Marquises/ Marquesses of Ruvigny (and Raineval)

[G.Willis]

Having found countless mentions of The Plantagenet Roll of the Blood
Royal during genealogical research, I came to wonder about the man
behind the work, namely (according to Wikipedia) Melville Amadeus
Henry Douglas Heddle de La Caillemotte de Massue de Ruvignés, 9th
Marquis of Ruvigny and Raineval. There's some suggestion that the 9th
Marquis (and his father) were not legitimately so to be called, since
apparently 'Ruvigny's grandfather Captain Lloyd Henry de Ruvynes, an
Irishman of French origin, changed his name to "de Massue de
Ruvignés", because of his descent from a daughter of Henry de Massue,
1st Marquis de Ruvigny et de Raineval'. For what it's worth, the
spelling seems to vary between 'Marquis' and 'Marquess' depending on
the source.

So I wondered- bearing in mind that I could find literally nothing
about this family's history online, apart from information about the
second Marquis (who became Earl of Galway)- does anyone have anything
more on this family?

[Turenne]

I have an idea that M. Ruvigny's full appellation is a bit of a
contrivance. I have seen him mentioned elsewhere as Melville Henry
Massue, Marquis de Ruvigny et Raineval and Cranstoun Metcalfe, which
looks a bit made up to me (French name and title plus Scottish
lairdship!)

From what I understand, M. Ruvigny was a genealogist of some sort
(which might be a clue); he married Violet Evelyn Pelly, daughter of
Alfred Digby Pelly and Evelyn Sophia Harford, in February 1923 and
died on 10 May 1941. Their child, Michael Francis Wriothesley de
Ruvigny b. 11 Feb 1927 was probably named after his 'ancestor' Thomas
Wriothesley, 4th Earl of Southampton, who married Rachel Massue de
Ruvigny in 1634!

I am inclined to think that on the death of Henri de Massue, Marquis
de Ruvigny, (Earl of Galway), that the main line died out and that
subsequent claimants to the title were being somewhat economical with
the actualité.

Richard L

[marquess]

I believe that there are some remarks in the Complete Peerage by GEC
about the claim.

[G. Willis]

Ah, I see. On reading that his grandfather adopted the surname owing
to female-line descent from the first marquis, I did suspect that
perhaps some doubtful assumption of the title had taken place. For
that matter, probably having a Scottish mother was all he needed to
'qualify' for the lairdship?

All rather reminiscent of that other genealogically-inclined soi-
disant aristocrat, Brian de Breffny.

[G. Willis]

I don't have a copy, but will bear it in mind if I come across one.
Thank you for the heads-up.

> > Richard L- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -

[G. Willis]

Three posts from the same author in a row is probably some kind of
record...

This thread I came across yesterday sheds a little light on the
gentleman in question, for anyone who might be interested:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Jacobite/messages/5688?threaded=1&m=e&var=1&tidx=1

Guy Stair Sainty's comments in particular seem to more or less confirm
our thoughts on the matter.

On 26 Sep, 13:31, "G. Willis" <boundtotheflamingwh...@googlemail.com>
wrote:

> > - Show quoted text -- Hide quoted text -

[Hovite]

On Sep 26, 6:40 am, marquess <marquessmarqu...@yahoo.co.uk> wrote:
> I believe that there are some remarks in the Complete Peerage by GEC
> about the claim.

All I can find is this under Galway:

"Henry de Massue, Seigneur de Ruvigny, and Marquis de Ruvigny in
France ... He was cr. 25 Nov. 1692, Baron Portarlington and Viscount
Galway [I.], and subsequently, 12 May 1697, Earl of Galway [I.] ... He
d. unm., at the house of Lady Russell, at Stratton, 3, and was bur. 6
Sep. 1720, at Micheldever, aged 72, when all his honours, both French
(c) and English, became extinct. ... (c) This statement is made after
a careful investigation of all the facts. V.G."

[G. Willis]

Interesting stuff; thanks for that Hovite. It certainly clarifies the
issue of legitimacy regarding the title.

I did come across an interesting excerpt on Google Books from the
Marquis's own 'The Nobilities of Europe', wherein he lists his titles
thus:

'Melville Amadeus Henry Douglas Heddle de la Caillemotte (de Massue de
Ruvigny), 15th Marquess of Raineval, near Amiens, also 9th Marquess of
Ruvigny, near Behan, and Count of la Caillemotte (1651), Viscount (c.
1637) and Baron (c. 1524) of Ruvigny, 10th Lord of la Caillemotte (c.
1598), and 41st Baron of Raineval (a. 1080) (Marquis de Raineval,
Marquis de Ruvigny, Comte de la Caillemotte, Vicomte et Baron de
Ruvigny, Seigneur de la Caillemotte, and Baron et Seigneur de
Raineval)'

This separates the marquisates of Ruvigny and Raineval, which some
sources don't; notwithstanding the veracity of his claims to the
title, he would at least be the person in the know about the
particulars thereof, so I can only assume there were two. Hazell's
Annual from 1900 corroborates this, but 'Who was Who' from 1967 lists
Charles Rupert Wriothesley Douglas Townsend Morris, the 9th Marquis's
son (who died in 1941, hence his appearance in such a volume), as
'Ruvigny and Raineval, 10th Marquis of (France), 1651. So at some
point the Raineval title was, at least in general use, subsumed into
the Ruvigny one.

Something I came across on alt.talk.royalty, again from Mr. Guy Stair
Sainty:

'Ruvigny was the descendant through a female descent of the Marquis de
Ruvigny and, since the male heirs of this family were
extinct, considered himself the heir since the original patent allowed
for mixed succession (like so many French creations). He ignored the
fact
that after the restoration all French titles became inheritable by
male heirs only. His argument was that he was the heir according to
the original
patent - unfortunately he was treating this title like a British
title, i.e. that the title itself was what mattered. However in France
before the
revolution territorial titles like this were tied to the original
lordship which had been "erected" into a barony, county, marquisate or
dukedom, and
possession of the title required possession of the land. Ruvigny's
claim would have been stronger (although not sufficient) if he had
inherited
the property in addition to the title. That said, Ruvigny was a
considerable scholar whose work, The Titled Nobility of Europe, and
the Jacobite
Peerage, represent a tremendous contribution and both works are
invaluable sources of reference. How many among us can claim such a
legacy?'

A little research finds that descendants of the 9th Marquis are alive
and well in the present- whether he uses the title (s) or not is
unknown, but Rupert Francis James Henry de Massue de Ruvigny
(apparently the original 'de Ruvignés' was changed to match the
English version of the title at some stage), born 1959, is (at least
by his great-grandfather's reckoning, and depending on whether his
father- born 1927- has died or not) the rightful holder of the title
'12th Marquis of Ruvigny and 18th of Raineval'. This individual is the
son of Michael Francis Wriothesley M. T. B. de Massue de Ruvignés, b.
1927 (perhaps still alive?), who married Patricia Kirkpatrick Pile.
His father was the 9th Marquis's second son Charles Rupert Wriothesley
Douglas Townsend Morris de Massue de Ruvignés (1903-1941) who appears
as 'Marquis de Ruvigny' (no number given) under the Pelly baronets
entry in Burke's 107th edition, having married Violet Evelyn Pelly of
that family. His use of the title (as '10th Marquis') is corroborated
by his appearance, as mentioned above, in 'Who was Who'. There are no
results for later marquises though. The (possibly) 'rightful' 12th
Marquis is only listed as having a daughter (Annabelle), but his
sister Rachel Anne has a son, Henry Philip Michael (b. 1984) and a
daughter Georgina Rachel Eugenie (b. 1983) from her marriage to Philip
Alan Rubery. So I suppose hope may yet live on that there might one
day be another Marquis de Ruvigny et de Raineval.

Many thanks to those who gave me a hand with this interesting little
issue!

[Turenne]

What's the origin of the 'Cranstoun Metcalfe' element of his name?

http://www.jacobite.ca/essays/ruvigny.htm

Richard L

[G. Willis]

It would appear that Cranstoun Metcalfe was actually a separate
person, based on the message in the following URL:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Jacobite/message/7752?l=1

and the fact that a search brings up other books attributed to that
individual.

Searching in Google books finds - among other things, such as evidence
that he was a translator- a mention in Ruvigny's own Plantagenet Roll
of the Blood Royal of a Henry Cranstoun Metcalfe, who is possibly that
same individual. Presumably he just generally omitted the 'Henry'.
Corroborating this is 'The Wellesley Index to Victorian Periodicals,
1824-1900', page 290, which lists a book as 'signed Ruvigny [Marquis
de] and Cranstoun Metcalfe'.

A list of subscribers to John Henry Metcalf's 'A great historic
peerage: the Earldom of Wiltes' includes a Hope Cranstoun Metcalfe of
68, The Drive, Fulham Park Gardens, who is presumably a relative and
illustrates the use of the two names. I would say that the way the
article you've referenced (as well as some other sources here and
there), Richard, certainly doesn't do a very good job of clarifying
the authors' names!

Actually, taking a look here- http://www.william1.co.uk/w139.htm-
reveals a Henry Cranstoun Metcalfe, the son of Thomas Metcalfe and
Christiana Brisbane Cranstoun. The aforementioned Hope is his niece.
There are other results that seem to attest to the Metcalfe family's
landed gentry origins.

[Turenne]

On 26 Sep, 20:35, "G. Willis" <boundtotheflamingwh...@googlemail.com>
wrote:

>
> Searching in Google books finds - among other things, such as evidence
> that he was a translator- a mention in Ruvigny's own Plantagenet Roll
> of the Blood Royal of a Henry Cranstoun Metcalfe, who is possibly that
> same individual. Presumably he just generally omitted the 'Henry'.
> Corroborating this is 'The Wellesley Index to Victorian Periodicals,
> 1824-1900', page 290, which lists a book as 'signed Ruvigny [Marquis
> de] and Cranstoun Metcalfe'.
>
> A list of subscribers to John Henry Metcalf's 'A great historic
> peerage: the Earldom of Wiltes' includes a Hope Cranstoun Metcalfe of
> 68, The Drive, Fulham Park Gardens, who is presumably a relative and
> illustrates the use of the two names. I would say that the way the
> article you've referenced (as well as some other sources here and
> there), Richard, certainly doesn't do a very good job of clarifying
> the authors' names!
>

> Actually, taking a look here-http://www.william1.co.uk/w139.htm-

> reveals a Henry Cranstoun Metcalfe, the son of Thomas Metcalfe and
> Christiana Brisbane Cranstoun. The aforementioned Hope is his niece.
> There are other results that seem to attest to the Metcalfe family's
> landed gentry origins.

Oops! I thought he was claiming to be a Laird as well as a marquis,
and that Cranstoun Metcalfe was his TD. How embarrassing!!

RL

[G. Willis]

I thought that exact same thing! Well, with all the other titles in
play it wouldn't have been too much of a surprise. And the evidence at
hand certainly didn't clear things up very easily... I often wonder if
people in the past did these things purely to obfuscate matters and
confuse us!

At this point I must own up to a possible mistake in my last post-
bearing in mind the dates between which the 9th Marquis lived, the
Cranstoun Metcalfe in question is as likely to have been a descendant/
relative of Henry Cranstoun Metcalfe's (1811-1888; there is a
grandson, Henry Cecil C(ranstoun?) Metcalfe, b. 1900, who is another
candidate, bearing in mind that when the 9th Marquis was producing his
works, Henry the Elder would have been dead) as the gentleman himself.
I suppose I did say 'is possibly that same individual', but went on to
pretty much directly imply that it was, which I suppose is one of the
cardinal sins when it comes to genealogy- jumping to conclusions
without checking facts- so lesson learned!

> RL- Hide quoted text -

[Richard R]

I see that Patricia Kirkpatrick PILE (1924-2014) has died (from the Telegraph of 31 December 2014: RUVIGNY  Patricia Kirkpatrick passed away peacefully in London on Christmas Day 2014. Beloved wife of the Marquis de Ruvigny and much loved mother, grandmother and great grandmother. A family service will be held on 2nd January 2015.

She was d of Conrade G Kirkpatrick PILE of Barbados and Elsie Frances (d 1987, The Times 25 Aug) d of Sydney Furze VICKERS of Brockley, Kent.