The Fitzwilliams of Yorkshire
Introduction
The
FitzWilliam family is of particular interest to me for two reasons:
1) F_1898_04_Lonsdale_Recollections_1 (written by Lucy Lonsdale in 1894) in the Family Archive speaks of a long-lost pedigree involving the Fitzwilliams:
The lost pedigree began in the reign of Edward the 3rd. It professed to trace the descent of my Father
John Lonsdale (Bishop of Lichfield) through his mother,
Elizabeth Lonsdale, born Steer.
In the course of the pedigree the names
Fitzwilliam,
Clarell and
Gylby appear, and the arms of these three families with
Lonsdale, appear as Quarterings on the coat of arms and seal. I do not know at what date Fitzwilliam and Clarell came in. Fitzwilliam is the Ld. F.W. [Lonsdale Fitzwilliam] family. The first Clarell came over with William the Conqueror and had estates given him by the Conqueror in Yorkshire. I believe the family of Clarell is extinct.
The point where the FitzWilliams enters our tree here is quite high up: Elizabeth Fitzwilliam married George Gylby in 1584.
2) L_1946_Turner_Bryans (written by James Gibbon Turner) mentions the Fitzwilliams in relation to an entirely different branch of the tree (the Turners):
I can warn you not to indulge in family research – it is endless and may be expensive if you seek the help of the College of Arms! But with the help of another cousin Professor Lewis (Naval history at the RN College Greenwich) I find that by using the distant [?] we can claim descent from the Conqueror himself as well as Duncan I of Scotland.
The line comes down through:
- FitzWilliam – 13 or 14 generations
- Bosvile – 3 generations
- Whichcotes - 1 generation
- Worthington - 1 generation
The link into our tree here is Maude Fitzwilliam who married William Bosville of Ardsley.
Thus with two different family letters talking about the same family, my interest was piqued and I started to see how far back we can get.
However, the family is very ancient and so records are contradictory and myth sometimes overshadows reality.
Based on quite a host of sources, I managed to piece together a tree that looks (to me) to be internally consistent and to be in agreement where possible with all the sources. The ultimate aim, of course,
being to tie in the two references made above (i.e. to Elizabeth FitzWilliam / George Gylby and to Maude FitzWilliam and William Bosvile).
Combined pedigree
Based on a review of all the available sources (see sections below) the resulting tree for the FitzWilliam family that I end up with is as follows:
The FitzWilliams of Yorkshire as They Relate to My Family Tree
1A. Ketelborn (b. c. 1080/90; fl. 1135)
2A. Godric (b. c. 1110/15)
3A. William FitzGodric (b. c. 1140; d. by 1194) m. c. 1169 Aubrey de Lisours (b. c. 1131/2)
4A. William FitzWilliam (b. c. 1170; fl. 1217) m Ela de Warenne
5A. Thomas Fitzwilliam (b. bef 1205) m. Agnes Bertram
6A. William FitzThomas (d. by 1294) m. Agnes Metham and/or Agnes Grey
7A. William Fitzwilliam (d. by 1342) m. Maud (d. by 1324) and secondly Isobel Deincourt (d. by 1348)
8A. John Fitzwilliam (d. 1349 by Black Death) m. Joan Reresby
9A. John Fitzwilliam (b. 1327; d. by 1385) m. Elizabeth Clinton (fl. 1400)
10A. William Fitzwilliam (b. c. 1352; d. bef. 1398; ancestor of Earls Fitzwilliam) m. Maude Cromwell (fl. 1418)
11A. John Fitzwilliam (b. c. 1377; d. 5 July 1417) m. Eleanor Green
12A. Maude/Matilda Fitzwilliam m. William Bosville of Ardley
Bringing us to the first intersection (the Turner letter above)
10B. Edmund Fitzwilliam (b. 1360, d. 5 Feb 1430, ancestor of Earls of Southampton) m. Matilda Hotham (d. 17 May 1443)
11B. Edmund Fitzwilliam (b. est. 1390s; d. 24 Dec. 1465) m. Catherine Clifton (d. 14 Mar 1434)
12B. Richard Fitzwilliam of Wadworth and later Aldwarke (b. est. 1410s; d. 22 Sept. 1479) m. Elizabeth Clarell
13B1. Thomas Fitzwilliam of Aldwarke m. Lucy Nevill
13B2. Edward Fitzwilliam (b. est. 1440s) m. Alice Westby
14B2. Humphrey Fitzwilliam (b. est. 1470s; d. 28 Oct 1556) m. Anne Dalyson (b. est. 1470s; d. June 1558)
15B2. Charles Fitzwilliam of Saundby (b. est. 1510s) m. Mary Littlebury
16B2. Elizabeth Fitzwilliam (b. betw. 1550 and 1563; d. betw. 1631 and 1640) m. 29 Aug. 1584 George Gylby of Stainton (b. betw. 1550 and 1563; d. 8 Mar. 1608/9)
Sources used
Burke's Peerage (BP)
Burke's Genealogical and Heraldic History of the Peerage, Baronetage and Knightage, 99th Edition (London, 1949)
Page 769 covers the Earl Fitzwilliam and notes the following succession from top down:
2A. Godric
3A. William Fitzgodrick m. Aubreye de Lizour
4A. William Fitzwilliam
5A. Thomas Fitzwilliam m. Agnes Bertram
6A. William Fitzthomas
6A* William Fitzwilliam
6A* Sir William Fitzwilliam of Sprotborough m. Agnes Grey
7A. Sir William Fitzwilliam m. Maud Deincourt
8 This generation is not mentioned at all, whether by accident or intentionally is unclear
9A. Sir John Fitzwilliam m. Elizabeth Clinton
10A. Sir William Fitzwilliam m. Maud Cromwell
11A. Sir John Fitzwilliam of Sprotborough (d. 1418) m. Eleanor Green
The line continues but is no longer relevant for our purposes.
Burke's Extinct Peerage (BEP)
A Genealogical History of the Dormant, Abeyant, Forfeited and Extinct Peerages of the British Empire (New Edition), by Sir John Bernard Burke, London, 1866
Page 216 covers the extinct Earldom of Southampton. It notes the following succession (from top down):
3A. William FitzGodrick
4A. Sir William FitzWilliam
...unspecified # of generations
6A. Sir William Fitzwilliam m. Agnes Grey
7A. Sir William Fitzwilliam m. Maud Deincourt
8A. Sir John Fitzwilliam m. Joan Reresby
9A. Sir John Fitzwilliam m. Elizabeth Clinton
10B. Edmond Fitzwilliam, grandfather of 13B [but actually great-grandfather, or else 10B has been confused with 11B who was also called Edmund - see FW below)
11B. un-named
12B. un-named
13B1. Sir Thomas Fitzwilliam of Aldwarke (m. Lucy Nevill)
The line continues but is no longer relevant for our purposes.
Baildon and the Baildons (B&B)
Baildon and the Baildons; a history of a Yorkshire manor and family, by William Paley Baildon, 1912
Chapter 11 (p. 343+) covers the Fitzwilliams of Emley and Sprotborough. It starts with:
The pedigree usually begins with William FitzGodric, but an earlier ancestor can be distinctly proved.
A clumsy and impossible invention of Elizabethan times makes William FitzGodric a cousin to Edward the Confessor, sends his son, William Fitzwilliam, to Normandy on an embassy to Duke William, and brings him back to fight agsinst his kith and kin at Hastings, the Marshal of the Conqueror's army, and the pitifullest kind of traitor. For his gallant conduct in slaying his countrymen, the Conqueror is said to have given him a scarf from his own arm, which scarf is still preserved at Milton, where it is used at all family christenings, with great pomp and ceremony.
The most casual comparison of dates is sufficient to disprove the story, while the fact that in the numerous FitzWilliam wills of the 15th and 16th centuries no reference is made to what would have been, if it existed, a most precious heirloom, is strong negative evidence that the scarf was then unknown.
The pedigree is then given as follows:
1A. Ketelborn (of Anglo-Scandinavian descent, given the name), born c. 1080/1090. "I can see no reason to doubt that he was a descendant of the pre-Conquest owner of Emley, though there is no positive evidence of it. Domesday merely states that the soke of three carucates in Emley belonged to the manor of Wakefield". Ketelborn was living in 1135.
2A. Godric FitzKetelborn (b. c. 1110-1115). Note that a Godric son of Chetelbert occurs in the Pipe Roll but the author thinks them distinct people.
3A. William FitzGodrick (b. c. 1140) m. c. 1169/70 Aubrey de Lisours (b. c. 1131/1132)
He [William] must have been considerably younger than his wife, but dowagers of fairly mature age have married young men even in our times. She was, at any rate, not too old to bear him a son...The lady thus described as 'the mother of John the Constable' [i.e. William's wife] is a very well known person, Aubrey, daughter and heiress of Robert de Lisours. Robert was the son of Fulk de Lisours, the Domesday tenant, who held several manors under Roger de Busli, including Sprotborough, Adwick-le-Street, and Billingley, near Barnsley.
Robert de Lisours married Aubrey, Latinised as Albreda, de Lacy, concerning whom a serious error has got into print. Robert de Lacy or Lasey, lord of Pontefract, son of Ilbert, the Domesday tenant, had four children, Ilbert II, Henry, Walter and Aubrey. Ilbert, the eldest son, died without issue, it is believed about 1140/1 ; be was an adberent of King Stephen, and was probably killed at the Battle of Lincoln, February 2, 1140/1, or died soon afterwards, a prisoner of war. The next brother, Henry, after an interval of some years, was restored to his brother's possessions; he married Aubrey, daughter of Eustace de Vesci, and died in 1187, leaving an only child, Robert II, who died without issue about 1193-4. Walter, the third brother, was killed at the Battle of the Standard in 1138. Aubrey, the sister, married Robert de Lisours.
Hunter made a most unfortunate blunder, and confused her with her sister-in-law. He says that Robert de Lisours "made an illustrious marriage with the widow of Henry de Laci, the lord of Pontefract, grandson of Ilbert de Laci, founder of tbe castle and honour of Pontefract. She had one son when Lizours took her to wife, namely, Robert de Laci, who died in 1193, and was the last of the old line of Laci .... By the widow ot Laci, Robert de Lizours had one daughter only, who was thus half-sister, ex parte matris, to the last of the Lacis, and who lived tobe bis heir, as well as the heir of the paternal line. Her name was Albreda. The birth of this great lady may be referred to about the vear 1130.". Five years after Hunter had printed this statement he himself demonstrated its incorrectness; but the mischief was done, and the error has found its way into numerous works.
4A. William FitzWilliam (b. c. 1170/1)
1211, Michaelmas Term. — William son of William son of Godric claimed a carucate of land in Hopton against Alexander de Crevequer; he said that Ketelborn, his ancestor, was seised thereof on the day of the death of King Henry, the King's grandfather [December 1, 1135], and from Ketelborn it descended to Godric, and from Godric to William, and from William to the plaintiff, his son. Alexander put himself on the great assize, whether he had the better right to hold the land in demesne, or William to hold it of him. The case had not been tried by Trinity Term 1213. Alexander de Crevequer must have died soon afterwards, and the suit was continued against his grandson and coheir, Alexander de Neville...
1218-9, February 9. — Fine between William FitzWilliam, plaintiff, and Alexander de Neville, tenant, of a carucate of land in Hopton, which William admitted to be the right of Alexander. Alexander granted to William one third of it, to hold to William and his heirs, of Alexander and his heirs, doing forinsec service only, and also all his claim to the advowson of a fourth part of the church of Heton [Kirkheaton]. William released all his right to a carucate of land in Mirefeud [Mirrield], belonging to a messuage lying to the north of the castle of Mirefeud, which he had claimed against Alexander in the Constable of Chester's Court at Pontefract.
5A. Sir Thomas Fitzwilliam, of age by 1226 (so b. c. 1205) when he received a grant of land from his grandmother Aubrey de Lisours. Still living in 1253 when he had a grant of free-warren in Emley, Woodhall and Barnbrough. Married Agnes Bertram.
6A. Sir William FitzThomas of Emley (d. by 1294) m. Agnes Metham
7A. Sir William Fitzwilliam of Emley and Sprotborough married Maude (dead by 1324), then m. before Oct 1324 Isabel Deincourt (d. by 1348). It's possible that Maude was also a Deincourt. Dead by 1342.
7A* Sir William Fitzwilliam hanged at Pontefract 22 Mar 1322
8A. Sir John Fitzwilliam (d. 10 Aug 1349, probably of Black Death) m. Joan de Reresby.
The inquisition as to his Yorkshire property was held August 4, 1350. He died seised of the manors of of Darthyngton [Darrington], Emley and Sprotborough, and of a tenement in Dalton [probably Dalton
in the parish of Kirkheaton]; the capital messuages of the three manors are stated to be ruinous, and all the lands are described as lying waste for lack of tenants, owing to the pestilence. John, his son and heir, was aged 22 years and 6 months.
9A. Sir John Fitzwilliam, born Feb 1327, m. Elizabeth Clinton (alive in 1400). Dead by 1385.
10A. Sir William Fitzwilliam, born c. 1352 and m. bef. 1377 Maude Cromwell (alive in 1418). He died 8 April 1398
11A. Sir John Fitzwilliam, b. July 25 1377 said to have m. Eleanor Green (though no evidence of the marriage was found)
12A. Maude Fitzwilliam who married William Bosville of Ardsley
Note that this places Maude a generation older than seen at
Stirnet, though the latter has apparently not used this source and appears to be hesitant about which generation to put her in.
Cockayne's Complete Peerage (TCP)
The Complete Peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain and the United Kingdom, Extand, Extinct or Dormant (2nd Edition, 1926)
Pages 518-520 cover the Fitzwilliams of Yorkshire, as follows:
The family of FitzWilliam, notwithstanding the Norman form of the name, is certainly of Anglian or Scandinavian descent. The story of William FitzGodric, cousin to Edward the Confessor, and his son William FitzWilliam, "Ambassador at the court of William, Duke of Normandy" and Marshal of the Norman army at Hastings, is obviously mythical, as is the story of the Conqueror's scarf, even if the scarf is to be seen today.
There are a lot of similarities between the text in TCP and the text in B&B, indicating that one used the other as a reference. This source is helpful in providing many more dates. It also disagrees with BEP and BP in that 7A William Fitzwilliam is stated not to have married Maud Deincourt, but Maude of an unknown family, and secondly Isabel Deincourt.
1A. Ketelborn
2A. Godric (born c. 1110-1115)
3A. William FitzGodrick (b. c. 1140, d. by 1194) m. c. 1169/70 Aubrey de Lisours
4A. William Fitzwilliam (b. c. 1175, fl. 1218/9)
5A. Thomas Fitzwilliam of Emley (fl. 1253)
6A. William Fitzthomas (d. by 1294)
7A. Wlliam Fitzwilliam d. by 1342, m. a) Maude (d. by 1324) b) Isabel Deincourt (d. 1348 sp)
8A. John Fitzwilliam d. 10 Aug 1349 m. Joan de Reresby
9A. John Fitzwilliam b. 1327 d. 1385 m. Elizabeth Clinton
10A. William Fitzwilliam d 8 Apr 1398 m. Maude Cromwell
11A. Sir John Fitzwilliam (d. 5 July 1417) and said to have married Eleanor Green
10B Edmund ancestor of Earls of Southampton [see BEP above]
Fitzwilliam Missal (FW)
The Earls Fitzwilliam of England was very helpful in steering me towards the Fitzwilliam Missal.
The sources above are all helpful for the upper part of the tree, but to get me down to the Gylbys I need to dive down in to a continuation for the Fitzwilliams of Aldwarke. One such is given in
The Illuminated Manuscripts in the Library of the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge, by William George Searle (1876)
This Missal was written for the use of the Fitzwilliam family of Sprotborough, Yorkshire, in the second half of the xvth century.
On the second page are the Fitzwilliam arms, beneath which are seen kneeling Richard Fitzwilliam and Elizabeth his wife, arms being also embroidered on the surcoat of the former and on the kirtle and mantle of the latter.
...The date of the execution of this Missal seems to be about 1470, as the death of Edmund, son of Edmund Fitzwilliam, in 1465, is inserted in a contemporary hand, while that of Richard Fitzwilliam the first possessor, who died in 1479, is in a later.
Very helpfully, a genealogical tree is then provided which helps link the older trees given in the sources above.
9A. John Fitzwilliam m. Elizabeth Clinton
10A. William Fitzwilliam ->Earls Fitzwilliam
10B. Edmund Fitzwilliam (d. 5 Feb 1430, bur. Wadworth) m. Matilda Hotham (d. 17 May 1443)
11B. Edmund Fitzwilliam (d. 24 Dec 1465, bur. Wadworth) m. Catherine Clifton (d. 14 Mar 1434, bur. Wadworth)
12B. Richard Fitzwilliam (d. 22 Sept 1479) m. Elizabeth Clarell (d. 24 Dec 1502)
The pedigree continues, but annoyingly omits the Edward son of Richard who falls in our tree. Interestingly, and in conflict with BEP, there are two generations of Edmunds here (10B and 11B), so BEP when stating that Edmund was the grandfather of Richard must have confused one of the two generations.
A little additional/different info on this last Richard Fitzwilliam is found in our next source:
Pedigrees of the County Families of Yorkshire (CFY)
Pedigrees of The County Families of Yorkshire, Compiled by Joseph Foster, Volume II (West Riding); London 1874
So whilst the important first volume is not available online, we do find fragments of the Fitzwilliam pedigree here in Volume 2, under the pedigree of Reygate of Steveton
12B. Richard Fitzwilliam (d. 1478, bur. at Tickhill) of Aldwark and Steveton in right of his wife m. Elizabeth Clarell only daughter and heiress of Thomas Clarell (d. 23 Apr 1503, bur. Austin Friars, Tickhill)
Note the discrepancies in dates here compared to FW.
To really pass down into the part of the Fitzwilliam tree that is relevant for our purposes, we move to our final source:
Lincolnshire Pedigrees (LP)
Lincolnshire Pedigrees, Rev. Canon AR Maddison, Vol 1 (1902)
This work starts with Richard Fitzwilliam who married Elizabeth Clarell and continues down as far as one of the two ultimate targets I mentioned in the introduction: Elizabeth Fitzwilliam who married George Gilby.
12B. Richard Fitzwilliam (d. 1478) m. Elizabeth Clarell
13B2. Edward Fitzwilliam m. Alice Westby
14B. Humphrey Fitzwilliam of Clayworth (d. 28 Oct 1556) m. Anne Dalyson
15B. Charles Fitzwilliam of Saundby m. Mary Littlebury
16B. Elizabeth Fitzwilliam m. 1st George Gilby of Stainton-le-Hole and 2nd Richard Bolle
Outstanding questions
- Did 6A William FitzThomas marry Agnes Grey or Agnes Metham, or both, or were those two people the same person?
- Did 7A William FitzWilliam marry Maud Deincourt, or Maud somethingelse, and/or Isabel Deincourt?
Miscellaneous
A descriptive catalogue of the manuscripts in the Fitzwilliam Museum notes the following miscellaneous births and deaths:
January Memorandum quod in festo S. Hillarii, anno regni regis Henrici sexti xxvi° [1448] natus fuit Thomas ffitzwilliam apud Wadworth, filius primogenitus Ricardi ffitzwilliam militis.
This is probably 13B1
Feb 2. Natiutas Elizabethe ffitzwilliam iunioris a° dom. M° CCCC. lxxii° [1472]
TBD
Feb 5. Mem. quod v° die feebr. obitt Edmundus ffitzwilliam, a.d. M° CCCC° xxx° [1430]
This is 10B.
Feb 5. Obitus Thome Clarell et Elizabeth vxoris sexta feria in 1111or temporum quadragesime
This looks like Thomas Clarell and his wife Elizabeth (Scrope), parents of Elizabeth who married 12B. But the 1111 date is confusing because it's wrong - Thomas Clarell died in 1442.
Mar 8. Obitus Elizabeth Clarell
Wife of 12B. Shame no year is given.
Mar 14. Obitus Katherine vxoris Edmundi ffitzwilliam et ffile Johannis Clyfton Militis a.d. M° cccc° xxxiiii° [1434]
This is Catherine, wife of 11B.
May 1. Obitus Thome Clarell et Mtildis vxoris sue
This is Thomas Clarell and Matilda Montgomery, grandparents of Elizabeth wife of 12B
May 17. Obitus domine Matilde Strother ffilia (sic) Johannis Hothom Militis a.d. M° cccc° xxxiii° [1433]
Matila Struthers, daughter of John Hotom (soldier). No idea.
Sep. 22. Obitus domini Ricardi ffitzwilliam Militis a.d. M° cccc° lxxix° [1479]
This is 12B.
Dec. 24. Mem. quod xxiiii° die Decembr. obiit Edmundus filius Edmundi ffitzwilliam a.d. M° cccc° lx° v° [1465]
This is 11B.
