I've written articles on a few ancestors. If you'd like further information about the people behind the names, hopefully my articles will be a great starting point.
Articles on Henry VIII:
The Cruelty of Henry VIII
Biography: Henry VIII
Lady Margaret Beaufort:
Biography: Lady Margaret Beaufort
Anne of Brittany:
Biography: Anne of Brittany
More article postings will follow in due course.
Until then, adieu.
The past is alive; the dead have a voice inside each of us.
Showing posts with label England. Show all posts
Showing posts with label England. Show all posts
Saturday, August 15, 2009
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Ancestor Spotlight: Matilda of Flanders
Quick Facts
Name: Matilda of Flanders
Lifetime: 1031-November 2, 1083
Height: 4'2" (127cm)
Interesting Fact: England's shortest queen ever.
Spouse: William the Conqueror
Anecdote: Thought she was too highly born to marry William, who was of less than reputable birth. So, he smacked her around a bit until she agreed to marry him.
How she's related to me: She's my 30th great-grandma (meaning she's my great grandma, thirty generations back). Her descendants married into the de Warrenes, whom I mentioned in my previous post.
Mary Warren, my closest ancestor bearing the Warren name, married Thomas Burgess in Orange County Virginia in 1735. My descent from them is as follows:
Mary Warren m. Thomas Burgess
Nancy Burgess m. William Stuart
Agnes Stuart m. Henry Burch
Agnes Jane Burch m. John Newton Bell
Canarisa "Caney" Louisa Bell m. Miles Glenn Alley
Mary Agnes Alley m. Bobby Happle Ramsey
Glenn Newton Ramsey m. Ida Ellen Renaud-Cole and produced my grandmother
What's interesting is: the females in my family have all been short and I have to wonder if it has anything to do with Matilda of Flanders' genes. After all, at 5'5" (165cm) I'm the tallest female of the bunch on that side (my mom's side). Granted, my dad is also a descendant of William and Matilda (but that's a different story).
Name: Matilda of Flanders
Lifetime: 1031-November 2, 1083
Height: 4'2" (127cm)
Interesting Fact: England's shortest queen ever.
Spouse: William the Conqueror
Anecdote: Thought she was too highly born to marry William, who was of less than reputable birth. So, he smacked her around a bit until she agreed to marry him.
How she's related to me: She's my 30th great-grandma (meaning she's my great grandma, thirty generations back). Her descendants married into the de Warrenes, whom I mentioned in my previous post.
Mary Warren, my closest ancestor bearing the Warren name, married Thomas Burgess in Orange County Virginia in 1735. My descent from them is as follows:
Mary Warren m. Thomas Burgess
Nancy Burgess m. William Stuart
Agnes Stuart m. Henry Burch
Agnes Jane Burch m. John Newton Bell
Canarisa "Caney" Louisa Bell m. Miles Glenn Alley
Mary Agnes Alley m. Bobby Happle Ramsey
Glenn Newton Ramsey m. Ida Ellen Renaud-Cole and produced my grandmother
What's interesting is: the females in my family have all been short and I have to wonder if it has anything to do with Matilda of Flanders' genes. After all, at 5'5" (165cm) I'm the tallest female of the bunch on that side (my mom's side). Granted, my dad is also a descendant of William and Matilda (but that's a different story).
Monday, June 22, 2009
John Alley's Father
As I mentioned in the welcome post, I've had to redo my family tree (which was comprised of decades of work from my family and distant cousins -- as well as the extensive work I did myself). I've got several branches back and then I've hit the brick walls I'd previously hit all those years ago.
The Alley Family
I wanted to link their website here, but I can't find it for the life of me. *sighs*
Anyway, everyone who's an Alley knows that our common ancestor is John Alley.
John Alley was born in 1460, most likely in Buckinghamshire, England. He married a woman named Agnes and had three children, from what I remember. The only child of his I have listed for John and Agnes is my ancestor William Alley, who was Mayor of Great Wycombe (or Wickham or Wicomb or any other alternate spelling).
John Alley's death is always listed as "after August 11 1506", which means that he was mentioned in an official document (or something of that nature) -- probably his own will -- on that date. What's known about his death is that he was buried in the churchyard of the Chapel of Our Blessed Lady Wicomb.
Who's John's Daddy?
What's interesting about John is that he's the deadend of the Alley line: no one knows for sure who his father is. Through my research, I've come up with two likely candidates who were both born roughly thirty years before John.
The first was Willelmus Alley. Sources are divided as to whether this man was born in Bucks or Brittany France. But if he was born in Bucks, that would make him extremely likely to be John Alley's father or some other close male relative, at least.
Then there is John d'Alee or John de L'Aly -- or any number of variant/similar spellings. He was also born in the 1430's and he was born in Brittany, France. What makes him likely is that it seems that his surname would be the continental original spelling of Alley. Another thing that's obvious is: his name is John. Medieval people often named their children after themselves.
The Daddy Question
So who's the father? That's what I want to know, because if we knew for certain, we could finally trace the Alley line prior to the 1400's.
What I'm looking for right now is details about the early Alleys. Any definitive evidence or even clues would be a major help in tracing them back further. I really think we can solve who the father is if we all put our heads together.
Are you an Alley?
If you have an Alley in your family tree and you're not sure whether or not you're descended from my line of Alleys, let me know and we can see if we find any common names between your line and mine. I'm a pretty recent Alley descendant. My great-greatgrandma's maiden name was Alley, so I'm fairly confident we can find a connection.
Oh, and by the way: Most Alleys are cousins to the actress Kirstie Alley. She's my 7th cousin, once removed -- some people are related even closer. Kirstie's genealogy can be found on the Alley homepage. If anyone finds it, definitely link me!
The Alley Family
I wanted to link their website here, but I can't find it for the life of me. *sighs*
Anyway, everyone who's an Alley knows that our common ancestor is John Alley.
John Alley was born in 1460, most likely in Buckinghamshire, England. He married a woman named Agnes and had three children, from what I remember. The only child of his I have listed for John and Agnes is my ancestor William Alley, who was Mayor of Great Wycombe (or Wickham or Wicomb or any other alternate spelling).
John Alley's death is always listed as "after August 11 1506", which means that he was mentioned in an official document (or something of that nature) -- probably his own will -- on that date. What's known about his death is that he was buried in the churchyard of the Chapel of Our Blessed Lady Wicomb.
Who's John's Daddy?
What's interesting about John is that he's the deadend of the Alley line: no one knows for sure who his father is. Through my research, I've come up with two likely candidates who were both born roughly thirty years before John.
The first was Willelmus Alley. Sources are divided as to whether this man was born in Bucks or Brittany France. But if he was born in Bucks, that would make him extremely likely to be John Alley's father or some other close male relative, at least.
Then there is John d'Alee or John de L'Aly -- or any number of variant/similar spellings. He was also born in the 1430's and he was born in Brittany, France. What makes him likely is that it seems that his surname would be the continental original spelling of Alley. Another thing that's obvious is: his name is John. Medieval people often named their children after themselves.
The Daddy Question
So who's the father? That's what I want to know, because if we knew for certain, we could finally trace the Alley line prior to the 1400's.
What I'm looking for right now is details about the early Alleys. Any definitive evidence or even clues would be a major help in tracing them back further. I really think we can solve who the father is if we all put our heads together.
Are you an Alley?
If you have an Alley in your family tree and you're not sure whether or not you're descended from my line of Alleys, let me know and we can see if we find any common names between your line and mine. I'm a pretty recent Alley descendant. My great-greatgrandma's maiden name was Alley, so I'm fairly confident we can find a connection.
Oh, and by the way: Most Alleys are cousins to the actress Kirstie Alley. She's my 7th cousin, once removed -- some people are related even closer. Kirstie's genealogy can be found on the Alley homepage. If anyone finds it, definitely link me!
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