#52 Ancestors 2021 Week 1 Beginnings: My Royal Ancestors Part II

Thomas Howard

 So, genealogy fans, following Cousin Eleanor's proposed lineage for our family, we left off last time at Sir Thomas Howard, 2nd Duke of Norfolk and Earl of Surrey (1443-1524).  As a young man, Thomas entered the service of King Edward IV as a "henchman" i.e. loyal supporter and in 1478, Edward knighted him. 

At Edward's death, Thomas supported Richard III's claim to the throne and carried the Sword of State at Richard's coronation and was rewarded with the Earldom of Surrey.  When Richard III was killed at the Battle of Bosworth (along with Thomas's father, who was also a loyal supporter), Thomas was arrested and thrown in the tower.  But a couple of years later, the new king, Henry Tudor (Henry VII), restored his earldom and eventually Thomas became one of the king's most trusted advisors. That seems to be a thing with kings and nobility, a lot of on-again, off-again relationships, depending on who is in power and who wants to be in power. Doesn't do a lot for building trust.  

James IV

Thomas was involved in the negotiations for the marriage of Catherine of Aragon to Prince Arthur and escorted the king's daughter Margaret to Scotland for her marriage to King James IV.  

Thomas was the executor of Henry VII's will and played a prominent role in the coronation of Henry VIII. While Henry VIII was off fighting in France, the Scots took the opportunity to attack England, and Thomas was instrumental in their defeat at the Battle of Flodden, killing the Scots King James IV.  See Above.  (Further example of that on-again, off-again thing.  Apparently even marrying the king's sister doesn't really guarantee anything.)  

As a reward, Thomas was made Duke of Norfolk and added a snarky little detail to his coat of arms showing the lion of Scotland pierced with an arrow.  Way to rub it in.

Amazingly enough, Thomas lived to a ripe old age, dying in 1524 at age 82, one of the richest and most powerful peers in England. 

Somewhere in the midst of all that activity, Thomas managed to marry, twice, and through these marriage became the grandfather of both Ann Boleyn and Catherine Howard, two of Henry VIII's six wives.  It is through his son Edmund Howard that our family line continues. 

Edmund Howard

Edmund (1478-1539) was the third son of Thomas and his first wife, Elizabeth Tilney.  Naturally enough, he spent his early years hanging around at court and helped organize the jousts for the wedding of Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon. Although he got some royal posts, his biographers generally characterize him as "a spendthrift who soon dissipated his first wife's lands in Kent and Hampshire and fled abroad to avoid his creditors, leaving his numerous children to be brought up by relatives."  

Sigh!  I guess all the ancestors can't be heroic. In any case, Edmund's first wife was Joyce Culpepper, with whom he had three sons and three daughters, including Catherine Howard, who became Queen a year or so after her father's death. Our family is supposed to descend from Catherine's sister Margaret Howard (1515-1572), who married Sir Thomas Arundel of Wardour Castle. 

Arms of Arundel

Thomas Arundel began his career in the household of Cardinal Thomas Wolsey, Henry VIII's right-hand man, and was a contemporary of Thomas Cromwell. He held a number of administrative positions in Henry's court, including being a commissioner for the dissolution of the monasteries, which allowed to acquire quite a few properties belonging to the religious houses. Unfortunately for Thomas, he ended up on the wrong side of the power struggle after Henry VIII's death and was arrested, convicted and beheaded on charges of attempting to overthrow the government in 1552.  However, the crown eventually restored his property to his son, Matthew Arundel, through whom our family line continues. Phew!

Sir Matthew Arundel (1532-1598) held several administrative posts including Sheriff and was twice a member of Parliament, but for the most part, he kept to his estates in the west country, perhaps having learned a lesson about the dangers of hanging around at court. In 1559, her married Margaret Willoughby and they had several children, the eldest of whom was Thomas Arundel (1560-1639), through whom our family was said to continue. 

According to his biographers, Thomas was "gifted and scholarly," but seemed to find court life rather boring.  Eventually his father gave him the funds to go off and fight the Turks, where he was apparently very successful.  He was named a Count of the Holy Roman Empire in 1595 and became known as "the Valiant."  However, as they say, no good deed goes unpunished.  His foreign title made him very unpopular both with his father and with Queen Elizabeth, who had him imprisoned, saying "I would not have a sheep branded with another man's mark." At various times, Thomas was suspected of Catholic espionage and of participation in the Gunpowder Plot. He managed to gain favor with King James I, who created him Baron Arundel of Wardour. In 1605, Thomas was part of a venture to found a colony in Virginia. Later, he engaged in acrimonious religious disputes with his bishop and died in 1639.

Thomas married twice and through his second marriage to Ann Phillipson, our line is said to continue. Unfortunately, here is where Cousin Eleanor's research makes a wrong turn.  To be fair, she isn't the only one who made this wrong turn. 

Thomas and Ann had a son Matthew born about 1609.  For many years, genealogists, including Maryland's own premier researcher, Harry Wright Newman, theorized that this Matthew Arundel emigrated to Virginia where he took the name Matthew Howard. It was an interesting assumption given Thomas's efforts at colonization. In 1939, though, another researcher turned up definitive proof that this was not the case.  Thomas's son Matthew died in 1620 and was buried in London without ever crossing the Atlantic. Newman later updated his work in Anne Arundel Gentry to reflect this new information and thus deprive us of a direct link to this family. 

Ann Arundel, Lady Baltimore

However, all is not lost for my family line.  One of the daughters of Thomas Arundel and Ann Phillipson was Ann Arundel 1615-1649 (yes, THAT Ann Arundel!).  Ann married Cecil Calvert, Lord Baltimore. Although she herself never set foot in the New World, she is definitely the namesake of Anne Arundel County MD.  

And our family is definitely related to the Calverts.  Cecil's father, George Calvert, is my 9th great-grandfather. His son Leonard is my 8th great grandfather.  So Cecil and Ann are 8th great aunt and uncle respectively.

Cecil Calvert, Lord Baltimore

9X Grandfather George Calvert

  

So, for this line at least, I'm not a direct descendant of royalty, but I am at least a distant cousin.  However, Cousin Eleanor traced another line of descent from King Edward I through the Brooke family, which I will pursue in another entry.