...cabin porn

...character

Scottish Viking connection...

Kvenland was the name given to the country now known as Finland and some of the surrounding areas. Little is known of the early kings of Kvenland except their names and the dates of their birth. King Fornjotur was the first Kvenland king born in 160 and died in 250. The people of Kvenland also mixed with the Scottish people in the northern Orkney Islands.

According to the Orkneyinga Saga, "There was a king called Fornjotur who ruled over Finland and Kvenland, the countries stretching to the east of what we call the Gulf of Bothnia, which lies opposite the White Sea. Fornjotur had three sons, Hler (whom we also call AEgir), a second called Logi and a third, Kari, the father of Frosti, who was in turn the father of Snaer the Old, the father of Thorri. He had two sons, Nor and Gor and a duaghter, Goi." According to legend, Fornjotur was also the father of Karl, Hlessey, and Gmir. Nor founded Norway (Nor's way) and Gor was known as the "Sea King". Goi was abducted by Hrolf of Bjard, son of the giant Svadi. Nor challenged Hrolf for the return of his sister and the battle ended with Nor getting Hrolf's sister for his wife and Hrolf keeping Goi as his wife. The Orkneyinga Saga goes on to say, "Earl Rognvald campaigned with King Harald Fine Hair who gave him charge of North More, South More and Romsdale. Earl Rognvald married Ragnhild, the daughter of Hrolf Nose, and it was their son, Hrolf, who conquered Normandy. This Hrolf was so big that no horse could carry him, which is why he was given the name Gongu-Hrolf. The earls of Rouen and the kings of England are descended from him."

Kings of Kvenland

King Fornjotur Kvenland b. 160 Finland, d. 250 Finland

Children:

Karl Fornjotur Kvenland

King Kari Fornjotursson Kvenland

Logi Fornjotursson Kvenland

Hlessey Fornjotursson Kvenland

Hler Fornjotursson Kvenland

King Kari Fornjotur Kvenland b. 185 Finland, d. 209 Finland

Children:

Frosti Karasson Kvenland

King Frosti Karasson Kvenland b. 210 Finland, d. 239 Finland

Children:

Siokul Frostasson Kvenland

Snaer Jokulsson Kvenland

King Jokull Frostasson Kvenland b. 240 Finland, d. 274 Finland

Children:

Snaer Jokulsson Kvenland b. 275 Finland, d. 301 Raumsdal, Norway

Thorri Snaersson Kvenland b. 320 Raumsdal, Norway, d. 344 Raumsdal, Norway

Gorr Thorasson Kvenland b. 365 Raumsdal, Norway, d. 418 Raumsdal, Norway

Heytir Gorrsson Kvenland b. 425 Raumsdal, Norway, d. 499 Raumsdal, Norway

Svidri Heytsson Kvenland b. 600 Raumsdal, Norway, d. 649 Norway

Sveidi Svidrasson Kvenland b. 650 Raumsdal, Norway, d. 699 Raumsdal, Norway

Halfdan Sveidasson Kvenland b. 700 Oppland, Norway, d. 749 Oppland, Norway

Ivar Halfdansson Kvenland b. 770 Oppland, Norway, d. 824 Oppland, Norway

Eystein Glumra Ivarsson b. 800 Maer, Nord, Norway, d. 846 Maer, Nord, Norway

Rognvald I. Eysteinsson b. 830 Maer, Nord, Norway, d. 890 Orkney Islands, Scotland

Einar Rognvaldsson b. 852 Maer, Nord, Norway, d. Orkney Islands, Scotland

Thorfinn I Einarsson b. 890 Orkney Islands, Scotland, d. Mound, Hoxa, Scotland

Hlodver Thorfinnsson b. 924 Orkney, Scotland, d. 988 Hofn, Caithness, Scotland

Sigurd Hlodversson b. 960 Orkney, Scotland, d. 23 April 1013 Battle Clontarf, Dublin, Ireland

Brusi Sigurdsson b. 987 Orkney, Scotland, d. 1031 Orkney Islands, Scotland

Ragnvald Brusesson b. 1011 Orkney, Scotland, d. Dec. 1046 Papa Stronsay, Orkney Islands, Scotland

Robert De Brusse b. 1036 Carrick, Argyllshire, Scotland, d. 1031 Annan, Dumfries, Scotland

Adam Brus b. 1051 Carrick, Argyllshire, Scotland, d. 1081 Skelton Castle, Yorkshire, England

Robert Brus b. 1071 Skelton Castle, Yorkshire, England, d. 11 May 1141 Skelton, Yorkshire, England

Robert Brus b. 1103 Annandale, Dumfrieshire, Scotland, d. 1190 Annandale, Dumfrieshire, Scotland

William De Bruce b. 1142 Annandal, Dumfrieshire, Scotland, d. 1215 Annandale, Dumfrieshire, Scotland

Robert De Bruce b. 1164 Annandal, Dumfrieshire, Scotland, d. 1245 Saltre Abbey, Stilton, England

Robert Bruce b. 1210 Annandal, Dumfrieshire, Scotland, d. 1295 Priory, Lochmaben, Dumfrieshire, Scotland

Robert Bruce (6th Lord of Annandale) b. 1243 Annandal, Dumfrieshire, Scotland, d. 1304 Palestine, Jerusalem, Israel Married Marjorie Carrick b. 1255 Carrick, Soctland, d. 1292 Argyll, Scotland

Robert the Bruce, King of Scotland, b. 11 July, 1274, d. 7 June, 1329, first and eldest child of Robert Bruce, 6th Lord of Annandale and Marjorie Carrick. 1295 he married his first wife, Isabella of Mar and they had one child, Marjorie Bruce, who later married Walter Stewart and their child was the future Robert II of Scotland. In 1302 he married his second wife, Elizabeth de Burgh and the had the following children: David II, John, Matilda and Margaret. In 1316 he was also crowned King of Ireland and stated, "Whereas we and you and our people and your people, free since ancient times, share the same national ancestry and are urged to come together more eagerly and joyfully in friendship by a common language and by common custom, we have sent you our beloved kinsman, the bearers of this letter, to negotiate with you in our name and permanently strengthening and maintaining inviolate the special friendship between us and you, so that with God's will our nation (nostra nacio) may be able to recover her ancient liberty." In 1314 King Robert the Bruce secured independence from the British in the Battle of Bannockburn. He is buried at Dunfermline Abbey in Scotland.

The Vikings Ships and the Sea

So much were the ships a part of their self-image that the Vikings decorated and caparisoned each longship to display wealth, rank and power, at once impressing their friends and allies and awing their enemies. However much he loved fighting and warships, the Viking lived on the sea for many other reasons as well, and devised vessels to match his needs. When he turned his genius for design and construction from warships to ships for long-distance trade and exploration, and eventually for emigration to the farthest reaches of the ocean, he produced a boat equally extraordinary; stouter and sturdier, designed to brave the worst seas in search of landfalls far beyond any other Westerners’ wildest dreams.

That the Vikings succeeded in these epic voyages was attributable not only to their magnificent blue-water sailing vessels. They were superlative navigators as well— venturing boldly out to explore the unknown, and then repeating their voyages almost casually, with a certainty of direction that was nothing short of phenomenal. What lay behind all Viking seafaring was the Norseman’s instinct for the sea, a sense that seemed uncanny to the landsman, but it was in reality a prodigious body of hard-earned knowledge accumulated throughout centuries of nautical life.

The Viking drew great meaning from the look of cloud formations, from changes in winds and wave patterns, from ocean currents and ground swells, from sea fogs, water colors and temperatures. He could read information from the habits of sea birds, was alert to the over-water migration of certain land birds, and tracked the movements of fish and whales that came down from the north. A seasoned Viking navigator could tell when he was approaching the Faroe Islands by the swell building up over the banks surrounding the group. He would know he was nearing Greenland because of the abrupt change in the temperature of the water as he entered the polar current, by the pronounced change in the water’s color from ocean blue to green, and by the occasional presence of drift ice.

The Vikings were masters of the relentless currents that swirled around in the North Atlantic and arctic waters. The Norwegian Current surged powerfully up the coast of Norway toward the Lofoten Islands, tending to carry ships in its path speedily toward Iceland. From Iceland, ships setting a westward course were carried along by the Irminger Current and then whisked southward by the Greenland Current; finally they were propelled down the coast of North America by the Labrador Current.

Prevailing winds generally helped them on their way as well, blowing northward between Norway and Iceland, and southward between Iceland and Greenland. The elaborately decorated wind vanes mounted on the prows and mastheads of Viking ships testify to the sailors’ keen sensitivity to every errant puff, for it was only by taking full advantage of both the wind and the currents that rapid ocean passages could be made without tragedy.

Viking seafarers employed a primitive celestial navigation to help them measure course and distance. At night, Polaris, the North Star, was the primary heavenly indicator. This star was usually visible overhead, circling tightly around the pole below, and thus a boon beyond price to mariners. On clear nights, it required only a method of determining the angle of Polaris off the bow to determine a rough course. By holding a steady 90 degree angle from Polaris, for example, the Vikings could be sure that they were heading directly east or west. In later years this would be known as latitude sailing, and its ramifications for the Vikings were enormous, particularly on their great western voyages of exploration and trade across hundreds of miles of open ocean.

During the day the sun was the indicator used by the Vikings. To measure the suns values and apply them to navigation, the Vikings devised three ingenious navigational instruments that they called the sun board, the sunstone and the sun shadow board. The sun board appears to have been a bearing dial on which were marked compass points, radiating from a hole in the center. With the help of a pointer mounted on the dial, the Vikings were able to take a course bearing from the sun as it rose in the east or set in the west and to maintain any course simply by checking this crude triangulation each day. From Viking accounts it is known that Norse navigators were accustomed also to taking a sighting at noon when the sun reached the north-south meridian. Thus, although he had no magnetic compass, the Viking could make a reasonably accurate determination of his compass bearings each day.

Under overcast skies or in dense fog, the Viking made use of a remarkable calcite mineral crystal named cordierite, the Norse sunstone, found in Scandinavia and Iceland. When a crystal of cordierite is held at right angles to the plane of polarized light from the sun, the crystal instantly changes from yellow to dark blue. The sunstone was a real boon to Viking seafarers. Even in a thick fog or under a woolen sky, a navigator in mid-ocean could locate the exact position of the invisible sun by rotating a chunk of cordierite until it suddenly turned dark blue. Since it produced the same color change even when the sun was as much as 7 degree below the horizon, the navigator could continue to take sightings after sunset.

The Mason's farm in Elk Horn, Kentucky

I'm in Kentucky now visiting Rosetta and Josh. So much work has gone into this place it's amazing.

I've decided to bring all my blogs together here, so from now on everything from motorcycles and grafitti to bicycles and hiking will be covered here...enjoy

http://xs650traveler.blogspot.com/

http://thebackroadsoflife.blogspot.com/

Tiny Texas Houses

Tiny Texas Houses: Monthly House Spotlight for August 2012

Strange Days...

Guy Guarine De Metz Le Strange, my 25th great grandfather on my father's side won the beautiful Mellette, a damsel at a jousting tournament arranged for by her by her uncle, William Peverel. This was held in the time of William the Conqueror, in 1083 at his Castle Peveril in the Peak of Derbyshire, England, and this is where she was expected to find a suitable husband, to which she replied; "Sire" no knight is there in all the world that I would take for the sake of riches and the honour of this land but if ever I take such a one he shall be handsome and courteous and accomplished and the most valiant of his order in all Christendom. Of riches I make no account, for truly can I say that he is rich who has that which his heart desires" [Mellette, 'The Romance of Fouk le fitz Warine'].

Noblemen eager to win her as their bride together with dowry including the attractive white tower of white town, known as Whittington Castle in Shropshire, came from every corner; Scotland, Wales and France. The two most salubrious guests, Owen Prince of Wales, and Eneas, Prince of Scotland, brought 200 knights along, the Duke of Burgundy outnumbered them with a hundred more. Ydromor, Prince of Galloway came with a modest 150 men, but Guy (Guarine de Metz of France), son of John, Duke of Brittany, (Johan duc de la Petite-Bretagene), came with only a hundred, plus his 9 brothers.

Ultimately, Guy, with his life spared, victoriously claimed his wife, Mellette, whom already expressed her interest in him by sending over her glove. It continues... "Guy remained in England; and conquered, by the force of his sword, many beautiful lands, and so was named Guy le Strange ...."

Step Together by Johnnie Walker

Frankenmummie

Mummies found off the coast of Scotland are Frankenstein-like composites of several corpses, researchers say. This mixing of remains was perhaps designed to combine different ancestries into a single lineage, archaeologists speculated.

The bodies were first unearthed in 2001 during excavations beneath the foundations of an approximately 3,000-year-old house on South Uist, an island in the Outer Hebrides off the west coast of Scotland. The building was one of three roundhouses at Cladh Hallan, a prehistoric village named after a nearby modern graveyard. The site was populated in the Bronze Age from 2200 B.C. to 800 B.C. — scientists were digging here to learn more about this era in Britain, where little was known until recently.

The researchers had found what were apparently the remains of a teenage girl and a 3-year-old child at the site. However, two other bodies looked especially strange — those of a man and a woman found in tight fetal positions as if they had been tightly wrapped up, reminiscent of "mummy bundles" seen in South America and other parts of the world. These bodies were apparently mummified on purpose, the first evidence of deliberate mummification in the ancient Old World outside of Egypt.

Evidence of this mummification lies in how all the bones in both these bodies were still "articulated" or in the same positions as they were in life, revealing that sinew and perhaps skin were still holding them together when they were buried. Carbon dating these remains and their surroundings revealed these bodies were buried up to 600 years after death — to keep bodies from rotting to pieces after such a long time, they must have been intentionally preserved, unlike the bodies of animals also buried at the site, which had been left to decay.

Mineral alterations of the outer layer of the bones suggest they were entombed in acidic surroundings, such as those found in nearby peat bogs. Exposures to such bogs for a year or so would have mummified them, stopping microbes from decomposing the bodies by essentially tanning them in much the same way that animal skin is turned into leather.

Ancient writings suggest that embalming was practiced in prehistoric Europe, not just in Egypt. For instance, ancient Greek philosopher Poseidonius, writing in about 100 B.C., "visited Gaul and recorded that the Celts there embalmed the heads of their victims in cedar oil and kept them in chests," said researcher Mike Parker-Pearson, an archaeologist at the University of Sheffield in England.

Bizarrely, the man's remains were composed of bones from three different people, possessing the torso and limbs of one man, the skull and neck of another, and the lower jaw from a third, possibly a woman.

The researchers made this discovery of his Frankenstein-like nature by analyzing his skeleton — for instance, evidence of arthritis was seen on the vertebrae of the neck, but not on the rest of the spine, revealing these parts came from different bodies. Also, the lower jaw had all its teeth, whereas those of the upper jaw were entirely missing, and the condition of the lower jaw's teeth revealed they once interacted with a full set of teeth in his upper jaw, showing they originally belonged to another man. [Image Gallery: Scanning Mummies for Disease]

To see if the woman's skeleton was also a composite, the researchers analyzed ancient DNA from the skull, lower jaw, right upper arm and right thighbone. This revealed that the lower jaw, arm bone and thighbone all came from different people. Data from the skull was inconclusive. (Oddly, the upper two teeth next to her front teeth had been removed and placed in each hand.)

The first composite was apparently assembled between 1260 B.C. and 1440 B.C., while the second composite was assembled between 1130 B.C. and 1310 B.C. "There is overlap, but the statistical probability is that they were assembled at different times," Parker-Pearson said.

Although one Frankenstein-like mix-up of body parts might be an accident, "the second instance makes this unlikely," Parker-Pearson said.

Mummification apparently took off in Britain about 1500 B.C. "at a time when land ownership — communal rather than private, most likely — was being marked by the construction of large-scale field systems," Parker-Pearson told LiveScience. "Rights to land would have depended on ancestral claims, so perhaps having the ancestors around 'in the flesh' was their prehistoric equivalent of a legal document."

"Merging different body parts of ancestors into a single person could represent the merging of different families and their lines of descent," Parker-Pearson said. "Perhaps this was a prelude to building the row of houses in which numerous different families are likely to have lived."

Harald the Old

Harald the Old, my 43rd great grandfather (6th century, 7th century) only appears by name in Hversu Noregr byggdist, but his father, sons and their descendants played a central role in the politics of Scandinavian legends.

The Skjöldunga saga tells that the same Valdar (i.e. Harald's father) disputed that Rörek, the cousin of Hróarr (Hroðgar) succeeded Hrólfr Kraki (Hroðulf) as the king of the Daner. After the war, Rörek took Zealand, while Valdar took Scania. If based on the same tradition as Hversu Noregr byggdist, Valdar had the right to claim the throne being the son of the former king Hróarr (Hroðgar).

In his Ynglinga saga, Snorri Sturluson wrote that Halfdan the Valiant (i.e. Harald the Old's son) was the father of Ivar Vidfamne. He had a brother who was king Guðröðr of Scania. Guðröðr married Åsa, the daughter of the Swedish king Ingjald Ill-ruler and she made Guðröðr murder Halfdan. Later, she was the cause behind Guðröðr's death as well, and had to escape back to her father. People afterwards called her Åsa Ill-ruler like her father Ingjald.

Halfdan's son Ivar Vidfamne mustered a large army and besieged Ingjald and his daughter at Ræning, whereupon the two committed suicide by burning themselves to death inside the hall.

Whereas Hversu and Ynglinga saga don't inform about Halfdan's mother (i.e. who presumably was Harald's wife), Hervarar saga provides the information that she was Hild, the daughter of the Gothic king Heiðrekr Ulfhamr, the son of Angantyr who defeated the Huns.

It then tells that Halfdan had the son Ivar Vidfamne, who attacked Ingjald Ill-ruler, which led to Ingjald's suicide by burning down his own hall at Ræning together with all his retinue. After this, Ivar Vidfamne conquered Sweden.

The Vikings

Family history and bad acting, along with the death of Ragnar, who was Ragnar "Lodbrock", King of Denmark and Sweden Sigurdsson and my 38th great grandfather.

Ragnar "Lodbrock", King of Denmark and Sweden Sigurdsson (755 - 845)

Sigurd "Snake Eye" King of Denmark Ragnarsson (786 - 823)

Knud Horda, King of Denmark Sigurdsson (784 - 850)

Frotho Canutesson of Denmark (807 - 875)

King Gorm Eriske I of Denmark (820 - 890)

Hartacut Harold II Parcus of Denmark King of Demark (867 - 931)

Gorm, The Old of Denmark Hardeknudsson (840 - 930)

Harald 'Bluetooth' King of Denmark Gormsson (910 - 996)

Svend I Tveskaeg Forked Beard Denmark (965 - 1014)

Estrid Margarete (Princess of Denmark) Svendsdatter (1000 - 1047)

Siward, Earl Northumbria Biornsson (997 - 1055)

Queen Sibyl Fitzsiward (1014 - 1040)

Malcolm III, Longneck I Canmor (1031 - 1093)

David I King of Scotland (1080 - 1153)

Earl Henry Huntingdon (1114 - 1152)

William I "The Lion" King of Scotland Huntington (1143 - 1214)

Princess Marjorie Canmore Hunntington Of Scotland (1193 - 1244)

Lady Eva Marshall (1238 - 1268)

Thomas Boyvill (1264 - 1308)

John Boyvill Esq. (1284 - 1360)

Beatrice Boyvill (1310 - 1377)

John Hutchinson (1350 - 1425)

James Hutchinson (1402 - 1427)

William Hutchinson (1427 - 1474)

Anthony Hutchinson (1454 - 1480)

Rudolph Hudson (1475 - 1530)

Henry I Hudson (1500 - 1555)

Henry II Hudson (1541 - 1611)

William Hudson (1575 - 1630)

Richard Hudson (1605 - 1659)

John Hudson (1626 - 1693)

William Hudson (1678 - 1737)

Elizabeth Hudson (1703 - 1772)

Hudson Blankenship (1729 - 1814)

Obedience Blankenship (1770 - 1849)

Samuel Cothren (1799 - 1868)

Benjamin Cothren (1833 - 1900)

Sarah Nettie Cothran (1867 - 1900)

Edna Iva Mahannah (1890 - 1949)

Dwight (Robert) Stewart (Mason) (1913 - 1989)

Laird Ronald Richard Mason (Stewart)

...keep walking brother Walker

We have 2 John Walker's in our family...but alas, they are both British

Hung and Burned...in the name of God of course.

Sir John Oldcastle (my 22nd great grandfather on my fathers side) hung and burned 14 December 1417, an English Lollard leader, was son of Sir Richard Oldcastle of Almeley in northwest Herefordshire and grandson of another Sir John Oldcastle. He was prosecuted for heresy against the Church, and escaped from the Tower of London, after which he allegedly plotted against his old friend Henry V. He was captured and executed in London, after which he became a martyr. He is presumed to be the basis of William Shakespeare's character Falstaff, whose name in earlier versions of the play was Oldcastle.

Sir John's date of birth is unknown, although dubious and possibly apocryphal sources place it variously at 1360 or 1378. Oldcastle is first mentioned in two separate documents in 1400, first as a plaintiff in a suit regarding the advowson of Almely church, and again as serving as a knight under Lord Grey of Codnor in a military expedition to Scotland. In the next few years Oldcastle held notable positions in the Welsh campaigns of King Henry IV of England against Owain Glyndŵr, including captaincy first over Builth Castle in Brecknockshire and then over Kidwelly.

Oldcastle represented Herefordshire as a "knight of the shire" in the parliament of 1404, later serving as a justice of the peace, and was sheriff in 1406–1407.

In 1408 he married Joan Oldcastle, 4th Baroness Cobham, the heiress of Cobham—his third marriage, and her fourth. This resulted in a significant improvement of his fortune and status, as the Cobhams were "one of the most notable families of Kent". The marriage brought Oldcastle a number of manors in Kent, Norfolk, Northamptonshire and Wilts, as well as Cooling Castle, and from 1409 until his accusation in 1413 he was summoned to parliament as Lord Cobham.

At some point in his military career Oldcastle became a trusted supporter of Henry, the Prince of Wales, later to become King Henry V, who regarded Sir John as "one of his most trustworthy soldiers". Oldcastle was a member of the expedition which the young Henry sent to France in 1411 in a successful campaign to assist the Burgundians in the Armagnac-Burgundian Civil War.

Lollardy
Lollardy had many supporters in Herefordshire, and Oldcastle himself had adopted Lollard opinions before 1410, when the churches on his wife's estates in Kent were laid under interdict for unlicensed preaching. In the convocation which met in March 1413, shortly before the death of Henry IV, Oldcastle was at once accused of heresy.

But his friendship with the new King Henry V prevented any decisive action until convincing evidence was found in one of Oldcastle's books, which was discovered in a shop in Paternoster Row, London. The matter was brought before the King, who desired that nothing should be done until he had tried his personal influence. Oldcastle declared his readiness to submit to the king "all his fortune in this world," but was firm in his religious beliefs.

When Oldcastle fled from Windsor Castle to his own castle at Cowling (now Cooling), Henry at last consented to a prosecution. Oldcastle refused to obey the archbishop's repeated citations, and it was only under a Royal Writ that he at last appeared before the ecclesiastical court on 23 September.

In a confession of his faith he declared his belief in the sacraments and the necessity of penance and true confession; but to put hope, faith or trust in images was the great sin of idolatry. But he would not assent to the orthodox doctrine of the sacrament as stated by the Bishops, nor admit the necessity of confession to a priest. On 25 September he was convicted as a heretic.

King Henry V was still anxious to find a way of escape for his old comrade, and granted a respite of forty days. Before that time had expired, Oldcastle escaped from the Tower by the help of one William Fisher, a parchmentmaker of Smithfield (HT Riley, Memorials of London, 641).

Open rebellion
Oldcastle now put himself at the head of a widespread Lollard conspiracy, which assumed a definite political character. The plan was to seize the King and his brothers during a Twelfth-night mumming at Eltham, and perhaps, as was alleged, to establish some sort of commonwealth. King Henry, forewarned of their intention, removed to London, and when the Lollards assembled in force in St Giles's Fields on 10 January they were easily dispersed.

Oldcastle himself escaped into deepest northwest Herefordshire, and for nearly four years avoided capture.

Apparently he was privy to the Southampton Plot in July 1415, when he stirred some movement in the Welsh Marches. On the failure of the scheme he went again into hiding. Oldcastle was no doubt the instigator of the abortive Lollard plots of 1416, and appears to have intrigued with the Scots also.

Capture and Death
In November 1417 his hiding-place was at last discovered and he was captured by Edward Charleton, 5th Baron Cherleton. Some historians used to believe he was captured in the upland Olchon Valley of western Herefordshire adjacent to the Black Mountains, Wales, not far from the village of Oldcastle itself in his family's old heartlands. Oldcastle who was "sore wounded ere he would be taken," was brought to London in a horse-litter. Modern historians believe that he was hiding with some Lollard friends at a glade on Pant-mawr farm in Broniarth, in Wales called ‘Cobham's Garden. The principal agents in the capture were four of the tenants of Edward Charleton, 5th Baron Cherleton, Ieuan and Sir Gruffudd Vychan, sons of Gruffudd ap Ieuan, being two of them. The reward for his capture was awarded to Edward Charleton, 5th Baron Cherleton, but he died before receiving it, though a portion was paid to his widow in 1422.

On the 14th of December he was formally condemned, on the record of his previous conviction, and that same day was hanged in St Giles's Fields, and burnt "gallows and all." It is not clear whether he was burnt alive...another one bites the dust.

...the turkey killed me...

Stock photo of turkey hunter dude


Stephen Ulrey (my 5th Great grandfather on my dad's mom's side) was born in Germany and died about 1787 in Washington Co., PA. He married Susanna. Stephen Ulrey is reported to have migrated to America early in the 1700s along with two brothers from the Palatinate or Rhenish provinces of Germany, most likely by way of Holland or England. The name is given as Vullery, Ullery, Ulery, Ulrey and sometimes Ulry. It is believed that the original German spelling may have been Ulrich.

A Mr. Gayman who was a long time neighbor of the Ulrey's reported that " the Ulrey's were leaders, disliked Germany, married English women, and spoke English in their homes." Mr. Gayman further stated that "Stephen was a very strong man carrying timber for eight men at a barn raising." There are unconfirmed indications that he may have spent time in Frederick Co. Maryland and in Eastern Pa. possibly Adams, Bucks, or Berks Co. before settling in a region of Va. which later became Washington Co. Pa.

It is reported that he settled in this area before 1771. He initially filed a tomahawk claim (by marking trees) on approximately 480 acres of land in the Ten Mile Creek (early ancestors settled this area during the Jamestown era) area of Monongalia Co. Va. He named this farm "Cranberry" Some time later the claim was in danger by land speculators and Stephen rode to Philadelphia to legally register his claim. There was some litigation over his original tomahawk claim which lasted for several years. Eventually the state of Pennsylvania granted a deed to his heirs (Stephen had passed on). The deed was dated March 27, 1787, and is in the Patent Book, # 8, page 383. The deed was recorded on sheepskin and was in the possession of Abner Ulrey who still lived on the family farm in 1928.

It is reported that Stephen was accidentally killed while hunting. He was chasing a wild turkey when he tripped over a tree root and plunged over a cliff where he was impaled on a tree. He managed to free himself and make his way back to his farm where he told his family where they could find his hat and his rifle and then died. It is believed that he is buried in the family burying ground on the farm, but his grave is not marked. His will is dated February 4, 1778 and in it he left one third of his movable estate and one third of his land (unless she remarries) to his wife Susanna. He left thirty pounds to his daughter Susanna. To his sons John, Daniel, Jacob, Stephen, and David, he left the remaining property to be divided equally with an extra ten pounds going to John.

Having sex with our cousins...

...more Irish Kings of the family

This shield is a re-creation of Conn's of the Hundred Battles. He is the direct ancestor of Muirdach, the father of all MacIntyres, and the King from which virtually all of the ancient Royal Irish and Gael King of Scots descend in either the male of female line, sometimes both. His targe prominently features his rising Red War Eagle symbol. Conn is most famous for re-uniting Eirinn under one High King, with the four provincial Kings under him. He was Ard Righ, or High King of Eirinn (Ireland) around 150AD.

King of Ulster Eogamhuin (174 - 225)
is my 50th great grandfather
Aongus, King of Ulster Gabhneach (193 - )
Son of King of Ulster
Fiachadh, King of Ulster Araiade (232 - 280)
Son of Aongus, King of Ulster
Murion Britain (266 - 287)
Daughter of Fiachadh, King of Ulster
Eochaid Mugmedón
Son of Murion
Niall of the Nine Hostages Noigíallach
Son of Eochaid
Eogan Find MacNeill (405 - 465)
Son of Niall of the Nine Hostages
King Muiredach MacEogain O'Neill (435 - 480)
Son of Eogan Find
Muirchertach Macercae, High King O'Neill (480 - 536)
Son of King Muiredach MacEogain
King Domnall MacMuirchertaig (525 - 566)
Son of Muirchertach Macercae, High King
King Aed Uaridnach O'Neill (566 - 612)
Son of King Domnall
Mael Fithrich O'Neill (600 - 640)
Son of King Aed Uaridnach
Mael, King of Cellach Duin (620 - 681)
Son of Mael Fithrich
Fergal Mac Maele Duin (681 - 722)
Son of Mael, King of Cellach
Niall Frossach, High King Macfergal (715 - 778)
Son of Fergal Mac Maele
Aed Oirdnile, High King O'Neil (750 - 819)
Son of Niall Frossach, High King
Niall Caille, High King of Ireland O'Neil (791 - 846)
Son of Aed Oirdnile, High King
Joan O'Neill (825 - )
Daughter of Niall Caille, High King of Ireland
Finn MacMael O'Faelain (880 - 923)
Son of Joan
King Morugh of Leinster MacFinn (923 - 972)
Son of Finn MacMael
Gormflaith Ingen Murchada MacFinn (954 - 1030)
Daughter of King Morugh of Leinster
Donnchad Ua Brian (985 - 1064)
Son of Gormflaith Ingen Murchada
Derbforgaill Ingen Donnchada (1009 - 1080)
Daughter of Donnchad Ua
Murchadh Murcha Leinster Morrough (1055 - 1090)
Son of Derbforgaill ingen
Donoch Donnchad MacMorough (1077 - 1115)
Son of Murchadh Murcha Leinster
King of Leinster Dermod Na-Ngall McMurrough (1110 - 1171)
Son of Donoch Donnchad
Eva Aoife, Princess of Leinster, Countess of Ireland and Strigolid McMurrough (1141 - 1188)
Daughter of King of Leinster Dermod Na-Ngall
Isabel, Countess of Penbroke De Clare (1172 - 1220)
Daughter of Eva Aoife, Princess of Leinster, Countess of Ireland and Strigolid
Gilbert, 4th Earl of Pembroke Marshall (1194 - 1245)
Son of Isabel, Countess of Penbroke
Lady Eva Marshall (1238 - 1268)
Daughter of Gilbert, 4th Earl of Pembroke
Thomas Boyvill (1264 - 1308)
Son of Lady Eva
John Boyvill Esq. (1284 - 1360)
Son of Thomas
Beatrice Boyvill (1310 - 1377)
Daughter of John
John Hutchinson (1350 - 1425)
Son of Beatrice
James Hutchinson (1402 - 1427)
Son of John
William Hutchinson (1427 - 1474)
Son of James
Anthony Hutchinson (1454 - 1480)
Son of William
Rudolph Hudson (1475 - 1530)
Son of Anthony
Henry I Hudson (1500 - 1555)
Son of Rudolph
Henry II Hudson (1541 - 1611)
Son of Henry I
William Hudson (1575 - 1630)
Son of Henry II
Richard Hudson (1605 - 1659)
Son of William
John Hudson (1626 - 1693)
Son of Richard
William Hudson (1678 - 1737)
Son of John
Elizabeth Hudson (1703 - 1772)
Daughter of William
Hudson Blankenship (1729 - 1814)
Son of Elizabeth
Obedience Blankenship (1770 - 1849)
Daughter of Hudson
Samuel Cothren (1799 - 1868)
Son of Obedience
Benjamin Cothren (1833 - 1900)
Son of Samuel
Sarah Nettie Cothran (1867 - 1900)
Daughter of Benjamin
Edna Iva Mahannah (1890 - 1949)
Daughter of Sarah Nettie
Dwight (Robert) Stewart (Mason) (1913 - 1989)
Son of Edna Iva
Ronald Richard (Stewart) Mason

The Kennedy's (Cennetig) are in the family from the beginning

Cennetig (Kennedy) of the Dalcassians
The majority of the Kennedys who settled in Northern Ireland are of Scottish origin from the territories of Galloway and Ayr just across the Irish Sea some twenty miles away. These Scottish Kennedys intermarried with local Irish and thus they are Scots-Irish in blood. The other Kennedy family is located in southwest Ireland with its foundation in the bloodline of Cormac Cas, King of Thomond and Munster. Cormac Cas is the progenitor of the clan known as the Dal Cais or Dalcassians, translated to mean descendants of Cas. They were a minor clan of Ireland and ruled the northern section of Munster Province known as Thomond (all County Clare, southern Galway and northern Limerick, northwest Tipperary), while their cousins, the Eugenians (McCarthys and O’Sullivans) ruled the south of Munster known as Desmond. The kingship of Munster switched between these two clans every other generation. Two great families came from the Dalcassian Clan: The O’Briens and the O’Kennedys. Cinneidigh (Kennedy), King of Thomond, died in 954 A.D. He was succeeded by his son Brian, his 12th son. In time Brian rose in power and gained the kingship of Munster, obtained the allegiance of the other five provincial kings of Ireland, and eventually became High King of Ireland. Because he exacted tribute, his second name became Boru, meaning tribute. He is known as one of the greatest kings of Ireland, and in 1014 he defeated the Vikings (the other side of the family) at Dublin at the age of 88.

O'Flaherty...mother of the High King of Ireland

He kinda looks like me...


O'Flaherty is of Old Gaelic origin, and is the Anglicized form of the Gaelic name "O'Flaithbheartaigh", composed of the Gaelic prefix "O", male descendant of (which in this case has been dropped, over the years), and the personal name "Flaithbheartach", from the Gaelic elements "flaith(eamh)", prince, ruler, and beartach", bright, acting. This was the name of a prominent Gaelic sept who possessed the territory on the east side of Lough Corrib until the 13th Century, when, under pressure from the Anglo-Norman penetration into Connacht, they moved westwards to the other side of the lake. Here their influence extended from Killary Harbour to the Bay of Galway, and also included the Aran Islands. The head of the sept was known as Lord of Moycullen and Lord of Iar-Connacht, and the chieftaincy was continued until the beginning of the 18th Century.

Babhion Be Bind Ingen Urchada O'Flaherty (915 - 1005)
31st great grandmother
Brian (Boru) "High King of Ireland" Boroimhe (942 - 1014)
Son of Babhion Be Bind Ingen Urchada
Donnchad Ua Brian (985 - 1064)
Son of Brian (Boru) "High King of Ireland"
Derbforgaill ingen Donnchada (1009 - 1080)
Daughter of Donnchad Ua
Murchadh Murcha Leinster Morrough (1055 - 1090)
Son of Derbforgaill ingen
Donoch Donnchad MacMorough (1077 - 1115)
Son of Murchadh Murcha Leinster
King of Leinster Dermod Na-Ngall McMurrough (1110 - 1171)
Son of Donoch Donnchad
Eva Aoife, Princess of Leinster, Countess of Ireland and Strigolid McMurrough (1141 - 1188)
Daughter of King of Leinster Dermod Na-Ngall
Isabel, Countess of Penbroke De Clare (1172 - 1220)
Daughter of Eva Aoife, Princess of Leinster, Countess of Ireland and Strigolid
Gilbert, 4th Earl of Pembroke Marshall (1194 - 1245)
Son of Isabel, Countess of Penbroke
Lady Eva Marshall (1238 - 1268)
Daughter of Gilbert, 4th Earl of Pembroke
Thomas Boyvill (1264 - 1308)
Son of Lady Eva
John Boyvill Esq. (1284 - 1360)
Son of Thomas
Beatrice Boyvill (1310 - 1377)
Daughter of John
John Hutchinson (1350 - 1425)
Son of Beatrice
James Hutchinson (1402 - 1427)
Son of John
William Hutchinson (1427 - 1474)
Son of James
Anthony Hutchinson (1454 - 1480)
Son of William
Rudolph Hudson (1475 - 1530)
Son of Anthony
Henry I Hudson - Explorer (1500 - 1555)
Son of Rudolph
Henry II Hudson (1541 - 1611)
Son of Henry I
William Hudson (1575 - 1630)
Son of Henry II
Richard Hudson (1605 - 1659)
Son of William
John Hudson (1626 - 1693)
Son of Richard
William Hudson (1678 - 1737)
Son of John
Elizabeth Hudson (1703 - 1772)
Daughter of William
Hudson Blankenship (1729 - 1814)
Son of Elizabeth
Obedience Blankenship (1770 - 1849)
Daughter of Hudson
Samuel Cothren (1799 - 1868)
Son of Obedience
Benjamin Cothren (1833 - 1900)
Son of Samuel
Sarah Nettie Cothran (1867 - 1900)
Daughter of Benjamin
Edna Iva Mahannah (1890 - 1949)
Daughter of Sarah Nettie
Dwight (Robert) Stewart (Mason) (1913 - 1989)
Son of Edna Iva
Ronald Richard, High King of Studio City (Stewart) Mason

William Marshal, 1st Earl of Pembroke

William Marshal, Earl of Pembroke (1146 – 14 May 1219) is my 23rd great grandfather, also called William the Marshal (Guillaume le Maréchal), was an Anglo Norman soldier and statesman. He has been described as the "greatest knight that ever lived" (Stephen Langton). He served five kings — Henry the Young King, Henry II, Richard the Lionheart, John and Henry III — and rose from obscurity to become a regent of England and one of the most powerful men in Europe. Before him, the hereditary title of "Lord Marshal" designated a sort of head of household security for the king of England; by the time he died, people throughout Europe (not just England) referred to him simply as "the Marshal".

In 1152, when William was probably about six years old, his father John Marshal switched sides in the civil war between King Stephen and Empress Matilda. According to one chronicler, when King Stephen besieged Newbury Castle, Stephen used the young William as a hostage to ensure that John kept a promise to surrender the castle. John broke his word, and when Stephen ordered John to surrender immediately or watch as he hanged William in front of the castle, John replied that he go ahead, for "I still have the hammer and the anvil with which to forge still more and better sons!" Fortunately for the child, Stephen could not bring himself to hang young William.

As a younger son of a minor nobleman, William had no lands or fortune to inherit, and had to make his own way in life. As a youth he was sent to Normandy to serve in the household of William de Tancarville, where he began his training to become a knight. Through William de Tancarville, he then served in the household of his mother's brother, Patrick, Earl of Salisbury. In 1168 William's uncle was killed in an ambush by Guy of Lusignan. William was injured and captured in the same battle, but was ransomed by Eleanor of Aquitaine, who was apparently impressed by tales of his bravery. He had been knighted in 1167 and soon found he could make a good living out of winning tournaments. At that time tournaments were dangerous, often deadly, staged battles, not the jousting contests that would come later, and money and valuable prizes could be won by capturing and ransoming opponents. His record is legendary: he supposedly fought in 500 such bouts in his life and never lost once.

"The Flower of Chivalry"

By 1170 his stature had risen so far that he was appointed tutor in chivalry for Henry the Young King, son of Henry II of England. The Young King's relations with his father were always fractious, and William stood by Henry during the Revolt of 1173–1174, during which he knighted the Young King. However, in 1182 William Marshal was accused of undue familiarity with Marguerite of France, the Young King's wife, and was exiled from court. He went to the court of Henry II that Christmas to ask for trial by combat to prove his innocence, but was refused. A few months later the Young King died, and on his deathbed he asked William to fulfil his vow of going on a Crusade. William did so, crusading in the Holy Land from 1183 to 1186; while there he vowed to be buried as a Knight Templar.

Upon his return William rejoined the court of King Henry II, and now served the father through the many rebellions of his remaining sons (Richard, Geoffrey, and John). In 1189, while covering the flight of Henry II from Le Mans to Chinon, William unhorsed the undutiful Richard in a skirmish. William could have killed the prince but killed his horse instead, to make that point clear. After Henry's death, he was welcomed at court by his former adversary, now King Richard I, who was not foolish enough to exclude a man whose legend, and power, just kept growing.

Read more: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Marshal,_1st_Earl_of_Pembroke_(2nd_Creation)