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Drawing of Rebecca Nurses's trial |
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Darwing of the accused at public Interrogation |
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Spectre Evidence at Witchtrials |
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Drawing of Rebecca Nurses's trial |
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Darwing of the accused at public Interrogation |
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Spectre Evidence at Witchtrials |
The Howard
Family
In 1613, King James I returned the castle to Thomas Howard,
Earl of Suffolk, but the castle was now derelict. His son, Theophilus Howard sold the castle
for £14,000 to Robert Hitcham in 1635, who died a year later leaving the castle
to Pembroke College with the proviso that the inner buildings be destroyed and
a workhouse be built inside. Over the following centuries the castle was used as
an isolation ward for victims of the plague in 1666, storehouse during the
Napoleonic Wars, later as a local jail.
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The castle workhouse |
In 1913, an act by Parliament to secure ancient monuments
and buildings resulted in Pembroke College giving guardianship of the castle to
the Commissioner of Works. Today the
castle is managed by English Heritage as a tourist attraction.
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Panoramic View of the interior |
The Mowbray Family
Ancestors of my
grandfather, Donald Smith
Thomas de Mowbray (Born 1366) was created the1st Duke of Norfolk on 39 September 1397. His mother being Lady Elizabeth Seagrave, 5th Baroness Seagrave (b 1338) who married Lord John de Mowbray, 4th Baron Mowbray. The Mowbrays seem to have used Framlingham Castle as their main seat of power for most of the 15th century. Thomas de Mowbray had a daughter, Isabel Mowbray (b. 1400), who was my direct ancestor. Thomas was accused of treason which led to his banishment and his land was confiscated in 1398. He was allowed £1000 a year to support himself in exile. In October 1398, he left for a trip to the Holy Land. On his return trip, he died of pestilence in Venice, Italy on 22 September 1399. The creation of the dukedom was annulled by Parliament on 6 October 1399. Reducing his widow's tilte to Countess of Norfolk.
Thomas’ eldest son Sir Thomas Mowbray, (born in 1385), Earl of Norfolk. Thomas was involved in the Scrope conspiracy in 1405 (a plot to murder King Henry V by Lord Henry Scrope). Thomas was executed without trial on 8 June 1405. His brother was his heir.
Sir John de Mowbray was born on 3 August 1390 and succeeded
his brother as heir to Framlingham Castle from his great-grandmother's estate. The
title of Duke of Norfolk was restored to him 30 April 1425. He served as Earl Marshal at the coronation
of King Henry VI. In 1432, Sir John Mowbray died, and the castle passed to his
son.
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Framlingham Castle, Mowbray family seat |
Sir John de Mowbray (b, 1415) was the 3rd Duke of
Norfolk and inherited Framlingham Castle. He was appointed Ambassador to France in
1439. He served as Earl Marshal at the
coronation of King Edward IV in 1461. Sir
John Mowbray died on 6 November 1461.
Sir John Mowbray (b. 1444) succeeded his father as 4th
Duke of Norfolk and to Framlingham Castle and died there on 16 or 17 January
1476.
The Plantagenet Family
Ancestors of Donald Smith & Ethelyn Skinner
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King Edward I |
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King Edward II |
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Lord Thomas of Brotherton |
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King Edward III |
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Image of William in stained galsss |
Upon his death in 1382, the castle was returned to his wife’s family, passing to Margaret of Norfolk (b. c1322), Countess of Norfolk, daughter of Thomas de Botherton and Joan de Montagu’s aunt. She had been born at Framlingham Castle and spent her childhood there. Margaret married John Segrave, the 4th Baron Segrave in 1335 and had four children.
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Framlingham Castle, Margaret's residence |
In 1350, she sought an annulment of her marriage claiming she was bethrothed to her husband at an early age and never agreed to live with him. King Edward III wanted to keep her children legitimate. If her marriage was annulled then her children would be considered illegitimate and ruin his plans to marry her children into other royal Plantagent families. In 1349, King Edward arranged for a double marriage between two of the Segrave children to two of the Mowbray children. Two years later in 1351, King Edward III charged Margaret of violating his prohibition of trvaeling to France. An inquistion revealed she had gone to France unlawfully by crossing the channel with servant of a man who would become her 2nd husband, Sir Walter Manny, 1st Baron Manny. The servant broke hi latern so she would go unnoticed and traveled with her in France. Before Margaret could receive her annulment, her husband John Segave died in 1253 and she married Sir Walter Manny in 1254 without affected the birth staus of her children. In 1297, she was created Duchess of Norfolk for life. Margaret of Norfolk died on 24 March 1399 and her estate passed to her grandson.
I watched a show on Public Television called “Lucy Worsley investigates Bloody Mary” which the noted British historian reviewed the reign of England’s ruling 1st Queen Mary I. At one point, Lucy
Worsley interviews an expert on Mary’s gathering of her supporters to take the throne from the Nine-day Queen, Lady Jane Grey. They were conducting the interview at Framlingham Castle where her supporters joined her. I recognized the name of the castle from tracing my English nobility ancestors who at one point owned the castle. However, doing a Wikipedia check, I realized that several generations of my ancestors had owned and resided in the castle on different family lines of nobility. I also discovered that my ancestral families lost or gained the castle depending on their support or opposition of the ruling monarch (also my ancestors). This is an attempt to trace one castle through my family ancestors over many generations.I soon realized that tracing the castle through various ancestral families over several generations and hundreds of years was more of a daunting task than I thought. I am breaking up the ownership of the castle by the different families that resided there through the centuries. As most of my cousins are also descendants of these ancestors, I will include where we diverge from ownership at various times in history. Direct ancestors will be in bold type. The information on the history of the castle came from Wikipedia. My ancestors biuographies came from Royal Ancestry by Douglas Richardson, [2013] 5 vols.
Wiliam the
Conqueror
Ancestor of
my grandparents
Donald
Smith, Ethelyn Skinner, Harold Strout & Myrtle Multon
I will begin with my ancestor, William the Conquer of England. William invaded England in 1066 and seized the crown to become King of England. After his conquest, William granted his Norman supporters titles and vast lands in England. Richard le Goz, Viscount of Avranches, a Norman noble (and my direct ancestor of my grandfather Donald Smith) provided 60 ships to William to sail his army to England. Richard is said to have married Emma de Conteville, a half-sister to William the Conqueror. He was father to Margaret le Goz (where my Smith ancestral line diverges). Richard le Goz died in 1082. His son Hugh d”Avranches, Earl of Chester (b. 1047) inherited estates and property of his father. Hugh was the half-nephew to William the Conqueror.
The Bigod
Family
Ancestors of
all four of my grandparents
In 1086, William the Conqueror granted 117 out of 629 manors in Suffolk County that his half-nephew Hugh, controlled to Roger le Bigod, who became the 1st Earl of Norfolk in 1074. Roger was born in 1047 and arrived with William during his conquest.
Around 1100, a ringwork or motte and bailey castle was first built on the present site of the castle . In 1107, Roger Le Bigod died, his estates and title passed to his son, William Le Bigod, 2nd Earl of Norfolk. William drowned on 25 November 1120 in the famous White ship disaster in which almost 300 nobles drowned.William’s brother, Hugh le Bigod, born in 1095, became the 3rd Earl of Norfolk as he inherited the family estates and titles. Between 1123-1154, Hugh le Bigod was one of a group of dissenting barons during the Anarchy in the reign of King Stephen (1135-1154). In 1148 is the first mention of a castle at Framlingham completed by Hugh le Bigod. In 1157, after coming to power King Henry II of England (reigned 1154-1189) attempted to re-establish royal influence across the region. As part of this effort, Henry confiscated the four Bigod castles from Hugh. During this time, the crown-controlled Framlingham Castle.
In 1165, King Henry II returned both Framlingham and Bungay Castles
to Hugh le Bigod, on payment of a large fine of £666. During the 1160s, the first set of stone
buildings, including the first hall, were built within the castle. In 1173, Hugh le Bigod joined the revolt by
King Henry II’s sons to overthrow him but failed. As punishment the King ordered several Bigod
castles, including Framlingham, to be destroyed or slighted (the deliberate act
of damaging high-status structures to reduce their value). The King's engineer,
Alnoth, destroyed the fortifications and filled the moat at Framlingham between
1174 and 1176 at a total cost of £16 11s 12d, although he probably shored up,
rather than destroyed, the internal stone buildings. It was one of at least twenty castles
belonging to the rebels to be slighted in the aftermath of the war.
In 1177, Hugh le Bigod died, his son, Roger le Bigod (born 1144), became 4th Earl of Norfolk, as his heir. Roger was out of favor with King Henry II, who initially denied him the family earldom and estates such as Framlingham because of his father’s support of his sons who sought to overthrow him. Between 1189-1213, Roger finally regained royal favor when King Richard I succeeded to the throne in 1189 to 1199. Roger then set about building a new castle on the Framlingham site – the work was conducted relatively quickly, and the castle was completed by 1213.
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The plan for Framlingham Castle |
The new castle comprised the Inner
Court, defended with 13 mural towers: an adjacent Lower Court with smaller
stone walls and towers, and a larger Bailey with timber defenses. By this time, a castle-guard system
was in place at Framlingham, in which lands were granted to local lords in
return for their providing knights or soldiers to guard the castle. In 1199, King John I inherited the
throne from his brother, King Richard I.
During his reign, he lost most of his ancestral lands in France to King
Philip II. The money King John needed
was raised by taxing the nobles which Roger le Bigod opposed. In “The First Baron’s war” began between King John
I and rebel barons who opposed to his rule including Roger le Bigod in 1215. On 12 March 1216, King John’s army arrives
and surrounded the land of Roger. King
John arrived the next day. Messages were
sent on the 14th and Roger, knowing the outcome of other castles
being besieged, agreed to surrender without a fight and King John moved on to
other rebel nobles. On 19 October 1216,
King John died, and his son became King Henry III of England.
In 1221, Roger le Bigod died, and his estates and title
passed to his son, Hugh le Bigod (born 1182) and became the 5th
Earl of Norfolk. He is father of Isabel
le Bigod (b. 1211) and where my ancestral line ends with this family. In 1225, Hugh le Bigod died, and the castle
passed to his son, Roger.
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Framlingham Castle, The Bigods main seat |
Roger le Bigod (b. 1209), was now the 6th Earl of
Norfolk. A large park, called The Great
Park, was created around the castle; this park is first noted in 1270, although
it may have been constructed somewhat earlier. The Great Park is enclosed
600 acres, stretching 1.9 miles to the north of the castle and was
characterized by possessing bank-and-ditch boundaries, common elsewhere in
England but very unusual in Suffolk. The park had a lodge built in it, which
later had a recreational garden built around it. Like other parks of the
period, the Great Park was not just used for hunting but was exploited for its
wider resources. In 1270, Roger le Bigod died without children and the
castle passed to his nephew, Roger le Bigod.
Roger le Bigod, (b. 1245), 7th Earl of Norfolk, was the son of Hugh le Bigod (b.1211-d.1266). In 1270, Roger undertook extensive renovations there whilst living in considerable luxury and style. Although still extremely wealthy, Roger was now having to borrow increasing sums from first the Jewish Community at Bungay, England. In 1272, King Henry III died and his son, King Edward I inherited the throne of England. King Edward I in 1290 issued an edict of the expulsion of the Jews and Italian merchants by the end of the century. Roger then became heavily in debt to King Edward I. As a result, Roger led the baronial opposition to Edward's request for additional taxes and support for his French Wars.
Roger is considered the hero of an disagreement between King Edward I and himself when the King commanded him to serve against the King of France in 1297. Roger asserted he was only compelled to serve over seas in the company of the King himself. Upon King Edward responded "By God, Earl, you shall either go or hang!" Roger replied "By the same oath, O King, I will neither go or hang."
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King Edward I threatening Bigod to go to France |
Edward responded by seizing Roger's lands and only releasing them on the condition that Roger granted them to the Crown after his death. Roger agreed. In 1306, Roger le Bigod died without heirs and Framlingham Castle passed to the Crown of England. This ended the Bigod's family connection to the castle.
My Family has been fortunate to have kept a family heirloom of a gold watch chain passed down for six generations on my father’s side. Although the value is not much in a monetary sense, the fact it has passed through the hands of so many generations is priceless.
The passing of the watch and chain at the wedding of Collins and Sarah Smith, 2024
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Uncle George |
We mostly
remember him laughing, It was a high pitched “hehehe” kind of laugh. My cousin, K Hartsgrove once said jokingly
when I asked if she understood what he said? “George was probably saying what a
bunch of idiots you are,” and laughed at us and we all laughed along too.
George Henry
Moulton was born on November 16, 1904, in Atkinson, Maine, the first child and
son of Charles and Emma (Paine) Moulton.
George was raised in Atkinson, Maine where he attended school.
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Atkinson School 1910s, George is the last boy on the right, 2nd row his sister, Myrtle little girl standing in front row |
As the
oldest son, George was expected to help his father by working early as a boy
and helping provide money for his increasing number of siblings his parents were
adding to the family. George only went
to school until the 5th grade.
My mother said that George never went to school full-time, only for a
few months at a time as the family could not afford him not to work. Sadly, when George returned to school, he had
to start at the grade level he left at. Eventually his younger sister and siblings
caught up to him and passed him in grade school. George, being teased at being so old in the
fifth grade, never returned. The 1920 census
record does state that he could read and write and had attended school within
the past year at age 15.
One of the
clearest memories I have of Uncle George was after my grandmother’s funeral,
Uncle George, my parents and my aunt Bea were all in the same car driving out
to the cemetery. On the way, George said
that an old girlfriend used to live in a house we passed. We were all shocked to think that uncle even
had a girlfriend. After some teasing my
mother or my aunt asked him why he didn’t marry her? He said so clearly for the first time in my
life I understood exactly what he said. “She gone and got knocked up is what
she did.” We were all laughing so hard from
the shock to hear him say that phrase and so clearly, we had to laugh. But I wonder what he thought of us laughing
at his tragic love life as George never again was known to have a girlfriend
afterwards. Later we found the crumbled
photo of a young George and his girlfriend, Irma Hawthorne, who we think was
older than George.
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George and Ima Hawthorne 1920s? |
Few photos of
George exist of him in his 20s
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George with brother Reggie and his father at the truck, blueberry picking for work |
George’s occupation
on the 1930 census was a “woods laborer” which meant working cutting down trees
like his father, either clearing for roads to for lumber companies. On the 1940 census, George was listed as a
“teamster” working in the woods as well. This meant driving teams of horses or oxen in the woods.
During World War II, all four of George’s younger brothers enlisted in the service. Although not strictly enforced there was a “sole survivor” policy. This came about after the five Sullivan brothers all died on the same ship leaving the family with no male heirs to carry on the family name or support the family. George remained at home while his brothers served in the war. George appears in photos of the family in the 1940s.
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George staning in the background between his mother and sister-in-law |
By 1950 his father
found a house on a farm in Bradford, Maine where he and George worked. George was listed as doing farming and
lumbering as was his father and youngest brother, Reggie. The story that was always told of George
while they lived in Bradford every Saturday night, he would make several miles
walk on foot to Grange Hall. He would
take a pail with some drinks and sit watching everyone else dance and listen to
the band that played. No one ever
remembers seeing George dance, but he would sit there and just enjoy everyone
else having a good time.
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Bradford Grange Hall in 2020 |
My mom remembered
a story of how when her grandparents were living in Bradford, her cousin,
Sharon Moulton had come to visit or stay with her grandparents for a time. There was a well that was either poorly
covered or not covered and Sharon somehow fell in the well. No one knew how long she was in the well, but
it was only because Uncle George was outside smoking his pipe that he heard her
crying for help. My mother doesn’t
remember how they got her out, but she said Uncle George, her grandfather and
mother somehow got her out of the well.
My mother said she knew after that to never go near that well, but she
was also surprised that George, who didn’t have the best hearing by then had
heard her cries.
Otherwise,
my mom claimed that “George was the sweetest man she ever knew and never said
anything bad about anyone.”
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George and some of his siblings, Reggie, Bob, Clarence, Myrtle and Gladys |
Uncle George
was always attended reunions and once was made vice-president of the
Moulton-Thompson reunion in 1956. After his mother’s death in 1958, George went
to live with his youngest brother, Reggie.
George had no say where he wanted to live and had to go where someone
was willing to take him in. His father
went to live with his sister’s family.
No one knows if he was happy with the living arrangements, but having no
place else to go, he accepted it. Then
he lived with his sister, Myrtle until her death in 1980 and for a time he
remained in Newport in the house with his brother Bob staying with him.
Uncle George at the Moulton-Thompson Reunion
Before he
died George was taken to Eastern Maine General Hospital to stay. I remember going to see him there and he was
sitting on his bed eating his dinner like he had never had such a good
meal. My mother later remarked, who
knows how well he ate with her mother or even what she cooked for them was any
good. He probably thought he was having
the best meals in his life at the hospital.
Uncle George
died on September 13, 1985, at Bangor, Maine.
His funeral was held in Corinna, Maine at the Crosby Neal Funeral
Home. I went with my parents to the
visiting hours. Unlike my grandmother’s visitations,
which were sad and somber. It was a
small reunion with my aunts and uncles there, my great aunts and uncles and
cousins attending. "It was like a party
inside there," my mother remarked when she left, with everyone talking loudly and
laughing and sneaking out for beer in the parking lot. She said I wonder what the funeral home
people thought of this group of mourners.
There was no crying, no one sitting in silence or even paying much
attention to George in the casket. Upon
reflection, I bet George wouldn’t have wanted any other way, he was there in
the background enjoying everyone else having a good time at his farewell party.
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Gravestone, Pine Grove Cemetery Dover-Foxcroft, Maine |