Anne Couvent (Voyageur Mother) to Louis VIII, King of France

Louis VIII (1187-1226), the Lion, King of France in 1223

THE LONGUEVAL RESEARCH PROJECT (2007), from the Mémoires de la Société généalogique canadienne française (Memoirs of the French-Canadian Genealogical Society) published an article titled "Les origins de Philippe Amiot (Hameau), de son éspouse Anne Couvent et de leur neveu Toussaint Ledran." (“The origins of Philippe Amiot (Hameau), his wife Anne Couvent and their nephew Toussaint Ledran.”).  

In the article the research team of the Longueval Project established the ancestry through Anne Couvent, and her mother Antointette Longueval back to King Louis VIII of France. The project also claims to trace Anne's ancestry back to King Henry III of England, but I have not been able to find those connections.

Some of my distant cousins should be able to make a connect through one of my ancestors listed below.

MY ANCESTRY FROM LOUIS VIII, KING OF FRANCE, THROUGH ANNE COUVENT, TO LYDIA BROWN BAILEY (MY GRANDMOTHER) LOOKS LIKE THIS:

Louis VIII, King of France (1187 - 1226) - my 26th great-grandfather

Robert I de France, Comte d'Artois (1216 - 1250)- son of Louis VIII roi de France

Robert II d' Artois Count d’Artois (1249 - 1302) - son of Robert I de France, Comte d'Artois

Philippe I d'Artois - son of Robert II d' Artois Count d’Artois

Marie d'Artois (1291 - 1365) - daughter of Philippe I d'Artois

Marie de Namur (van Dampierre) (1322 - 1355) - daughter of Marie d'Artois

Yolande de Bar (1342 - 1410) - daughter of Marie de Namur (van Dampierre)

Jeanne De Grancey ( - 1422) - daughter of Yolande de Bar

Marie de Châteauvillain (1365 - 1423) - daughter of Jeanne De Grancey

Robert de Sarrebruche, de Commercy I (1400 - 1460) - son of Marie de Châteauvillain

Jeanne de Sarrebruche (1436 - 1492) - daughter of Robert de Sarrebruche, de Commercy I

Francois de Barbancon Seigneur de la Frette (1470 - 1510) - son of Jeanne de Sarrebruche

Marguerite de Barbançon (1480 - ) - daughter of Francois de Barbancon Seigneur de la Frette

François de Joyeuse, de Champigneulles (1515 - 1597) - son of Marguerite de Barbançon

Jean de Joyeuse, de Champigneulle (1540 - 1607) - son of François de Joyeuse, de Champigneulles

Louise de Joyeuse (1565 - 1616) - daughter of Jean de Joyeuse, de Champigneulle

Antoinette De Longuevale (1580 - 1640) - daughter of Louise de Joyeuse

Anne Convent (Couvent) (1605 - 1675) - daughter of Antoinette De Longuevale

Mathieu Amiot (Amyot) Sieur de Villeneuve (1628 - 1688) - son of Anne Convent (Couvent)

Catherine-Ursule Amiot (1664 - 1715) - daughter of Mathieu Amiot (Amyot) Sieur de Villeneuve

Etienne Duquet dit Desrochers (1695 - 1762) - son of Catherine-Ursule Amiot

Marie Madeleine Duquet (1734 - 1791) - daughter of Etienne Duquet dit Desrochers

Gabriel Pinsonneau (1770 - 1807) - son of Marie Madeleine Duquet

Gabriel (Gilbert) Passino (Passinault) (Pinsonneau) (1803 - 1877) - son of Gabriel Pinsonneau

Lucy Passino (Pinsonneau) (1836 - 1917) - daughter of Gabriel (Gilbert) Passino (Passinault) (Pinsonneau)

Abraham Lincoln Brown (1864 - 1948) - son of Lucy Passino (Pinsonneau)

Lydia Corinna Brown (1891 - 1971) - daughter of Abraham Lincoln Brown, my grandmother

NOTE:  If you found any of your ancestors listed above then you might also like my other blog...

Ripples from La Prairie Voyageur Canoes -- My Voyageur Ancestry

http://laprairie-voyageur-canoes.blogspot.com/2017/10/ripples-from-la-prairie-voyageur-canoes.html

Chatsworth Equine Cultural Heritage Organization's Parting Gift

This plaque located on the old Iverson Movie Ranch at the Garden of the Gods filming location pays homage to six-gun heroes and their gallant horses…

"Garden of the Gods was part of the Iverson Movie Location Ranch which flourished from 1912 until the late 1960s,  the golden era of the "B" Western movies, and was known as the "most shot up location in movie history."

Hollywood cowboys Rex Allen, Gene Autry, William Boyd (Hopalong Cassidy), Johnny Mack Brown, Sunset Carson, Gary Cooper, Ray "Crash" Corrigan, Eddie Dean, "Wild" Bill Elliott, William S. Hart, Hoot Gibson, Buck Jones, Allan "Rocky" Lane, Lash LaRue, Robert Livingston, Ken Maynard, Tim McCoy, Tom Mix, Clayton Moore (the Lone Ranger), George O'Brien, Roy Rogers, Randolph Scott, Charles Starrett (the Durango Kid), Bob Steele, and John Wayne, are a few of the hundreds who rode here with their trusted horses, and  left indelible hoof prints on these trails.

We pay  homage to those six-gun heroes and their gallant horses.  Thank you for the memories.

Chatsworth Equine Cultural Heritage Organization

In cooperation with Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy & Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority"

When we created the "Chatsworth Equine Cultural Heritage Organization" in 2000, we wrote the following mission statement designed to fight for horse-keeping rights and to preserve the history and culture of horses in Chatsworth:

MISSION STATEMENT

The Chatsworth Equine Cultural Heritage Organization (Chatsworth ECHO) is a grass roots group of horse owners, horse enthusiasts, and property owners in Chatsworth, that has discovered a need for a public voice to protect horse-keeping zoning, to protect our trails, to keep them safe, and to create a public awareness for equine safety. We believe we may be the last of a rich equine culture that has existed in Chatsworth for more than a hundred years. We are a 501(C)(3) not for profit, educational organization that is dedicated to advocating for Chatsworth's equestrian lifestyle.

Our primary goals are:

To protect and preserve horses as a vital part of the collective experience of Chatsworth. Horses are a living link to the history of Chatsworth; without horses, the economy, history, and character of Chatsworth would be profoundly different.

To protect horse-keeping zoning and property rights.
 
To protect and preserve Chatworth's equestrian culture.
 
To protect and preserve existing equestrian trails, easements, and access to equestrian trails.
 
To establish a voice in public affairs, such as planning commission meetings, city council meetings, and other governmental hearings that may affect equestrian trails, easements, and access to equestrian trails.
 
To ensure that new equestrian trails are constructed as mandated by subdivision map approval, by community plan, or by proposed state, city, or federal park criteria.
 
To protect and conserve the local environment around the existing equestrian trails of the Chatsworth community.
 
To keep equestrian trails safe from dumping of hazardous waste and trash.
 
To keep riders safe from undesirable individuals who are loitering or camping in and around equestrian trails.
 
To establish a public awareness of equestrian - vehicle safety.

Then a few years later, in 2003, when I established the Chatsworth Neighborhood Council's first Equestrian Committee I used the exact same language for its mission statement. 

That being done there was no need to continue ECHO, and in 2009, we agreed to disband. The board members voted to use the remaining bank balance to work with the Santa Monica Conservancy to put up a plaque in the Garden of the Gods as a way to remember the legacy of movie horses and cowboy stars that made Chatsworth the Western icon that it will always be.

As a cowboy activist I've worked for many years to protect horse-keeping in Chatsworth. Here are a few links that reflect that history...

Horses vs Houses http://a-drifting-cowboy.blogspot.com/2011/10/cowboy-culture-horses-vs-houses.html

Cowboy's lament: thoughts about valley secession http://a-drifting-cowboy.blogspot.com/2011/10/cowboy-culture-cowboys-lament.html

Cowboy Culture -- Unlikely compañeros http://a-drifting-cowboy.blogspot.com/2011/11/cowboy-culture-unlikely-companeros.html

Just A Pile Of Rocks Or An Old West Icon http://a-drifting-cowboy.blogspot.com/2014/12/just-pile-of-rocks-or-old-west-icon.html

Vaqueros at San Fernando Valley Roundup by James Walker 1870s

San Fernando Valley Horses and Movies Are Forever Linked http://a-drifting-cowboy.blogspot.com/2012/08/san-fernando-valley-horses-and-movies.html

To learn more about Western movie locations in Chatsworth and their filmography, go to Chatsworth Rock Stars http://a-drifting-cowboy.blogspot.com/2012/05/chatsworths-rock-stars.html

About the Iverson Movie Ranch...

In the San Fernando Valley's backyard, there remains a fantasyland that was forever made famous by Hollywood…

A place where Superman once captured the evil Luthor in his hidden Stoney Point cave, where Batman wrestled a criminal on top of a speeding locomotive, where Tarzan the Ape Man found an ancient elephant graveyard, and where John Wayne's fighting Seabees pushed a Japanese tank off the same cliff that Nyoka used to escape Vultura’s killer ape.

The place is Boulder Pass. It was the jungles of India and Africa, the sands of the Sahara, the Khyber Pass between Pakistan and Afghanistan, the plains of Montana, and the High Sierras and the Rocky Mountains all rolled into one. It was the scene of stagecoach holdups, posses chasing outlaws on owlhoot (outlaw) trails, Indians attacking white settlers in remote cabins, flying rocket men, and unearthly spaceship landings. It was a land for make-believe. It could be anything a Hollywood director fancied.

Boulder Pass is a fictitious name borrowed from an old B-Western movie. The real place is the Santa Susana Pass in Chatsworth, California. For nearly three-quarters of a century, the Santa Susana Pass was home to the granddaddy of all movie location ranches--the Iverson Movie Ranch.

Here's a chronological link to hundreds of film titles lensed in Chatsworth...
http://a-drifting-cowboy.blogspot.com/2012/04/celebrating-100-years-of-chatsworth_30.html

To learn more about Jerry England and his books visit http://www.cowboyup.com/

The Fur Trade Lives On in the Art of Yesterday

Voyageur Canoes...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_XR-1-54zvY

Ripples from La Prairie Voyageur Canoes

1797, engagement for Gabriel Pinsonneau

Ripples from La Prairie Voyageur Canoes

I have been putting together a collection of essays and family histories about the voyageur ancestors of Lucy Pinsonneau (1836 - 1917), my 2nd great grandmother. 

The collection titled, Ripples from La Prairie Voyageur Canoes, covers well over 100 of Lucy's ancestors, from more than 25 families, that were engaged in the fur trade between the 1620s and 1840s in New France and later Canada. 

Ripples from La Prairie Voyageur Canoes, is available here...

http://laprairie-voyageur-canoes.blogspot.com/2017/03/ripples-introduction-contents-and.html

Here are the links to individual chapters:

Introduction, Contents and Chapter One - La Prairie de la Magdeleine

http://laprairie-voyageur-canoes.blogspot.com/2017/03/ripples-introduction-contents-and.html

Chapter Two - Our Earliest Fur Trade Ancestors

http://laprairie-voyageur-canoes.blogspot.com/2017/03/ripples-from-la-prairie-voyageur-canoes_3.html

Chapter Three - La Prairie's Barrette Family

http://laprairie-voyageur-canoes.blogspot.com/2017/03/ripples-from-la-prairie-voyageur-canoes_33.html

Chapter Three - La Prairie's Bourassa Family

http://laprairie-voyageur-canoes.blogspot.com/2017/03/ripples-from-la-prairie-voyageur-canoes_77.html

Chapter Three - La Prairie's Boyer Family

http://laprairie-voyageur-canoes.blogspot.com/2017/03/ripples-from-la-prairie-voyageur-canoes_62.html

Chapter Three - La Prairie's Deneau Family

http://laprairie-voyageur-canoes.blogspot.com/2017/03/ripples-from-la-prairie-voyageur-canoes_99.html

Chapter Three - La Prairie's Diel Family

http://laprairie-voyageur-canoes.blogspot.com/2017/03/ripples-from-la-prairie-voyageur-canoes_71.html

Chapter Three - La Prairie's Dupuis Family

http://laprairie-voyageur-canoes.blogspot.com/2017/03/ripples-from-la-prairie-voyageur-canoes_94.html

Chapter Three - La Prairie's Duquet Family

http://laprairie-voyageur-canoes.blogspot.com/2017/03/ripples-from-la-prairie-voyageur-canoes_69.html

Chapter Three - La Prairie's Gagne Family

http://laprairie-voyageur-canoes.blogspot.com/2017/03/ripples-from-la-prairie-voyageur-canoes_30.html

Chapter Three - La Prairie's Leber Family

http://laprairie-voyageur-canoes.blogspot.com/2017/03/ripples-from-la-prairie-voyageur-canoes_41.html

Chapter Three - La Prairie's Lemieux Family

http://laprairie-voyageur-canoes.blogspot.com/2017/03/ripples-from-la-prairie-voyageur-canoes_76.html

Chapter Three - La Prairie's Migner dit Lagacé Family

http://laprairie-voyageur-canoes.blogspot.com/2017/03/ripples-from-la-prairie-voyageur-canoes_63.html

Chapter Three - La Prairie's Perras Family

http://laprairie-voyageur-canoes.blogspot.com/2017/03/ripples-chapter-three-perras-family.html

Chapter Three - La Prairie's Pinsonneau Family

http://laprairie-voyageur-canoes.blogspot.com/2017/03/ripples-chapter-three-pinsonneau-family.html

Chapter Three - La Prairie's Poupart Family

http://laprairie-voyageur-canoes.blogspot.com/2017/03/ripples-chapter-three-poupart-family.html

Chapter Three - La Prairie's Vielle Family

http://laprairie-voyageur-canoes.blogspot.com/2017/03/ripples-chapter-three-vielle-family.html

Chapter Four, Voyageur Families of Trois-Rivières and Quebec

http://laprairie-voyageur-canoes.blogspot.com/2017/03/ripples-chapter-four-voyageur-families.html

Chapter Four, Quebec's Amiot Family

http://laprairie-voyageur-canoes.blogspot.com/2017/03/ripples-chapter-four-amiot-family.html

Chapter Four, Quebec's Beauchamp Family

http://laprairie-voyageur-canoes.blogspot.com/2017/03/ripples-chapter-four-beauchamp-family.html

Chapter Four, Quebec's Cloutier Family & Jean Mignault dit Chatillon

http://laprairie-voyageur-canoes.blogspot.com/2017/03/ripples-chapter-four-cloutier-family.html

Chapter Four, Quebec's Cusson Family

http://laprairie-voyageur-canoes.blogspot.com/2017/03/ripples-chapter-four-cusson-family.html

Chapter Four, Quebec's Dardenne Family

http://laprairie-voyageur-canoes.blogspot.com/2017/03/ripples-chapter-four-dardenne-family.html

Chapter Four, Quebec's Desroches Family

http://laprairie-voyageur-canoes.blogspot.com/2017/03/ripples-chapter-four-deroches-family.html

Chapter Four, Quebec's Godefroy Family

http://laprairie-voyageur-canoes.blogspot.com/2017/03/ripples-chapter-four-godefroy-family.html

Chapter Four, Quebec's Godet Family

http://laprairie-voyageur-canoes.blogspot.com/2017/03/ripples-chapter-four-godet-family.html

Chapter Four, Quebec's Miville Family

http://laprairie-voyageur-canoes.blogspot.com/2017/03/miville-family-joseph-miville-1669-1736.html

Chapter Four, Quebec's Moreau Family

http://laprairie-voyageur-canoes.blogspot.com/2017/03/ripples-chapter-four-moreau-family.html

Chapter Four, Quebec's Nepveu Family & Denise Sevestre

http://laprairie-voyageur-canoes.blogspot.com/2017/03/ripples-chapter-four-nepveu-family.html

Chapter Four, Quebec's Picard Family

http://laprairie-voyageur-canoes.blogspot.com/2017/03/ripples-chapter-four-picard-family.html

Chapter Four, Quebec's Rivet Family

http://laprairie-voyageur-canoes.blogspot.com/2017/03/ripples-chapter-four-rivet-family.html

Chapter Four, Quebec's Sedilot Family

http://laprairie-voyageur-canoes.blogspot.com/2017/03/ripples-chapter-four-sedilot-family.html

Chapter Five, Miscellaneous Fur Trade Ancestors

http://laprairie-voyageur-canoes.blogspot.com/2017/03/ripples-chapter-five-miscellaneous-fur.html

Chapter Six - Ancestors in 1600s Fur Trade Timeline

http://laprairie-voyageur-canoes.blogspot.com/2017/03/chapter-six-ancestors-in-1600s-fur.html

Chapter Six - Ancestors 1700s Fur Trade Timeline

http://laprairie-voyageur-canoes.blogspot.com/2017/03/chapter-six-ancestors-1700s-fur-trade.html

Chapter Seven, French Canadian Heritage of Lucy Pinsonneau

http://laprairie-voyageur-canoes.blogspot.com/2017/03/ripples-chapter-seven-french-canadian.html

Appendix One - French Era Fur Trade Forts, Posts and Depots

http://laprairie-voyageur-canoes.blogspot.com/2017/03/appendix-one-french-era-fur-trade-forts.html

About the Author

http://laprairie-voyageur-canoes.blogspot.com/2017/03/ripples-about-author.html

Bibliography

http://laprairie-voyageur-canoes.blogspot.com/2017/03/bibliography-introduction-contents-and.html

Endnotes

http://laprairie-voyageur-canoes.blogspot.com/2017/03/ripples-endnotes.html

Index - Ripples from La Prairie Voyageur Canoes

http://laprairie-voyageur-canoes.blogspot.com/2017/03/index-ripples-from-la-prairie-voyageur.html

Great Grandfather Canoes to Lac la Pluie (Rainy Lake)

Jean Baptiste Meunier (Mignier) said Lagassé (Lagacé) (1776–1835), my 4th great-grandfather, was born 24 Apr 1776 in Terrebonne, Quebec, Canada.  He died before 1835 in St-Laurent, Québec, Canada.  He married Marie Angelique Baret (Barette) dit Courville (1779 - 1815) 21 Oct 1799 in Laprairie, Quebec, Canada.

Jean Baptiste's Voyageur Contracts

(1800, Feb 14 - James & Andrew McGill hired Jean-Baptiste Meunier voyageur de Chambly to go to Mississippi, and spend the winter, notary Louis Chaboillez). From the Archives of Quebec, M620/1200.

(1803, Oct 6 - McTavish, Frobisher & Co. (North West Company) hired Jean-Baptiste Meunier voyageur de St-André-d’Argenteuil to go to Lac De La Pluie (Rainy Lake), notary Louis Chaboillez). From the Archives of Quebec.  Notes: Go through Michilimakinac if required, make two trips from Kamanatiguià Fort to Portage de la Montagne, and give six days of drudgery - and help carry the three canoes in the land.

Lineage

Jean-Baptiste Mignier (Minier) Lagasse (Lagace) (1776 - 1835) -- son of Jean-Baptiste Mignier (Meunier) Lagasse (Lagace)

Marie Emélie (Mary) Meunier Lagassé (1808 - 1883) -- daughter of Jean-Baptiste Mignier (Minier) Lagasse (Lagace)

Lucy Passino (1836 - 1917) -- daughter of Marie Emélie (Mary) Meunier Lagassé -- my 2nd great-grandmother

NOTES: 

• His father is: Jean-Baptiste Mignier (Meunier) Lagasse (Lagace) (1749 - 1828) -- my 5th great-grandfather,  was also a voyageur.

SEE: "Great-Grandfather Jean-Baptiste Meunier Meets the Poncas"

• By 1800 Rainy Lake and Rainy River were witnessing heavy travel. Here was the main route of the fur trade, the voyageurs' highway that linked the Great Lakes with outposts in the remote interior. Both the Hudson's Bay Co. and its rival, North West Co., had trading posts in Fort Frances.  Source: http://www.co.koochiching.mn.us/215/Rise-of-the-Fur-Trade

• Fort Lac la Pluie was a fur trade depot established by the North West Company sometime between 1775 and 1787. It was located on a high bank on the west side of modern Fort Frances, Ontario across from International Falls, Minnesota on the Rainy River downstream (west) of some rapids (Chaudière portage) where the river flows out of Rainy Lake. Upstream at the outlet of the lake was the old French post of Fort Saint Pierre (1731-1758).

The place was a depot rather than a trading post and served two purposes. By this time the trade had reached the rich Lake Athabasca country which was too far to reach from Montreal in one season. Each May, when the ice broke up, boats with trade goods would head west from Montreal and winterers with canoe-loads of fur would head east. They would meet at Grand Portage on Lake Superior, exchange goods and head back before the freezup. To further save time goods and furs would be shuttled between Grand Portage and Lac la Pluie. Second, it was a source of food. The voyageurs had no time to hunt and it was difficult to haul food from Montreal. Rainy Lake produced wild rice and fish. The fort also built kegs and canoes.  Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Lac_la_Pluie

1825 census Chateauguay, Quebec, Canada

• On the 1825 census (a few years before his death) Jean-Baptiste Meunier was living in Chateauguay, Huntingdon, Lower Canada.  His daughter Marie Emélie Meunier dit Lagassé and her husband Gabriel Pinsonneau, Lucy's parents, are also living in the same neighborhood.

Pennsylvania Dutch Folk Art in my DNA

Mom admiring my Pennsylvania Dutch folk art frame (1973)

Pennsylvania Dutch art is a distinctive folk style transplanted by European immigrants who settled in southeastern Pennsylvania. 

Characterized by the bold use of color and motifs that emphasize birds, flowers, and elaborate decoration, Pennsylvania Dutch art was nurtured on the isolated farms where those settlers made their homes. 

Beginning in the late seventeenth century, immigrants from Switzerland, the Palatinate, and the Upper Rhine regions of Germany arrived in Pennsylvania. 

For the most part, they were peasants, small farmers, and artisans. The Pennsylvania Germans were industrious people; they cleared the heavily wooded lands and tilled the soil to establish a new life in America. 

Agriculture was the major industry, but as society became more firmly rooted, farmer-craftsmen turned some of their energies to producing and decorating the many articles of daily life. 

By isolating themselves from outside influences, the Pennsylvania Germans were not assimilated into the mainstream of American culture until this century. Thus, for over two hundred years, Pennsylvania German (Dutch) art flourished to become an important element of the American folk art tradition.

Source above: http://www.nga.gov/content/ngaweb/features/slideshows/pennsylvania-german-folk-art-from-the-index-of-american-design.html

When I carved the frame for Joyce's mirror (above) I had no idea that I would ultimately discover my Pennsylvania Dutch roots over two decades later.  

Do you think DNA has anything to do for my interest in Pennsylvania Dutch art in the 1970s?

Who are the Pennsylvania Dutch?

The Pennsylvania Dutch are a cultural group formed by early German-speaking immigrants to Pennsylvania.

Many of these immigrants originated in what is today southwestern Germany (Rhineland-Palatinate and Baden-Württemberg).

Historically they have spoken the dialect of German known as Pennsylvania German or Pennsylvania Dutch. In this context, the word "Dutch" does not refer to the Dutch people (Nederlanders) or their descendants, but to Deitsch or Deutsch (German).

The Krefeld Germans

We are descended from one of thirteen Mennonite families from Krefeld, Germany who settled in Germantown, Pennsylvania in 1683.

The Krefeld, Germans arrived on board the galleon Concord. The ship is also known as the "German Mayflower". The Concord took sail on July 6, 1683, in Rotterdam under Captain William Jeffries with 57 passengers. The journey took 74 days to reach Philadelphia (Germantown) on October 6, 1683 (which was declared German-American Day in 1983).

Our Krefeld Ancestor Reynier Theissen (Tyson)

Reinert Tisen also known as Reynier Theissen or Tyson, our 8th great-grandfather, was one of the The Krefeld, Germans who arrived on the Concord.

He was the 4th great grandfather to President Theodore Roosevelt.  See: http://a-drifting-cowboy.blogspot.com/2012/02/cowboy-legacy-peaceable-folks-and-rough.html

Our Lineage:

Reynier Theissen (Tyson) (1659 - 1745) -- 8th great-grandfather

Mathias Tyson (1686 - 1727) son of Reynier Theissen (Tyson)

Margaret Tyson (1709 - 1752) daughter of Mathias Tyson

Joshua Hallowell (1751 - 1835) son of Margaret Tyson

Joseph Hallowell (1785 - 1872) son of Joshua Hallowell

Lt Rifford Randolph Hallowell (1816 - 1864) son of Joseph Hallowell

Amanda Merrio Hallowell (1842 - 1873) daughter of Lt Rifford Randolph Hallowell

Lillian Amanda Pierce (1867 - 1957) daughter of Amanda Merrio Hallowell

Frank Jackson Bailey (1886 - 1968) son of Lillian Amanda Pierce -- my grandfather

Was granddad descended from William the Conqueror?

The answer is a resounding maybe!

In my opinion all family history gets a bit murky once you are beyond the earliest census records (United States 1790 and England 1841) and parish church records (about 1538 in England, and as far back as 1303 in France).

At some point you have to accept accounts in "history books" written by someone who may have had a bias slant on the stories outcome.

It has been claimed every English monarch who followed William, including Queen Elizabeth II, is considered a descendant of the Norman-born king.

More importantly, many genealogists believe that approximately 25 percent of England's population today is also distantly related to him, as are countless Americans with British ancestry.

All that said, it's fun to consider we might actually be a distant relative of William the Conqueror.

One of the more interesting facts about William the Conqueror is that he spoke no English when he ascended the throne.  Like most nobles of his time, he was illiterate.

Thanks to the Norman invasion, French was spoken in England’s courts for centuries and completely transformed the English language, infusing it with new words.

1066 The Battle of Hastings
(excerpts from Wikipedia)

In 1066, England’s childless king, Edward the Confessor, died leaving multiple claimants from across Europe vying to succeed him on the throne.

It was thought that Edward, whose mother was from Normandy, had years earlier promised the throne to his first cousin once removed, William, the Duke of Normandy.

However before he drew his final breath on January 5, 1066, it was claimed that Edward made a deathbed conversion and specified his brother-in-law Harold Godwinson, the Earl of Wessex, was to be his successor.

Harold was crowned king shortly after Edward's death, but faced invasions by William of Normandie, his own brother Tostig and the Norwegian King Harald Hardrada (Harold III of Norway).

Hardrada and Tostig defeated a hastily gathered army of Englishmen at the Battle of Fulford on 20 September 1066, and were in turn defeated by Harold at the Battle of Stamford Bridge five days later.

The deaths of Tostig and Hardrada at Stamford Bridge left William as Harold's only serious opponent. While Harold and his forces were recovering, William landed his invasion forces in the south of England at Pevensey on 28 September 1066 and established a beachhead for his conquest of the kingdom. Harold was forced to march south swiftly, gathering forces as he went.

The English army (7,000 strong) was composed almost entirely of infantry and had few archers, whereas only about half of William's invading force (10,000 strong) was infantry, the rest split equally between cavalry and archers.

Harold appears to have tried to surprise William, but scouts found his army and reported its arrival to William, who marched from Hastings to the battlefield to confront Harold.

The battle lasted from about 9 am to dusk. Early efforts of the invaders to break the English battle lines had little effect; therefore, the Normans adopted the tactic of pretending to flee in panic and then turning on their pursuers. ,

Harold's death, probably near the end of the battle, led to the retreat and defeat of most of his army.

William was crowned as king on Christmas Day 1066.

Our Lineage from William the Conqueror

The following lineage was pieced together with the help of ancestry (dot) com records supplied by many hundreds of researchers:

William the Conqueror (1024 - 1087) -- 27th great-grandfather

King Henry de Normandie I (1068 - 1135) -- son of William the Conqueror

Matilda England (1102 - 1167) -- daughter of King Henry de Normandie I

Henry II Plantagenet (1133 - 1189) -- son of Matilda England

King John Lackland Plantagenet (1167 - 1216) -- son of Henry II Plantagenet

Henry III Plantagenet (1207 - 1272) -- son of King John Lackland Plantagenet

Edmund Crouchback Plantagenet (1245 - 1296) -- son of Henry III Plantagenet

Henry 3rd Earl of Lancaster Plantagenet (1281 - 1345) -- son of Edmund Crouchback Plantagenet

Eleanor Countess of Arundel Plantagenet (1311 - 1372) -- daughter of Henry 3rd Earl of Lancaster Plantagenet

Richard Fitzalan III, Earl of Arundel, Earl of Surrey (1346 - 1397) -- son of Eleanor Countess of Arundel Plantagenet

Elizabeth Duchess Norfolk Baroness of Fitz Alan (1366 - 1425) -- daughter of Richard Fitzalan III, Earl of Arundel, Earl of Surrey

Lady Joan Baroness Stanley Goushill (1401 - 1460) -- daughter of Elizabeth Duchess Norfolk Baroness of Fitz Alan

Katherine Stanley (1430 - 1498) -- daughter of Lady Joan Baroness Stanley Goushill

Christoffer Savage (1473 - 1513) -- son of Katherine Stanley

Richard Savage (1520 - 1551) -- son of Christoffer Savage

Susan Savage (1550 - 1576) -- daughter of Richard Savage

George French (1570 - 1647) -- son of Susan Savage

Ann French (1610 - 1669) -- daughter of George French

George Mason (1629 - 1686) -- son of Ann French

Richard Mason (1670 - 1730) -- son of George Mason (immigrant ancestor)

William Mason (1692 - 1745) -- son of Richard Mason

Margaret Mason (1725 - 1752) -- daughter of William Mason

James Boyd (1757 - 1791) -- son of Margaret Mason

James Boyd (1783 - 1854) -- son of James Boyd (end of my sourced records)

Valentine Boyd (1811 - 1870) -- son of James Boyd

Sophia Boyd (1836 - 1908) -- daughter of Valentine Boyd

David Jackson Bailey (1865 - 1949) -- son of Sophia Boyd

Frank Jackson Bailey (1886 - 1968) -- son of David Jackson Bailey -- our grandfather

The Battle of 1066 as seen in "The Animated Bayeux Tapestry."

The Bayeux Tapestry is an embroidered cloth nearly 230 feet long and 20 inches tall, which depicts the events leading up to the Norman conquest of England concerning William, Duke of Normandy, and Harold, Earl of Wessex, later King of England, and culminating in the Battle of Hastings.

A well done animated account of the Bayeux Tapestry and the history of the Battle of Hastings can be seen here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LtGoBZ4D4_E

Animated Bayeux Tapestry Credits:

The Animated Bayeux Tapestry was created as a student project while at Goldsmiths College. Just as the historic original embroidery does, the animation depicts the lead up to to the Norman Invasion of Britain in 1066. Starts about halfway through the original work at the appearance of Halley's Comet and concludes at the Battle of Hastings. Marc Sylvan redid the soundtrack to include original music and sound effects.