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The Ecclesiastical History of England and Normandy, vol. 3, trans. Thomas Forrester: A.D. 1101. CH. XVIII. In the year of our Lord 1101, great disturbances broke out in England and Normandy. The turbulent barons, dreading the firmness of King Henry, … Continue reading →

In genealogy, as in so many other spheres, ‘conventional wisdom’ is endlessly repeated, with few bothering to think outside the box it is wrapped in. More is the pity, for in many cases what is accepted as fact is of … Continue reading →

What is most evident in any study of a particular family of Harris of Somerset and Virginia is simlpy that – its various branches stemmed from one particular family. The shared associations of the families of Thomas Harris, d. 1672, … Continue reading →

What is seen between ca. 1630-1770 in Virginia and Carolina, etc., is colonisation by closely connected families from the same English regions. If a Somerset family of Harris, intermarried by the 1630’s with Blakes and Westbrookes (all of the same … Continue reading →

The following notes are in response to information recently given by Chris Womack, concerning the ancestry of one Isham Harris. I have appended this information to what I now consider to be the most likely ancestry of Thomas Harris, d. … Continue reading →

These notes concentrate on the modern family of Wormley, which derived its name from the fief of Womersley (a village in the Selby District of Yorkshire, 6 miles from Pontefract, and 11 miles from Selby), owned by the family of … Continue reading →

The hardest thing in genealogical research is one of differentiating one line of a family from another, as the advantageous associations of one were shared by the other, and they often married into the same families – the basis of … Continue reading →

The Harris of Wiveliscombe held land in Glastonbury, and the most obvious explanation for that is they descended from ‘John Harreys of Taunton’. This was an area of sheep farming, which supported the Bristol drapery trade. ‘JOHN HARREYS OF TAUNTON‘, … Continue reading →

The key to identifying a group of Harris as a singular entity is the continuation of associations in Virginia stemming from Elianor Bennett, of Wiveliscombe, Somerset, sister of Edward Bennett, marrying Richard Harris (son of William Harris and Dorothy Westbrooke), … Continue reading →

What follows is a likely scenario that explains such connections. Any future research into this topic will have to be based on the fact of a very close association between between the families of Thomas Harris and Thomas Harris, who … Continue reading →

If the families as follow are to be understood, it would be a simple matter of decoding those who, of the same family, sported different names, derived from the fiefs they inherited, the concept of surnames being alien to them. … Continue reading →

What follows is an attempt to show the interconnections between various families that served the Norman dukes; interconnections through marriage which created military kinship groups which protected the rights and priviliges of the ruling elite. It was a game of … Continue reading →

i. William Crespin, b. ca. 1030.ii. William Crespin II., b. ca. 1060. iii. William Crespin III., b. ca. 1085, d. 1135, who, in 1119, nearly killed Henry 1 at the Battle of Bremule. He repeatedly fought against Henry I., alongside … Continue reading →

1. … 1.1. William Smyth. Inquisition returned June 13, 1479, taken at Barking in Essex. 1.1.1. … Smyth, m. Thomas Salman (alias “Thomas Harri”). 1.1.2. Elizabeth Smyth, m. Thomas Bull. 1.1.2.1. Richard Bull, received grandfather’s property by memorandum, May 1, … Continue reading →

1. Sprotta, consort of William Longsword, m. (2) Asperlenc. Sprotta (Scand. Sprottr), described as ‘nobilissima‘ (Frodoard, 933, MGH SS III, p. 381). She was not a Breton. Eric Christiansen’s (History of the Normans, note 234, p. 199, 1998), explains that … Continue reading →

1. ‘Thomas de Colevilla’, received from his feudal lord, and kinsman, Roger Mowbray, the Yorkshire manors of Coxwold, Yearsley and Oulston, between 1154-1157, for the service of one knight’s fee. Roger de Mowbray was lord of Epingham, situated on the … Continue reading →

1. … 1.1. Giraud de Beauvau, seigneur de Jarzé, m. a dau. of Herfast de Crepon, it is claimed, sister of Osbern de Crepon, who m. Emma d’ Ivry. Guillaume of Jumièges records that another sister m. Osmund de Conteville. … Continue reading →

1. … Taberer. 1.1. Thomas Taberer.In his Will, proved Feb. 9, 1694, Thomas Taberer mentions his plantation of “Basses Choice”, bought from John Bland, br. of Theoderick Bland, husband of Governor Bennett’s dau., Ann. Thomas Taberer witnessed a land deed … Continue reading →

1.. William Barker, of Hopton Castle, Salop., m. Elizabeth, sister of William Tittely, of Salop.1.1. John Barker, d. 1607, m. Edith, da. of John Blanchard.1.1.1. John Barker was also recorded as John Baker. In Cal. State Papers, Charles I., p. … Continue reading →

The Norman elite can be identified when the method by which they formed familial associations is understood – “Foedus inter consobinos heredes” – inheritance (and close tenurial association) passing down non-consanguineous lines of cousins; a necessary element of colonisation in … Continue reading →