The Fairy Mermaid of the Plantagenets

Have you ever looked at the Starbucks logo and wondered where exactly the inspiration came from? Me either, but I always thought it was a rather interesting logo.  Turns out, the logo was inspired by Melusine who was a female water spirit known to frequent fresh water rivers or sacred springs.  She was described as being human on the top half of her body, but fish like or serpent like on the bottom half of her body.  Sometimes she was described as having twin tails (much like the Starbucks logo) and sometimes had wings.  She was often referred to as a "fairy mermaid", and I'm most likely related to her.


It doesn't get much cooler than that (actually it does, but I have to reveal the cool one blog post at a time).

Melusine or Melusina as she is sometimes called, was the daughter of Pressina, who was a full on water fairy, and a mortal man by the name of King Elinas of Alba (now called Scotland).  It's interesting to note that King Elinas' mother is listed as "The Dragon Queen" (seriously, who needs Game of Thrones, just go research history).  Pressina told her husband she would marry him under one condition- that he never look upon her during or immediately following childbirth.  Elinas agreed and the two married.  Soon after, Pressina became pregnant and gave birth to triplet girls named Melusine, Melior and Plantina.  King Elinas ended up breaking his promise and went in to see his wife and new daughters shortly after they were born.  Upset that her husband broke his promise to her, Pressina took the three children and fled to a hidden island.  When the girls became teens, the eldest Melusine, learned of her father's betrayal and decided to punish him by kidnapping him and hide him in a mountain.  She talked her sisters into helping her with her plan of revenge.  But Pressina learned of the plan and punished Melusine by cursing her to turn into a mermaid like creature every Saturday.

Melusine goes to live alone in a forest where she meets Raymond, Count of Anjou who was distressed after accidentally killing his uncle during a boar hunt.  Melusine promised to help Raymond attain wealth and power and offered advice on how to explain his uncle's death.  Raymond was so pleased, he asked Melusine to marry him.  She agreed but only if he agreed never to come to her private chamber on Saturdays.  He agreed and they were married at once.

Melusine did help the Count gain power to the kingdom and became the mother of the Lusignan line.  She and Raymond had 10 children, and each was born with some type of deformity.  Raymond was eventually pressured into learning of Melusine's Saturday activities.  He peaked through the keyhole and saw her fish like lower half.  Raymond didn't say anything about what he saw at first.  It wasn't until his son Geoffrey burned a church and killed  100 monks that Raymond, feeling Melusine's secret meant she was an agent of Satan and the reason for Geoffrey's attack, blurted out that she was a false serpent.  Distraught over husband's betrayal, Melusine leaped out of the window and sway away in the river. (You'll remember from the previous post that Geoffrey the Count of Anjou was the beginning of the Plantagenets).

Many royals all the way back to Charlemagne claim descent from the Melusine and the Plantagenet still claim the lineage.  In fact, Richard I the Lionheart said, "We come from the Devil, and to the Devil we shall go" it's said he was referring to the story of Melusine.  The Plantagenet line (Anjou, Vere and Angevin) all go back to her.

I may be one of a few who think being descended from a twin tailed fairy mermaid is super cool, but trust me when I tell you, this isn't even the coolest part of this lineage.  Wait until you hear about the Merovingians!

The Plantagenet Connection

I mentioned a bit ago that my cousin and I were searching for a specific family connection that would link us with the Plantagenet Kings of Europe.  And I promised to talk more about that in a blog post.  This is such a blog post.

For starters, some might not know just who I'm talking about when I mention the Plantagenets.  The Plantagenets were kings that reigned from 1154-1485.  There were 14 kings in all and 6 belonged to the houses of York and Lancaster.  The Plantagenet Kings are descended from Count Geoffrey of Anjou and Empress Matilda who was the daughter of English King Henry I.  Remember Geoffrey, he'll be important in my next blog post. 

Henry II

The first group of rulers were the Angevins from 1154-1216 followed by the Plantagenets 1216-1399 and the Houses of York and Lancaster 1399-1485.  The Angevins included Henry II, King Richard I also known as Richard the Lionheart and King John I.  Henry II introduced the concept of trial by jury, set up civil courts and introduced "double jeopardy" or the concept of not being able to be prosecuted for the same crime more than once.  During his reign, the churches came under the rule of the civil courts.  Prior to that they literally got away with murder. 

King Richard I "The Lionheart" was named Lionheart for his bravery in

Richard I

battle.  He spend less than a year (only about 10 months) in England during his reign.  The state of his French territories and leading the third Crusade occupied his time.  Richard spoke very little English and he had no children.  Robin Hood lived in Sherwood Forest in Nottinghamshire during the reign of Richard.

John I

After Richard came his brother King John I.  John was the acting king during his brother's absence during the third Crusade.  He lost Normandy and almost all the other English possessions in France to Philip II of France.  He's responsible for the magna carta giving justice to all.  The magna carta set England on the path to become a democratic country.  He introduced lawyers and the concept of human rights. 

Then came the kings who used the Plantagenet name.  King Henry III was the first one in 1216.  He was crowned at the age of 9 but didn't take full control until he was 20.  He was captured during a civil war and forced to set up Parliament.  He started the House of Commons.  Oxford and Cambridge universities were also established.

King Edward I came next.  He was called "Longshanks" as he was over 6 feet tall.  He was also called the "Hammer of the Scots" because of the wars he fought against the Scots and Robert the Bruce.  He was also a noted castle builder.

King Edward II was next.  He was the first Prince of Wales having been born in Wales.  He was defeated in his invasion of Scotland.  Most notable is that he was reported to have been murdered by his wife Isabella and her lover Roger de Mortimer so they could rule.  Some claim that they didn't actually murder Edward II but kidnapped him and kept him hidden.  Either way, makes a nice soap opera.

King Edward III was too young to rule at first so his mother the evil Isabel and her lover Mortimer had control.  At the age of 17, he assumed his royal powers, arrests and executes Mortimer and places his mother under lifetime house arrest.  He fought many battles against the French and Scots and created the House of Lords to separate the elected members or commoners from the Lords and Bishops.

That brings us to the last of the Plantagenet name (though not the line) Richard II.  Richard took the throne at the age of 10 and his uncle John of Gaunt ruled until he became of age.  He was eventually murdered by his cousin (John of Gaunt's son) so that he could become king.  Richard II ruled during the time of the port Chaucer.

The House of Lancaster began with Henry IV who became king after murdering his cousin which started the dispute between the Houses of York and Lancaster.  He died of leprosy in 1413.  And this is where I'm bring today's history lesson to a close.

Nicholas Martiau

So what does any of this have to do with the genealogy of my family you want to know?  Well there was mention that the Jackson were married into the Reade family who were descended from a member of Jamestown named Nicholas Martiau who was the grandfather of George Washington and other notable persons of history (Thomas Nelson, Augustine Warner, Merriweather Lewis....).  In addition, the lineage of the Reade family is well documented, so once there is a proven connection, that particular line would be completed and authenticated with basically no work on our part.  And the Readed are direct descendants of the Plantagenet line.

This connection is what got my cousin and I the most interested in doing serious genealogy research.  And it hasn't been an easy connection to prove, but we're about 90% there.  Prior to our research trip earlier this month, I was able to come across someone who had people from my line listed in hers.  And it was someone I was stuck on.  I contacted her, and she was gracious enough to give me access to her tree.  I was thrilled to learn that she had information that answered some questions about links to family, and more importantly, she has it cited. 

We knew we had a 5th great grandfather named James Jackson who married a Frances Reade.  We were able to find chancery court records that provided authentication of that information.  This new tree I found further conformed that and also provided information showing that our 5th great grandmother Frances Reade's father was Francis Reade.  It was one more generation closer to linking us with the Reade family from Jamestown. 

Mathews Library research

So during our time spent researching at the Mathews Memorial Library (highly recommend using their genealogy room and resources for your eastern VA research needs- super helpful staff!), we came across a book that gave us the next generation.  We found that our 6th great grandfather Francis Reade's parents were Francis Read and Lucy.  Lucy is potentially a Hunley.  This confirmed link now connects generationally (just made up that word) to the Francis Read that is listed as the son of Robert Reade III and links back to Martiau and all the rest.  While we do not have concrete proof of the relationship between the two Francis Reades (son of Robert and husband of Lucy) this is where we thought the connection would be, and so far all the evidence we've collected has begun lining up as we thought and leading us in that direction. 

I'm fairly certain we will find the connection.  We had another cousin who did extensive research and traveled around to courthouse looking through information, and she is the one who found the connection.  Sadly, she passed away earlier this year before we had a chance to meet her, and her research is lost to us. 

So hopefully this fall, there will be another trip to a courthouse to try and dig up the proof we need.
And for those wondering, the "we" I mention is myself and my cousin Kelly who is my partner in crime on this genealogy adventure. 

Stay tuned for some interesting history on the origins of the Plantagenets.

Tombstone Tuesday

Today's tombstone belongs to my great great grandmother 

Luella "Ella" Daniel 1868-1906

She is buried in Clarksburg United Methodist Church graveyard

in Deltaville, Va

She was the first wife of John Aaron Jackson, Sr.

 Ella was a member of the Order of the Eastern Star

which is shown on her headstone.

The Order of the Eastern Star is appendant body of the Freemasons that was started in 1850

but wasn't an approved appendant body of the Freemasons until 1873.

The Order of the Eastern Star was open to both men and women.

Men had to be Master Masons to join,

 and women had to have a significant relationship

with a mason to join.  

Ella's headstone is a newer addition 

having been added long after she was buried.

Noah Franklin and the 55th VA at Gettysburg

Noah Francis Jackson was my 4th great uncle.  He was brother to James Robert Jackson (Tulip James).  Both brothers fought in the Civil War; Noah for the Confederacy and James for the Union.  James was killed during the war when the ship he was piloting exploded in the Potomac River.  Noah who served in the 55th VA Infantry Regiment survived the war.  One battle the 55th VA was involved in was Gettysburg- a location near my home.  Here is a video explaining the involvement of the 55th VA during the Battle of Gettysburg.

Racehorse Jack

My great great grandfather John Aaron Jackson, Sr had a horse named Jack.

This is Jack.

You'll notice on the ground in front of Jack is a beat up old hat (trust me, that's a hat).  In order for John Aaron's son Wallace to get Jack to settle down enough to get his photo taken, Wallace had to lay his hat down on the ground.  Another interesting thing about this photo is that it shows the area where our current house on the creek stands now.  It's hard to believe there was ever such a clear view to the water (you can see the water in the background).

One of John Aaron's other sons John Aaron Jr. had a sulky cart and for fun he would hitch up Jack and take him out to race.

Not a picture of Jack or John Aaron photo public domain

A sulky, for those not familiar, is a lightweight, 2 wheeled single seat cart.  It was commonly used as transportation in rural areas, and today is used in harness racing.  The term sulky came about because people said the rider must prefer to be by themselves "sulking".  Apparently, back in the day it was also used for racing.  Many of the men in the area would hitch up their horses and race.  There was an actual race track just outside of town at Stingray Point owned by another family member where people would go to race.

Tombstone Tuesday

This weeks featured tombstone comes from the backyard of a private residence in Middlesex County, Virginia. During our genealogy trip, my cousin and I were told the location of the graves for Noah Francis Jackson, Sr and his wife Annie Eliza Crittenden.  The graves were located behind a private residence.  I must say, there's something about going up to someone's front door, knocking and then saying. "This might seem weird but do you have graves in your back yard?"  Luckily, we had found the right house, and the owner was happy to let us go check out the headstones.  She told us that she knew there were the 2 headstones for Noah and Annie and that there were also 2 infants buried there with no markers based on what she was told.
The headstones have been incorporated into a gorgeous perennial garden, and the owner said she does her best to see that the stones are treated with respect- which was obvious.

Annie Jackson's grave lists her birth year as 1841.  In my online research, I have a birth year of 1843 based on information listed on her marriage certificate that she was 16 in 1860.  She died December 12, 1905. Annie was a member of the Crittenden family which is another prominent name in the area.

Noah Francis Jackson Sr was born November 23, 1839.  He died February 5, 1909 according to research.  The death date on the headstone is below the soil line.   Noah Sr. was the brother to James Robert Jackson who my cousin and I refer to as "Tulip James" to differentiate between the other James R Jacksons in the tree.  Tulip James died during the Civil War aboard the USS Tulip.  Noah Frank (as he was called) also fought in the Civil War, though he managed to survive well past the surrender at Appomattox. He served in the 55th Infantry Regiment of Virginia and was present at many battles including Antietam and Gettysburg.  Noah Frank is one of those ancestors I am drawn to, mostly because I live only minutes from the Gettysburg Battlefield and visit there often.  I've also spent some time at Antietam.  I'm planning on a trip to both battlefields to take photos of monuments and areas where his regiment fought.


So far, I have had good luck being able to access family cemeteries on private property.  Keep in mind that you do need to get permission to go on someone's property.  In Virginia, property owners with private cemeteries are not allowed to deny access to descendants wanting to do genealogy research or visit family graves, though they can decide on dates, times and duration of visits.  You can read about it here.

Monday Monsters...er...Munsters

I have returned from my genealogy trip to Middlesex County, Virginia, and I must say, it was a successful trip.  I will get into the details of all that was learned, but I wanted to share these two interesting photos.  While talking with my cousins and sharing photos, he shared this photo of John Aaron Jackson, Jr:

John Aaron Jackson Jr (1887-1956) is my 2nd great uncle.  My cousins showed me this photo and referred to it as "Eddie Munster".  For those not familiar with Eddie Munster, he was the son of Herman Munster on the 1960's television show The Munsters.  Eddie Munster is the boy in the following photo.  No doubt, there is a resemblance.  But that isn't really the funny/creepy point of this post.

Last summer, my husband, son and I participated in our town's annual cabaret production.  The production was a celebration of the town's pool turning 50 years old and featured people portraying 1960's era television programs.  I was (of course) Velma from Scooby Doo.  My husband portrayed Herman Munster and my son, you guessed it, was Eddie.

Seeing the photos side by side was a bit uncanny, but what a thrill to have both photos for future generations!

Busting Through Brick Walls

This post contains affiliate links which means that at no additional cost to you, I might get compensation  should someone choose to use the link and make a purchase.

So I've been AWOL from posting the last couple of weeks as I finish up some family vacations and catch up on things at my job.  This week I've also been diligently working on sorting out some questions I had on my family tree in preparation for another trip next week.  I'll be traveling south once again with my cousin to hit the local library's genealogy department and the courthouse in hopes we can gain some insight and credible sources to prove our connection to Plantagenet Kings (I'll talk about that more in another post).

This week my goal has been to try and touch base with some of my genetic matches on Ancestry.com and Family Tree DNA.  I'm still trying to learn all the ins and outs that go with using DNA for genealogy purposes.  There is a lot to learn!  And since I'm still very much in the beginner stage of my learning, I won't try to explain too much.  Basically, when you do a DNA test through one of the sites, you end up with a list of matches.  The matches are based on something called centimorgans (abbreviated as cM).  Centimorgans have to do with measuring genetic linkage.  It has to do with the distance between chromosome positions (that's all the definition I'm sharing right now because I'm sure I lost you at "chromosome").  When looking at your matches, the higher the number of shared centimorgans, the closer the relationship and the stronger the match.  For example, I have a known first cousin who also tested their DNA.  She is listed in my matches as a 1st to 2nd cousin  with the shared DNA being 840cM across 38 segments.  In comparison, someone listed as my 3rd-4th cousin shows the shared DNA being 101cM across 7 segments.  Anything above a 5th cousin is considered a good match.

Back to the story.... I'm currently trying to get past one person in particular in my Jackson line.  I have a James Jackson 1785-1836 and that is as far as my tree goes with Jackson (with any kind of accuracy).  I've also been trying to gain information on the Reade family that James married into (this would be the Plantagenet connection hopefully) and link Jacksons from the same area of Middlesex County, Virginia to my Jacksons.  So I emailed 3 different people listed in the Jackson DNA project on Family Tree DNA who are also listed as matches to see if they might be able to shed some light on any of my people.  Of the 3, I heard back from 2.  One gentleman is currently traveling and we have plans to email in the fall.  The lady I heard from was not able to help me out.  At first she didn't think there was any kind of connection, until she realized we're 3rd-5th cousin matches which is a strong match.  Her Jacksons are based in New York though some migrated down to North Carolina.  She has a brick wall for her family that she believes is somewhere in Virginia, and I have a brick wall getting past James Jackson in VA.  Somewhere there is a connection, and we're hoping that we'll be able to help each other bust through those brick walls.  I have not yet heard from the third person I emailed.

I didn't stop there, however.  The one lady I emailed gave me the names of a couple of websites to look at to see if anything might seem familiar.  So I started perusing Jackson genealogy websites, and I finally saw a listing for a tree that included a John Lewis Jackson, Sr born in 1806.  I too have a John Lewis Jackson, Sr 1806-1847 who is the son of the above mentioned James Jackson 1785-1836.  The link took me to a private Ancestry tree, so I messaged the tree's owner asking for any information they would like to share.  Thankfully, she messaged me back pretty quickly and granted me access to her information.  So last night, I added some siblings to the Reade line I'm interested in getting information about and linked those Jacksons in Middlessex County, VA all in about 30 minutes.  Better still, the information is actually backed up with research which isn't always the case with some trees floating around the internet.

So next week, my cousin and I are heading to Middlesex County, Virginia armed with some additional information that might offer some clues to help us in our quest.  My cousin is an excellent researcher- able to narrow her focus onto one specific goal while I tend to be like buckshot and scatter.  Together we make a pretty good team, so I'm hopeful we'll be able to come home with some more valuable information to share.