My grandmother on my father's side, or my paternal grandmother, is Alice (Armistead) Meixner. She married Harmon Meixner (my paternal grandfather) in 1905. Over the last year I wrote on this blog about the Meixner family history. I am now going to attempt to write about my Armistead line.
Alice Armistead as a young woman.
When I was trying to decide which line or branch of my family tree I would write about next, I kept trying to avoid the Armistead line. I was (and still am) intimidated by the Armistead family. The Armistead family has a rich history of men and women of significant importance. They were a part of the founding colonists that came to Virginia, they held, with honor, positions of leadership in the legislative offices of Virginia. Armisteads served with distinction and fame in high positions of the military in the English colony of Virginia, in the Revolutionary War, the War of 1812, and the Civil War, as well as other wars. Armistead women are at the head of the maternal line of many well known and historical family lines. A number of books and countless papers have been written on the Armistead family. Even though I was intimidated by all this previous material, I finally decided it was a natural progression to write about the Armistead line next, so here I go.
I hope that anyone reading this blog will feel welcome to send me corrections or additions. Just put it in the comment section or if you prefer, send it to me in an email: dmmei27@gmail.com.
I will attempt to be as accurate as possible, just as I always do, but there are many different theories out there about various lines of the Armistead family. I have read and will be relying on many learned scholars of Armistead genealogy, many from the late 19th and early 20th Centuries, that contributed greatly to the discussion of genealogy in general, as well as Armistead genealogy specifically. They did not always agree in their conclusions though, so I have tried to piece together information from the sources that I believe to have laid down the most convincing arguments. I will also endeavor to list in the references all sources for the conclusions I came to.
My immigrant ancestor, William Armistead (usually named as "The Immigrant"), moved from Kirk Deighton in North Yorkshire, England to the royal colony of Virginia in 1635. A shire is like a U.S. county. North Yorkshire is located about 200 miles a little northwest of London. William's wife is Anne (Ellis) Armistead. He arranged for her passage to the colony in 1636. (1) Before delving further into William and Anne's descendants though, I am going to go back a few years and write a little bit about the Armisteads in North Yorkshire, England.
On the map below I drew an arrow approximately to the lower boundary of North Yorkshire, one of the largest shires in England.
Google Map of The United Kingdom. Arrow points to North Yorkshire.
There are many spelling variations of the Armistead name. A few variations include Del Armsted, first noted circa 1379, Ermystead, Armsteed, Armststead, Armstead, and Armistead to name a few. (2) One Armistead or Ermystead of note is William Ermystead. A few weeks ago Pat Lyons sent me information on this William Ermystead. Pat is my cousin-in-law. She is married to a cousin who is descended from the Florida Armisteads. (You will read more about this family in future blogs.) It turns out Pat is the genealogist in the family so she is the one working on the Armistead line. We connected several years ago through the internet and on-line postings about the Armistead family. I don't know if I am related to William Ermystead but I think the probability is good due to the name and the proximity to the other Armisteads in this area. At any rate he is a very interesting person that I hope to document a relationship to at some point. I'm going to relate a little bit of information about him before I go on to the line I am directly descended from.
Located in Skipton, North Yorkshire, England, is a school called Ermystead's Grammar School. The school was established by Peter Toller in 1492. Yeah, that would be the same year that Columbus sailed the ocean blue. However, years later, a second, and very significant benefactor, made a very important contribution toward establishing the ongoing viability of this school. It was so significant in fact that the school was given his name. This benefactor was William Ermystead.
In the map below I have arrows to the location of Skipton and Kirk Deighton.
Google Map with arrow pointing to Skipton in North Yorkshire, where Ermystead's Grammar School is located. Also, an arrow pointing to the parish of Kirk Deighton where my Armistead ancestors lived.
Quoting from the school website: William Ermystead, "had been a prominent figure in Henry VIII's London, as Canon of St. Paul's, 'clerk of the Kings Chancery', and Master of the Temple. On the 1st of September 1548 William Ermystead's re-foundation deeds for the Chantry School (this is the school name as established by Toller) were executed and on the 12th of December 1551 the deeds were enrolled on the Close Rolls." What this means is, "Essentially these documents recorded the land which he wished to present to the School in order that it be supported in the future,..." So the Rev. William Ermystead gave his possessions to support the school on a sustaining basis and the school assumed the name of Ermystead's Grammar School. After more than 500 years in existence, this school continues as a vibrant, growing school. (3)
If you would like to read more about the history of this school the website is: http://www.ermysteds.n-yorks.sch.uk/general/history.htm,
To better understand William Ermystead's importance, here is a little additional background about The Temple Church in London. The Round Church was built by the Knights Templar and consecrated in 1185 (The church has two parts. See photos below.) I'll save you the math, that's 828 years ago. Between 1536 and 1540, King Henry VIII abolished the monasteries and confiscated their property. After that, the Temple Church belonged to Henry and it was up to him to provide the priest for the church. The term "Master of the Temple" was given to the priest of the Temple Church by Henry. It has been said "The Temple Church is one of the most historic and beautiful churches in London." (4)
Description: Temple Church, Temple, London
Date: 24 March 2009
Source: en.wikipedia.org, geograph.org.uk
Author: John Salmon
Permission: This image was taken from the Geograph project collection. See this photograph's page on the Geograph website for the photographer's contact details. The copyright on this image is owned by John Salmon and is licensed for reuse under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 license.
Description: Temple Church in London - exterior view of the church
Date: 9 December 2004
Source: en.wikipedia.org: 17:48, 29. Mai 2005
Author: AlanFord
Permission: This work has been released into the public domain by its author, AlanFord at the English Wikipedia project. This applies worldwide.In case this is not legally possible:AlanFord grants anyone the right to use this work for any purpose, without any conditions, unless such conditions are required by law.
Description: Temple Church in London - the knight effigy tombs·
Date: 9 December 2004
Source: en.wikipedia.org
Author: Alan Ford
Permission: This work has been released into the public domain by its author, AlanFord at the English Wikipedia project. This applies worldwide.In case this is not legally possible:AlanFord grants anyone the right to use this work for any purpose, without any conditions, unless such conditions are required by law.
The Ermystead coat of arms is posted on the school site and is shown below. It is the same structure as later Armistead coat of arms. Later renderings have additional items added around the edges, but the basic description of the Armistead Coat of Arms is the same. This would be another piece of evidence that tells me I might have a right to claim being related to William Ermystead.
Coat of Arms from Ermystead's Grammar School website. Suivez La Raison means Follow Reason. This was sent to me by Pat Lyons.
Armistead Coat of Arms copied from the book The Armistead Family, by Virginia Armistead Garber. A note at the bottom of the picture says this was taken from a drawing by Tiffany, New York.
As for my documented Armistead ancestors, I used a couple of sources that have concluded that ROBERT Armetsted (note the spelling) of Kirk Deighton, North Yorkshire, England, is the earliest ancestor found of William Armistead, "The Immigrant". Kirk Deighton was a church parish at that time, it is now a civil parish. (See map above for location.) ROBERT was born circa 1490. (Circa meaning: "sometime around".) His will was probated 10 March 1533, in which he named three surviving children: JOHN, William, and Christopher. His wife was listed in the will only as: "Executors: Wife and children..."
JOHN Armistead's will (again note the change in spelling) was probated 2 Oct 1567. My best guess is he was born circa 1510 - 1520. He listed six children living at the time his will was written. They are Robert, Edmund, John, ROGER, Anthony, and Mawde. Again, no wife's name. For the first three generations of Armisteads we have Robert, John, and Roger Armistead. (6)
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9b/Henry_Seven_England.jpg
In the late 1400s in England the "Wars of the Roses" had been waging for years between the house of Lancaster and the house of York. In 1485 a decisive battle between Richard III and Henry Tudor was fought. Henry won the battle and Richard was killed. Henry Tudor was crowned King Henry VII, he then married Elizabeth of York, bringing together the two houses and solidifying his hold on the throne. This was the beginning of a more than one hundred year reign of the Tudors. Henry had 7 children by Elizabeth of York. The second son, Henry born in 1491, was the eldest surviving son when Henry VII died in 1509. Henry ascended to the throne as King Henry VIII. (7)
King Henry VIII (1491 - 1547) King from 1509 - 1547.
Source: http://www.britannia.com/history/monarchs/mon41.html
Upon accession to the throne, Henry VIII married Catherine of Aragon, the widow of his brother Arthur. She gave him one child, a daughter, Mary. Early in his reign, the young king defeated Scottish forces at the Battle of Flodden Field, in which James IV of Scotland was killed. In 1515, Thomas Wolsey, Archbishop of York, was made Lord Chancellor of England and Cardinal. The youthful king preferred to rule by traveling the countryside hunting and reviewing his subjects. Cardinal Wolsey virtually ruled England until 1529. (8)
In 1517 Martin Luther nailed his "95 Theses" to the church door at Wittenberg protesting the Catholic practice of selling indulgences. With this action, the Protestant Reformation was launched. (9) By the late 1520s, Henry's involvement in governing was growing and he was obsessed with having a male heir to the throne. Henry sent Thomas Wolsey to see Pope Clement VII to convince the pope to annul Henry's marriage to Catherine of Aragon. An annulment would free him to marry Anne Boleyn. Wolsey tried repeatedly to get the marriage annulled but was unsuccessful. Henry dismissed Wolsey and began cutting ties with the church of Rome. In 1533 he divorced Catherine of Aragon and married the pregnant Anne Boleyn. Henry VIII was promptly excommunicated by Pope Clement. In 1534 Henry orchestrated the passage and enactment of the Act of Supremacy and the declaration of Henry VIII supreme head of the Church of England. Henry dissolved the monasteries or priories and confiscated their lands and revenues.
Unfortunately for Henry (but mostly for Anne Boleyn) his new wife delivered a daughter, Elizabeth, rather than a male heir. Anne fell out of favor with the king and was charged with infidelity and was executed in May 1536. By the end of May, Henry was married again, this time to Jane Seymour. She delivered Henry's only male heir in Oct. of 1537. The little baby survived but Jane died in child birth. As I stated before, this was the time when Henry began the dissolution of monasteries in England and confiscating their property. William Ermystead (who I mentioned in an earlier paragraph) would have been the Master of The Temple at this time.
By 1540 Henry married again. This time to Catherine Howard, who would last less than two years until she was executed for infidelity. Catherine Parr was his last wife. She survived past Henry's death, which came in 1547. (10)
Next time I'll continue with the Armistead line and English history that covers the next 80 or 90 years.
References:
(1) Boddie, John Bennett, Historical Southern Families, Vol II, Genealogical publishing Company, Baltimore, 1958, pg 5.
(2) Harris, John Michael, Camberwell, London, England. Article placed on the Enchanted World website: http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~enchantedworld/Armistead/index-english.htm
(3) http://www.ermysteds.n-yorks.sch.uk/general/history.htm
(4) http://www.templechurch.com/history-2/
(5) Addison, Charles G., Esq., The History of The Knights Templars, The Temple Church, and The Temple, Longman, brown, Green, and Longmans, London, 1842. http://www.gutenberg.org/files/13139/13139-8.txt
(6) Boddie, John Bennett, Historical Southern Families, Vol II, Genealogical publishing Company, Baltimore, 1958, pg 3-4.
(7) http://tudorhistory.org/henry7/
(8) http://www.britannia.com/history/monarchs/mon41.html
(9) http://britannia.com/history/reftime.html
(10) http://www.britannia.com/history/monarchs/mon41.html
