Discussion:
Sir Michael Stanhope (by 1508-1552) Descent from Edward I?
(too old to reply)
Brad Verity
2015-10-05 00:40:40 UTC
Permalink
My latest blogpost goes over - what I feel is - a rather big gaffe on the part of the College of Arms on the Frank Gardner episode of the U.K. 'Who Do YouThink You Are' series:
http://royaldescent.blogspot.co.uk/2015/10/college-of-arms-error-on-who-do-you.html

Questions and comments welcome, as I'm going to try and contact 'Who Do You Think You Are' about this. Am I making a mountain out of a molehill?

Cheers, ----Brad
j***@gmail.com
2015-10-05 11:34:28 UTC
Permalink
Good catch. Definitely egg on their face. A lazy shortcut.
Ken Rolston
2015-10-05 22:15:57 UTC
Permalink
Post by Brad Verity
http://royaldescent.blogspot.co.uk/2015/10/college-of-arms-error-on-who-do-you.html
Questions and comments welcome, as I'm going to try and contact 'Who Do You Think You Are' about this. Am I making a mountain out of a molehill?
Cheers, ----Brad
Brad,
t's not too much of a mountain but certainly not a molehill.
I have already had enquiries from New Zealand Rollestons, cousins of Frank Gardner, about the ancestral sequence. I had intended posting a query on this forum about that very subject, you have got in first with the answers. I and other Rollestons are grateful for your details. In fact I would be pleased to hear of any other lineages, that you have hinted at. I don't normally follow the royal descents, although interest is building from reading yours and other postings.
For the record, Rev John Rolleston was about 5th son of Christopher Rolleston of Watnall and wife Hannah Holden from Aston on Trent. John was 41 years Rector at Aston on Trent and received substantial properties in the will proved 1751 of his eldest brother Lancelot Rolleston of Watnall. From John & Dorothy descended all of the later Rolleston of Watnall, as well as Prof George Rolleston at Oxford (featured in the programme)and his youngest brother William who emigrated and initiated a considerable branch in NZ. George's eldest brother, not mentioned on the programme, was Sir Humphry Davy Rolleston, Regius Professor of Medicine at Cambridge Uni, Physician in Ordinary to King George V, and I believe attended at the King's death. Sir Humphry of course was Frank's mother Grace's uncle.

Ken.
taf
2015-10-06 00:18:54 UTC
Permalink
Post by Brad Verity
My latest blogpost goes over - what I feel is - a rather big gaffe on the
part of the College of Arms on the Frank Gardner episode of the U.K. 'Who
http://royaldescent.blogspot.co.uk/2015/10/college-of-arms-error-on-who-do-you.html
Questions and comments welcome, as I'm going to try and contact 'Who Do
You Think You Are' about this. Am I making a mountain out of a molehill?
You are spot on in terms of your chronological analysis. However, I do have a major and a minor quibble.

The major quibble is that in two instances you draw conclusions based on an assumption of completeness in a visitation. You indicate that Mary Jerningham either died as a child or was yet unmarried in 1561, based on the failure of the visitation to name a husband. Likewise, you imply a significance to a Margaret or Mary being missing from the previous generation. I just want to point out that I can cite examples both of visitation pedigrees that give incomplete lists of children, and when a spouse was not shown for a married woman. I would be very careful in arguing based on what is absent from a visitation pedigree.

The minor quibble. which is non-genealogical: you indicate that Lord Stanhope was "wrongfully executed" in 1552. Unless you mean a far-sighted executioner misread the name on the edict and put the wrong bloke on the block, I am not sure the term 'wrongfully' can be applied. Amidst a pattern of arbitrary and capricious executions that spanned most of the century and beyond, what constitutes being 'rightfully executed'? (OK, John Felton I will give you.)

taf
Ken Rolston
2015-10-06 08:40:34 UTC
Permalink
Post by taf
Post by Brad Verity
My latest blogpost goes over - what I feel is - a rather big gaffe on the
part of the College of Arms on the Frank Gardner episode of the U.K. 'Who
http://royaldescent.blogspot.co.uk/2015/10/college-of-arms-error-on-who-do-you.html
Questions and comments welcome, as I'm going to try and contact 'Who Do
You Think You Are' about this. Am I making a mountain out of a molehill?
You are spot on in terms of your chronological analysis. However, I do have a major and a minor quibble.
The major quibble is that in two instances you draw conclusions based on an assumption of completeness in a visitation. You indicate that Mary Jerningham either died as a child or was yet unmarried in 1561, based on the failure of the visitation to name a husband. Likewise, you imply a significance to a Margaret or Mary being missing from the previous generation. I just want to point out that I can cite examples both of visitation pedigrees that give incomplete lists of children, and when a spouse was not shown for a married woman. I would be very careful in arguing based on what is absent from a visitation pedigree.
The minor quibble. which is non-genealogical: you indicate that Lord Stanhope was "wrongfully executed" in 1552. Unless you mean a far-sighted executioner misread the name on the edict and put the wrong bloke on the block, I am not sure the term 'wrongfully' can be applied. Amidst a pattern of arbitrary and capricious executions that spanned most of the century and beyond, what constitutes being 'rightfully executed'? (OK, John Felton I will give you.)
taf
Sorry folks, there is a small correction to my post.
Sir Humphry Davy Rolleston was eldest son of Prof George Rolleston, not his eldest brother.

Ken
j***@gmail.com
2015-10-06 08:51:13 UTC
Permalink
Ken,

Is there a family connection between the Rollestons and Sir Humphrey Davy?

Regards,

John
Ian Goddard
2015-10-06 08:56:41 UTC
Permalink
Post by j***@gmail.com
Ken,
Is there a family connection between the Rollestons and Sir Humphrey Davy?
I guess you missed the programme, John. George Rolleston was an eminent
Victorian scientist as, of course, was Davy at a time when the
scientific community was much smaller than it is now. They were
professional colleagues and personal friends.
--
Hotmail is my spam bin. Real address is ianng
at austonley org uk
Ken Rolston
2015-10-06 09:15:41 UTC
Permalink
Post by Ian Goddard
Post by j***@gmail.com
Ken,
Is there a family connection between the Rollestons and Sir Humphrey Davy?
I guess you missed the programme, John. George Rolleston was an eminent
Victorian scientist as, of course, was Davy at a time when the
scientific community was much smaller than it is now. They were
professional colleagues and personal friends.
--
Hotmail is my spam bin. Real address is ianng
at austonley org uk
John,
I have not done detailed investigation through Sir Humphry Davy, my understanding is that Grace Davy, the wife of Prof George Rolleston was Sir Humphry's niece and daughter of John Davy FRS. Her son Humphry Davy Rolleston the eminent physician, was obviously named after him.
The Davy name carried on through the next generations. Frank Gardner's grandfather, a younger son of George & Grace, was named John Davy Rolleston. This John's grandson in NZ, known to Frank, is named Humphry Davy Rolleston.


Ken.
Brad Verity
2015-10-06 19:42:04 UTC
Permalink
Post by j***@gmail.com
Good catch. Definitely egg on their face. A lazy shortcut.
Joe, I got a very prompt and polite response from the College. It's very old "egg on their face" - the mis-assignation of Sir Michael Stanhope's paternal Jerningham grandmother as a daughter of Sir Edward Jerningham (d. 1515) & Mary Scrope, dates much further back than the early 19th-century, and seems to have originated in the late 16th-century. This of course is well before the records were available that today allow us to apply vital dates to the individuals, and so verify the pedigrees via chronology.

The College has reviewed the issues with the Mary Scrope/Sir Michael Stanhope chronology, and agree that she could not have been his ancestor, and they are adjusting their records.
Post by j***@gmail.com
t's not too much of a mountain but certainly not a molehill.
I have already had enquiries from New Zealand Rollestons, cousins of Frank Gardner, about the ancestral sequence. I had intended posting a query on this forum about that very subject, you have got in first with the answers. I and other Rollestons are grateful for your details. In fact I would be pleased to hear of any other lineages, that you have hinted at. I don't normally follow the royal descents, although interest is building from reading yours and other postings.
For the record, Rev John Rolleston was about 5th son of Christopher Rolleston of Watnall and wife Hannah Holden from Aston on Trent. John was 41 years Rector at Aston on Trent and received substantial properties in the will proved 1751 of his eldest brother Lancelot Rolleston of Watnall.
Thank you very much, Ken, for the parentage of Rev. John Rolleston - I did not have it. I won't be able to look into it myself for several weeks at least. But John Higgins has alerted me that there is at least one Edward III line in Rev. Rolleston's ancestry. Hopefully John will have time to post it here to SocGenMed.

If there's a particular line that you or other Rolleston would like further information on, just let me know, and I'll be happy to send or post the details that I have.
Post by j***@gmail.com
From John & Dorothy descended all of the later Rolleston of Watnall, as well as Prof George Rolleston at Oxford (featured in the programme)and his youngest brother William who emigrated and initiated a considerable branch in NZ. George's eldest brother, not mentioned on the programme, was Sir Humphry Davy Rolleston, Regius Professor of Medicine at Cambridge Uni, Physician in Ordinary to King George V, and I believe attended at the King's death. Sir Humphry of course was Frank's mother Grace's uncle.
This is all great - the WDYTYA programme never hinted that the Rolleston descendants had become so widespread. If you have the availability to re-watch the episode, and can pause while doing so, toward the beginning of the programme, when Frank Gardner is talking with his cousin, and she shows him their grandfather's obituary, pause on the text of it. I thought I had seen that their grandmother Grace was the *daughter* of Sir Humphrey Davy. This of course would be a much stronger reason for John and Grace Rolleston to have named their son Humphrey Davy Rolleston, than if Grace was Davy's niece.
Post by j***@gmail.com
You are spot on in terms of your chronological analysis. However, I do have a major and a minor quibble.
The major quibble is that in two instances you draw conclusions based on an assumption of completeness in a visitation. You indicate that Mary Jerningham either died as a child or was yet unmarried in 1561, based on the failure of the visitation to name a husband. Likewise, you imply a significance to a Margaret or Mary being missing from the previous generation. I just want to point out that I can cite examples both of visitation pedigrees that give incomplete lists of children, and when a spouse was not shown for a married woman. I would be very careful in arguing based on what is absent from a visitation pedigree.
Completely agree with you here, Todd, in general, in regards to Visitation pedigrees. With this specific 1561 Jerningham pedigree, however, Sir Edward's daughters from his first marriage to Margaret Bedingfield, are all named with husbands, as are the two daughters of his son Sir John Jerningham. Going one generation back from Sir Edward (d. 1515), to his parents Sir John Jerningham (d. 1503) & Isabel Clifton, their three daughters are not named, but the surnames (though not first names) of their spouses are given. This strikes me as a fairly accurate account of the extent of the family knowledge of whoever the Jerningham family representative was who worked with the herald in 1561.

By 1561, the Stanhopes had become a prominent family on a national level, and I would think that had a daughter of Sir John Jerningham (d. 1503) married into the Stanhope family, the Jerningham family rep in 1561 would have known to add that marriage in along with the spouses of the other three daughters which were given. Stanhope was certainly more prominent in 1561 than those other three families - "Palmer", "Scott of Kymberley", and "Haslake of Norfolk".
Post by j***@gmail.com
The minor quibble. which is non-genealogical: you indicate that Lord Stanhope was "wrongfully executed" in 1552. Unless you mean a far-sighted executioner misread the name on the edict and put the wrong bloke on the block, I am not sure the term 'wrongfully' can be applied. Amidst a pattern of arbitrary and capricious executions that spanned most of the century and beyond, what constitutes being 'rightfully executed'? (OK, John Felton I will give you.)
Point conceded. I was following the WDYTYA episode, which spent quite a bit of time on the Sir Michael Stanhope segment, with the historian concluding that John Dudley, Earl of Warwick, was on a power-grab, and the charge of treason for which Sir Michael Stanhope was found guilty was completely trumped up. Sir Michael went to the block maintaining his loyalty to King Edward VI. It's wrong in today's sense of justice (hopefully), but, yes, 'justice' in the 16th-century was an entirely different concept.

Cheers, -----Brad
j***@gmail.com
2015-10-06 20:06:56 UTC
Permalink
Post by Brad Verity
Post by j***@gmail.com
Good catch. Definitely egg on their face. A lazy shortcut.
Joe, I got a very prompt and polite response from the College. It's very old "egg on their face" - the mis-assignation of Sir Michael Stanhope's paternal Jerningham grandmother as a daughter of Sir Edward Jerningham (d. 1515) & Mary Scrope, dates much further back than the early 19th-century, and seems to have originated in the late 16th-century. This of course is well before the records were available that today allow us to apply vital dates to the individuals, and so verify the pedigrees via chronology.
Thank you for reporting back. You are right, it's hard to fault someone in the 1500s for a minor error I suppose, and I shouldn't have jumped on them. They probably had more important things on their mind like famine, disease and the price of wheat.

Cheers,
Joe C
j***@yahoo.com
2015-10-07 04:58:05 UTC
Permalink
Post by Brad Verity
Thank you very much, Ken, for the parentage of Rev. John Rolleston - I did not have it. I won't be able to look into it myself for several weeks at least. But John Higgins has alerted me that there is at least one Edward III line in Rev. Rolleston's ancestry. Hopefully John will have time to post it here to SocGenMed.
Cheers, -----Brad
The family of Rolleston of Watnall, from which Rev. John Rolleston above is descended, picked up its Edward III descents when Philip Rolleston married Frances Pierrepont, daughter of Robert Pierrepont, 1st Earl of Kingston-upon-Hull, by his wife Gertrude Talbot. It's Gertrude who is the Edward III descendant (10 times, by my count - all through her father Henry). Most if not all of the Edward III descents for her should be able to be traced via Leo's Genealogics database, where she appears here:
http://www.genealogics.org/getperson.php?personID=I00052296&tree=LEO
Ken Rolston
2015-10-07 18:47:55 UTC
Permalink
Post by j***@yahoo.com
Post by Brad Verity
Thank you very much, Ken, for the parentage of Rev. John Rolleston - I did not have it. I won't be able to look into it myself for several weeks at least. But John Higgins has alerted me that there is at least one Edward III line in Rev. Rolleston's ancestry. Hopefully John will have time to post it here to SocGenMed.
Cheers, -----Brad
http://www.genealogics.org/getperson.php?personID=I00052296&tree=LEO
Back in May of this year I was contacted by one of the BBC researchers enquiring for details related to the Rolleston lineage through Watnall, though they did not let on that the subject was Frank Gardner. At that time they were considering the link through the Pierreponts to Bess of Hardwick. I was able to show that the line collapses at the Philip Rolleston & Frances Pierrepont marriage.
Burke's Colonial Gentry states that Philip & Francis had a son Edward Rolleston of Toynton who succeeded his "cousin" Lancelot Rolleston of Watnall and united the properties. Later Rolleston histories are based on this supposed descent, but it is not correct. Edward of Toynton proves in his own will that he was son of Thomas & Hellen at Toynton and in fact his descent is through Rowlstons of Toynton and previously Tanshelf.
The Notts Visitations do not describe any issue for Philip & Frances. I do not believe there were any; from available dates, it would appear that Frances died very early in the marriage and without issue. Her birth date is not confirmed, although Wikipedia provides 1615. I have found no primary record of any issue from the marriage.
Philip married secondly Margaret, with one son Philip. The elder Philip died 1627, he concluded a lease at Wymeswold 1627 and Margaret, widow of Philip Rolleston concluded one similarly in 1627/28 and another with her son Philip (obviously an infant) in 1628/29. Allowing time for Margaret's marriage, this indicates that Frances died earlier, perhaps 1625/26 latest, which means that a 1615 birth cannot be correct. Her parents married 1601, so even if Frances was the first born, it would not be before 1602 or 1603. If dead by 1625, she could not be older that about 22. I do wonder whether she might have died in child birth, the child dying with her?

Not only did this destroy the Bess of Hardwick story, it terminally damages the accepted pedigree lineage of the Watnall Rollestons. There are hints of this in our soc.gen.med posts last year, where we were discussing the Rollestons of Tanshelf & Toynton. Terry Booth in particular had good comments and data that pointed the way to my fundamental re-evaluation of the Watnall Rolleston history through this period of time, that I am presently working on. This also eliminates the possibility of an Edward III connection through Gertrude Talbot, mother of Frances.

Ken
j***@yahoo.com
2015-10-07 23:36:03 UTC
Permalink
Post by Ken Rolston
Post by j***@yahoo.com
Post by Brad Verity
Thank you very much, Ken, for the parentage of Rev. John Rolleston - I did not have it. I won't be able to look into it myself for several weeks at least. But John Higgins has alerted me that there is at least one Edward III line in Rev. Rolleston's ancestry. Hopefully John will have time to post it here to SocGenMed.
Cheers, -----Brad
http://www.genealogics.org/getperson.php?personID=I00052296&tree=LEO
Back in May of this year I was contacted by one of the BBC researchers enquiring for details related to the Rolleston lineage through Watnall, though they did not let on that the subject was Frank Gardner. At that time they were considering the link through the Pierreponts to Bess of Hardwick. I was able to show that the line collapses at the Philip Rolleston & Frances Pierrepont marriage.
Burke's Colonial Gentry states that Philip & Francis had a son Edward Rolleston of Toynton who succeeded his "cousin" Lancelot Rolleston of Watnall and united the properties. Later Rolleston histories are based on this supposed descent, but it is not correct. Edward of Toynton proves in his own will that he was son of Thomas & Hellen at Toynton and in fact his descent is through Rowlstons of Toynton and previously Tanshelf.
The Notts Visitations do not describe any issue for Philip & Frances. I do not believe there were any; from available dates, it would appear that Frances died very early in the marriage and without issue. Her birth date is not confirmed, although Wikipedia provides 1615. I have found no primary record of any issue from the marriage.
Philip married secondly Margaret, with one son Philip. The elder Philip died 1627, he concluded a lease at Wymeswold 1627 and Margaret, widow of Philip Rolleston concluded one similarly in 1627/28 and another with her son Philip (obviously an infant) in 1628/29. Allowing time for Margaret's marriage, this indicates that Frances died earlier, perhaps 1625/26 latest, which means that a 1615 birth cannot be correct. Her parents married 1601, so even if Frances was the first born, it would not be before 1602 or 1603. If dead by 1625, she could not be older that about 22. I do wonder whether she might have died in child birth, the child dying with her?
Not only did this destroy the Bess of Hardwick story, it terminally damages the accepted pedigree lineage of the Watnall Rollestons. There are hints of this in our soc.gen.med posts last year, where we were discussing the Rollestons of Tanshelf & Toynton. Terry Booth in particular had good comments and data that pointed the way to my fundamental re-evaluation of the Watnall Rolleston history through this period of time, that I am presently working on. This also eliminates the possibility of an Edward III connection through Gertrude Talbot, mother of Frances.
Ken
Thank you for this interesting information regarding Philip Rolleston and Frances Pierrepont. It's perhaps understandable how whoever composed the Rolleston pedigree in the Burke's publications (both Colonial Gentry and Landed Gentry) assigned Edward Rolleston "of Toynton", the heir in 1685 of Lancelot Rolleston of Watnall, as the son of Philip Rolleston and Frances Pierrepont. The Rolleston pedigree in the 1662-64 Notts visitation shows Philip as the only brother of John Rolleston, grandfather of Lancelot, and thus the only path for a cousin of the latter. But other pedigrees of the family show additional siblings for John and Philip (noted in your March 2014 post), and you note in the current post that you "have found no primary record of any issue from the marriage" [of Philip and Frances], and thus the Edward III descents of Frances die with her.

After reading and re-reading your March 2014 post several times, I think this is what you're proposing as the correct lineage of the later Rollestons of Watnall:

1. Ralph Rolleston, m. Margaret Bingham
2. Thomas Rolleston, m. Elizabeth Ashe
3. Edward Rolleston, m. Anne Goodericke
4. Thomas Rolleston, m. Helen
5a. Lancelot
5b. Edward
5c. Another son, father of Christopher (d. 1756) who continues the family in the BLG pedigree

Is this accurate (as far as it goes), or have I missed something?

Thanks for all the effort you've expended on researching this complicated family. The information you've assembled is very helpful.
j***@yahoo.com
2015-10-07 23:47:41 UTC
Permalink
Post by j***@yahoo.com
Post by Ken Rolston
Post by j***@yahoo.com
Post by Brad Verity
Thank you very much, Ken, for the parentage of Rev. John Rolleston - I did not have it. I won't be able to look into it myself for several weeks at least. But John Higgins has alerted me that there is at least one Edward III line in Rev. Rolleston's ancestry. Hopefully John will have time to post it here to SocGenMed.
Cheers, -----Brad
http://www.genealogics.org/getperson.php?personID=I00052296&tree=LEO
Back in May of this year I was contacted by one of the BBC researchers enquiring for details related to the Rolleston lineage through Watnall, though they did not let on that the subject was Frank Gardner. At that time they were considering the link through the Pierreponts to Bess of Hardwick. I was able to show that the line collapses at the Philip Rolleston & Frances Pierrepont marriage.
Burke's Colonial Gentry states that Philip & Francis had a son Edward Rolleston of Toynton who succeeded his "cousin" Lancelot Rolleston of Watnall and united the properties. Later Rolleston histories are based on this supposed descent, but it is not correct. Edward of Toynton proves in his own will that he was son of Thomas & Hellen at Toynton and in fact his descent is through Rowlstons of Toynton and previously Tanshelf.
The Notts Visitations do not describe any issue for Philip & Frances. I do not believe there were any; from available dates, it would appear that Frances died very early in the marriage and without issue. Her birth date is not confirmed, although Wikipedia provides 1615. I have found no primary record of any issue from the marriage.
Philip married secondly Margaret, with one son Philip. The elder Philip died 1627, he concluded a lease at Wymeswold 1627 and Margaret, widow of Philip Rolleston concluded one similarly in 1627/28 and another with her son Philip (obviously an infant) in 1628/29. Allowing time for Margaret's marriage, this indicates that Frances died earlier, perhaps 1625/26 latest, which means that a 1615 birth cannot be correct. Her parents married 1601, so even if Frances was the first born, it would not be before 1602 or 1603. If dead by 1625, she could not be older that about 22. I do wonder whether she might have died in child birth, the child dying with her?
Not only did this destroy the Bess of Hardwick story, it terminally damages the accepted pedigree lineage of the Watnall Rollestons. There are hints of this in our soc.gen.med posts last year, where we were discussing the Rollestons of Tanshelf & Toynton. Terry Booth in particular had good comments and data that pointed the way to my fundamental re-evaluation of the Watnall Rolleston history through this period of time, that I am presently working on. This also eliminates the possibility of an Edward III connection through Gertrude Talbot, mother of Frances.
Ken
Thank you for this interesting information regarding Philip Rolleston and Frances Pierrepont. It's perhaps understandable how whoever composed the Rolleston pedigree in the Burke's publications (both Colonial Gentry and Landed Gentry) assigned Edward Rolleston "of Toynton", the heir in 1685 of Lancelot Rolleston of Watnall, as the son of Philip Rolleston and Frances Pierrepont. The Rolleston pedigree in the 1662-64 Notts visitation shows Philip as the only brother of John Rolleston, grandfather of Lancelot, and thus the only path for a cousin of the latter. But other pedigrees of the family show additional siblings for John and Philip (noted in your March 2014 post), and you note in the current post that you "have found no primary record of any issue from the marriage" [of Philip and Frances], and thus the Edward III descents of Frances die with her.
1. Ralph Rolleston, m. Margaret Bingham
2. Thomas Rolleston, m. Elizabeth Ashe
3. Edward Rolleston, m. Anne Goodericke
4. Thomas Rolleston, m. Helen
5a. Lancelot
5b. Edward
5c. Another son, father of Christopher (d. 1756) who continues the family in the BLG pedigree
Is this accurate (as far as it goes), or have I missed something?
Thanks for all the effort you've expended on researching this complicated family. The information you've assembled is very helpful.
I see know that I overlooked Ken Rolston's later post of May 2014 in which he accepted Terry Booth's conclusion that the Edward Rolleston who married Anne Goodericke was NOT the Edward who was the son of Thomas Rolleston and Elizabeth Ashe. So...where does this leave the question of the later Rollestons of Watnall - unresolved?
Ken Rolston
2015-10-08 10:37:23 UTC
Permalink
Post by j***@yahoo.com
Post by j***@yahoo.com
Post by Ken Rolston
Post by j***@yahoo.com
Post by Brad Verity
Thank you very much, Ken, for the parentage of Rev. John Rolleston - I did not have it. I won't be able to look into it myself for several weeks at least. But John Higgins has alerted me that there is at least one Edward III line in Rev. Rolleston's ancestry. Hopefully John will have time to post it here to SocGenMed.
Cheers, -----Brad
http://www.genealogics.org/getperson.php?personID=I00052296&tree=LEO
Back in May of this year I was contacted by one of the BBC researchers enquiring for details related to the Rolleston lineage through Watnall, though they did not let on that the subject was Frank Gardner. At that time they were considering the link through the Pierreponts to Bess of Hardwick. I was able to show that the line collapses at the Philip Rolleston & Frances Pierrepont marriage.
Burke's Colonial Gentry states that Philip & Francis had a son Edward Rolleston of Toynton who succeeded his "cousin" Lancelot Rolleston of Watnall and united the properties. Later Rolleston histories are based on this supposed descent, but it is not correct. Edward of Toynton proves in his own will that he was son of Thomas & Hellen at Toynton and in fact his descent is through Rowlstons of Toynton and previously Tanshelf.
The Notts Visitations do not describe any issue for Philip & Frances. I do not believe there were any; from available dates, it would appear that Frances died very early in the marriage and without issue. Her birth date is not confirmed, although Wikipedia provides 1615. I have found no primary record of any issue from the marriage.
Philip married secondly Margaret, with one son Philip. The elder Philip died 1627, he concluded a lease at Wymeswold 1627 and Margaret, widow of Philip Rolleston concluded one similarly in 1627/28 and another with her son Philip (obviously an infant) in 1628/29. Allowing time for Margaret's marriage, this indicates that Frances died earlier, perhaps 1625/26 latest, which means that a 1615 birth cannot be correct. Her parents married 1601, so even if Frances was the first born, it would not be before 1602 or 1603. If dead by 1625, she could not be older that about 22. I do wonder whether she might have died in child birth, the child dying with her?
Not only did this destroy the Bess of Hardwick story, it terminally damages the accepted pedigree lineage of the Watnall Rollestons. There are hints of this in our soc.gen.med posts last year, where we were discussing the Rollestons of Tanshelf & Toynton. Terry Booth in particular had good comments and data that pointed the way to my fundamental re-evaluation of the Watnall Rolleston history through this period of time, that I am presently working on. This also eliminates the possibility of an Edward III connection through Gertrude Talbot, mother of Frances.
Ken
Thank you for this interesting information regarding Philip Rolleston and Frances Pierrepont. It's perhaps understandable how whoever composed the Rolleston pedigree in the Burke's publications (both Colonial Gentry and Landed Gentry) assigned Edward Rolleston "of Toynton", the heir in 1685 of Lancelot Rolleston of Watnall, as the son of Philip Rolleston and Frances Pierrepont. The Rolleston pedigree in the 1662-64 Notts visitation shows Philip as the only brother of John Rolleston, grandfather of Lancelot, and thus the only path for a cousin of the latter. But other pedigrees of the family show additional siblings for John and Philip (noted in your March 2014 post), and you note in the current post that you "have found no primary record of any issue from the marriage" [of Philip and Frances], and thus the Edward III descents of Frances die with her.
1. Ralph Rolleston, m. Margaret Bingham
2. Thomas Rolleston, m. Elizabeth Ashe
3. Edward Rolleston, m. Anne Goodericke
4. Thomas Rolleston, m. Helen
5a. Lancelot
5b. Edward
5c. Another son, father of Christopher (d. 1756) who continues the family in the BLG pedigree
Is this accurate (as far as it goes), or have I missed something?
Thanks for all the effort you've expended on researching this complicated family. The information you've assembled is very helpful.
I see know that I overlooked Ken Rolston's later post of May 2014 in which he accepted Terry Booth's conclusion that the Edward Rolleston who married Anne Goodericke was NOT the Edward who was the son of Thomas Rolleston and Elizabeth Ashe. So...where does this leave the question of the later Rollestons of Watnall - unresolved?
The Rollestons do indeed become complicated through their succession down to Christopher, father of Rev John who married Dorothy Burdett. After Christopher there is no significant change from published pedigrees, except in some details. I mentioned my re-evaluation of the Watnall families, this has been forced on me by the inconsistencies that have arisen from last year's discussions. In fact the direct family lineage through Watnall becomes terminated at Lancelot Rolleston, died 1685. He bequeathed all of the Watnall & other estates to his "cousin" Edward Rolleston of Toynton.
John, you should ignore the lineages that have been previously discussed on this forum. You are right that the Edward at Watnall whom I thought to have married Ann Goodricke and obtained Toynton was not the correct Edward. I have since confirmed that this one as 2nd son of Thomas Rolleston & Elizabeth Ashe took up the family moiety of Oxton manor, married Jane and had issue 1 son George & 2 daughters and probably died at Oxton.
Edward of Toynton was descended from the Tanshelf branch through the 3 Edwards in succession proposed by Terry Booth. Edward (II) married Ann Goodricke who brought Toynton to the Rowlstons. From this point there are complications that I am working on. It might be remembered that Anne sold Nether Toynton to Thomas Rowlston, whom Terry proposed was her eldest son & heir. I now have potential evidence (to be checked) that he was the wrong Thomas, that Toynton may have been purchased by another Thomas, who would be a previously unknown brother of Edward (II). I have to view the original Womersley parish register in attempt to resolve this.
Meanwhile, the lineage through Edward of Toynton remains indefinite while I complete my re-evaluation.
I can definitely confirm the following of the early direct line at Watnall until 1685.
1. Raulfe Rolleston & Margery Bingham from approx 1530. Margery inherited Watnall.
2. Thomas Rolleston of Watnall & Elizabeth Ashe.
3. Lancelot Rolleston of Hucknall Torkard & Watnall & 3rd wife Margaret Ashe.
4. John Rolleston of Watnall (2nd son after Philip) & Elizabeth Chambers.
5. John Rolleston of Watnall (2nd son after Lancelot) & Elizabeth Flower.
6. Lancelot Rolleston (2nd son) & Elizabeth Pole.
Lancelot (No.6) born 1641, died 1685 aged 34 yrs, bequeathed all his estates to Edward Rolleston of Toynton, and if failure of male heirs, as there was, then to Christopher, son of Lancelot Rolleston late of Nether Toynton. Christopher, born 1670 was underage and the estates were held in trust after Edward's death 1687 at age 33. He inherited Watnall etc from Lancelot of Watnall and Toynton from Edward of Toynton, thereby combining the estates.

The sequence through the Edwards and Thomases of Tanshelf and Toynton is presently inconclusive while I complete this re-evaluation. What is becoming obvious is that the generally accepted lineage of later Watnall Rollestons post-1685 in a direct line from Raulfe & Margery is not correct. It appears probably certain that they descend from Rolleston of Rolleston, through Rolleston of Swarkeston, through Rolston/Rowlston of Tanshelf and Cridling Stubbs, to Rowlston/Rolleston of Nether Toynton, thence to Watnall from 1686 onwards.
This is forcing quite a traumatic realignment of the later Rolleston history and ancestry. As can be seen, Philip Rolleston and Frances Pierrepont do not come into contention. In fact Philip is off the direct line, having no male descendants after his son Philip.

John you appear to have quite a knowledge and interest in the Rollestons. Do you have a family connection?

Ken.
j***@yahoo.com
2015-10-08 22:56:18 UTC
Permalink
Post by Ken Rolston
Post by j***@yahoo.com
Post by j***@yahoo.com
Post by Ken Rolston
Post by j***@yahoo.com
Post by Brad Verity
Thank you very much, Ken, for the parentage of Rev. John Rolleston - I did not have it. I won't be able to look into it myself for several weeks at least. But John Higgins has alerted me that there is at least one Edward III line in Rev. Rolleston's ancestry. Hopefully John will have time to post it here to SocGenMed.
Cheers, -----Brad
http://www.genealogics.org/getperson.php?personID=I00052296&tree=LEO
Back in May of this year I was contacted by one of the BBC researchers enquiring for details related to the Rolleston lineage through Watnall, though they did not let on that the subject was Frank Gardner. At that time they were considering the link through the Pierreponts to Bess of Hardwick. I was able to show that the line collapses at the Philip Rolleston & Frances Pierrepont marriage.
Burke's Colonial Gentry states that Philip & Francis had a son Edward Rolleston of Toynton who succeeded his "cousin" Lancelot Rolleston of Watnall and united the properties. Later Rolleston histories are based on this supposed descent, but it is not correct. Edward of Toynton proves in his own will that he was son of Thomas & Hellen at Toynton and in fact his descent is through Rowlstons of Toynton and previously Tanshelf.
The Notts Visitations do not describe any issue for Philip & Frances. I do not believe there were any; from available dates, it would appear that Frances died very early in the marriage and without issue. Her birth date is not confirmed, although Wikipedia provides 1615. I have found no primary record of any issue from the marriage.
Philip married secondly Margaret, with one son Philip. The elder Philip died 1627, he concluded a lease at Wymeswold 1627 and Margaret, widow of Philip Rolleston concluded one similarly in 1627/28 and another with her son Philip (obviously an infant) in 1628/29. Allowing time for Margaret's marriage, this indicates that Frances died earlier, perhaps 1625/26 latest, which means that a 1615 birth cannot be correct. Her parents married 1601, so even if Frances was the first born, it would not be before 1602 or 1603. If dead by 1625, she could not be older that about 22. I do wonder whether she might have died in child birth, the child dying with her?
Not only did this destroy the Bess of Hardwick story, it terminally damages the accepted pedigree lineage of the Watnall Rollestons. There are hints of this in our soc.gen.med posts last year, where we were discussing the Rollestons of Tanshelf & Toynton. Terry Booth in particular had good comments and data that pointed the way to my fundamental re-evaluation of the Watnall Rolleston history through this period of time, that I am presently working on. This also eliminates the possibility of an Edward III connection through Gertrude Talbot, mother of Frances.
Ken
Thank you for this interesting information regarding Philip Rolleston and Frances Pierrepont. It's perhaps understandable how whoever composed the Rolleston pedigree in the Burke's publications (both Colonial Gentry and Landed Gentry) assigned Edward Rolleston "of Toynton", the heir in 1685 of Lancelot Rolleston of Watnall, as the son of Philip Rolleston and Frances Pierrepont. The Rolleston pedigree in the 1662-64 Notts visitation shows Philip as the only brother of John Rolleston, grandfather of Lancelot, and thus the only path for a cousin of the latter. But other pedigrees of the family show additional siblings for John and Philip (noted in your March 2014 post), and you note in the current post that you "have found no primary record of any issue from the marriage" [of Philip and Frances], and thus the Edward III descents of Frances die with her.
1. Ralph Rolleston, m. Margaret Bingham
2. Thomas Rolleston, m. Elizabeth Ashe
3. Edward Rolleston, m. Anne Goodericke
4. Thomas Rolleston, m. Helen
5a. Lancelot
5b. Edward
5c. Another son, father of Christopher (d. 1756) who continues the family in the BLG pedigree
Is this accurate (as far as it goes), or have I missed something?
Thanks for all the effort you've expended on researching this complicated family. The information you've assembled is very helpful.
I see know that I overlooked Ken Rolston's later post of May 2014 in which he accepted Terry Booth's conclusion that the Edward Rolleston who married Anne Goodericke was NOT the Edward who was the son of Thomas Rolleston and Elizabeth Ashe. So...where does this leave the question of the later Rollestons of Watnall - unresolved?
The Rollestons do indeed become complicated through their succession down to Christopher, father of Rev John who married Dorothy Burdett. After Christopher there is no significant change from published pedigrees, except in some details. I mentioned my re-evaluation of the Watnall families, this has been forced on me by the inconsistencies that have arisen from last year's discussions. In fact the direct family lineage through Watnall becomes terminated at Lancelot Rolleston, died 1685. He bequeathed all of the Watnall & other estates to his "cousin" Edward Rolleston of Toynton.
John, you should ignore the lineages that have been previously discussed on this forum. You are right that the Edward at Watnall whom I thought to have married Ann Goodricke and obtained Toynton was not the correct Edward. I have since confirmed that this one as 2nd son of Thomas Rolleston & Elizabeth Ashe took up the family moiety of Oxton manor, married Jane and had issue 1 son George & 2 daughters and probably died at Oxton.
Edward of Toynton was descended from the Tanshelf branch through the 3 Edwards in succession proposed by Terry Booth. Edward (II) married Ann Goodricke who brought Toynton to the Rowlstons. From this point there are complications that I am working on. It might be remembered that Anne sold Nether Toynton to Thomas Rowlston, whom Terry proposed was her eldest son & heir. I now have potential evidence (to be checked) that he was the wrong Thomas, that Toynton may have been purchased by another Thomas, who would be a previously unknown brother of Edward (II). I have to view the original Womersley parish register in attempt to resolve this.
Meanwhile, the lineage through Edward of Toynton remains indefinite while I complete my re-evaluation.
I can definitely confirm the following of the early direct line at Watnall until 1685.
1. Raulfe Rolleston & Margery Bingham from approx 1530. Margery inherited Watnall.
2. Thomas Rolleston of Watnall & Elizabeth Ashe.
3. Lancelot Rolleston of Hucknall Torkard & Watnall & 3rd wife Margaret Ashe.
4. John Rolleston of Watnall (2nd son after Philip) & Elizabeth Chambers.
5. John Rolleston of Watnall (2nd son after Lancelot) & Elizabeth Flower.
6. Lancelot Rolleston (2nd son) & Elizabeth Pole.
Lancelot (No.6) born 1641, died 1685 aged 34 yrs, bequeathed all his estates to Edward Rolleston of Toynton, and if failure of male heirs, as there was, then to Christopher, son of Lancelot Rolleston late of Nether Toynton. Christopher, born 1670 was underage and the estates were held in trust after Edward's death 1687 at age 33. He inherited Watnall etc from Lancelot of Watnall and Toynton from Edward of Toynton, thereby combining the estates.
The sequence through the Edwards and Thomases of Tanshelf and Toynton is presently inconclusive while I complete this re-evaluation. What is becoming obvious is that the generally accepted lineage of later Watnall Rollestons post-1685 in a direct line from Raulfe & Margery is not correct. It appears probably certain that they descend from Rolleston of Rolleston, through Rolleston of Swarkeston, through Rolston/Rowlston of Tanshelf and Cridling Stubbs, to Rowlston/Rolleston of Nether Toynton, thence to Watnall from 1686 onwards.
This is forcing quite a traumatic realignment of the later Rolleston history and ancestry. As can be seen, Philip Rolleston and Frances Pierrepont do not come into contention. In fact Philip is off the direct line, having no male descendants after his son Philip.
John you appear to have quite a knowledge and interest in the Rollestons. Do you have a family connection?
Ken.
Thanks for this useful summary of the current situation on the lineage of the post-1685 Rollestons of Watnall. You, along with Terry Booth, have done some good work on this family. I hope that your continued work on the family will unravel the mysteries of the ancestry of the current family.

No, I have no family connection to the Rollestons (or to any other family of the gentry and nobility AFAIK!!) But I've come across the Rollestons periodically in my research into other families, which has kept me interested in them. Of particular note, the early Rollestons on Rolleston and the Rollestons of Lea are ancestral to Prince William the Duke of Cambridge. And the post-1685 Rollestons of Watnall have entered into some interesting marriages with other families of the nobility and gentry in the 18th and 19th centuries.

Good look with your ongoing research....keep us posted on your results.
Ken Rolston
2015-10-09 09:12:01 UTC
Permalink
Post by j***@yahoo.com
Post by Ken Rolston
Post by j***@yahoo.com
Post by j***@yahoo.com
Post by Ken Rolston
Post by j***@yahoo.com
Post by Brad Verity
Thank you very much, Ken, for the parentage of Rev. John Rolleston - I did not have it. I won't be able to look into it myself for several weeks at least. But John Higgins has alerted me that there is at least one Edward III line in Rev. Rolleston's ancestry. Hopefully John will have time to post it here to SocGenMed.
Cheers, -----Brad
http://www.genealogics.org/getperson.php?personID=I00052296&tree=LEO
Back in May of this year I was contacted by one of the BBC researchers enquiring for details related to the Rolleston lineage through Watnall, though they did not let on that the subject was Frank Gardner. At that time they were considering the link through the Pierreponts to Bess of Hardwick. I was able to show that the line collapses at the Philip Rolleston & Frances Pierrepont marriage.
Burke's Colonial Gentry states that Philip & Francis had a son Edward Rolleston of Toynton who succeeded his "cousin" Lancelot Rolleston of Watnall and united the properties. Later Rolleston histories are based on this supposed descent, but it is not correct. Edward of Toynton proves in his own will that he was son of Thomas & Hellen at Toynton and in fact his descent is through Rowlstons of Toynton and previously Tanshelf.
The Notts Visitations do not describe any issue for Philip & Frances. I do not believe there were any; from available dates, it would appear that Frances died very early in the marriage and without issue. Her birth date is not confirmed, although Wikipedia provides 1615. I have found no primary record of any issue from the marriage.
Philip married secondly Margaret, with one son Philip. The elder Philip died 1627, he concluded a lease at Wymeswold 1627 and Margaret, widow of Philip Rolleston concluded one similarly in 1627/28 and another with her son Philip (obviously an infant) in 1628/29. Allowing time for Margaret's marriage, this indicates that Frances died earlier, perhaps 1625/26 latest, which means that a 1615 birth cannot be correct. Her parents married 1601, so even if Frances was the first born, it would not be before 1602 or 1603. If dead by 1625, she could not be older that about 22. I do wonder whether she might have died in child birth, the child dying with her?
Not only did this destroy the Bess of Hardwick story, it terminally damages the accepted pedigree lineage of the Watnall Rollestons. There are hints of this in our soc.gen.med posts last year, where we were discussing the Rollestons of Tanshelf & Toynton. Terry Booth in particular had good comments and data that pointed the way to my fundamental re-evaluation of the Watnall Rolleston history through this period of time, that I am presently working on. This also eliminates the possibility of an Edward III connection through Gertrude Talbot, mother of Frances.
Ken
Thank you for this interesting information regarding Philip Rolleston and Frances Pierrepont. It's perhaps understandable how whoever composed the Rolleston pedigree in the Burke's publications (both Colonial Gentry and Landed Gentry) assigned Edward Rolleston "of Toynton", the heir in 1685 of Lancelot Rolleston of Watnall, as the son of Philip Rolleston and Frances Pierrepont. The Rolleston pedigree in the 1662-64 Notts visitation shows Philip as the only brother of John Rolleston, grandfather of Lancelot, and thus the only path for a cousin of the latter. But other pedigrees of the family show additional siblings for John and Philip (noted in your March 2014 post), and you note in the current post that you "have found no primary record of any issue from the marriage" [of Philip and Frances], and thus the Edward III descents of Frances die with her.
1. Ralph Rolleston, m. Margaret Bingham
2. Thomas Rolleston, m. Elizabeth Ashe
3. Edward Rolleston, m. Anne Goodericke
4. Thomas Rolleston, m. Helen
5a. Lancelot
5b. Edward
5c. Another son, father of Christopher (d. 1756) who continues the family in the BLG pedigree
Is this accurate (as far as it goes), or have I missed something?
Thanks for all the effort you've expended on researching this complicated family. The information you've assembled is very helpful.
I see know that I overlooked Ken Rolston's later post of May 2014 in which he accepted Terry Booth's conclusion that the Edward Rolleston who married Anne Goodericke was NOT the Edward who was the son of Thomas Rolleston and Elizabeth Ashe. So...where does this leave the question of the later Rollestons of Watnall - unresolved?
The Rollestons do indeed become complicated through their succession down to Christopher, father of Rev John who married Dorothy Burdett. After Christopher there is no significant change from published pedigrees, except in some details. I mentioned my re-evaluation of the Watnall families, this has been forced on me by the inconsistencies that have arisen from last year's discussions. In fact the direct family lineage through Watnall becomes terminated at Lancelot Rolleston, died 1685. He bequeathed all of the Watnall & other estates to his "cousin" Edward Rolleston of Toynton.
John, you should ignore the lineages that have been previously discussed on this forum. You are right that the Edward at Watnall whom I thought to have married Ann Goodricke and obtained Toynton was not the correct Edward. I have since confirmed that this one as 2nd son of Thomas Rolleston & Elizabeth Ashe took up the family moiety of Oxton manor, married Jane and had issue 1 son George & 2 daughters and probably died at Oxton.
Edward of Toynton was descended from the Tanshelf branch through the 3 Edwards in succession proposed by Terry Booth. Edward (II) married Ann Goodricke who brought Toynton to the Rowlstons. From this point there are complications that I am working on. It might be remembered that Anne sold Nether Toynton to Thomas Rowlston, whom Terry proposed was her eldest son & heir. I now have potential evidence (to be checked) that he was the wrong Thomas, that Toynton may have been purchased by another Thomas, who would be a previously unknown brother of Edward (II). I have to view the original Womersley parish register in attempt to resolve this.
Meanwhile, the lineage through Edward of Toynton remains indefinite while I complete my re-evaluation.
I can definitely confirm the following of the early direct line at Watnall until 1685.
1. Raulfe Rolleston & Margery Bingham from approx 1530. Margery inherited Watnall.
2. Thomas Rolleston of Watnall & Elizabeth Ashe.
3. Lancelot Rolleston of Hucknall Torkard & Watnall & 3rd wife Margaret Ashe.
4. John Rolleston of Watnall (2nd son after Philip) & Elizabeth Chambers.
5. John Rolleston of Watnall (2nd son after Lancelot) & Elizabeth Flower.
6. Lancelot Rolleston (2nd son) & Elizabeth Pole.
Lancelot (No.6) born 1641, died 1685 aged 34 yrs, bequeathed all his estates to Edward Rolleston of Toynton, and if failure of male heirs, as there was, then to Christopher, son of Lancelot Rolleston late of Nether Toynton. Christopher, born 1670 was underage and the estates were held in trust after Edward's death 1687 at age 33. He inherited Watnall etc from Lancelot of Watnall and Toynton from Edward of Toynton, thereby combining the estates.
The sequence through the Edwards and Thomases of Tanshelf and Toynton is presently inconclusive while I complete this re-evaluation. What is becoming obvious is that the generally accepted lineage of later Watnall Rollestons post-1685 in a direct line from Raulfe & Margery is not correct. It appears probably certain that they descend from Rolleston of Rolleston, through Rolleston of Swarkeston, through Rolston/Rowlston of Tanshelf and Cridling Stubbs, to Rowlston/Rolleston of Nether Toynton, thence to Watnall from 1686 onwards.
This is forcing quite a traumatic realignment of the later Rolleston history and ancestry. As can be seen, Philip Rolleston and Frances Pierrepont do not come into contention. In fact Philip is off the direct line, having no male descendants after his son Philip.
John you appear to have quite a knowledge and interest in the Rollestons. Do you have a family connection?
Ken.
Thanks for this useful summary of the current situation on the lineage of the post-1685 Rollestons of Watnall. You, along with Terry Booth, have done some good work on this family. I hope that your continued work on the family will unravel the mysteries of the ancestry of the current family.
No, I have no family connection to the Rollestons (or to any other family of the gentry and nobility AFAIK!!) But I've come across the Rollestons periodically in my research into other families, which has kept me interested in them. Of particular note, the early Rollestons on Rolleston and the Rollestons of Lea are ancestral to Prince William the Duke of Cambridge. And the post-1685 Rollestons of Watnall have entered into some interesting marriages with other families of the nobility and gentry in the 18th and 19th centuries.
Good look with your ongoing research....keep us posted on your results.
John, that connection that you hint at, Rollestons of Lea being acestral to Prince William, is interesting. Would you be kind enough to send me details? If not on here, you could email me at kenxxgeo at gmail dot com.
Rollestons, like most early gentry were very good at marriages with heiresses. An excellent example was Raulfe Rolleston of Lea (I estimate about 30) marrying the young Margery Bingham (est about 18), co-heiress of her father Richard Bingham of Watnall and co-heiress of her uncle Sir Nicholas Strelley of Linby.

Christopher Rolleston of Watnall was a little different. His wife Hannah Holden had a different background. Her great-grandfather Henry Holden was a husbandman from Findern who settled in Aston parish and died styling himself as Yeoman. His son Robert Holden, gent, purchased Aston property in 1648. Robert's son Samuel was father of Hannah. So in this case, it was Hannah who achieved the very good marriage, I believe in this case, probably a love match.
m***@gmail.com
2020-01-17 01:33:49 UTC
Permalink
Hello Mr. Rolston:

My name is Mort Rolleston from Washington DC. I have been trying to figure out how to contact you and stumbled across this chat group. If you prefer chatting over email, let me know.

Anyway: I have traced my Rolleston heritage to Ballinamallard Northern Ireland to a Henry Andrew Rollestone (born in 1850 and emigrated to US in mid 1870s to Atlanta GA). The trail runs cold quickly beyond that despite extensive online research of the usual suspects of irish geneology research sources.

Best lead so far is that I found a post you wrote on geneaology.com in 2006: https://www.genealogy.com/forum/surnames/topics/rolleston/61/.

In it, you suggest it is probably likely that the Rollestones of County Fermanagh descended from the Staffordshire Rollestons that were given land in 1610s as part of the plantations (Arthur particularly).

Followup Qs: were you able to trace the descendents of Arthur to County Fermanagh as you theorized in your 2006 blog?

Do you have a Rolleston family tree posted somewhere I can access given the extensive research you have already done?

Do you have any other tips/info relevant to my research/sources, etc?

On ancestry.com, I have created two trees: my family (Moreton Rolleston) and the Rolleston noble family from Staffordshire (Rolleston - English-Irish noble family) to include the Irish line from Frankfort Castle in Dunkerrin based on Burkes Landed Gentry and research my late grandfather Mort Rolleston Jr (I am IV) did in 1970s/80s on the English side of the family. You are welcome to check them out if they would help.

Your extensive info on Rolleston geneology online is really impressive and useful!! My late grandfather (Mort Rolleston Jr.) got a paper copy of your "Feudal Origin of the Rolleston Family of Staffordshire", which I have here on my bookshelf. I wonder if he may have met you at one time during his research in the 1970s or 80s....

Thank you for your valuable time!

Cheers, Mort Rolleston
***@rcn.com
202-510-0355
j***@yahoo.com
2015-10-10 05:10:02 UTC
Permalink
Post by Brad Verity
Post by taf
You are spot on in terms of your chronological analysis. However, I do have a major and a minor quibble.
The major quibble is that in two instances you draw conclusions based on an assumption of completeness in a visitation. You indicate that Mary Jerningham either died as a child or was yet unmarried in 1561, based on the failure of the visitation to name a husband. Likewise, you imply a significance to a Margaret or Mary being missing from the previous generation. I just want to point out that I can cite examples both of visitation pedigrees that give incomplete lists of children, and when a spouse was not shown for a married woman. I would be very careful in arguing based on what is absent from a visitation pedigree.
Completely agree with you here, Todd, in general, in regards to Visitation pedigrees. With this specific 1561 Jerningham pedigree, however, Sir Edward's daughters from his first marriage to Margaret Bedingfield, are all named with husbands, as are the two daughters of his son Sir John Jerningham. Going one generation back from Sir Edward (d. 1515), to his parents Sir John Jerningham (d. 1503) & Isabel Clifton, their three daughters are not named, but the surnames (though not first names) of their spouses are given. This strikes me as a fairly accurate account of the extent of the family knowledge of whoever the Jerningham family representative was who worked with the herald in 1561.
By 1561, the Stanhopes had become a prominent family on a national level, and I would think that had a daughter of Sir John Jerningham (d. 1503) married into the Stanhope family, the Jerningham family rep in 1561 would have known to add that marriage in along with the spouses of the other three daughters which were given. Stanhope was certainly more prominent in 1561 than those other three families - "Palmer", "Scott of Kymberley", and "Haslake of Norfolk".
Cheers, -----Brad
I have to agree with Todd's concern about assuming the completeness of information in a visitation. In the case of the 1561 Suffolk visitation that Brad has cited, a more recent analysis of the visitation has in fact showed that there are omissions in the visitation manuscript which can be filled by other sources.

Brad cited Walter C. Metcalfe's 1882 edition of the visitations of Suffolk, including the 1561 visitation in which the Jerningham (or Jernegan) pedigree was recorded. The pedigree follows the senior line of the family at Somerleyton and ends with John Jernegan [sic] of Somerleyton who married Catherine, daughter of George Brooke, Lord Cobham. This John Jernegan was presumably the informant of the herald in 1561, as his father George (an MP with a bio in HOP) had died in 1559.

There is, however, a more recent edition of the 1561 visitation that was published in a two-volume set in 1981 and 1984 by the Harleian Society, edited by Joan Corder. For each family in the visitation, Corder records first the actual text of the visitation MS, noting also additions made in later hands. She then also produces an "augmented" [my choice of words] version of the pedigree, incorporating material from other sources. This editorial "augmentation" of visitation pedigrees was of course not uncommon in many of the visitation editions published in the past. But Corder is very careful to separate this from the MS text itself and to note the sources for her additions.

The net effect of this method is that it is very clear that the visitation record is definitely not a complete record of the family. In fact, it seems to validate the suggestion that has been previously made in this group that a visitation pedigree should not be trusted more than two generations before the herald's informant. In this regard John Jernegan, presumably the herald's informant, was outside this range, as the great-great-grandson of the John Jernegan who married Isabel Clifton and was by some accounts the father of Mary the wife of Sir Thomas Stanhope. (In addition, it shows that Metcalfe's edition of the visitation did not include all the information from the original MS - although most of his omissions are relatively minor.)

This comparison of three versions of the 1561 visitation (the original MS, Metcalfe, and Corder) does appear to validate Todd's concern about assuming the completeness of visitation information. But it doesn't really help us in identifying the parentage of Mary the wife of Sir Thomas Stanhope - only that we can't make any assumptions about her based on her absence in the visitation pedigree.

Corder does record this Mary as an added daughter of John Jernegan and Isabel Clifton, citing two secondary sources (Betham's Baronetage and Suckling's History and Antiquities of Suffolk), but she also notes that Burke's Commoners say she was a daughter of John and Isabel's son Edward (as claimed in the British TV show that Brad has discussed). We now know, of course, based on Brad's analysis, that both of these proposed parentages are chronologically impossible.

I wonder however (and this is just a guess) if Mary could be a sister of the John Jernegan who married Isabel Clifton and thus a daughter (unnoted in the visitation) of John Jenegan and Mary Darell. This appears to solve the chronological problems. Admittedly there's no specific evidence to support this placement of Mary, but it's at least as good a guess (and possibly better) than those made by previous historians and/or genealogists.
Ken Rolston
2020-01-19 15:45:34 UTC
Permalink
I have responded to Mort Rolleston enquiry separately by email so as to add attachments and some comments that would not be of particular interest here.
The attachments for him are two short papers that I wrote in 2015 and 2017 describing the status and results of our researches into Rolston/Rolleston and variations of the name in Ireland and especially in the counties of Ulster. Those papers, which more or less answer his questions, are:
1) Rolston Ulster Analysis. This describes our current knowledge of the families in counties Armagh, Fermanagh, Sligo & Mayo.
2) The 6 Nephews of Colonel Francis Rolleston. Francis’s will was proved 1694 and in it he gave the names of 6 nephews, sons of his brother Arthur, those 6 being otherwise unknown. The paper describes what has been discovered about them and speculates whether some could be progenitors of the early Rolston families in Ulster.

I also gave Mort a link to 2 files recently loaded to Dropbox. Those files describe the completion of my study of the Rollestons of Tanshelf and Toynton and Watnall, in which I believe I have resolved the questions about the Rollestons that were previously discussed in this forum mostly in my posts, Rolston of Tanshelf in Pontefract, Parts 1 & 2 in March 2014 and Rolleston of Tanshelf, Toynton and Watnall Re-evaluated, in Oct 2018. Many of the conclusions in those earlier posts are now superseded due to incomplete data at the time and should be ignored now by readers. The final study now in Dropbox is definitive and comprehensive according to my latest researches.
I have resolved the questions of Edward Rolleston married to Anne Goodricke and of Thomas III Rowlston who purchased Nether Toynton from Anne and her 2nd husband Paul Hamerton. And much more!

Several of our experts on this forum have shown interest in this “complicated Rolleston family” and John Higgins in particular asked me to keep you all posted on my results.
Well John, you asked for it! Here is the link to the Dropbox files for any who wish to read this final assessment. Part 1 provides my description of the family and the derived pedigree, through to 1700 and runs to 92 pages, including 6 pedigree charts. Part 2 presents my proofs and arguments for the conclusions in the study and runs to 47 pages. As previously hinted, this new and detailed study turns the old Watnall branch pedigrees inside out, there are some remarkable changes, all supported and proved by the documentation.
There’s plenty of reading there for Mort and for any others who may wish to venture into it.

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/bkbkxtd8q1y5uqv/AAC4EMlY2uLI7_luMico64FLa?dl=0

Ken Rolston
John Higgins
2020-01-19 19:57:54 UTC
Permalink
Post by Ken Rolston
I have responded to Mort Rolleston enquiry separately by email so as to add attachments and some comments that would not be of particular interest here.
1) Rolston Ulster Analysis. This describes our current knowledge of the families in counties Armagh, Fermanagh, Sligo & Mayo.
2) The 6 Nephews of Colonel Francis Rolleston. Francis’s will was proved 1694 and in it he gave the names of 6 nephews, sons of his brother Arthur, those 6 being otherwise unknown. The paper describes what has been discovered about them and speculates whether some could be progenitors of the early Rolston families in Ulster.
I also gave Mort a link to 2 files recently loaded to Dropbox. Those files describe the completion of my study of the Rollestons of Tanshelf and Toynton and Watnall, in which I believe I have resolved the questions about the Rollestons that were previously discussed in this forum mostly in my posts, Rolston of Tanshelf in Pontefract, Parts 1 & 2 in March 2014 and Rolleston of Tanshelf, Toynton and Watnall Re-evaluated, in Oct 2018. Many of the conclusions in those earlier posts are now superseded due to incomplete data at the time and should be ignored now by readers. The final study now in Dropbox is definitive and comprehensive according to my latest researches.
I have resolved the questions of Edward Rolleston married to Anne Goodricke and of Thomas III Rowlston who purchased Nether Toynton from Anne and her 2nd husband Paul Hamerton. And much more!
Several of our experts on this forum have shown interest in this “complicated Rolleston family” and John Higgins in particular asked me to keep you all posted on my results.
Well John, you asked for it! Here is the link to the Dropbox files for any who wish to read this final assessment. Part 1 provides my description of the family and the derived pedigree, through to 1700 and runs to 92 pages, including 6 pedigree charts. Part 2 presents my proofs and arguments for the conclusions in the study and runs to 47 pages. As previously hinted, this new and detailed study turns the old Watnall branch pedigrees inside out, there are some remarkable changes, all supported and proved by the documentation.
There’s plenty of reading there for Mort and for any others who may wish to venture into it.
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/bkbkxtd8q1y5uqv/AAC4EMlY2uLI7_luMico64FLa?dl=0
Ken Rolston
Thanks, Ken, for remembering my interest in the Rolleston family. I have downloaded your files, and I will have to peruse them in detail when I've had a chance to refresh my memory on the Rollestons.
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