The Garretts – Before America Page 1

Before America This file is from John E. Garrett - The same as the Gerrard line to Page 27 Prior to Lord John Garrett immigrating to America, his ancestors had lived in England for six centuries. But, the name was not always Garrett. Before they called themselves Garrett, they used the names Garrad, Garrard, and Gerard. Before that it was Gerald, and before that it was Geraldini (sometimes spelled Gherardini). In between the Geraldinis and the Gerald’s, sons where named after their father first name rather than the last name.. So, if a Walter had a son that he called John, John was known a John FitzWalter, Fitz meaning “the son of”. Using this naming convention, my ancestors were the progenitors of the FitzGeralds.

The Geraldini Ancestors

The first ancestor to immigrate to England was Otho Geraldini. Otho was from Tuscany (now Italy) and he was a Duke. His move was made in two steps -- first to Normandy in the first quarter of the 11th Century and then to England in 1041 AD. So from Otho (Geraldini) we have a progression of names such as: Walter FitzOtho, Gerald FitzWalter, William FitzGerald, and William FitzWilliam. Two prominent branches were the FitzGeralds and the Geralds. The FitzGeralds branch of the family went to Ireland. The Geralds became Garrard, Garrett, etc.

Otho was from Italy, born around 1006 AD. He was a Florentine and a member of the Geraldini family. Sometime between 1016 and 1035 Otho went from Tuscany to Normandy (France) in the caravan of the Anglo-Saxon King Canut (Cnut or Canute) who had passed through Florence on his way home from a pilgrimage to Rome. Later, Otho came to England with Edward the Confessor when Edward was called back from exile to be King of England in 1041.

Otho Geraldini, Duke of Tuscany, came from a family whose beginnings, so say the legends, go back to the days of Troy. Definite records take us back well over a thousand years, and say that the family was indigenous to Italy, being either Etruscan or Roman. Its members had estates in various parts of the Florentine territory. In Florence, their principal residence was near the Ponte Vecchio Bridge. Their tower still exists, being part of the Palazzo Bartolomei. The Italian historian Gammurini, says "the Gherardinis were among the most ancient and wealthy families of Tuscany in 900 A.D. The map shows the route that my ancestors took through England with some going to Ireland and some to America.

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Mona Lisa is said to be a descendant of the Gherardini family.

The family flourished in Tuscany until the year 1125. Then, during a political upheaval, the patrician families were driven into exile. In order to remain in Florence, the Gherardini renounced their patrician rank and became mere citizens. Later they were restored to their ancient honors, became very wealthy, and served the Republic of Florence both in the senate and on the battlefield. Three were Consuls of the Republic; others died as leaders of the Republican armies in the many civil wars. Confiscations and losses during the civil wars impoverished the Gherardini, and they also suffered much by the destruction of their property in the great fire of Florence in 1303. From the 14th century onwards they seem to have played a smaller part in the history of Florence. At different times, between 1000 and 1400, individuals of the family emigrated, passing into France, England, Wales, Ireland, Cracow and the Canary Islands. Those who stayed in Florence became extinct, as did those in France and Cracow. It is recorded that the Gherardini of Florence and the Irish "Geraldines" did not lose touch with each other. There are records of visits back and forth until the late 1500's.

The Duke of Tuscany’s father was Baron Ottorus Gherardo GHERADINI. His father was Lord Otterus (Othoer) Gherardini. His father was Mathias Gherardini. His father was Cosimo (Cosmus) Gherardini who was born around 870 and was the 1st Great Duke of Tuscany.

Otho Geraldini Moves to Normandy

In 1027, when Otho Geraldini was 21 years old, King Canut of England passed through Florence on a return trip from an audience with the Pope in Rome. In those days, merchants and pilgrims traveled in groups (for protection) stopping along the way to visit with the local powers. They were required to pay fees and tolls to those whose domain they crossed. Thus, it was natural for King Canut’s group to stay in Florence for a while with the Geraldini family. We don’t know why for certain, but Otho decided to join King Cnut’s caravan. His leaving, however, was not the end of the Geraldini family in Tuscany. We know that the family flourished in Tuscany for several centuries after Otho left. So perhaps, although he was a Duke, he was not the eldest in the family and knew that he would not inherit.

As King Cnut’s caravan continued its journey back to England, they undoubtedly stayed for a while with Robert, Duke of Normandy who lived in area around Rouen and Caen. In 1027, Richard, Duke of Normandy had just died to be succeeded by Robert. There, Otho Geraldini met the 17 year-old Duke Robert and the 24 year-old Edward who eventually was to become King Edward the Confessor of England. Otho Geraldini decided to stay with Robert, Duke of Normandy.

Anyway, Otho Geraldini was in Normandy in the 1030’s living with the future King Edward of England, who since the age of 10 had been in exile, first under the protection of his grand father, Duke Richard of Normandy and later with his uncle, Duke Robert of Normandy. Edward is 3 years older than Otho and Otho is 4 years older than Robert. In 1035,

Within, a year of Otho’s arrival in Normandy, Duke Robert’s mistress, Herleve of Falaise. gives birth to a son named William who would become William the Conqueror. A few years later, Otho Geraldini has a son that he names, Walter FitzOtho. Walter’s mother’s name is not recorded. The Garretts – Before America Page 3

William was 8 or 9 years older than Walter FitzOtho but apparently they “grew-up” together. Some genealogist maintain that Otho’s son, Walter FitzOtho was the half brother of William (the Conqueror) but I do not believe it. To make this so, Otho Geraldini would have to had married Duke Robert’s mistress, Herleve of Falaise. While there is no name available for Otho’s wife, I can not find any data that supports Herleve having a son by Otho Geraldini.

To better understand the possible relationships between the various parties in Normandy, I have developed the following timeline.

1003 The future King Edward the Confessor is born in England

1006 Otho Geraldini is born in Tuscany

1016 Edward goes into exile at his grandfather’s place in Normandy

1026 King Edward’s grandfather, Richard Duke of Normandy dies and his son, Robert, Duke of Normandy inherits.

1027 Otho Geraldini goes from Tuscany to Normandy

1028 William, the bastard son of Robert, Duke of Normandy is born.

1037 Otho Geraldini’s son, Walter FitzOtho is born.

1042 King Edward returns to England to be king. Takes Otho Geraldini with him. Otho may, or may not have taken his 5 year old son with him.

1051 William visits King Edward in England where (it is claimed) that Edward promised William his throne upon his death.

1066 King Edward the Confessor dies at the age of 53.

1066 Thirty-eight year-old, William the Conqueror invades England. Thirty year-old, Walter FitzOtho goes with him or meets him in England.

King Edward and the Geraldinis

King Edward was in exile because when King Cnut of Demark seized the kingdom of England in 1016, he murdered the existing Anglo-Saxon King and every member of King Aethelred's royal family he could get his hands on. Only Edward (eventually, King Edward) and his brothers, the younger sons of Aethelred, survived. They fled to Normandy, where they took refuge with their grandfather, Duke Richard, the father of their mother, Emma.

King Cnut died in 1035 but it was not until 1042 that the English invited King Edward to return from Exile. When he did return, he found that England was really being controlled by the Godwine family. This family had prospered greatly while Edward was in exile and had amassed so much land that they were second only to the power and wealth of the King. Edward had spent his entire adult life waiting for the chance to be King of England, and having achieved it had The Garretts – Before America Page 4 found his power circumscribed by the over-powerful subjects of his predecessors, so much so that he was forced to marry Edith, daughter of Godwine, in a marriage of dynastic expediency. The chroniclers say that he despised his wife so much that he never consummated the marriage.

To counter the power of the Godwines, Edward promoted a notorious group called the “Normans” or the “Frenchmen” who were made up of the Norman and French nobles with whom Edward had shared his young adulthood in Normandy. One of these “Frenchmen” was Otho Geraldini, my ancestor. Another was Eustace of Boulogne, who was possibly an ancestor of Frances – the Eastes branch. Eustace is another spelling of the name, Estes.

In 1051, Edward’s friend, Eustace, was by the King’s order, given the town of Dover, which order was resisted by the Godwines. When King Edward called the Godwines to account they chose to flee which permitted Edward to dump his hated wife, Edith.

Soon after the Eustace-Godwine flap, William of Normandy came to visit England where it is claimed (but much disputed) that King Edward offered William the crown of England upon his death and in the event he (Edward) did not have an heir.

King Edward was kind to his Norman friend and buddy, Otho Geraldini as noted by an old English lyric which says, “the Earldom which to Otho brave, the Saxon sainted Edward gave”. Otho (Geraldini) was so powerful that his favor with King Edward was greatly resented by the native Norman nobles. He possessed:

3 lordships in Surrey, 3 in Buckinghamshire, 2 in Berkshire, 4 in Middlesex, 9 in Wiltshire, 2 in Hampshire, 3 in Dorset, and 1 in Somerset.

In 1052 the Godwines returned even stronger than before requiring that the “Frenchmen” (such as Otho Geraldini) flee or lie low. This mostly likely gave reason for Otho Geraldini and others to welcome William when he arrived in England in 1066. We don’t know if Otho returned at this time to Normandy or just kept a low profile until William the Conqueror returned. Otho Geraldini’s son, Walter FitzOtho, who at this time was a young man, probably went to (or stayed in) Normandy to train under William of Normandy.

In 1053, Harold Godwine became head of the Godwine family. In 1064, it was obvious to all that Edward was going to die without an heir and Harold saw himself as being in the catbird seat.

William the Conqueror and the Geraldinis

On January 5, 1066 King Edward died without an heir. Harold Godwine crowned himself King and was busy leading his army far to the north against his brother and the Viking King Hadrada who were invading from the north. William of Normandy began planning to invade England to claim the throne that he was promised. He even obtained the blessing of the Pope. So, eight months after Edward’s death, William of Normandy, his followers and his army landed on the The Garretts – Before America Page 5 southeast coast of England. Otho's son, Walter FitzOtho (Geraldini), was 29 years old and was with William during the invasion in the Battle of Hastings where he must have done very well as we will see later.

I have included as Appendix 5 a description of the Battle of Hastings that resulted in William, the Bastard becoming William, the Conqueror.

William was crowned King of England on Christmas Day 1066 in Westminster Abbey and became known as William the Conqueror or King William I. Thus began a three century Norman occupation of England, Wales and Scotland, and later Ireland. It would also resulted in my ancestors being rewarded with land, castles and titles. Whereas, Otho Geraldini was favored by King Edward, his son, Walter FitzOtho (Geraldini) was favored by King William I.

William consolidated his conquest by starting a castle-building campaign in strategic areas. Originally these castles were wooden towers on earthen 'motes' (mounds) with a bailey (defensive area) surrounded by earth ramparts, but many were later rebuilt in stone. By the end of William's reign over 80 castles had been built throughout his kingdom, as a permanent reminder of the new Norman feudal order.

Having defeated the English at the Battle of Hastings in 1066 and placed their leader, William the Conqueror, on the throne of England, the Normans were not content with just subjugating and portioning out England among the captains of the invaders. They proceeded to invade Wales and conquered it within a year. Here they were purely conquerors, since William had some claim to the English throne, he had none to Wales. His barons went there simply to seize and possess the land. The methods they adopted were not wholly military; they were also matrimonial

In retrospect, the Normans succeeded in the conquest of Wales (and later Ireland) due to superior weapons and training. The Welsh and the Irish fought with clubs, stones, axes and occasional spears whereas the Normans used swords, bows and arrows, shields, body armor, horses, etc. as shown on the left. They mastered the organized use of archers, mounted knights and men of armor.

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Beginning of the Middle Ages

The period in which the Normans lived is often called the Middle Ages, because in history it lies between ancient times and modern times. Historians use it as referring to the period between the 12th and 15th century.

Most kingdoms in Medieval Europe had a system of government called feudalism. The king granted land to nobles, including higher churchmen such as bishops and abbots. These people then became the king’s vassals, rather like tenants renting land from the owner. The actual ‘granting’ of the land was called feudum, from which we get the word feudalism, while the piece of land held by the vassal was called the fief (hence fiefdom).

In return for the land, the vassal swore an oath of homage. This basically meant that he became the king’s man. He promised money to his overlord, the king, and he promised to provide knights to fight for the king; the number of knights depended upon the value of the land-grant received. This duty was known as “knight service”. A vassal also had to give food and lodgings to the king and his major followers whenever they visited a vassal’s castle. A feudal king also acted as a judge in disputes between his vassals should a vassal be killed, the king took in his children as wards until they were old enough to takeover their family fief, or, in the case of girls, be married. Most importantly, with the help of all the money and knight-service due to him, it was the duty of the king to protect the country (and so his vassals) in times of war.

The most important noblemen were earls; their fiefs were usually so large that they kept only some of the land for themselves (the demesne). The rest was rented out to lesser nobles such as barons or knights under similar terms to those between the earl and his king. The earl was then the overlord to his own vassals, and it was usually with some of their knights and payments that he paid his own dues to the king.

The Geraldinis are Rewarded

Walter FitzOtho (Geraldini) was a knight in King William's private retinue, and, when in 1070 William began the building of Windsor Castle, Walter was put in charge of its defense, and later became the first Constable of Windsor. Under the Norman kings, as with the kings of France, the Constable was the principal officer of a royal establishment, and was responsible for the defense of the establishment, by the knights stationed there. It was this position that conferred the name 'Windsor' upon Walter’s sons.

The following is an excerpt from an article on the Geraldini family that shows how the current English Royalty rationalized doing away with the name of Hanover. It is premised on the vacating of the Windsor baronage by the Geraldinis. In fact, the male Geraldini heirs continued but they technically did not live in the Windsor baronage – instead they went to Pembroke.

Windsor Castle continued as a baronage for the Geraldini descendants for centuries, until it passed out of existence due to lack of male heirs in the direct line. An interesting footnote is the story of how the current English royal family, the House of Windsor, took their name from this vacated baronage. During the first world War, there was enormous anti-German sentiment in England, and the The Garretts – Before America Page 7

king wanted to distance himself from the German House of Hanover, their name at the time. Since the Geraldini family can be traced as the founders of the House of Hanover, it was very convenient that (my ancestor) Gerald de Windsor, baron of England, was related both to the English royal family and the Florentine Gheradinis, and hence the House of Hanovers. This provided justification (after much research) for the German House of Hanover to become the more politically-correct English House of Windsor, which they remain today.

Soon after 1070, Walter FitzOtho (Geraldini) also had the important post of Warden of the King's forests in Berkshire. (In those days, the southern and western areas of England were covered by vast forests) Although generally associated with hunting, the main recreation of the Royal household, the position was a military one, since the forests were subject to regular patrolling, as a precaution against enemies of the King. They were also regarded as the main source of provender for armies on the move, or those stationed at strategic castles. The initial castles were built with timber.

Walter FitzOtho was granted twenty-two manors in England, by King William, and was still holding these at the time of the Domesday Survey in 1086. These manors, and land, were located in the counties of Berkshire, Buckingham, Middlesex, Surrey, and Hampshire Among other titles, he was Lord of Eton.

During the time that Walter FitzOtho was protecting the Windsor Castle, he found time to have two wives and four children of record. His first wife was Beatrice De Offaly who was from Kildare, Ireland. The other wife was Gwladus verch Rhiwallon who was the mother of Nesta ferch Rhys. By these wives, he had three sons, Gerald, William and Robert FitzWalter of Windsor. Since Nesta was near the same age as Walter FitzOtho’s son, Gerald, in all probability the sons were from Walter’s first wife, Beatrice

King William I and his sons

In 1053, (thirteen years before conquering England) William, the bastard, married his cousin, Matilda of Flanders, daughter of Count Baldwin V, Count of Flanders. Children of William and Matilda were: Robert "Curthose", William "Rufus", who became King William II (1087- 1100), Henry "Beauclerc", who became King Henry I (1100-1135), as well as eight others. William’s son, Henry and Walther FitzOtho’s son, Gerald, were close to the same age (Gerald was 3 years older) and apparently “grew up together”. Gerald was known as Gerald of Windsor. When Henry became King, he made Gerald, in effect, his military “General”.

So, between 1070 and 1100, Prince Henry (youngest son of King William) and Gerald of Windsor (son of Walter FitzOtho) were living, fighting and playing in and around Windsor castle. Walter FitzOtho was Constable of Windsor Castle and Keeper of the Forest and was also living at Windsor. The 3 of them (and others, of course) for sport and conquest ventured into Wales where they maintained a running battle with Rhys ap Tewdwr Mawr, Prince of South Wales. In one of these skirmishes they took Rhys wife (Gwladus Verch Rhiwallon) and daughter (Nesta Rhys) hostage and carried them back to Windsor. Walter FitzOtho married Gwladus Verch Rhiwallon and Nesta first became Prince Henry’s mistress and later wife of Gerald of Windsor.

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William the Conqueror divided his kingdoms between Henry's older brothers, leaving England to William Rufus and Normandy to Robert. Henry inherited no land but received £5000 in silver. Henry played each brother off of the other during their quarrels; both distrusted Henry and subsequently signed a mutual accession treaty barring Henry from the crown. Henry's hope arose when Robert departed for the Holy Land on the First Crusade; should William die, Henry was the obvious heir. Prince Henry, King William Rufus, Gerald of Windsor, probably Walter FitzOtho and others were in the woods hunting (at Henry’s invitation) on the morning of August 2, 1100 when King William Rufus was killed by an arrow. Prince Henry’s quick movement in securing the crown on August 5 led many to believe he was responsible for his brother's death. Robert returned to Normandy a few weeks later, was captured and lived the remaining twenty- eight years of his life as Henry's prisoner.

The first years of Henry's reign were concerned with subduing Wales with Gerald of Windsor as his “General”.

Ancestor, Gerald, marries King Henry’s Mistress

As noted above, while Henry (the future King Henry I) was young and only a Prince, he was engaged in a running battle with Rhys ap Tewdwr Mawr, Prince of South Wales. (Note – the name Tewdwr was eventually changed to Tudor from which much of the English royalty descended.). In one of the raids, Prince Henry took Prince Tewdwr’s daughter, Nesta Rhys, hostage and made here his mistress in which capacity she bore him two sons. One was Meyler FitzHenry and the other, the celebrated Robert of Gloucester who later plays a large role in the civil war that occurred on the death of King Henry I. My ancestor, Walter FitzOtho, as Castellan of Windsor Castle, married Nesta’s mother. Gwladus Verch Rhiwallon. This was after the death of Walter’s first wife and mother of his children, Beatrice De Offaly.

Henry eventually fathered at least 20 illegitimate children but at the time of his death his only legitimate heir was Matilda (Maud) who he would make “Empress Maud”. Henry had a legitimate son named William who would have become king had he not drowned when his ship sank between Normandy and England. The ship was known as the White Ship and it is thought by many that it was intentionally “holed” in order to kill William and prevent him from becoming king.

So here we have at the same time in Windsor Castle, Prince Henry I sleeping with Nesta, Princess of Wales, while my ancestor, Gerald of Windsor was hanging around in the same room hoping to marry Nesta; while in another part of the room, Gerald’s father, Walter FitzOtho is “living” with Nesta’s mother, Gwladus. At the time, castles were basically a large room (called the hall) over the barn surrounded by a curtain wall. The horses, oxen, etc. were kept on the ground floor and their bodies provided heat for the people on the second floor. The lord of the castle and his lady lived at one end of the hall while everyone else lived wherever they could find space in the same room. At meal time, boards were placed on trestles to form a large table around which everyone ate with the Lord and Lady at one end, with knights close-by and the servants further away. See page 11 for more on castle living. So, literally, Henry, Nesta, Gerald, Water and Gwladus and many others lived in the same room. If the Lord and Lady needed privacy they would erect a curtain between them and the rest of the room. However, all others had to place their cloaks over themselves for “privacy”.

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As mentioned earlier, then Prince Henry I had placed Gerald of Windsor in charge of the Norman forces fighting the Welsh. In 1094, Gerald won distinction by his gallant defense of the castle when the Welsh laid siege. As a steward of Henry I, he was living at Windsor where he had the frequent occasion to see Nesta. Perhaps by arrangement between Nesta’s father and Henry or perhaps through love, Gerald and Nesta were married. It would seem that Gerald, busily engaged in military business, could have no peace about his wife, since she was clever as well as beautiful, and every warrior seems to have fallen in love with her.

King Henry gave Gerald and Nesta the Manor of Moulsford located on the Thames within 20 miles of Windsor Castle where they stayed when attending Royal Court in Oxford, Woodstock, if not London. Moulsford Manor stayed in Gerald and Nesta’s family for 400 years and was not given up until 1497. The small map above shows the location of Moulsford with relation to Windsor and Oxford.

Nesta’s father gave them a lot of land near Pembroke Castle which was on the west side of Wales and almost 200 miles from Windsor.

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Probably to put some distance between Nesta and King Henry I, Gerald took a job with Arnulf Montgomery (owner of Pembroke Castle) as Constable of Pembroke Castle where in 1095 he distinguished himself in a battle against the Welsh who had Pembroke Castle under siege. In 1100, Gerald went to Ireland to secure for his lord, Arnulf Montgomery, the hand of the daughter of King Murrough in marriage. Thus he was the first of the Geraldini family to set foot in Ireland, where Gerald’s descendants were later to rule like kings. Later, when Arnulf Montgomery joined in a rebellion against the King, he was deprived of his estates and exiled in 1102. Then the King granted custody of Pembroke Castle to Gerald. de Windsor. Thereafter, he was known as Gerald of Pembroke Castle, Later, he was appointed president of the County of Pembrokeshire. The map on page 9 shows a portion of southern Wales with both Pembroke Castle and Carew Castle are located. Pembroke Castle as it looks today is above.

While Keeper of Pembroke Castle, Gerald of Pembroke (formerly of Windsor) built Carew (Curru, Carriou, Carreu) Castle on lands given to him by Nesta’s father when they married. It was on the site of an old Roman castle. Carew Castle was built in about 1095 of wood which was later changed to stone by Gerald’s Great Great Grandson, Nicholas de Carew. A picture of the Castle as it appears today is above. Another picture of Carew is below. The castle stayed in the family for 15 generations while the family became increasingly less affluent until financial circumstances forced the family to mortgage the castle in 1480.

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The Garretts – Before America Page 11

Life in Windsor, Pembroke or Carew Castles

Gerald of Windsor and Pembroke, his wife and several generations of sons lived in various castles in or near Wales. The castles were originally made of timber (there was a lot of timber at the time) and later rebuilt in stone. Of course, all of the pictures available are of the stone castles. The next few paragraphs describe the layout of the original castles and life within them.

Within the curtain walls of the castle, the living quarters invariably had one basic element, the hall. A large one-room structure with a loft ceiling, the hall was sometimes on the ground floor, but often, it was raised to the second story for greater security. Early halls were aisled like a church, with rows of wooden posts or stone pillars supporting the timber roof. Windows were equipped with wooden shutters secured by an iron bar and in the 11th and 12th centuries they were rarely glazed. By the 13th century a king or great baron might have "white (greenish) glass" in some of his windows, and by the 14th century glazed windows were common.

In a ground-floor hall the floor was beaten earth, stone or plaster; when the hall was elevated to the upper story the floor was nearly always timber, supported by a row of wooden pillars in the basement below. Carpets, although used on walls, tables, and benches, were not used as floor coverings until the 14th century. Floors were strewn with rushes. The rushes were replaced at intervals and the floor swept, but often under them lay "an ancient collection of beer, grease, fragments, bones, spittle, excrement of dogs and cats and everything that is nasty." The Garretts – Before America Page 12

Entrance to the hall was usually in a side wall near the lower end. When the hall was on an upper story, this entrance was commonly reached by an outside staircase next to the wall of the keep. The castle family sat on a raised dais of stone or wood at the upper end of the hall, opposite to the entrance, away from drafts and intrusion. The lord (and perhaps the lady) occupied a massive chair, sometimes with a canopy by way of emphasizing status. Everyone else sat on benches. Most dining tables were set on temporary trestles that were dismantled between meals; a permanent, or "dormant," table was another sign of prestige, limited to the greatest lords. But all tables were covered with white cloths, clean and ample. Lighting was by rushlights or candles, of wax or tallow (melted animal fat), impaled on vertical spikes or an iron candlestick with a tripod base, or held in a loop, or supported on wall brackets or iron candelabra. Oil lamps in bowl form on a stand, or suspended in a ring, provided better illumination, and flares sometimes hung from iron rings in the wall.

In the earliest castles the family slept at the extreme upper end of the hall, beyond the dais, from which the sleeping quarters were typically separated by only a curtain or screen. Eventually, a permanent wooden partition was used. Sometimes castles with ground-floor halls had their great chamber, where the lord and lady slept, in a separate wing at the dais end of the hall, over a storeroom, matched at the other end, over the buttery and pantry, by a chamber for the eldest son and his family, for guests, or for the castle steward. These second-floor chambers were sometimes equipped with "squints," peepholes concealed in wall decorations by which the owner or steward could keep an eye on what went on below.

The lord and lady's chamber, when situated on an upper floor, was called the solar. Its principal item of furniture was a great bed with a heavy wooden frame and springs made of interlaced ropes or strips of leather, overlaid with a feather mattress, sheets, quilts, fur coverlets, and pillows. Such beds could be dismantled and taken along on the frequent trips a great lord made to his castles and other manors. The bed was curtained, with linen hangings that pulled back in the daytime and closed at night to give privacy as well as protection from drafts. Personal servants might sleep in the lord's chamber on a pallet or trundle bed, or on a bench. Chests for garments, a few "perches" or wooden pegs for clothes, and a stool or two made up the remainder of the furnishings. Sometimes a small anteroom called the wardrobe adjoined the chamber - a storeroom where cloth, jewels, spices and plates were stored in chests, and where dressmaking was done.

Servants, military and administrative personnel slept in towers or in basements, or in the hall, or in lean-to structures; knights performing castle guard slept near their assigned posts.

Water for washing and drinking was often available at a central drawing point on each floor. Besides the well, inside or near the keep, there might be a cistern or reservoir on an upper level whose pipes carried water to the floors below.. Baths were taken in a wooden tub, protected by a tent or canopy and padded with cloth. In warm weather, the tub was often placed in the garden; in cold weather, in the chamber near the fire. When the lord traveled, the tub accompanied him, along with a bathman who prepared the baths.

The latrine, or "garderobe," not to be confused with the wardrobe, was situated as close to the bed chamber as possible (and was supplemented by the universally used chamber pot). Ideally, the garderobe was sited at the end of a short, right-angled passage in the thickness of the wall, often a buttress. When the chamber walls were not thick enough for this arrangement, a latrine was corbeled out from the wall over either a moat or river. The Garretts – Before America Page 13

An indispensable feature of the castle was the chapel where the lord and his family heard morning mass.

By the later 13th century, the castle had achieved a considerable degree of comfort, convenience, and privacy. The lord and lady, who had begun by eating and sleeping in the great hall with their household, had gradually withdrawn to their own apartments.

One of the games played by teenage sons of the lords was called “rock the cat”. To play it, the boys would gather a pile of throwing rocks and place them in a mound in the middle of the hall and then a cat would be locked in the hall so that it could not escape. The boys would take turns selecting a stone and throwing it at the cat. The thrower would have to pay a penny for each stone thrown. The person who succeeded in killing the cat won all of the pennies.

Gerald of Windsor and Nesta

Princess Nesta was a very remarkable woman. It was said that she was the most beautiful woman in England. She is sometimes referred to as the "mother of the Irish invasion" since her sons, by various fathers, and her grandsons were the leaders of the invasion. She had, in the course of her eventful life, two lovers, two husbands, and many sons and daughters. Her father is quoted as saying that she had 10 children as a result of her matrimonial escapades, eight sons and two daughters

Nesta occupied center stage during their marriage. Her beauty continued to excite wonder and desire throughout Wales. At Christmas in 1108, Cadwgan, Prince of Cardigan, invited the native chieftains to a feast at Dyvet (St. David's). (See map on the left) for relative locations of Pembroke, St. Davids Powys and Cardigan.)

Nesta's beauty was a subject of conversation. She excited the curiosity of Owen, the son of Prince Cadwgan, who resolved to see her. She was his cousin, so that the pretense of a friendly visit was easy. He successfully obtained admission with his attendants. Her beauty -- it was even greater than he expected -- excited his lust. He determined to have her.

Some accounts say that, Owen, in the middle of the night, set fire to the “castle”, and his followers surrounded the room where Gerald and Nesta were sleeping. Gerald was awakened by the noise and about to discover the cause, but Nesta, suspecting some treason (or in a conspiracy with Owen), persuaded him to make his escape. She pulled up a board and let her husband escape down a drain by a rope. Then Owen broke open the door, seized Nesta and two of her sons, and carried them off to Powys, (see map, above) leaving the castle in flames. Of the two sons, one was my direct ancestor, William FitzGerald. The Garretts – Before America Page 14

Another account says that Owen stormed Gerald and Nesta’s Castle at Cilgerrran (three miles south of Cardigan) taking Nesta back to his mountain fortress. A picture of the castle at Cilgerran is below. Regardless, Owen had his way with Nesta, (historians say that one of her ten children was his), though whether she yielded from desire or force was uncertain. But at her request, Owen hastened to send back the two sons to Gerald. When King Henry I heard of Nesta's abduction, he was furious. He regarded it as an injury almost personal, since Gerald was not only his steward, but Nesta had been his mistress.. The abduction of Nesta led to a war, which resulted in her return to her husband, and Owen fled to Ireland. Gerald took a conspicuous role in the fighting.

In 1116, Owen, who had returned to Wales seized (stole) some cattle and the owners of the cattle, as they fled, met Gerald FitzWalter, Constable of Pembroke. When the cattle owners requested his assistance, he was only too delighted to have the opportunity for revenge for the insult to his honor done by Owen's abduction of Nesta. He lost no time in pursuing Owen, found him, and killed him. Owen was slain by an arrow piercing his heart, and Gerald's honor was avenged.

Gerald and Nesta’s Offsprings

Gerald and Nesta had three sons and a daughter. They were:

Maurice Fitzgerald, one of the principal leaders of the Irish invasion in 1169 (see page 16); William Fitzgerald, ancestor of the families of Carew, Grace, Fitzmaurice, Gerald and Garrett (see page 19); David Fitzgerald, who became bishop of St. David's (see page 17); and Angareth, (see page 17) who married William de Bari, and was mother of the historian, Gerald Cambrensis, known by many names including Gerald of Wales. Most of what we know of the Geralds and the Fitzgeralds and their kin was recorded by Gerald Cambrensis. More about them later.

Nesta married again and it is unclear as to whether it was before or after Gerald’s death. Her second husband was Stephen, Constable of Cardigan, by whom she had one son, Robert FitzStephen. Nesta's children and their descendants constituted a menace to the English rule of Wales. Royal Welsh blood mingled with the blood of the nobles of Normandy in all the half- brothers, sons of Gerald of Windsor and Stephen of Cardigan, bastard or legitimate, they were turbulent princes in a troubled land. Now fighting the Welsh natives, now allying themselves with their cousin, Nesta's brother Gruffuyd, the unconquered Prince of Wales, they remained a constant source of trouble to the King, an ever-present threat to his security. The Garretts – Before America Page 15

And so they fought and they went on fighting. It was not until King Henry II, the father of Richard the Lionhearted and John of the Magna Carta, that a solution to the fighting was found. He was to give them a free hand in Ireland. It was thus that the Norman invasion of Ireland came about, and the Geraldines (descendants of Gerald of Windsor) arrived in 1169.

Gerald is the ancestor of the Fitzgerald families, in both England and Ireland, and is also the ancestor of the Earls of Kildare, the Earls of Leinster and the Earls of Offaly. Some descendants of Gerald and Nesta took on the name, “de Carew” since they lived in Carew Castle. So current- day, Carews are relatives.

Gerald and Nesta’s Children Live Through Civil War

Both King Henry I and Gerald of Windsor, Pembroke and Carew died in 1135. While Gerald’s cause of death is unknown, King Henry I died, probably from eating spoiled eels.

When King Henry I died his daughter, Maud (Matilda) was supposed to take the throne and become “Empress Maud”. Unfortunately, Maud was in France at the time, was pregnant and unable to travel which opened the door for Henry’s nephew, Stephen (son of Henry’s sister, Adela), to seize the throne.. For the next 12 years there was a constant struggle (civil war) between Stephen’s supporters and Maud’s supporters for the throne. A timeline of events are:

1101 – Henry I become King of England when his brother, King William II is killed while hunting.

August 5, 1102 – Matilda (or Maud) is born to Henry I and his wife, Matilda (or Edith). My ancestor, William FitzGerald of Carew (son of Gerald) is about two years old at the time.

May 22, 1128 – Maud married Geoffrey Plantagenet, the Fair, heir to Anjou, Touraine and Maine.

March 25, 1133 – Maud’s eldest son Henry is born. He will become King Henry II in 1154 succeeding King Stephen.

1135 – King Henry I died. Also, ancestor, Gerald of Windsor (father of William FitzGerald) died. Gerald’s wife, Nesta lives on.

1136 – some nobles (probably including ancestor, William FitzGerald) supported Maud’s claim and fighting broke out in a few locations. The church was backing Stephen.

1138 – Robert, Earl of Gloucester (illegitimate son of Henry 1 and Nesta and half brother to William FitzGerald) joined Maud followers in the effort to unseat Stephen, sparking a full-fledged civil war.

1139 – Maud leaves Normandy and lands in England

February 2, 1141 – Maud’s forces captured Stephen during the battle of Lincoln and held him captive at Bristol Castle. The Garretts – Before America Page 16

March 2, 1141 – Maud welcomed to London. Stephen’s brother, Henry, switched sides and supported Maud.

1141 – Maud’s demands on the City of London so insulted the populace that they threw her out before her formal coronation could happen.

1141 – Stephen’s brother, Henry, again changes sides and joined Stephen.

1141 – Maud escaped dramatically from Stephen’s forces disguised as a corpse on a funeral bier.

1141 – Stephen’s forces took Robert of Gloucester (son of Nesta and half brother to William FitzGerald) prisoner, and on November 1, Maud exchanged Stephen for Robert.

1142 – Maud, at Oxford, was under siege by Stephen's forces, and escaped at night dressed in white to blend in with the snowy landscape. She made her way to safety, with only four companions.

1144 - Geoffrey of Anjou (Maud’s second son) won possession of Normandy from Stephen

1147 - death of Robert, Earl of Gloucester (William FitzGerald’s half brother). Maud's forces ended their active campaign to make her Queen of England

1148 – Maud retired to Normandy - near Rouen.

1154 – King Stephen’s rule ended and Henry II (son of Maud) becomes King. Henry II becomes the first Plantagenet family king.

Henry II became King in 1154. The country had suffered a civil war for almost twenty years before, between Henry II's mother Maud and the old King Stephen. The country was in a terrible mess, villages had been destroyed, crops burnt and many of the Barons would not obey the kings laws.

Henry II is known as a strong king. He was a good soldier and leader. Henry forced the barons to obey him by using his army. For example William Le Gros the Duke of York refused to obey Henry , Henry took his army to meet William on the battle field and it was not long before William gave in.

Once in control, Henry II made sure he knew what was going on in the country he ruled; he traveled about the country visiting the barons . He changed the system of justice to make sure people who were accused of a crime were given a fair trial. During the reign of King Stephen many innocent people had been made to pay fines so that the barons could have the money.

King Henry also introduced a new law for the barons, instead of having to fight for the king they could pay him some money. This was another way that the King could get money to pay his army and other expenses. The Garretts – Before America Page 17

My ancestor, William FitzGerald, was about the same age as Maud, Stephen and Robert (Earl of Gloucester) and undoubtedly knew them and was most likely involved in the politics of the situation.

Ken Follett has a wonderful book, The Pillars of the Earth, which is set in the time that Stephen and Maud are fighting. While it is an historical novel, his extensive research paints an accurate picture of how people lived and died at the time.

Gerald and Nesta’s son, Maurice FitzGerald Settles in Ireland

Of Gerald and Nesta’s sons, Maurice FitzGerald, is considered to be the progenitor of the Irish FitzGeralds. He accompanied Richard de Clare, Earle of Pembroke, popularly known as “Strongbow”, to Ireland, and there highly distinguished himself, having, among other acts of renown, captured the city of Dublin. For 20 generations and until 1641, Maurice’s descendants were Lords of Kerry and Lixnaw, Ireland. See map on the left for the location of Kerry (southwest corner). Appendix 4 goes into considerable detail on Maurice FitzGerald and the Irish Invasion.

Maurice was also Lord of Naas, Maynooth, Landstephen and Wicklow – all in the vicinity of Dublin..

Maurice FitzGerald was an ancestor of President John F Kennedy and (ugh) Senator Teddy Kennedy.

Gerald and Nesta’s son, David FitzGerald Becomes a Bishop.

Gerald and Nesta’s son, David FitzGerald became the second bishop of St. Davids. (See map of Wales on page 13 for location of St. Davids. On the left, is a current photo of the church. He was Archdeacon of Cardigan when consecrated bishop on December 19, 1148 at Canterbury by Archbishop Theobald. The writings of Gerald of Wales (David FitzGerald's nephew) is the source of this information. The bishopric of St Davids was the largest and richest in Wales. David FitzGerald was said to be constantly at loggerheads with his chapter, and spent much of his time in England. It is also recorded that the River Alun at St Davids ran with wine during his time there. He died on May 23, 1176 and there is a monument to him in the cathedral. The statue has been defaced - probably by Cromwellians, but The Garretts – Before America Page 18 a sketch does exist from earlier documents, of what the face was like. David was described as a greedy man, ambitious and a despoiler of his bishopric. He was involved in the politics of the invasion of Ireland.

Gerald and Nesta’s Daughter, Angharat Sires a Historian

Gerald and Nesta’s daughter, Angharat married very well to William de Barri who inherited from his father Odo de Barri. Odo had been granted the immense estate at Manorbier (which included the manors of Jameston and Manorbier Newton), as well as the manors of Begelly and Penally, all rewards for his loyal service during the Norman Conquest. It was Odo who built the first castle at Manorbier, an earth and timber fortification which William refortified in stone during the following century. The de Barris maintained control of Manorbier Castle until 1359. The castle was a few miles south of the Carew Castle (See map on page 9). It was in this castle that William and Angharat’s son, Gerald Cambrensis (known as Gerald of Wales) was born in 1146. Gerald of Wales wrote some 17 books about the church, Wales and his relatives but all the time his ambition was to succeed his Uncle, David Fitzgerald as bishop of St. Davids. He was elected twice to be bishop of St. Davids but both times, the King of England and/or competing churchman succeeded in nullifying his election. He spent a lot of time traveling to and from Rome where he was robbed, captured, ransomed, etc. but never lost hope. A picture of Manorbier Castle is below.

The Manorbier Castle is described in one of Gerald of Wales books as --

"excellently well defended turrets and bulwarks, and is situated on the summit of a hill extending on the western side towards the seaport, having on the northern and southern sides a fine fish-pond under its walls, as conspicuous for its grand appearance, as for the depth of its waters, and a beautiful orchard on the same side, enclosed on one part by a vineyard, and on the other by a wood, remarkable The Garretts – Before America Page 19

for the projection of its rocks, and the height of its hazel trees. On the right hand of the promontory, between the castle and the church, near the site of a very large lake and mill, a rivulet of never-failing water flows through a valley, rendered sandy by the violence of the winds. Towards the west, the Severn sea, bending its course to Ireland, enters a hollow bay at some distance from the castle; and the southern rocks, extended a little further north, would render it a most excellent harbour for shipping... This country is well supplied with corn, sea-fish, and imported wines; and what is preferable to every other advantage, from its vicinity to Ireland, it is tempered by a salubrious air..."

Gerald and Nesta’s Son, William FitzGerald is My Ancestor

William FitzGerald, the oldest of Gerald and Nesta’s three sons is my direct ancestor. He became Lord of Carew (Curru, Carreu, Caru, Carriou) Castle which means that he owned it by inheritance. He was born, married and died in Carew Castle. He married Katherine de Kingsley and had six children. He was less involved in the invasion of Ireland than his brothers and his sons.

Katherine de Kingsley was from the County of Cheshire where the current city of Liverpool is located. It is about 200 miles from Carew Castle -- one wonders how William and Katherine met.

Although Katherine was from Cheshire County, she lived and died with William at Carew Castle in Wales.

William and Katherine had four sons and two daughters. They were:

Otho de Carew (1125-1204) Raymond le Gros de Carew (1140-1183) Griffin FitzWilliam de Carew (about 1140- ) William FitzWilliam (about 1140-1192) Mabila de Carew Isabel de Carew

Son, Otho de Carew inherited his father’s castles and manors. His descendants lived and died in Carew Castle or Moulsford Manor for many generations

Son, Raymond le Gros de Carew went to Ireland (the “le Gros” mean large or huge in French). His cousin, Geraldis Cambrensis writing in the late 12th century, states in part, that in a battle the Normans were loosing when "Raymond [le Gros] was appointed to the command, and the troops recovering their spirits, made an incursion into the district of Ophelan (Offaly), and carrying of immense booty, obtained means of being fresh mounted and equipped. From thence they marched to Lismore, and having plundered both the city and the province, conveyed their spoils by the coast road to Waterford. With these they freighted some small vessels which had lately arrived from Wexford, and some others which they found in the port of Waterford. While, however, they were waiting for a fair wind, thirty-two ships full of armed men came from the city of Cork, distant about 16 miles westward, for the purpose of attacking them. A naval engagement ensued, the Irish making a fierce attack, armed with slings and darts, and the English repelling it with arrows and iron bolts from their cross-bows, of which they had great store. In the end, the The Garretts – Before America Page 20 men of Cork were defeated, their leader Gilbert mac Turger, being slain by Philip of Wales, a young soldier of great prowess. Then Adam de Hereford, who commanded, having increased his fleet with the ships taken, loaded it with plunder and sailed in triumph to Waterford. Strongbow next directed another invasion force led by Raymond "Le Gros" de Carew, Raymond successfully established himself on the Wexford coast after defeating a group of Irish chieftains from Ossory and Idrone. See Appendix 4.

Son, Griffin FitzWilliam de Carew also went to Ireland. He became Baron of Knocktopher, Kilkenny, Ireland. Griffin had four sons, Gilbert, Matthew, Raymond and Griffin. Gilbert FitzGriffin is cited as the 2nd Baron of Knocktopher, likely the eldest (surviving) son of Griffin, and the first owner of Knocktopher manor of whom there is certainty. Griffin was sheriff of Dungarvan, where he and Thomas FitzAnthony seemed to have worked together in a high handed way, for between them they relieved the Bishop of Waterford of his property at Lismore, Ardmore, and Ardfinan. They parceled out a great deal of land among their friends -- not forgetting themselves. Gilbert died about 1203. The Knocktopher land stayed in the hands of Griffin’s descendants for many years. See Appendix 4.

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Ancestor Moves from Wales to Cheshire County, England

William and Katherine’s son, William Fitzwilliam Fitzgerald is my direct ancestor. He did not inherit Carew Castle, etc. and did not go to Ireland. He left home (Carew Castle in Wales) and moved to Cheshire County where his mother’s family was from. The map on the left shows that Cheshire County adjoins Wales to the northeast. The black squares and line shows that William FitzWilliam FitzGerald moved from Castle Carew in southern Wales to the County of Cheshire on the northeast border of Wales. There, he became the Justice of Eyre for the County of Chester where Kingsley was located. As near as I can tell, “Justice of Eyre” means that he was “sheriff” of the forests in the county where he was to prevent poaching, etc. The area of Kingsley can be found on map on the next page.

Before William FitzWilliam FitzGerald moved to Cheshire County, he may have married Alina De Clare who was also from Pembroke, Wales. On the other hand, there is strong evidence that she married William FitzWilliam FitzGerald’s cousin William FitzMaurice FitzGerald. She was the daughter of Richard Strongbow FitzGilbert De Clare. This is the same Richard Strongbow, who with William’s uncles, were prominent in the Invasion of Ireland. There is a tremendous amount of history on the De Clare ancestors. They were from France and before that they were Vikings. See Appendix 2 for Garrett Ancestors in France and Appendix 3 for Garrett Ancestors That Were Vikings. There are a few records that say that William also married Ela (Adela) Plantagenet, but I doubt it. In the Garrett Ancestors That Were Vikings (Appendix 3) it is very interesting to read about all of the strange ways that they died.

The Kingsleys of Cheshire County

When William FitzWilliam FitzGerald became Justice of Eyre and moved to Cheshire County, the big landowner and Lord there was Lord Richard de Kingsley, 2nd Bailiff of Delamere Forest. He was a descendant of one of the Normans who came to England with William the Conqueror and who had been given land, etc in Cheshire County. Lord Richard had got to the position that he owned:

Bailiwick (Baylywick) & keeping of ye forrest of Delamere Manor of Croton Manor of Cuddington Manor of Kingesley (Kingsley), Cheshire, England Manor of Newton Manor of Norlegh, Cheshire, England

The Garretts – Before America Page 22

Richard de Kingsley’s problem was – he had a lot of property, 3 daughters and no son. Thus, the potential heiresses were very popular -- their names were; Emma, Amicia and Joan.

William FitzWilliam FitzGerald’s son, William I Gerard married Emma de Kinglsey and inherited half of Lord Richard’s estate, except for Delamere Forest. Amicia de Kingsley married Randle Le Roter de Thornton who inherited the other half of the Kingsley estate. Joan de Kingsley married Henry Done of Utkinton who inherited Delamere forest. As it turns out Randle Le Roter de Thornton and Henry Done of Utkinton are both ancestors of Gwen Cunningham, our friend from Lufkin, Texas.

The Beginning of the Gerard Period

Beginning in 1190 and for the next 4 generations, the male heirs were all named William. For clarity, I have numbered them William I through William IV. Also, they started using “Gerard” or “Gerrard” for their last name rather than “Gerald”.

William FitzWilliam FitzGerald died in Cheshire County in about 1192 leaving one son of record, William I Gerard, Lord of Moiety of Kingsley. Note that he uses the name “Gerard” for the first time. He married Emma Kingsley and inherited half of the Kingsley lands. The word “moiety” means share or half. Emma’s father was Lord (owner) of Kingsley and was “Forester of Delamere”. Both Kingsley and Delamere are a few miles southeast of Liverpool in the County of Chester or Cheshire. The map below shows a portion of Chester County on which I have framed Kingsley, Delamere Forest, Runcorn and Chester. Some records indicate that there was a Castle Kingsley.

The Garretts – Before America Page 23

Just north of the area shown on the above map is the area shown on the map below. Marked on both maps, are villages where my ancestors lived.

The Gerards lived in the north part of Cheshire County and the south part of the adjoining county of Lancashire (which are shown on the above maps) for many generations.

Eight hundred years later, some descendants of the Gerards still live in the area. For example, the main street in Ashton in Makerfield is Gerard Street which crosses Bryn Street, The shopping centre is called Gerard Centre, the pub on Gerard Street (formerly the Gerard Arms) is now called 'The Sir Thomas Gerard Pub’ - it contains some documented history of the Gerards including pictures of Sir Thomas Gerrard 'Earl of Lancashire'. I found on the internet that recently some school defeated Thomas Gerrard School in soccer. The Chinese Garden Restaurant is on Gerard St. Also, a farmer named Gerard was quoted in the local news paper and there is a Gerard car rental. Stephen Gerrard is a world famous soccer player.

A list of the male ancestors that were from the area around Kingsley, Bryn, Ashton, Runcorn, Frodsham, Rainhill, etc. are as follows:

1200 AD William I Gerard, Lord of Moiety of Kingsley William II Gerard, Lord of Kingsley Sir William III Gerard of Kingsley and Cattenhall 1300 AD William IV Gerard of Kingsley and Cattenhall Sir Knight Peter Gerard of Kingsley & Bryn Sir Knight Thomas Gerard of Kingsley & Bryn John Gerard of Kingsley & Bryn

The Garretts – Before America Page 24

1400 AD Sir Knight Peter Gerard of Kingsley & Bryn Sir Knight Thomas Gerard of Kingsley & Bryn Lawrence Gerrard left Bryn and moved to London

Sir Peter Gerard of Kingsley & Bryn Sir Thomas I Gerard of Kingsley and Bryn 1500 AD Sir Thomas II Gerard of Kinsley and Bryn Sir Thomas Gerard Baron Thomas Gerrard Sir Thomas Gerrard, 2nd Baron of Bryn 1600 AD Dr. Thomas Gerrard of Newhall

Historical accounts of my ancestors are very erratic. Thanks to Gerald Cambrensis (the grandson of an ancestor) we know quite a bit about the family in the 12th century. But beginning in the 13th century, it becomes very erratic. For all of the above ancestors, except one or two, I found little beyond when they were born, when married, their children’s names and when they died. A few notable events are documented on the following pages.

William III Gerard of Kingsley and Cattenhall first married Matilda de Glasshowse, who in about 1322 gave birth to their son of record, William IV Gerrard. In 1335 William rmarried Joan de Brindle and thereby acquired the Ashton Estate (called Eston, later Ayston and finally Ashton). Their first seat (residence) was a moated hall in Landgate, which has now disappeared. The family next moved to New Bryn Hall, which, though rebuilt, still stands, with its cross and gates. This is located in a community named Ashton in Makerfield. It is 5 miles south of Wigan -- see map on page 22.

William IV Gerard Marries For More Land

The next ancestor was William IV GERARD of Kingsley and Cattenhall who also married very well to Joan, Heiress de Bryn who brought with her Brynhill of Brindle, Chorley, Lancashire. Bryn was five miles south of Wigan. See map on page 22 for the location of Wigan. For a good many generations, the Gerards were “of Bryn” or “Kingsley & Bryn”. Below is an article taken from the "Wigan Examiner" 31st March 1908. The article is unsigned.

The scene of this narrative lies in the heart of sturdy Lancashire: not the Lancashire we know today of coal pits, factories, canals and railways but simply a countryside of farms and homesteads, with here and there set on the pinnacle of a hill, some ancestral hall and in the lowly valley sheltered by nature's shade some holy shrine.

Such was Brynne (Bryn) Hall in the early days of the fourteenth century when the lordly Gerrards of Brynne held sway in their domain. Little does one dream now in passing through this peaceful country of the noble deeds of chivalry done and the stirring events performed in this secluded spot in the days of old when The Garretts – Before America Page 25

every baron retained his power by the strength of his own right arm and was prepared to guard himself against all foes.

Men and women, holy and pious have dwelt in this fair land. Men and women whose deed of daring have echoed through the land. The Fitz Gerrards of Brynne who boasted an ancient ancestry going back to Alfred the Great. Little is known of them in these early days except in connection with an occasional feud with some of their neighbors. Their home and castle seems to have stood just in the bend of the road near Landgate Farm for the description given of it corresponds with this locality. Set in a mound, surrounded by a moat and protected by a drawbridge, this lordly pile defied the enemies of its lord and what made it more inaccessible was the low swampy morass which surrounded the place.

Roby in his "Traditions of Lancashire" describes Brynne Hall - It was the seat of the Gerrards by virtue of marriage between William Gerrard about the year 1250 with the daughter and sole heiress of Peter de Brynne. It was built in a quadrangular form with a spacious courtyard to which admittance was gained by a narrow bridge over the moat. The gatehouse was secured by massive doors, well studded with iron and a curiously carved porch led to the great hall wherein the chimney piece were displayed the arms of England not later than James 1st. A railed gallery ran along one side in which a person might stand to observe entertainments below without mingling with them. It was supported by double pillars in front of the pilasters forming arches between, profusely ornamented by rich carved work. Most of these decorations together with the carved wainscots were taken to embellish Garswood Hall where the family resided after their removal. In the windows were some armorial bearings of painted glass, the first quarterings beginning with Leghe of Lyme instead of Gerrard of Brynne as might be supposed. After being in state for many years in this old home and the times becoming more peaceful we next find the Gerrards in their new home, near Brynne near to the old Roman Road which passed close to the present Brynne Hall Colliery.

Nearer to the second Brynne Hall, a chapel and shrine was erected and dedicated to St.Oswald the patron saint of the Gerrard family.

Both William IV and his father, William III witnessed the Black Plague which started in China in the early 1330’s and spread to Europe in 1347. It was so deadly that the population in Europe was reduced by 1/3rd from 1347 to 1352. Fleas were a major carrier of the disease so that the plague would essentially stop in the winter only to resume again in the spring. It continued this way for years causing a shortage of laborers. A quote from one of the accounts is, “After the pestilence, many buildings, great and small, fell into ruins in every city for lack of inhabitants, likewise many villages and hamlets became desolate, not a house being left in them, all having died who dwelt there; and it was probable that many such villages would never be inhabited.”

William IV had a son who was knighted and was called Sir Knight Peter Gerard of Kingsley & Bryn. He was born in about 1335 in Brynhill of Brindle, Chorley, Lancashire, England. I can’t find anything certain about Peter, not even his wife. Most of the records say that his wife’s name The Garretts – Before America Page 26 was Katherine Something. A few records say that his wife was Elizabeth Strangeways His son and William IV’s grandson was:

Sir Thomas Gerard is Wealthy

Sir Thomas Gerard of Bryn, had an eventful life. He was a minor in 1380 when his father died. He was fined for marrying when he was a minor in 1383 when he should have been the King's ward. His wife’s maiden name is unknown but her first name was Matilda. He received a royal pardon (for marrying too young) and was knighted for his efforts in the Scottish wars in 1393 and became the knight of the shire of Lancashire.

He was appointed sheriff in November 1399 when the deposition of Richard 11 and the accession to the throne of Henry of Bolingbroke brought him to the forefront in the period of political unrest which marked the Lancasterian reign.

He was commissioned on January 28, 1401 in Lancashire to “enquire into the seizure of goods from the house of Friars Minor of Lanvas, in Wales, and to restore them on the supplication of the ministers and friars of the Order of England”.

At his death, he (Sir Knight Thomas Gerard) was in possession of:

a moity (one half) of the Manor of Kirkby the Manor of Melling held of the King as Duke of Lancaster; the Manor of Ashton held by Henry de Langton, Baron of Newton; the Manors of Brindle and Anderton; the advowson (the right in English ecclesiastical law of presentation to a vacant benefice) of the Church of Brindle; the Manor of Skelmersdale held of Matilda Lovel, Lady Holland; a moity of the Manor of Rainhill held of the heir of Henry de Eccleston; two messuages (houses) and 40 acres of land in Eccleston; messuages and land in Sutton, Goldburne, and Newton, Grimsargh, Rainford.

From modern day maps, I judge that all of the above properties were within a 70 mile radius of Kingsley.

Sir Knight Thomas Gerard died on March 27, 1416. He had a son,

John Gerard, of Kingsley and Bryn (1386-1431) who was thirty or more at his father's death. He married in 1402 to Alice Boteler (Butler) which brought under the Gerard’s control even more real estate. He was Lord of the manors of Kingsley and Bryn from 1416 until he died in 1431. . He was a fellow knight of the shire, a justice of the peace and commissioner of array for West Derbyshire in 1418.

John had a son, Sir Knight Peter Gerard and a daughter, Constance Gerrard His son, The Garretts – Before America Page 27

Sir Knight Peter Gerrard of Kingsley & Bryn was born at Bryn in Ashton-in-Makerfield, Lancashire, England on May 2, 1407. See map on page 22. He married Isabella Strangeways, who probably a descendant of Peter’s Great Grand Mother, Elizabeth Strangeways. He did an unusual thing for his daughter. He purchased the wardship of his first cousin's son, John Boteler, Jr., who he married to his own daughter, Margaret in 1444. Under English law, wardship was the right of the lord over the person and estate of the tenant, when the latter was under a certain age. The owner of the wardship controlled the land and rights of the ward.

Sir Knight Peter Gerrard was knighted between 1440 and 1445. He was member of Parliament for Lancashire, 1445-1446. He died March 26, 1447. His son was:

Sir Knight Thomas Gerard of Kingsley & Bryn was born on July 15, 1431 and was only 16 years old when his father died. He became a ward of Thomas Danyell in 1449. He had two wives and for some unknown reason, was given a pension by King Edward IV. He was only 16 when he married Douce de Ashton in 1447. Later, he married, Cecily Foulshurst. Between the two wives, he had two sons, Lawrence Gerard and Sir Peter Gerard. Lawrence Gerrard did not inherit and moved to Sittingbourne, Kent County near London. He apparently, was the first ancestor in 10 generations, to leave the Bryn and Kinsley area. Lawrence is my direct ancestor.

Sir Peter Gerard Inherits

Lawrence’s brother. Sir Peter Gerard did inherit and stayed in Kingsley and continued the line of Gerards. The next known split comes after 1600 when a branch of this line immigrates to America and dies out. See Appendix I for the story of these relatives. But before dying out the Gerards make a big impression in Maryland, Washington D.C. and Virginia.

A list of The line of Gerard line to Maryland, DC, & VA follows:

Appendix I The Garrett Line That Immigrated to Maryland

The Garrett Line That Immigrated to Maryland

In the last half of the 15th Century, the Garrett ancestors divided. One of Sir Thomas I Gerrard’s sons (Lawrence) went to London and started spelling his name, Garrard, and the other son, Peter, stayed in Bryn and just dropped one of the “R” in Gerrard. For six generations, Peter’s primary descendants were named Thomas, so, for clarity I have numbered them Thomas I through Thomas VI. The sixth Thomas immigrated to America; however, many of the Gerards remained in that part of England. In fact, even today, in Ashton in Makerfield, there is a Thomas Gerrard School, a Gerard street, a Gerard pub a Gerard farmer and a Gerard car dealer.

This Appendix tells the story of the six Thomases.

Peter Gerrard had a son named Sir Thomas I Gerard of Kingsley and Bryn who was born on January 9, 1488 in Newhall, Ashton, Under Lyme, Lancashire, England. In 1513 England was at war with France and it was the Queen of that country who persuaded King James IV of Scotland to renew the `auld alliance' and assist the French, by invading northern England. One of the results was the battle of Flodden Field on September 9, 1513 where the English and the Scots met. In this battle, Sir Thomas Gerard I, led the Lancashire archers at Flodden Field where the English were victorious. The Scottish dead included twelve earls, fifteen lords, many clan chiefs an archbishop and above all King James IV of Scotland. Later, Sir Thomas Gerard I was killed in the Scottish wars at Berwick on November 7, 1523.

He left nine children, five sons and four daughters. Only Thomas II and Peter were specifically named as sons when friends of Thomas I who were with him in the wars testified regarding his dying wishes for his four younger sons in order to protect their inheritance against the greediness of their elder brother Thomas II. Most of his children were minors at his death.

Thomas I’s son, William Gerard became Lord Chancellor of Ireland.

Thomas I’s son, Thomas II (of Kingsley and Bryn), Gerard was born about 1512. He married Jane Legh, daughter of Sir Peter Legh (Lee) of Haydock, Co. of Lancaster. On July 30, 1540 Thomas Gerard II, a convert to the doctrines of Luther, was imprisoned in the Tower, then taken by hurdle to Smithfield and burnt as a heretic.

Thomas II’s son, Thomas III Gerrard of Kingsley and Bryn also got into trouble. During his life, there was a plot to rescue Mary, Queen of Scots when she was imprisoned at Tutbury, Staffordshire, a few miles from Bryn, and to take her to the Isle of Man. The beginnings of the plot to place a Scottish monarch on the throne of England can be traced to the year 1569 when Thomas III got involved at the age of 29. Two years later, Thomas III was imprisoned in the Tower of London. On Thomas III’s release in 1573, he took his children back to Bryn. The price he paid for his freedom was the enforced sale of his Manor at Bromley to his cousin, Sir Gilbert Gerard, the Attorney General.

From August 1586 to October 1588, Sir Thomas III was again imprisoned for supposed complicity in the Babbington plot to kill Queen Elizabeth and place Mary on the throne, On his release, he seems to have given up the practice of his faith, though he returned to it before his death in 1601. The family thereafter remained staunchly Catholic and loyal to the Stuart cause.

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Thomas III’s, son, John Gerard was a Jesuit Priest and in 1585 was imprisoned in The Tower of London for attempting to leave England without license. On release he went to Rome. In 1588, John Gerard returned to England, was betrayed by a servant (named Thomas Bates, possibly an ancestor of Frances)., and committed to the Tower and tortured. With the help of John Arden, a Roman Catholic priest and also a prisoner, he escaped from the Tower in 1597. He was later suspected of complicity in the Gunpowder Plot, and escaped to Rome in 1606.

Thomas III’s son, Nicholas Gerard had a daughter, Margery, who married Robert Arrowsmith of Haydock. Their son, Bryan took the name Edmund Arrowsmith and became a priest. He was martyred at the age of 43 on August 28, 1628. In a strange ritual under cover of night, Sir Thomas III and other family members accompanied by the family priest who was armed with a knife and slipped in where the body was secreted and severed his right hand which is held in great veneration with other memoirs of Arrowsmith.

Thomas III,s son, Thomas Gerrard, IV (born 1560), was made a Baron, (thus becoming Baron Thomas Gerrard) and received back the fee (extracted from his father) in consideration of “the sufferings of his father on behalf of Queen Mary”. He was knighted on April 18, 1603, (becoming Sir Knight Baron Thomas Gerrard IV) and was created a baronet May 22, 1611 by King James I, free of charge, in recognition of his father's services to Mary Stuart. Thomas IV’s brother, John Gerard’s, comment upon hearing of his brother's knighthood said, "It was really no great advancement for him as the family has been thus for sixteen centuries."

In 1603, King James 1, son of Mary, Queen of Scots; on his way to London expressed his gratitude to Thomas IV for the family's loyalty to his mother. "1 am particularly bound," he said, "to love your blood on account of the persecution you have borne for me

Thomas IV married three times. first to Cecily Maney, mother of his children and daughter of Sir Walter Maney; secondly, Mary Hawes, daughter of Sir Thomas Hawes; and thirdly to Mary Browne, daughter of William Browne. Thomas IV and his brother, Alexander matriculated from Brasenose College to Oxford on the same date, July 20, 1578. Sir Thomas IV received his M.A. at Cambridge in 1612 (on the King's visit) as "Jarrard.". Thomas IV's sons and grandsons were educated at Oxford, Cambridge. Douai, Rheims, and the Jesuit College in Paris as were other Gerard sons thus incurring the wrath of the Queen for their exposure to the "Popish" religion.

On the 16th of December, 1580, the Council wrote "the Queen finds great inconvenience growing by the education of great numbers of young gentlemen and other subjects beyond the sea, where they are accustomed and nourished in papistry with instructions making them mislike the government and on reaching home refusing to yield obedience to the laws and matters of religion. and by their evil religion corrupt others, the contagion spreading so far, as, if not remedied, to be dangerous to the Queen and state." She, therefore, "intending to take orders that children shall be prohibited from departing out of the realm except by special license; as also by recalling those now in Spain, Italy, France, etc." Among those named abroad without license were sons of the Gerards,.

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On Thomas IV’s death, he owned the following property:

Messuage (house) called 1e Bryn Manor of Ashton in Makerfield with 130 messuages, 60 cottages, 2 windmills, 4 watermills, 1300 acres of land; 300 acres of meadow; 3000 acres of pasture; 100 acres of wood and underwood; 20 acres of land covered by water; 40 acres of moor and moss; 300 acres of marsh and 40 shillings rent in Bryn and Ashton in Makerfield Manor of Windle with 70 messuages, 40 cottages, 70 acres of land; 100 acres of meadow; 1000 acres of pasture; 20 acres of wood and underwood; 300 acres of moor, moss, and marsh; and 10 shillings of rent in Windle; 30 acres of land, meadow, and pasture In Ince, with 5 messuages; 5 gardens; 5 orchards; and 5 acres of land

It is believed that he financed his descendants and relatives in education and immigration to America.

The last quarter of the 16th century witnessed the beginning of a Catholic exile movement to America. As early as 1574 Sir Humphrey Gilbert, half-brother of Sir Walter Raleigh, conceived a plan of colonization which was to have the support of two Catholic gentlemen, Sir George Peckham and Sir Thomas Gerard V, At the time of this venture there was in force a statue called "An Act against Fugitives over the Sea", which was designed to prevent the migration of Catholic recusants

The first effort to form a colony failed but the next effort succeeded when on February 24th, 1634 a group (including one of Thomas V’s sons and daughters) sailing in the Ark and Dove dropped anchor at Point Comfort, Virginia. They were there several days and then entered the Chesapeake and reached the Potomac. On St. Clement Island these Maryland colonists made their first landing

Appendix 1 - 3 Appendix I The Garrett Line That Immigrated to Maryland on March 25th 1634. On the modern map, below, St. Clement Island is the bottle shaped island just South of Coltons Point, Maryland. It is in the Potomac River.

Thomas IV also had a son named, John Gerrard who became a Jesuit priest and was tortured in the Tower during one of the religious upheavals in England. He later founded a college at Liege.

Thomas IV’s son, Sir Thomas V, 2nd baronet of Bryn, Gerard, was born in 1586 and was 36 years old when his father died.

Sir Thomas V, Gerrard, married Frances Molyneux and had 8 children who were:

Dr. Thomas VI of Newhall, Gerard (1608-1672) the immigrant. Richard Gerard. (1612-1686), cup bearer to King James Anne Gerard (1610-1637) who married Governor Thomas Greene William Gerard (1611-1681) involved in the inquisition held in 1637 Sir Gilbert Gerard (1612-1687) who died unmarried. Peter Gerard (1614- ) who died unmarried. John Gerard (1616 -) who died unmarried. Frances Gerard (1618- ) who became a nun.

Thomas V’s, second son Richard Gerard was born in 1612 and went to America in 1634 with the Calverts. aboard The Ark and the Dove.. Richard, who had been the Cup Bearer to King James did not stay in America but instead returned to England where he became a distinguished soldier and died on September 5, 1686. Upon his return, he purchased the Manor of Ince from his cousin Thomas Gerard. There he died in 1686.

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Thomas V’s oldest daughter, Anne Gerard was born in about 1610 and was a widow when she immigrated to Maryland with her brother, Richard. She was to become the 2nd wife of Thomas Greene, Governor of the Province of Maryland within 2 years and would bear them two sons, Leonard and Thomas. She died early in 1637.

Thomas V’s daughter, Frances Gerrard, became a Nun at Gravelines in Flanders.

Thomas V’s third son, Sir William Gerard of Garswood and Bryn, was born in 1611 and was a Baronet. He was 19 years old when his father's died, and 26 years old at the inquisition held in 1637. He expended a large estate in the reign of King Charles I and lost considerable property by sequestration. (The State seized property as a means of enforcing a degree for the payment of money from these Catholic families.) He was buried April 7, 1681.

Sir William married Elizabeth, daughter of Sir Cuthbert and Alice Clifton, Knight of Lytham and Westby. He had four sons, all of whom attended an English Jesuit School, St. Omer's College, at Saint Omer in Spanish Flanders, founded in 1593. (Flanders is now Vlaanderen, Belgium.) The school was forced to move to Bruges, Austria in the Netherlands in 1762 because of attacks on the Jesuits in France. (St. Omer's was then on French Territory.) Boys with a view to entering the priesthood attended St. Omer's and a large proportion of them actually did become priests.

William's sons attended St. Omer's as follows: William, 1650-54; Cuthbert, 1656-62; John 1658- 52 or later; and Thomas, who became a priest, 1660-62 and died in 1682.

Thomas V’s fourth son, Gilbert Gerard attended St. Omer's 1629-34 and became a Catholic priest. He died in 1645. Ships passenger lists show that Gilbert Gerard went to Virginia in 1643 and Peter Gerard, (Gilbert’s brother) went to America in 1653.

Thomas V’s oldest son was Thomas VI of Newhall, Gerard was born on December 10, 1608 in Newhall, Lancashire. He immigrated to Maryland in 1637, three years after his brother, Richard, and sister, Anne.

There is evidence that Thomas VI married twice in England before immigrating to America. The first wife was named Frances Mullinlear. The second wife was Alice Parran who died before 1637. He married Susannah Snow in 1643 in St. Mary's Maryland. She was born 1610 in Lockhamstead, Buckinghamshire, England and died in Maryland. After, Susannah Snow’s death, he married Virginia Rose Tucker. (Note: by David Arthur - other accounts probably more accurate, show marriage to Susannah Snow in England in 1634 as she is listed in ship passage)

Children of Dr. Thomas Gerrard and Susannah Snow were:

Capt. Justinian Gerrard was born 1634 in St. Mary's City, MD and died 1688 in St. Mary's City, MD. Elizabeth Gerrard. Susannah Gerrard. Thomas Gerrard. Frances Gerrard. Anne Gerrard. John Gerrard was born about 1644 in St. Mary's County, MD and died before 1678 in Westmoreland Co, Virginia. Appendix 1 - 5 Appendix I The Garrett Line That Immigrated to Maryland

Patience Gerrard. Janette Gerrard. Judith Gerrard. Mary Gerrard. Rebecca Gerrard.

Maryland historians have given scant attention to Dr. Thomas VI Gerard although he was an important political figures and the largest landholders in the province during the period 1637- 1673.

A timeline for Dr. Thomas Gerard is as follows:

1637 arrived in Maryland 1638 elected burgess from St. Mary's Hundred 1639 appointed by Cecilius, second Lord Baltimore, conservator of the peace for St. Clement's Hundred 1639 St. Clement's manor grant made to Gerard 1641 chosen burgess from St. Clement's Hundred 1643-1659 appointed by Lord Baltimore as member of Provincial Council & Judge of Provincial Court 1650 patent 1000 acres Northum. 1654-1656 Captain for Governor Stone during Puritan uprising/ captured 1659-1660 participation in Fendall's Rebellion and banishment to Virginia 1660 or 1661 pardon granted and return to Maryland 1666 death of first wife SUSANNAH, moved back to Virginia 1667 married Rose Tucker 1673 died in Westmoreland County but buried back at Longworth Point, MD.

Dr. Thomas VI Gerard, on October 29th, 1639, requested a land grant for transporting himself and five able men into the province. On March 30th, 1640 a survey of 1,000 acres of land lying to the north of St. Clement's Manor where the town of Matapania now stands and including the island of St. Catherine's Creek called St. Catherine's Island was made for Thomas. Among other of his land possessions taken from the rent rolls of St. Mary’s County from 1639 to 1724 are: St. Clement's Manor, St. Clement's Island, 11,400 acres granted to him by Lord Baltimore in 1638-9 and was surveyed by Justinian Gerard, his eldest son in 1678, Gerard's Freehold, 243 acres in St .Mary's Hundred, St. Winefreides Freehold in Charles County, Wiccocomico, 550 acres surveyed for him in 1666, Westwood Manor, surveyed in 1651. In all there are 32,343 acres. Some of the place names were: Bromley, Chaptico, River View, Bushwood, Hackley, Little Hackley, Waterloo, Dukehard, Branton, Longworth Point, and Chancellor Point.

The first proprietors of what is now called Capitol Hill, Washington, D.C. were George Thompson and Dr. Thomas Gerard, who patented the land jointly under several titles in 1663. One hundred and twenty seven years later the land was purchased by the Federal Government,

Dr. Thomas Gerard was one of the first doctors or "chirurgeons" in the province.

In 1639, he was appointed conservator of the peace for St. Clement’s Hundred. In 1641 he was chosen burgess from St. Clements and two years later, appointed as member of the Provincial Council & Judge of Provincial Court. Other appointments and commissions followed, such as one to look after his Lordship's property and another to advise concerning Indian problems.. Gerard

Appendix 1 - 6 Appendix I The Garrett Line That Immigrated to Maryland continued as a member of the Council until the time of Fendall's Rebellion in 1659 and also served as a Judge of the Provincial Court during this period.

Gerard was not only active in the practice of medicine, member of Council and Court, but was also an able farmer, a manufacturer of liquors, particularly peach brandy, and a breeder of fine cattle. Apparently, he was also an excellent sailor from the many trips that he made by boat between Longworth Point and St. Mary's City.

During the Puritan uprising (1654-1656) Gerard was appointed one of Governor Stone's captains. He took part in the battle at Herring Creek where he was captured with the rest of Stone’s force. Although quarter had been promised, four of the men were executed by the Puritans and Gerard narrowly escaped with his life. After the difficulties with the Puritans had been resolved, Gerard returned to his duties as a member of the Council under the governorship of Josias Fendall.

Dr. Thomas Gerard patented 1,000 acres south of the Potomac River on October 18, 1650 in Westmoreland County, Virginia. He moved there after he lost his Maryland estates in the revolution of 1659 under his friend, Josias Fendall. To protest certain taxes that they thought unfair, the Assembly issued the first declaration of Independence in America and Governor Fendall proclaimed Maryland a republic – which started the revolution of 1659.

However, the rebellion collapsed in 1660, and Lord Baltimore, in a furious letter dated August 24, 1660, instructed his brother Philip Calvert, then governor, to deal harshly with GERARD, FENDALL, HATCH, SLYE and others who took a leading part in the revolt. They could be sentenced to death, be banished from the province and suffer the loss of all their property. Gerard's manor lands and other property were seized, and he was banished. He retired temporarily to his lands across the Potomac in Westmoreland County, Virginia, a 3,500 acre holding, known as Gerard Preserve. In a few months, however, he applied to the Maryland Council for a pardon which was promptly granted. He was restored to citizenship in the Province but forbidden to hold office or to have a voice in elections. His lands and other property were restored to him.

After the restoration of his estates, Gerard returned to live in Maryland, where he continued his practice as a physician, looked after his lands, and completed more sales of property. His large family consisted of three sons and seven daughters. He had many friends on both sides of the Potomac River, and several of his daughters married Virginians. In addition to enjoying the favorite provincial drink of "burnt brandy," GERARD was not averse to cards and dice.

Later, Dr. Thomas Gerard returned to his land in Virginia where together with Henry Corbin, John Lee, son of Col. Richard Lee, then deceased, and Isaac Allerton, they built a "Banqueting House" at or near the head of Cherive’s (now Jackson’s) Creek, where their estates joined. It was agreed that each party to the contract should "yearly, according to his due course, make an honorable treatment fit to entertain the wives, heirs, neighbors and friends”.

All neighbors were, however, not so friendly. Two, Richard and his wife, Anna Cole, were of a type not frequent in Virginia. In 1664 Mrs. Cole had been committed to the custody of the sheriff "upon suspicion of the murder of Rose Parker". Of this charge she must have been acquitted, but she did not bridle her tongue and evidently the Coles looked upon Dr. Thomas Gerard and his two daughters, Anne and Frances, as enemies and in due time the Gerard's had to bring charges of libel against Mrs. Cole. It appears the Gerards won the case. John Washington was one of the Justices of the Court.

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Dr. Gerard died on February 1, 1672 at the age of 64 at his home in Westmoreland County, VA. By his request he was buried “as close as possible” to his first wife, Susannah which was at his home across the Potomac at Longworth Point, Maryland. On the map on page 12, Longworth Point is now call Colton’s Point. There is today, a street at that location named “Gerrard Lane”. The Gerard private cemetery existed until the early 1900’s when the owner of surrounding land threw the tombstones over the cliff and into the Potomac. Not satisfied with this desecration, it has been reported at a guest at the local hotel was allowed to open the graves and remove a skull. In a terrific storm in the summer of 1933 the hotel was wrecked and much ground washed away so that now there is no evidence whatsoever of the original Gerard home or burial grounds.

Dr. Thomas Gerard’s daughter, Anne Gerard became the 2nd wife to Col. John Washington, the Great Grand Father of President George Washington. When Anne died, her sister Frances became the 3rd wife to President George Washington’s great grand father.

None of Dr. Thomas Gerard’s three sons long survived him. John died first in 1678 leaving a son John (who had no sons) and a daughter, Rebecca who married Charles Calvert (Governor of Maryland form 1720 to 1727). After John’s death this line of the Gerard family became extinct. There are descendents from the daughters of Dr. Thomas Gerard, but the Gerard name was not continued. Descendants of Dr. Thomas Gerard:

Include the line from his daughter Judith Gerard to David Arthur b. 1949 Lunenburg Co. VA

---http://www.edavidarthur.net/FamilyTree2012/g2541.html#I2566

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