This is a translation of the 'Memoires of Jacques du Clercq', published in 1823 in two volumes, edited by Frederic, Baron de Reissenberg. In his introduction Reissenberg writes: 'Jacques du Clercq tells us that he was born in 1424, and that he was a licentiate in law and a counsellor to Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy, in the castellany of Douai, Lille, and Orchies. It appears that he established his residence at Arras. In 1446, he married the daughter of Baldwin de la Lacherie, a gentleman who lived in Lille. We read in the fifth book of his Memoirs that his father, also named Jacques du Clercq, had married a lady of the Le Camelin family, from Compiègne. His ancestors, always attached to the counts of Flanders, had constantly served them, whether in their councils or in their armies.' The Memoires cover a period of nineteen years beginning in in 1448, ending in in 1467. It appears that the author had intended to extend the Memoirs beyond that date; no doubt illness or death prevented him from carrying out this plan. As Reissenberg writes the 'merit of this work lies in the simplicity of its narrative, in its tone of good faith, and in a certain air of frankness which naturally wins the reader’s confidence.' Du Clercq ranges from events of national and international importance, including events of the Wars of the Roses in England, to simple, everyday local events such as marriages, robberies, murders, trials and deaths, including that of his own father in Book 5; one of his last entries.
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Maternal Family Tree: Elizabeth Ernle 1697-1759
In or before 1720 [her father] Henry Drax (age 26) and [her mother] Elizabeth Ernle (age 22) were married.
Around 1720 Elizabeth Drax Countess Berkeley and Nugent was born to [her father] Henry Drax (age 27) and [her mother] Elizabeth Ernle (age 23).
On 14th July 1730 [her future husband] Robert Nugent 1st Earl Nugent (age 21) and Emilia Plunkett were married. She the daughter of Peter Plunkett 4th Earl of Fingall and Frances Hales Countess Fingall.
On 23rd March 1736 [her future husband] Robert Nugent 1st Earl Nugent (age 27) and Anne Craggs were married.
On 17th August 1736 James Berkeley 3rd Earl Berkeley (age 57) died. His son [her future husband] Augustus (age 21) succeeded 4th Earl Berkeley, 4th Viscount Dursley, 12th Baron Berkeley.
On 7th May 1744 Augustus Berkeley 4th Earl Berkeley (age 29) and Elizabeth Drax Countess Berkeley and Nugent (age 24) were married. She by marriage Countess Berkeley. He the son of James Berkeley 3rd Earl Berkeley and Louisa Lennox Countess Berkeley.
In 1745 [her son] Frederick Augustus Berkeley 5th Earl Berkeley was born to [her husband] Augustus Berkeley 4th Earl Berkeley (age 29) and Elizabeth Drax Countess Berkeley and Nugent (age 25). He a great x 2 grandson of King Charles II of England Scotland and Ireland.
On 17th December 1750 [her daughter] Elizabeth Berkeley Margrave Brandenburg-Ansbach was born to [her husband] Augustus Berkeley 4th Earl Berkeley (age 35) and Elizabeth Drax Countess Berkeley and Nugent (age 30). She a great x 2 granddaughter of King Charles II of England Scotland and Ireland. She married (1) 30th May 1767 William Craven 6th Baron Craven and had issue (2) 13th October 1791 her fifth cousin Charles Alexander Hohenzollern Margrave Brandenburg-Ansbach, son of Charles William Frederick "The Wild Margrave" Hohenzollern and Frederica Louise Hohenzollern.
On 10th August 1753 [her son] George Cranfield Berkeley was born to [her husband] Augustus Berkeley 4th Earl Berkeley (age 38) and Elizabeth Drax Countess Berkeley and Nugent (age 33). He a great x 2 grandson of King Charles II of England Scotland and Ireland. He married 1784 his second cousin Emily Charlotte Lennox and had issue.
This is a translation of the 'Memoires of Jacques du Clercq', published in 1823 in two volumes, edited by Frederic, Baron de Reissenberg. In his introduction Reissenberg writes: 'Jacques du Clercq tells us that he was born in 1424, and that he was a licentiate in law and a counsellor to Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy, in the castellany of Douai, Lille, and Orchies. It appears that he established his residence at Arras. In 1446, he married the daughter of Baldwin de la Lacherie, a gentleman who lived in Lille. We read in the fifth book of his Memoirs that his father, also named Jacques du Clercq, had married a lady of the Le Camelin family, from Compiègne. His ancestors, always attached to the counts of Flanders, had constantly served them, whether in their councils or in their armies.' The Memoires cover a period of nineteen years beginning in in 1448, ending in in 1467. It appears that the author had intended to extend the Memoirs beyond that date; no doubt illness or death prevented him from carrying out this plan. As Reissenberg writes the 'merit of this work lies in the simplicity of its narrative, in its tone of good faith, and in a certain air of frankness which naturally wins the reader’s confidence.' Du Clercq ranges from events of national and international importance, including events of the Wars of the Roses in England, to simple, everyday local events such as marriages, robberies, murders, trials and deaths, including that of his own father in Book 5; one of his last entries.
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On 9th January 1755 [her husband] Augustus Berkeley 4th Earl Berkeley (age 39) died. His son [her son] Frederick (age 10) succeeded 5th Earl Berkeley, 5th Viscount Dursley, 13th Baron Berkeley.
On 24th May 1755 [her father] Henry Drax (age 62) died.
On 2nd January 1757 Robert Nugent 1st Earl Nugent (age 48) and Elizabeth Drax Countess Berkeley and Nugent (age 37) were married.
In 1758 [her daughter] Louisa Nugent was born to [her husband] Robert Nugent 1st Earl Nugent (age 49) and Elizabeth Drax Countess Berkeley and Nugent (age 38).
In 1758 [her daughter] Mary Elizabeth Nugent Marchioness Buckingham was born to [her husband] Robert Nugent 1st Earl Nugent (age 49) and Elizabeth Drax Countess Berkeley and Nugent (age 38). She married 1775 George Nugent Temple Grenville 1st Marquess Buckingham and had issue.
Around 1759 Joshua Reynolds (age 35). Portrait of Elizabeth Drax Countess Berkeley and Nugent (age 39).
In 1759 [her mother] Elizabeth Ernle (age 62) died.
In 1767 [her husband] Robert Nugent 1st Earl Nugent (age 58) was created 1st Viscount Clare, 1st Baron Nugent. Elizabeth Drax Countess Berkeley and Nugent (age 47) by marriage Viscountess Clare.
On 30th May 1767 [her son-in-law] William Craven 6th Baron Craven (age 28) and [her daughter] Elizabeth Berkeley Margrave Brandenburg-Ansbach (age 16) were married. She the daughter of [her former husband] Augustus Berkeley 4th Earl Berkeley and Elizabeth Drax Countess Berkeley and Nugent (age 47).
In 1771 [her step-son] Lieutenant-Colonel Edmund Nugent (age 39) died unmarried.
In 1775 [her son-in-law] George Nugent Temple Grenville 1st Marquess Buckingham (age 21) and [her daughter] Mary Elizabeth Nugent Marchioness Buckingham (age 17) were married. She the daughter of [her husband] Robert Nugent 1st Earl Nugent (age 66) and Elizabeth Drax Countess Berkeley and Nugent (age 55).
William of Worcester's Chronicle of England
William of Worcester, born around 1415, and died around 1482 was secretary to John Fastolf, the renowned soldier of the Hundred Years War, during which time he collected documents, letters, and wrote a record of events. Following their return to England in 1440 William was witness to major events. Twice in his chronicle he uses the first person: 1. when writing about the murder of Thomas, 7th Baron Scales, in 1460, he writes '… and I saw him lying naked in the cemetery near the porch of the church of St. Mary Overie in Southwark …' and 2. describing King Edward IV's entry into London in 1461 he writes '… proclaimed that all the people themselves were to recognize and acknowledge Edward as king. I was present and heard this, and immediately went down with them into the city'. William’s Chronicle is rich in detail. It is the source of much information about the Wars of the Roses, including the term 'Diabolical Marriage' to describe the marriage of Queen Elizabeth Woodville’s brother John’s marriage to Katherine, Dowager Duchess of Norfolk, he aged twenty, she sixty-five or more, and the story about a paper crown being placed in mockery on the severed head of Richard, 3rd Duke of York.
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In 1776 [her husband] Robert Nugent 1st Earl Nugent (age 67) was created 1st Earl Nugent. Elizabeth Drax Countess Berkeley and Nugent (age 56) by marriage Countess Nugent.
In 1784 [her son] George Cranfield Berkeley (age 30) and [her daughter-in-law] Emily Charlotte Lennox (age 20) were married. He the son of [her former husband] Augustus Berkeley 4th Earl Berkeley and Elizabeth Drax Countess Berkeley and Nugent (age 64). They were second cousins. He a great x 2 grandson of King Charles II of England Scotland and Ireland. She a great x 2 granddaughter of King Charles II of England Scotland and Ireland.
On 13th October 1788 [her husband] Robert Nugent 1st Earl Nugent (age 79) died. [her son-in-law] George Nugent Temple Grenville 1st Marquess Buckingham (age 35) succeeded 2nd Earl Nugent. Viscount Clare, Baron Nugent extinct.
On 13th October 1791 [her son-in-law] Charles Alexander Hohenzollern Margrave Brandenburg-Ansbach (age 55) and [her daughter] Elizabeth Berkeley Margrave Brandenburg-Ansbach (age 40) were married at Lisbon [Map]. She by marriage Margravine Brandenburg-Ansbach. She the daughter of [her former husband] Augustus Berkeley 4th Earl Berkeley and Elizabeth Drax Countess Berkeley and Nugent (age 71). They were fifth cousins. He a great x 4 grandson of King James I of England and Ireland and VI of Scotland. She a great x 2 granddaughter of King Charles II of England Scotland and Ireland.
On 29th June 1792 Elizabeth Drax Countess Berkeley and Nugent (age 72) died.
Father: Henry Drax
Elizabeth Drax Countess Berkeley and Nugent
GrandFather: Edward Ernle 3rd Baronet
Mother: Elizabeth Ernle