Archive:The Ancestry of John Whitney, Chapter I, Part 1
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Melville, Henry, A.M., LL.B., The Ancestry of John Whitney: Who, with His Wife Elinor, and Sons John, Richard, Nathaniel, Thomas, and Jonathan, Emigrated from London, England, in the Year 1635, and Settled in Watertown, Massachusetts; the First of the Name in America, and the One from Whom a Great Majority of the Whitneys Now Living in the United States Are Descended (New York, NY: The De Vinne Press, 1896).
CHAPTER I
THE ORIGIN AND EARLY HISTORY OF THE
WHITNEY FAMILY
"The Wye winds away thence to Whitney, which gave name to famous
family."1
Location and description of the parish of Whitney and the river Wye.
Derivation of the name Whitney. Earliest mention. mention. Origin of
Whitney as a surname. Turstin the Fleming and Agnes de Merle-
berge. The grant of land to the Monastery of St. Peter. Origin of
the name De Wigemore. Change from De Wigemore to De Whitney.
Description of the Marches of Wales. Probable character of the
early Whitneys. Origin of the Whitney arms.
IF we examine the map of England, we find that
the parish of Whitney is now situated in the
County of Hereford, upon the extreme western
border, adjoining Wales,2 and is traversed by the
lovely Wye, well called, from its castellated banks,
"the Rhine of England,"-the "devious Vaga" of
the poet, which is thus spoken of by a local his-
1 Camden's "Britannia" (Temp. Eliz.), Richard Gough's ed.
2 It is about seventeen miles westerly from the city of Hereford, and
four easterly from the town of Hay, by the railroad between those places.
7
8 The Ancestry of John Whitney torian:1 "Athelstan, having reduced the Britons to a temporary subjection, in the year 939, ap- pointed the river Wye to be the boundary between England and Wales, and to this day the Welsh side abounds with names of British origin, whilst they rarely occur on the other. It rises, as well as the Severn, near the summit of the Plinlim- mon Mountain in Montgomeryshire, and, having divided the Counties of Brecknock and Radnor (both in Wales), it enters that of Hereford, on the western border, between the parishes of Whitney and Clifford. Passing Hereford, Ross, Monmouth, and Chepstow, it is received into the channel of the Severn, having watered and adorned a tract of country between forty and fifty miles in extent, not only equal in its varied beauties to any scenery of a similar kind in England, but, perhaps, worthy to be compared with the most admired views on the Continent."2 On ordinary occasions it is a gentle, sparkling stream, a favorite home of trout and salmon, too shallow to accommodate anything but light skiffs and the wicker coracles3 still seen in the same styles that prevailed in the days of Julius Caesar. It is subject, however, to sudden and most destructive freshets. Stories are told of rainfall in the moun- tains that caused a wall of water to sweep down the narrow valley so suddenly that fishermen on the banks could not escape. Not only Whitney Castle, 1 Duncumb's "History and Antiquities of Herefordshire," ed. 1604, vol. i, p. 158. 2 Among the places of great historic interest in the valley are the ruins of Monmouth, Goodrich, Raglan, and Chepstow castles, and Tin- tern Abbey. 3 A boat formed of a basket covered with hide or canvas.
THE WYE AT WHITNEY.
Whitney Court in the background. Merbach Hill at the right.
Origin and Early History 9 but the Whitney Court that succeeded it, the old church with the family monuments, the rectory, and the entire churchyard have in turn been carried away.1 In the appearance of the river we have probably a suggestion of the derivation of the name Whitney- from the Anglo-Saxon hwit, white, and ey, water; lit- erally meaning white water, as in other ports of Here- fordshire "Whit-bourn" means white brook, "Whit- church" the white church, and "Whit-ton" the white town. The late Judge William H. Cooke,2 than whom there is no better authority, favors this theory, and translates it "the clear running stream." Others in- cline to withig,3 willow, or witan, assembly, and ey, which may mean island as well as water, so that it signifies the "Island of Willows" or the "Island of the Assembly."4 There are now broad meadows in Whitney, not unsuited for a large gathering of peo- ple, through which several old courses of the river can easily be traced. They may at one time have formed an island. The soil in the valley, from this overflow every winter, is very fertile, and the surrounding hills are covered, as they probably have been for thousands of years, by beautiful oak forests. There is a tract known as "Whitney Wood" to-day, probably identi- 1 The Rev. Henry Dew, who was born at the present Whitney Court, and has been rector of Whitney for more than fifty years last past, remembers seeing, in his boyhood, numerous skulls that had been washed up by the river. 2 The author of a continuation of Duncumb's "History of Hereford- shire." 3 Favored by Archdeacon Bevan, late of Hay Castle. 4 The name of the great assembly of the Saxon thanes was "Witena- gemot."
10 The Ancestry of John Whitney
cal with the one referred to in a writ of the seven-
teenth year of Henry III. (1233), wherein the Sheriff
of Hereford was commanded "to cause a good
breach to be made through the woods of Erdelegh,
Bromlegh and Witteneye, so that there may be safe
passage between the City of Hereford and Maud's
Castle."1
The earliest mention of Whitney is in Domesday
Book, 1086, which will be particularly spoken of
later. It appears that then scarcely any of the land
was under cultivation.
FACSIMILE.
TRANSLATION INTO ORDINARY LATIN.
In Elsedune hund., Rex tenet Witenie. Aluuard tenuit
tempora Regis Edwardi et poterat ire quo volebat. Ibi dimid
hida geld. Wasta fuit et est.2
1 Close Roll, 17 Henry III., in Public Record Office, Chancery Lane,
London.
"Maud's Castle is situated about four miles west of Payne's Castle,
and stands on the Forest Farm, in the parish of Llansaintfread. It was
built in the reign of King John, about the year 1216, by William de
Braos, Lord of Brecknock, in honor of his wife, whose name was Maud
de St. Valeri, whence it received the name of Maud's Castle. Its other
appellation was Colwen." Williams's "History of Radnorshire" ("Ar-
chaeologia Cambrensis," 3d series, vol. ii, p. 161).
2 Domesday Book, Survey of Herefordshire amid Marches of Wales.
THE BANKS OF THE WYE AT WHITNEY.
Origin and Early History 11
TRANSLATION INTO ENGLISH.
In Elsedune hundred, the King holds Witenie. Aluu-
ard held it in the time of King Edward, and was able to go
where he pleased. There is half a hide yielding geld. It
was and is waste.
The early owners of the land were, before the days
of surnames, known as "Eustace," or "Baldwin," or
"Robert of Whitney," as the Christian name might
be.1 Written in Latin, "of" was "de," and, after a
time, "De Whitney," or "De Wytteneye," as it was
usually spelled, came to be regarded as the family
name. In the course of two or three centuries an
"h" gradually came in, and the "De" was dropped
out. The present form of the name has been estab-
lished for about four centuries.
Burke, in describing the Whitney arms, has this
note:2
WHITNEY--Whitney, Co. Hereford; a Knightly family
of remote antiquity, founded by Eustace, living in 1086,
styled De Whitney from the lordship of Whitney which he
possessed--Az, a cross chequy, etc.
His authority was doubtless Duncumb's history
of Herefordshire, already referred to. The latter, in
speaking of the parish of Pencombe, in Herefordshire,
says:
Pencombe was held soon after the Conquest by Agnes,
widow of Turstinus Flandrensis, who was one of the land-
1 Duncumb's "History and Antiquities of Herefordshire," ed. 1804,
vol. ii, p. 153.
Whitney's "Choice of Emblemes," reprint of 1866. Introductory
dissertation by Rev. Henry Green, M. A.
2 Burke's "General Armoury," ed. 1884.
12 The Ancestry of John Whitney holders in this County, and thus noticed in the Survey of Domesday -- "Agnes, relicta Turstini Flandrensis, et Eusta- cius Miles, filius ejus, dominus de Witeney, dederunt ecclesiae Sancti Petri Gloucest. unam hidam terrae in Pencombe Suden- halle, liberam ab omni re, tempore Reginaldi Abbatis." Eustace, son of Agnes, assumed the name of Whitney from his possessions, and thus established a family of that name which was long situated at Whitney, in the hundred of Grimsworth, etc. A translation of the Latin quotation is as follows: Agnes, the widow of Turstin the Fleming, and Sir Eus- tace his son, lord of Whitney, gave to the church of Saint Peter at Gloucester a hide (120 acres) of land in Pencombe1 Sudenhalle, free from all encumbrances, in the time of the Abbot Reginald. Mr. Duncumb was not always a careful writer, and in this case was wrong in his citation of the Domes- day Survey. No such passage occurs there. It is to be found, however, in Dugdale's history of the Monasteries, written about 1655.2 There still is confusion; for, while it is certain that Agnes and Eustace must have lived, as stated, soon after the Conquest, or prior to 1100, Reginald de Hamme did not become abbot till 1263. Any solution of the difficulty was impossible until recently, when the English Government caused the ancient charters and manuscripts in the possession of 1 Pencombe is on high land in the northeastern part of the County of Hereford, about six miles from Bromyard (the nearest railway station), fifteen miles from Hereford, and about thirty from Whitney. The coun- try about is hilly and picturesque. 2 Dugdale's "Monasticon Anglicanum," ed. 1682, p. 118; in some later editions, at p. 549. Compiled by Sir William Dugdale, Garter Principal King-at-Arms.
Origin and Early History 13 the old monastery at Gloucester to be printed, and among them were found two deeds, one at least one hundred and seventy-five years older than the other, which Dugdale, on a superficial reading, thought con- temporaneous and abstracted as one document. The first is in these words: Sciant praesentes et futuri, quod ego Eustachius Filius Turstini Flandrensis, ad petitionem Agnetis matris meae, dedi Sancto Petro et fratribus de Gloucestria unam hidam in Pencumba quae vocatur Suthenhale, solutam et quietam ab omni re; et per scriptum istud super altare Sancti Petri de Gloucestria posui. Hujus rei testes sunt, Turstinus Flandrensis frater meus, Willelmus presbiter ejusdem villae, Willelmus de Stabulo, Wymundus, Rogerius de Kaillewy, Rogerus Castel, etc.1 The second is as follows: Sciant praesentes et futuri, quod ego Eustachius de Wyt- teneye, miles, dedi, concessi, et hac praesenti carta mea confirmavi, pro salute animae meae, uxoris meae, et ante- cessorum meorum, viris religiosis, domino R(eginaldo), ab- bati Sancti Petri Gloucestriae, et ejusdem loci conventui, et eorum successoribus, unam hidam terrae quae vocatur Suthenhale, in parochia de Pencumba, quam antecessores mei praedictis viris religiosis prius dederant, et carta sua confirmaverant; habendam et tenendam totam praedictam terram cum pertiueutiis suis, de me et haeredibus meis, sibi et successoribus suis, in liberam, puram, et perpetuam ele- mosinam in perpetuam, solutam et quietam ab omnibus ser- vitiis, consuetudinibus, sectis curiae, et saecularibus qui- buscunque demandis. Et ego Eustachius et haeredes mei dictam terram, cuin omnibus pertinentiis suis et omnibus praefatis libertatibus, dictis viris religiosis et corum suc- 1 "Historia et Cartularium Monasterii Gloucestriae," DCXXI, vol. ii, p. 120.
14 The Ancestry of John Whitney cessoribus contra omnes mortales warantizabimus, et de omnibus servitiis saecularibus et sectis contra quoscunque defendemus. In eujus rei testimonium praesenti scripto, etc.1 Literally translated, the first is to this effect: KNOW ALL MEN PRESENT AND TO COME, that I, EUSTACE, son of Turstin the Fleming, at the request of my mother Agnes, have given to Saint Peter and the brothers of Glou- cester a hide of land in Pencombe which is called Suthenhale, free and clear from every encumbrance; and, through this deed, I have placed it on the altar of Saint Peter of Glou- cester. The witnesses of this thing are Turstin the Fleming my brother, William a priest of said Town, William de Stabulo, Wymund, Roger de Kaillewy, Roger Castel, etc. The second refers to this and confirms it in this way: KNOW ALL MEN PRESENT AND TO COME, that I, EUSTACE DE WYTTENEYE, Knight, have given, granted and by this present deed of mine have confirmed, for the safety of my soul and the souls of my wife and ancestors, to the monks and lord Reginald, Abbot of Saint Peter's at Gloucester, and to the convent of that place, and to their successors, a hide of land which is called Suthenhale,2 in the parish of Pencombe, which my ancestors heretofore gave to said holy men and by their deed confirmed; to have and to hold the aforesaid land with the appurtenances thereto belonging from me and my heirs to them and their successors, in free, clear and perpetual gift, relieved and quit of all burdens, customs, 1 "Historia et Cartularium Monasterii Gloucestriae," DCXXV, vol. ii, p. 122. 2 The modern name of Suthenhale is Sydnal. The dean and chapter of Gloucester, the legal successors of the monastery, still own this very tract of land.
SCRIPTORIUM OF THE MONASTERY OF ST. PETER.
Now part or Gloucester Cathedral.
Origin and Early History 15 suits at law and secular demands whatever. And I, Eustace, and my heirs, the said land with all its appurtenances and all its aforesaid liberties, to the said holy men and their successors, against all mortal men will warrant, and from all secular encumbrances and suits against any one whatever will defend. In Witness Whereof, etc.1 From these it clearly appears that there was a Sir Eustace de Wytteneye in the days of Reginald the Abbot, 1263-84; that he had an ancestor Eustace; that the latter was the son of Turstin, a Fleming, by his wife Agnes; and that said Agnes either owned or had some special interest in the land at Pencombe. They do not justify the statement that the first Eustace had the name of De Wytteneye. For rea- sons stated later, it is not improbable that either he or his son bore it; but there is nothing by which to prove it conclusively. Domesday Book, however, gives considerable interesting information about Turstin and Agnes. King Edward, known as "the Confessor," died in January, 1066, leaving no children. One of his last acts was to request that Earl Harold--like his father Godwin before him, by far the most powerful man in the kingdom--should be his successor. This was in accordance with the wishes of most of the people, and at a Witan, or general assembly of the nobles, he was elected and crowned. The new king found himself confronted by two powerful enemies who threatened to attack at once, One was Harold Hardrada, King of Norway, who, 1 This deed of confirmation was probably rendered necessary by the passage of the Statute of Mortmain in 1279.
16 The Ancestry of John Whitney with a great army, had landed in the north of Eng- land; the other was William, Duke of Normandy, who was preparing to invade the south. Hastily raising such forces as he could, the Eng- lish Harold marched against the Northmen and de- feated them at Stamford Bridge, beyond York, on September 25, and then hastened back to meet the Normans. His absence had given the latter the chance they sought to approach the coast with their fleet of seven hundred ships; and on September 29 Duke William, without opposition, had landed a mag- nificent army of sixty thousand men. Normandy was then a district occupying most of what is now the northwestern part of France. The Normans were not of the same race as the French, but were light-haired, blue-eyed, fierce-fighting de- scendants of Norsemen--Scandinavian invaders who had conquered that country as they were destined later to conquer England. Duke William had already distinguished himself in many wars, and was a military leader of the greatest ability. His excuse for the invasion was an assertion that years before King Edward had promised him the English crown, and that Earl Harold, when ship- wrecked on his coast, in return for assistance, had recognized his title and done homage to him as his feudal lord. William's wife was Matilda, the daughter of Bald- win, Earl of Flanders,--a district northeast of Normandy, most of which is now included in the lowlands of Belgium,--and consequently many young Flemish nobles attached themselves to his cause. Harold marched south with all possible speed, and
Origin and Early History 17 on the morning of October 14th the two armies met at Senlac,1 near Hastings. The strength of the Normans consisted in a large body of mounted knights, men of great physical strength, trained from boyhood to the pursuit of arms, mounted on heavy Flemish horses, and incased in al- most impenetrable armor. The rest of the force were skilful bowmen. The English, on the other hand, had few bowmen and no horses. Armed principally with short battle-axes, they could only stand in close array, and by sheer weight of numbers resist their enemies, who rode about them and charged again and again. Nearly all of their leaders fell, and finally, when, just at sundown, an arrow shot at random pierced the eye of Harold, they became demoralized, broke, and suffered terrible slaughter. After this victory the conquest of England was comparatively easy. Many powerful nobles in the west and north held out for a time, but, acting in- dependently, they were no match for the invaders. Herefordshire held out longest, but at the end of five years William's authority was acknowledged in nearly all of what is now known as England, as distinguished from Wales and Scotland. To retain the country required a vigorous policy. On the theory that they had been in rebellion against their lawful sovereign, the estates of most of the powerful Saxon families were declared forfeited to the crown. The king retained vast tracts, and granted the remainder to the leaders of his army, some three or four hundred in number, in considera- 1 Now, in memory of the event, called "Battle." Here King William erected a memorial abbey, and deposited in it a roll containing the names of all his knights.
18 The Ancestry of John Whitney tion of their agreement to follow him to war, and furnish, at their own expense, a certain number of knights and common soldiers. These tenants in chief, in turn, for purpose of convenience, exchanged with each other and subdivided a portion of their grants among their followers under a similar arrange- ment. Probably every knight who fought at Senlac received something. About 1080 a survey of the kingdom was begun, to determine who had the land, how they got it, who had it before the conquest, the character of each holding, what it was worth, whether it had increased or decreased in value, etc. The survey was com- pleted in 1086, and the original manuscript record, called "Domesday Book," is still preserved, perhaps the most remarkable historical document possessed by any nation. From this it appears that one of the fortunate ten- ants in chief was Alured de Merleberge -- holding great estates, direct from the king, in the Marches of Wales, in Herefordshire, Surrey, Hampshire, Wilt- shire, and Somersetshire -- besides others by grant from fellow lords. He evidently was a favorite with the great William Fitz Osborne (a relative of the King, second in com- mand at Senlac, Earl of Hereford, Sewer of Nor- mandy, Lord of the Isle of Wight, Governor of Win- chester, and Vice-Gerent for all the North of England, as Odo, Earl of Kent, was in the South), for, after Earl William had built the strong castle of Ewias in the Marches, he gave it to De Merleberge. The record is in corrupt Latin, and no translation of the portion of Domesday relating to Herefordshire and the adjacent Marches has ever been published. It is
PLAN OF EWIAS CASTLE.
- - - - Probable line of walls. A. Site of keep. B. Platform of lower ward.
C. Ditch. D. Road. +. village.
Origin and Early History 19
very difficult to make out, but the following extract
is substantially correct.
TRANSLATION.1
The land of ALURED DE MERLEBERGE
Alured de Merleberge holds the Castle of Ewias2 from
William the King. (The King himself granted to him the
lands which William the Earl, who had re-strengthened this
castle, had given to him.) That is to say, 5 carucates of
land there, and at Manitone other 5 carucates. The king
granted to him also the land of Radolfus de Bernai, which
land belonged to the castle. There he had in demesne 2
ploughs and 9 Welshmen with 6 ploughs rendering 7 sex-
taries of honey and 12 borders working one day in every
week. There are 4 cowherds and 1 "man" rendering 6
pence. His five knights, Richard, Gilbert, William, and
William and Harnold, have 5 ploughs in demesne and 12
borders and 3 fisheries and 22 acres of meadows. Two
others, William and Radolfus, hold land for 2 ploughs.
1 Domesday Book, vol. i (printed), p. 186, ix.
2 Pronounced Eu-yus. Then situated in the Marches; now in southern
Herefordshire.
"The 'Castellaria Aluridi Ewias,' of Domesday, was a tract the par-
ticulars of which are not known, but which no doubt lay among those
lines of hill and valley which converge like the fingers of a hand upon
the Worm and the Monnow, between the Golden Valley and the Black
Mountain, and form the southwestern portion of the County of Here-
ford. The actual castle, 'Castellum Ewias,' stands about six miles
within the border of the county, and about three miles outside or west
of the presumed line of Offa's Dyke at this point. The country is hilly,
but fertile, well worth the defense, for which it affords many natural
advantages. The immediate position is chosen with great skill, though
it required an immense application of human labor to make it an almost
impregnable fortress against the fierce and active hordes of Welshmen,
whose alienated patrimony it was intended to grasp. . . . it must at all
times have been a post of very great danger, and have borne with Kel-
peck, a work of the same character, the brunt of the ordinary and
frequent attacks of the men of South and West Wales upon Hereford."
"Archaeologia Cambrensis," 4th series, vol. viii, p. 116.
20 The Ancestry of John Whitney Turstin holds land rendering 19d and Warnerius land of 5s. They have 5 borders. This Castle of Ewias is worth £10. De Merleberge had a daughter Agnes, to whom he gave a large tract of land, Duncumb says as a wed- ding present.1 The following, also from Domesday, shows where the land was, and whom she married. FACSIMILE.TRANSLATION. In Radelaw Hundred the same Alured holds Cuure. Earl Harold held it. There are 15 hides paying geld, but King William acquitted 6 hides from payment of geld. Agnes, daughter of Alured, the wife of Turstin de Wigemore, holds this Manor. In demesne there are 2 ploughs, and a priest and a bailiff and 26 villeins and 8 borders. Amongst them all they have 32 ploughs. There are four serfs and a smith, and the meadow and wood renders nothing, and one hide of this land lies in the King's Wood. In the time of King Edward, the third penny from the three hundred belonged to this Manor. Now it is taken away--Then it was worth £25, now 100 shillings less. 1 Duncumb's "History and Antiquities of Herefordshire," vol. ii, p. 96.
Origin and Early History 21 The modern form of the word "Cuure" is Cowarn, and it occurs as "Cowarn the Great" and "Cowarn the Less," between which lies Pencombe. Pencombe is not mentioned in Domesday, but, if we examine the map, we find that it must have been within the tract just described. This, and the fact that the Whitneys of Whitney were, from the earliest times, Lords of Pencombe, proves conclusively that Agnes de Merleberge, wife of Turstin de Wigemore, was the Agnes, mother of "Eustacius filius Turstini Flan- drensis," ancestor of "Eustacius de Wytteneye," men- tioned in the deeds above quoted. It is proper to inquire who Turstin de Wigemore was and how he obtained his surname. Apparently he is mentioned twice as an under-ten- ant of De Merleberge - the first time as above, the other just before what is said of Agnes, as follows:
Translation In Stratford Hundred the same Alured holds Stratford. Earl Harold held it. There are 2 hides paying geld - Gilbert holds from Turstin and Turstin from Alured - In demesne are 1 plough, and 1 villein and 4 borders with half a plough and there is room for 3 ploughs. There are 3 serfs and the meadow renders 3 shillings. There are woods. In the time of King Edward it was worth 30 shillings - now, 20 shillings.
This may show how he came to make the young lady's acquaintance, but it does not account for the "de Wigemore." Looking a little further, we find that it came from Wigemore Castle, a Norman stronghold which Earl William Fitz Osborne, above mentioned, built, and near which he gave land to "Turstino Flandrensi."
22 The Ancestry of John Whitney
FACSIMILE.
TRANSLATION:
The land of Ralph de Mortimer in the Hundred of
Hezetre.
Ralph de Mortimer holds the Castle of Wigemore. Wil-
liam the Earl built it on waste land which is called Merestum,
which Gunuert held in the time of King Edward. There
are two hides paying geld. Ralph has in demesne two
ploughs and 4 serfs - A borough which is there renders £7.
In Hezetre Hundred the same Ralph holds Duntune and
Oiddard from him. Aelmar and Ulchet held for 2 Manors
and could go where they pleased. There are 4 hides - two
of these paying no geld. In demesne are 2 ploughs and 3
villeins and 3 borders and half a plough - There are 6 serfs
and a fishery. Wood half a mile long and five furlongs
wide - There are 2 enclosures. It was worth 30 shillings,
- now, the same. Earl William gave that land to Turstin the
Fleming.
THE RUINS OF WIGEMORE CASTLE.
Origin and Early History 23 In Dugdale's Baronage there is an explanation of these grants.1 Re says that the great Earl William who granted land at Wigemore Castle to Turstin, and Ewias Castle to Alured de Merleberge, was killed in a battle in Flanders in 1070, and his son Roger succeeded him as earl of Hereford. The latter with his brother-in-law, the Earl of Norfolk, rebelled against King William. For this act his hand was forfeited and he died in prison. As above shown, the king re-granted Ewias to De Merleberge, while Wigemore was granted to Ralf de Mortimer. Though not so stated, Turstin probably remained there as under-tenant, for the wealthy and famous families of De Wigemore and Lingen claimed him as an ancestor. In Robinson's "History of the Castles of Hereford- shire and their Lords," under "Lingen Castle," among other things, it is said:2 Lingen Castle was less important as a fortress than as the scat of one of the most ancient Herefordshire families, which derived its name from the little village of Lingen3 on the borders of Shropshire. The Mortimers were the chief Lords of the entire district, and under them one Turstin held the Manor of Lingen. He was usually styled Turstin de Wige- more, and with his wife Agnes, daughter of Alured de Merleberge, he obtained the Lordship of Great Cowarne. His descendant Rolf de Wigemore, Lord of Lingen in the reign of Richard I (1189-1199), was founder of the Priory of Lyngbroke or Limebrook, which Leland erroneously attributes to the Mortimers, and there can be no reasonable 1 Dugdale's "Baronage of England," ed. of 1675, vol. i, pp. 66, 67. 2 "Castles of Herefordshire," p. 93. 3 Wigemore and Lingen are now in the northern part of Hereford- shire. Formerly they were part of the Marches of Wales.
24 The Ancestry of John Whitney doubt that Lingen became the patronymic of his family from thenceforth. Turstin de Wigemore and Turstin the Fleming were, therefore, certainly the same person. It is equally certain that he was a man of rank and dis- tinction, with great possessions in other parts of Eng- land. Some confusion, however, arises from the fact that there was at least one other Turstin. There is mention of "Turstin the son of Rolf," or Rou, and "Turstin the son of Guy." One of them married Agnes, but which one it is hard to say. The only suggestions that it was the latter are, first, in the fact that a certain "Wydo Flandrensis"1 ("Guy of Flanders") is mentioned as a benefactor of the monastery to which Eustace gave the hide of land in Pencombe; and, secondly, in the statement of one of the old writers that Rolf's son had possessions near Fecamp, in northern Normandy.2 It has usually been supposed to have been the former, that is to say, it has been believed that De Merleberge's son-in-law was called "Turstin the Flem- ing" from his nationality or estates, "Turstin the son of Rolf" from his parentage, "Turstin de Wigemore" from his residence, and "Turstin the fair" from his complexion, for, among others, the following reasons: i. Guy's son had no possessions in the West of England, while the principal estates of Rolf's son were in Herefordshire amid the Marches of Wales. 2. These possessions were close by those of De Mer- leberge, and the names of the two come together in the Domesday list of tenants in chief. 1 "Historia Cartularium Monasterii Gloucestriae", vol. i, pp. 108, 266. 2 "The Conqueror and his Companions," by J. R. Planche, p. 227.
Origin and Early History 25 3. The Turstin who married Agnes had a descen- dant named Rolf See quotation from Robinson, above. The following is the record of one of his estates: TRANSLATION. The land of TURSTIN, son of ROLF. In Bremesese Hundred, Turstin the son of Rolf holds Al- wintune. Brictric held it in the time of King Edward. There are 6 hides. In demesne are 2 ploughs and 12 villeins with 9 ploughs, and they render 20 blooms of iron and 8 sextaries of honey. There are 5 serfs, and a mill of 40 pence. In the time of King Edward it was worth 20 shillings, now it is worth 4 pounds. In Radelaw Hundred the same Turstin holds Merchelai and another Turstin1 from him. Brictric held it from Earl Harold and he could go where he wished. There are 3 hides paying geld. In demesne there are 2 ploughs and 7 villeins and four borders with eight ploughs and 4 serfs. In the time of King Edward and after, and now it is worth 60 shillings. Besides this he had lands direct from the king in Hampshire, Berkshire, Dorsetshire, Buckingham- shire, and Gloucestershire. He was so highly rewarded on account of the dis- tinguished part he played in the battle of Senlac. He was then a young knight, perhaps, as suggested by his nickname "the fair," still a smooth-faced boy, but in some way he had proved his courage suffi- ciently so that Duke William intrusted him with the 1 Possibly the brother of Eustace, who witnessed the deed to the mon- astery already mentioned.
26 The Ancestry of John Whitney principal battle-flag. The confidence was well placed, for all day long his banner floated where the fight was hottest. Says Lingard: "About nine in the morning the army began to move, Crossed the interval between the two hills, and slowly ascended the eminence on which the English were posted. The papal banner, as an omen of victory, was carried in front by Tous- tane the fair, a dangerous honor, which two of the Norman Barons had successively declined."1 "He bore the Gonfanon," says an ancient chroni- cler, "boldly, high aloft in the breeze, and rode beside the Duke, going wherever he went. Whenever the Duke turned he turned also, and wherever he stayed his course there he stayed also." Freeman confirms this.2 "Fast by the three broth- ers" (Duke William, Odo and Robert) the conse- crated banner, says he, "was borne by Toustain the white, the son of Rou, a knight of the less famous Bec in the land of Caux.3 Two men of higher rank and greater age had already declined the honorable office. . . . Thick around Toustain and the chiefs beside whom he rode were gathered the chivalry of Normandie, the future nobility of England, the men who made their way into our land by wrong and robbery, but whose children our land won to her own heart and changed the foemen of Pevensey and Sen- lac into the men who won the great charter and dictated the provisions of Oxford." 1 Lingard's "History of England," vol.1, p. 371. 2 Freeman's "History of the Norman Conquest," vol. iii, pp. 311, 312. 3 "Tosteins Fits Rou le Blanc out non At Bec en Caux aveit meison." "Roman de Rou," 12,773.
Origin and Early History 27
The pedigree, therefore, of Eustace, who gave to
tho monastery the land in Pencombe, was as follows:
ROLF, or Guy =
____________|
|
TURSTIN DE WIGEMORE, = AGNES, dau. of Alured
the Fleming, living 1086. | de Merleberge of Ewias
| Castle, etc.
________________|_________
| |
EUSTACE of Pencombe, TURSTIN, witness to the
County of Herefordshire, deed of his brother
living about 1100, ances- Eustace.
tor of Sir EUSTACE DE
WYTTENEYE, Knight, liv-
ing 1280.
Before speaking further of the De Wytteneyes it
may be well to say a word in explanation of some of
the terms used in the foregoing quotations from
"Domesday."
A "manor," so called from the Latin "Manendo,"
because the usual residence of the owner, was origi-
nally a district of land held by a lord, who kept
in his own hands as much as was necessary for the
use of his family, called "demesne" lands. This was
cultivated by his "serfs," "villeins," and
"bordars,"
and measured in "hides," "ploughs," or
"carucates"
(probably different names for the same thing). How
much one of these included no one knows exactly.
It is supposed to have been at least one hundred and
twenty acres.
The rest of the manor the lord disposed of as
follows: Some he gave to his vassals' sometimes
knights with manors of their own, who in return as-
sumed an obligation to furnish him a certain number
28 The Ancestry of John Whitney of common soldiers for war; some he leased to ten- ants who paid money for it, and what was left was called the lord's "wastes," and used as common pas- ture for the inhabitants of the manor. The lords of manors were styled barons, and each had his court for redressing wrongs and punishing offences within his district, where his authority was supreme. When several manors, originally granted to dif- ferent lesser barons by one great baronial tenant- in-chief, remained united in some particulars, for mutual protection and other advantages, the con- federation was called an "Honor" and named after the principal castle within it. Castle Ewias was the head of an "Honor," founded by De Merleberge, to which Pencombe belonged. Castle Wigemore was the head of another, composed of twenty-one manors, which, under the Mortimers, Earls of March, was long one of the most powerful in England.1 Serfs, the lowest description of tenants, were at the arbitrary disposal of the lord, their lives and limbs only being under the protection of the law. Villeins were of a little higher grade than serfs, but were not free to leave the manor. Bordars were a higher grade of servants, so called from their living in a "bord" or cottage. 1 "It is impossible to contemplate the massive ruins of Wigemore Castle, situate on a hill in an amphitheatre of mountains, whence its owner could survey his vast estates from his square palace with four corner towers on a keep at the southwest corner of his double trenched outworks, without reflecting on the instability of the grandeur of a family whose ambition and intrigue made more than one English mon- arch uneasy on his throne." Gough, in his annotations to Camden's "Britannia."
Origin and Early History 29 Geld was tax money. Geldable land was land un- der cultivation, and therefore taxable. One authority says that amounts of money men- tioned in Domesday should be multiplied by thirty to reduce them to modern values. This is probably much too small a ratio. It has been shown that Eustace obtained the ma- nor of Pencombe, part of ancient Cuure, from his mother. This was not all of her possessions. Dun- cumb says:1 From the De Wigemore family Cowarne (Magna) passed, probably by marriage, to that of the Paunceforts, which classed with the most ancient in the country. He further states that another portion, "Cowarne Parva," passed to the De Frayne family, afterwards to the Devereaux, and finally to the Berringtons.2 As has already been noted, Whitney, at the time of the Domesday survey, was still wild land, ungranted. If we look on the map we notice that it was a long way from Pencombe, thirty miles or more. The Whitney estate, as can be judged from this, and from what is shown later, was widely scattered. Pencombe was in the county of Hereford, but Whitney was in no county of either England or Wales till the year 1534. During the four centuries and a half that elapsed between the Domesday survey and this date it was a part of that remarkable district known as the "Marches of Wales," in which "the king's writ did not run," and consequently no sheriff 1 Duncumb's "History and Antiquities of Herefordshire," vol. ii, p. 96. 2 This is not strictly correct, for, as will be shown, Sir Eustace de Whitney held it in 1281. 30 The Ancestry of John Whitney could make an arrest; where the acts of Parliament had no force, and the common law was reduced to the principle "Let him take who has the power, and let him keep who can."1 Here was the favorite field of adventure for the more turbulent and ambitious of the young Norman nobles who banded together for independent conquest on their own account. Among them the Mortimers were prominent, and, next to them, one of the most famous was Bernard Newmarch, who early in the twelfth century conquered the region about Whitney, now in the county of Brecknock, and divided it among his followers. In the service of one of these chiefs, there was probably a young De Wigemore, who re- ceived Whitney for his portion. As centers from which to set out on military expeditions, and as strongholds to defend the territory acquired, nu- merous castles were built, one at Whitney among them, and from it, some time prior to the year 1200 the first De Whitney took his surname.2 The only record that suggests the approximate date is tile inscription, made in 1628, on the monument of Constance Whitney, at St. Giles, "without Crip- plegate," London, which states that she was "eldest daughter to Sir Robert Whitney, of Whitney, the proper possession of him and his ancestors, in Here- 1 "The Marches were the borders in which this county [Radnorshire], with others, was included. They were neither part of the realm of England nor governed by English laws, but constituted what is deemed a solecism in political administration, an imperium in imperio" Wil- liams's "History of Radnorshire," ("Archaeologia Cambrensis," 3d series, vol. iii, p. 27). 2 The surname "De Clifford," from Clifford Castle, two miles above Whitney, was assumed about 1190. See "The Hundred of Grimsworth," p. 22, by W. H. Cooke.
Origin and Early History 31 fordshire, for above 500 years past." This would make the beginning about 1100. Robinson, in his "History of the Mansions and Manors of Herefordshire," page 301, speaking of the. family, says: Perhaps they made Pencombe their principal residence, and only occupied the castle at Whitney as Lords Marchers or for purposes of Chase. Of what extent the Border fortress may have been; we have no means of judging, and we can only conjecture, from Blount's remark, "at Whitney the Tower of a Castle lately standing," that it had fallen into complete ruin before the Civil War. Whether its fragments were then employed in the construction of the Court,1 or whether they were submerged when the river changed its course in 1730, there is no evidence to show. We gather, however; from the Parish Registers that the Whitneys oc- cupied some mansion in the parish in the sixteenth century, and this, after the sale of Pencombe by Sir Robert; the Roy- alist, became their chief residence. The writer is wrong in his conclusion. Abundant records will be cited below, showing that from early times the castle, a fortress of no inconsiderable size and importance, was almost continually their head- quarters. For about one hundred and fifty years, during most of the reigns of William II. (1087-1100), Henry I. (1100-1135), Stephen (1135-1154), Henry II. (1154- 1189), Richard I. (1189-1199); John (1199-1216), and Henry III. (1216 et seq.), it is doubtful if there is any authentic record of the Whitneys. They held their 1 Not the Whitney Court now standing, but its predecessor, which, like the castle, was undermined by the water and ultimately entirely destroyed.
32 The Ancestry of John Whitney own, and from this we can judge something of the kind of life they must have led. Like that of all their neighbors, it was one of continual warfare. The Welsh were the bravest of the Britons, unconquered during all this period, frequently assuming the of- fensive, and ever ready to resist the advance of the hated Normans. As for the latter, when not fight- ing the common enemy, they fought each other, and occasionally got up a lively rebellion against the king.. Many great names died out from the fact that all the males were killed, and we can be certain that the problem of providing for younger sons did not trouble the Whitneys. What is recorded of a later Welsh war (1402),1 when "the father of Robert Whitney and his uncle and most of his relatives", were killed and Whitney Castle burned, is suggestive of the probable character of their trials on many previous occasions. As h[ ,] there was no law in the land ex- cept th[ ]or physical strength. Their pos- sessions could hardly be considered as being part of any kingdom or principality. They were neither in England nor in Wales, but in the famous "Marches," the wide-stretching debatable border lands, where "were one hundred and forty-one little lordships," every one established and maintained by the sword, "often at war with each other and amenable only to their several feudal chiefs ."2 1 Patent Roll, 4 Henry IV., part i, No. 372. 2 "Pictorial History of England," vol. iii, p. 425. "The clashing rights of so many petty sovereigns, bordering upon each other, produced infinite tumults and disorders. Their several castles were points of attraction as receptacles of felons, criminals, and outlaws, the disaffected and factious subjects of the Welsh Princes, and desperate adventurers who fled thither to escape the sword of justice,
Origin and Early History 33 Probably Mr. Green, in his introduction to the re- print of the works of Geoffrey Whitney, the poet, was not far wrong when, in speaking of his early ancestors, he says:1 "As a family the Whitneys were a superior class of Wat Tinlings, doing perpetual battle in their own behalf, and, except when it suited their purposes, bidding defiance to right and law." These statements as to the character of the district are fully borne out by what is said in the Act of 27, Henry VIII., chap. 26 (1534), already referred to, which for the first time incorporated Whitney with Herefordshire. Statute 27th of Henry VIII., Cap. 26. PART III. "And forasmuch as there be many and divers lordships marchers within the said country or dominion of Wales, lying between the shires of England and the shires of the said country or dominion of Wales, and being no par- and who were made useful in serving the violent and oppressive pur- poses of the lords. These neighboring tyrants sometimes confederated together, and acted in unison in extending their mutual encroachments, despoiling and destroying the Welsh natives; sometimes they quarrelled about the division of the spoil, involving all their respective tenants, who also were their vassals, In the devastating effects of those bloody frays; sometimes they directed their allied arms against the Princes of Wales, or erected the standard of rebellion against the sovereigns of England; or seduced the martial natives to spend their useless valor en the sands of Ascalon and in the fields of Cressy. So great indeed was their power, which had often made the kings of England tremble on their throne, that even Edward I, after having accomplished the conquest of Wales, made no attempt to innovate or intrench upon their jurisdiction; and, though anew form of government was imposed upon the country, yet the inhabitants of the Marches were left to all the rigor of their former severities." Williams's "History of Radnorshire," ("Archaeologia Cambrensis," 3d Series, vol. iii, p. 28). 1 Whitney's "Choice of Emblems," ed. of Rev. Henry Green, 1866. Introduction.
34 The Ancestry of John Whitney cel of any other shires where the laws and due correction is used and had, by reason whereof hath ensued, and hath been practised, perpetrated, committed and done, within and among the said lordships and countries to them adjoin- ing, manifold and divers detestable murders, burning of houses. robberies; thefts, trespasses, routs, riots, unlawful assemblies, embraceries, maintenances, receiving of felons, oppressions, ruptures of the peace, amid manifold other male- facts, contrary to all laws and justice; and the said offenders thereupon making their refuge from lordship to lordship, were and continued without punishment or correction (2) for due reformation whereof, and forasmuch as divers and many of the said lordships marchers be now in the hands and possession of our sovereign lord the King, and the smallest number of them in the possession of other lords, it is therefore enacted by the authority aforesaid, that divers of the said lordships marchers shall be united, annexed and joined to divers of the shires of England, and divers of the said lordships marchers shall be united, annexed and joined to divers of the shires of the said country or dominion of Wales in manner and form hereafter following, (3) and that all the residue of the said lordships marchers within the said country or dominion of Wales shall be severed and divided into certain particular counties or shires, that is to say, &c. Among the "lordships, towns, parishes, commotes, hundreds and cantreds," formerly in the Marches, which this act for the first time added to Here- fordshire, were "Ewyas Harold (De Merlberge's Castle), Ewyas Lacy, Clifford, Wynforton, Yerdesley, Huntington, Whytney, Wygmore, Logharneys and Stepulton." It is to be borne in mind that this description of them refers to a time fully three hundred years after the Whitney family was established, and when there
Origin and Early History 35 is every reason to suppose the Marches were, as com- pared with the past, most quiet and peaceable. Naturally the question is suggested, why was this condition of affairs allowed to continue so long? There were many reasons, the principal ones being that, on the one hand, the Lords Marchers were jeal- ous of their independence, and ever ready to unite in opposition to any encroachment on their ancient pre- rogatives; and, on the other hand, the district formed a convenient buffer to protect England from the in- cursions of the dreaded Welsh. During this period the Crusades came on, and the flower of English chivalry, including a multitude from the Marches, followed Richard the Lion-Hearted and others to the Holy Land.1 There are various traditions that there were one or more De Wytteneyes among them. A pretty strong proof of this is the character of their coat-of- arms. Burke, in his "General Armoury," ed. 1884, says: Whitney. Arms, Az. a cross chequy or, and sa. Crest a bull's head, couped sa. armed ar. the points gu. In other words, a shield with a blue ground on which was a large cross, formed of "checkerboard" squares of gold and black, above which, as a crest, was a bull's head, cut off at the neck, black, with silver horns tipped with red, This is correct except as to the color of the squares. An examination of the registry in the College of Arms, otherwise known as the Herald's College, Lon- 1 The leaders of the knights from the Marches who went on the third Crusade, 1189 were Bartholomew Mortimer and Roger de Lacy.
36 The Ancestry of John Whitney don, shows that they were gold and red, not gold and black, and gold and red they appear blazoned on the walls of Hereford Cathedral, where a Mrs. Lucy Booth, daughter of Sir Robert Whitney, was buried in 1673. A cross on an ancient coat-of-arms is generally un- derstood by those versed in heraldry to indicate that it once belonged to a crusader. Arms could not be devised where a cross would be more prominent. In fact, it is the only symbol. Doubtless, if the old church at Whitney, where the family monuments were, had not been washed away, there would be found effigies of knights with the cross-legged indication of services in the Holy Wars. This is suggested in the article on "Whitney Castle" in the history of the castles of Hereford- shire before referred to.1 The author says: "No less certain is it that the place was the seat of a most ancient family which derived its name from it and flourished for some Five hundred years, yielding in nearly every generation one or more members of eminence." Then, speaking of the first Eustace, he quotes: From him descended cross-legg'd knights, Famed for their faith and warlike fights Against the bloody canibal Whom they destroyed, both great and small. and adds: "They could point to their arms--Azure, a cross checky, or and sable, as a proof, which Hu- dibras did not possess." 1 "Castles of Herefordshire and their Lords," by Rev. C. J. Robin- son, London, 1869, p. 135.
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