Paternal Family Tree: Gerard
In or before 1520 [his father] James Gerard of Astley [aged 9] and [his mother] Margaret Holcroft [aged 9] were married.
After 1522 William Gerard was born to James Gerard of Astley [aged 12] and Margaret Holcroft [aged 12].
In or before 1551 William Gerard [aged 28] and Dorothy Page were married.
Around 1551 [his son] William Gerard was born to William Gerard [aged 28] and [his wife] Dorothy Page. He was educated at Harrow School and Trinity College, Cambridge University [Map]. He married before 23rd October 1587 Dorothy Ratcliffe and had issue.
In October 1553 William Gerard [aged 31] was elected MP Preston.
On 5th March 1558 [his father] James Gerard of Astley [aged 48] died.
In 1559 [his mother] Margaret Holcroft [aged 49] died.
In 1559 William Gerard [aged 36] was elected MP Wigan.
In 1563 William Gerard [aged 40] was elected MP Wigan.
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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In 1571 William Gerard [aged 48] was elected MP Wigan.
On 19th September 1584 William Gerard [aged 62] died.
Great x 4 Grandfather: Peter Garrard of Kingsley and Bryn
Great x 3 Grandfather: John Gerard
Great x 2 Grandfather: William Gerard
Great x 1 Grandfather: Thomas Gerard
Grandfather: William Gerard
father: James Gerard of Astley
Great x 1 Grandfather: John Holcroft
Grandfather: John Holcroft
mother: Margaret Holcroft