PACHESTE-L Archives

Archiver > PACHESTE > 1998-02 > 0887771652


From: Robert D Bacher< >
Subject: Re: your recent Chester County update, royal relatives.
Date: Tue, 17 Feb 1998 22:14:12 -0500


>what I'm looking to do here is simply to present some of the
>more common folks who have been linked to a royal or famous heritage.,
>pointing out those that are often cited but yet to be proven. To give an
>example, I wish I had a dollar for every time I've seen an online
genealogy
>that shows Rachel Pennington to be the daughter of Sir Isaac
Pennington.
>It could be true, as it hasn't been disproven but as yet it hasn't been
>proven either.

>>I wonder how many people from Chester County you are going to find even

>>claiming these kinds of links? Enough people in Chester County have
>>respectable, even minor aristocratic ancestry.

<cut>

>>everyone who came to that region were commoners. I haven't heard of
any
>>nobility. Maybe a couple who settled in Northern Delaware. Minor
>>nobility. LIke Lord Baltimore. I have found people in Chester County

<cut>

>As far as royal connections go in the Chester area, if you can tie into
the
>Welsh Owen/Humphrey/Ellis family group, you can walk the line back to
>Edward I of England. So there are some ties there to the royals, but due
to
>the complexity of the Welsh naming system, they can be rather tough to
>ferret out.

Very interesting. A couple of months ago I received some emails and came
across some information on various sites on the internet which seemed to
indicate a connection with Robert of Gloucester, illegitimate son of
Henry I (son of William I, aka, William the Conqueror, who invaded
England in 1066). I was astounded. Later I received some additional
emails which indicated the connection is spurious. In between I had
added William I (and numerous other members of the English and European
aristocracy) to my homepage. I haven't yet removed them, and it is
unproven whether the connection does or does not exist (although I must
admit, although I don't want to, that the connection probably is not
correct). If anyone getting this email knows the answer, I would love to
get additional authority on this subject.

Here is the supposed connection: I am descended from Hannah Clayton
(b.1736) and Robert Green (b.1731). Hannah's parents are Edward Clayton
and Ann Whitaker. Ann's parents are James Whitaker and Mary Martin.
Mary's parents are Thomas Martin and Margery Mendenhall. Margery's
parents are Thomas Mendenhall and Joan Strode. So far, so good. As far
as I know, the foregoing is not in dispute.

The problem is the identity of Thomas Mendenhall's wife. There was a
Joan Strode in the same vicinity and the same time period who was
descended from a line of English aristocracy, including King Henry I and
King William I, etc. The question is whether that Joan Strode is the
person who married Thomas Mendenhall. If so, a connection to Henry I
(and many others) is established.

I received information which indicated the connection exists. I got all
excited, researched the royal lineage, and added all kinds of kings to my
program and home page (take a look at
www.gendex.com/users/bacher/home.htm). Then, as luck would have it,
about a week after I did all this work, I read on the Mendenhall mailing
list that a connection between Thomas Mendenhall, a farmer, and Joan
Strode, daughter of William Strode and Joanne Barnard, members of the
English nobility, was preposterous.

In conclusion: (1) don't believe everything you get in email or see on
the internet; (2) us commoners from Chester Co may or may not have
connections to royalty in England or elsewhere; (3) Thomas Mendenhall,
who clearly has descendants who migrated to Chester Co, may or may not
have married the Joan Strode who is descended from King Henry I; (4) The
wife of Thomas Mendenhall is, unfortunately, probably not the Joan Strode
who is descended from King Henry I.

Robert Bacher -- Lancaster PA

http://www.gendex.com/users/bacher/home.htm

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