unknown de Whitney

Family/Spouse: Unknown. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Family/Spouse: Unknown. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Religion: 1277; He presented John de Chaundos to the church of Pencombe and had free warren granted him.
• Deed: 1280; He gave deed to the monastery of St. Peter in Glucester, confirming the deed of his ancestors.
• History: 1281; King Edward I granted him free warren.
• Military: 1297; Sir Eustace was given summons to military service "beyond the seas". He was summonded again, this time to the Scotch War in 1301.

Family/Spouse: Unknown. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Legal: 1304; He and Alexander de Freville were listed as debtors to Walter de la Barre on 2 September 1304 for the sum of 26 markes, 11 shillings, and 6 pence.
• Title(s): 1306; He was knighted by Edward I.
• Offices Held: 1313; 1313 - Member of Parliament 1352 - Member of Parliament
• Land/House: 1333; At the request of his peers, granted, for a sum of money, the right fort he commoners and landowners of Clifford to pasture their animals on land belonging to him.

Eustace married Elizabeth de Freville on 5 Jun 1301 in England. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Moved To: 1368, Milan, Lombardy, Italy; He traveled to Milan with the Duke of Clarence
• Offices Held: 1376; 1376 - Member of Parliament 1379-1380 - Member of Parliament 1377 - Sheriff of Herefordshire in the first year of King Richard I.

Family/Spouse: Unknown. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Married: Giles de Braose. Issue: 1. John de Braose 2. Maud de Braose

Other Events and Attributes:

• Travel: 1368; In 1368 Sir Robert obtained royal letters of protection as going abroad in the large retinue of Lionel, duke of Clarence, who was then ready to travel to Italy for his marriage to Violanta, niece of the duke of Milan, but whether he was a permanent member of Clarence’s household at this time is not revealed.
• Travel: 1388; He was sent to negotiate with the Count of Flanders in 1388.
• Offices Held: 1391; He was a Member of Parliament for Herefordshire in 1391.
• Travel: 1393; In 1393 he went to France under orders to deliver the Castle and Town of Cherbourg to the King of Navarre.
• Offices Held: 1394; He was the Knight Marshal in the Court of King Richard II in 1394.
• Travel: 1394; As Knight Marshal, he was sent to Ireland in 1394 on King's business.
• History: 2018; Biography Sir Robert came of an old-established Herefordshire family, whose chief manor (held of the de Bohuns) was Whitney-on-Wye near the county boundary with Breconshire. He had presumably inherited the family estates by February 1361 (the date of his first mention) when he presented to the living at Pencombe near Bromyard.3 Seven years later Whitney obtained royal letters of protection as going abroad in the large retinue of Lionel, duke of Clarence, who was then ready to travel to Italy for his marriage to Violanta, niece of the duke of Milan, but whether he was a permanent member of Clarence’s household at this time is not revealed. Subsequently, he served in the company of Humphrey de Bohun, earl of Hereford (d.1373), his feudal lord. After Richard II’s accession, he was appointed sheriff of Herefordshire, and it was in this capacity that (along with Sir Walter Devereux* and Sir John Eynesford, the then shire knights) he petitioned the Parliament at Gloucester in 1378, asking for government action against the companies of Welsh raiders which were plundering and terrorizing the shire. In 1385 he accompanied Richard II’s expedition to Scotland.4 Some five years later Sir Robert apparently became involved in the activities of William Swynderby, the lollard who was then preaching in Herefordshire in defiance of the diocesan, Bishop Trefnant. Swynderby was brought to trial before the bishop in June 1391, when (among other things) he was accused of delivering an heretical sermon at Whitney-on-Wye two years previously. The lollard admitted preaching the sermon, but denied that it contained heresy, ‘and that wil witnesse the lord of the toun that has the same sermon writen, and mony gentiles and other that herden me that day’. The ‘lord of the toun’ was certainly Sir Robert, and the fact that he possessed a written copy of the suspect tract suggests that, apart from allowing Swynderby to preach in the church of his manor, he was interested in his teachings. He may, indeed, have been among those ‘certain nobles’ who procured the safe conduct which enabled the lollard to withdraw from the bishop’s court after presenting his defence. It is additionally significant that Whitney-on-Wye was one of the places to which (in July and September following) the bishop sent citations ordering Swynderby to re-appear before him. In October Swynderby was finally convicted of heresy, but he refused to accept the verdict of the bishop’s tribunal, publishing instead two written defences in English, one of which ends by appealing to the anonymous addressee, ‘that ye woln vouchesauf this thinges that I sende yow writen ... to late them be schewet in the parlement as your wyttes can best conceyve’. It is at least possible, therefore, that the appeal was addressed to Sir Robert, who was then about to attend the Parliament of November 1391 but there is no evidence that the lollard’s views were ever laid before the Commons. All things considered, it appears likely that Whitney (like several others of the Herefordshire gentry) had heretical sympathies, if only for a limited period; and this impression is borne out by the lollard connexions of his son, Sir Robert the younger, his daughter, Perryne, and his son-in-law, Thomas Clanvowe*.5 Any such sympathies did not, however, affect Sir Robert’s public career adversely, and during the latter part of his life he was closely connected with the household of Richard II. When this association began is not known, but by 1390 his daughter had been retained as a lady-in-waiting to Queen Anne, and on 14 Oct. 1393, when he was granted a life annuity of 40 marks, he himself was referred to as a ‘King’s knight’. Indeed, he was already holding office as harbinger of the Household. It was then that he was authorized to restore the town and castle of Cherbourg to Charles III of Navarre, following the death of the latter’s father, who in 1378 had relinquished the place to the English for the duration of his own lifetime. So, on 29 Oct. Whitney sailed for the Côtentin with nine ships, and during the following two months was engaged in transferring part of the castle’s stores to Calais or London and in selling the rest to the Navarrese.6 In July 1394, this time in his official capacity, Sir Robert was preparing to go to Ireland in advance of Richard II’s expedition. On the 8th he appointed his neighbour, Thomas Oldcastle*, as one of his attorneys to look after his affairs at home; two days later he received a royal writ of aid ordering him to purchase provisions against the arrival of the royal army; and at the end of the month, by which time he had presumably made the crossing, he was appointed to investigate, in Irish ports, arrears of customs and alleged frauds by the collectors. He evidently performed his duties satisfactorily, for two years later, in May 1396, he received a royal reward of two tuns of wine a year for life.7 Sir Robert was apparently something of a diplomat, for he was engaged for six months from August 1397, along with Master Henry Bowet (later archbishop of York), in an embassy to Aragon, Foix and Aquitaine. The party carried letters of credence addressed to King Martin of Aragon, its task being to mediate (on behalf of Richard II) in the dispute between him and the count of Foix. He was still a harbinger of the Household, and a year after his return from Spain he once again made preparations to go to Ireland in advance of the King’s second expedition. On 4 Mar. 1399 he was granted royal letters of protection and authorized to appoint his son-in-law, Thomas Clanvowe, as his attorney. Then, during the same week, he was ordered not only to store food and fuel in readiness for the King’s arrival, but also to requisition enough fishing boats to supply the Household with fish during its stay in Ireland.8 Despite his close associations with the court of Richard II, Sir Robert apparently had no great difficulty in adapting to the changes consequent upon the accession of Henry IV, within a month of which his royal annuity and other grants were confirmed to him. He was not, however, re-appointed to his office of harbinger and he was also dropped from the county commission of the peace. In any case, he must now have been well on in years. All the same, he turned. out to fight against Owen Glendower at the battle of Pilleth on 22 June 1402, there (together with his brother and other kinsmen) being slain.
• Last Full Review: 17 Dec 2020

Notes:

Died:
He was killed together with his brother and most of his relatives at the Battle of Bryn Glas, also known as the Battle of Pilleth.

Robert married Janet Trussell on yes date unknown. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Robert married Maud Cromwell on Yes, date unknown. Maud (daughter of Sir Ralph Cromwell of Tattershall, Lord Cromwell and Maud Bernake) was born in 1352 in England. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Married: say 1395; William Walwyn.

Other Events and Attributes:

• Land/House: 1404; King Henry IV, granted him the Castle of Clifford and the lordships of Clifford and Glasbury for the services of his father.
• Offices Held: 1413; 1413 - Sheriff of Herefordshire. Again in 1428, 1433, and 1437. 1416 - Member of Parliament. Again in 1422. 1420 - Captain of the Castle and Town of Vire
• History: 1420; He fought under Henry V in France.

Family/Spouse: Wenllian Oldcastle. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• History: 1455; He headed a commission sent to Wales by King Henry VI.
• Offices Held: 1468; 1468 - Member of Parlament from Herefordshire

Family/Spouse: Jennet Russell. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Family/Spouse: Jane Clifford. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Married: Sir Lawarence Bullen. Issue: 1. Thomas Bullen

Other Events and Attributes:

• Married: say 1434; Roger Blount, the son of James and Anne (Parker) Blount. Issue: 1. Thomas Blount of Grendon 2. Walter Blout of Eldersfield

Notes:

Died:
He died without issue.

Robert married Constance Touchet about 1460. Constance was born about 1443 in Heleigh Castle, Staffordshire, England; died before 8 Oct 1492. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Robert married Alice Vaughan about 1465 in England. Alice (daughter of Thomas ap Roger Vaughan and Ellen Gethyn) was born in Hergest, England (not found). [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• History: birth to death
• Married: Robert Vaughan.

Notes:

History:
Her name is also spelt Jane.

Other Events and Attributes:

• History: birth to death

Notes:

History:
He was the heir and successor to his father.

James married Blanche Milbourne about 1486. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Married: say 1488; John Puleston.

Family/Spouse: unknown wife. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Married: say 1494; Thomas Vaughan.

Other Events and Attributes:

• Married: say 1495; Roger ap Richard. He was living in Hergest, England. [Roger, married Sibyl Whitney]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Married: say 1497; John Pye. He was born about 1444 in England. [John, married Elizabeth Whitney] He died in 1550 in Mynde, England, at age 106 years. John's gravestone inscription reads: 1550 Here lyeth the Bodyof John Pye of Minde a travayler in far countryes, his life ended He left behind him Walter, his son, heire of Minde a hundred and six yeares he was truly and had sons and daughters two and fourty! John Pyeof mynde sone of Jon. pye, seconde sone of Jon. pye of Sadlebowe, esq married 3 wiefes his first wief was Anne, da. to Sr. Richard Delabyre, knight his second wief was Anne Brigees and his third wief was alrothes, da. to Sr. Robert Whitney, lord of Whitney Hee had bye theme 42 children And hee had by Concubines 22 Children

Other Events and Attributes:

• History: 1542, Castleton, Herefordshire, England; He paid a subsidy taxes in 1542, 1545, and 1547 at The Bache (now The Bage), Clifford Parish, Herefordshire, England.
• Will: 16 Jul 1555
• Probate/Proved: say Sep 1555

Family/Spouse: Elizabeth. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Family/Spouse: Thomas Robage. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Married: say 1560; _____ ______. Issue: 1. Eustace Whitney 2. Thomas Whitney (c1581-____)
• Will: 12 Nov 1587, Castleton, Herefordshire, England

Other Events and Attributes:

• Married: say 1562; (1) Johan ______. She was buried on 24 July 1573 in Isleworth-on-the-Thames, Middlesex, England.
• Married: 16 Sep 1573, Isleworth-on-the-Thames, Middlesex, England; (2) Elizabeth Smith. Issue: 1. Nicholas Whitney (1574-____) 2. William Whitney (1576-____) 3. Roger Whitney (1579-____) 4. Lawrence Whitney (1581-____) 5. Robert Whitney (1584-____) 6. Elizabeth Whitney (1586-____) 7. Gideon Whitney

Other Events and Attributes:

• Complier's Note: 2006; Many sources list Robert Whitney as the father of Thomas Whitney, thus linking the Whitneys to royal ancestry. This has been proven false. Donald Lines Jacobus called the line into question in 1933, and it was completely disproved by Paul C. Reed in 1994. In 2006, Robert Leigh Ward and Tim Doyle traced his ancestry through a cadet line.

Notes:

Buried:
Rixford (1932) gives his burial date as 14 April 1637. Green (1997) gives the date as 15 April 1637

Thomas married Mary Bray on 12 May 1583 in Westminster, London, England. Mary (daughter of Lord John Bray and Margaret Haslonde) was born in 1564 in Westminster, London, England; was buried on 25 Sep 1629 in Westminster, London, England. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Living: 1587; She was unmarried.

Other Events and Attributes:

• Married: After 1587, England; William Powell.