The Malleable Macbeth

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

The Malleable Macbeth THE MALLEABLE MACBETH: UNDERSTANDING THE EVOLVING IMAGE OF AN OBSCURE MEDIEVAL KING A Thesis Presented to The Faculty of Graduate Studies of The University of Guelph by RYAN SKIERSZKAN DAVIDSON In partial fulfillment of requirements for the degree of Master of Arts April 2008 © Ryan Skierszkan Davidson Library and Bibliotheque et 1*1 Archives Canada Archives Canada Published Heritage Direction du Branch Patrimoine de I'edition 395 Wellington Street 395, rue Wellington Ottawa ON K1A0N4 Ottawa ON K1A0N4 Canada Canada Your file Votre reference ISBN: 978-0-494-41811-6 Our file Notre reference ISBN: 978-0-494-41811-6 NOTICE: AVIS: The author has granted a non­ L'auteur a accorde une licence non exclusive exclusive license allowing Library permettant a la Bibliotheque et Archives and Archives Canada to reproduce, Canada de reproduire, publier, archiver, publish, archive, preserve, conserve, sauvegarder, conserver, transmettre au public communicate to the public by par telecommunication ou par Plntemet, prefer, telecommunication or on the Internet, distribuer et vendre des theses partout dans loan, distribute and sell theses le monde, a des fins commerciales ou autres, worldwide, for commercial or non­ sur support microforme, papier, electronique commercial purposes, in microform, et/ou autres formats. paper, electronic and/or any other formats. The author retains copyright L'auteur conserve la propriete du droit d'auteur ownership and moral rights in et des droits moraux qui protege cette these. this thesis. Neither the thesis Ni la these ni des extraits substantiels de nor substantial extracts from it celle-ci ne doivent etre imprimes ou autrement may be printed or otherwise reproduits sans son autorisation. reproduced without the author's permission. In compliance with the Canadian Conformement a la loi canadienne Privacy Act some supporting sur la protection de la vie privee, forms may have been removed quelques formulaires secondaires from this thesis. ont ete enleves de cette these. While these forms may be included Bien que ces formulaires in the document page count, aient inclus dans la pagination, their removal does not represent il n'y aura aucun contenu manquant. any loss of content from the thesis. Canada ABSTRACT THE MALLEABLE MACBETH: UNDERSTANDING THE EVOLVING IMAGE OF AN OBSCURE MEDIEVAL KING Ryan Skierszkan Davidson Advisor: University of Guelph, 2008 Professor Elizabeth Ewan This thesis investigates the changing historical perceptions of the Scottish king Macbeth (r. 1040-1057) in relation to the development of Scotland's constitutional identity between 1000 and 2000 A.D. Macbeth's historiographical transformation from a fairly ordinary king in the eleventh century to a usurping tyrant during the later medieval and Enlightenment periods, and then to a peaceful prince and nationalist hero in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries is the result of successive generations of historians reinterpreting their country's history in order to justify the political ideologies of their contemporary communities. This metamorphosis not only demonstrates history writing's susceptibility to political forces, as well as how the myth of Macbeth has changed over time, but provides for us a comprehensive and linear, one-thousand-year example of the way in which Scotland's self-perception as a distinct nation has adapted according to the modernizing political process. Some of the writers included in this study are Marianus Scottus, John of Fordun, Andrew Wyntoun, Hector Boece, David Hume, Walter Scott, C. C. Stopes, Ruaraidh Erskine and Nick Aitchison. Acknowledgements The completion of this project would not have been possible without the assistance of a number of exceptional and gifted individuals. I am forever indebted to my advisor Dr. Elizabeth Ewan whose wisdom and expert insights helped me to navigate through one thousand years of Scottish history. Her remarkable kindness and enthusiasm were perhaps the greatest assets I had in producing this paper. It was a tremendous honour to have worked with her. Many thanks and apologies are in order to Dr. Graeme Morton who was in the unfortunate position of trying to teach this medievalist about post- union Scotland. I would also like to extend my gratitude to Dr. Alan Gordon and Dr. Susannah Humble Ferreira for challenging me to see my arguments from a different perspective. Special thanks to Dr. Peter Goddard who was an incredible help during my two years in the program. I have a long-standing debt to Dr. Michael Keefer who encouraged me to continue my studies at the graduate level and who has always been willing to assist me in my academic endeavours. I owe considerable thanks to my esteemed colleague Yvan Prkachin whose beard alone has been inspirational. I would like to thank my family, Jane and 'The Neil' for their continuous encouragement, and both my grandfathers for their interest in all things historical. Finally, I would like to express my deepest appreciation to my partner Hilary (who now knows more about Macbeth than she would care to) for her incredible support and patience - my great excuse to avoid duties around the house has come to an end. 1 Table of Contents Chapter One All there is to know about the 'furious Red one', 1000-1300 Chapter Two A guidebook on how to manufacture a tyrannical image for an obscure eleventh-century monarch, 1300-1500 Chapter Three Humanists de-humanizing Macbeth, 1500-1707 Chapter Four The paradoxical Macbeth: a 'hateful Usurper' who brought peace, justice and prosperity to his people, 1707-1900 Chapter Five How historical is the 'historical Macbeth', 1900-2008 Bibliography li Chapter One: All there is to know about the 'furious Red one', 1000-1300 When Nick Aitchison published his Macbeth: Man and Myth in 1999 the Scottish historical community breathed a collective sigh of relief: "finally." Finally a proper analysis of the history of Scotland's most notorious king had been written seeking not to tarnish his name, nor revive his character as a Celtic hero, but simply to provide an accurate description of what we can know about a medieval monarch who ruled almost one thousand years ago. Macbeth, an otherwise obscure eleventh-century Scottish king has long found himself the focus of much perverted historical investigation. So few contemporary documents describing Macbeth's kingship have survived that you could fit everything there is to know about him on a post-it note, with plenty of room left over to list your groceries. We know he reigned from 1040 to 1057, defeated and killed King Duncan to capture the crown, quelled a rebellion led by Duncan's father Crinan in 1045, visited Rome in 1050, was defeated by Earl Siward of Northumbria in 1054 at the behest of Edward the Confessor, and was killed by Malcolm III, son of Duncan in 1057. He also made a land donation to the Church of St. Serf at some point during his seventeen-year reign. Anything beyond this is speculation at best. Not only is there a minimal amount of surviving sources, but these extant records also happen to be quite ambiguous by nature. While this deficiency in detail may frustrate today's historian seeking to uncover the 'historical Macbeth', historians of the past found in the enigmatic characterization of Macbeth a rather attractive prospect - an open canvas on which to paint whatever they desired. In this fashion Macbeth has been portrayed as a tyrannical monster by medieval chroniclers and Renaissance humanists, an equitable and 1 just prince by nineteenth-century romanticists, and a nationalist hero by twentieth-century Celtic revivalists. Macbeth, in effect, became a powerful tool for the historian because of his malleability; he could be recast and reshaped to suit any ideology. This flexibility is the most intriguing aspect of Macbeth, not so much his history, which, no doubt will always be the subject of much scholarly debate, but his historiography, which is an invaluable one-thousand-year-long example of how history is written in accordance with the evolution of contemporary political principles. The historiography of Macbeth is not only useful to understanding the conflicting popular imagery of the king, but provides for us a window into Scotland's self-perception as a nation along constitutional lines. In Macbeth: Man and Myth, Nick Aitchison looks to uncover the myth-making historiographical process that Macbeth's image was forced to endure. If we are to agree with those who reviewed the author's monograph, we would believe that the "book surveys the scarce chronicle and archaeological sources on Macbeth and his reign, as well as charts developments and changes in the myths about Macbeth from the eleventh century through the twentieth."1 Aitchison, however, fails to meet this end. While his discussion of the historiography of Macbeth, pre-Shakespeare, is quite well rounded, it is indeed missing some compelling features that are crucial to understanding the mythologizing of the king. For instance, Aitchison completely overlooks the association between Macbeth and Moray separatism - a link that demonstrably affected the medieval writer John of 1 R. M. Wood, review of Macbeth: Man and Myth, by Nick Aitchison, Sixteenth Century Journal 31, no. 3 (2000): 909. Similarly, Julia Rudolph writes, "this book sets out not only to counter the mythology that has long surrounded this Scottish king, but also to explain how these myths developed over the course of 900 years, perpetuated even today by modern historians as well as modern film makers and novelists" (Julia Rudolph, review of Macbeth: Man and Myth, by Nick Aitchison, The Historian 65, no. 2 (2002): 486). 2 Fordun's perception of the eleventh-century monarch, and thus contributed to the chronicler's antagonistic interpretation of Macbeth's reign. Furthermore, Aitchison neglects to analyze the mini-treatise on proper kingship found in Walter Bower's Scotichronicon (1440s), entitled The duty of a king is threefold, which appears between the reigns of Duncan I and Macbeth as a 'how to' guide to proper kingship for James II.
Recommended publications
  • A TASTE of SHAKESPEARE: MACBETH a 52 Minute Video Available for Purchase Or Rental from Bullfrog Films
    A TASTE OF SHAKESPEARE MACBETH Produced by Eugenia Educational Foundation Teacher’s Guide The video with Teacher’s Guide A TASTE OF SHAKESPEARE: MACBETH a 52 minute video available for purchase or rental from Bullfrog Films Produced in Association with BRAVO! Canada: a division of CHUM Limited Produced with the Participation of the Canadian Independent Film & Video Fund; with the Assistance of The Department of Canadian Heritage Acknowledgements: We gratefully acknowledge the support of The Ontario Trillium Foundation: an agency of the Ministry of Culture The Catherine & Maxwell Meighen Foundation The Norman & Margaret Jewison Foundation George Lunan Foundation J.P. Bickell Foundation Sir Joseph Flavelle Foundation ©2003 Eugenia Educational Foundation A Taste of Shakespeare: Macbeth Program Description A Taste of Shakespeare is a series of thought-provoking videotapes of Shakespeare plays, in which actors play the great scenes in the language of 16th and 17th century England, but comment on the action in the English of today. Each video is under an hour in length and is designed to introduce the play to students in high school and college. The teacher’s guide that comes with each video gives – among other things – a brief analysis of the play, topics for discussion or essays, and a short list of recom- mended reading. Production Notes At the beginning and end of this blood- soaked tragic play Macbeth fights bravely: loyal to his King and true to himself. (It takes nothing away from his valour that in the final battle King and self are one.) But in between the first battle and the last Macbeth betrays and destroys King, country, and whatever is good in his own nature.
    [Show full text]
  • Phases of Irish History
    ¥St& ;»T»-:.w XI B R.AFLY OF THE UNIVERSITY or ILLINOIS ROLAND M. SMITH IRISH LITERATURE 941.5 M23p 1920 ^M&ii. t^Ht (ff'Vj 65^-57" : i<-\ * .' <r The person charging this material is re- sponsible for its return on or before the Latest Date stamped below. Theft, mutilation, and underlining of books are reasons for disciplinary action and may result in dismissal from the University. University of Illinois Library • r m \'m^'^ NOV 16 19 n mR2 51 Y3? MAR 0*1 1992 L161—O-1096 PHASES OF IRISH HISTORY ^.-.i»*i:; PHASES OF IRISH HISTORY BY EOIN MacNEILL Professor of Ancient Irish History in the National University of Ireland M. H. GILL & SON, LTD. so UPPER O'CONNELL STREET, DUBLIN 1920 Printed and Bound in Ireland by :: :: M. H. Gill &> Son, • • « • T 4fl • • • JO Upper O'Connell Street :: :: Dttblin First Edition 1919 Second Impression 1920 CONTENTS PACE Foreword vi i II. The Ancient Irish a Celtic People. II. The Celtic Colonisation of Ireland and Britain . • • • 3^ . 6i III. The Pre-Celtic Inhabitants of Ireland IV. The Five Fifths of Ireland . 98 V. Greek and Latin Writers on Pre-Christian Ireland . • '33 VI. Introduction of Christianity and Letters 161 VII. The Irish Kingdom in Scotland . 194 VIII. Ireland's Golden Age . 222 IX. The Struggle with the Norsemen . 249 X. Medieval Irish Institutions. • 274 XI. The Norman Conquest * . 300 XII. The Irish Rally • 323 . Index . 357 m- FOREWORD The twelve chapters in this volume, delivered as lectures before public audiences in Dublin, make no pretence to form a full course of Irish history for any period.
    [Show full text]
  • Gaelic Barbarity and Scottish Identity in the Later Middle Ages
    View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by Enlighten MacGregor, Martin (2009) Gaelic barbarity and Scottish identity in the later Middle Ages. In: Broun, Dauvit and MacGregor, Martin(eds.) Mìorun mòr nan Gall, 'The great ill-will of the Lowlander'? Lowland perceptions of the Highlands, medieval and modern. Centre for Scottish and Celtic Studies, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, pp. 7-48. ISBN 978085261820X Copyright © 2009 University of Glasgow A copy can be downloaded for personal non-commercial research or study, without prior permission or charge Content must not be changed in any way or reproduced in any format or medium without the formal permission of the copyright holder(s) When referring to this work, full bibliographic details must be given http://eprints.gla.ac.uk/91508/ Deposited on: 24 February 2014 Enlighten – Research publications by members of the University of Glasgow http://eprints.gla.ac.uk 1 Gaelic Barbarity and Scottish Identity in the Later Middle Ages MARTIN MACGREGOR One point of reasonably clear consensus among Scottish historians during the twentieth century was that a ‘Highland/Lowland divide’ came into being in the second half of the fourteenth century. The terminus post quem and lynchpin of their evidence was the following passage from the beginning of Book II chapter 9 in John of Fordun’s Chronica Gentis Scotorum, which they dated variously from the 1360s to the 1390s:1 The character of the Scots however varies according to the difference in language. For they have two languages, namely the Scottish language (lingua Scotica) and the Teutonic language (lingua Theutonica).
    [Show full text]
  • The Cultural and Ideological Significance of Representations of Boudica During the Reigns of Elizabeth I and James I
    EXETER UNIVERSITY AND UNIVERSITÉ D’ORLÉANS The Cultural and Ideological Significance Of Representations of Boudica During the reigns of Elizabeth I and James I. Submitted by Samantha FRENEE-HUTCHINS to the universities of Exeter and Orléans as a thesis for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in English, June 2009. This thesis is available for library use on the understanding that it is copyright material and that no quotation from the thesis may be published without proper acknowledgment. I certify that all material in this thesis which is not my own work has been identified and that no material has previously been submitted and approved for the award of a degree by this or any other University. ..................................... (signature) 2 Abstract in English: This study follows the trail of Boudica from her rediscovery in Classical texts by the humanist scholars of the fifteenth century to her didactic and nationalist representations by Italian, English, Welsh and Scottish historians such as Polydore Virgil, Hector Boece, Humphrey Llwyd, Raphael Holinshed, John Stow, William Camden, John Speed and Edmund Bolton. In the literary domain her story was appropriated under Elizabeth I and James I by poets and playwrights who included James Aske, Edmund Spenser, Ben Jonson, William Shakespeare, A. Gent and John Fletcher. As a political, religious and military figure in the middle of the first century AD this Celtic and regional queen of Norfolk is placed at the beginning of British history. In a gesture of revenge and despair she had united a great number of British tribes and opposed the Roman Empire in a tragic effort to obtain liberty for her family and her people.
    [Show full text]
  • Macbeth on Three Levels Wrap Around a Deep Thrust Stage—With Only Nine Rows Dramatis Personae 14 Separating the Farthest Seat from the Stage
    Weird Sister, rendering by Mieka Van Der Ploeg, 2019 Table of Contents Barbara Gaines Preface 1 Artistic Director Art That Lives 2 Carl and Marilynn Thoma Bard’s Bio 3 Endowed Chair The First Folio 3 Shakespeare’s England 5 Criss Henderson The English Renaissance Theater 6 Executive Director Courtyard-Style Theater 7 Chicago Shakespeare Theater is Chicago’s professional theater A Brief History of Touring Shakespeare 9 Timeline 12 dedicated to the works of William Shakespeare. Founded as Shakespeare Repertory in 1986, the company moved to its seven-story home on Navy Pier in 1999. In its Elizabethan-style Courtyard Theater, 500 seats Shakespeare's Macbeth on three levels wrap around a deep thrust stage—with only nine rows Dramatis Personae 14 separating the farthest seat from the stage. Chicago Shakespeare also The Story 15 features a flexible 180-seat black box studio theater, a Teacher Resource Act by Act Synopsis 15 Center, and a Shakespeare specialty bookstall. In 2017, a new, innovative S omething Borrowed, Something New: performance venue, The Yard at Chicago Shakespeare, expanded CST's Shakespeare’s Sources 18 campus to include three theaters. The year-round, flexible venue can 1606 and All That 19 be configured in a variety of shapes and sizes with audience capacities Shakespeare, Tragedy, and Us 21 ranging from 150 to 850, defining the audience-artist relationship to best serve each production. Now in its thirty-second season, the Theater has Scholars' Perspectives produced nearly the entire Shakespeare canon: All’s Well That Ends
    [Show full text]
  • Ethnicity and the Writing of Medieval Scottish History1
    The Scottish Historical Review, Volume LXXXV, 1: No. 219: April 2006, 1–27 MATTHEW H. HAMMOND Ethnicity and the Writing of Medieval Scottish history1 ABSTRACT Historians have long tended to define medieval Scottish society in terms of interactions between ethnic groups. This approach was developed over the course of the long nineteenth century, a formative period for the study of medieval Scotland. At that time, many scholars based their analysis upon scientific principles, long since debunked, which held that medieval ‘peoples’ could only be understood in terms of ‘full ethnic packages’. This approach was combined with a positivist historical narrative that defined Germanic Anglo-Saxons and Normans as the harbingers of advances in Civilisation. While the prejudices of that era have largely faded away, the modern discipline still relies all too often on a dualistic ethnic framework. This is particularly evident in a structure of periodisation that draws a clear line between the ‘Celtic’ eleventh century and the ‘Norman’ twelfth. Furthermore, dualistic oppositions based on ethnicity continue, particu- larly in discussions of law, kingship, lordship and religion. Geoffrey Barrow’s Robert Bruce and the Community of the Realm of Scotland, first published in 1965 and now available in the fourth edition, is proba- bly the most widely read book ever written by a professional historian on the Middle Ages in Scotland.2 In seeking to introduce the thirteenth century to such a broad audience, Barrow depicted Alexander III’s Scot- land as fundamentally
    [Show full text]
  • Chap 2 Broun
    222 Attitudes of Gall to Gaedhel in Scotland before John of Fordun DAUVIT BROUN It is generally held that the idea of Scotland’s division between Gaelic ‘Highlands’ and Scots or English ‘Lowlands’ can be traced no further back than the mid- to late fourteenth century. One example of the association of the Gaelic language with the highlands from this period is found in Scalacronica (‘Ladder Chronicle’), a chronicle in French by the Northumbrian knight, Sir Thomas Grey. Grey and his father had close associations with Scotland, and so he cannot be treated simply as representing an outsider’s point of view. 1 His Scottish material is likely to have been written sometime between October 1355 and October 1359.2 He described how the Picts had no wives and so acquired them from Ireland, ‘on condition that their offspring would speak Irish, which language remains to this day in the highlands among those who are called Scots’. 3 There is also an example from the ‘Highlands’ themselves. In January 1366 the papacy at Avignon issued a mandate to the bishop of Argyll granting Eoin Caimbeul a dispensation to marry his cousin, Mariota Chaimbeul. It was explained (in words which, it might be expected, 1See especially Alexander Grant, ‘The death of John Comyn: what was going on?’, SHR 86 (2007) 176–224, at 207–9. 2He began to work sometime in or after 1355 while he was a prisoner in Edinburgh Castle, and finished the text sometime after David II’s second marriage in April 1363 (the latest event noted in the work); but he had almost certainly finished this part of the chronicle before departing for France in 1359: see Sir Thomas Gray, Scalacronica, 1272–1363 , ed.
    [Show full text]
  • Macbeth Informational Text: the Real Story
    Name ________________________________________ Period _______ Macbeth Informational Text: The Real Story It is interesting to note that Shakespeare‘s play Macbeth was based loosely on true stories about real people. In fact, it is believed that Shakespeare wrote the play for King James I and VI, who was king of both England and Scotland at the time. Allegedly using the Chronicles of England, Scotland, and Ireland (1587) by Raphael Holinshed as his source of information, Shakespeare set out to create a realistic fictional drama based on a true story. The real King Duncan I (Donnchad mac Crínáin), nicknamed ―the sick‖ was the King of Scotland (called Alba) from 1034 to 1040. He was the grandson of Malcolm II, who was killed in battle in 1034. Duncan had two sons, Malcolm III, and Donald III. According to records, Duncan was young and weak and was seen as a terrible and ineffective leader. His ascension to the throne at age 17 caused turmoil in the family, as the kingship was to have alternated between the two branches of the royal line. Many believed his cousin, Macbeth (Mac Bethad mac Findlaích), should have had claim to the throne through his mother. This caused strife in the family, which would continue for hundreds of years. After Duncan was killed in battle by Macbeth in 1040, Macbeth took the throne and became King of Scotland. Macbeth reigned successfully for 17 years, and he was said to be a powerful and strong leader. However, Duncan‘s son Malcolm wanted revenge against Macbeth, and felt that he should have inherited the throne after his father‘s death.
    [Show full text]
  • Scotland: Bruce 286
    Scotland: Bruce 286 Scotland: Bruce Robert the Bruce “Robert I (1274 – 1329) the Bruce holds an honored place in Scottish history as the king (1306 – 1329) who resisted the English and freed Scotland from their rule. He hailed from the Bruce family, one of several who vied for the Scottish throne in the 1200s. His grandfather, also named Robert the Bruce, had been an unsuccessful claimant to the Scottish throne in 1290. Robert I Bruce became earl of Carrick in 1292 at the age of 18, later becoming lord of Annandale and of the Bruce territories in England when his father died in 1304. “In 1296, Robert pledged his loyalty to King Edward I of England, but the following year he joined the struggle for national independence. He fought at his father’s side when the latter tried to depose the Scottish king, John Baliol. Baliol’s fall opened the way for fierce political infighting. In 1306, Robert quarreled with and eventually murdered the Scottish patriot John Comyn, Lord of Badenoch, in their struggle for leadership. Robert claimed the throne and traveled to Scone where he was crowned king on March 27, 1306, in open defiance of King Edward. “A few months later the English defeated Robert’s forces at Methven. Robert fled to the west, taking refuge on the island of Rathlin off the coast of Ireland. Edward then confiscated Bruce property, punished Robert’s followers, and executed his three brothers. A legend has Robert learning courage and perseverance from a determined spider he watched during his exile. “Robert returned to Scotland in 1307 and won a victory at Loudon Hill.
    [Show full text]
  • Seven Ladies Macbeth
    Seven Ladies Macbeth by Michael Bettencourt 67 Highwood Terrace #2, Weehawken NJ 07086 201-770-0770 • 347-564-9998 • [email protected] http://www.m-bettencourt.com Copyright © by Michael Bettencourt Offered under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/ DESCRIPTION What came before Lady Macbeth became Lady Macbeth? CHARACTERS • GRUOCH (later, Lady Macbeth) • ELFRIDA (mother of Lady Macbeth)/DUNCAN/GENTLEWOMAN • SOLDIER/GILLACOMGAIN (first husband)/MACBETH’s SQUIRE/DOCTOR/MACDUFF • MACBETH • NURSE/BISHOP/SINT (can be played by a male or female) • CHORUS OF CROWS/GRUOCH’S ATTENDANTS/THE 3 WITCHES CHORUS will wear half-masks made to look like crows. There is nothing but interpretation. * * * * * Scene 1: First Lady Blackness. In the blackness, the sound of ELFRIDA, the queen, in carnal delight and distress—a rising wail halfway between pleasure and lamentation, with a final crescendo halfway between pleasure and a snarl. As this happens, a light up on young GRUOCH. When ELFRIDA is finished, a light up on ELFRIDA slipping on a simple rough cotton caftan. They sit apart, at some distance. They hold each other’s gaze, then GRUOCH looks away. ELFRIDA: Gruoch? We named you Gruoch—I don’t know why. I don’t think you can change it. The name sounds like it crawled out of the throats of crows. Would you like me to remember for you how your world began? Well? Not that you have many memories— GRUOCH: I heard—it—them—the screams—your screams—they—shook me—as I— SEVEN LADIES MACBETH • Page 1 GRUOCH makes a sliding motion with her hand: slipping out of the womb.
    [Show full text]
  • Family Tree Maker
    Ancestors of Ulysses Simpson Grant Generation No. 1 1. President Ulysses Simpson Grant, born 27 Apr 1822 in Point Pleasant, Clermont Co., OH; died 23 Jul 1885 in Mount McGregor, Saratoga Co., NY. He was the son of 2. Jesse Root Grant and 3. Hannah Simpson. He married (1) Julia Boggs Dent 22 Aug 1848. She was born 26 Jan 1826 in White Haven Plantation, St. Louis Co. MO, and died 14 Dec 1902 in Washington, D. C.. She was the daughter of "Colonel" Frederick Fayette Dent and Ellen Bray Wrenshall. Generation No. 2 2. Jesse Root Grant, born 23 Jan 1794 in Greensburg, Westmoreland Co., PA; died 29 Jan 1873 in Covington, Campbell Co., KY. He was the son of 4. Noah Grant III and 5. Rachel Kelley. He married 3. Hannah Simpson 24 Jun 1821 in The Simpson family home. 3. Hannah Simpson, born 23 Nov 1798 in Horsham, Philadelphia Co., PA; died 11 May 1883 in Jersey City, Coventry Co., NJ. She was the daughter of 6. John Simpson, Jr. and 7. Rebecca Weir. Children of Jesse Grant and Hannah Simpson are: 1 i. President Ulysses Simpson Grant, born 27 Apr 1822 in Point Pleasant, Clermont Co., OH; died 23 Jul 1885 in Mount McGregor, Saratoga Co., NY; married Julia Boggs Dent 22 Aug 1848. ii. Samuel Simpson Grant iii. Orville Grant iv. Clara Grant v. Virginia "Nellie" Grant vi. Mary Frances Grant Generation No. 3 4. Noah Grant III, born 20 Jun 1748; died 14 Feb 1819 in Maysville, Mason Co., KY. He was the son of 8.
    [Show full text]
  • Webb Horn-Flag Origins
    2015 FIELD OF STAR’S & THE ORDER OF THE KNIGHTS GARTER GARY GIANOTTI STAR’S & STRIPES-ORIGNS-REDISCOVERD THE HISTORIANS, MADE NO MENTION OF THE THE SEVEN STRIPES AND GAVE NO INFORMATION OF THE UNION JACK, SHORT FOR JACOBUS OR JAMES VI. Webb Flag Image, Symbolizes the Stars of the Order’s of The Knight’s Garter and Thistle. Blue underlined words are hyper links to documents, images & web sites-Read the The Barnabas Webb carved powder image to be the earliest known Adam’s, Thomas Jefferson and Ben horn made the news in 2012. Carved by depiction of the stars & stripes flag Franklin. This Webbs wife was a Franklin a skilled, Bostonian silversmith. flown in American history. niece, apprentice to her father William The horn carving, depicting the 1776 American Vexillologist’s and historians Homes. Home’s father married Mary siege of Boston, shows the city and a were very quick to dismiss Mr. Millar’s Franklin the sister of Benjamin Franklin, few flags that were flown by the theory. Saying this Stars & stripes who was on the flag design committee American Patriots. During the outbreak predates the Flag Act design by 14 for the Stars & Stripes. The link below of the American War of Independence. months. When Congress members mentions a Mr. Harkins, note him. Historical researcher, John Millar was passed the description of the new Harkins was my close friend, where I the first to notice and document an national flag design called the “Flag Act” advanced the history of his horn and important flag design found on the of June 14th 1777.
    [Show full text]