Vol II File 24: The Paternal Ancestry of Homer Beers James

38. Stafford Line (Earls of Stafford)

Ref: Burke, pp. 498-499.

Ref: Wurts

1. Roger de Teonei, father of Robert, a younger son.
2. Robert de Stafford, possessed at the time of the General Survey, lordships in Suffolk, Gloucestershire, Lincolnshire, Warwickshire, and Staffordshire, in all 131, and Dugdale surmises, that the assumption of the surname Stafford arose from him being Governor of Stafford Castle, which had been erected by William the Conqueror; for his name was originally De Toenei, and he is said to have been a younger son of Roger de Toenei, standard bearer of Normandy. Of this Robert de Stafford, who lived till the time of King Henry I., nothing further is known than his founding an Augustine priory, at Stone, in Staffordshire, upon the spot where Enysan de Waltone, one of the companions of the Conqueror, had killed two nuns and a priest. He married Avice of Clare, and was succeeded by his son, Nicholas.
3. Nicholas de Stafford was sheriff of Staffordshire, in the time of King Henry I. This feudal lord was succeeded by his son, Robert.
4. Robert de Stafford was sheriff of Staffordshire from the 2nd to the end of the 6th year, inclusive, of the reign of King Henry II., and in six years afterwards paid towards the marriage portion of the king's daughter 60 marks for 60 knight's fees. He had at least the following children:
- 1. Robert de Stafford, at whose decease, about 1139, s.p. the feudal barony and lordships devolved upon his only sister and heiress, Milicent.
- 2. Milicent Stafford. See below.
  
  This Robert, the father of Robert, performed a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, and died about the year 1176, and was succeeded by his son, Robert.
5. Milicent Stafford married in the 5th year of King Richard I., a Staffordshire gentleman of ancient family, named Hervey Bagot. This Hervey paying a fine of 300 marks to the crown, had livery of his wife's inheritance, but in order to raise that sum he was obliged to sell the lordship of Drayton to the canons of St. Thomas, near Stafford. They had a son, Hervey, who succeeded his father.
6. Hervey de Stafford, the son and heir of this Hervey and Milicent, assuming his maternal surname, inherited the estates as Hervey de Stafford. This feudal lord was with King Henry III. at the siege of Bitham Castle, Lincolnshire, in the 5th year of that monarch's reign. He married Petronilla Ferrers, sister of William de Ferrers, Earl of Derby. They had the following children:
- 1. Hervey de Stafford. who d.s.p. in 1241, and was succeeded by his brother, Robert.
- 2. Robert de Stafford. See below.
  
  This Hervey, dying in 1237, was succeeded by his son, Hervey de Stafford, who d.s.p., and was succeeded by his brother, Robert.
7. Robert de Stafford, who in the 25th year of King Henry III.'s reign, upon doing homage, and paying 100 pounds for his relief, had livery of his lands. He was in the wars of Gascony in the 38th year of King Henry III., and in four years afterwards he had a military summons to march against the Welsh. He married Alice Corbert, daughter of Thomas Corbet, of Caus, co. Salop. He died in 1282.
8. Nicholas de Stafford was actively engaged against the Welsh, in the reign of King Edward I., and was killed before Droselan Castle, about 1293.
9. Edmund de Stafford, who distinguished himself in the Scottish wars, was summoned to parliament as a Baron, by King Edward I, from February 1299 to August 1308, the year of his death. He married Margaret Basset, daughter, and, at length, heir of Ralph, Lord Basset, of Drayton (who died in 1265). They had the following children:
- 1. Ralph de Stafford. See below.
- 2. Richard de Stafford, married Maud Camville, daughter and heir of Richard de Camville, of Clifton, and was styled "Sir Richard Stafford, of Clifton, Knight."
  
  Edmund de Stafford died in 1308, and was succeeded by his son, Ralph.
10. Ralph de Stafford, 2nd Baron Stafford, was born in 1299. He was summoned to parliament, from January 1337, to November 1350. He gained majority in the 17th year of King Edward II., and then doing his homage, had livery of his father's lands, and the next ensuing year, being made a knight "by bathing, and other sacred ceremonies, had robes, etc., as a banneret, allowed out of the king's wardrobe for the solemnity;" after which he soon became a personage of celebrity in the wars of King Edward III. He was engaged in Scotland for some years, and then he embarked for Brittany, where he was made prisoner at the siege of Nantes. In the 19th year of King Edward III., he was sent into Gascony, with Henry of Lancaster, Earl of Derby, commanding the forces that attacked Bergerath by sea. The next year he was constituted Seneschal of Aquitaine, when John, son and heir of Philip, King of France, coming to besiege Aguillon, where his lordship resided, he stoutly defended that palace against the whole power of the French, until King Edward came to his relief, and forced the enemy to raise the siege. After this, joining his troops with the army of King Edward III., he had a principal command in the van of the English army at the battle of Cressy. When Calais surrendered, he was appointed with Sir Walter Manny, and the Earl of Warwick, to take possession of that place for the king, and subsequently he was one of the ambassadors deputed to the cardinals of Naples and Claremont, to treat of peace between King Edward and Philip de Valois, then assuming the title of King of France. The next year he had license to make castles of his manor houses at Stafford and Nadeley. About this time he was elected a Knight of the Garter, being one of the original members of that order. In the 24th year of the reign of King Edward III., he was in commission with the bishop of Durham, and the Lords Percy and Nevill, to treat with the nobles of Scotland, at York, for a final peace between the two realms; for all which eminent services, he was created on March 5, 1351, Earl of Stafford, and constituted lieutenant and captain-general of the Duchy of Aquitaine. He married (1) Katherine Hastang, . They had a daughter as follows:
- 1. Margaret Stafford, who married her cousin, John de Stafford, Knight, of Bramshall. See below.
  
  This marriage above is not shown in all the referenced genealogical records. Thus, there is some question of its authenticity. All the references show other marriage below.
  
  He married (2) Margaret Audley, only daughter and heiress of Hugh de Audley, Baron Audley, 8th Earl of Gloucester in right of his wife, Margaret Clare, daughter of Gilbert de Clare and his wife, Joane Plantaganet, daughter of King Edward I. He acquired the Barony of Audley which is presumed to have merged in that of Stafford. They had the following children:
  - 1. Ralph Stafford, who died without issue during his father's lifetime, having married Maud Ferrers(?), daughter of Henry Ferrers(?), Earl of Derby.
  - 2. Hugh Stafford , 3rd Baron Stafford and 2nd Earl of Stafford, followed in the footsteps of his father in those martial times, and came very early into action, for at the age of seventeen he was in the wars of France, and again when he attained majority, being then in the retinue of the Black Prince. At the period he succeeded to the honors of his family, he was twenty-eight years of age, and he was distinguished in the wars of Edward III., and in those at the beginning of King Richard II.'s time. In the 9th year of the latter monarch, he undertook a pilgrimage to the Holy Sepulchre, and on his return died at Rhodes, in October 1386. He married Philippa Beauchamp daughter of Thomas Beauchamp, Earl of Warwick, descendant of the Sureties Roger and Hugh Bigod. They had the following children:
    - 1. Ralph de Stafford, who was murdered in 1385 by John Holland (Holand), half-brother of King Richard II., d.s.p.
    - 2. Thomas de Stafford, 4th Baron Stafford, and 3rd Earl of Stafford, in the 14th year of King Richard II., making proof of his age, and doing his homage, had livery of his lands, and about the same time, at the decease of Ralph Basset, the last Lord Basset, of Drayton, was found to be one of his co-heirs. Thus, Margaret Basset, great aunt of the above mentioned Ralph, Lord Basset, was the wife of Edmund, 1st Lord Stafford, the earl's great grandfather. For this inheritance he had a contest with the Shirleys. Thomas de Stafford was in the wars of France, in the 15th year of King Richard II, under the conduct of Thomas of Woodstock, Duke of Gloucester, whose daughter, Anne Plantaganet, he had married, but d.s.p. in 1392, when he was succeeded by his brother, William.
    - 3. William de Stafford, 5th Baron Stafford, and 4th Earl of Stafford, was born in 1378. He was but fourteen years of age when he came to the title, and in ward to the Duke of Gloucester. He died three years after, d.s.p., and the honors devolved to his brother, Edmund.
    - 4. Edmund de Stafford, 6th Baron Stafford, and 5th Earl of Stafford, was in the 22nd year of the reign of King Richard II., by virtue of the king's special license, married Anne Plantaganet, sister and heir of Humphrey Plantaganet, Earl of Buckingham, and widow of Thomas Stafford, 3rd Earl of Stafford, his eldest brother (which marriage of the said Thomas and Anne had never been consummated, owing to the tender years of the earl). At the coronation of King Henry IV., this Edmund, Earl of Stafford, was made a Knight of the Bath, as was also Hugh, his younger brother. He was subsequently made a Knight of the Garter, but he was killed soon after, at the battle of Shrewsbury, fighting on the part of the king, July 22, 1403. He married Anne, daughter of Thomas of Woodstock (son of King Edward III.) She died in 1438/39, and was buried at the Augustine Friars, Stafford. They had the following children:
      - 1. Humphrey de Stafford, his successor, Knight of the Garter, while fighting on the Lancastrian side at the Battle of Northampton, was killed July 27, 1460. He married Anne Nevill, daughter of Ralph de Nevill, and they had six sons and three daughters.
      - 2. Philippa Stafford, died young.
      - 3. Anne Stafford, married (1) Edmund Mortimer, Earl of March, and (2) John Holland, Earl of Huntington.
        
        Edmund Stafford was succeeded by his son, Humphrey.
    - 5. Hugh de Stafford. Knight of the Garter, married Elizabeth Bourchier, only daughter and heiress of Bartholomew Bourchier, Lord Bourchier, and was summoned to parliament as Baron Bourchier. He d.s.p. in 1420.
    - 6. Margaret Stafford, married Ralph de Nevill, 1st Earl of Westmoreland, a descendant of the Surety John FitzRobert.
    - 7. Katherine Stafford, married Michael de la Pole, son of Michael de la Pole, 2nd Earl of Suffolk, and grandson of William de la Pole, 1st Earl of Suffolk. Michael was born in 1368, and died at the siege of Harfleur, September 14, 1415. The greater part of his time was spent in combat in the French wars. They had the following children:
      - 1. Michael de la Pole, who died without issue in 1415, married Elizabeth Mowbray, daughter of Thomas de Mowbray, a descendant of the Surety William de Mowbray.
      - 2. William de la Pole, 4th Earl of Suffolk, Knight of the Garter, served for 24 years in the wars in France, 17 of which were in uninterrupted succession, without once visiting his native land. He was sentenced to banishment later, and while embarking for France his ship was boarded and he was decapitated on shipboard. He married Alice Chaucer, daughter of Thomas Chaucer, chief butler to Richard II., Henry IV., Henry V., and Henry VI., and Member of Parliament for Oxfordshire in most parliaments of 1400-1431 and at times was the Speaker of Parliament. Thomas was the son of Geoffrey Chaucer, the poet, whose wife was a sister of Catherine Roelt, wife of John of Gaunt. Alice was born about 1404 and died in 1475. Her first husband was Thomas Montague, 4th Earl of Salisbury, who served in France from the beginning of Henry V.'s invasion (1415) until his death in 1428. Alice's second husband, William de la Pole, was a fellow officer and the successor of her first husband. William de la Pole became a scapegoat for the disasters in France and was accused of being pro-French. He escaped to sea from a London mob, but was captured in the English Channel. He was taken aboard the "Nicholas of the Tower" and beheaded, to the delight of England. The Duchess lived on as widow for twenty-five years. There was issue.
      - 3. Son #3
      - 4. Son #4.
      - 5. Katherine de la Pole, Abbess of Barking.
      - 6. Elizabeth de la Pole, married John de Foix, Earl of Kendal.
      - 7. Isabel de la Pole, married Thomas Morley, Lord Morley
      - 8. Joane Stafford, married Thomas Holland, Earl of Kent.
  - 3. Beatrice Stafford, who was married three times. One of her marriages was to Thomas de Roos, who died in 1384. He was the 2nd son of William de Roos and his wife, Margery Badlesmere. He was the grandson of William de Roos, who married Maud (Matilda) Vaux, daughter of John de Vaux. He was great grandson of Robert de Roos, who married Isabel Albini, granddaughter of the Surety William de Albini. Thomas de Roos and his wife Beatrice Stafford had the following children:
    - 1. William de Roos, the eldest son, 7th Baron Roos, Knight of the Garter under King Henry IV, and Lord Treasurer of England, died at Belvoir September 1, 1414. He married Margaret Fitz Alan, daughter of John Fitz Alan (and his wife Elizabeth Despencer), a descendant of the Surety Robert de Vere.
    - 2. John de Roos
    - 3. Thomas de Roos
    - 4. Robert de Roos
    - 5. Margaret Roos, married Reynold de Grey.
    - 6. Elizabeth Roos, married Thomas Clifford.
  - 4. Joane Stafford, married to John Cherlton, son and heir of John Cherlton, Lord Powys.
  - 5. Elizabeth Stafford, married to Fulke le Strange.
    
    Ralph de Stafford died August 31, 1372; and was buried at Tunbridge, and was succeeded by his only surviving son, Hugh.
11. Margaret Stafford, daughter of Ralph de Stafford, Earl of Stafford, by his first wife, Katherine Hastang, married John Stafford, son of William Stafford, of Bramshall, Staffs. John Stafford was a Knight of Bramshall, co. Worcester, descended from Hervey de Stafford and his wife, Milicent. They had a son, Ralph.
12. Ralph Stafford of Grafton, Bromsgrove, co. Worcester, died March 1, 1410. He married Maud Hastings, baptized February 2, 1358-59, daughter of John Hastings of Leamington House., co. Warwick.
13. Humphrey Stafford, Knight of Grafton, co. Warwick, was born in 1384 and died February 20, 1419. He married Elizabeth Brindette, daughter of John Brindette, Knight of Huncote.
14. Humphrey Stafford, Knight of Grafton, married Eleanor Alyesbury, daughter of Thomas Alyesbury, Knight, and a long line of noble ancestors.
15. Elizabeth Stafford married Richard de Beauchamp, Knight of the Bath, 2nd Baron Beauchamp of Powyck. They had three children as follows:
- 1. Elizabeth Beauchamp
- 2. Anne Beauchamp. See below.
- 3. Margaret Beauchamp
16. Anne Beauchamp, born in 1462, died in 1535, married Richard Lygon, Knight, of Arle Court, co. Gloucester.

See the continuation of this lineage in the Lygon Line.

[Contents] [Next] [Previous] [Top] [Home] [Mail]