Chronicle of Walter of Guisborough
A canon regular of the Augustinian Guisborough Priory, Yorkshire, formerly known as The Chronicle of Walter of Hemingburgh, describes the period from 1066 to 1346. Before 1274 the Chronicle is based on other works. Thereafter, the Chronicle is original, and a remarkable source for the events of the time. This book provides a translation of the Chronicle from that date. The Latin source for our translation is the 1849 work edited by Hans Claude Hamilton. Hamilton, in his preface, says: 'In the present work we behold perhaps one of the finest samples of our early chronicles, both as regards the value of the events recorded, and the correctness with which they are detailed; Nor will the pleasing style of composition be lightly passed over by those capable of seeing reflected from it the tokens of a vigorous and cultivated mind, and a favourable specimen of the learning and taste of the age in which it was framed.'
Available at Amazon in eBook and Paperback format.
Paternal Family Tree: Stawell
On 27th January 1725 Mary Stawell 1st Baroness Stawell was born to [her father] Edward Stawell 4th Baron Stawell.
On 23rd January 1742 [her uncle] William Stawell 3rd Baron Stawell [aged 60] died. His brother [her father] Edward succeeded 4th Baron Stawell of Somerton in Somerset.
In 1747 [her future husband] Wills Hill 1st Marquess Downshire [aged 28] and Margaretta Fitzgerald were married. She the daughter of Robert Fitzgerald 19th Earl of Kildare and Mary O'Brien Countess Kildare.
On 13th April 1755 [her father] Edward Stawell 4th Baron Stawell died. Baron Stawell of Somerton in Somerset extinct. His daughter Mary Stawell 1st Baroness Stawell [aged 30] inherited his estates. She was created Baron Stawell of Somerton in Somerset in 1760.
In or before 1757 Henry Bilson Legge [aged 48] and Mary Stawell 1st Baroness Stawell [aged 31] were married. He the son of William Legge 1st Earl Dartmouth and Anne Finch Countess Dartmouth.
In 1757 [her son] Henry Bilson Legge 2nd Baron Stawell was born to [her husband] Henry Bilson Legge [aged 48] and Mary Stawell 1st Baroness Stawell [aged 31]. He married 1779 Mary Curzon Baroness Stawell, daughter of Assheton Curzon 1st Viscount Curzon and Esther Hanmer Baroness Curzon, and had issue.
In 1760 Mary Stawell 1st Baroness Stawell [aged 34] was created 1st Baroness Stawell of Somerton in Somerset. She the daughter of [her father] Edward Stawell 4th Baron Stawell.
On 23rd August 1764 [her husband] Henry Bilson Legge [aged 56] died.
In 1766 Wills Hill 1st Marquess Downshire [aged 47] and Mary Stawell 1st Baroness Stawell [aged 40] were married.
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.
Available at Amazon in eBook and Paperback format.
On 2nd December 1773 James Cecil 1st Marquess Salisbury [aged 25] and [her step-daughter] Mary Amelia Hill Marchioness Salisbury [aged 23] were married. She the daughter of [her husband] Wills Hill 1st Marquess Downshire [aged 55] and Margaretta Fitzgerald. He the son of James Cecil 6th Earl of Salisbury [aged 60] and Elizabeth Keet Countess of Salisbury [aged 52]. They were fifth cousin once removed.
In 1779 [her son] Henry Bilson Legge 2nd Baron Stawell [aged 22] and [her daughter-in-law] Mary Curzon Baroness Stawell [aged 17] were married.
On 29th July 1780 Mary Stawell 1st Baroness Stawell [aged 55] died. Her son Henry [aged 23] succeeded 2nd Baron Stawell of Somerton in Somerset. Mary Curzon Baroness Stawell [aged 19] by marriage Baroness Stawell of Somerton in Somerset.
On 7th October 1793 [her former husband] Wills Hill 1st Marquess Downshire [aged 75] died. His son [her former step-son] Arthur [aged 40] succeeded 2nd Marquess Downshire. Mary Sandys Marchioness Downshire [aged 29] by marriage Marchioness Downshire.
Kings Wessex: Great x 22 Grand Daughter of King Edmund "Ironside" I of England
Kings Gwynedd: Great x 19 Grand Daughter of Owain "Great" King Gwynedd
Kings Seisyllwg: Great x 25 Grand Daughter of Hywel "Dda aka Good" King Seisyllwg King Deheubarth
Kings Powys: Great x 20 Grand Daughter of Maredudd ap Bleddyn King Powys
Kings Godwinson: Great x 22 Grand Daughter of King Harold II of England
Kings England: Great x 12 Grand Daughter of King Edward III of England
Kings Scotland: Great x 21 Grand Daughter of King Duncan I of Scotland
Kings Franks: Great x 28 Grand Daughter of Charles "Charlemagne aka Great" King of the Franks King Lombardy Holy Roman Emperor
Kings France: Great x 23 Grand Daughter of Hugh I King of the Franks
Kings Duke Aquitaine: Great x 26 Grand Daughter of Ranulf I Duke Aquitaine
Great x 2 Grandfather: John Stawell of Cothelstone Manor
Great x 1 Grandfather: John Stawell 9 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England
Great x 4 Grandfather: Henry Tuchet 10th Baron Audley, 7th Baron Tuchet 
6 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England
Great x 3 Grandfather: George Tuchet 1st Earl Castlehaven 7 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England
Great x 4 Grandmother: Elizabeth Sneyd Baroness Audley Heighley
Great x 2 Grandmother: Elizabeth Tuchet 8 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward III of England
Great x 4 Grandfather: James Mervyn
Great x 3 Grandmother: Lucy Mervyn Baroness Audley and Tuchet
GrandFather: Ralph Stawell 1st Baron Stawell 10 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England
Great x 3 Grandfather: George Hext
Great x 2 Grandfather: Edward Hext
Great x 4 Grandfather: Thomas Parker 
Great x 3 Grandmother: Mary Parker
Great x 1 Grandmother: Elizabeth Hext
Father: Edward Stawell 4th Baron Stawell 11 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England
Great x 1 Grandfather: William Pitt
GrandMother: Abigail Pitt Baroness Stawell
Mary Stawell 1st Baroness Stawell 12 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward III of England