Early Armisteads
Have you ever heard the old saying "The faster I go, the further behind I get"? Actually my favorite way of saying it is "The hurrier I go the behinder I get". (Don't look those two words up on spell check, they aren't there.) That phrase describes me the last few weeks. The more I researched England, Yorkshire, and the royal families during the 16th and 17th Centuries, the more information I found and the more information I wanted to put in this post. That in turn led to more research to better understand what I had just learned. After many attempts to cram it all in, I finally concluded that I have gone way beyond the scope of this blog. So, I tried to rein myself in, cut out a lot of history, and get back to writing. My goal was to get this posted nearly three weeks ago, so you get the jest of what I'm saying.
On a personal note. I wrote the last sentence above on Jan 29th. On the 30th my wife's mom had a stroke. She passed away 9 days later. It has been a difficult 4 weeks. My family has always been very important to me. Maybe that is why I enjoy genealogy so much. Losing a loved one feels like losing a little part of myself. Our families play such a big role in making us who we are. Take the time to love, cherish, and appreciate your family.
The darker shaded area in the map above is Yorkshire. This view gives you an idea of the area and also some of the towns.
http://www.itraveluk.co.uk/maps/england/yorkshire/
This map shows the outline of each of the four riding's in Yorkshire.
http://comestaywithus.com/england1/yorkshire.html
Yorkshire has been a very important part of England's history. From the website www.yorkshire-england.co.uk, David Simpson writes, "This region formed what was historically the largest county in England and today the county of North Yorkshire still holds that honour. Yorkshire is a vast and varied region of more than three and a half million acres and a population of almost 5 million." (Yorkshire) "is home to vast swathes of unspoilt, beautiful countryside, littered only with picturesque villages and genteel towns. Yorkshire's smaller places range from solid stone hamlets in the dales, fine brick-built coaching towns in the vales to lovely red-roofed cottages in captivating coastal settlements that hug the coves of the shore." He also writes, "There are ancient cathedral and abbey towns like Selby, Beverly and Ripon and to top it all we have one of the most historic cities in England in the shape of the wonderful City of York."
(1) Mr Simpson describes Yorkshire so beautifully that I thought it best just to quote him in his own words and his own spelling. Please go to the website for more history as well as current information about the area and the major cities and towns.
Below are a few photographs of the beautiful countryside in Yorkshire.
Description: Thornborough Henge
Date: 21 June 2005
Source: From geograph.org.uk
Author: Tony Newbould
Permission(Reusing this file): Creative Commons Attribution Share-alike license 2.0
Camera location 54° 12′ 37.62″ N, 1° 33′ 52.27″ W View this and other nearby images on: OpenStreetMap - Google Maps - Google Earth info British Isles all.svg
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 Tony Newbould and is licensed for reuse under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 license.w:en:Creative Commons attribution share alike This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.
Attribution: Tony Newbould
You are free: to share – to copy, distribute and transmit the work to remix – to adapt the work Under the following conditions: attribution – You must attribute the work in the manner specified by the author or licensor (but not in any way that suggests that they endorse you or your use of the work).
share alike – If you alter, transform, or build upon this work, you may distribute the resulting work only under the same or similar license to this one.
Description: Upper Nidderdale, looking up-dale
Date: 27 October 2005
Source: Own work
Author: Chris R (user Cyclopaedic)
Permission(Reusing this file): I, the copyright holder of this work, hereby publish it under the following licenses: Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.2 or any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no Invariant Sections, no Front-Cover Texts, and no Back-Cover Texts. A copy of the license is included in the section entitled GNU Free Documentation License.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Upper_Nidderdale.JPG
Summary: Fountains Abbey ruins seen from Southwest.
Author: own photo, Klaus with K
Camera location 54° 06′ 33.8″ N, 1° 34′ 56.6″ W View this and other nearby images on: OpenStreetMap - Google Maps - Google Earth info Licensing
I, the copyright holder of this work, hereby publish it under the following licenses:
GNU head. Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.2 or any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no Invariant Sections, no Front-Cover Texts, and no Back-Cover Texts. A copy of the license is included in the section entitled GNU Free Documentation License. w:en:Creative Commons
attribution share alike. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.
You are free: to share – to copy, distribute and transmit the work to remix – to adapt the work
Under the following conditions: attribution – You must attribute the work in the manner specified by the author or licensor (but not in any way that suggests that they endorse you or your use of the work).
share alike – If you alter, transform, or build upon this work, you may distribute the resulting work only under the same or similar license to this one.
This licensing tag was added to this file as part of the GFDL licensing update.
Description: View from Richmond Castle's keep.
Date: 2004-10-31 (original upload date)
Source: Transferred from en.wikipedia; Transfer was stated to be made by User:PurpleHz.
Author: English: Personal photograph taken by Mick Knapton on 16/2/2004Original uploader was Mick Knapton at en.wikipedia
Permission(Reusing this file): GFDL-WITH-DISCLAIMERS; Released under the GNU Free Documentation License.
Licensing: Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.2 or any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no Invariant Sections, no Front-Cover Texts, and no Back-Cover Texts.Subject to disclaimers.
Kay and I were recently introduced to the television series "Downton Abbey" by Kay's cousin Tom. I know, I know, we are a good four years behind. Well, Tom loaned us season one to watch on DVD and we watched season two and three on Amazon, Instant Video. We still have some catching up to do on season 4. I have all of season 4 saved on my DVR, so please, don't tell us what happened this season. Anyway, the point is, Downton Abbey is about a fictional place located in North Yorkshire. The names of the cities and places mentioned in the series are from that area. You may have noticed these town names on signs or heard them talk about Thirsk, Ripon, Leeds, and York. The castle that is used for exterior and interior shots is Highclere Castle which is located in Hampshire. All the exterior shots of buildings, train station, etc. are located outside of Yorkshire as well. Never-the-less I found it makes the series even more fun to watch, since it is set in the very area I have been researching and it is the area where my Armistead ancestors lived. It may also be the area where I have relatives living today. If you have not watched the series, Downton Abbey, you should try it, it's great.
Description: Highclere Castle
Date: 26 August 2007, 10:54:52
Source: originally posted to Flickr as Highclere Castle 1
Author: JB + UK_Planet
Permission(Reusing this file): This image, which was originally posted to Flickr.com, was uploaded to Commons using Flickr upload bot on 14:56, 7 July 2008 (UTC) by Jonjames1986. On that date it was licensed under the license below.
This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.
You are free: to share – to copy, distribute and transmit the work· to remix – to adapt the work Under the following conditions:· attribution – You must attribute the work in the manner specified by the author or licensor (but not in any way that suggests that they endorse you or your use of the work).
Now back to the Armisteads of England: ROBERT, JOHN, and ROGER. I talked about these three men in my last post. These Armisteads were farmers. ROBERT was listed as a Yeoman. This means he owned his farm and his farm was larger than that of a Husbandman. ROGER was listed as a Husbandman so his farm was a little smaller. ROGER was born c. 1556 in Yorkshire, and died in November of 1596. He married EPHAM about 1575. This is the first time we have a wife's name listed. EPHAM was born c. 1558 in England, and died Sep. 4, 1607, in Yorkshire. Their known children are Oswald, b. 1576, Margaret, b. 1578, Alice, b. 1580, Thomas, b. 1583, Robert, b. 1583, and ANTHONY, b. 1587.
(2)
ANTHONY Armistead, was born in 1587 and he died in November of 1642 in Kirk Deighton, Yorkshire. He married FRANCES Thompson in August of 1606. She was born in 1588 and died in June of 1634. Her father was WILLIAM Thompson. Together ANTHONY and FRANCES had 12 children: WILLIAM, born in 1610, was christened in Kirk Deighton, July 3, 1610, Robert, b. 1612, Elizabeth, b.1614, Epham, b. 1616, John, b. 1618, Jane, b. 1620, Margaret, b. 1622, John, b. 1624, (The earlier John had died so the name John was used again, as was the custom of the time.) Joseph, b. 1626, Henry, b. 1628, Adam, b. 1630, and Rachel, b. 1632. The same year Rachael was born, 1632, the oldest son, WILLIAM, who was listed as a Yeoman, married ANNE Ellis, spinster, of Giggleswick. (Giggleswick is a parish located in Craven District about a mile from the town of Settle.)
(3) I'll write more about WILLIAM, "The Immigrant" and ANNE a little later.
Below is North Yorkshire outlined in green with the districts separated by purple. The Armisteads are from Harrogate District. Between Leeds and York is a little town that is hard to read called Whetherby. It is located right on the line between North and West Yorkshire. Just a few miles northwest of there is Kirk Deighton. That is the parish the Armisteads are from. You can also locate Craven District and the town of Settle on the left middle of the map.
This map outlines North Yorkshire with a green line and each of the districts with a purple line. The districts are Craven, Richmondshire, Hambleton, Scarborough, Ryedale, Selby, and Harrogate. (This map is from an article about libraries but I liked the map so much I decided to use it.
http://www.bentham.net/Community/Media/LibraryClosuresMap.jpg
I have not studied the period of the 16th and 17th centuries a great deal and it is easy to think that not much happened in this time frame. Once I started reading and studying this period, I realized this is a very interesting time and, like most periods, there were some great things that happened. I mentioned Columbus and 1492, and Martin Luther and the year 1517 last time. Here are a couple other important events of the early 1500s. In 1536 Michelangelo started painting "The Last Judgment" in the Sistine Chapel. He completed it in 1541. In 1543 Nicolaus Copernicaus published his theory "On the Revolution of Heavenly Bodies" that concluded the sun is the center of the Universe and the Earth revolves around it. That was quite a controversial pronouncement at the time.
(4)
Artist: Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475–1564)
Description: Last Judgment
Source/Photographer: Web Gallery of Art: Image Info about artwork, Sailko, 2005-10-01
Permission(Reusing this file): This is a faithful photographic reproduction of a two-dimensional, public domain work of art. The work of art itself is in the public domain for the following reason: This work is in the public domain in the United States, and those countries with a copyright term of life of the author plus 100 years or less.
This file has been identified as being free of known restrictions under copyright law, including all related and neighboring rights.
The official position taken by the Wikimedia Foundation is that "faithful reproductions of two-dimensional public domain works of art are public domain".This photographic reproduction is therefore also considered to be in the public domain. In other jurisdictions, re-use of this content may be restricted; see Reuse of PD-Art photographs for details.
In 1547 King Henry VIII died. Henry's only male heir was crowned King Edward VI but, since he was under age, he was placed under the protection of his uncle. Edward only lived six years as king before he died at the age of 16 in 1553.
(5) Henry VIII had two daughters that could have been next in line but behind the scenes manipulations brought Lady Jane Grey to the throne instead of one of Henry VIII's daughters, Mary or Elizabeth. Queen Jane was only 16 years old, had no preparation for being queen, and had no desire to be queen. After only nine days, she announced her accession. She became known as the "Nine Day Queen".
(6)
With Lady Jane leaving the throne, Henry's eldest daughter, Mary, was next in the line of succession again. There were no manipulations this time or if there were they didn't work and Mary, the daughter of Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon, became Queen Mary I. One of her first actions, just a few months later, was to have Lady Jane Grey, the recent "Nine Day Queen", beheaded. Mary's reign as queen would turn out to be a disastrous one. She ruled for only five years before her death in 1558.
(7)
.jpg)
Artist: Paul Delaroche (1797–1856)
Title: The Execution of Lady Jane Grey
Date: 1833
Medium: oil on canvas
Accession number NG1909
Object history 1902: bequeathed to National Gallery by the Second Lord Cheylesmore
Inscriptions Signature and date
Source/Photographer The National Gallery online
Permission(Reusing this file) This is a faithful photographic reproduction of a two-dimensional, public domain work of art. The work of art itself is in the public domain for the following reason: This work is in the public domain in the United States, and those countries with a copyright term of life of the author plus 100 years or less.
This file has been identified as being free of known restrictions under copyright law, including all related and neighboring rights.
The official position taken by the Wikimedia Foundation is that "faithful reproductions of two-dimensional public domain works of art are public domain".This photographic reproduction is therefore also considered to be in the public domain. In other jurisdictions, re-use of this content may be restricted; see Reuse of PD-Art photographs for details.
Queen Mary's death left Henry VIII's only surviving child, Elizabeth, next in line for the throne. Elizabeth was the daughter of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn. Elizabeth had a troubled early life. She had been declared illegitimate and deprived of her place in the line of succession. But everything changed when, at the age of 25, she became Queen Elizabeth I. Elizabeth was well respected as queen. In the first few months she re-established the Protestant Church in England, established the state Church of England, and restored the debased coinage. She was a very active Queen and immensely popular. She loved all kinds of sports, music, and dance. She loved to watch plays and is credited with creating an atmosphere that allowed literary masterpieces to flourish. It is generally considered that the English Renaissance reached it's height in England during the Elizabethan era. Writers such as William Shakespeare and Christopher Marlow, and composers such as William Byrd and Thomas Morley are just a few of the many that flourished in their respective fields during this period in England.
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Artist: George Gower (1540–1596)
Title: Elizabeth I of England, the Armada Portrait
Description: The portrait was made in approximately 1588 to commemorate the defeat of the Spanish Armada (depicted in the background). Elizabeth I's international power is reflected by the hand resting on the globe.
Date: circa 1588
Source/Photographer: http://www.luminarium.org/renlit/elizarmada.jpg
Permission(Reusing this file): This is a faithful photographic reproduction of a two-dimensional, public domain work of art. The work of art itself is in the public domain for the following reason:
Public domain This work is in the public domain in the United States, and those countries with a copyright term of life of the author plus 100 years or less.
This file has been identified as being free of known restrictions under copyright law, including all related and neighboring rights.
The official position taken by the Wikimedia Foundation is that "faithful reproductions of two-dimensional public domain works of art are public domain".
This photographic reproduction is therefore also considered to be in the public domain. In other jurisdictions, re-use of this content may be restricted; see Reuse of PD-Art photographs for details.
Across the ocean, in the Americas, St. Augustine became the first town established by Europeans in the area that would become the United States. Founded by the Spanish Admiral Pedro Menendez de Aviles in 1565, St. Augustine, Florida is the oldest continuously occupied
European established settlement in the United States. (Note that I underlined European. Later settlements will also be noted as "first settlements" but you have to take note of the differences that are designated. The actual first settlements were of course made by the Native Americans.)
(9)
Queen Elizabeth also attempted to colonize America. In 1584 she chartered Sir Walter Raleigh to establish a colony in North America. Raleigh sent five ships to establish a colony in 1585. All the ships did not arrive there but never-the-less the first
English Colony in North America was established on Roanoke Island in 1585. When relief supplies did not arrive as planned in 1586, the Colonists abandoned the settlement. A new group of settlers arrived in 1587 to try and re-establish the settlement. All the ships returned to England for more settlers and supplies. Unfortunately for the colonists a war broke out between England and Spain and no relief ships were available to be sent to resupply the colony until 1590. Upon arrival at the colony no signs were found of the 90 men, 17 women, and 11 children that had been left there three years before. There were no signs of violence nor any indication as to where they had gone. The mystery of what happened to the people of the colony has never been solved and the settlement is known as "The Lost Colony". No further efforts were made to establish a colony there.
(10)
Scotland was the setting for a drama that unfolded in 1567 that eventually involved Queen Elizabeth. Mary, Queen of Scots, was implicated in the murder of her husband and was forced to abdicate her throne in favor of her one year old son, James. She was unsuccessful in an attempt to regain the throne and fled south to England. Mary asked Queen Elizabeth, her first cousin once removed, for protection from her enemies. There were many people in England that supported Mary and believed she had a legitimate right to the English throne. (Too involved to go into here.) Because of this, Elizabeth saw Mary as a threat and had her imprisoned. Though she was relatively well treated, Mary remained in prison nineteen years. In 1587 she was implicated in a plot to replace Elizabeth as Queen and was tried and executed.
Description: Miniature of Mary Stuart, Queen of Scots
Date Original: 1578-9
Source: Cropped from File:MaryQOSmin1.jpg
Author: Nicholas Hilliard (1547–1619)
Permission(Reusing this file): This is a faithful photographic reproduction of a two-dimensional, public domain work of art. The work of art itself is in the public domain for the following reason: This work is in the public domain in the United States, and those countries with a copyright term of life of the author plus 100 years or less.
This file has been identified as being free of known restrictions under copyright law, including all related and neighboring rights.
The official position taken by the Wikimedia Foundation is that "faithful reproductions of two-dimensional public domain works of art are public domain".This photographic reproduction is therefore also considered to be in the public domain. In other jurisdictions, re-use of this content may be restricted;see Reuse of PD-Art photographs for details.
The next year, 1588, Elizabeth continued to build her reputation as queen by demonstrating how she could lead in war as well as any man. Elizabeth lead England in defeating the great Spanish Armada that Spain had assembled for it's war with England.
The Elizabethan Era came to an end in March of 1603 when Queen Elizabeth died. Elizabeth never married so she did not have a successor. Because there was no Tudor successor the Tudor dynasty came to an end upon Elizabeth's death. After more than 100 years, the Tudor family's reign ended and the throne was passed to a new family, the Stuarts.
(11)
Next time: James Charles Stuart becomes king and William "The Immigrant" Armistead heads to the colonies.
References:
1) www.yorkshire-england.co.uk,
2) Boddie, John Bennett, Historical Southern Families, Vol II, Genealogical Publishing Company, Baltimore, 1958, pg 3.
3) Ibid, pg 4 - 5.
4) http://www.fm.coe.uh.edu/timeline/1500s.html
5) http://www.tudorhistory.org/edward/
6) http://www.sgwilkinson.freeserve.co.uk/ljrey.htm
7) http://www.britannia.com/history/monarchs/mon44.html
8) http://www.elizabethi.org/contents/biography/parttwo.html
9) http://www.fm.coe.uh.edu/timeline/1500s.html and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Augustine,_Florida
10) http://www.pbs.org/opb/timeteam/sites/ft_raleigh/history.php http://www.fm.coe.uh.edu/timeline/1500s.html
11) http://www.elizabethi.org/contents/biography/parttwo.html
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