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.