The ancestry of the ‘Walter son of Gilbert’ who was given the forfeited lands of John Comyn in 1326 by Robert Brus can only be seen through the perspective of a ‘game of thrones’, in which Robert was securing the military service of a powerful family. This family would have been tenants of the Brus on the basis of providing such service, and would necessarily have had familial connection. It could not have been otherwise. The cost of failure in this game was usually a harrowing death, a fact that concentrated the mind on the choice of allies.
‘Walter son of Gilbert’ was not a newcomer to this game, not someone whose ‘name was the same’, and who was not from a family who were substantial players in it over generations. Such a strict confine, based on the social and political realities of the time, does not suit those who embrace a ‘spontaneous approach’ – one which would have totally unconnected families transplanted into a time and space to intermarry with those of no connection – the antithesis of the English kinship system. The advantage to its adherents being that they can concoct genealogies that encompass what they perceive to be their own, supported by invalid interpretation of DNA findings, invalid for the reason of suggesting genealogies which political and social norms would rule to be absurd. The path to ‘Walter son of Gilbert’ necessarily has to be a clear and unambigious one; one closely connected to the family of Brus, not some bramble-strewn one, that strains perception as it contorts its way through a forest of make-believe.
It is is such a forlorn place that much Hamilton genealogy belongs, as commented on by antiquarians of old. When stripped of the needs of the living to suppose a connection to themselves, what is left is the highest probability that ‘Walter son of Gilbert’ was of the Colville family. There are obviously other families that bear the name of Hamilton, but they are of no consequence to the baronial Hamiltons, unless by such means as adoption.
In what follows, I have charted the connection of various families to that of Brus, as seen through a prism of Stuteville; as tilting a picture to see a different aspect. The relationship between the wife of William de Colville and Nicholas de Stuteville has been corrected.
1. Robert de Stuteville, fl. 1106
2. Robert de Stuteville, fl. 1176.
3. Osmond de Stuteville.
4. Roger de Stuteville, of Burton Agnes, held of the Brus fee, Sheriff of Northumberland; son of Ralph de Merlay and Juliana of Dunbar, dau. of Gospatric 1st Earl of Dunbar, d. 1138.
5. Alice de Stuteville, m. Roger de Merlay, of Morpeth.
6. Roger de Merlay, m. Margery de Umfreville, sister of Gilbert de Umfreville, who m. in 1243, as her second husband, Maud, d. & h. and heir of Malcolm, Earl of Angus and Mary de Berkeley; relict of John Comyn, who in her right, became Earl of Angus. Margery and Gilbert de Umfreville were issue of Richard de Umfreville, son of Odinel of Umfraville of Prudhoe, Northumberland; the br. of Margaret d’ Umfraville, who m. William d’ Albini, of Belvoir (close kin of the Colvilles), d. 1236, father of Isabel d’ Aubigny, d. 1301, who m. William de Ros, 2st Baron Ros of Helmsley; father of:
(1) William de Ros, of Helmsley, who m. Margaret de Neville, d. 1372, dau. do Ralph de Neville, 2nd Lord Neville of Raby.
(2) Mary de Ros, who m. William de Braose, of Bramber, father of William de Braose of Westneston, father of Peter de Braose of Wiston; father of Beatrix de Braose, wife of Hugh Shirley* of Eatington, co. Warw; father of Joan Shirley, wife of Robert Newmarch of Womersley, co Yorks., father of Elizabeth Newmarch, wife of John de Neville, Sheriff of Lincoln 1439, 1452, descendant of Ralph Neville, 2nd Lord Neville of Raby.
(3) Isabel de Ros, wife of Walter, Lord Fauconberg, d. 1318. (His family intermarried with the Colvilles).
(4) Robert de Ros, of Gedney, who m. Margaret de Brus, as follows.
(*’b.c.1362, s. and h. of Sir Thomas Shirley of Shirley by Isabel, uterine or bastard sis. of Ralph, 3rd Lord Basset of Drayton; nephew and h. of Lord Basset. m. bef. 1390, Beatrice (c.1366-20 Apr. 1440), da. of Sir Peter Brewes (d.1377) of Wiston, Suss., sis. and event. h. of Sir John Brewes (d.1426), 1s. Sir Ralph, 5da. Kntd. bef. June 1392′. (J.S. Roskell, L. Clark, C. Rawcliffe., eds., ‘Hist. Parl.’, 1993).
6. Isabel de Merlay, m. Roger FitzJohn, of Clavering, son of John of Clavering and Ada de Baliol, dau. of Hugh de Baliol of Barnard Castle; sister of John de Baliol, who m. Devorgilla of Galloway (granddau. of David, Earl of Huntingdon, heir to the Scottish throne until 1198); their son being John Baliol, King of Scots from 1292 to 1296, as great-great-great-grandson of David I through his mother (and therefore one generation further than his main rival Robert Brus, 5th Lord of Annandale, grandfather of Robert Brus, King of Scots), being senior in primogeniture but not in proximity of blood. Roger FitzJohn obtained the lands of Richard de Umfraville in consideration of his services in the baronial war. (Magna Carta Sureties). Ada de Baliol was the great-aunt of John Baliol, King of Scotland. Roger Fitz-John was s. by his son, Robert Fitz-Roger, eminent in the Scottish wars of King Edward I., under whose overall command served Gilbert de Colville, as follows.
5. Beatrice, wife of William de Colville.
5. Agnes, wife of Hubert de St Quintin, tenant of Peter de Brus, father of: Margaret de Brus, who m. Robert de Ros, as follows.
(1. Robert de Ros.
2. Robert de Ross, m. Isabel d’Albini (dau. of William ‘the Lion’ d’Albini; son of William d’Albini and Margeret de Umfraville, dau of Odonel de Umfraville; aunt of Walter de Colville’s wife).
3. Robert de Ros, m. Margaret de Brus.
3. William de Ros (1st Baron Ros of Helmsley, claimant of the crown of Scotland in 1292, as the great-grandson of Isabel, dau. of William I, ‘The Lion’, King of Scotland, relict of Robert de Brus.
4. William de Ross 2nd Baron Ros of Helmsley, m. Margaret de Badlesmere, dau. of Bartholomew de Badlesmere, 1st Baron Badlesmere (who held Normanton and Hameldun/Hamilton; his tenants being the Colvilles in the former place, and probably in the latter; the overlordship at various times being the tenure of the Umfravilles. On April 28, 1316, Bartholomew was one of four men who were authorised to grant safe conducts to Robert Brus and other Scots so that they could come to England to negotiate a truce.
5. Alice de Ros, m. Richard de Braose, of Stinton, Norfolk.
6. Margaret de Braose, m. Roger de Colville of Bytham Castle (b. 1251. d. 1287). William de Brus (br. of Sir Robert de Brus, 6th Lord of Annandale; father of Robert de Brus, King of Scotland, b. 1274, d. 1329, grantor to Walter FitzGilbert), was granted wardship on May 8, 1288 of the lands late of Roger de Coleville, son of Walter, as follows, tenant in chief of Bytham and other places in co. Lincoln, reserving to the King the marriage of the heirs during their minority (Calendar of the Patent Rolls, 1272-1281, p. 247). Roger de Colville was the br. of Gilbert de Colville, b. ca. 1255. The Writs of Military Service show (1292) ‘Gilbertus Coleville’ performing military service in Scotland due from ‘Gilbertus de Neville’, his kinsman, through the Merlays. Gilbert de Neville (elected a Knight of the co. of Lincoln in 1290) performing such service in 1277 due to Gilbert de Gand. (As given previously, the Gands and Colvilles were kin through intermarriage with the Albinis).
3. Robert de Stuteville.
4. William de Stuteville, d.1203.
5. Robert de Stuteville, d. 1205.
4. Nicholas de Stuteville. ‘In the year last named King Richard the First died, on the 6th day of April, and prior to its close Gunnora de Gaunt had remarried Nicholas de Stuteville, brother of William de Stuteville, and eventually his heir, baron of Lyddal, a castle in Cumberland, as we learn from this entry on the roll of Oblates of the 1st year of the reign of King John, his successor. Leicestershire: The bishop of London gives to the lord the king twenty marks for having a recognition from the feast of the Holy Trinity in eight days before the justiciaries at Westminster if Nicolas de Stuteville and Gunnora his wife have had entrance into the vill of Saltby with its appurtenances, which is the dower of the same Gunnora of the gift of Robert de Gand, late her husband, except by the same Robert, who, as is said, had no right in that vill except through Alice, the grandmother of Maurice, son of Robert the younger, whom the aforesaid Robert de Gand took to wife with her inheritance’ (Royal Archaeological Institute).
5. Nicholas de Stuteville, d. 1232, m. Devorguilla (of unknown family; not mentioned in Liber Vita of Durham), who m. (2) Laurence de Abernathy.
6. Joan de Stuteville, m. Hugh de Wake (overlord of the Colvilles in Bourne), the father of Baldwin Wake, who m. Hawise de Quincy, dau. of Robert de Quincy. (As given previously, the Quinceys were interm. with the Colvilles, the former adopting the armorial of the latter). This Baldwin Wake was the father of John Wake, 1st Baron Wake of Liddel; the father of Margaret Wake, the wife of John Comyn, Lord of Badenoch (d. Bannockburn 1314), br. of Joan Comyn (d. bef. 1326), who m. David de Strathbogie, Earl of Atholl, d. 1326 (whose dau., Isabel, was the mistress of Edward Brus, Earl of Carrick, br. of Robert Brus), whose confiscated lands were given by the said Robert de Brus to Sir Adam Gordon, whose dau. m. David FitzWalter.
6. Margaret, wife of William Mastoc.
4. Eustace de Stuteville, half-brother, ob. ante 1242.
5. Robert de Stuteville. Joan, wife of Hugh de Wake mentioned above, obtained livery of the lands of this Robert.
(1. Laurence de Abernethy, perhaps uncle of:
2. Hugh de Abernethy. 3. Alexander de Abernethy. SC 1/32/67: Edward I to Alexander de Abernathy, keeper between the mountains and the sea of Scotland, or his lieutenant: licence for the export of wool. Apr 1, 1304. SC 8/10/465: Alexander de Abirnethy states that custody of the whole land from the River Forth to the mountains of Scotland was granted to him by the present King Edward at Michaelmas in the thirty-first year of his reign, and because of this he has kept a retinue of sixty armed men, excluding foot-soldiers, when all his neighbours and peers have dismissed their retinues, so as to be able to take on any of the stronger men in his area of jurisdiction who might disturb the peace. 1305. C 47/22/5/71:
Letter from Sir Alexander Abernethyin Forfar reporting the progress of Bruce, and a prophecy of Merlin alleged in his favour. May 15, 1307.
4. Margaret de Abernethy, m. John Stewart, 1st Earl of Angus, d. 1331; forfeited by Robert de Umfreville, bef. 1314, for choosing the losing side in Wars of Scottish Independence.
5. Thomas Stewart, m. Margaret Sinclair, a dau. of William de St Clair of Rosslyn.
6. Elizabeth Stewart, m. Alexander Hamilton of Innerwick, son of John Hamilton, son of Walter FitzGilbert.
4. Mary Abernethy m (2) (1324) Sir David de Lindsay.
5. James Lindsay. Of the Scottish Colvilles: Thomas de Colville, ob. ante February 4, 1403, born in Formartine, Aberdeenshire, m. Margaret Lindsay, dau. of James de Lindsay and Margaret Keith, dau. of Sir William Keith and Margaret Fraser. Margaret Keith’s sister, Janet Keith, m. David Hamilton of Cadzow, son of David FitzWalter (FitzGilbert). The convergence here of the two main branches of the Colville family in the same sphere as the Hamiltons strongly indicates that they were all one and the same; illustrating the medieval imperative of continuous lines of (mutual interest) association.
The Stuteville genealogy is validated by the records of the Star Chamber:
Thomas Wake de Liddel. Addressees: King and council. (Nature of request: Wake shows by reciting an earlier petition that he presented to the last parliament held at Westminster that William de Stuteville his ancestor was granted Knaresborough and Boroughbridge by Henry II, which gift was confirmed by successive kings to Stuteville and his ancestors. However Henry III retained them from Eustace de Stuteville, and the Wakes to whom the Stuteville lands descended did not have the power to sue for the same by which Wake petitioned for his right to be considered. Wake now requests remedy so that he is not disinherited as although he has sued by writ according to the endorsement of his previous petition, he has still not been able to have his suit returned into Chancery, and rather he is delayed from his right from time to time. The petition is ordered to be taken into Chancery and there the rolls are to be searched to see if the lands and tenements contained in the petition were taken into the hand of King John because of the death of Robert as the petition alleges, or for another reason, and likewise if the lands and tenements when Eustace made his homage were retained in the hand of the king at that time, and for what reason, and of all articles concerning this business. And likewise the treasurer and barons of the Exchequer are to search their roles and remembrances to find anything of value for the king, or anything else concerning this business, and if they find anything they are to return it into Chancery. Places mentioned: Knaresborough, West Riding of Yorkshire; Boroughbridge, West Riding of Yorkshire; Cottingham, East Riding of Yorkshire. People mentioned: Henry II, King of England; William de Stotevill (Stuteville); Richard I, King of England; Robert de Stotevill (Stuteville), son and heir of William de Stuteville; John, King of England; Eustace de Stotevill (Stuteville), son and heir of Robert de Stuteville; Henry III, King of England; Nicholas [Wake], kinsman and heir of Eustace de Stuteville; John [Wake], son and heir of Nicholas Wake; Baldwin [Wake], son and heir of John Wake; John [Wake], son and heir of Baldwin Wake and father of the petitioner. The petition is dated to 1335 by the heading in Rot. Parl., vol II, p. 90.
It can not be made more plain.
copyright m stanhope 2019
Walter FitzGilbert de Hamilton 