by descent from the Marmion family and possession of the manor of Scrivelsby in Lincolnshire, fell the honor of being the King or Queen’s Champion at the coronation. Unfortunately for Sir Thomas Dymoke, who appeared at the coronation of King Edward IV, the king had a rather hazy memory of this good deed and Sir Thomas was separated from his head. The Champion last appeared at the coronation of King George IV on 19 Jul 1821.)
9. Lionel Dymoke, d. ca. 1519; m. (1) Joan (or Johanne) Griffith, daughter of Rhys (or Richard) Griffith
(Description of monumental brass for Sir Lionel Dymoke at St. Mary’s, Horncastle, Lincolnshire. Sir Lionel Dymoke’s suit of armor was looted from the church during the Lincolnshire rebellion of 1536 and has disappeared.)
10. Alice Dymoke, d. ca. 1550; m. (his 2nd) Sir William Skipwith, b. ca. 1488, d. 7 Jul 1547 [b] ( Sir William Skipwith’s mother, Katherine FitzWilliam, was a descendant of Joan of Acre, daughter of King Edward 1, through her 2nd marriage to Ralph de Monthermer)
11. Henry Skipwith, d. 15 Aug 1588; m. ca. 1562 Jane Hall, d. 11 May 1598, daughter of Francis Hall (a descendant of King Edward I’s daugter Elizabeth; see “de Bohun” note below) and Ursula Sherington
12. Sir William Skipwith, d. 1610; m. (1) Margaret Cave
13. Sir Henry Skipwith, Bart., b. 21 Mar 1589/90, d. ca. 1655; m. (1) Amy Kempe, bur. 7 Sep 1631 at Prestwould, Leicestershire
14. Diana Skipwith, b. 27 May 1621, d. 31 Jul 1696 in Lancaster Co., VA; m. (his 2nd) Edward Dale, d. 2 Feb 1695/6 in Lancaster Co., VA
15. Elizabeth Dale, b. ca. 1659/60; m. (his 1st) ca. 1677/8 William Rogers*, b. ca. 1655, d. 1714, son of Capt. John Rogers and Ellen of Northumberland Co., VA
Living descendants, as follows: Hannah Rogers m. (2) Edward Blackmore; Joseph Blakemore m. Anne Sanders; Hannah Blakemore m. (1) William Duncan; Joseph Duncan m. Elizabeth Peters; Minerva Jane Duncan m. Peyton Milton Wilcox; Nancy Theodocia Wilcox m. (2) Thomas Calvin McMillen; Nora Ann McMillen m. (1) Eric Lyman Vaughan; etc.
[*William Rogers m. (2) Mrs. Mary (Stott) Pullen, will probated 8 Sep 1731 (W.B. 12, p. 206); no issue of the marriage. She was the widow of Henry Pullen, who d. 1698 (W.B. 8, p. 79). Mary Pullen was named in will of Brian Stott, her father, whose will was undated but probated 14 Mar 1704/5 (WB 8, pp. 236-237). Stott was living as late as May 1703 when he granted power of attorney to Steph: Tomlin.
The exact date of William Rogers' marriage to Mary (Stott) Pullen is unknown, but the "Widow Pullen" is mentioned in a deed dated 2 Aug 1708 between Andrew Jackson and Gawin Corbin of Lancaster County. Since Mary (Stott) Pullen is the only "Widow Pullen" of record at this time, it's safe to conclude Rogers married her after 2 Aug 1708.
William Rogers was a Churchwarden at St. Mary's White Chapel. He died intestate by 14 Apr 1714, when Mary Rogers was granted administration on his estate (Lancaster Co., VA Order Book 1713-1721, p. 47). He shouldn't be confused with his son William Rogers, who m. Margaret (Margarite) --, and appears in the deed books in 1715; see Farish, p.57.]
[a] Douglas Richardson questions that Thomas of Brotherton’s first wife was the daughter of Sir Roger Hales, co. Norfolk coroner, but since The Complete Peerage and UK The National Archives support the identification, I think the identification is sound. The a2a article “The Brotherton Inheritance” is informative on the descendants of Thomas.
The following from the KNIGHTS OF EDWARD I provides some details about Sir Roger de Hales:
The latin word “vice” (in italics) means “in place of.”
[b] see the “Endless Knight: Henry Skipwith, son of Alice (Dymoke) Skipwithe, etc.” column.
Margaret (Marguerite) of France, daughter of Philip III, King of France, was a descendant of Stephen I, King of England, d. 25 Oct 1154 (through his daughter Marie of Blois, d. 1182), and Isaac II Angelus, d. 1204, Byzantine (Eastern Roman) Emperor. John 4th Lord Mowbray was the great-grandson of Blanche of Artois, also a descendant of Isaac II Angelus.
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1. Edward I, King of England; m. (1) Eleanor of Castile (dau. of Fernando III, King of Castile and Leon), d. 28 Nov 1290
2. Joan of England (full sister to Edward II, King of England), b. 1272, d. 7 Apr 1307; m. (1) 1290, Gilbert de Clare, b. 2 Sep 1243, d. 7 Dec 1295, Earl of Gloucester, Hertford, and Clare
3. Alianor de Clare, b. Oct 1292, d. 30 Jun 1337; m. (1) ca. 14 Jun 1306, Hugh le Despenser the younger, Lord Despenser (infamous paramour of Edward II), executed at Hereford 24 Nov 1326
(This chart from The Complete Peerage gives some antecedents of Hugh le Despenser the Younger. “Hugh: slain at Evesham” was his grandfather, who m. Aline Basset. This Hugh was slain at the Battle of Evesham on 4 Aug 1265, fought between the forces of Simon de Montfort and Edward, son of King Henry III. Hugh was buried in the abbey church at Evesham, before the lowest step in front of the high altar.)
[Caerphilly Castle in Wales, stronghold of Hugh le Despenser, Lord Despenser. It was originally constructed by Hugh's father-in-law, Gilbert de Clare. Hugh styled himself Earl of Gloucester (though never so created) in right of his wife Alianor, who was a granddaughter of King Edward I.]
(This site in Tewkesbury Abbey was once the tomb of Hugh le Despenser, Lord Despenser, where in 1330 was deposited his dismembered corpse. He was excecuted at Hereford on orders from Roger de Mortimer and Queen Isabella, and his head displayed on London Bridge on 4 Dec 1326. His father, Hugh Despenser, Earl of Winchester, was executed on 27 Oct 1326. His body was impaled on a fork.)
4. Edward le Despenser, second son, slain at Morlaix 30 Sep 1342; m. 20 Apr 1335, Anne de Ferrers, d. 8 Aug 1367, daughter of William de Ferrers, Lord Ferrers
5. Edward le Despenser, K.G., Lord Despenser, b. 24 Mar 1335/6, d. 11 Nov 1375 at Llanblethian in Wales, bur. at Tewkesbury Abbey; m. before 2 Aug 1354, Elizabeth de Burghersh, d. 26 July 1409, bur. in the choir of Tewkesbury Abbey, daughter of Bartholomew de Burghersh, Lord Burghersh, and Cicely de Weyland
(One of the most bizarre funerary monuments I’ve seen: effigy of Edward le Despenser, d. 1375, at Tewkesbury Abbey. According to Froissart, Edward le Despenser died of an illness contracted during the campaign in France: he was “the Constable of the army, … who was deeply mourned by all his friends. He was a noble heart and a gallant knight, open-handed and chivalrous.”)
6. Elizabeth le Despenser, d. Apr 1408; m. (1) John FitzAlan (or Arundel), b. 30 Nov 1364, d. 14 Aug 1390, son of John FitzAlan (or Arundel) and Eleanor Mautravers
7. Thomas FitzAlan (or Arundel), d. ca. 1430/1, of Betchworth Castle, Dorking, co. Surrey; m. (her 1st) Joan Moyne, liv. 1443/4
(This portion of the chart is correct. The previous page is wrong as to the parents of Thomas FitzAlan who m. Joan Moyne, omitting a generation. Sir Thomas Browne, husband of Alianor or Ellen FitzAlan was nominally a Yorkist, but due to shifting fortunes in the Wars of the Roses found himself in a party of Lancastrians holding the Tower of London. When the Tower capitulated to the Yorkists, most of its noble defenders were spared, but Sir Thomas Browne lost his head, although other accounts claim he was drawn and quartered. In any event, the Browne family was attainted, but King Edward IV reversed the attainder.)
8. Alianor FitzAlan (or Arundel), liv. 1461; m. (1) ca. 1431, Thomas Browne, Sheriff of Kent 1443-4, MP for Kent 1445 and 1446, executed 20 Jul 1460, held Betchworth Castle, Dorking, co. Surrey in right of wife; CCR 1 Edw IV (Calendar of Close Rolls 1461) lists 7 sons, among them
(Lithograph of the ruins of Betchworth Castle which overlook the Mole River. The Castle is now within the property of a golf course. The ruins are said to be haunted by the ghost of a black dog, and the spectre of Lord Hope, who ran through with his sword what he took to be an escaping prisoner, only to find it was his son.)
9. Robert Browne, armiger, d. 1511 (will prob 19 May 1511 PCC Fetiplace); m. Anne – (not Mary Malet); one child
10. Eleanor Browne, d. 1560; m. (2) William Kempe, b. 1487, d. 28 Jan 1535
11. Thomas Kempe, d. 7 Mar 1591; m. (2) 19 Jan 1550, Amy Moyle, d. 1557, dau. of Sir Thomas Moyle (Sir Thomas Moyle m. Katherine Jordyene, daughter of Edward Jordyene, a goldsmith employed in the mint at the Tower of London. Moyle was Speaker of the House of Commons 1541-1544. He took part in the Prebendaries’ Plot of 1543 which sought to block the reforms of Thomas Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury. He served as a commissioner under King Henry VIII in the dissolution of the monasteries.)
12. Thomas Kempe, b. 1551, d. 1607; m. (2) Dorothy Thompson, d. 1629
13. Amy Kempe, d. 1631; m. (his 1st) Henry Skipwith, b. 21 Mar 1589/90, d. 1655
14. Diana Skipwith, d. 31 Jul 1696; m. (his 2nd) Edward Dale, d. 2 Feb 1695/6
15. Elizabeth Dale; m. (his 1st) William Rogers; information same as gen. 15 in above line.
Living descendants.
[A line exists from Humphrey de Bohun, who
Humphrey de Bohun had a legitimate connection to King David I of Scotland, avoiding the line through an alleged illegitimate daughter of William the Lion. ]
The following diagram, made by A.P. Stanley in the late 19th century, shows the position of the royal tombs in Westminster Abbey in the section where once had been Edward the Confessor’s shrine. The tombs of Eleanor of Castile, Henry III, Edward I, and Edward I’s brother Edmund (Crouchback) are on the north side.
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Two excellent accounts of some descendants of Elizabeth (Dale) Rogers are:
(Dorman and Price give Elizabeth Dale’s descent from Henry III, while Richardson and Roberts give her pedigree from Edward I. Both lines are valid.)
Dale married Diana Skipwith for her social and political connections. She was the sister of the royalist Sir Grey Skipwith, “a British baronet who fled to America after the English Civil War, became part of Governor Berkeley’s cavalier elite, and settled near Petersburg.” (Fischer, 2000). That’s why Thomas Carter termed their marriage ”fortuitous” in his prayer book.
The account of Sir Grey Skipwith is confused, although there seems no dearth of material about him. The following will provide the correct facts:
There is no exact date of death for Sir Grey Skipwith: I have no record of appointment of an administrator for an intestate estate or executors of a will qualifying in court. The following, from the Minutes of the Council and General Court of Colonial Virginia 1622-1632, 1670-1676 indicates approximate date of death as by 23 May 1671. The entry is shown as “May the 23th 1672,” but H.R. McIlwaine in his list of corrections corrects the date to “1671.” This may well be the earliest record extant indicating a date of death of Sir Grey Skipwith. It is followed by a more complete description of the case heard by the General Court on 27 Sep 1671 granting a judgement to Dame Ann Skipwith.
On 8 Oct 1672, Sir William Skipwith (then about 2 years of age) received a patent from the colonial Land Office for 400 acres in Middlesex Co. adjoining the lands of Wm. Frizell and Edmund Kempe, deceased, land formerly surveyed by Sir Grey Skipwith. On 6 Oct 1679 Dame Ann Skipwith appears in a list of “Tobaccoes recd & Secured for Debts by Bill & Accots” (Middlesex Co., VA County Order Book 1677–1680, p. 195). On 6 April 1680, “Dame Ann Skipwith , Mother & Gaurdian [sic] of Sr William Skipwith” won a lawsuit against James Dudley (op. cit., p. 214a). The parish register of Christ Church, Middlesex Co., records that “The Lady Ann Skipwith” died on 5 March 1685[/6]. She had been the widow of Edmund Kempe. Sir Grey Skipwith inherited the baronetcy between 11 Oct 1658, when, as Mr. Grey Skipwith, he was granted 900 acres in New Kent Co., VA, which had been granted to Thomas Dale, but deserted, and 10 Jul 1661, when as Sir Grey Skipwith, of Lancaster Co., he granted the same land to his step-daughter, Elizabeth Kempe. Therefore, by 10 Jul 1661, he had married Edmund Kempe’s widow, Ann, and was administrator of her deceased husband’s estate. Two deeds presented to the Middlesex Co., VA court on 5 Sep 1687 mention Sir William Skipwith’s land (Middlesex Co., VA Deed Book 2, pp. 296–304. Middlesex Co. was formed in 1669 from Lancaster Co.). Evidently, Sir Grey Skipwith’s estate was entailed, as Dame Ann Skipwith is always mentioned as acting on behalf of her son, and not as an administratrix or executor; had there been another heir, at the very least VA law required an intestate estate. This proves that William Skipwith, who inherited the baronetcy, was Sir Grey Skipwith’s only child. Sir William Skipwith was appointed Sheriff of Middlesex Co. in 1699 and served as a justice. He married Sarah Peyton, and died ca. 1736, leaving a will in Middlesex Co. He was eventually succeeded by his second son, William.
The Thomas Carter Prayer Book records that:
["Thomas son of Thomas was Born on the 4th Day June 1672 Betw'n 3 & 4 oclock in ye Morng and was Bapzd att ye new Church Augt 5th Capt: John Lee - Mr Th: Hayne ye Lady Ann Skipworth & Eliza Dale godparents." (Transcription by author.)]
No description of Diana Skipwith exists. Her marriage to Edward Dale appears to have been unhappy.
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We are as a River
Winding its great course,
The “mortal coil”
Now past, unwound
Returned anew.
And upon this endless thread
We are borne
To remain true among the few.
Child by child and chain by chain, these people are a living link to history. Canned books of pedigrees conceal their flaws and omit their virtues.
[Descent from a Plantagenet or Anglo-Saxon monarch doesn't entitle the descendant to any honors in the United Kingdom. Most present-day peers are descendants of Tudor or Stuart era (and later) creations, though they would find earlier monarchs and peers among their ancestors.]
