Sir Walter Devereaux

Sir Walter Devereaux is my 16th great grandfather on my fathers side. Sir Walter married Agnes Ferrers before 1446. Agnes was born in 1438. She was the daughter of Sir William de Ferrers and Elizabeth Bealknap. She died on 9 Jan 1468/1469 . They were married by 1446 (Anne being at most 7 years of age at the time of the marriage). Anne died on 9th January 1468/9, and Sir Walter remarried to Jane (family name unknown). Sir Walters father (Sir Walter) was appointed Lord Chancellor of Ireland in 1449. His term was brief and likely uneventful. In 1451, Richard Plantagenet, 3rd Duke of York, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland appointed his son, the 8-year-old Edmund, Earl of Rutland, as the new Lord Chancellor. Since Rutland was under age, his duties were taken over by Deputy Chancellor Edmund Oldhall.

Sir Walter was the 1st Baron Ferrers of Chartley, K.G., M.P., was born in 1432 and died in battle on 22nd August 1485 at Bosworth Field in the famous battle of the Roses in which Henry Tudor defeated King Richard III and succeeded to the English throne. Sir Walter sided with Richard III (Yorkists) - bad move! Sir Walter had assumed the title of Baron through his marriage to Anne Ferrers, whose father William, Baron Ferrers of Chartley had died without male heir.

The Battle of Bosworth Field (August 22, 1485) was Lancastrian Henry Tudor's defeat of Yorkist King Richard III, ending the Plantagenet dynasty to begin a new Tudor dynasty. Historically, the battle is considered to have marked the end of the Wars of the Roses, although further battles were fought in the years that followed as Yorkist pretenders unsuccessfully fought to reclaim the crown.

Henry Tudor had landed in Pembrokeshire, the county of his birth, on 7 August with a small force — consisting mainly of French mercenaries — in an attempt to claim the throne of England. Richard III had fought similar battles with Lancastrian usurpers in the past, and though Henry did not have his opponent's military experience, he was accompanied by his uncle, Jasper Tudor, 1st Earl of Pembroke (later 1st Duke of Bedford) and John de Vere, 13th Earl of Oxford, each of them being a brilliant and seasoned soldier. Henry gathered supporters in the course of his journey through his father's native Wales, and by the time he arrived in the Midlands, he had amassed an army of an estimated 5,000 men. The King, by contrast, could command nearly 8,000.

Richard reached Ambion Hill first and his troops were well-rested going into the battle, while Henry's men had trouble lining up on the rough ground below; it is unclear why. Richard might then have charged, slaughtering the disorganised Lancastrians, but he missed his chance. When Henry finally was ready, his men used cannon and arrows to force Richard to come down from his hilltop. When Richard did, he called for the Earl of Northumberland, who commanded the right wing of his army, to join in with fresh forces. But Percy refused, holding his forces back from action.

The decisive factor in the battle was to be the conduct of the Stanley brothers (more of our relatives) — Sir William Stanley and Thomas Stanley, 2nd Baron Stanley, the latter being Henry's stepfather. Henry Percy, 4th Earl of Northumberland, with Lord Stanley and Sir William Stanley and their troops, watched the beginning of the engagement as the rest of Richard's army fought Henry's French mercenaries and loyal exiles. The Stanleys seem to have taken up a position some distance away from the two main armies.

The two notorious vacillators were the young John Talbot, 3rd Earl of Shrewsbury, and the older more experienced Lord Stanley. They acted with a circumspection that bordered on deceitfulness, consistently holding back from final commitment to either side, and always keeping on good terms with the winners. Richard's commander, John Howard, 1st Duke of Norfolk, was slain, and the waiting armies of Lords Stanley and Northumberland still did not commit to any side.

Richard himself was rumoured to have been killed by the poleaxe of a Welshman, and even sources of a hostile slant agree that he died fighting bravely. Richard III (Duke of Gloucester) was the last king of England to die in battle. Richard III was the only English king with a strongly northern association and powerbase, and the last of the Plantagenet kings. The battle proved to be decisive in ending the long-running civil wars later to be known as the Wars of the Roses.

Genetic Memory

Genetic Memory has a lot of definitions but today I'll be focusing on one view and definition of genetic memory, the one that states, "Genetic memory is a process in which a memory is passed down through the generations without the individual having to experience first-hand the topic of the memory." I believe this memory is stored in our DNA helix, just like a hard drive. It is a psychological and sometimes spiritual theory that can be best illustrated through our primitive fears.

Across the globe a good portion of people are afraid of snakes, even if a great many of them have never seen a snake. According to the Genetic Memory Theory this is because when our species was evolving our ancestors lived in tropical climates where snakes were often venomous and it proved to be wise to stay away from them. Apparently it was such a big part of our survival that it became hardwired into our genes, even long after people moved away from the danger. Genetic Memory is at best a controversial theory, but I'm really starting to believe that it is a valid theory. There's really no hard proof of it, just a collection of social observations that could be attributed to it, but also may have other explanations.

Most scientists believe fear of snakes is more inherited by watching the behavior of others around you in your formative years then in your genetic code. If a parent or authority figure reacts wildly whenever they see a snake then you're likely to grow up with the same fears, regardless of whether or not the snake poses any real threat anymore. None-the-less, I can truly say that my fear of large brown bears has nothing to do with observing my parents being afraid of brown bears, or myself have ever come into contact with them, so I think that deep in my genome I've been imprinted with the "fear" because of experiences with brown bears during my "past lives" living in northern Europe over many generations (I'm not afraid of being alone in the woods with black bears, mountain lions or anything else).

I think about how my father, myself and my sons are/were all given the ability to create art (drawing/painting). As I do my genealogy I try to understand how my ancestors lived, what talents they had and how they might have passed the good and bad to me and future generations. With the advances we are seeing in genetic research, I truly believe that we will see genetic memory go from a pseudo-science to theoretical-science to a proven science.

Looking back on my life I have many experiences that explain to me how genetic memory works. One example stands out the most: Up to the time of high school, I'd never been in a fist fight. At that time I had only seen a few black and white fights on TV, and never had seen one "live". I was in a class with an old girlfriend (her current boyfriend was a tackle on our football team), and was just talking to her, when he just came up to me (I was sitting in a school desk chair), picked me up by my shirt out of my seat. Now at this time I was probably 145 lbs. soaking wet, and he was probably about 210 lbs. What happened next was what can best be described as a "genetic memory episode". I don't remember a thing, but I was told that when he picked me up he said, "I going to smash your face in". Witnesses told me that I blocked the punch like a pro, and then proceeded to hit him with 3 punches to the face knocking him across two rows of chairs into a radiator. He was laying there stunned and bloody, I was being held back by two classmates who said that I was "crazy" with rage. Needless to say, we were both expelled from school for fighting. I can't explain it anymore than saying it was genetic memory from my Viking past (proven through genealogy) that "killed the giant".

Genetic memory has been tested on animals, too...and all in humane ways. One of the most famous tests is when a first generation group of mice were taught how to find their way through a maze. Initially, it took them weeks or months to learn how to get through it. A year later, the same scientists took the offspring of those mice and had them go through the same maze. They all seemed to find their way through it in half the time their ancestors had. The third generation was even faster. By several generations in--a new generation of mice had been created who knew how to get through that maze in less than 30 seconds without ever having seen it before.


Another example: why did my grandfather decide to change his last name from Stewart to Mason. He didn't know that years later that when I was following his genealogy back that we are directly related to George Mason (and many more Mason's). Why choose the name Mason out of thousands of choices? I believe that deep in our DNA we have information that links us to the "past". This is my spiritual side, not religious, that gives me hope and explains a lot about who I am.

Much more to come...

Another Mason...Congressman, Senator and Trouble Maker

The Mason's come directly from my fathers side (Robert Dwight Mason) of the Stewart's. The Mason family of Virginia is a historically significant American political family whose prominent members are known for their accomplishments in politics, business, and the military. The progenitor of the Mason family, George Mason I (5 June 1629–1686), arrived at Norfolk, Virginia on the ship Assurance in 1652. Mason was a Cavalier member of the Parliament of England during the reign of Charles I of England. George Mason I's great-grandson was George Mason IV (11 December 1725–7 October 1792), an American patriot, statesman, and delegate from Virginia to the U.S. Constitutional Convention. Along with James Madison, George Mason IV is known as the "Father of the Bill of Rights." For these reasons, Mason is considered one of the "Founding Fathers" of the United States and raised the Mason family to national political prominence.

George Mason II (1660–1716) and his son George Mason III (1690–5 March 1735) both served as a member of the House of Burgesses, Stafford County sheriff, Stafford County county lieutenant, Stafford County militia colonel, planters, and businesspersons. George Mason III's son and George Mason IV's younger brother, Thomson Mason (14 August 1733–26 February 1785), was a patriot, statesman, and delegate from Virginia to the U.S. Constitutional Convention. Thomson Mason's son, Stevens Thomson Mason (29 December 1760–9 May 1803 served as a colonel in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War, a member of the Virginia state legislature, and as a Republican U.S. Senator from Virginia (1794–1803). Another of Thomson Mason's sons, John Thomson Mason (15 March 1765–10 December 1824) was a jurist and Attorney General of Maryland in 1806. Thomson Mason's grandson John Thomson Mason (8 January 1787–17 April 1850) was a lawyer, United States marshal, Secretary of Michigan Territory from 1830 through 1831, land agent, and an important figure in the Texas Revolution. His son Stevens Thomson Mason (27 October 1811–4 January 1843), was also territorial governor of the Michigan Territory, and later governor of the state of Michigan. He was first appointed acting Territorial Secretary at the age of 19, then became acting Territorial Governor in 1834 at the age of 22. George Mason IV's grandson James Murray Mason (November 3, 1798 – April 28, 1871 was a United States Representative and United States Senator from Virginia and represented the Confederate States of America as appointed commissioner of the Confederacy to Great Britain and France between 1861 and 1865 during the American Civil War.

James Murray Mason
James Murray Mason was a grandson of George Mason. James Murray Mason (November 3, 1798 – April 28, 1871). He practiced law in Virginia and was a delegate to the Virginia constitutional convention in 1829, and a member of the State house of delegates. A Jackson Democrat, he was elected to the Twenty-fifth United States Congress in 1836. In 1847 he was elected to the Senate after the death of Isaac S. Pennybacker, and was reelected in 1850 and 1856. Mason famously read aloud the dying Senator John C. Calhoun's final speech to the Senate, on March 4, 1850, which warned of disunion and dire consequences if the North did not guarantee the South permanently equal representation in Congress. Complaining of personal liberty laws that "Although the loss of property is felt, the loss of honor is felt still more, "Mason also drafted the (second) Fugitive Slave Law of 1850, enacted on September 18, 1850 as a part of the Compromise Measures of that year. Mason represented the majority view in leading the Senate committee which investigated the John Brown raid on Harper's Ferry of October 1859. (Thus the document published as the U.S. Congress, Senate Select Commission on the Harper's Ferry Invasion (June 15, 1860) is often referred to as the Mason Report.) Mason was President pro tempore of the Senate during the Thirty-fourth and Thirty-fifth Congresses but was expelled from the Senate in 1861 for support of the Confederacy.

While traveling to his post as Confederate envoy to Britain and France, on the British mail steamer RMS Trent, the ship was stopped by USS San Jacinto on November 8, 1861. Mason and John Slidell were confined in Fort Warren, Boston Harbor, precipitating the Trent Affair that threatened to bring Britain into open war with the United States of America. He was released in January 1862 and proceeded to London, where he represented the Confederacy until April 1865. Until 1868 he lived in Canada, and then returned to Virginia. He died on 28 April 1871 at Clarens in Fairfax County, Virginia at age 72, and was interred in Christ Church Episcopal Cemetery, Alexandria, Virginia.

Thor of Tranent, the Sheriff of Lothian

Thor of Tranent, also known as Thor, son of Sveinn or Thor, son of Swain (fl. 1127 x 1150), Lord of Tranent and Sheriff of Lothian, was a landlord and chieftain active in Lothian in the reign of King David I of Scotland. He is attested in a large number of charters during King David's reign in Lothian, both as a charter witness on charters granted by other patrons and on charters he himself issued. His name appears either as Thor son of Sveinn or "Thor of Tranent", the latter appellation deriving from his ownership of the "barony" of Tranent, East Lothian, lands including a wide area around the modern town, including, for instance, Prestonpans.

This is the modern building of Tranent parish church, controlled by Thor and granted to Holywood Abbey circa 1150; the older church was replaced around 1800.His earliest attested appearance is probably that of 1127, when he witnessed as Thor de Trauernent a charter of King David granting land in Edinburgh to the church of St Cuthbert of Edinburgh. As Thor filius Swani (written Thoro filio Swani), in 1130 he witnessed a favourable grant by King David to Dunfermline Abbey regarding rights over ships trading at Inveresk, East Lothian.

In a charter issued at Stirling granting a salt pan to Kelso Abbey in 1143, he appeared as Tor vicecomite, Thor the Sheriff. Sometime in the following year, he was at Edinburgh Castle, witnessing a grant by the king of land in Dalkeith to Holyrood Abbey.

Appearing once more as "sheriff", at an uncertain point between 1143 and 1147, he was witness to a royal grant issued at Edinburgh of a toft in the burgh of Haddington, East Lothian, to Dunfermline Abbey. During the same period, he witnessed a grant issued from the same location by Earl Henry of lands at Duddingston to Kelso Abbey.

Around 1150 he witnessed a grant by Robert, Bishop of St Andrews, passing over the church of Lohworuora (later renamed Borthwick, Midlothian) to Herbert, Bishop of Glasgow.[8] There was a charter to the Manuel Priory, now lost, dating to Máel Coluim IV's reign (1153–1165), that mentions a perambulation of the lands of Manuel conducted by Thor son of Sveinn and Geoffrey de Melville.

He is almost certainly the Durandus vicecomes, mentioned in two charters dating between 1140 and 1150, issued by king David and his son Earl Henry, granting the land of Clerchetun (i.e. Clerkington) to the church of St Mary of Haddington. Durand is a Normanisation of the Scandinavian name Thor.

His sheriffdom's name is unclear, and perhaps did not have one originally; at later stages it was called, variously, Edinburgh, Haddington, Lothian, and Linlithgow, and so for that reason he is sometimes called "sheriff of Lothian".

As it happens, one of Thor's own charters survive in a copy in the cartulary of Holyrood Abbey. The charter is a grant of his parish church at Tranent to that abbey, made around 1150. It was witnessed by William, Bishop of Moray, Osbern, Abbot of Jedburgh, Thor, Archdeacon of Lothian, Aiulf (Æþelwulf), Dean of Lothian, Nicholas, royal clerk (future Chamberlain of Scotland), as well as by Thor's own seneschal Gille Míchéil, and the lesser known figures Neis flius Chiluni, Eadmund son of Forn, Bernard son of Tocce, Eadmund of "Fazeside" and perhaps a man called "Alden".

Ruins of Crawford Castle, built in the land Thor's son Sveinn II passed to the de Lindsey familyThree of Thor's sons are known, Sveinn, Alexander and William, all of whom appear in charters in the reign of William the Lion. His eldest son might have been Sveinn, who in addition to his estates in East Lothian appears to have become lord of Crawford in Clydesdale; Sveinn appears to have left only an heiress as his successor, the latter marrying the Anglo-French mercenary William de Lindsey, Justiciar of Lothian and ancestor of the Lindsay earls of Crawford. appeared. A "Sveinn son of Thor" was lord of Ruthven in the Angus-Gowrie borderlands.

His two other known sons Alexander and William both had non-Scandinavian names. Alexander seems to be the same "Alexander son of Thor" who is attested as Sheriff of Clackmannan between 11205 and 1207. Alexander's own son William was lord of Ochiltree near Binny, West Lothian.

The other son, William, was Sheriff of Stirling in a document dated circa 1165, and by 1194 at least William's son Alexander (fl. 1189 x 1223) had succeeded him. William is also known to have granted the church of Kirkintilloch in Clydesdale to Cambuskenneth Abbey, suggesting he shared in the fruits of the family's expansion into that western region.

Two settlements in Lothian, Thurston (East Lothian) and Swanston (Midlothian), mean "Thor's village" and "Sveinn's village" respectively, and were probably founded in this period. Through some unknown mechanism, in William the Lion's reign the land of Tranent was under the control of the incoming de Quincy family.

Thor of Tranent Lord of Tranent and Sheriff of Lothian (1127 - 1150)
is my 27th great grandfather
Alesta Eva Mar (1149 - 1210)
Daughter of Thor of Tranent
Walter FitzAlan 3rd High Steward of Scotland Stewart (1180 - 1246)
Son of Alesta Eva
Sir Alexander Thomas 4th High Steward Stewart (1214 - 1283)
Son of Walter FitzAlan 3rd High Steward of Scotland
James 5th High Steward of Scotland Stewart (1243 - 1309)
Son of Sir Alexander Thomas 4th High Steward
Walter 6th High Steward of Scotland Stewart (1293 - 1326)
Son of James 5th High Steward of Scotland
King Robert II, 7th High Steward of Scotland Stewart (1315 - 1390)
Son of Walter 6th High Steward of Scotland
Isabel Eupheme Princess Scotland Stewart (1344 - 1410)
Daughter of King Robert II, 7th High Steward of Scotland
King Robert Sir 3rd Baron of Clackmannan Bruce III (1375 - 1406)
Son of Isabel Eupheme Princess Scotland
Sir David, 4th Baron of Clackmannan, Bruce (1390 - 1428)
Son of King Robert Sir 3rd Baron of Clackmannan
Sir John 5th Loard of Clackmannabshire Bruce (1420 - 1473)
Son of Sir David, 4th Baron of Clackmannan,
David Sir Bruce of Clackmannan II (1445 - 1500)
Son of Sir John 5th Loard of Clackmannabshire
Sir David Bruce (1470 - 1506)
Son of David Sir
Sir David Bruce (1495 - 1568)
Son of Sir David
Archibald Bruce (1517 - 1606)
Son of Sir David
Robert Bruce (1570 - 1606)
Son of Archibald
Robert Bruce (1600 - 1671)
Son of Robert
David Bruce (1629 - 1673)
Son of Robert
David Bruce (1651 - 1704)
Son of David
Margaret Bruce (1680 - 1759)
Daughter of David
William Henderson (1699 - 1770)
Son of Margaret
William Barton Henderson (1720 - 1770)
Son of William
Samuel Henderson (1740 - 1782)
Son of William Barton
Samuel Henderson (1764 - 1841)
Son of Samuel
Nancy Henderson (1802 - 1878)
Daughter of Samuel
Benjamin Cothren (1833 - 1900)
Son of Nancy
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

George Mason...founding father

George Mason IV (my 8th great grandfather) was an American Patriot, statesman and a delegate from Virginia to the U.S. Constitutional Convention. Along with James Madison, he is called the "Father of the Bill of Rights." For these reasons he is considered one of the "Founding Fathers" of the United States. Like anti-federalist Patrick Henry, Mason was a leader of those who pressed for the addition of explicit States rights and individual rights to the U.S. Constitution as a balance to the increased federal powers, and did not sign the document in part because it lacked such a statement. His efforts eventually succeeded in convincing the Federalists to add the first ten amendments of the Constitution. These amendments, collectively known as the Bill of Rights, were based on the earlier Virginia Declaration of Rights, which Mason had drafted in 1776.

George Mason was born on December 11, 1725 to George and Ann Thomson Mason at the Mason family plantation in Fairfax County, Virginia. His father died in 1735 in a boating accident on the Potomac, when the boat capsized and he drowned. After this event the younger Mason lived with his uncle John Mercer. On April 4, 1750, he married sixteen-year-old Ann Eilbeck, from a plantation in Charles County, Maryland. They lived in a house on his property in Dogue's Neck, Virginia. Mason completed construction of Gunston Hall, a plantation house on the Potomac River, in 1759. He and his wife had twelve children, nine of whom survived to adulthood. Mason's first child, George Mason V of Lexington, was born on April 30, 1753.

Mason served at the Virginia Convention in Williamsburg in 1776. During this time he created drafts of the first declaration of rights and state constitution in the Colonies. Both were adopted after committee alterations; the Virginia Declaration of Rights was adopted June 12, 1776, and the Virginia Constitution was adopted June 29, 1776. Mason was appointed in 1786 to represent Virginia as a delegate to a Federal Convention, to meet in Philadelphia for the purpose of revising the Articles of Confederation. He served at the Federal Convention in Philadelphia from May to September 1787 and contributed significantly to the formation of the Constitution.

"He refused to sign the Constitution, however, and returned to his native state as an outspoken opponent in the ratification contest." One objection to the proposed Constitution was that it lacked a "declaration of rights". As a delegate to Virginia's ratification convention, he opposed ratification without amendment. Among the amendments he desired was a bill of rights. This opposition, both before and during the convention, may have cost Mason his long friendship with his neighbor George Washington, and is probably a leading reason why George Mason became less well-known than other U.S. founding fathers in later years. On December 15, 1791, the U.S. Bill of Rights, based primarily on George Mason's Virginia Declaration of Rights, was ratified in response to the agitation of Mason and others.

At the convention, Mason was one of the five most frequent speakers. Mason believed in the disestablishment of the church. Mason was a strong anti-federalist who wanted a weak central government, divided into three parts, with little power, leaving the several States with a preponderance of political power. An important issue for him in the convention was the Bill of Rights. He did not want the United States to be like England. He foresaw sectional strife and feared the power of government.

A Virginia planter, Mason owned many African slaves. Like some of his contemporary slave owners (e.g. Thomas Jefferson and George Washington), Mason conceded that the institution was morally objectionable, once calling it a "slow Poison" that "is daily contaminating the Minds & Morals of our People." Mason favored the abolition of the slave trade, but he did not advocate for the immediate abolition of slavery. Like Jefferson, he owned slaves whom he did not manumit. Two of Mason's stated reasons for opposing the U.S. Constitution were seemingly contradictory: on the one hand, he said that the draft Constitution did not specifically protect the right of states to let slavery continue where it already existed, and on the other hand he also said that the draft Constitution did not allow Congress to immediately stop the importation of slaves.

Mason's immediate concern was to prevent more slaves from being imported, and to prevent slavery from spreading into more states. He was not eager to ban slavery where it already existed: "It is far from being a desirable property. But it will involve us in great difficulties and infelicity to be now deprived of them." Mason ostensibly balanced his anti-slavery argument that importation should stop, with a pro-slavery argument that the draft Constitution should protect slavery from being taxed out of existence; however, the latter argument had already been incorporated into the Constitution according to James Madison. Because of his efforts to stop the spread of slavery, and his recognition of the undesirability of slavery, some historians have said that Mason should be categorized as an abolitionist.

Clan MacDougall

Catherine MacDougall married Robert Stewart about 1349, and they had a son, Sir John, Lord Lorne Stewart in 1350. Our lines cross more than once. The MacDougalls take their name from Dugall, son of Somerled, from whom they are descended. From Dougall, his son Duncan received the lands of Lorn. Duncan’s son, King Ewin of Argyll, although he made allegiance to Norway, refused to join King Haco in his ill-fated expedition of 1263.

Ewin’s son, Alexander, married a daughter of the Red Comyn who was slain at Dumfries, and in consequence the MacDougalls were bitter enemies of Robert the Bruce. In one battle with the MacDougalls, Bruce is alleged to have excaped only by discarding his cloak with his brooch, afterwards known as the Brooch of Lorn, and now a treasured possession of the chief of the clan.

When Bruce secured his throne he retaliated on the MacDougalls for their opposition, and after their defeat, Alexander submitted to the King, but his son John, fled to England, where he was appointed an Admiral of the English fleet. He was later captured in the Western Isles and imprisoned first in Dunbarton and afterwards in Lochleven. On the death of King Robert, John of Lorn was released and his lands restored to him. He married a granddaughter of Robert the Bruce and his son, John, was the last MacDougall of Lorn. He died without male issue, and the lands passed, through his daughters, to the Stewarts, Lord of Lorn in 1388.

In 1457, John Stewart, Lord of Lorn, granted to John MacAlan MacDougall, the lands of Dunolly. The clan joined the Rising of 1715, and under their chief, Iain Ciar, were present at Sheriffmuir. On the failure of the Rising the chief’s lands were forfeited, but restored when the clan remained loyal to the Crown in 1745.

Crest: An arm in armour embowed fessways couped, proper, holding a cross fitchy, gules. Badge: Bell heath, Crpress. War Cry: Buaidh no Bas ( Victory or death.) Pipe music: Caisteal Dhunolla ( Dunnolly Castle).

10,033 family members and counting...

Aso, 1,986 photos...not bad for an novice

Scottish Knights Templar

Additional information regarding Henry St. Clair (Sinclair), Knight Templar. I still believe that Henry DID sail to North America, and with that, brought the "Hooked X" to America a hundred years before Columbus.

Since the mid nineteenth century myths, legends and anecdotes connecting the Templars to the Battle of Bannockburn have been created. Degrees in Freemasonry, such as the Royal Order of Scotland, allude to the story of Rosslyn and the Scottish Knights Templar. This theme was repeated in the pseudohistory book The Temple and The Lodge by Michael Baigent and Richard Leigh, first published in 1989. On the subject of a possible Bruce connection, Masonic Historian D. Murray Lyon wrote "The fraternity of Kilwinning never at any period practiced or acknowledged other than the Craft degrees; neither does there exist any tradition worthy of the name, local or national, nor has any authentic document yet been discovered that can in the remotest degree be held to identify Robert Bruce with the holding of Masonic Courts, or the institution of a secret society at Kilwinning."

St Clair — Sinclair speculation
The St. Clair, later Sinclair, Earls of Rosslyn or Roslin have also been connected to Templarism in Scotland, but Mark Oxbrow and Ian Robertson in their recent book, 'Rosslyn and the Grail', note that the St. Clair of Rosslyn testified against the Templars at their trial in Edinburgh in 1309. Dr. Louise Yeoman points out that the Rosslyn/Knights Templar connection is false, having been invented by 18th century fiction-writers, and that Rosslyn Chapel was built by William Sinclair so that Mass could be said for the souls of his family. It should be noted that William St. Clair, 1st Earl of Caithness, is cited as not only having testified against the Knights Templar in 1309 but also founding Rosslyn Chapel in 1446 which are clearly conflicting claims. The Sinclair well documented connections are with Scottish Freemasonry which has a Templar degree. William St. Clair, (William Sinclair) 3rd Earl of Orkney, Baron of Roslin and 1st Earl of Caithness built Rosslyn Chapel. A later William Sinclair of Roslin became the first Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Scotland.In Michael T.R.B Turnbull's book Rosslyn Chapel Revealed he states that "Eighteen years after the suppression of the Order, Sir William Sainteclaire, in the role of a Crusader(not Templar), made a brave and honourable bid to fulfil the wishes of his late monarch, King Robert The Bruce". He then explains that he and his wife Lady Margaret Ramsay of Dalhousie produced a son (also Sir William)to succeed him as the 8th Baron of Rosslyn. Turnbull States that "His father could never have been a Knight Templar, as his wealth and marriage would have broken two of the three Templar vows — Poverty and chastity".

Templar survival in Scotland
John Graham of Claverhouse, "Bonnie Dundee", a Tory and Episcopalian, was killed at the Battle of Killiecrankie on 27 July 1689. He is said to have been the Grand Master of a Jacobite "Convent" the Temple in the Montrose area, appointed on the authority of Dom Calvet and was found to be wearing the Grand Cross of the Order under his breast plate. After his death the Mar is said to have held the office, and then Atholl. There no references to Templars continuing to the present day in Scotland known to scholars of the medieval and early modern periods, including the Medieval Hospice & The Preceptory of St Anthony, which suggest that the Order survived. Unfortunately, There is no proof or evidence to suggest that any Modern Order claims descent from the Original Order. No current Order in Scotland can claim true lineage from the Original Order.

Eighteenth Century Revival
Templarism experienced a revival of interest in the eighteenth century through Freemasonry with a Scottish influence. The first record of this is in Ramsay's Oration in Paris in 1737. Andrew Michael Ramsay was tutor to the Young Pretender, Prince Charles Edward Stewart. He claimed that Freemasonry had begun among crusader knights and that they had formed themselves into Lodges of St John. The next development was with Karl Gotheif, Baron Von Hund, and Alten-Grotkau, who had apparently been introduced to the concept by the Jacobite Lord Kilmarnock, and received into a Templar Chapter by a mysterious "Knight of the Red Feather". Baron von Hund established a new Masonic rite called the "Strict Templar Observance". The "Knight of the Red Feather" has been identified subsequently as Alexander Seton better known as Alexander Montgomerie, 10th Earl of Eglinton, a prominent Freemason in the Jacobite movement.

The modern revival
The modern revival of Templarism in Scotland starts with Alexander Deuchar. The records of one of Scottish Freemasonry's most prestigious lodges, the St Mary's Chapel Lodge of Edinburgh, describe the visit of a "...deputation from the Grand Assembly of the High Knights Templar in Edinburgh… headed by their most worshipful Grand Master, Alexander Deuchar...the first time for some hundred years that any Lodge of Freemasonry had been visited by an assembly of Knights Templar, headed by their Grand Master." This implies that there was an Order in existence 100 years earlier. In 1811 with a Charter from the Templar Grand Master in England, the Duke of Kent, Alexander Deuchar established the Grand Conclave of Knights of the Holy Temple and Sepulchre, and of St. John of Jerusalem. Controversially in 1836 "...it was proposed that non-Masons be admitted to the Order, at the same time the ritual was adapted in order to allow this to happen. Previously only Royal Arch Masons in Good Standing were allowed to join. Only the Royal Grand Conclave was allowed to admit non-Masons and these men were never members of any Encampments, only of Grand Conclave." The modern non Masonic Order Militi Templi Scotia claims descent from Alexander Deuchar who was a Freemason.

Masonic and non-Masonic orders
Templarism in Scotland has been claimed as the root of both Masonic and non-Masonic Orders. The Masonic Movement is generally referred to as the Knights Templar, but the full Style and Title of this body is "The United, Religious and Military Orders of the Temple and the Order of St. John of Jerusalem, Palestine, Rhodes and Malta".

European influence
In 2006 the "Commandery of St. Clair" No S1, Edinburgh, was chartered by the OSMTH Grand Priory of France.[17] The Commandery recently received affiliation of OSMTH International [18] at Commandery Status under the Mentorship of the Grand Priory of France. Ordo Supremus Militaris Templi Hierosolymitani - The Grand Priory Of The Knights Templar In Scotland Ltd is registered with Companies House in the UK[19] and is working under the authority of The Commandery of St Clair, Edinburgh, No S1,Grand Priory of France (GPFT), OSMTH International.

The Scottish Templar Cross
Knights Templar Internationally use the Cross pattée, including The Commandery of St. Clair in alignment with the International Order OSMTH, The Grand Priory of the Scots (mainly American Scots) a Cross with two branches, and other Scottish Knights Templar Groups use the Eight Pointed Cross coloured red more commonly but not exclusively known as the Maltese Cross, of the Knights Hospitaller or Order of St. John or Cross of Amalfi. The Scottish Templar use of the Maltese Cross probably dates to the 1960s although the Cross itself is much older.

Scottish Knights Templar Tartan
The Scottish Knights Templar of OSMTH International have their own tartan. It was ratified and approved by the Grand Conclave of Militi Scotia S.M.O.J in Perth 28 March 1998. The original name was "Scottish Knights Templar of Militi Templi Scotia International." but it was changed to "Scottish Knights Templar of OSMTH International" in 2006. OSMTH stands for; "Ordo Supremus Militaris Templi Hierosolymitani".

William Sinclair, 1st Earl of Caithness

William Sinclair (1410–1484), 1st Earl of Caithness (1455–1476), 3rd Earl of Orkney (1455–1470), Baron of Roslin was a Scottish nobleman and the builder of Rosslyn Chapel, in Midlothian.

He was the grandson of Henry Sinclair, 1st Earl of Orkney and son of Henry Sinclair, 2nd Earl of Orkney, for a time protector of the young James Stewart/Stuart, the later James I of Scotland. He was Lord High Admiral of Scotland, and was Lord Chancellor of Scotland from 1454 to 1456. He became the first Lord St. Clair in Scotland 1449.

He made several big territorial transactions during his life.

The first important one was the exchange of his inherited lordship of Nithsdale to the estates of the earldom of Caithness - which soon led to his obtaining the title of Earl in the peerage of Scotland.

King James III gained his hold and rights of the Norwegian Earldom of Orkney for the Scottish Crown in 1470 (see History of Orkney), against a promised compensation (it turned out to be lands of Ravencraig, in 1471); and William Sinclair was thereafter Earl of Caithness alone until he resigned the Earldom in favour of his son William in 1476.

In 1471 James bestowed the castle and lands of Ravenscraig in Fife on William Sinclair, in exchange for all his rights to the earldom of Orkney, which, by an Act of the Parliament of Scotland, passed on 20 February 1472, was annexed to the Scottish crown.

He was married three times, first to Lady Elizabeth Douglas, daughter of Archibald Douglas, 4th Earl of Douglas; secondly to Marjory Sutherland, daughter of Alexander Sutherland, and lastly to Janet Yeman.

He fathered two known children with Lady Elizabeth Douglas. Their son (William Sinclair, 2nd Lord St. Clair) was, in the opinion of the father, a wastrel, whereby he was disinherited consequently. His family received only the Castle of Ravenscraig in Fife. Their daughter (Elizabeth Sinclair) would marry Andrew Leslie, Master of Rothes.

He fathered four known children with Marjory Sutherland; Eleanor Sinclair, Catherine Sinclair, Sir Oliver Sinclair, and William Sinclair, 2nd Earl of Caithness.

The earl's third son (William Sinclair, 2nd Earl of Caithness), of his second marriage became the designated heir of the Earldom of Caithness, and continued that title. The Barony of Roslin went to his second son (Sir Oliver Sinclair).

All in all, the Sinclair ancestry is well and thoroughly represented in Scottish and British high nobility, thanks to marriages of his daughters and other descendants.

William's daughter of his second marriage, Lady Eleanor Sinclair, married John Stewart, 1st Earl of Atholl, a relative of the kings. Lord Henry Darnley and his son James I of England descend from Eleanor, and through them, quite a many royal house of Europe. His other daughter by this marriage, Catherine Sinclair, married Alexander Stewart, 1st Duke of Albany, a nephew of the said Atholl.

Read more: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Sinclair,_1st_Earl_of_Caithness

Matthew Rodham

Matthew Rodham was one of the colorful characters who was a part of the history of Kent Island. Matthew Rodham was one of 73 free men on Kent Island in 1642 and was summoned to attend the General Assembly. The land granted to Matthew Rodham was described as being on the western shore of Chesapeake Bay across from Kent Island. That location would be in present day Ann Arundel County which was formed in 1650.
In 1664 Matthew and his wife, Elizabeth, executed a deed of gift to Richard Kenner (another relative), "inconsideration of a marriage already had between Elizabeth my daughter and sd. Richard Kenner, ye plantation whereon I now live in ye county of Northumberland, 750 acres..."

Matthew was one of twenty-three men whose names appear on a list dated April 3, 1638, "Entred by Capt. George Evelin for the Manor of Evelinton in the Baronie of St. Maries." "Then in 1639 Matthew was released from his covenant with Clobery & Company." "These are to Certify all men whom it may concerne that Mathew Rhoden of the Isle of Kent in the Province of Maryland planter hath served his full time of Service due by Covenant with William Clobery & Company of London Merchants. Wittness my hand this 28th day of October 1639." /s/ Leonard Calvert."

One reference to Matthew, e.g.,comes from one George Turtle giving testimony before the Court of Admiralty about events of the previous year. Within the paragraph he mentions Matthew as articulate. (Matthew would have been about 17 at this time.) Cochran says of use of the word "articulate," that this "indicated that Rodham expressed himself well and was probably an educated man." He goes on to say that "if Matthew Rodham was educated and had funds of his own, those factors would have gone a long way in helping him gain acceptance in the colony even though he was very young." Another reference by Cochran refers to Matthew joining with his neighbors to sign the Oath of Allegiance to the Commonwealth of England: "That document exists to this day and Matthew's signature appears in a neat and precise hand. Many of his neighbors signed with a mark, others wrote their name in a laborous scrawl."

Matthew Rodham was one of the early English settlers in Northumberland County, VA, being first located in Accomack County in 1634 at age 14. In a 1653 deposition, he stated he was about 33 years old. Listed as an inhabitant on Kent Island 1 Apr 1642 (Archives of Maryland 4:69). He was assessed taxes in the amount of 32 lbs. on 2 Aug 1642 (Proceedings & Acts of the General Assembly of Maryland, Jan1637/8-Sep 1664, published as Archives of Maryland 1:143) He is variously listed as Mathew Rodan, Rodam, Rodham, Rhedon and others but signs his name as Matthew Rodham. He was living in Chiacone parish, Northumberland County, VA by 1651 and his daughter, Hannah, was then living. He is described as the son-in-law of Hannah Lee, wife of Hugh Lee, and widow of Robert Huett (another relative). His wife is listed as Elizabeth. He was listed as Mr., served as a justice and in the parish vestry at Chiacone. He owned several hundred acres of land, some of which had previously belonged to his wife' parents. He had at least three servants. He met his wife on Kent Island, her father Robert Huett was there as early as 1640. The Huetts had moved to Northumberland County in 1648 as the county was organized that year. The will of Matthew has not been located although it is mentioned in his wife's will.

A reference in Maryland Marriage Records, 14:183 states that Westmoreland County court book in 1684 has Susannah Rodham, daughter of Mathew Rodham and wife of Robert Mason, Sr. The only court book inexistance for that year is the order book. But kinship is clearly proven between Susanna and Elizabeth Huett Rodham by the latter's will. Matthew was "intimately acquainted with Samuel Lane" who was Reverend of Long Houghton parish, Northumberland, England and later lived on Kent Island, Maryland, dying in Anne Arundel County. Samuel had married Barbara Roddam, daughter of Edmund Roddam, of Roddam in Ilderton parish, Northumberland, England. The Roddam family also owned property in Long Houghton parish. While Matthew is not listed in the pedigree of the Roddam family, the circumstantial evidence indicates that he was a son of Emund Roddam and Margaret Grey. The ties which Matthew had to Samuel Lane, the correct time period, the uncommonnness of the name of Rodham, not to mention the fact that Margaret Grey had a brother-in-law named Matthew Forest, who was sheriff of Northumberland County, England in 1620, all suggest that Matthew may well have been the son of Emund and Margaret.

Edmund died in 1632 without a will. His administration mentions several children. Edmund Roddam entered his pedigree in the Visitation of 1615 but of course, Matthew would not have been born until five years later (ascalculated from his age in 1633). Margaret, the widow of Edmund, was buried in 1647 at Long Houghton. Matthew, a younger son, was likely bound as an indentured servant after his father's decease and brought to America, thereby not being recorded in the subsequent pedigree.

Family Found!

Welcome to the "family" Kent and Liz Skogerson. My cousin, whom I haven't seen in 60 years, contacted me through Ancestry.com. Our family rocks!

Adam's 3 Wives

Based off the Biblical account of Adam and Eve, the tale of “Adam’s Three Wives” is an old aggadahic story designed to expand upon and explain the myths and stories of scripture. In this case, the legend of “Adam's Three Wives” arose as an attempt to explain why we read in Genesis 1:27 about Yahweh (יהוה) creating “Adam in His image…male and female He created them” and then later in Genesis 2 find a second account concerning the creation of a (apparently) second woman called Eve.

The explanation eventually reached was that Adam had had more than one wife. The woman from Genesis 1 would come to be identified as Adam’s first wife Lilith; formally a Canaanite demoness who managed to make a cameo in the book of Isaiah 34:14. Later the Midrash would add a third wife to the mix in an attempt to explain why Adam needed to be put to sleep before Yahweh could create Eve.

The best known version of the tale of Adam and Lilith comes from the 7th to 10th-Century text called the Alphabet of Ben Sira, though there are several variants. The tale of Adam’s third wife comes from the Midrash. The best known version of the story of Adam and Eve comes from, of course, the Bible’s book of Genesis, though those interested in variants should consult the 2nd-Century B.C. apocryphal Life of Adam and Eve. The following version is my own retelling…

Adam’s Three Wives

In the beginning, Yahweh created Adam. The first Adam was a hermaphrodite, an androgynous giant, simultaneously male and female. Equipped with four arms, four legs, two heads, two sets of sexual organs, and two bodies joined back to back. But this arrangement made conversation awkward and locomotion next to impossible. So Yahweh decided to separate Adam into two beings. One male, one female. Adam and Lilith.

Lilith was Adam's first wife. She was not only beautiful, with long black hair, but also powerful and intelligent. She was, after all, Adam’s equal. A mirror image of what he was. All was fine between Adam and Lilith until the issue of sex came about. Lilith insisted on being on top, a position of equality, or perhaps even superiority. When Adam refused this arrangement, not wishing to be ‘below’ to his wife, Lilith left.

She headed west towards the Red Sea, and when she got there…the devil was waiting for her. He made her an offer to become his queen and she accepted, becoming the mother of the lilim, the incubi and succubi who have haunted the nights of the sons of Adam and the daughters of Eve ever since.

Meanwhile, Adam found himself alone. He complained to Yahweh who sent three angels – Senoy, Sansenoy and Semangelof – to retrieve Lilith. But when the three angels found her, and all her demon spawned children, and demanded that she return to Adam, Lilith simply laughed at them. Humiliated and thus powerless the three angels failed to convince Lilith to return to her former husband but as consolation promised Adam that should anyone pray to them or hang their amulet above the bed of a mother in labor that they would shield that person from the lilim.

It was then that Yahweh decided to create a second wife for Adam. This wife was made from Adam’s own body. Yahweh pulled a rib from Adam’s chest and formed it into a woman from the ground up; bones, muscle, sinew, blood, mucus, organs, skin, eyes, cartilage, hair, etc… all right in front of Adam. Now, having witnessing this process Adam was so terrified that he refused to go near his new wife, much less name her. Yahweh then saw the error made in creating the wife in front of Adam and did what He could for the woman and destroyed her, though there are those who claimed that she, like Lilith, was permitted to leave the garden though what became of her is a matter of speculation.

Finally Yahweh put Adam to sleep, took a rib from his side, and from it created Eve. Only when she was complete did Yahweh wake Adam and present his new bride to him. Adam saw her finished and perfect and submissive, and took her as his third and final wife. Adam and Eve then lived in the garden until the day that a serpent persuaded them to eat the forbidden fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, an act which endowed them with the wisdom of the gods. Yahweh was then forced to banish Adam and Eve from Eden out of fear that they would next eat of the Tree of Life, and obtain immortality thus becoming truly divine.

So Adam and Eve left Eden and took refuge in a cave beneath the garden where they carved out a new life for themselves and the rest of humanity.

I've finally done it...traced our genealogy back to God

God is your 119th great grandfather
Adam The First Patriarch (4026 - 3096)
Son of God
Seth ben Adam Second Patriarch (3874 - )
Son of Adam
Enos ben Seth, Third Patriarch (3769 - )
Son of Seth
Cainan - Kenan ben Enos, Fourth Patriarch (3679 - )
Son of Enos
Mahalaleel ben Cainan (3609 - )
Son of Cainan - Kenan
Jared Ben Mahalaleel (3544 - )
Son of Mahalaleel ben
Enoch ben Jared (3382 - )
Son of Jared Ben
Methuselah ben Enoch (3339 - )
Son of Enoch ben
Lamech High Priest Ben Methuselah (3130 - )
Son of Methuselah ben
Noah Ben Lamech (2948 - )
Son of Lamech High Priest Ben
Shem Ben Noah (2454 - )
Son of Noah Ben
Elam Ben Shem (2343 - )
Son of Shem Ben
Rasueja Bint Elam (2325 - )
Daughter of Elam Ben
Shelah ben, King of Babylon Arphaxad (2307 - )
Son of Rasueja Bint
Eber Ibn, King of Babylon Shelan (2277 - )
Son of Shelah ben, King of Babylon
Peleg ben Eber (2246 - )
Son of Eber Ibn, King of Babylon
Heraclim ben (Falikh), King of Babylon Peleg (2243 - )
Son of Peleg ben
Avram ben Heraclim
Son of Heraclim ben (Falikh), King of Babylon
Edna Maria Amthelo Bint Avram Semites of Agade
Daughter of Avram ben
Abraham ben Terah
Son of Edna Maria Amthelo Bint Avram
Isaac (Yitzchag "Laughter") ben Abraham
Son of Abraham
Jacob, King of Goshen Ben Isaac
Son of Isaac (Yitzchag "Laughter")
Dinha Barayah Bint Israel
Daughter of Jacob, King of Goshen
Hezron ben Pharez
Son of Dinha Barayah
Hezron Goshen of Egypt ( - 1586)
Son of Hezron
Ram ben Hezron of Egypt (1500 - 1484)
Son of Hezron
Amminadab ben Ram of Israel (1454 - 1350)
Son of Ram ben Hezron
Nahshon Ben Amminadab Israel (1339 - )
Son of Amminadab ben Ram
Salmon Ben Nahshon (1195 - 1114)
Son of Nahshon Ben Amminadab
Boaz Ben Salmon (1140 - 1050)
Son of Salmon
Obed Ben Boaz (1110 - 1070)
Son of Boaz
Jesse ben Obed (1097 - )
Son of Obed
David, King of Israel (1040 - 970)
Son of Jesse
Tamar Israel
Daughter of David, King of
Zerah Ibn Judah
Son of Tamar
Dara (Dardanus), King of Acadia
Son of Zerah
Erichthonius, King of Acadia
Son of Dara (Dardanus), King of
Tros, King of Troy
Son of Erichthonius, King of
Ilus, King of Troy
Son of Tros, King of
Laomedon, King of Troy (1235 - )
Son of Ilus, King of
Tithonus
Son of Laomedon, King of
Memnon, King of Ethiopia ( - 1183)
Son of Tithonus
Thor, King of Thrace
Son of Memnon, King of
Hloritha
Son of Thor, King of
Einridi
Son of Hloritha
Vingethor
Son of Einridi
Vingener
Son of Vingethor
Moda
Son of Vingener
Magi
Son of Moda
Sceaf
Son of Magi
Bedwig
Son of Sceaf
Hwala
Son of Bedwig
Hathra
Son of Hwala
Itermon
Son of Hathra
Heremod
Son of Itermon
Scedwea
Son of Heremod
Beaw
Son of Scedwea
Taetwa
Son of Beaw
Geata
Son of Taetwa
Huimui of the Ostrogoths
Son of Geata
Augis of the Ostrogoths
Son of Huimui of the
Amal of the Goths (100 - )
Son of Augis of the
Hisarna of the Goths (120 - )
Son of Amal of the
Ostrogotha Goths (140 - )
Son of Hisarna of the
Hunuil of the Goths (160 - )
Son of Ostrogotha
Athal of the Goths (180 - )
Son of Hunuil of the
Achiulf King of the Ostrogoths (220 - )
Son of Athal of the
Vulwulf, Chieftain Ostrogoths (260 - )
Son of Achiulf
Walaravens (Valaravens) Chieftain Of Ostrogoths (335 - 409)
Son of Vulwulf, Chieftain
Winithar, Cheiftain of Ostrogoths (365 - 400)
Son of Walaravens (Valaravens) Chieftain Of
Wandalar, Chieftain of Ostrogoths (395 - 459)
Son of Winithar, Cheiftain of
Theodemir Cheiftan (425 - 471)
Son of Wandalar, Chieftain of
Theodoric Ostrogoths (454 - 526)
Son of Theodemir
Theodogotha the East Franks
Daughter of Theodoric
Austrigusa (Ostrogotha), Princess of the Gepidae (504 - 535)
Daughter of Theodogotha the
Wisigarda di Lombardia (535 - )
Daughter of Austrigusa (Ostrogotha), Princess of the
Garibald I "Duke of Bavaria" von Agilofinges (585 - 625)
Son of Wisigarda di
Tassilo I Herzog Von Bayern Agilofinges (543 - 609)
Son of Garibald I "Duke of Bavaria" von
Godefrey of Alamannia (660 - 709)
Son of Tassilo I Herzog Von Bayern
Nebi of Allemania Huoching (684 - 727)
Son of Godefrey of
Nebi "Duke of Swabia" Hnabi de Allemagne (709 - 788)
Son of Nebi of Allemania
Emma (Von Bayern) Von Swabia Alamannia (736 - 798)
Daughter of Nebi "Duke of Swabia"
Hildegarde Swabia (757 - 783)
Daughter of Emma (Von Bayern)
Bertrada Von Aachen (775 - 826)
Daughter of Hildegarde
Nithard De Ponthieu (795 - 823)
Son of Bertrada
Helgaud De Ponthieu (816 - 926)
Son of Nithard
Herlouin De Ponthieu (865 - 935)
Son of Helgaud
Guillaume I De Ponthieu (914 - 965)
Son of Herlouin
Godchilde De Ponthieu (944 - 1004)
Daughter of Guillaume I
Guillaume I de Alencon (963 - 1028)
Son of Godchilde
Guillaume De Alencon (995 - 1048)
Son of Guillaume I
William De La Ferte (1042 - 1076)
Son of Guillaume
Hamon Massey (1076 - 1140)
Son of William
Hamon Massey (1100 - 1140)
Son of Hamon
Hamon, Baron Dunham Massey (1129 - 1216)
Son of Hamon
Hamon IV Massey (1163 - 1250)
Son of Hamon, Baron Dunham
Hamon V Massey (1212 - 1278)
Son of Hamon IV
Hamon Massey (1242 - 1307)
Son of Hamon V
Isabella Massey (1280 - 1313)
Daughter of Hamon
Katherine Dutton (1300 - 1321)
Daughter of Isabella
Robert de Pulford (1322 - 1409)
Son of Katherine
Lady Joan de Pulford (1348 - 1380)
Daughter of Robert
Sir Thomas Grosvenor (1377 - 1429)
Son of Lady Joan
Sir Robert Grosvenor (1410 - 1464)
Son of Sir Thomas
Lady Anne Grosvenor (1435 - 1520)
Daughter of Sir Robert
Sir William VI De Stanley (1473 - 1529)
Son of Lady Anne
Thomas Stanley (1515 - 1538)
Son of Sir William VI
Peter Stanley (1539 - 1583)
Son of Thomas
John Stanley (1571 - 1619)
Son of Peter
Christopher Stanley (1603 - 1646)
Son of John
Martha U Stanley (1634 - 1665)
Daughter of Christopher
Ralph Blankenship (1662 - 1714)
Son of Martha U
John Buck Blankenship (1695 - 1754)
Son of Ralph
Hudson Blankenship (1729 - 1814)
Son of John Buck
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 - )
Daughter of Benjamin
Edna Iva Mahannah (1890 - 1949)
Daughter of Sarah Nettie
Dwight Stewart (1913 - 1989)
Son of Edna Iva
Ronald Richard (Stewart) Mason Laird
You are the son of Dwight

2052 BC...greatgrandpa (100th generation) Terah

TERAH/TERIH King of AGADE was born 2052 B.C. in Ur, Chaldea (Mesopotamia and died 2003 B.C. He married MARIA. the wanderer; loiterer, for some unknown reason emigrated with his family from his native mountains in the north to the plains of Mesopotamia. He had three sons, Haran, Nahor, and Abraham, and one daughter, Sarah. He settled in "Ur of the Chaldees," where his son Haran died, leaving behind him his son Lot. Nahor settled at Haran, a place on the way to Ur. Terah afterwards migrated with Abraham (probably his youngest son) and Lot (his grandson), together with their families, from Ur, intending to go with them to Canaan; but he tarried at Haran, where he spent the remainder of his days, and died at the age of two hundred and five years (Gen. 11:24-32; Josh. 24:2 They are the parents of Abraham.

1969 The Lighthouse...Hermosa Beach

It was 1969 and I was just out of the service. Back in Los Angeles from Hawaii and an acid trip at a Jimi Hendrix concert inside Diamond Head Crater; this place made me feel like a stranger in an even stranger land. The first place I found to live was in the hotel next to The Lighthouse (a world famous jazz club in Hermosa Beach)...it was gross. The room faced the ocean (million dollar view) and there was a Taco Bell one building down (ate there everyday). The bathroom was down the hall and so gross that I wore tennis shoes into the shower. I was looking for work at the time, and was eventually hired by Western Airlines at LAX. The "beatniks" were always loud and drunk, but the music rocked. Moved from there to a single car garage "apartment" and started growing my beard and hair to officially become a hippie.

Why are we poor?

This was a question proposed by Aaron after discussing all the royality and wealth in our family history. Why are we poor, if so many before were wealthy? It's hard to say why because our families didn't keep track of family history. Genealogy doesn't lie...we were part of history (from Sepio to Stewart) and owned (or had title to) many millions of acres.

We have all been brought up on "the American dream". Get married, own a house and have children. Work hard and have what you want (debt doesn't matter), and happiness is yours. Wrong, and I say that because I did it. Our distant wealth was brought about through the misery of others. From the Roman Empire to the British Empire our families have used slaves, serfs, murder, blackmail, intrigue, and marriage to become part of the elite.

Now, after years of living "poor" we wonder why? Because I think our forefathers knew that hard work and enterprise give honor and pride to a person. I for one, am proud that I know how to work hard and pay my way in the world (Aaron and Josh have learned that lesson well too). Feel free to pursue the American dream because it can bring "happiness" if used the right way. All I'm saying is that I've found my happiness in not having material things, but in knowing what makes me happy.

I've been quoted in saying "I've sworn to a vow of poverty and chastity"...some laugh, some ask why? It's because money and sex are the two things that make most of us crazy. I'm tired of being crazy, so I'm trying to do without both. Being king of the world is out for now, so I'm just going to say...life is good

Ogdens and 3 million acres

During the early years of the Republic, the Ogden family of New Jersey and New York parlayed ability, family, fortune, and political resilience into social and economic power. For three generations commencing with the New Jersey jurist and Loyalist, David Ogden (1707-1798), the family exploited some of the most lucrative forms of enterprise the new nation offered, enriching themselves vastly in the process. As skillful attorneys with powerful family and business connections, the brothers David Aaron, Thomas Ludlow, and Gouverneur Ogden positioned themselves to enter into the rabid speculation in newly available lands in western New York state during the 1790s. Their company, the Ogden Land Company, purchased huge tracts of land from Indians of the Six Nations and resold it to whites at an enormous profit.

Although the family remains best known for its legal pursuits, its members enjoyed a diversity of vocations and avocations that gave them leading roles in several important areas of American life in the early nineteenth century. Through their position as counsel to the Holland Land Company, David Aaron Ogden and Thomas Ludlow Ogden influenced the settlement of western New York, the construction of the Erie Canal, the determination of property law in New York, the political competition between the Bucktails and the Clintonians, and the financing of land development. As land speculators themselves, the Ogdens strove for the development of northern New York in the region near the St. Lawrence River. They attempted to create a system of privately-financed internal improvements, including harbors, mills, and turnpikes that would promote economic development around Ogdensburg and encourage emigration into the surrounding area.

During the Revolutionary War, Ogden and his brother Samuel sided with the Patriots, while their father David and brothers Isaac, Nicholas and Peter sided with the Loyalists. He befriended George Washington, who often visited the family residence while the Continental Army was quartered in Morristown. During that time his young son Thomas Ludlow Ogden wounded General Washington's hand in a fencing bout, in what is believed to be the only injury suffered by Washington in the course of the war. Unlike his father and several brothers, Abraham Ogden was committed to the cause of independence during the Revolution, and fared well in the post-Revolutionary years as a result.

After serving as surrogate for Morris County, N.J., his friend, George Washington appointed him as the first attorney general for the state of New Jersey.
The eldest of Abraham's sons, David A. Ogden (1770-1829), blazed a trail that each of his brothers followed. After graduating from Columbia College (then called King's College), he studied law and was admitted to the New Jersey bar in 1791. After practicing in Newark, N.J., for several years, he became a business associate of fellow Federalist and attorney, Alexander Hamilton, after Hamilton had retired from political life.

In about 1810, David Ogden moved to Ogdensburg (now Waddington), St. Lawrence County, N.Y., and acquired almost 200,000 acres of land in western New York State from the Holland Land Company, doling out of the enormous sum of $100,000. Although he engaged in land speculation for many years, Ogden did not neglect his law practice, eventually serving on the court of common pleas in St. Lawrence County (1811-1815, 1820-24, 1825-29). He dabbled in politics, as well, earning election to the state assembly in 1814 and 1815, and to the U.S. House for one term (1817-1819), and for several years, he was active in lobbying the national government to remove the Seneca Indians from his property.

David's younger brother, Thomas Ludlow Ogden (1773-1844), is said to have ridden on Washington's horse during his inspection tours of the Continental Army when they were encamped near the Ogden family home. Although his father's Loyalism caused brief trouble for the family, Thomas entered Columbia College in 1788, graduating in 1791 with the delivery of a very un-Loyalist oration, "On the rising glory of America."

After studying law with his father and Richard Harrison in New York city, Thomas was admitted to the New York bar in 1796, and in the same year, married Martha Hammond, entering into partnership with her elder brother, David. Thomas soon became one of the most active corporate lawyers in New York city, specialising in wills, trusts and equity jurisprudence. He was instrumental in convincing the state legislature to grant the Holland Land Company to sell land to aliens on the same term as native-born Americans. For many years served as a trustee of Columbia College (1817-1844), as vestryman or warden of Trinity Church (1807-1844), and delegate to several special councils of the Episcopal Church, among a host of philanthropic and public-spirited appointments.

Like his brothers before him, Gouverneur Ogden (1778-1851) graduated from Columbia (1796) and entered the legal profession. After traveling for several years in the southern and western parts of the nation working for the Federalist Party, he returned to live and work in upstate New York, and became a strong advocate of expansionist (capitalist) investment in the developing west.

The David A. Ogden series records Ogden's efforts between 1811 and 1819 to persuade the Monroe administration to remove the Seneca Indians from the 200,000 acres in western New York that he and his associates had purchased from the Holland Land Company. Included are the sales agreement, the articles forming the Ogden Land Company, and a long memorial to President Monroe. The series includes three letters from Lewis Cass and two to John C. Calhoun.

The Holland Land Company (HLC) material includes the extensive correspondence between the Ogdens and Paul Busti, general agent for the HLC as well as the legal files from cases in which the company's disputes were adjudicated. Once the HLC decided to sell its three million acres west of the Genesee River to individual landholders rather than to proprietors, the HLC became involved in a wide variety of other pursuits. In order to attract settlers to western New York, the company financed the construction of mills and other crucial commercial ventures; it promoted the construction of the Erie Canal, employing David A. Ogden's political influence in Albany and donating 100,000 acres of land to help pay for the canal's construction; and it tried to facilitate the availability of credit to prospective land owners.

Here's a modern day tie to the other Ogdens: David William Ogden (born November 12, 1953), known professionally as David W. Ogden, is the former Deputy Attorney General of the United States. An American lawyer, Ogden also was a high-ranking official in the United States Department of Justice and the United States Department of Defense during the administration of President Bill Clinton.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holland_Land_Company

Ogden/Navarro married into Ross Family

Rossville, TX (first Scottish settlement in Texas) is on Farm Road 476 eight miles west of Poteet in Atascosa County. José Antonio Navarro, a signer of the Texas Declaration of Independence and once owner of the area, partitioned his land and bequeathed the tract on both sides of the Atascosa River that included the site of future Rossville to his son, Jose Antonio George (J.A.G.) Navarro.

In the early 1870s J. A. G. Navarro had the land surveyed and partitioned into long narrow strips so that all settlers would have access to the river. Several families bought land and built their homes here. At this time John Ross, who came from Scotland, married María Antonia Navarro, daughter of J. A. G. Navarro. This is the first I've seen these two families cross (not counting Mason/Bengston). We have Ross' as far back as 1274 (Hugh MacTaggart Ross, the 6th Earl of Ross) on the Mason/Stewart side. Her father gave her a labor (160 acres) of land. The couple moved from San Antonio and built their home on the east bank of the river, where they lived out their lives. In 1873 John and his brother, William F. M. Ross, founded Rossville.

The first post office there was established in January 1877 with W. F. M. Ross as postmaster. Cotton and livestock were the chief commodities of the area. By the turn of the century Rossville had a one-room schoolhouse, two churches, three stores, a cotton gin, and a small bakery. The settlement supported a veterinarian, a cobbler, and a midwife. Toward the end of the 1890s the residents numbered more than 300. In the early part of the twentieth century a Catholic church and a two-room schoolhouse were built.

At this time the San Antonio-to-Laredo railroad missed Rossville, and people started moving away. By 1915 the population was reduced to 150. The boll weevilqv infestation subsequently hit, and farmers had to stop planting cotton. Watermelons, peanuts, and vegetables became the new crops and were freighted to the market in San Antonio. During the depression years many farms were abandoned as people moved away looking for jobs. The church buildings were torn down, but two stores remained open.

When the post office was closed in 1947, mail was routed through Poteet. In 1955 the school was consolidated with the Poteet district, and the building was moved away. In 1986 a community building was opened at Rossville, which was a voting precinct with 507 registered voters. Elections are held in the Rossville community building. The building is also a meeting place for the 4-H Club, a rabies clinic, and a site for commodities distribution for the indigent, family reunions, neighborhood watch, fire-department training classes, and social gatherings.

9,000+ souls and counting

...about halfway through

Servilia Caepionis

Servilia Caepionis (b. c.107 BC - d. after 42 BC) is one of the few Roman women cited by ancient sources, mainly due to her being the mistress of Julius Caesar, mother of his assassin Marcus Junius Brutus, and half-sister of Cato the Younger.

Little is known of Servilia's early life. She was a patrician who could trace her line back to Gaius Servilius Ahala, and was the eldest child of Livia Drusa and Quintus Servilius Caepio the Younger. Her parents had two other children, Servilia the younger and a younger Quintus Servilius Caepio. Her parents divorced when she was young and her mother married Marcus Porcius Cato (who was father to Servilia's younger half-brother Cato the Younger.) Following her parents' divorce both her mother and stepfather died. Servilia and her younger siblings were brought up in the house of their maternal uncle, Marcus Livius Drusus who was the tribune. He too, however, died when she was 9.

Prior to 85 BC, she was married to Marcus Junius Brutus the Elder who became tribune of the plebs in 83 BC, and was founder of the colony in Capua. They had only one known child, Marcus Junius Brutus, born around 85 BC. Following the death of Sulla who had been dictator in 79 BC but had resigned a year later, the elder Brutus was killed by Pompey after the surrender of Mutina where he had fought him in 77 BC. Servilia's second marriage was with Decimus Junius Silanus with whom she had three daughters; Junia Prima, Junia Secunda and Junia Tertia.

Before 64 BC she became the mistress of Julius Caesar, and remained so until his death in 44 BC. Caesar was very fond of Servilia and, years later, when he returned to a chaotic Rome after the Gallic Wars, he presented her a priceless black pearl. It is also said that she offered him her youngest daughter Junia Tertia once his interests began to wane. Cicero wittily referenced this in remarking of a real estate deal: "It's a better bargain than you think, for there is a third (tertia) off." There was also gossip that Junia Tertia was Caesar's daughter, but it is unlikely that both tales could be true at once. It was also rumored that Servilia's son Marcus Junius Brutus, later one of Caesar's assassins, was Caesar's son but this is unlikely, as Caesar was only fifteen to seventeen years older than Brutus, and patricide was considered among the worst of crimes.

Scandalously, during a debate in the Senate over the execution or imprisonment of the Catiline conspirators in 63 BC, someone handed Caesar a letter. Servilia's half-brother, Cato, and Caesar were on opposing sides in the debate. When Cato accused Caesar of corresponding with the conspirators, and demanded the letter be read aloud, he discovered to his horror that it was a love letter written by his half-sister to Caesar.

Servilia may still have had influence over both Cato and her son, Brutus, at that time, but in 50 BC civil war broke out, and Cato left Rome to side with Pompey the Great, despite Servilia's relationship with Caesar. Although Brutus resented Pompey for the death of his father, he went too. In 48 BC Pompey was defeated in the battle of Pharsalus. Caesar gave orders to his officers not to harm Brutus if they saw him in battle, probably out of respect for Servilia. In 46 BC Caesar defeated Cato at the battle of Thapsus, and Cato took his own life.

Following the death of his uncle, although he was given high honour by Caesar, Brutus divorced his first wife Claudia Pulchra and married his cousin Porcia Catonis, Cato's daughter, in 45 BC. Servilia appears to have deeply resented the marriage as it caused a semi-scandal due to Brutus' unexplained and unreasonable rejection of Claudia Pulchra. As well as this she was jealous of the affection Brutus had for Porcia and Servilia possibly identified the influence Porcia could have over Brutus. The marriage resulted in a rift between mother and son. It may have been through Porcia's influence that Brutus decided to attack Caesar in 44 BC, in which he and several other senators conspired and assassinated Caesar.

After the assassination of Caesar by her son Brutus (and her son-in-law Cassius), the conspirators met at Servilia's house. Apart from Servilia the only other women in attendance were Porcia and Junia Tertia. Despite this, she herself escaped the purges of the second triumvirate unscathed. After Brutus's death, she lived out the remainder of her life in relative comfort and affluence under the care of Cicero's friend Titus Pomponius Atticus. Her son's ashes were sent to her from Philippi and she died naturally, as did Junia Tertia. Porcia, on the other hand, died in around 43/42 BC of uncertain causes although a majority of them claim that committed suicide following Brutus' death.