MICHAEL DE POYNINGS, 2nd baron, summoned to parliament from 25 February, 1342, to 24 February, 1368. Upon the decease of the last lord, the king, by his letters patent, dated the 14th of the same month, acknowledging his great valour and eminent merits, and reciting that he was slain in his service, received the homage of the present baron though then under age; and in recompense of those his father's sufferings, not only granted him livery of his lands, but the full benefit of his marriage, taking security for the payment of his relief. This Michael, Lord Poynings, participated in the glories of the reign of EDWARD III., and was amongst the heroes of Cressy. His lordship m. Joane, dau. of Sir Richard Rokesley, and widow of Sir John de Molyns, Knt., and d. in 1369; he was s. by his son, THOMAS DE POYNINGS, 3rd baron, who does not appear to have been summoned to parliament. This nobleman m. Blanche de Mowbray (who m. 2ndly, Sir John de Worthe, Knt.), but dying s. p. in 1375, was s. by his brother, RICHARD POYNINGS, 4th baron, summoned to parliament from 7 January, 1383, to 3 September, 1885. This nobleman m. Isabel, dau. and heir of Robert Grey, of Charlton-Grey, co. Somerset, who assumed the surname of FITZ-PAYNE (see FitzPayne, Barons Fitz-Payne), by his wife, Elizabeth, dau. and co-heir of Sir Guy de Bryan; which Isabel inherited eventually the estates of her maternal grandfather, as well as those of her father. Lord Poynings accompanied John of Gaunt into Spain, and dying there in 1387, was s. by his son, ROBERT DE POYNINGS, 5th baron, summoned to parliament from 25 August, 1404, to 13 January, 1445. This nobleman who was in the French wars of HENRY IV., HENRY V., and HENRY VI., fell at the siege of Orleans in 1446. His lordship m. Elizabeth or Eleanor, dau. of Reginald, Lord Grey de Ruthyn, and had two sons, viz., RICHARD, who m. Alianore, dau. of Sir John Berkeley, of Beverstone, Knt., and dying before his father, left an only dau, and heir, Alianore, who m. Sir Henry Percy, son and heir of Henry, 2nd Earl of Northumberland, and d. 11 November, 1474. ROBERT, of Est Hall, Faukham-Aske, and Chellesfield (for whom and his descendants, see POYNINGS, Baron Poynings, by letters patent). Upon the decease of Robert, Lord Poynings, his grand-dau., Alianore, became heir to his estates and barony, and her husband, SIR HENRY Percy, was summoned to parliament as BARON POYNINGS, from 14 December, 1446, to 26 May, 1455, in which latter year his lordship succeeded to the EARLDOM OF NORTHUMBERLAND; and the BARONY OF POYNINGS, thenceforward shared the fortunes of the superior dignity. With the earldom it was forfeited in 1408-restored in 1414-forfeited in 1461-restored 1471. On the death of Henry, 6th Earl of Northumberland, 8.p. in 1537, the Barony of Poynings, with the earldom, became EXTINCT, in consequence of the attainder of the earl's brother, Sir Thomas Percy. On the 30 April, 1557, Thomas Percy, son and heir of the attainted Sir Thomas Percy, was created by patent, Baron Percy, of Cockermouth and Petworth, with remainder, failing issue male, to his brother, Henry Percy, and his issue male; and he was shortly afterwards advanced to the dignity of Earl of Northumberland, with the same reversionary grant. This Henry Percy, the person in remainder, inherited the honours, and they remained vested in his descendants, until the demise of JOCELINE, 11th Earl of Northumberland, without male issue, in 1670, when all the honours conferred by the patent to Thomas Percy, became EXTINCT. Arms-Barry of six, or, and vert, a bend, gu. POYNINGS-BARON ST. JOHN, OF BASING. By Writ of Summons, dated 29 December, 1299. LUCAS DE POTNINGS, younger son of Thomas 1st Lord Poynings, under the writ of EDWARD III., having m. in the 23rd EDWARD III., Isabel, widow of Henry de Burghersh, dau. of Hugh de St. John, Lord St. John, of Basing (a barony created by writ in the 28th EDWARD I., see St. John), and sister and co-heir of Edmund, Lord St. John, had an assignation of all the lands of her inheritance, and in some years afterwards, on the death of Margaret, the said Isabel's mother, he had a further assignation of the manors of Basing and Shireborne. This Lucas was in the wars of France, and had summons to parliament in his wife's barony (it is supposed) of St. John of Basing, from 24 February, 1368, to 20 January, 1376. His lordship d. about the year 1385, and was s. by his son, SIR THOMAS POYNINGS, Knt., who obtained license in the 2nd HENRY IV., by the title of LORD ST. JOHN, to go on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, but was never summoned to parliament. His lordship had an only son, HUGH, who d. v. p. in 1426, leaving JOANE, m. to Thomas Bonville, and had a son, John. CONSTANCE, Who m. John Paulet, and was grandmother of SIR WILLIAM PAULET, 1st Marquess of Winchester. (See BURKE'S Extant Peerage.) Alice, m. to John Orrell. Lord St. John d. about the 7th HENRY VI., when his grandchildren above-mentioned became his heirs, and the Barony of St. John, of Basing, fell into ABEYANCE amongst them, as it still continues with their descendants. POYNINGS-BARON POYNINGS. By Letters Patent, dated 30 January, 1545. Lineage. Poynings, of the family, under the writ of EDWARD III. ( Poynings, Baron Poynings, by summons), was seized of the ROBERT DE POYNINGS, 2nd son of Robert, 5th and last Lord manors of East Hall, Faukam-Ayske, and Chellesfield, and was 8. at his decease, 9th EDWARD IV., by his son, SIR EDWARD FOYNINGS, who, taking an active part in the revolution which placed HENRY VII. upon the throne, was sworn of the privy council to that monarch, and during the whole of the reign enjoyed the king's full confidence He was one of the chief commanders sent in the 5th HENRY VII., to the assistance of the Emperor MAXIMILIAN, against the French; and he was subsequently despatched at the head of a large force, to put down the supporters of Perkyn Warbeck, in Ireland; of which realm, Sir Edward (10th EDWARD VII.), was made deputy in the absence of Prince Henry, the king's younger son, then lieutenant thereof. In ten years afterwards he was constituted constable of Dover Castle, and was in the same office at HENRY's decease. Sir Edward was the third of eighteen councillors, bequeathed by the king to his successor; a privy council, in which it is said, there was not one lawyer but a complete body of active and experienced men in their own orb. In the 1st HENRY VIII., being then a knight of the Garter, and comptroller of the king's household, he was again made constable of Dover Castle, and warden of the Cinque Ports. In the 5th of the same reign, he was with the king at the siege of Therouenne, at the head of 600 chosen men in the body of the army, and upon the surrender of that place, he was left its governor with a strong garrison. Sir Edward Poynings m. Elizabeth, dau. of Sir John Scott, but had no surviving issue. He had, however, by four concubines, three sons and four daus., viz., THOMAS (Sir), of whom presently. Adrian (Sir), Governor of Portsmouth, in 1561. Sir Adrian d. in the 13th ELIZABETH, leaving three daus., viz., Elizabeth, m. to Andrew Rogers, Esq. Mary, m. to Edward Moore, Esq. Anne, m. to George Moore, Esq. Edward, slain at Boloin, in the 38th HENRY VIII. Mary, m. to Thomas Clinton, Lord Clinton. Margaret, m. to Edmund Barry, of Sennington, in the co Kent. -,m. to Sir Thomas Wilford, Knt. Rose, m. to- Leukenore. Sir Edward d. 14th HENRY VIII. The eldest of the above illegitimate sons, SIR THOMAS POYNINGS, Knt., was with Charles Brandon, Duke of Suffolk, at the siege of Bures, in the 36th HENRY VIII., and was despatched with an account of the progress of the siege to the king, who was then before Boloin, at the head of a powerful army. Sir Thomas was graciously received, and, for his gallant services, elevated to the peerage, by letters patent, dated 30 January, 1545, as BARON POYNINGS, being at the same time appointed general of the king's whole army at Boloin; after which nothing further is recorded. His lordship m. Katherine, dau. and co-heir of John, Lord Marney, and widow of George Ratcliffe, Esq., but had no issue. By this lady he acquired considerable property in the county of Dorset, two parts of which he entailed upon his brothers successively, and after them upon the children of his sisters. He d. in 1545, when the Barony of Poynings became EXTINCT. Arms-Same as the Barons Poynings, by writ. PRESTON-VISCOUNTS TARA. The HON. THOMAS PRESTON (2nd son of Christopher, 4th Viscount Gormanston), was appointed a General in the army of the Confederate Catholics of Ireland in 1642, and was created VISCOUNT TARA, co. Meath, in the peerage of Ireland, by a patent dated at Ennis, 2 July, 1650. His son and suc cessor. ANTHONY PRESTON, 2nd Viscount Tara, m. Margaret, dau. of Anthony Warren, Esq., of the King's co., and was father of several daus. and a son (with whom the title EXPIRED), THOMAS PRESTON, 3rd Viscount Tara, who was killed 6 July, 1674, by Sir Francis Blundell, Knt., of the King's Co., and his brothers, William and Winwood Blundell. These gentlemen being all, however, acquitted of murder, received his Majesty's pardon in the December of the same year (see ADdenda). Arms-Or, on a chief, sa., three crescents, gold., a crescent for difference. dau. of Peter Ludlow, Esq., and sister of the Earl of Ludlow, and d. 26 December, 1755, leaving issue by her (who d. at Aixla-Chapelle, in Germany, 7 January, 1778) JOHN and Joseph, M.P. for Navan. The eldest son, JOHN PRESTON, Esq., of Bellinter, M.P. for Navan, m. 25 April, 1758, Mary, eldest sister of the Right Hon. Sir Skeffington Smyth, Bart. (grandson of Edward Smyth, bishop of Down and Connor), and d. 19 January, 1781, leaving issue five sons, 1. JOHN, Lord Tara; II. James, major in the army, deceased; III. JOSEPH, in holy orders; IV. Skeffington, in holy orders, d. 1842; v. Francis, d. 1841: and four daus., Mary, m. 3 May, 1801, James Falls, Esq.; Elisha, m. 29 December, 1794, Hon. Henry Forbes, son of George, 5th Earl of Granard; and Emma. The eldest son, JOHN PRESTON, Esq., of Bellinter, M.P. for Navan, b. 1764, was created a peer of Ireland, by letters patent, dated 31 July, 1800, as BARON TARA of Bellinter. He m. 1801, Harriet, dau. of Thomas Jelf Powys, Esq., of Berwick House, co. Salop, but d. s. p. 1821, when the title became EXTINCT. His lordship's next brother, the Rev. JOSEPH PRESTON, of Bellinter, m. MaryJane, dau. of Godfrey Massy, Esq., of Ballywire, co. Tipperary, and d. 1839, having had issue, 1. JOHN-JOSEPH, now of Bellinter, b. October, 1815; m. 1842, Sarah, dau. of the late Denis O'Meagher, Esq., of Kilmoyler, co. Tipperary, and has one dau. Helen-Maria, m. to- Kelly, Esq. II. Francis, d. 1834. III. Joseph, lost in the "Thames" steamer, 1841. IV. Skeffington, rector of Drumcondra, deceased. v. James, lost in the "Thames " steamer, 1841. 1. Mary-Jane, m. 1835, to the Rev. John-Dixon Maughan. Arms-Or, on a chief, sa., three crescents of the field. PRESTON-BARON TARA. By Letters Patent, dated 31 July, 1800. This branch of the noble house of Preston (Viscount Gormanston) is descended from Martin Preston, 3rd son of Jenico, 3rd Viscount Gormanston (by his 1st wife, the Lady Catherine Fitzgerald, eldest dau. of Gerald, 9th Earl of Kildare), and brother of Christopher, the 4th Viscount Gormanston, whose youngest son, Thomas Preston, was created 2 July, 1650, Viscount Tara, which title became extinct on the death of Thomas, 3rd Viscount Tara, to whom CHARLES II. stood sponsor. THE HON. MARTIN PRESTON (before mentioned), m. 9 November, 1584, Alisona Herbert, and had issue, HUGH PRESTON, Esq., who m. a dau. of Jocelyn Nangle, Baron of Navan, and left issue a son, JOHN PRESTON, Esq., of Tara and Ardsallagh, co. Meath, and Emo (now Dawson's Court) in the Queen's co, mayor of Dublin, in 1653. He m. 1st, Mary, dau. of John Morris, Esq., of Bolton, in Lancashire, by whom he had issue two sons, PHINEAS, ancestor in the female line, of the Earl of Ludlow, and Samuel.* He m. 2ndly, Catherine, dau of John Ashburnham, Esq., who d.s. p. His 3rd wife was Anne, dau. of Richard Tighe, and widow of Theophilus Sandford, Esq. By her he left issue a son, JOHN. He d. 13 July, 1686, and was interred at St. Mary's Chapel, in Christ Church, Dublin. His son, JOHN PRESTON, Esq., b. 23 April, 1677, knight of the shire for the co. Meath, in 1711, m. 1st, February, 1698, Lydia, dau. of Joseph Pratt, Esq., of Cabra, co. Cavan, who d. 5 February, 1714. He m. 2ndly, Henrietta, eldest dau. of Sir Thomas Taylor, Bart., ancestor of the Marquess of Headfort, and by her (who d. 15 January, 1729) he had a son who d. young and three daus., Henrietta, Sophia, and Sarah. He left issue by his 1st wife three sons, John, Joseph,† and Nathaniel, M.P. for Navan. JOHN PRESTON, Esq., of Bellinter, the eldest son, b. 25 January, 1700, was seated at Bellinter, co. Meath, and sat in parliament in 1731, for the borough of Navan. He m. Alice, eldest Samuel of Emo, m. Anne Sandford, and had issue, a dau. Ann, who m. Ephraim Dawson, Esq., M.P. for the Queen's co. and was mother of William-Henry, Viscount Carlow. ↑ Joseph, a major in General Bligh's regiment of horse, m. 5 December, 1747, Frances, widow of Michael Cuffe, Esq., knight of the shire for Mayo, and only dau. of Henry Sandford, Esq. of Castlerea, co. Roscommon, by Elizabeth, his wife, sister of Robert, Earl of Kildare. PRESTON-LORD DINGWALL. By Charter, dated 8 June, 1609. SIR SIMON DE PRESTON, representative of the ancient family of Preston, witnessed a charter of donation to the monastery of Newbottle in 1360 He was 8. by his son, SIR SIMON DE PRESTON, who left issue, GEORGE, (Sir), his successor, ancestor of the PRESTONS of The 3rd son, ANDREW PRESTON, was father of GEORGE PRESTON, of Whitehill, great-grand-father of SIR RICHARD PRESTON, one of King JAMES I.'s favourites and one of the gentlemen of his bedchamber, who was made a knight of the Bath at the coronation, 25 July, 1603, and created a peer of Scotland, in the dignity of BARON DINGWALL, confirmed by charter, 8 June, 1609, to himself and his heirs whatsoever. His lordship through the favour of his royal master, JAMES I., obtained the hand of Lady Elizabeth Butler, only surviving child of Thomas, 10th Earl of Ormonde and Ossory, and had an only child, ELIZABETH. Lord Dingwall was created Viscount Callan, and EARL OF DESMOND in the peerage of Ireland, with limitation to George, Lord Feilding, 20 November, 1622. He d. 28 October, 1628, being drowned on the passage between Dublin and Holyhead, when the Earldom of Desmond passed to George, Lord Feilding, and the Barony of Dingwall devolved on Lord Dingwall's only child, ELIZABETH PRESTON, Baroness Dingwall; b. 25 July, 1615, who m. in 1629, James, Lord Thurles, afterwards the great Duke of Ormonde, and dying 21 July, 1684, was buried in Westminster Abbey, and 8. by her grandson, JAMES BUTLER, 2nd Duke of Ormonde, who was impeached in 1715, and attainted, when all his English honours expired; but it is doubtful if the attainder could affect the claim of the Preston family to the Barony of Dingwall, the line (Butler) of the attainted duke having failed, and the dignity reverting, as it has done, to the heir-general of the 1st Lord Dingwall. Arms-Arg., three unicorns' heads, erased, sa., within a bordure, az. PULTENEY-EARL OF BATH. By Letters Patent, dated 14 July, 1742. Lineage. SIR WILLIAM PULTENEY, Knt., of Misterton, co. Leicester (of very ancient descent), one of the leading members of the House of Commons, temp. CHARLES II, m. Grace, dau. of Sir John Corbett, Bart., of Stoke, and had issue, I WILLIAM, his heir; 2 John (father, by Lucy, his wife, of DANIEL); 1 Catherine, m. to Sir Charles Heron, Bart.; and 2 Anne, m. to Charles, Duke of Cleveland. The eldest son, WILLIAM PULTENEY, Esq., m. 1st, Mary Floyd, and 2ndly, Arabella, dau. of George, Earl of Berkeley: by the latter he left two daus., Arabella and Elizabeth, and by the former four sons, WILLIAM, Henry, Corbet, and Thomas, who all d. s. p. The eldest son, WILLIAM PULTENEY, Esq., was the popular statesman of the reigns of the two first sovereigns of the House of Brunswick. In 1714, Mr. Pulteney was appointed Secretary of State, an office which he resigned in 1717. In 1723 he was made cofferer of the household, and sworn of the privy council; but he resigned again in 1725. In the reign of GEORGE II., he was leader of the opposition to the administration of Sir Robert Walpole, and so keenly was his eloquence felt by the court, that his name was erased in 1731 from the list of privy councillors. That proceeding having no other effect, however, than rendering Pulteney more popular, Sir Robert, at length, discovered that the only manner in which he could hope to triumph over so gifted a rival, was to cajole him into the acceptance of a peerage; and for that purpose the following letter was written to his royal master: "Most Sacred, as no step will be taken but according to his advice; and that he will let you give him a distinguished mark of your approba tion, by creating him a peer. This he may be brought to; for if I know anything of mankind, he has a love of honour and money; and notwithstanding his great haughtiness and seeming contempt for honour, he may be won, if it be done with dexterity. For as the poet Fenton says, 'Flattery is an oil that softens the thoughtless fool." "If your majesty can once bring him to accept of a coronet, all will be over with him; the changing multitude will cease to have any confidence in him; and when you see that, your majesty may turn your back to him, dismiss him from his post, turn out his meddling partizans, and restore things to quiet; for then if he complains, it will be of no avail; the bee will have lost his sting, and become an idle drone, whose buzzing nobody heeds. "Your majesty will pardon me for the freedom with which I have given my sentiments and advice; which I should not have done, had not your majesty commanded it, and had I not been certain that your peace is much disturbed by the contrivance of that turbulent man. I shall only add, that I will dispose several whom I know to wish him well, to solicit for his establishment in power, that you may seem to yield to their entreaties, and the finesse be less liable to be discovered. "I hope to have the honour to attend your majesty in a few days; which I will do privately, that my public presence may give him no umbrage. "24th January, 1741." (Signed) "ROBERT WALPOLE In this scheme the king acquiesced, and William Pulteney having been restored to the privy council, was created by letters patent, dated 14 July, 1742, Baron of Heydon, co. York, Viscount Pulteney, of Wrington, in Somersetshire, and EARL OF BATH. His lordship m. Anna-Maria, dau. of John Gumley, Esq., of Isleworth, co. Middlesex, by whom he had a son, WILLIAM, Viscount Pulteney, who d. unm., v. p., anno 1763; he had likewise a dau., who d. in 1741, at the age of fourteen. The earl d. in 1764, when failing male issue, all his honours became EXTINCT. His lordship's great estates devolved on his brother, General Henry Pulteney, who d. in 1765, and was 8. in the Pulteney property by his cousin Frances, dau. of Daniel Pulteney, Esq., son of John Pulteney, Esq., uncle of the Earl of Bath. This lady, Frances Pulteney, was wife of William Johnstone, Esq., who took the name of Pulteney, and a his brother as 5th baronet of Westerhall: their only dau. and coheiress, Henrietta-Laura Johnstone, who assumed the name of Pulteney, was created Baroness of Bath with limitation to the barony to her male issue, 26 July, 1792, and Countess of Bath, with similar limitation 26 October, 1806. Her ladyship m. Sir James Murray, Bart., and d. s. p. 14 August, 1808, when her titles also became EXTINCT. "The violence of the fit of the stone, which has tormented me for some days, is now so far abated, that although it will not permit me to have the honour to wait on your majesty, yet is kind enough to enable me so far to obey your orders, as to write my sentiments concerning that troublesome man, Mr. Pulteney; and to point out (what I conceive to be) the most effectual method to make him perfectly quiet. Your majesty well knows, how, by the dint of his eloquence, he has so captivated the mob, and attained an unbounded popularity, that the most manifest wrong, appears to be right, when adopted and urged by him. Hence it is, that he has become not only troublesome but dangerous. The inconsiderate multitude think he has not one object but the public good in view; although, if they would reflect a little, they would soon perceive, that spleen against those your majesty has honoured with your confidence, has greater weight with him than patriotism. Since, let any measure be proposed, however salutary, if he thinks it comes from me, it is sufficient for him to oppose it. Thus, Sir, you see the affairs of the most momentous concern are subject to the caprice of that popular man; and he has nothing to do, but to call it a ministerial project, and bellow out the word favourite, to half an hundred pens drawn against it, and a thousand mouths open to contradict it. Under these circumstances he bears up against the ministry (and, let me add, against PULTENEY-BARONESS BATH, COUNTESS your majesty itself); and every useful scheme must be either abandoned, or if it is carried in either house, the public are made to believe it is done by a corrupted majority. Since then things are thus circumstanced, it is become necessary for the public tranquillity, that he should be made quiet; and the only method to do that effectually, is to destroy his popularity, and ruin the good belief the people have it. him. "In order to do this, he must be invited to court; your majesty must condescend to speak to him in the most favourable and distinguished manner; you must make him believe that he the only person upon whose opinion you can rely, and to whom your people look up for useful measures. As he has already several times refused to take the lead in the adminis tration, unless it was totally modelled to his fancy, your majesty should close in with his advice, and give him leave to arrange the administration as he pleases, and put whom he chooses into office (there can be no danger in that, as you can dismiss him when you think fit); and when he has got thus far (to which his extreme self-love, and the high opinion he entertains of his own importance, will easily conduce), it will be necessary that your majesty should seem to have a great regard for his health; signifying to him, that your affairs will be ruined if he should die; and that you want to have him constantly near you, to have his sage advice; and that, therefore, as he is much disordered in body, and something infirm, it will be necessary for his preservation, for him to quit the House of Commons, where malevolent tempers will be continually fretting him; and where indeed, his presence will be needless, Arma-Arg., a fesse indented, gu., in chief, three leopards' heads, sa. OF BATH. Barony, by Letters Patent, dated 23 July, 1792. Lineage. SIR WILLIAM JOHNSTONE, Bart., of Westerhall, co. Dumfries, m. Frances, dau. and heir of Daniel Pulteney, Esq., first cousin of William, Earl of Bath (which lady was eventually heiress to his lordship's estates), and had an only dau HENRIETTA-LAURA JOHNSTONE, who, succeeding to the great Pulteney fortune, assumed the surname and arms of PUL- Arms-Arg., a fesse indented, gu., in chief, three leopards' heads, sa. In the retinue of Henrietta, Duchess of Orleans, sister of King CHARLES II., came to the court of St. James's, a young French lady, LOUISE RENEE DE PERRENCOURT DE QUEROUAILLE, who, captivating the English monarch. CHARLES II., was mother, by his Majesty, of a son, CHARLES LENNOX, DUKE OF RICHMOND, founder of the present noble house of Richmond, and was created FOR LIFE, by letters patent, dated 19 August, 1673, Baroness Petersfield, Countess of Fareham, and DUCHESS OF PORTSMOUTH, all in Hampshire. Her grace being of a noble family in Britanny, Louis XIV., in 1684, conferred upon her the DUCHY OF AUBIGNY, a dignity still held by the Dukes of Richmond. The duchess, to whom CHARLES II. was strongly attached during the whole course of his life, proved a great means of supporting that monarch's connection with her native country of France. "A life of frivolity and vice," says Macaulay, "had not extinguished in the Duchess of Portsmouth all sentiments of religion, or all that kindness, which is the glory of her sex." At the death-bed of King CHARLES, she stood in an agony of grief, and it was by her intercession and entreaty alone that the dying monarch received the last consolation of religion. She d. at an advanced age at Paris, in the year 1734. Arms-Az., three bars, arg. 1 Anne, a nun. 2 Joane, m. to Humphrey de Bohun, the younger. At the decease of the earl, his 2nd son, ROGER DE QUINCY (his elder brother being still in the Holy Land,) had livery of his father's estates, and he subsequently 8. to the Earldom of Winchester. This nobleman marrying Helen, eldest dau. and co-heir of Alan, Lord of Galloway, became, in her right, constable of Scotland. By this lady he had issue, Margaret, m. to William de Ferrers, Earl of Derby, and brought to her husband the Manor and Barony of Groby. Elizabeth, m. to Alexander Comyn, Earl of Buchan. in Scotland. Ela, m. to Alan, Lord Zouch, of Ashby. His lordship m. 2ndly, Maud, dau. of Humprey de Bohun, Earl of Hereford (widow of Anselme Mareschall, Earl of Pembroke), and 3rdly, Alianore, dau. of William de Ferrers, Earl of Derby, and widow of William de Vaux (this lady survived the earl, and m. after his decease, Roger de Leybourne). Dugdale says, that the earl had another dau., but by which wife he could not discover, namely, Isabell, with whom a contract of marriage was made, by John, son of Hugh de Nevil, for his son, Hugh. His lordship d. in 1264, when the Earldom of Winchester became EXTINCT, and his great landed possessions devolved upon his daus., as co-heiresses. Arms-Robert de Quincy-or, a fesse, gu, a label of twelve points, az. Roger de Quincy-gu., seven mascles, or, three, three, and one. The arms of Quincy, Earl of Winchester, are mentioned by Habingdon, as in the church of Ribbesford, Worcestershire. QUINCY-EARLS OF WINCHESTER. By Creation of King JOHN, about the year 1210. Lineage. In the reign of King HENRY II., SAIER DE QUINCY had a grant from the crown, of the manor of Bushby, co. Northampton, formerly the property of Anselme de Conchis. He m. Maud de St. Liz, and had two sons, Robert, a soldier of the cross, and one of the companions in arms of RICHARD CŒUR De Lion. And SAIER DE QUINCY, who was created EARL OF WINCHESTER, by King JOHN. This nobleman was one of the lords present at Lincoln, when WILLIAM, King of Scotland, did homage to the English monarch, and he subsequently obtained large grants and immunities from King JOHN; when, however, the baronial war broke out, his lordship's pennant waived on the side of freedom, and he became so eminent amongst those sturdy chiefs, that he was chosen one of the celebrated twenty-five barons, appointed to enforce the observance of Magna Charta. Adhering to the same party, after the accession of HENRY III., the Earl of Winchester had a principal command at the battle of Lincoln, and there being defeated, he was taken prisoner by the royalists. But submitting in the following October, he had restitution of all his lands; and proceeded soon after, in company with the Earls of Chester and Arundel, and others of the nobility, to the Holy Land, where he assisted at the siege of Damietta, anno 1219, and d. in the same year, in his progress towards Jerusalem. His lordship m. Margaret, younger sister and co-heir of Robert Fitz-Parnell, Earl of Leicester, by which alliance he acquired a very considerable inheritance, and had issue, Robert, who d. in the Holy Land, leaving issue by his wife, Hawyse, dau. of Hugh Keveliok, Earl of Chester, an only dau., Margaret, who m. 1st, John de Lacie, Earl of Lincoln; and ROGER, Successor to the earldom. The Radcliffes, of Derwentwater, were one of the oldest families in Cumberland. In that county, beyond Hay Castle, the river Derwent, runs along the mountains, called DerwentFells, and "spreads itself into a spacious lake wherein are three islands: one the seat of the family of Radcliffe, Knt., temp. HENRY V., who m. Margaret, dau. and heir of Sir John de Derwentwater, Knt.; another inhabited by miners; and the third supposed to be that wherein Bede mentions St. Herbert to have led a hermit's life." From the time of the CONQUEST, up to the reign of HENRY III., the castle of Dilstone was possessed by the family bearing the local name, and, after having passed through many hands, the Tynedales, the Crafters, and the Claxtons, at length devolved on the Radcliffes, in the person of Sir Nicholas Radcliffe, who m. the heiress of the Derwentwaters. SIR FRANCIS RADCLIFFE, Baron of Dilston, co. Northumberland, was elevated to the peerage by King JAMES II., as Baron Tyndale, Viscount Radcliffe and Langley, and EARL OF DERWENTWATER. His lordship m. Catherine, dau. and heir of Sir William Fenwick, of Meldon, co. Northumberland, and had issue, 1. FRANCIS, Viscount Radcliffe, his successor. II. Thomas, a military officer. v. Arthur. 1. Anne, m. to Sir Philip Constable, Knt., of Flamborough, in Yorkshire. the CHEVALIER ST. GEORGE upon the throne. He was a perfect cavalier, and a fine specimen of an English nobleman; amiable, brave, open, generous, hospitable, and humane, "of so universal a beneficence that he seemed to live for others." He gave bread to multitudes of people whom he employed upon his estate; the poor, the widow, the orphan, rejoiced in his bounty. Having been taken prisoner, he was sent to the Tower of London, and, having been soon afterwards found guilty of high treason, was, when only twenty-eight years of age, beheaded on Tower Hill, 24 February, 1715-16, when all his honours became FORFEITED. The best authenticated account affirms that the earl was buried in the church of St. Giles-in-the-Fields, but there is also a tradition extant of his having found his last resting place at Dilstone: but let Derwentwater's bones be where they may, his memory is still cherished by the people, and lives in many a rude ballad: the exquisitely touching lament, Farewell to Lochaber, is said to have been written by the earl, and addressed to his wife, on the eve of his departure for the miserable venture wherein he forfeited life, lands, and nobility. His lordship left a young and beautiful widow, Anna-Maria, the dau. of Sir John Webb, Bart., and two infant children to deplore his untimely fate, and suffer by his attainder. Those children were, JOHN, Viscount Radcliffe, d. in 1731. His lordship's brother, CHARLES RADCLIFFE, one of the most unbending adherents of the house of Stuart, took a prominent part in those stirring times. He was made prisoner at Preston, 14 November, 1715, and being transferred to London, was condemned for high treason. After his conviction, in 1716, he received several reprieves from time to time, and probably on account of his youth, and the government wishing to shed no more of the blood of his house, he would have been pardoned, but he and thirteen others made their escape from Newgate 11 December, 1716, and thus placed themselves beyond the benefit even of the general act of grace which was passed about that time. Radcliffe, on reaching the continent, went to Rome, and obtained a small pension from the Chevalier; he then settled in Paris, and there became, in 1724, the 2nd husband of CharlotteMaria, Countess of Newburgh, in her own right. By her he had two sons: 1. James-Bartholomew Radcliffe, Earl of Newburgh (father of an only son, Anthony-James, Earl of Newburgh who d. s. p. 29 November, 1814); 11. James-Clement, d. 8. p.; and four daus., the youngest of whom, Lady Mary, m. Francis Eyre, Esq., of Hassop (refer to BURKE's Peerage). In 1731, on the death of his nephew, John, Viscount Radcliffe, called Earl of Derwentwater, Charles Radcliffe assumed the title of EARL OF DERWENTWATER, though attainted. Twice, during his exile, he came to London, and, though his presence was known to government, his visits passed unmolested. The rising of 1745 brought him again into action. Still adhering to the fortunes of the Stuarts, he embarked from Calais, in the November of that year, on board the "Espérance," a French man-of-war, or privateer, with his son, and with some other officers, and a quantity of ammunition of war, to join CHARLES-EDWARD. The vessel, no doubt bound for Scotland in aid of the insurgents (though there was no legal proof given of the fact) was seized in open sea by the "Sheerness" man-of-war, and brought to Deal. Radcliffe and his son were immediately committed to the Tower. The son being deemed a foreigner, was exchanged on the first cartel; but Radcliffe himself was confined till the rebellion was over, when in Michaelmas term, 1746, he was brought to the bar of the court of King's Bench, to have execution awarded against him under his former sentence. pleaded that he was not the same person as the party convicted, and prayed time to bring witnesses: but as he would not deny, in his affidavit relative to the absence of witnesses, that he was the attainted Charles Radcliffe, the court proceeded, and decided against his plea. He then wished to plead the general pardon of 1716, but the court (one judge, Sir Michael Foster, dissenting) would hear no further plea, and the prisoner was ordered for execution. Though then, legally, no nobleman, regard was so far paid to the rank and station of his family that he did not undergo the, in those days, ordinary and horrible punishment for treason, but, like his brother, the Earl of Derwentwater, he was decapitated on Tower Hill, 8 December, 1746. He behaved at his execution with dignified calmness and courage. This ill-starred Charles Radcliffe was the mainspring of the support his house gave to the Chevalier; he and his brother, the earl, besides their lives, lost in the cause £300,000 in real value. A book, entitled, Impartial Memoirs of the Life and Character of Charles Radcliffe, Secretary to the Young Pretender, with a portrait, was published in London, 1746. He The EARLDOM OF DERWENTWATER fell under the attainder of JAMES, the 3rd earl; if it had been, however, restored to the male heir of Charles Radcliffe, JAMES-BARTHOLOMEW, 3rd Earl of Newburgh, it would have became EXTINCT upon the decease of that nobleman's son and successor, ANTHONY-JAMES, 4th Earl of Newburgh, without male issue, in 1814, unless there remain some male descendants of Thomas, William, and Arthur, the younger sons of FRANCIS, the 1st earl. Arms-Ar., a bend engrailed, sa. RAMSAY-LORD OF BOTHWELL. SIR JOHN RAMSAY, Lord of Bothwell, was son of John Ramsay, of Corstoun, descended from the house of Carnock, in Fife, by Janet Napier, his wife, who afterwards m. John Wilson, burgess of Edinburgh. His genius and accomplishments recom. mended him to the notice of King JAMES III., and he was the only one of the favourites of that monarch that escaped execution at Lauder, July, 1482, owing his safety to his clasping the person of JAMES, and jumping behind him on horseback. His Majesty bestowed on him the lands, barony, and lordship of Bothwell, in Lanarkshire, together with 40 marks of land of the Barony of Monipennie, which fell into the king's hand by recognition, and he sat in parliament as a peer, by the title of LORD BOTHWELL. His lordship was ambassador from JAMES III. to England, 1486; and in 1487 was employed in arranging a treaty of peace between the two kingdoms. His attachment to King JAMES III. occasioned his proscription; he was FORFEITED in the parliament held at Edinburgh by King JAMES IV., 8 October, 1488; and the lordship of Bothwell was conferred on Patrick, Lord Hales, created Earl of Bothwell, 17 October, 1488 The forfeited lord fled to England, and entered into a nefarious scheme with HENRY VII. to deliver into his hands the King of Scots and his brothers. Eventually, however, in 1498, he received a royal pardon under the simple recognition of John Ramsay, and obtained, at the same time, some lands including the Barony of Balmain, co. Kincardine, which gave designation to his descendants, the RAMSAYS of Balmain, Baronets of Nova Scotia. Arms Arg., an eagle displayed, sa, beaked and membered, gu., charged on the breast with a rose of the field. RAMSAY - VISCOUNT HADDINGTON AND EARL OF HOLDERNESS. Viscounty, by Letters Patent, dated 11 June, 1606. Earldom, by Letters Patent, dated 22 January, 1621. Lineage. SIR JOHN RAMSAY, of an ancient Scottish family (brother of George, 1st Lord Ramsay, of Dalhousie, see BURKE's Peerage: DALHOUSIE), was one of the pages of honour of King JAMES (VI.) I., and had the good fortune to be one of the chief agents in the preservation of King JAMES VI. from the attempt of the Earl of Gowrie and his brother, Alexander Ruthven, at Perth, in August, 1600. His Majesty had been induced by Alexander Ruthven to accompany him to the Earl of Gowrie's house at Perth, and soon after his arrival had been murderously attacked by Ruthven. At the moment young Ramsay, the page, happened to be hurrying to the stable for his horse, and heard the King crying, from the window of Gowrie's house, "Treason! murder!" The royal attendants, who had rushed up the principal staircase to his assistance, found the doors locked, but Ramsay fortunately entered the room by a back stair, and perceiving Alexander Ruthven struggling with the king, drew his dagger, plunged it twice into Alexander's body, and then threw him down stairs, where he was met by Sir Thomas Erskine and Hugh Harris, the king's physician, who dispatched him, and went up to the king. Just then the Earl of Gowrie rushed into the apartment, with a sword in each hand, followed by six of his attendants completely armed, but was met by Ramsay, Erskine, and Harris, and after a mortal struggle, was slain. For these acceptable services, Ramsay, rewarded with knighthood, had the Barony of Eastbarns, co. Haddington, conferred on him, and had a charter of the same, 15 November, 1600. He was also created VISCOUNT OF HADDINGTON, and LORD RAMSAY, of Barns, 11 |