The following is in the style adopted by Burke's and other genealogical publications.
GRAHAM NASSAU GORDON SENIOR-MILNE, ACA, 41ST BARON AND 28TH LORD PALATINE OF MORDINGTON AND A LORD ADMIRAL IN THE ADMIRALTY OF SCOTLAND, [The Much Hon. The Baron of Mordington, 39 Castle Street, Norham, Northumberland TD15 2LQ], formerly of Edrington House, Mordington, Berwickshire (1998-2004), The Dovecote, Lowick (1996-1998), Sanson Seal, Berwick-upon-Tweed (1985-1996), 113 Gowan Avenue, London SW6 (1982-1985), 40 Barons Court Road, London W14 (1982);
Sanson Seal, Berwick-upon-Tweed recognised as Baron of Mordington by interlocutor of the Court of the Lord Lyon dated 11 Nov 2004 and matriculated arms at the LO 30 October 2007; changed name by warrant of the Lord Lyon King of Arms dated 20 Dec 2004 as heir male of his mother, Pamela Mary Milne (née Senior), elder daughter and senior heraldic co-heiress of Oliver Nassau Senior, who d 30 Jun 1992, heraldic heir of his ancestral uncle, Ascanius William Senior (1728-89), High Sheriff of Hampshire, to whom arms were granted 26 Mar 1767 under the hands and seals of Garter King of Arms and Clarenceux King of Arms (see lineage of Senior below); b 29 Sept 1955 at the Nuffield Maternity Home, Radcliffe Infirmary, Oxford; educ Fonthill Lodge Pre-Prep. and Prep. Schools, nr. East Grinstead, W. Sussex 1960-1969, Tonbridge 1969-71, Epsom College 1971-74; 2nd Lt. Royal Marines 1976-77; Asst. Film Dir. Cygnet Guild, London 1978; City of London Polytechnic (Foundation in Accountancy - passed with Credit) 1979-80; Served articles (ACA 1985) with Ernst & Whinney, Chartered Accountants, Southampton and London 1980-86; IT Auditor, Arthur Young, Chartered Accountants, Edinburgh 1987-88; IT Auditor, Scottish Homes, Edinburgh 1989-92; Fin. Cntrllr. & IT Mngr, Scottish Borders Enterprise, Galashiels 1992-96; Prtnr, Cogent Communications, Berwick-upon-Tweed 1996-98; IT Audit Mngr, Lloyds TSB, London and Edinburgh 1998-2004; Prtnr, ABC Publications, Berwick-upon-Tweed 2004; Chrmn, Berwick Parish Church Trust 1993; Freeman Worshipful Company of Tallow Chandlers from 1994; Member of the Council of the Scottish Genealogy Society 2002-09; m 25 Jun 1983 Annabel Catherine Margaret Horsfield [The Much Hon. The Baroness of Mordington] and has issue,
The Milne/Mylne/Miln family is widespread in the North-East of Scotland, having been settled in Aberdeenshire and its neighbouring counties since the Middle Ages. In 2006 Milne was the 386th name in order of frequency in the United Kingdom. According to Black's 'Surnames of Scotland' the name was first recorded as 'de Molendino' in a charter of 1382 (but see the reference to the Ragman Roll of 1296 below) and is derived from the Old English 'myln', thus referring to a person living at or near a mill. It is possible, however, that 'de Molendino' was a Latinized form of 'de Molines' or 'de Molyneux' since the arms borne by Milne/Mylne in Scotland (or, a cross moline azure) are a reversal of those of Molyneux, Earls of Sefton (azure, a cross moline or). The de Molyneuxs were a Norman family from Moulineaux near Rouen who settled after the Conquest at Sefton in Lancashire, being granted the lands of Sefton by Roger of Poitou, the Domesday tenant, in about 1100. The family held these lands for almost 900 years, until the death of the 7th Earl in 1972. A younger son of this family, Vivian de Molyneux, a knight or squire, accompanied Avice de Lancaster (d 1190), daughter of William de Lancaster, Baron of Kendal (d 1170), into Scotland on the occasion of her marriage to Richard de Morville (d 1189) in 1167, settling at Oxton, Lauderdale (Berwickshire) and then Saltoun, East Lothian ('The Anglo-Norman Era in Scottish History', Professor G W S Barrow, Clarendon Press, 1980); he probably occupied the castle or tower house at Saltoun then held by the de Morville family which is now Saltoun Hall. An Elizabeth de Molyn of Berwickshire, evidently a landowner, signed the Ragman Roll in 1296, so 'Molyn' may represent a transitional form of the name from Molyneux, through Molyn, to Milne. Vivian de Molyneux's descendants, of whom there appears otherwise to be no trace, may have moved North with the Gordons of Gordon, Berwickshire (about 10 miles from Oxton), of which clan the Milne family are a sept, following the Gordon acquisition of the Lordship of Strathbogie, Aberdeenshire, in the early 1300s (see HUNTLY M.). Several families of the name (with a probable though not established relationship) have achieved prominence, including Mylne of Balfarge (Glenrothes, Fife), Milne of Mureton and Milne of Balwyllo. The most notable branch were the Mylnes of Balfarge who were Master Masons to the Kings of Scots for seven generations, beginning with John Mylne (d 1513), Master Mason to James III, whose son, Alexander Mylne (d 1548), was first Lord President of the Court of Session 1532-1543, and continuing down to Robert Mylne (1663-1710), Master Mason to Charles II. The line continued down to Robert's great-grandson, another Robert (1733-1811), also an architect, a founder member of the Society of Civil Engineers, who is buried in St. Paul's Cathedral, and his son, William (1781-1863), also an architect - giving an unbroken line of architects for 400 years. John Mylne (d 1621), of this family, Master Mason to James VI, Master of the Lodge at Scone, admitted that king, 'at His Majesty's own desire', as 'frieman, mason and fellow craft' (M. Baigent and R. Leigh, 'The Temple and The Lodge - Inside Freemasonry', p.167). 'The Castellated and Domestic Architecture of Scotland' (Vol. V, p. 564) says of the Mylnes of Balfarge that they were 'an illustrious family who, during eleven generations, may be almost said to have established architecture as a profession in Scotland, and raised it to and maintained it in a position of dignity and importance to which it had hitherto been a stranger.' Amongst individuals of the name who have achieved distinction are Field Marshal Sir George Milne (1866-1948), 1st Lord Milne of Salonika and Rubislaw, Co. Aberdeen (see MILNE B.) and Admiral Sir Archibald Berkeley Milne, 2nd and last Bt. (1855-1938), famous for saying 'They don't pay me to think, they pay me to be an Admiral', son of Admiral of the Fleet Sir Alexander Milne, 1st Bt. (1806-1896), son of Admiral Sir David Milne of Milne Graden, Coldstream, Berwickshire (1763-1845). Admiral Sir David Milne was ancestor of the family of Milne-Home of Wedderburn Castle, Duns, Berwickshire, and Paxton House, Paxton, Berwickshire, (Sir David's son, another David, married Jean Home, heiress of Wedderburn and Paxton, and took the name Milne-Home), and of the family of Home-Robertson of Wedderburn Castle and Paxton House (Helen Milne-Home (1905-87), heiress of Wedderburn and Paxton, married John Robertson, who took the name Home-Robertson) (see BLG various ed.). Professor John 'Earthquake' Milne (1850-1913) is acknowledged as the father of seismology; he invented the horizontal pendulum seismograph and set up the world’s first world centre for seismology at Shide, Newport, Isle of Wight. Col. William Smith Gill, CB, VD (1865-1951), father of Ruth Sylvia Roche, Lady Fermoy (1908-1993), grandmother of Diana, Princess of Wales (1961-1997), was the great-great-grandson of Alexander Milne of Fyvie, Aberdeenshire (see FERMOY B.). ROBERT MILNE, tacksman (tenant) of Charles Henry Mordaunt (1758-1814), 5th Earl of Peterborough, at West Boat of Durris, parish of Banchory Ternan, Kincardinshire; an elder of the Kirk for over 30 years; d 30 Apr 1823, aged 90, leaving with other issue a second son, ROBERT MILNE, tacksman at West Boat of Durris; b 1770; m 4 Dec 1802 Clementina Paul of Mill of Invercanny (d 9 Nov 1846) and d 8 Jul 1838 leaving with other issue by her a third son, JAMES MILNE, farmer, of South Lasts, Peterculter, Aberdeenshire and later of Kebbaty, Midmar, Aberdeenshire; b 6 Jan 1809; m Elspet Gordon (d 3 Apr 1879) and d 11 Feb 1875 leaving with other issue by her a fourth son,
Dr. Robert Milne (1849-1922) - Colleague of Dr. Barnardo. Members of his family were in continuous service with Dr. Barnardo's Homes from 1880 to 1972, a period of 92 years, providing over 120 combined years of service. 'The monument to the Milne family [is] to be found in the hearts and lives of countless Barnardo children' ('Night and Day', Autumn 1951). See also Rose, June, 'For the Sake of the Children: Inside Dr Barnardo's: 120 Years of Caring for Children', Hodder & Stoughton, London, 1987. ROBERT MILNE, MD, physician, called the 'Beloved Physician', sometime of Kebbaty House, Midmar, Aberdeenshire, latterly of 75 Windsor Road, Forest Gate, London; b 26 Jul 1849; educ Aberdeen Grammar School and Marischal College, Aberdeen (graduated MB and CM 1874); in practice at Midmar 1876-1880; joined Dr. Barnardo at his special request in 1880 following an outbreak of scarlet fever at the Girls' Village Home, Barkingside and was Chief Medical Officer of Dr. Barnardo's Homes from 1880 to 1919, during which period he is estimated to have treated some 50,000 children; author of 'Infectious Diseases (Scarlet Fever, Measles, Diphtheria)', 'The Prevention of Infectious Diseases', 'Plea for the Home Treatment and Prevention of Scarlet Fever', 'The Prevention of Infectious Diseases (Scarlet Fever and Measles)', 'The Treatment and Prevention of Measles', 'Triumph of the Home Treatment and Prevention of Scarlet Fever', 'Measles: Its Treatment and Prevention' and 'The Elimination of Cross Infections'; m 6 Apr 1877 Mary Stuart Thomson (d 20 Jan 1925) and d 8 Nov 1922 having had issue,
GEORGE GORDON MILNE, MRCS (1924), LRCP (1924), physician, of Lerwick, Shetland (1924-28), 214 Algernon Road, Lewisham (c.1932- c.1934), 54 Pickhurst Lane, Hayes, Kent (1935-38) and latterly of 86 Elizabeth Street, Hobart, Tasmania; b 31 Jan 1894; educ Univ. of London, Faculty of Medicine (Part I (Distinction) 1913, Part II (Testament of Merit) 1922); RAMC during WWI; served in the merchant marine 1919-21 between London and Australia (trimmer and later foreman) and 1929-31 between London and Australia, India, China and Japan (surgeon), m 13 Apr 1925 (divorce 1936) Margaret Nightingale Campbell (b 19 Mar 1900, d 18 Dec 1983), sometime of the War Department, daughter of Hugh Ross Campbell (b 3 May 1868), Police Inspector, and Margaret Gilchrist Nightingale of Arch House, Ecclefechan, Dumfries & Galloway (birthplace of Thomas Carlyle (1795-1881) and now owned by the National Trust for Scotland) (b 22 May 1871, d 26 Dec 1956), and sister of Lt. Col. Sir Alexander ('Uncle Sandy') Campbell, MC (1916, East Africa), (1890-1963), who served on the staff of Earl Mountbatten of Burma and later with the Burma Civil Service, and of Robert ('Uncle Bob') Nightingale Campbell, OBE (1891-1963), Controller of Scotland, Ministry of Labour, and had issue,
He m, secondly, Joyce Hazel Hanslowe and d Apr 1942 having had further issue,
Arms: Quarterly, first and
fourth, azure a cross moline between four fleur-de-lys or
(for MILNE), second and third, per fess, gules and azure,
a fess ermine between, in chief, two lions heads erased
or and, in base, a dolphin naiant embowed argent (for
SENIOR). *Gules, three rams heads couped erminois.
Seal of William de Mordington dated 1246 (Durham University Library Archives & Special Collections: Medieval seals based on Greenwell & Blair's catalogue, no. 2896) According to Black's 'Surnames of Scotland' the name 'Mordington' is derived from the 'old barony of the same name in Berwickshire, the 'tun' of a Saxon named Mordyn, Mording or Morthing. William de Mordington, the first recorded of the name, appears soon after 1200 as a vassal of the prior of Durham (Raine*). William de Morthington held part of the vill of Lamberton, c. 1235, was Chancellor of Scotland in the reign of Alexander II.... He and his son, Sir Peter de Mordingtoun, are frequent witnesses to Coldingham charters (Raine*, App.)... The family appears to have ended in an heiress, the afore-mentioned Agnes, daughter of Sir Peter de Mordingtoun, who married Henry de Haliburton.' The first mention of Mordington is in a charter of King Edgar (c.943-975) granting various lands in southern Scotland, including Mordington, to Durham cathedral; this grant was confirmed by William Rufus on 29 August 1095 (Durham University Library Archives & Special Collections, Durham Cathedral Muniments, Miscellaneous Charter 559). The original charter of erection of the feudal or territorial Barony of Mordington (Berwickshire), which is now a personal title as a consequence of the Abolition of Feudal Tenures etc. (Scotland) Act 2000, is lost at a date before 1312 to 1329, in which period the Barony was resigned by Sir Henry de Haliburton (a signatory of the Ragman Roll of 1296 as 'tenaunt le Roi du counte de Berewyk') and his spouse Agnes de Morthingtoun (evidently the heiress) to Robert the Bruce for re-grant to Thomas Randolph, 1st Earl of Moray, who commanded the left wing at the Battle of Bannockburn (1314) and was Regent of Scotland from 1329. It seems likely that the barony was granted to Thomas Randolph after he and Sir James Douglas ('the good Sir James') captured Berwick-upon-Tweed in 1318. A lordship of Mordington, held by the family of that name, is referred to in charters dating from the time of Patrick, 5th Earl of Dunbar (1152-1232), which means that the lordship/barony of Mordington is older than the oldest surviving Scottish peerage, the Earldom of Sutherland, which dates from about 1235, and also older than the oldest surviving English peerage, the barony of de Ros, which dates from 1265. In 1335, on the death of John Randolph, 3rd Earl of Moray (who commanded the first Scottish division at the battle of Halidon Hill, near Berwick-upon-Tweed, in 1333), the Barony passed via an heiress from the Earls of Moray to the Earls of Dunbar or March and then also by marriage (as dowry) to the Douglas family of Dalkeith, later Earls of Morton, and was held by that family from 1372 until 1636, apart from a period of forfeiture between 1581 and 1585 when it was held by the 1st and 2nd Dukes of Lennox and 1585 to 1588 when it was held by Archibald Douglas, 8th Earl of Angus. In 1634 the lands of Over Mordington were detached from the Barony and granted to Sir James Douglas (second son of William Douglas, 10th Earl of Angus), later 1st Lord Mordington (which title became extinct in 1755), and in 1636 the Barony, which then consisted solely of the lands of Nether Mordington (with Edrington House, the manor place of Nether Mordington, as the caput), was granted to Thomas Ramsay (of the family of Ramsay of Edington, near Chirnside, Berwickshire, apparently a branch of the family of Ramsay, Earls of Dalhousie), Minister of the Kirk at Foulden, Berwickshire, and Helen Kellie, his spouse, to be held in free regality ('in libera regalitate'). The Barony was subsequently owned by the families of Douglas of Mordington (1658-1685), Douglas (1685-1773), Douglas Watson (1773-1785), Marshall (1785-1834), Soady (1834-1864), Chirnside (1864-1939), Sutherland (1939-1949), Edwards (1949-1962), Robertson (1962-1975) and Elphinston (1975-1998) until it was acquired jointly by the present owners in 1998 when they purchased Edrington House, the caput (legal head) of the barony, and the remaining lands. The Barony of Mordington has been held in free regality ('in libera regalitate'), that is as a palatine lordship, since 24th March 1381-2 when Sir James Douglas (d. before May 1441) received a grant of Mordington and other lands from Robert II in free regality ('Scots Peerage', VI, 350 referring to Reg. Honor. de Morton; also Register of the Great Seal, II, 993 being a charter of confirmation under the Great Seal dated 9th July 1470 to William Douglas of Morton and Whittingham referring, inter alia, to the 'baroniam de Mordingtoun' and to grants of Mordington 'in libera regalitate' by Robert II and Robert III).
Palatinates and regalities Palatinates (or regalities as they are called in Scotland) were usually lawless border regions or remote areas. They were normally granted to a high-ranking noble who was given royal jurisdiction ('palatine' is derived from the Latin palatium, that is 'palace') to enable him to maintain law and order in the palatinate, and he reigned within his lands legally as a 'reguli' or sub-king (according to Lord Bankton, 'An Institute of the Laws of Scotland', II, III, para. 83). The Palatine Counties of Chester and Durham, for example, were created to administer the border areas between England and Wales and England and Scotland respectively. The Palatinate of Durham was ruled by the Bishop of Durham, who was known as the Prince-Bishop of Durham, reflecting the fact that palatine lords were legally princes of their domains, from which the royal authority was excluded (although the lord of the palatinate still owed allegiance to his sovereign). The Palatine Earldom of Chester had its own parliament until the 16th century and the County Palatine of Durham had its own court system until the 1970s. According to Burke's 'Dormant and Extinct Peerages', the Palatine Earldom of Chester was granted in 1070 to Hugh de Abrincis (d'Avranches), otherwise 'Hugh Lupus' or 'Hugh the Fat', by William the Conqueror 'to hold as freely by the sword as the King himself held England by the crown', that is with complete royal jurisdiction. In Scotland, the legal term 'in libera regalitate' conferred complete criminal jurisdiction, excluding only treason, including the power to try the Four Pleas of the Crown (murder, arson, rape and robbery). Earls and bishops palatine (in England) and lords of regality (in Scotland) had the right to create their own barons; that is, effectively, to create franchise (baronial) jurisdictions out of their own franchise (regality) jurisdiction. This power was exercised in Scotland into the 1990s (see 'Scottish Feudal Baronies' by Hugh Peskett, Consultant Editor for Scotland, Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage, which article also appeared in 'East Lothian Life', Autumn 2003, p. 17). Professor Croft Dickinson states in his introduction to 'The Court Book of the Barony of Carnwath 1523-1542'**, p. lix: 'Finally, in considering these grants of rights of public justice it is clear that the tenant received them from his lord because his social position entitled him to them, because, in fact, he was already a "baron" as the word was understood in feudal society. He might not hold of the King; he might not hold in liberam baroniam. Nevertheless his jurisdiction was baronial and while bearing Craig's caveat in mind, we are bound to conclude that those tenants who held of an earl or lord and who had a right of furca and fossa were 'barons'. The jurisdiction must be our test, irrespective of whether that jurisdiction was derived from an earl or king.' See also p. l, n. 2, where he gives examples of baronies held of earls (e.g. Newdosk held of the Earl of Crawford and Cowie held of the Earl of Errol) and of grants by earls 'in liberam baroniam', and p. lii, where he states 'It is clear that in certain cases the earls granted lands to be held of them with rights of public justice, and that their "barons" regarded these rights as being derived directly from the earl who, to them, was "regulus" if not "rex".' Note that right of regality in Scotland included, along with rights of chancery and other rights, rights of admiralty (Croft Dickinson, p. xlii), where appropriate, and that these rights were protected by article 19 of the Act of Union of 1707 which states 'that the Heritable Rights of Admiralty and Vice-Admiralties in Scotland be reserved to the respective Proprietors as Rights of Property, subject nevertheless, as to the manner of Exercising such Heritable Rights to such Regulations and Alterations as shall be thought proper to be made by the Parliament of Great Britain'. Lords of Regality would therefore also have been Lords Admiral in the Admiralty of Scotland, if their lands were coastal (which Mordington is, given that it is bounded by the River Whitadder and that there is no bridge in Scotland below the barony before the open sea), and the title of Lord Admiral survived the Heritable Jurisdictions Act of 1747 in the same way that the title of Hereditary Sheriff (and Lord of Regality) also survived that Act (on the basis that the Act must be construed by reference to its purpose and was, according to Senior Counsel, an Act to remove jurisdictions, not titles). Note also that s.10 Public Offices (Scotland) Act 1817 confirmed that the title Vice-Admiral of Scotland still existed at that date. *'The
History and Antiquities of North Durham...', Rev.
James Raine, London, 1852. The Barons of Mordington Note: Peter de Mordington was almost certainly not the first baron of Mordington, he is merely the first Baron of whom we have a record.
Lineage of Senior - A Song of Sefarad
The progenitor of this family in the United Kingdom was (Moses) Aaron Senior (d 1736), who was described as a 'West Indian Jew' and who owned land in Barbados. His probable father or grandfather, Joseph Senior Saraiva of Barbados (d 1694), son of Antonio Coronel (d 1665 in Hamburg), who was one of the co-founders of the Bank of Hamburg (which became part of the Reichsbank in 1875), was a direct male-line descendant of Don Abraham Senior (b 1410/12), Chief Rabbi and supreme magistrate of the Jews of Castile, and favourite of Ferdinand of Aragon (1453-1516) and Isabella of Castile (1451-1504), whose marriage in 1469 he arranged. This marriage led to the unification of the kingdoms of Aragon and Castile and, ultimately, to the formation of the modern Spain. Don Abraham also brokered a reconciliation between Isabella and her brother, Henry IV (1425-1474), by which Isabella was acknowledged as heir to the throne of Castile, and negotiated the surrender of the great castle of Segovia, which helped to end the Second Castilian Civil War (1475-9).
Marriage of Ferdinand and Isabella. As a financier, tax farmer and factor-general of the army Don Abraham also played an important role in funding and supplying the armies that drove the Moors from Spain (in fact the Crown would have been bankrupt without Jewish finance), helping to bring to a successful conclusion the 800 year long Reconquista (722-1492), the crusade against the Moors. Behind the scenes Don Abraham seems to have tried to minimize the suffering of his fellow Jews during a very difficult period. In Segovia in 1485 he intervened to prevent the rabble-rousing activities of Antonio de la Pena, a Dominican monk, against the 'Jewish wolves' who should be 'driven away by fire'. In other Spanish cities such activities had led to pogroms in which many hundreds of Jews had been murdered or forced to convert. In 1486 he interceded with the King to prevent the expulsion of the Jews from Valmaseda. In 1489 he paid, largely from his own fortune, the ransoms of 450 Jews captured at the fall of Malaga, mainly women who would otherwise have been sold into slavery.
The Moorish King, Boabdil, surrenders Granada, the last stronghold of the Moors in Spain, to Ferdinand and Isabella in 1492. Painting by F. Padilla. Don Abraham also appears to have been one of the Jewish backers (led by Luis de Santangel) of Christopher Columbus' voyage of discovery to America, who he first met in Malaga in August 1487 ('Christopher Columbus', M. Kayserling, 1907, p. 42, 52-55). Such was his authority that, on one occasion in 1492, he even sued the Inquisition in order to recover property - and won. When the Jews were expelled from Spain in 1492 Don Abraham converted to Christianity, together with most of the close members of his family. He did this partly on account of personal pressure from Ferdinand and Isabella, partly on account of his advanced age, but mainly, it appears, on account of threats of reprisals against the Jewish community at large. Ferdinand and Isabella, with Cardinal Mendoza and the Papal Nuncio, were the sponsors at Don Abraham's baptism, when he and his family took the name 'Coronel', and they clearly regarded the event as a triumph.
The discovery of America - 'The triumph of Columbus was the triumph of the Converso Luis de Santangel, visionary and champion of the perennial lost cause of history, the cause of the Jews.' - John Boyd Thatcher In the decades and centuries following the expulsion, branches of the family emigrated to Amsterdam, Hamburg, Brazil (Recife, Pernambuco), Curacao, the West Indies and elsewhere, usually via Portugal, where some remained; this was often to escape the Inquisition. Many of these branches reverted to Judaism and re-adopted the Senior name (or the name Senior-Coronel) when it was safe to do so. Many were crypto-Jews, that is people who were officially and outwardly Catholic but who retained their Jewish faith and observed Jewish religious practices in secret. It was a common (and necessary) practice for crypto-Jews to have one or more aliases, which were often retained even after they had settled in places beyond the reach of the Inquisition. Other branches of the family remained Catholic and inter-married with non-Jewish or non-Converso families; some abandoned the name Coronel. Amongst Don Abraham's direct male-line Catholic descendants in Portugal are the Counts and Marquises of Penafiel (formerly of the Palace of Penafiel, Lisbon and the Palace of Correio-Mor, Loures, nr. Lisbon, and feudal lords of Penafiel, near Porto), which title later passed through an heiress, the first Marchesa, to the Gomes family, Brazilian diplomats, who adopted the family name of da Mata de Sousa Coutinho (the family changed its name from Coronel to da Mata Coronel, then to da Mata, and later added de Sousa Coutinho via marriage (de Sousa de Arronches being the surname of an illegitimate branch of Portuguese royal family descended from Alfonso III (1210-1279) and Coutinho being the surname of the Counts of Marialva, Marshals of Portugal, themselves descended from Alfonso Sanches, illegitimate son of Denis 'the Farmer' (1269-1325), King of Portugal).
The 18th century Palace of Correio-Mor, Loures, nr. Lisbon - built by the Coronel family.
Arms of the Marquises of Penafiel - Quarterly, 1st, da Mata (or, three bushes vert flowering of the field); 2nd and 3rd, de Sousa de Arronches (Portugal quartered with de Sousa); 4th, Coutinho. The Templar cross in chief of the da Mata arms denotes membership of the Knights of Christ (formerly the Knights Templar). A unique coat of arms, being the arms of a Jewish family, quartered with the arms of a royal house (Portugal) and bearing the device of the Knights Templar. Other male-line descendants of Don Abraham Senior include the Marquises of Rodes and Counts of Lichtervelde of the Chateau de la Follie, Ecaussinnes-d’Enghien, Belgium.
Chateau de la Follie, Ecaussinnes-d’Enghien, Belgium Descent of Joseph Senior Saraiva of Barbados (d 1694) from Don Abraham Senior of Castile:
See José Amador de los Rios, 'Estudios históricos, politicos y literarios sobre los Judios de España', p 445; José Amador de los Rios, 'Historia social, politica y religiosa de los judios de España y Portugal', iii, p 279-296; Kayserling, 'Geschichte der Juden in Portugal', p 83 & 102, and also the pedigree prepared by the Portuguese historian, Luis de Bivar Pimentel Guerra, in 1976. Other prominent members of the Senior/Coronel family in Europe and the United Kingdom include:
(MOSES) AARON SENIOR (d 1736), jeweller of St. James, Westminster and plantation owner in Barbados and elsewhere, of Rathbone Place, London, and later of Red Lyon Square, Holborn, London, is the earliest traceable member of this branch of the Sephardic Senior family in the United Kingdom. He was a Jew who converted to Christianity and was naturalised by Act of Parliament 12 Sep 1723 (Patent Roll 10 Geo 1 part 3 No 11). He had three children, Abraham (d 1769), Rachel (d 1766 - see her memorial in Hoddesdon church) and Henrietta Jemima Elizabeth (d 1769 - see her memorial in Hoddesdon church), before he married, 4 May 1727 at Bromley, his second* or third wife, Elizabeth Baldrick (d 1769 - see her memorial in Hoddesdon church), née Halsey (who m, thirdly in 1739, Charles Hutton), third cousin, through her mother, Mary Vincent, of William Pitt (1708-1778), Prime Minister and 1st Earl of Chatham, by whom he had issue, *His first wife was possibly called Sarah. See Bevis Marks records for 1720 for marriage of Sarah Senior Coronel and Moses Aron Senior Coronel (Bevis Marks Pt II - 255).
Nassau Thomas Senior (d 1786) NASSAU* THOMAS SENIOR (d 29 June 1786), merchant and plantation owner, of Broxbourne, Hoddesdon, Herts, and later of Upper Church St, Bath; Governor of the Company of Merchants Trading to Africa (est. 1750) from 1757 to 1761 (he appears to have lived at Cape Coast Castle, Ghana, during this period), which made him effective governor of the Gold Coast (now Ghana); m 3 May 1761 St. Michael, Barbados, Frances (b 1733 St. Michael, Barbados; d 24 Aug 1790), daughter of Dr. John Raven, and had issue,
*The name 'Nassau' may have been adopted in honour of John Maurice of Nassau (1604-1679), Prince of Nassau-Siegen and Governor of the Dutch territories in Brazil, prior to the reconquest of these territories by the Portuguese in 1654, when over 5,000 Jews fled that country. One ship carrying 23 Jewish refugees from Brazil went to New Amsterdam (New York), where they formed the nucleus of the Sephardic Jewish community in the USA. Joseph Senior Saraiva's uncle, David Senior (who was born in about 1575 in Amarante, Portugal, and who died in Recife, Brazil, in 1650) was one of the leading members of the Jewish community in Recife. An alternative is that the name 'Nassau' was adopted in honour of William of Orange-Nassau (1650-1702), that is William III, whose seizure of the throne of England in 1688 was financed by Jews, possibly including the Senior family. Jews also financed William III's later wars against Louis XIV and did much to help London replace Amsterdam as the centre of European finance, a position it holds to this day. It is a curious fact that, on this basis, the famous Bill of Rights of 1689, one of the cornerstones of British democracy, was largely made possible by Jewish finance. One branch of the Senior family (who later took the name Husey-Hunt on marriage to an heiress) received an as yet unexplained grant of 2,000 acres in Jamaica from the Crown on 11 Nov 1690, two years after the Glorious Revolution; the conjecture must be that this was in payment or part payment of a debt (see HUSEY-HUNT, late of Compton Castle, Compton Pauncefoot, Somerset, which was sold in 1911, BLG 1906 and 1925 ed.). A third alternative is that the name was adopted in honour of the House of Nassau generally on account of the pre-eminent role they played in furthering the cause of religious freedom, for both Protestants and Jews. JOHN RAVEN SENIOR (b 8 Dec 1763 at Tavistock St, London; d 23 May 1824 at Winterbourne, Gloucs, memorial in St. James the Less, Iron Acton); Clerk in Holy Orders and Doctor of Divinity; educ Merton College, Oxford to 1781; ordained 1786; Vicar of Compton Beauchamp; Vicar of Durnford, Wiltshire from 1791; m 15 Nov 1787 Mary Duke (1769-1822), daughter and co-heiress of Henry Duke (d 1780), Solicitor-General of Barbados, and had issue, with two other children, who died young,
The arms of Duke, as depicted in St. Michael's Cathedral, Bridgetown, Barbados, being the arms of Duke of Duke Hayes (now Hayes Barton), East Budleigh, nr. Exeter, Devon, which estate the family owned for over 400 years, and Duke of Lake House, Lake, nr. Amesbury, Wiltshire (Per fess, argent and azure, three annulets countercharged).
Nassau William Senior (1790-1864) - Author of the Poor Law Amendment Act 1834, which gave the poor a legal right to medical treatment in cases of emergency (Section 54). The workhouse infirmaries established under the Act were the foundation of the National Health Service (NHS). NASSAU WILLIAM SENIOR (b 26 Sep 1790 at Compton Beauchamp, Berks; d 4 Jun 1864, memorial St. Mary Abbots, Kensington), barrister, of 13 Hyde Park Gate, London, was educated at Eton and Magdelen College, Oxford. He was one of the most influential political economists of the 19th century and acted as an advisor to successive British governments on important economic and political issues, including trade unionism, employment, wages, working hours, education and Ireland. His attitude to the business of politics was dismissive and he preferred to influence affairs from behind the scenes. In 1832 he wrote 'I have had several propositions to be a candidate for the ensuing House of Commons, but have rejected the temptation, believing that what spare time I have can be more usefully employed in preparing measures to be introduced by others than in hearing long speeches and making indifferent ones' (He had a weak voice). He was the author of the Poor Law Amendment Act of 1834, which led to the setting up of the workhouse system. This system was a much-needed replacement of the old parish-based system of poor relief, set up in Tudor times, which would have been overwhelmed by the huge social changes brought about by the industrial revolution, with devastating social and political consequences. The workhouse system, while it was unpopular, did provide an essential safety net for the poor which guaranteed food, shelter and medical treatment, generally of a better standard than that enjoyed by agricultural labourers outside the workhouse, and the workhouse infirmaries established under the Act were the foundation of the National Health Service (NHS) - see 'The Origins of the National Health Service' by Ruth G. Hodgkinson (The Wellcome Historical Medical Library, 1967), Chapter 1 'The New Poor Law and the Medical Services'. Section 54 of the Poor Law Amendment Act of 1834 established a legal right to medical treatment in cases of emergency, enforceable by a fine imposed personally on the local Overseer of the Poor should he fail to provide such treatment. Nassau William Senior held the first chair of political economy at Oxford University (1825-30, 1847-52) and was a Master in Chancery from 1836-53. In 1832 he was removed, after one year in office, from his position as Professor of Political Economy at King's College, London, for supporting the Catholic Church in Ireland. The suppression of ten (Protestant) Irish Bishoprics by the Whig government in the following year (1833), in accordance with his recommendations, caused an uproar which led to the formation of Oxford Movement. He framed the proposal which settled the Oregon Dispute of 1844-46, in spite of strong opposition from British politicians, and thereby prevented a war between Great Britain and the United States. He declined the office of Governor of Upper Canada (and the consequential peerage) and, it is said, a baronetcy. He was for many years a contributor to the Edinburgh Quarterly, London and North British Reviews, covering literary as well as economic and political subjects; see his entry in DNB. He m 30 Apr 1821 Mary Charlotte (b 14 Mar 1791; d 18 Apr 1883), daughter of John Mair of Acton Lodge, Iron Acton, Gloucs, (son of Nathaniel Mair and Jean, née Alexander, who m in Turriff, Aberdeenshire on 27 May 1737) and had issue,
NASSAU JOHN SENIOR (b 2 Feb 1822; d 29 Aug 1891, memorial St. Mary Abbots, Kensington), barrister, of Elm House, Lavender Hill, Battersea and later of 98 Cheyne Walk, Chelsea. Educated at King's College School, London and Christ Church College, Oxford. A student at Lincoln's Inn in 1844, he was called to the Bar in 1847; secretary of commissions (to Lord Chancellors) 1852-60; assistant boundary commissioner 1867; revising barrister Westminster, Kensington and Hackney 1868-69. He was an equity draftsman and conveyancer who had chambers at various locations within Lincoln's Inn, such as 2 New Square in 1848 and 10 New Square in 1850. By 1855 he had moved outside the Inn and was at 12 Southampton Row. By 1860 no chambers were listed so he seems to have ceased practicing until about 1877 when he reappears listed at 8 Quality Court, Chancery Lane, until 1880. He m 1848 Jane Elizabeth (1828-1877), humanitarian, daughter of John Hughes, JP, of Donnington Priory (see lineage of Hughes below and BLG 1847 under 'HUGHES OF DONNINGTON PRIORY') and had issue an only child, WALTER NASSAU SENIOR (b 16 Mar 1850 at Donnington Priory, Newbury, Berks; d 20 Oct 1933), barrister, of 98 Cheyne Walk, London (until 1904); 12 Chichester Terrace, Brighton (until 1912), Branksome, Saffrons Rd, Eastbourne (until 1920) and then 50 St. John's Rd, Eastbourne and also of The Haven, Heatherwood Park Road, Totland, Isle of Wight (until 1924). Educated at Rugby and University College, Oxford. Student at Lincoln's Inn in 1871, called to the Bar in 1875. He was an equity draftsmen and conveyancer who had chambers in Lincoln's Inn at 2 Old Buildings in 1880 and 21 Old Buildings by 1885 (Foster's 'Men-at-the-Bar' lists him at 21 Old Square). From 1890 he does not have a chambers address so presumably ceased to practice. He m 27 Oct 1887 Mabel Barbara (1864-1943), daughter of Hugh Hammersley, banker, sometime of Sun House, Chelsea; Cromwell Gardens, London and Warren House, Kingston-upon-Thames (see lineage of Ham(m)ersley below) and had issue, with a daughter, Jennie (b 8 Oct 1896; d 27 Oct 1896) an only son,
Oliver Nassau Senior (1901-1992) in the uniform of the Sussex Yeomanry, which regiment had, in 1917, as part of XX Corps, been part of the British force under General Allenby which defeated the Turks at the Third Battle of Gaza. This ended 600 years of Ottoman rule in the Middle East and opened the way for the establishment of the British Mandate of Palestine, which subsequently became Israel. OLIVER NASSAU SENIOR, BA, ARICS, farmer and Chartered Surveyor, late of Park Manor, 8 St. Aldhems Road, Branksome Park, Poole, Dorset (1985-92); 12 Minterne Grange, Crichel Mount Rd., Lilliput, Poole, Dorset (1971-1985); Purbeck Cottage, Chaddesley Glen, Poole, Dorset (1959-1971); Ardencote, Alington Rd., Poole, Dorset (1955-59); 24 Northmoor Road, Oxford (1946-1955); Belmont House, Thame, Oxon (1936-1946); 25 Newton Court, Church St., Kensington (1935-1936); Mill Dene, Eastbourne Road, Seaford, Sussex (1931-1935); Cambridge (1930-1931); Tideways, Bosham, Sussex (Winter 1929); The Bough Farm, Burwash Common, Sussex (1925-1929); b 28 Nov 1901 at 98 Cheyne Walk, Chelsea, London; educ St. Peter's, Chesterfield Rd., Eastbourne 1912-15; Haileybury 1915-17, Eastbourne College (changed school following a bout of double pneumonia) 1917-19; Studied for Responsions for Oxford at a private crammer in Eastbourne 1919-20; Univ. College, Oxford (B.A. Agric.) 1921-24; Farming pupil at Iford Farm (prop. J & H Robinson), Sutton House, Iford, nr. Lewes, Sussex (1924-25); Farming in Burwash, Sussex 1925-29; Studied crop husbandry, Cambridge 1930-31; Served articles (ARICS 1933) with Powell & Co., Lewes, Sussex 1931-35; Working independently in London 1935-36; Land Agent for E H Dashwood Esq, Aston Rowant Estate, Oxon 1936-38; Asst. Land Agent, HQ Eastern Command, London 1938-40; Asst. Land Agent, War Dept., Oxford 1940-46; Senior Asst. Land Commissioner, Min. of Ag., Gloucester 1946-48; Asst. Bursar, St. John's College, Oxford 1948-55; President Architecture & Surveying Institute 1934; m 8 Sep 1927 Dorothy (b 31 May 1904; d 27 Dec 1987), sometime secretary to Rudyard Kipling at Bateman's (Burwash, East Sussex), daughter of Herbert Heaton Gardner-Smith (1869-1922) and Annie Elizabeth née Pierce (1874-1918); d 30 Jun 1992 having had issue,
Pamela Mary Senior
Arms
The arms of Senior (or Coronel) in England (left), Holland and Germany (middle) and Portugal (right) Portugal: Arms (of Coronel, formerly
and latterly Senior): Azure, five eagles displayed or in
saltire, the middle eagle crowned or. As granted in 1499 by King Manuel I of Portugal to Nicolao Coronel, Physician to the Royal Family, who appears to have accompanied Maria, daughter of Ferdinand of Aragon and Isabella of Castile, into Portugal on the occasion of her marriage to Manuel I in 1497 (Arquivo Nacional da Tore do Tombo, Liv 4 de Misticos, fls 165 verso e Chanceleria de D. Manuel, Liv 16 fls 108 verso). These arms, together with hereditary nobility, were later granted to a number of Don Abraham's descendants, both in the male and female lines*, in right of their descent from him, by which hereditary right they were 'Fidalgos de Cota d'Armas', literally 'Noblemen with a coat of arms' (See 'Anuario da Nobreza de Portugal', 1985, Vol. 1, p. 114 under 'Penafiel, Marquis of'). *Luiz Gomes d'Elvas
Coronel (1600 and 1607 - charter of nobility as a
descendant of Don Abraham Senior) England: Arms (of Senior - as
granted to Ascanius William Senior and the descendants of
his father in 1767): Per fess, gules and azure, a fess
ermine between, in chief, two lions heads erased or and,
in base, a dolphin naiant embowed argent. "Take this at
least, this last advice, my son, Holland and Germany: Arms: Quarterly, 1st and
4th, gules a lion rampant or (for Senior), 2nd and 3rd,
gules a tree vert upon a terrace (for de Mattos). Note also that Diego Teixeira Sampayo (Abraham Senior Teixeira) was ennobled in 1643 at Anvers (Antwerp) and granted arms as follows: Quarterly, 1st and 4th, or an eagle displayed purpure; 2nd and 3rd, checky or and sable (sixteen fields); bordure gules, charged with eight "S's" argent and for the crest five ostrich-plumes, sable, or, gules, argent, sable. (Source: Rietstap, 'Armorial Général, Precedé d'un Dictionnaire des Termes du Blason', 2nd ed., 2 vols. Gouda, 1887, vol. ii, p. 891; Rietstap, 'Wapenboek van den Nederlandschen Adel', vol. ii, p. 87). These are the arms of the Marquises of Sao Payo in Portugal, who are apparently of Jewish origin. The Exilarchate (The Princes of the Captivity)
King David playing his harp - The Vespasian Psalter, English, circa 750 AD As Professor Haim Beinart has stated in 'The Expulsion of the Jews from Spain' (p. 420), Don Abraham Senior was referred to in a letter of 1487 from the Jews of Castile to the Jews of Rome and Lombardy as 'the Exilarch who is over us'*. 'Exilarch' means 'Prince of the Captivity' or 'Head of the Exile'** (that is, de jure King of the Jews in exile), a title dating from the Babylonian Exile of 597-538 BC which appears to have survived in Mesopotamia until Tamerlane the Great sacked Baghdad in 1401. The title was hereditary in and exclusive to the House of David (see II Kings xxv. 27 and I Chronicles iii. 17 et seq.) but was elective amongst the immediate male members of that family and subject to rabbinic approval. Given the fact that the title appears never to have been accorded to (or used to describe) anyone not acknowledged by rabbinic authorities to be of Davidic descent, and that the misuse of such a title would have been most unlikely, it is reasonable to infer that Don Abraham was descended from one of those branches of the House of David that have been traced to Spain (see the Jewish Encyclopaedia) and that the title was accorded to him in an attempt to revive the Exilarchate after it had ceased to be recognised in Mesopotamia, as happened in Egypt in 1081. *'shall not turn away the tribe of Judah, he the Exilarch who is over us'. A translation of the same letter of 1487 appears in 'Spain and the Jews' edited by Elie Kedourie (page 70) and refers to 'the staff from Judah that is our Exilarch'. If this translation is correct then this would mean that the letter of 1487 contains a clear and unequivocal statement (to Jewish readers at least) to the effect that Don Abraham was 'ruler of the Jews' ('staff') 'of the House of David' ('from Judah'; that is the Royal House of Judah, otherwise the House of David) in accordance with the Blessing of Jacob (Genesis 49:10): ‘The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, until tribute comes to him; and to him shall be the obedience of the peoples.’
The Lion of Judah - The arms of Senior, as borne by the family in Holland and Germany, quartered with the arms of de Mattos, as depicted on the tombstone of Ester Gomes de Mesquita, wife of Isaac Haim Senior Texeira (1625-1705), in the Ouderkerk aan den Amstel cemetery. (Note that Heinrich Graetz in his 'History of The Jews' (Vol. IV p. 228 - see here also) refers to 'an influential Jew, Abraham Benveniste, surnamed Senior' who was granted high office under King Juan II of Castile. That this is indeed intended to refer to Don Abraham Senior is borne out by the entry in the index which states: 'Benveniste, Abraham, Senior (Coronel), tithe-collector, accepts Christianity, 351. convenes a synod, 229. friend of Isaac Abrabanel, 341. holds office in Castile, 228. negotiates a royal marriage, 280.' It seems to be clear, however, that the Abraham Benveniste who was Court Rabbi under King Juan II of Castile (d 1454) cannot (it appears) have been Don Abraham Senior because the latter was not appointed to the post until 1477 (unless he was re-appointed to the post - interestingly, the first mention we have of Don Abraham Senior as such is in 1468 (Beinart, p. 413), when he was apparently 56, which gives rise to the question of what he was doing before that date). In any event it is quite probable (indeed likely) that Don Abraham Senior was a member or close blood relative of the Benveniste family, possibly via his mother, because (1) Abraham Benveniste had a son called Abraham, known as Abraham Benveniste the Elder, and a son Joseph who had a son called Abraham and while Abraham Benveniste the Elder does not appear to be Don Abraham Senior (Don Abraham was apparently aged 80 when he converted to Christianity in 1492, which would mean that he was born in 1412, whereas Abraham Benveniste the Elder was born in 1433 according to the Jewish Encyclopaedia), the nomenclature does prove that an Abraham Benveniste could have been called Abraham 'the Elder' - 'seneor/senor' means 'sire' or 'lord' in Spanish but could also have been used as a mark of respect for an elder (see the Jewish Encyclopaedia), (2) court positions were 'kept within the family' as far as possible and, in fact, such an arrangement suited the crown because the successor to a post would be trained into the job by his father, uncle or other relative, so that it is more than likely that Abraham Benveniste was succeeded as Court Rabbi by a relative, who may well also have been succeeded by a relative, (3) being a member of the Benveniste family could account for the reference to Don Abraham Senior as 'Exilarch' since the Benveniste family were an ancient and distinguished family whose members were sometimes designated as 'Nasi' (prince), including Sheshet Benveniste of Narbonne (d. about 1209), and they were, on this basis, originally a Jewish princely family of Narbonne (in this context note that Thomas of Monmouth in his 'Life and Miracles of St. William of Norwich' (1173 i.e. contemporary with Sheshet Benveniste of Narbonne above) says 'Wherefore the chief men and Rabbis of the Jews who dwell in Spain assemble together at Narbonne, where the Royal seed [of David] resides', as quoted by Baigent, Leigh and Lincoln in their book 'Holy Blood, Holy Grail'). See also Benjamin of Tudela's 'Book of Travels' (1173) (p. 2) in which he says of Narbonne: 'A three days' journey takes one to Narbonne, which is a city pre-eminent for learning; thence the Torah (Law) goes forth to all countries. Sages, and great and illustrious men abide here. At their head is R. Kalonymos, the son of the great and illustrious R. Todros of the seed of David, whose pedigree is established.' Moshe Shaltiel-Gracien, in his book 'Shaltiel - One Family's Journey Through History', a history of the Davidic descent of the Shaltiel family, quotes a reference (p. 156) to Sheshet Benveniste by the contemporary 12th century poet al-Harizi as follows: 'And there was the residence of our lord, our excellency, the Prince of All Princes, known by name from West to East, R. Sheshet, the pillar of the world and the foundation of all saints (may his memory be for a blessing).' The famous Gracia Mendes Nasi (1510-1569), also known by her Christianized name Beatriz de Luna Miques, married Francisco Mendes (originally Benveniste) and their daughter, Brianda, married Gracia's nephew, Joseph Nasi, Duke of Naxos and the Seven Islands (otherwise 'Duke of the Aegean'). The Mendes family became one of the greatest banking families in Europe.) **The 10th century writer, Nathan ha-Babli, is quoted in the Jewish Encyclopedia as referring to 'our prince, the exilarch', making it clear that the Exilarch was regarded as the prince of his people. A possible line of descent is from Abraham 'Nasi' ('Nasi' means 'Prince of the House of David'), apparently ancestor of several Marrano families, son of Hiyya Ha-Nasi, who was born in Spain, son of David (d 1092), 39th Exilarch of the 3rd dynasty***, who temporarily fled to Spain in 1040 when his father, Hezekiah, 38th Exilarch, was imprisoned by the Caliph of Baghdad (Hezekiah was later executed in 1058). Hezekiah was 117th Exilarch in succession to Jeconiah (d 559 BC), 1st Exilarch and penultimate King of Judah of the House of David, who, in 597 BC, was taken by Nebuchadnezzar as a captive to Babylon. Alternative possible lines of descent are from Nissim, 69th Exilarch, who was deposed in 1295 and went to Spain, and Issac Alfasi (d 1103), descended from Azariah, 34th Exilarch, who fled to Spain in 1088. Note that the surname 'Senior' is derived from the Spanish 'senor', that is 'sire' or 'lord', which may, in turn, be a translation of 'Nasi'; thus, Abraham Senior would mean Abraham 'Senor' (in fact the name was often spelled 'Senor'), that is Abraham 'Nasi', that is Abraham the Prince [of the House of David] - but this is speculation. 'Coronel', the surname adopted by the Senior family in 1492, means 'coronet' (used today to denote the rank of 'colonel'). It appears ('Spain and the Jews', p.68) that Don Abraham signed his name simply 'Abraham', without a surname, which might indicate that 'Senior' was not a surname but a title or nickname derived from a title. A prominent branch of the family in Portugal, the Counts and Marquises of Penafiel, adopted the surname 'Da Mata Coronel'. 'Da Mata' means 'of the bush' but a common variant of 'mata' in Portugal is 'matos', which in Hebrew means 'tribe'. Thus 'Da Mata Coronel' might be intended to mean 'the crown of the tribe' - but, again, this is speculation. ***Various sources give different numberings. The 12th century writer, Rabbi Benjamin of Tudela (Spain), describing his visit to Baghdad in his 'Book of Travels' (1173), noted that Daniel, 52nd Exilarch of the 3rd dynasty (reigned 1150-74), who he described as 'Our Lord the Head of the Captivity of all Israel', and who was the great-great-grandson of David, 39th Exilarch (above), had 'a book of pedigrees going back as far as David, King of Israel'; this pedigree was clearly accepted as authentic by both the rabbinic authorities of the time and the Jewish people at large. While the pedigrees of the Exilarchs undoubtedly contain errors, inconsistencies and even some spurious entries, this does not mean that such pedigrees cannot be regarded as historical or cannot point to a fundamental historical truth, which is that for a period of around 2000 years (597 BC to 1401 AD), and almost reaching into the modern era, though not continually throughout that period, there was a dynasty of rulers of the Jews acknowledged by both the rabbinic authorities and the Jewish people at large, and indeed by the Caliphs and others under whose rule the Jewish people lived, to be not just of Davidic descent but rightful heirs to the throne of David. According to Benjamin of Tudela, when the Exilarch went to visit the Caliph the heralds announced his coming with the words "Make way for our Lord, the Son of David." ("Amilu tarik la Saidna ben Daud."). As David Einsiedler stated in his article 'Descent From King David - Part II' ('Avotaynu: The International Review of Jewish Genealogy', 1993, Vol. IX, No. 2, page 34) 'Genealogists who value religious tradition could say that our rabbis and sages did not make statements about Davidic descent lightly, that they were trustworthy and insisted on truth.' The Babylonian Exilarchate had been seated (in an official rather than physical sense) at Baghdad since the 8th century AD, having moved, it appears, from Babylon to Seleucia on the Tigris in the 4th century BC, following the founding of that city in around 305 BC by Seleucus Nicator (c 358-281 BC), one of the generals of Alexander the Great (356-323 BC); to Ctesiphon in the 2nd century AD, after Seleucia was burned by the Emperor Trajan (53-117) in 117 AD; to Damascus after 637 when Ctesiphon was sacked by Umar (d 644), 2nd Caliph and Companion of the Prophet Mohammed (d 632), during the Arab conquest of Persia; to Baghdad after 750 when the Umayyad caliphate was overthrown by the Abbasids at the Battle of Zab. Note that Babylon, Seleucia, Ctesiphon and Baghdad are all in the same vicinity, so that it appears that the physical seat of the Exilarchs remained in the same place, even during the period when political power briefly shifted to Damascus. The physical seat of the Exilarchs seems to have been at Nehardea from the time of Jeconiah, at Sura from the beginning of the 5th century AD and then at Pumbedita from the end of the 8th century until the fall of Hezekiah, 38th Exilarch and last gaon, in 1040; after that the Exilarchs seem to have been seated at Baghdad. The Exilarchate survived the sack of Baghdad by Hulagu Khan (1217-1265), grandson of Genghis Khan (c 1162-1227) and destroyer of the Caliphate, in 1258 (although it is said 800,000 people were killed, the Jews were specifically spared) and the later collapse of the Mongol Khanate of Persia after 1335 into a motley of successor dynasties, including the Jalayirids (whose capital was at Baghdad), the Muzafarids, the Eretnids, the Sarbadarids and the Karts. Indeed, from the destruction of the neo-Babylonian Empire by Cyrus the Great in 538 BC to the sack of Baghdad by Tamerlane the Great in 1401 AD, a period of nearly 2000 years, the Exilarchate survived the violent collapse of 11 empires****, namely:
Baghdad was subsequently ruled by Shah Rukh, son of Tamerlane the Great, from 1401 to 1410, the Qara Quyunlu or Black Sheep Turkmen (1410-1469), the Aq Quyunlu or White Sheep Turkmen (1469-1508), the Safavids (1508-1534), the Ottoman Turks (1534-1917), the British (1917-1921) and the Hashemite dynasty (1921-1958). Although Tamerlane the Great ended the 'official' recognition of the Exilarchate after he sacked Baghdad in 1401, it appears that the line of Exilarchs continued to be acknowledged by the Jewish community in Baghdad until the death of the last heir of that line, Pasha, called 'King of the Jews', in 1825, after which the heirship passed to the Dayan family, descended from a house of Palestinian Princes. Pasha (d 1825) was descended from Chizkiya, 45/47th Exilarch (reigned 1092-94, 1096-97), elder brother of Hiyya Ha-Nasi above. The Dayan family are descended from Josiah, 27th Exilarch (reigned 930-933), younger brother of David 26/28th Exilarch (reigned 921-930, 933-940), who was the great-great-grandfather of Hezekiah, 38th Exilarch, mentioned above. ****'The Egyptian, the Babylonian, and the Persian rose, filled the planet with sound and splendor, then faded to dream-stuff and passed away; the Greek and the Roman followed, and made a vast noise, and they are gone; other peoples have sprung up and held their torch high for a time, but it burned out, and they sit in twilight now, or have vanished. The Jew saw them all, beat them all, and is now what he always was, exhibiting no decadence, no infirmities of age, no weakening of his parts, no slowing of his energies, no dulling of his alert and aggressive mind. All things are mortal but the Jew; all other forces pass, but he remains. What is the secret of his immortality?' - Mark Twain It is asserted that the first properly historical (that is provable from historical evidence outside the Bible) Exilarch was Nahun (reigned 140?-170 AD). Earlier Exilarchs, based on the genealogies in the Bible (I Chronicles iii. 17 et seq.*****), are regarded by some authors as legendary, mainly on the basis that the Josephus does not mention the office******. However, while earlier Exilarchs might well have been 'legendary' in the sense that they were not officially recognised as Exilarchs, this does not mean either that they are 'legendary' in the physical sense, that is that the individuals recorded in the genealogies never existed, or that they were not Exilarchs (the heirs of King David) by right of blood. No such conclusion can be drawn from Josephus. *****The Biblical Exilarchs (I Chronicles iii 17-24) 17 And the sons of
Jeconiah; Assir, Salathiel his son, ******'that these Biblical Exilarchs are legendary is obvious from the fact that Josephus does not mention the institution' - Goode, Alexander D., 'The Exilarchate in the Eastern Caliphate, 637-1258', 'The Jewish Quarterly Review', New Ser., Vol. 31, No. 2 (Oct., 1940), p. 149. This is not correct. Josephus, in his 'Antiquities of the Jews', book XI, chapter 3, para 10, says 'and the governor of all this multitude thus numbered [being the Jews who Cyrus the Great allowed to return to Jerusalem] was Zorobabel, the son of Salathiel, of the posterity of David.' So Josephus does in fact refer to one of the individuals mention in I Chronicles iii 17-24 and it is clear that this person was the ruler of the Jews and of Davidic descent. Though not actually referred to by the title 'Exilarch' it is clear that Zorobabel was ruler of the Jews in exile, that is a de facto exilarch (since 'exilarch' means 'ruler in exile'), since he is referred to as 'Zorobabel, the governor of the Jews' (book XI, chapter 1, para 3). Thus, we have, on the basis of Josephus, a de facto historical exilarch over 600 years earlier than is often asserted. Note, in this context, that the title of 'Pope' was first used in the third century but no-one has claimed as a consequence that the heads of the Catholic Church in Rome before that period should not be described by that title. Sir Iain Moncreiffe of that Ilk (1919-1985), Albany Herald of Arms (Court of the Lord Lyon), writing in 'Books & Bookmen', February-March 1976, wrote: 'What's already known is that the Jews in exile in Asia were ruled under the Persian and later the Arab empires by 'Princes of the Captivity' called 'Exilarchs', with a genealogy claiming descent by at least the second century from the Royal House of David, probably with justification because it was based on their acceptance.' (Quoted from 'Lord of the Dance', London, 1986, Hugh Montgomery-Massingberd, p. 155). In addition to the Babylonian Exilarchs there were several dynasties of Palestinian Princes, that is dynasties of princes in Palestine of Davidic descent, who maintained what appears to have been an intermittent authority parallel but subsidiary to the Babylonian Exilarchs, whose suzerainty they seem generally to have acknowledged. The existence of two parallel dynasties of secular rulers reflected the fact that there were two main centres of world Jewry at that time, namely Babylon/Mesopotamia and Judea; there was a similar parallel arrangement in religious affairs, namely between Jerusalem and the great Babylonian academies of Sura and Pumbedita.
There would have been numerous other descent lines of course; those listed are those that rose to prominence in Judea/Palestine. The evidence therefore indicates that Don Abraham Senior was of Davidic descent but this cannot have been unique amongst the leading families of the Sephardim, who formed a closely-related and exclusive elite. Various Sephardic families claim Davidic descent, including those of Abravanel/Abarbanel, Shaltiel and Benveniste, and in respect of the two latter at least there are published pedigrees tracing their Davidic descent; a tombstone dated 27 August 1097, now in the Museo Sefardi in Toledo, records the death of a Rabbi Shemuel bar Shealtiel ha Nasi. It is possible that the title of Exilarch was accorded to Don Abraham Senior in an attempt to resurrect the Exilarchate in Spain after it had ceased to be recognized in Mesopotamia, but this only lasted until the Jews were expelled from Spain in 1492. After that, it would seem, there was no Jewish community of sufficient size, stability or prestige to allow for the resurrection of the Exilarchate, until 1933 that is. Note that there was a historical precedent for attempting to establish the Exilarchate outside Mesopotamia. This happened in Egypt in 1081 when David ben Daniel, a descendant of the house of Exilarchs, was proclaimed Exilarch by the rabbinic authorities of that country; the attempt ended with his downfall in 1094. This would appear to be the most common sense solution to the question of why we find the title of 'Exilarch' being used in Spain at that time. Further, the existence of families of Davidic descent in Spain at that time should not be viewed as extraordinary, given that there was such a dynasty in Palestine at that time; indeed, the absence of such families from Spain would have been a far greater oddity given the long-standing prominence of the Jewish community in that country. O Zion,
beauty and gladness of the world, 'To Zion' - Judah Ha-Levi (1085-1140)
HUGH HAMERSLEY, a sporting clergyman, of Cadeby Hall, Wyham cum Cadeby, Ludborough, Lincs, is believed to have been a grandson of Sir Hugh Hamerlsey (b 1565; d 1636), Lord Mayor of London 1627, a descendant of an old Staffordshire family originally called de Homersley, see DUCAT-HAMERSLEY OF PYRTON MANOR (BLG) - see note below; b 1663; educ Peterhouse College, Cambridge (admitted 31 May 1680 aged 16 and MA 30 Jun 1687); Chaplain to William III; Honorary Secretary to the Archbishop of Canterbury; Vicar of Roxby, Lincs from 1687; Rector of Broughton, Lincs from 1694; m Mary (b 1688; d 1718), daughter of John Pye of Cadeby Hall, and d 1714 having had issue,
Sir Hugh Hamersley (1565-1636), Lord Mayor of London 1627. This is the famous 'Ashbourne Portrait' which was believed for many years to be a portrait of Shakespeare ('the Mona Lisa of Shakespeare portraits'). See 'Shakespeare Matters', vol.1, no.1; vol. 1, no. 2 and vol.1, no. 3. Oxfordians have suggested that this portrait has been tampered with by Stratfordians to remove evidence which indicates that the portrait is of Edward de Vere, Earl of Oxford (who the Oxfordians believe was Shakespeare) and add elements (particularly relating to the coat of arms at the top-left of the portrait) to support the assertion that the portrait is of Sir Hugh Hamersley.
Cadeby Hall, Ludborough, Lincs HUGH HAMMERSLEY, solicitor, of Cadeby Hall, Ludborough, Lincs and Ouslethwaite Hall, Worsbrough, Yorks, the first to spell his name with a double 'm'; b 1706; Solicitor in Doncaster, of which town he became Mayor; m 1stly 1728 Elizabeth (d 1734), daughter of William Wade, Town Clerk of Doncaster, by whom he had three daughters, including Sarah who survived him; m 2ndly 1743 Elizabeth (d 11 Mar 1759 aged 39), daughter of Thomas Archdale of Ouslethwaite Hall, and d 2 Dec 1757 having had issue,
THOMAS HAMMERSLEY, banker to the Prince Regent and other members of the Royal Family, of Cadeby Hall, Ludborough, Lincs and Ouslethwaite Hall, Worsbrough, Yorks, which estates he sold; b 1747; educ Trinity College, Cambridge; joined Herries, Farquhar & Co., bankers, of St. James St., London (which firm became part of Lloyds Bank Ltd in 1893) on its formation in 1772; founding partner in 1786 of Ransom, Morland, Hammersley & Co. of 57 Pall Mall, which firm he left in 1796 to become a founding partner of Hammersley, Montolieu, Brooksbank, Greenwood, Drewe & Co. of 76 Pall Mall, which firm became Hammersley, Greenwood, Drewe & Co. in 1806, Hammersley, Greenwood, Brooksbank & Co. in 1823, when the firm moved to 69 Pall Mall, and Hammersley & Co. in 1832 (on the death of Hugh Hammersley, his eldest son, in 1840 the firm was taken over by Coutts & Co); m 1771 Anne (d 1822), daughter of Rev. Francis Greenwood, Rector of Higham Ferrers (of the family of Greenwood of Stapleton Park, Pontefract, Yorkshire, a branch of the family of Greenwood of Greenwood Lee, Heptonstall, Yorks.) and sister of Charles Greenwood (1748-1832), partner of his brother-in-law, Thomas Hammersley, who was also a partner of Cox & Co., founded 1758, of Craig's Court, Whitehall, bankers and army agents (see his portrait by Sir Thomas Lawrence); Anne Greenwood was descended from Edward I through the families of de Clare (Earls of Gloucester and Hertford), de Audley (Earls of Gloucester), de Stafford (Earls of Stafford), de la Pole (Earls of Suffolk), Morley (Lords Morley), Hastings of Gressenhall, Bosville of Ardsley, Symmes of Barnsley, Lacy of Brearley Hall, Yorks, and Farrer of Ewood Hall, Mytholmroyd, Yorks. It is related that when Frederick, Duke of York (1763-1827), introduced Charles Greenwood to his father, George III, as "Mr. Greenwood, the gentleman who keeps my money", the army agent ventured to remark "I think it is rather his Royal Highness who keeps my money", a rejoinder which greatly delighted the old King. "Do you hear that? Frederick, do you hear that? You are the gentleman who keeps Mr. Greenwood's money"; he d 1812 having had issue, with four sons and three daughters who died young,
CHARLES HAMMERSLEY, banker, of Park Crescent, London; b 7 Oct 1782; educ Eton; Senior partner of Cox & Co., bankers and army agents, of Craig's Court, Whitehall; m 1809 Emily Poulett-Thomson, daughter of John Buncombe-Poulett-Thomson, of Waverley Abbey House, Farnham, Surrey, senior partner of Thomson, Bonar & Co., of London and St. Petersburg, Russia merchants, see SYDENHAM B. (Burke's 'Dormant and Extinct Peerages') and HUNTINGFIELD OF HEVENINGHAM HALL B., and d 1862 having had issue,
Warren House, Kingston-upon-Thames HUGH HAMMERSLEY, banker, sometime of Sun House, Chelsea; Cromwell Gardens, London and Warren House, Kingston-upon-Thames; b 15 Mar 1819; educ Eton; Partner of Cox & Co., bankers and army agents; m 23 Jan 1856 Dulcibella Eden (d 1903), daughter of Arthur Eden (1793-1874), Assistant-Comptroller of the Exchequer, see EDEN OF WINTON B., and Frances Baring (d. 1877), see NORTHBROOK B., née Poulett-Thomson, see SYDENHAM B. (Burke's 'Dormant and Extinct Peerages'); d 28 Sep 1882 having had issue,
Dulcibella Eden (d 1903).
Arms Arms (of Sir Hugh
Hamersley): Gules, three rams heads couped or. The arms
granted to Thomas Hammersley (1747-1812) in 1803 were
gules, three rams heads couped erminois. Note: Hugh Hamersley (1663-1714), Vicar of Roxby, may have been the great-grandson of Sir Hugh Hamersley (1565-1636) via his third son, William (1617-1676), rather than his grandson via Sir Hugh's second son, Francis (1613-1659), as is generally thought (Francis is often stated to have died in 1665). According to Burke's 'Landed Gentry' this William married an Elizabeth Cogan (1626-1706) in 1660 and had a son called Hugh (1663-1718, but 1646-1692 according to Boyd's 'Inhabitants of London'), ancestor of the Ducat-Hamersley family of Pyrton Manor. However, there is a record of a Hugh Hamersley who was born 25 Dec 1642 at Kencott, Oxon. Given the 1660 marriage of William and Elizabeth (which may be the wrong date), I believe that this Hugh might be the son of William (1617-1676) by an earlier marriage (i.e. before his marriage to Elizabeth Cogan) and that he (Hugh b. 1642) might have been the father of Hugh (1663-1714), ancestor of the 'London Hammersleys'. I believe that Hugh (b. 1642) may have married a Katherine Finch in Cambridge (St. Mary the Great) on 3 Dec 1662 and that this Katherine may be the Katherine who died in Roxby, Lincs. (where Hugh (1663-1714) was Vicar) in 1699. A Hugh Hamersley, son of a Katherine and Hugh Hamersley was Christened at St. Botolph Without, Aldersgate, London, on 29 Nov 1663. I believe that Hugh (b. 1642) may have married a second wife, Anne Preston (b. 1656) on 22 Dec 1671. Both of Sir Hugh's two elder sons, Sir Thomas (dsp 1651) and Francis (died without issue in 1659 according to Boyd's 'Inhabitants of London' - and his will does not mention any children), seem to have died without issue. Note that the birth date of 1646 may refer to the will of Mary Hamersley, wife of Sir Hugh, so that 1646 means 'mentioned in a will of 1646' but possibly actually born in 1642 (25 Dec) as above. US branches of the family are in blue
Bookplate of Margaret Hughes (1797-1887) of Donnington Priory, Berks. The progenitor of this family, Mwyndeg Hughes of Liverpool (d 1712), was the son of a Mr. Hughes of 'Gelle Fawlor' (recte 'Gelli-ffowler'), near Ysceifiog in Flintshire. The family appears to be a branch of the Hughes family of Pant Gwyn, Ysceifiog, who were descended in the male line from Edwin (d 1073), Prince (sometimes referred to as King) of Tegeingl (that is the commotes of Rhuddlan, Coleshill and Prestatyn), founder of the 12th Noble Tribe of Wales, through an ancestor of the same name, Mwyndeg, whose pedigree is given in 19th century Hughes family papers (based on research carried out in the 'Shrewsbury records' by a Mr. Morris) as:
* 'ap' means 'son of' The descent of Bel ap Daffydd Lloyd from Madoc Dhu ('the Black') (d before 22 Apr 1301*), Lord of Copa'r Goleuni, or 'The Hill of Light' (Gop Hill, Trelawnyd, legendary burial site of Boudica), is confirmed by a memorial stone to Bell Lloyd (d 1589), second of that name, being the grandson of Bel ap Daffyd Lloyd above, in the churchyard of St. Michael and All Angels, Trelawnyd, nr. Prestatyn**. The descent of Madoc Dhu from Edwin is given in public sources, though it is now thought that Aldud may have been an adopted, not natural, son of Owain ap Edwin - possibly a kinsman of Gruffyd ap Cynan, Prince of Gwynedd (d 1137)***. Edwin was the son of a Saxon princess, Ethelfleda or Aldgyth, daughter of Edwin, Earl of Mercia, and he appears to have acquired Tegeingl as his inheritance out of the pre-Conquest Earldom of Mercia; the identity of his father is uncertain. Various families who are descended from Edwin, including Wynn of Copa'r Leni and Hughes (originally named Pennant it seems) of Terfyn, owned land within Tegeingl into modern times, and some may yet remain, making them possibly the longest-established landowners in the country. See Meyrick, Sir Samuel Rush, 'Heraldic Visitations of Wales and Part of the Marches', London, 1896, Vol. 2, p. 299 for Wynn of Copa'r Leni and p. 305 for Pennant of Tre'r Ffynon. Mwyndeg ap Bell is shown on p. 297 where Edward ap Hugh ap Rhys ap Mwyndeg marries Janet Conway of Bodryddan.
Gop Hill or 'The Hill of Light', legendary burial site of Boudica (under a cairn called 'The Hill of Arrows' - where many ancient arrowheads have been found) and spiritual home of the Hughes family, from the south. The village is Trelawnyd. Apparently, it is possible, on a clear day, to see both Ireland and Scotland from top of Gop Hill (842 ft). *The date Madoc Dhu's son Gruffyd paid homage to Prince Edward, later Edward II, as Earl of Chester. **The engraving reads: 'DYMA LLE MAY YN GORFETH BELL LLOYD AP EDWARD AP BELL AP DD AP DD [AP] KENDRICK AP EVAN AP GRIFFETH AP MADOCK DDV A FV FAROW Y 8 DYDD OF YES MAI ANNO DO 1589'. Bell Lloyd was of the family of Lloyd of Henfryn (Henfryn is about 2km SW of Trelawnyd).
Memorial stone of Bell Lloyd dated 1589. At the bottom of the picture is the top portion of a rendering of the arms of Madoc Dhu (see illustration below). Newmarket has now been renamed Trelawnyd. ***The Peniarth Ms 131, written by Ieuan Brechfa about the year 1500, tells us that Aldud 'held all of Tegeingl by spear and sword for three years over a grievance with its Lord, for which act he then received a pardon from the king'; this must have been the three years following 1125 when Cadwallon ap Gruffudd ap Cynan killed three sons of Owain ap Edwin when they refused to accept the overlordship of Gruffudd ap Cynan as Prince of Gwynedd. Note that Gruffyd ap Madoc Dhu, above, married Gwladys, daughter of Owain ap Bleddyn ap Owain Brogyntyn, son of Madog ap Maredudd (d 1160), Prince of Powys, whose wife, Susanna (daughter of Gruffudd ap Cynan, Prince of Gwynedd), was a great-granddaughter of Edwin of Tegeingl through her mother, Angharad, daughter of Owain ap Edwin of Tegeingl. This means that there is at least one line (and there are undoubtedly many more) from Jevan ap Gruffyd ap Madoc Dhu, above, to Edwin of Tegeingl as follows:
* 'ferch' means 'daughter of' According to these 'Shrewsbury records', Thomas of Pant Gwyn, son of Mwyndeg ap Bel, above, married Janet, daughter of Gruffyd ap Dafydd ap Ithel Fychan, descended from Ednowain Bendew, founder of the 13th Noble Tribe. See Meyrick, Sir Samuel Rush, 'Heraldic Visitations of Wales and Part of the Marches', London, 1896, Vol. 2, p. 298 under Caerwys ('Keyrws'). He had issue Hugh, who married Agnes, daughter of Thomas ap Edward, sister of Morgan ap Thomas of Golden Grove (as stated in Burke's 'History of the Commoners of Great Britain and Ireland', 1835, under 'Morgan of Golden Grove'). He had issue Edward, of Ysceifiog, who was of the first generation of this family to adopt the surname of Hughes, and who may have been the father or grandfather of Mr. Hughes of 'Gelle Fawlor', father of Mwyndeg Hughes of Liverpool. This would make the descent of Edward Hughes from Edwin as follows:
that is 16 generations covering a period of about five and a half centuries. Edward had a daughter, Mary, who married John Wynn of Llanverres(?), possibly modern Llanferres, who is not mentioned as Edward's heir, indicating that he had other issue. A relative of John Hughes (1790-1857) at the time, a Mrs. Foulkes, stated that the Hughes family were cousins of the Wynn(e) family of Coed Coch (nr Betws-yn-Rhos) 'making it probable that we came of this Edward Hughes, Mary Wynn's father', according to John Hughes. Given that Mwyndeg Hughes of Liverpool was married in 1707, he was certainly born not later than the last quarter of the 17th century, that is 1675-1700, and possibly earlier, given that he died in 1712. His father, Mr. Hughes of 'Gelle Fawlor', was therefore probably born in the mid-1600s, that is 1650-1675. Thomas ap Mwyndeg ap Bel was of the same generation as the Bell Lloyd ap Edward ap Bel (both being grandsons of the same Bel ap Dafydd), who died in 1589, so it is not unreasonable to assume that Thomas' son, Hugh, could have lived into the first quarter of the 17th century, that is 1600-1625, which means that Hugh's son, Edward, could have lived into the next quarter of the 17th century, that is 1625-1650. On this basis, Edward, of Ysceifiog, could have been the father or grandfather of Mr. Hughes of 'Gelle Fowler'. See here for lists of the inhabitants of Ysceifiog in 1681 and 1686; there are several Hughes families amongst whom might be the Mr. Hughes of 'Gelle Fowler', but this requires further investigation (note that these lists show the name of the head of the household, the number of people in the household and the ages of all in the household under the age of 18). In a note written in February 1856, John Hughes (1790-1857), explained: 'From the peculiar name of my great-grandfather [Mwyndeg] and his nativity at Ysceifiog I conceive that he belonged to these folk [the Hughes of Pant Gwyn].' He also wrote: 'Our a/c by Mrs. Foulkes and all my father ever heard as a boy was that Gelle Fawlor in that parish was the estate and house owned by our immediate people which they got out of some 150 years ago [i.e. around 1700].', so it is evident that the connection to Gelle Fawlor ('Gelli-ffowler') and Ysceifiog was family knowledge long before the research carried out by Mr. Morris in the 'Shrewsbury records'. The name Mwyndeg appears only to occur in this branch of the Hughes family, though it is not unknown elsewhere, and means 'gentle and fair, tender, genial, affable'. MWYNDEG HUGHES (d 1712), sea captain and merchant adventurer of Liverpool; born at Ysceifiog, son of a Mr. Hughes of 'Gelle Fawlor' (recte 'Gelli-ffowler')* in that parish; m 1707 at Chester, Elizabeth Wood, sister and co-heir of Thomas Wood of Hillingdon, of the 'Daily Advertiser', and had issue,
*According to local historian, Hazel Formby of Tan-y-Llan, Ysceifiog, Gelli-ffowler was ultimately acquired by Flintshire County Council and split into at least five farms. THOMAS HUGHES (1710-1776), Clerk in Holy Orders; educ Trinity Hall, Cambridge; 'having narrowly escaped in his youth the consequences of a Jacobite plot in which several of the sons of the Welsh gentry were involved' (see Burke's 'Genealogical and Heraldic Dictionary of the Landed Gentry of Great Britain and Ireland', 1847, Vol. I, p. 612 under HUGHES OF DONNINGTON PRIORY), he became Headmaster of Ruthin School (Denbigh, North Wales) from 1739 and later Rector of Llanfwrog and Llansilyn; m Elizabeth (1720-1756, memorial in St. Peter's Church, Ruthin), daughter of Norfolk Salusbury of Plas-y-Ward, Denbigh, a branch of the family of Salusbury of Lleweni (see SALUSBURY OF LLEWENI, Burke's 'Extinct and Dormant Baronetcies'), who were descended from Maurice Wynn of Gwydir (d 1580), senior male heir of the Princes of Gwynedd, Kathryn (Catherine) Tudor of Berain (d 1591), known as 'Mam Gwalia' or 'The Mother of Wales', and others, including many documented descents from William the Conqueror and Charlemagne, and had issue,
Kathryn Tudor of Berain (1534-1591), known as 'Mam Gwalia' ('The Mother of Wales') by Lucas de Heere (1568)
He m, secondly, Margaret Salusbury (or possibly Salesbury), cousin of his first wife, who d April 1799, aged 81 THOMAS HUGHES (1756-1833), Clerk in Holy Orders and a Doctor of Divinity, of Amen Corner, St. Paul's, London and Uffington, Berkshire; appointed tutor to the younger children of George III, namely the Dukes of Cumberland, Sussex and Cambridge, in 1777; Clerk of the Closet to George III and IV; Perpetual Curate of Putney (1788-1803); Prebendary of Westminster Abbey (1793-1807); Rector of Peasemore, Bucks (1801-1807); Chaplain to the Duke of Cumberland (1802); Rector of Turweston, Bucks (1802-1804); Prebendary of St. Paul's Cathedral (1807-1833); Residentiary Canon of St. Paul's (1807-1833); Vicar of Chiswick (1808-1809); Rector of St. Mary's, Cilcain, Flints (1809-1826); Vicar of Uffington, Berks (1816-1833); m Mary Anne (1770-1853), daughter of Rev. George Watts, Vicar of Uffington (d. 1810), son of Rev. George Watts, Vicar of Uffington, Chaplain to George II and Master of the Temple Church, son of Rev. Henry Watts, Vicar of Uffington; a friend of Sir Walter Scott she wrote 'Letters and Recollections of Sir Walter Scott' (Ed. Horace G. Hutchinson, London, Smith Elder, 1904); they had an only child,
'Squire Brown, J.P., for the County of Berks' - John Hughes (1790-1857), an illustration from 'Tom Brown's Schooldays'. JOHN HUGHES (1790-1857), JP, author, artist, antiquarian, poet, (he wrote the poem from which the motto of the Grand National Archery Society was taken - 'Union, Trueheart and Courtesie'), of Uffington House, Uffington, Berks, later of Donnington Priory, Newbury, Berks (from 1833) and latterly of 7 The Boltons, West Brompton, London (from 1852) (see his entry in DNB); educ at Westminster and Oriel College, Oxford; author of 'Itinerary of Provence and the Rhone' (1822) and 'The Boscobel Tracts' (1830); he was 'Squire Brown', the archetypal English squire immortalised in 'Tom Brown's Schooldays', which was written by his second son, Thomas (see below); he m, firstly, Elizabeth Cook, who died in 1819, aged 22, having had issue a daughter, Henrietta Maria, who died in the same year, aged 6 months (memorial in St. Mary's, Uffington); he m, secondly in 1820, Margaret Elizabeth (1797-1887 at Rugby, Tennessee, where she moved in 1881 following the death of her daughter, Jane), daughter of Thomas Wilkinson of Stokesley Castle (or Manor), Stokesley, Yorkshire, and had issue,
'Dear, dear Donnington' - Donnington Priory, nr. Newbury, Berks, with the River Lambourne. Home of the Hughes family from 1833 to 1852.
Arms Arms (from
Burke's 'General Armory' under 'Hughes of
Donnington Priory'): Quarterly, 1st and 4th, sable a fess
cotised between three lions' heads erased argent (HUGHES
ex WOOD); 2nd, azure three arrows points downwards or, on
a chief of the second three Moors' heads couped sidefaced
sable (WATTS); 3rd, argent, a chevron ermines between
three unicorns' heads capped sable (HEAD). Author's note: 1st and 4th quarters: These arms are remarkably similar to the arms of Wood of Essex given in Burke's 'General Armory' as 'Argent, a fesse gules within two barrulets azure between three lions' heads erased sable', but have clearly been reversed. These arms seem to have been assumed by the children or later descendants of Mwyndeg Hughes (d 1712) and Elizabeth Wood, sister and co-heir of Thomas Wood of Hillingdon (see above). It was the practice in Wales to adopt the arms of heiresses. It is possible that the black and white colour scheme was derived from the arms commonly associated with the Hughes name in Wales (though the undifferenced arms apparently belong to Hughes of Gwerclas, claimants to the throne of Powys), namely 'Argent a lion rampant sable', being the arms of Owain Brogyntyn, son of Madog ap Maredudd (d 1160), Prince of Powys, ancestor of the Hughes of Pant Gwyn in the female line, as described above.
2nd quarter: This shows the arms of Watts of Cotlington (as per the Visitation of Somerset, 1623) or Watts of Hanslope Park, Bucks, (Burke's 'General Armory'). Presumably Mary Anne Watts (1770-1853), mother of John Hughes (1790-1857), was descended from one of these families.
The arms of Watts. 3rd quarter: This shows the arms of Head (see Burke's 'General Armory' under 'Head (co. Berks and London)'). As explained in Burke's 'Genealogical and Heraldic Dictionary of the Landed Gentry of Great Britain and Ireland', 1847 (Vol. I, p. 612), Mrs. Watts, the maternal grandmother of Mary Anne Watts (1770-1853), was the heiress of Richard Head (of Newbury, Berks, it appears).
The arms of Head.
Hughes (ex Wood) quartered with Watts and Head. The crest is not that either of Wood (none given in Burke's 'General Armory'), Watts (a greyhound) or Head (a unicorn's head) and was presumably assumed. It might be based on Hughes of Gwerclas which consists of a demi-lion issuing out of a crown or (again the Hughes lion theme). On the basis of the male-line descent from Madoc Dhu (d before 22 Apr 1301), Lord of Copa'r Goleuni (Gop Hill, Trelawnyd), as described above, the Hughes family should use his arms, namely, paly of six, argent and sable, as illustrated, with suitable differences, quartered with the arms of Wood, Watts and Head as appropriate. But the arms of Madoc Dhu are so well-known and of such an obvious heraldic status that they should not, in the author's opinion, be quartered with any other arms, although in Wales it was the practice to quarter the arms of any famous house (particularly princely houses) from which an armiger could trace descent; this was often done even where there was no descent from an heraldic heiress of that house, which meant that there was, under English heraldic practice, no right to bear the arms (Hughes of Gwerclas is a good example of this). So, in Wales, quartering the arms of a Welsh prince meant 'I am descended from x prince', not 'I am descended from an heraldic heiress of x prince'.
Arms of Madoc Dhu
A suggestion for the arms of Hughes.
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