Abbot John Whethamstede’s Chronicle of the Abbey of St Albans
Abbot John Whethamstede's Register aka Chronicle of his second term at the Abbey of St Albans, 1451-1461, is a remarkable text that describes his first-hand experience of the beginning of the Wars of the Roses including the First and Second Battles of St Albans, 1455 and 1461, respectively, their cause, and their consequences, not least on the Abbey itself. His text also includes Loveday, Blore Heath, Northampton, the Act of Accord, Wakefield, and Towton, and ends with the Coronation of King Edward IV. In addition to the events of the Wars of the Roses, Abbot John, or his scribes who wrote the Chronicle, include details in the life of the Abbey such as charters, letters, land exchanges, visits by legates, and disputes, which provide a rich insight into the day-to-day life of the Abbey, and the challenges faced by its Abbot.
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Paternal Family Tree: Millais
In 1828 William Henry Millais was born to [his father] John William Millais and [his mother] Emily Mary Evermy [aged 38].
On 3rd July 1855 [his brother] John Everett Millais 1st Baronet [aged 26] and [his sister-in-law] Euphemia "Effie" Gray Lady Millais [aged 27] were married at Bowerswell House, Kinnoul [Map]; see Life and Letters of Millais. They spent their two-week honeymoon in Argyleshire, Bute and Arran - see Life and Letters of Millais.
In 1860 William Henry Millais [aged 32] and Judith Agnes Boothby [aged 27] were married.
The Diary of George Price Boyce 1861. May 29. Went down to Epsom by rail and walked to the course. Met Woolner [aged 35] and a brother sculptor, Burnett, John [aged 31] and William [aged 33] Millais, Mr. Abraham Salomon [aged 38] and Mrs. Abraham Salomon and Miss Salomon. Tom Taylor and a lady. When the 18 horses were running for the Derby Stakes and I and Woolner and Burnett were against the ropes on the side the horses took, and we were struck by the thunder and tramping rush of their progress—that was in truth a sublime moment. In the evening adiourned to Cremorne which was densely thronged by men and women in all states of hilarity and inebricty. Met Munro [aged 35] and Ormsby, Poynter, Du Maurier, Millais and Jopling and others.
On 6th April 1862 [his wife] Judith Agnes Boothby [aged 29] died.
On 22nd April 1864 [his mother] Emily Mary Evermy [aged 75] died.
On 7th June 1866 William Henry Millais [aged 38] and Adelaide Jane Fraser were married.
On 28th January 1870 [his father] John William Millais died.
1871 Census. 7 Cromwell Place, Kensington.
[his brother] John Everett Millais 1st Baronet [aged 41]
[his sister-in-law] Euphemia "Effie" Gray Lady Millais [aged 42]
[his niece] Mary [aged 11]
[his nephew] Geoffrey [aged 7]
John [aged 6]
Sophia [aged 3]
Effie [aged 13]
William [aged 43]
3rd April 1881. Census. 2 Palace Gate, Kensington.
[his brother] John Everett Millais 1st Baronet [aged 51]
Alice Millais
[his nephew] Geoffrey [aged 17]
Jean Gray.
William [aged 53]
Five servants.
Geoffrey William Millais 4th Baronet: On 18th September 1863 he was born to John Everett Millais 1st Baronet and Euphemia "Effie" Gray Lady Millais. On 30th September 1920 John Everett Millais 3rd Baronet died. His uncle Geoffrey succeeded 4th Baronet Millais of Palace Gate in Kensington in Middlesex. On 7th November 1941 Geoffrey William Millais 4th Baronet died. His son Ralph succeeded 5th Baronet Millais of Palace Gate in Kensington in Middlesex.
On 13th August 1896 [his brother] John Everett Millais 1st Baronet [aged 67] died. His son [his nephew] Everett [aged 40] succeeded 2nd Baronet Millais of Palace Gate in Kensington in Middlesex.
On 20th March 1899 William Henry Millais [aged 71] died.
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 24th April 1924 [his former wife] Adelaide Jane Fraser died.