USA > Massachusetts > Berkshire County > Lanesborough > History of town of Lanesborough, Massachusetts, 1741-1905 > Part 4
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Creations .- Baron. 21 Oct. 1:15. Viscount, 12 Aug., 1428. Earl, 20 July, 1456. Arms .- Quarterly; 1st and ·1th gu .. a chevron wavy between three mullets of six points, radiant, or, pierced, az., for Danvers; 2nd and 3rd, arg., three covered cups, in bend, between two bendlets, engrailed, sa., for Butler. Crests .- 1st, a wyvern, wings elevated and tail nowed, or, the dexter paw supporting a shield, arg., thereon a ben, gn .. charged with three martlets, or, for Danvers., 2nd, a demi-cockatrice couped, vert, wings ele- vated, arg. comb, beak, wattles and ducally gorged, or, for But- ler. Supporters .- Dexter, a cockatrice, vert, wings elevated, arg. comb, beak wattles, and ducally gorged, or, sinister, a wyvern, vert. gorged with a plain collar and chained, or, Motto .- Liberte toute entiere. Seats .- Swithland Hall, Mount Sorrel. co. Leicester, Lanesborough Lodge. Belturbet, co. Cavan. Club .- Carlton.
APPENDIX III. Sketch of Framingham from which Lanesboro's first settlers came and whose name it bore for twenty years.
The town of Framingham lies in Middlesex county, Massa- chusetts. The name is derived from Fremde-IIeim and signi- fies "Stranger's Home.". This town was first settled in 1633 and was the theatre of King Philipp's operations in the Indian wars. In 1692 a large number of settlers came hither from Danvers, prinicpally composed of families involevd in the cele- brated witch trials. The Bridges, Nourses and Elliots were prominent among these. In 1676, there was an Indian descent upon the town which resulted in some persons being carried into captivity. In 1700 the town was incorporated as the re- sult of a petition on the part of those wishing to attend church, without traveling as far as they had hitherto been compelled to do. The Pratt and Gleason families were prominent among those moving in at this time. The first minister was John Swift, who remained 45 years on the salary of $300 and 35 cords of wood. Framingham people figured prominently in the ear- lier colonial wars in the battle of Lexington and in Arnold's journey to Quebec. The town is now best known as the seat of the first normal school for female teachers. The town was named after Framingham, England. There is located within it the castle of the Howard family. A college is also there for the middle classes, built in memory of Prince Albert, the husband of Queen Victoria. The town is one of the oldest in England, dating back to the time of Redwald, King of the east Angles. The castle was at one time the residence of Queen Mary, and now is the property of Pembroke hall in the university of Cambridge. The Howard family are now the owners of the castle and is the family having the most distinguished ancestry in England. The name is thought to be a modification of Hereward, the Saxon.
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The Howards are the Dukes of Norfolk and often appear in Shakespeare's historical plays. The most celebrated of the fam- ily was Admiral Howard, who figured extensively in the Spanish Armada. One of his ancestors. Sir John Howard, figured ex- fensively in the war against Joan of Arc, the subsequent wars of the Roses and fell in the battle of Bosworth. AAnother member of the family was commander at the Flodden Field, another was the fifth wife of Henry the eighth, another was the principal instrument in the discovery of the gunpowder plot. The fam- ily is in part descended from the Mowbrays and Bigods, who came over with William the Conqueror and figured prominently in the Battle of Hastings and who are the two oldest families in the British Peerage. A more complete account of these dis- finguished families is given below.
APPENDIX IV.
Sketch of Howard, Mowbray and Bigod Families.
Sir Charles Howard, 2nd Baron Howard, of Effingham, so celebrated for his glorious defeat of the formidable armada. This eminent person was initiated, in the life-time of his father, in the affairs of state, having been deputed by Queen Elizabeth on a special embassy to Charles IX. of France. On his return he was elected to parliament by the county of Surrey, and was made general of horse, in which capacity he distinguished him- self in suppressing the rebellion raised by the Earls of North- umberland and Westmoreland. The following year he was sent with a fleet of men-of-war to convey the Lady Anne of Ans- tria, dau. of the Emperor Maximilian, going into Spain, over the British seas. In 1574, he was installed a knight of the Gar- ter, and appointed lord chamberlain of the household. and in 1586, his lordship was one of the commissioners for the trial of Mary, Queen of Scotland. Having succeeded the Earl of Lincoln. as lord high admiral of England, Lord Howard of Effingham, achieved historic famo by the defeat and dispersion of the Spanish Armada in 1588. For this great service his royal mistress not only rewarded him with a pension, but ever after considered him as a person born for the especial preserva- tion of her realm. His next achievement was the conquest of C'adiz, for which he was created. 22 October, 1596, Earl of Not- tingham. Upon the accession of King James L., his lordship was continued in the post of lord admiral, and constituted for the occasion of that monarch's coronation lord high steward of England. We afterwards find the earl taking a prominent part. at the nuptials of the Princess Elizabeth with the Elector Pala- tine, which is thus recorded by Arthur Wilson: "In February (1612) following the death of Prince Henry, the prince pala- tine, and that lovely princess, the Lady Elizabeth, were married on Bishop Valentine's day, in all the pomp and glory that so
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much grandeur could express. Her vestments were white, the emblem of innocencey: her hair dishevelled, hanging down her back at length, an ornament of virginity; a crown of pure gold upon her head. the cognizance of majesty, being all over beset with precious gems, shining like a constellation; her train sup- ported by twelve young ladies in white garments, so adorned with jewels. that her path looked like a milky way. She was led to church by her brother, Prince Charles, and the Earl of Northampton. And while the archbishop of Canterbury was solemnizing the marriage some coruscations and lightnings of joy appeared in her countenance, that expressed more than an ordinary smile, being ahnost elated to a laughter, which could not clear the air of her fate, but was rather a forerunner of more sad and dire events; which shows how slippery nature is to toll us along to those things that bring danger, yea, some- times destruction with then.
"She returned from the chapel between the Duke of Lenox and the Earl of Nottingham, lord high admiral, two married men. The city of London (that with high magnificence feasted the prince palatine and his noble retinue,) presented to the fair bride a chain of oriental pearl, by the hand of the lord mayor and aldermen, (in their scarlet and gold chain accoutrements.) of such a value as was fit for them to give, and her to receive. And the people of the kingdom in general being summoned to a contribution for the marriage of the king's daughter, did show their affections by their bounty. And though it be the custom of our kings to pay their daughter's portions with their subjects' purses, yet an hundred years being almost passed since such a precedent, it might have made them unwilling (if their obedience had not been full ripe.) to recall such obsolete things, as are only in practice now by the meanest of the people."
In 1619, the earl resigned the office of lord admiral. He was now eighty-three years of age, and desirous of repose; but not caring to lose the precedence which that dignity gave him. he obtained from the king, according to Collins, by special patent, the privilege of taking place, as his ancestor (John Lord Mow- bray. Earl of Nottingham) had done in the time of Richard II.
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His lordship m. 1st. Katharine Carey. dau. of Henry. Lord Hunsdon, and had issue.
BIGOD-EARLS OF NORFOLK.
By creation of King Stephen. and also of King Henry II.
LINEAGE.
The first of this great family that settled in England was Roger Bigod, who in the Conqueror's time possessed six lord- ships in Essex. and a hundred and seventeen in Suffolk, be- sides divers manors in Norfolk. This Roger adhering to the party that took up arms against William Rufus, in the 1st year of that monarch's reign. fortified the castle at Norwich, and wasted the country around. At the accession of Henry I. being a witness of the king's laws, and staunch in his interests. he ob- tained Framlingham in Suffolk. as a gift from the crown. We find further of him that he founded, in 1103. the abbey of Thetford. in Norfolk. and that he was buried there at his de- cease in four years after. leaving. by Adeliza his wife, dau. and co-heir of Hugh de Grentesmesnil, high steward of England, a son and heir,
William Bigod. steward of the household to King Henry I., one of the unhappy persons who perished with the king's chil- dren and several of the nobility in the memorable shipwreck which occurred in the 20th of that monarch's reign. This feu- dal lord leaving no issue his great possessions devolved upon his brother.
Hugh Bigod, also steward to King Henry I., who being mainly instrumental in raising Stephen, Earl of Boloigne, to the throne, upon the decease of his royal master was rewarded by the new king with the Earldom of the East Angles, commonly called Norfolk, and by that designation we find him styled in 1140 (6th Stephen.) His lordship remained faithful in his al- legiance to King Stephen through the difficulties which after- wards beset that monarch. and gallantly defended the castle of Ipswich against the Empress Maud and her son, until obliged at length to surrender for want of timely relief. In the 12th
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Henry H. this powerful noble certified his knight's fees to be one hundred and twenty-five "de veteri fooffamento. "and thirty- five "de novo." upon the occasion of the assessment in aid of the marriage of the king's daughter: and he appears to have ac- quired at this period a considerable degree of royal favour. for we find him not only re-created Earl of Norfolk, by charter, dated at Northampton. but by the same instrument obtaining a grant of the office of steward, to hold in as ample a manner as his father had done in the time of Henry I. Notwithstanding. however, these and other equally substantial marks of the king's liberality, the Earl of Norfolk sided with Robert. Earl of Loi- cester. in the insurrection incited by that nobleman in favor of the king's son (whom Henry himself had crowned.) in the 19th of the monarch's reign: but his treason upon this occasion cost the surrender of his strongest castles, and a fine of 1,000 marks. After which he went into the body Land with the Earl of Flanders, and died in 1124. His lordship had married twice; by his 1st wife. Julian, dan. of Alberic de Vore, he had a son. Roger: and by his 2nd. Gundred, he had two sons, Hugh and William. He was s. by his eldest son.
Roger Bigod. 2nd carl, who, in the 1st year of Richard 1 .. had a charter dated at Westminster. 21 November. reconstituting him Earl of Norfolk, and steward of the household, his loid- ship obtaining at the same time restitution of some manors, with grants of others, and confirmation of all his wide-spreading do- mesnes. In the same year he was made one of the ambassa- dors from the English monarch to Philip of France, for obtain- ing aid toward the recovery of the Holy Land. Upon the re- turn of King Richard from his captivity, the Earl of Norfolk assisted, at the great conneil held by the king at Nottingham; and at his second coronation, his lordship was one of the four carls that carried the silken canopy over the monarch's head. In the reign of King John he was one of the barons that extorted the great Charters of Freedom from that prince, and was amongst the twenty-five lords appointed to enforce their fulfil- ment. His lordship m. Isabel. dan. of Hamelyn. Earl of War- tehne and Surrey, and had isshe.
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Hugh, his successor.
William, m. Margaret dau. of Robert de Sutton, with whom he acquired considerable property.
Thomas.
Margery, m. to William de Hasting's.
Adeliza, m. to Alberic de Vere, Earl of Oxford.
Mary, m. to Ralph Fitz-Robert, Lord of Middleham.
The earl died in 1220, and was s. by his eldest son,
Hugh Bigod. 3rd earl, who m. Mand, eldest dan. of William Mareschal, Earl of Pembroke, and by her (who m. Pndly, Wil- liam Earl of Warrenne and Surrey,) had issue,
1. Roger. his successor.
11. Hugh, an eminent lawyer, app, inted Chief Justice pf England by the barons in 1254. He in. 1st, Joane, dan. of Rob- ert Burnet, by whom he had issue.
1. Roger, successor to his unele in the earldom.
2. John.
He m. 2ndly. Joane, dau. of Nicholas Stuteville, and widow of - Wake, but had no issue. His lordship fell under the baronial banner at the battle of Lewes.
III. Ralph m. Bertha, dau of the Baron Furnival, and had a dau., Isabel, who m. 1st, Gilbert, son of Walter de Lacy, Lord of Meath, in Ireland; 2ndly, John Fitz Geoffrey.
His lordship, who was also one of the twenty-five barons ap- pointed to enforce the observance of Magna Charta, d. and was s. by his eldest son,
Roger Bigod, 4th earl, whose guardianship Alexander, King of Scotland, obtained for 500 marks. This nobleman attained high reputation in all martial and warlike exercises. Skilful and valiant alike in the tilting and battle field, he held high rank amongst the chivalrous spirits of his day, and won many a trophy in court and camp. In the tournament held at Blithe, in Nottingham (21st Henry HI, 123%,) which terminated in a conflict between the southern and northern lords, the Earl of Norfolk was pre-eminently distinguished, and in a few years afterwards he gained new laurels at the battle of Zantoigne. But the most remarkable event in his lordship's life was his personal
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dispute with King Henry III., as thus stated by Dugdale :- "In the 39th Henry III .. the Earl of Norfolk, making a just apology for Robert de Ros (a great baron of that age), then charged with some crime, which endangered his life, he had very harsh language given him by the king, being openly called a traytor, whereat, with a stern countenance, he told him (the king) that he lied: and that he never was. nor would be a traytor; adding, 'if you do nothing but what the law warranteth, you can do me no harm. - Yes,' quoth the king, 'I can thrash your corn, and sell it, and so humble you.' To which he replied, 'If you do, I will send you the heads of your thrashers.' But by the inter- posing of the lords then present this heat soon passed over, so that (shortly after) he was, together with the Earl of Leicester and some others. sent on an embassy to the King of France, to treat with him for restoring some rights which he withheld from the king." Ilis lordship was subsequently appointed by the barons, after their victory at Lewes (48th Henry III.), governor of the castle of Orford, in Suffolk. To this nobleman, by reason of his mother Maud being the eldest co-heiress of William Mare- schal. Earl of Pembroke, the Marshalship of England, with the rights thereunto belonging, was assigned. His lordship m. Isa- bel, sister of Alexander, King of Scotland, but died issueless in 12:0, when all his homours and possessions devolved upon his nephew (refer to Hugh, 2nd son of the 3rd earl),
Roger Bigod, 5th Earl of Norfolk, and 2nd earl marshal of this family. This nobleman took a distinguished part in the wars of King Edward i., having previously, however, in con- junction with the Earl of Hereford. compelled even that reso- lute monarch to ratify the Great Charter and Charter of the Forest. His lordship m. 1st Aliva, dau. and heiress of Philip, Lord Basset, and widow of Hugh Despencer, slain at Evesham, and 2ndly, Joane, dan of John de Avenne, Earl of Bayonne, but had no issue by either. In the 29th of Edward I,, the earl constituted that monarch his heir, and surrendered into his hands the marshal's rod, upon condition that it should be re- inrned in the event of his having children, and that he should receive £1.000 prompt, and £1,000 a-year for life; in conse-
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quence of which surrender his lordship was re-created Earl of Norfolk in 1302. with remainder to his heirs made by his 1st wife, but dying without issue, as stated above, in five years af- terwards, the Earldom became (according to the surrender) EXTINCT in the Bigod family, although his lordship left a brother,
John Bigod, his heir-at-law, whose right seems to have been annihilated in this very unjust and extraordinary manner, and so completely destroyed that he did not even inherit any of the great estates of his ancestors.
Arms-Gules. a lion passant, or.
The Mowbrays, Dukes of Norfolk, were from an ancient period a great baronial family, and made a succession of for- tunate alliances. The royal match of John, Lord Mowbray, with Elizabeth Segrave, whose mother was Margaret, Countess of Norfolk, dau. and heir of Thomas, Earl of Norfolk, son of King Edward I., may be considered the first step from baronial rank. King Richard II., constituted Thomas, son of the great alliance, Earl Marshal in 1386, and created him Duke of Nor- folk in 1396, when his grandmother, Margaret, was also ad- vanced to be Duchess of Norfolk. The duke, preparing in 1398 to fight a duel with Henry, Duke of Hereford, afterwards King Henry IV., was banished, and d. in exile next year. The fam- ily was restored and continued for four generations down to Anne, the infant dau. and heiress of John, 4th duke, whom King Edward IV. m. as a child, to his 2nd son, Richard, Duke of York, then a young boy, and he made a settlement of the title and estate upon him and his heirs. She d. immediately af- terwards, in 1478, but the Duke of York continued in pos- session till he was murdered with his brother, King Edward V., by their uncle, Richard, 20 June, 1483. All Edward's plans for seizing the Mowbray property being thus terminated, and Rich- ard III., wishing to secure vigorous allies. the succession to the estates was allowed to open to the Berkeleys and Ilowards, the heirs of the daus. of the duke, who d. in exile in 1400, eighty- three years before, and King Richard, on the 3rd day of his reign, 28 June, 1483, created William, Viscount Berkley. Earl of
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Nottingham, and John, Lord Howard (who had been first raised to be a baron by his brother Edward), at once Duke of Norfolk and Marshal of England The family was founded by
Vigil de Albini, brother of William de Albini, from whom the ancient Earls of Arundel descended. The Albinis, who were maternally of the house of Mowbray, came into England with the Conqueror, and obtained large possessions after the vie- tory of Hastings. Nigil's grants lay in the cos. of Bucks, Bed- ford Warwick, and Leicester, and comprised several extensive lordships. In the reign of Rufus, he was bow-bearer to the king: and being girt with the sword of knighthood by King Henry I. had the manor of Egmanton, with divers parks in the forest of Shirwo ml, of that monarch's gift; which lordship he transferred, however, to his particular friend, Robert Davil But when. King Henry, had further experience of his great val- our and military skill, he augmented his royal bounty, and con- ferred upon him the vavasories of Camille and Wyvile; which gracious mark of favour so attached Albini to the interests of his sovereign, that he esponsed with the most devoted zeal the cause of Henry, against his brother, Robert Curthose, and tak- ing a conspicuous part at the battle of Tenerchebray, he there slow the horse of Curthose, and brought the prince himself to the king; for which eminent service, Henry conferred upon him the lands of Robert. Baron of Frontebeof, namely Stutevile, in England. which Frontebeof had fortified in behalf of Curthose. After which, King Henry besieging a castle in Normandy. this gallant Sir Nigil firsi entered the breech, sword in hand, and de- livered up the fortress to the king, which achievement was re- munerated by a royal grant of the forfeited lands of his mater- nal unele, Robert de Mowbray. Earl of Northumberland, both in Normandy and England; as also his castlos, with the castle of Bayeux and its appurtenances; so that he had no less than 120 knights' fees in Normandy, and as many in England: thus becoming one of the most powerful persons of the period in which he lived. Sir Nigil de Albini m. Ist Maud, dau. of Rich- ard de Aquila, by permission of Pope Paschall: her husband Robert de Mowbray. Earl of Northumberland, before-mentioned,
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being then alive. and in prison for rebellion against William Rufus: from this lady he was, however, divorced. on account of consanguinity, and by her had no issue. Hle m. 2ndly, in 1118. Hundred. dau. of Gerald de Carney, by the special advice of King Henry I., and had two sons,
Roger, his successor, who, possessing the lands of Mowbray, assumed, by command of King Henry, the surname of Mow- bray. Henry, why had the lordship and barony of Camho, and was ancestor of the Albinis, the feudal lords of that place.
This great feudal baron d. at an advanced age, and was buried with his ancestor, in the abbey of Bec. in Normandy. He was s. by his elder son.
Roger de Mowbray, who, although not yet of age, was one of the chief commanders. at the memorable battle fought, anno 1138, with the Scots, near Northallerton, known in history as the battle : f the Standard, and adhering to King Stephen. in his contest with the empress, he was taken prisoner with that monarch at the battle of Lincoln. In 1148, he accompanied Lewis, King of France, to the Holy Land, and there acquired great renown by vanquishing a stont and hardy Pagan in single combat. He was afterward involved in the rebellion of Prince Henry,against King Henry HI., and lost some of his castles. His grants to the church were munificent in the extreme: and his piety was so fervent. that he again assumed the cross, and made a second journey to the Holy Land, where he was made prisoner, but redeemed by the Knights Templar; he d., however, soon after in the East, and was buried at Sures. Some authori- ties say that he returned to England, and living fifteen years longer, was buried in the abbey of Riland. He m. Alice de Gant, and was s. by his elder son,
Vigil de Mowbray, who attended amongst the barons, in the 1st Richard I., at the solemn coronation of that monarch: and in the 3rd of the same reign, assuming the cross, set ont for Palestine, but d. upon his journey. He m. Mabel, dau. of the Earl of Clare, and had issue. William, Robert. Philip, 1-t of Barnbougle in Scotland, and Roger. ancestor of Mowbray, of Kirklington. Nigil de Mowbray d. 1191. and was s. by his eldest son,
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William de Mowbray, who in the 6th Richard I., paying £100 for his relief, had livery of his lands. The feudal lord, upon the accession of King Jolin, was tardy in pledging his alleg- iance, and at length only swore fealty upon condition that the king should render every man his right. At the breaking out of the baronial war. it was no marvel then, that he should be found one of the most forward of the discontented lords, and so distinguished, that he was chosen with his brother, Roger, amongst the twenty-five celebrated barons appointed to enforce the observance of Magna Charter. In the reign of Henry III., adhering to the same cause, he was at the battle of Lincoln. and taken prisoner there, when his lands were seized, and bestowed upon William Mareshal, the younger, but he was subsequently allowed to redeem them. After which he appears to have at- tached himself to the king. and was with the royal army at the siege of Bitham Castle, in Lincolnshire. He m. Agnes, dan. of the Earl of Arundel. and dying in 1222, was s. by his elder son.
Vigil de Mowbray. who, in the 8th Henry HIL., paying £500 for his relief, had livery of his lands. He m. Maud, dau. and heiress of Roger de Camvil, but dying s. p. in 1228, was s. by his brother.
Roger de Mowbray, then in minority. This feudal lord had several military summonses to attend King Henry III. into Scotland and Wales. He m. Maud. dau. of William de Beau- champ, of Bedford, and dying in 1266, was s. by his eldest son,
Roger de Mowbray, who, in the 6th Edward 11., upon making proof of his age, had livery of his lands. He was engaged in the wars of Wales and Gascony, and was summoned to parlia- ment as a Baron, from 23 June, 1295. to 26 August, 1296. Ilis lordship m. Rose, great grand-dau. of Richard de Clare, Earl of Hertford, and dying 1298, left two sons, John, his heir, and Alexander, who went to Scotland. The son and heir,
John de Mowbray, 2nd baron, summoned to parliament from 26 August, 1307. to 5 Angust. 1320. This nobleman during his minority. was actively engaged in the Scottish wars of King Edward I., and had livery of all his lands before he attained minority. in consideration of those services. In the 6th Edward
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1[., being then sheriff of Yorkshire, and governor of the city of York, he had command from the king to seize upon Henry de Perey, then a great baron in the north, in consequence of that nobleman suffering Piers de Gaveston, Earl of Cornwall, to escape from Scarborough Castle, in which he had undertaken to keep him in safety. The next year Lord Mowbray was in another expedition into Scotland, and he was then constituted one of the wardens of the marches towards that kingdom. In the 11th of the same reign he was made governor of Malton and Scarborough Castles, in Yorkshire, and the following year he was once more in Scotland, invested with authority to receive into protection all who should submit to King Edward. But afterwards taking part in the insurrection of Thomas, Earl of Lancaster, he was made prisoner with that nobleman and others at the battle of Boroughbridge, and immediately hanged at York, anno 1321, when his lands were seized by the crown, and Aliva, his widow, with her son, imprisoned in the Tower of Lon- don. This lady, who was dau. and co-heir of William de Braose, Lord Braose, of Gower, was compelled, in order to ob- tain some alleviation of her unhappy situation to confer several manors of her own inheritance upon Hugh le Despencer, Earl of Winchester. In the next reign, however, she obtained from the crown a confirmation of Gowerland, in Wales, to herself and the heirs of her body by her deceased husband, with remainder to Humphrey de Bohun, Earl of Hereford and Essex, and his heirs. Lady Mowbray m. 2ndly, Sir R. de Peshale, Knt., and d. in the 5th Edward III. Her ladyship's son,
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