More C.P. Additions: Sir Thomas de Clare (died 1287), his sons, Gilbert and Richard, and grandson, Thomas
Douglas Richardson
The cadet branch of the baronial Clare family seated in Ireland has
been covered in many sources by historians and genealogists, albeit
not without some errors and omissions. This branch of the Clare
family was founded by Sir Thomas de Clare (died 1287), a younger
brother of Gilbert de Clare, Earl of Gloucester and Hertford. Sir
Thomas de Clare is known to have married before 18 February 1275
Juliane Fitz Maurice, daughter and co-heiress of Maurice Fitz Maurice
[Fitz Gerald], Knt., 4th Baron of Offaly, Justiciar of Ireland. It is
commonly claimed by various secondary sources that the mother of Sir
Thomas de Clare's wife, Juliane Fitz Maurice, was Emeline Longespée,
2nd wife of Sir Maurice Fitz Maurice, which Emeline was a
granddaughter of William Longespée the elder, Earl of Salisbury
(bastard son of King Henry II of England). However, contemporary
records prove conclusively that Emeline Longespée died without issue.
Juliane Fitz Maurice's mother was actually her father's first wife,
Maud de Prendergast, widow of David Fitz Maurice (died 1249), and
Maurice de Rochford (died 1258), and daughter and co-heiress of Gerard
de Prendergast, of Beauvoir (or Carrigaline) and Ballacha (in Orrey),
co. Cork, by his 2nd wife, _____, daughter of Richard de Burgh, lord
of Connaught, Justiciar of Ireland, 1228-1232. A full discussion of
Juliane Fitz Maurice's parentage can be found in two threads in the
newsgroup archives, with evidence and sources cited therein. New
evidence of Juliane Fitz Maurice's maternity, however, will be
presented below.
Sir Thomas de Clare was succeeded on his death in 1287 by his eldest
son and heir, Sir Gilbert de Clare. It has long been known that Sir
Gilbert de Clare had a wife named Isabel, of unknown parentage.
Evidence proving that Isabel is the same person as Isabel le
Despenser, afterwards wife of Sir John de Hastings, 1st Lord Hastings,
may be found in Reg. Simonis de Gandavo Diocesis Saresbiriensis, 2
(Canterbury & York Soc. 41) (1934): 778-779, which evidence has been
presented here earlier on the newsgroup. New evidence of Isabel's
identity, however, will be found further below.
Sir Gilbert de Clare in turn was succeeded at his death by his
brother, Sir Richard de Clare (died 1318), who was summoned to
Parliament in 1309 as Lord Clare. It has long been known that Sir
Richard de Clare had a wife named Joan, of unknown parentage, by which
wife he had a son and heir, Thomas de Clare, who succeeded his father
and died as a minor in 1321. Evidence proving that Joan is the
daughter of Thomas Fitz Maurice, Keeper of Ireland, by Margaret,
daughter of Thomas de Berkeley, Knt., 1st Lord Berkeley, may be found
in Calendar of Patent Rolls, 1317-1321 (1903): 523. In that source,
a record dated 1320 specifically refers to Maurice Fitz Thomas
(afterwards 1st Earl of Desmond) as the "uncle" of Richard and Joan de
Clare's minor son, Thomas de Clare, and Maurice de Rochford as
"kinsman" to young Thomas de Clare. Maurice Fitz Thomas can only have
been brother to Sir Richard de Clare's wife, Joan, thus establishing
Joan's identity. As for Maurice de Rochford, he appears to be the
same person as Maurice de Rochford, of Tobernea, co. Limerick, living
in 1315, which individual was the half-brother of Sir Richard de
Clare's mother, Juliane Fitz Maurice. Thus, this record provides
fresh evidence of Juliane Fitz Maurice's parentage. For reasons not
known to me, the 1320 Patent Rolls item appears to have been
overlooked by the authoritative Complete Peerage.
For those interested in viewing the actual Patent Rolls item, they may
do so at the following weblink:
http://sdrc.lib.uiowa.edu/patentrolls/e2v3/body/Edward2vol3page0523.pdf
A petition related to the 1320 Patent Rolls item is available in the
helpful online National Archives catalogue. Like the Patent Rolls
item, this record refers to Maurice Fitz Thomas as the "uncle" of
Thomas de Clare. Maurice de Rochford is likewise named in the
petition, but is not styled kinsman of Thomas de Clare, as in the
Parent Rolls item. Three women are stated to be holding dower of
young Thomas de Clare's inheritance, they being Emeline Longespée, the
surviving widow of Thomas' maternal grandfather, Sir Maurice Fitz
Maurice; his mother, Joan de Clare; and Isabel de Hastings, which lady
is Isabel le Despenser, then wife of Sir John de Hastings, which
Isabel was the widow of young Thomas' uncle, Sir Gilbert de Clare.
Source: National Archives Catalogue
SC 8/4/182
Petitioners: Thomas [de Clare], son and heir of Richard de Clare.
Addressees: King.
Other people mentioned: Richard de Clare; Gilbert de Clar (Clare),
uncle of the petitioner; Richard de Clare, brother of Gilbert de
Clare, and father of the petitioner; Emeline Longspee; Isabel de
Hastyngg (Hastings); Joan de Clar (Clare), mother of the petitioner;
Maurice son of Thomas the petitioner's uncle; Maurice de Rocheford.
Nature of request: Clare shows that the Clare lands, manors and
castles in Ireland were destroyed by his Irish enemies. Clares kinsmen
and friends are still defending them though they can do no more
without aid and some expenses for them. He therefore requests that the
king grant him his lands in Ireland so that he is able to have and
defend them as the king is not able to have any profit from them, the
second part of his inheritance is in the hands of Emeline Longspee,
Isabel de Hastings and Joan de Clare as dower, he requests Maurice son
of Thomas and Maurice de Rocheford be made his guardians.
Endorsement: Because the justiciar has attested that the lands that
are now in the hand of the king are not sufficient at all to allow for
their keeping, it is to be done, and the guardians named.
Covering dates [1320]
Note The petition is dated to 1320 by the heading in Rot. Parl., vol
I, p.365 for the parliament held on Monday in the octave of St
Michael, 14 Edward II. See also Calendar of Patent Rolls, 1317-21, p.
523. END OF QUOTE.
+ + + + + + + + + + + + + +
Following young Thomas de Clare's death shortly before 10 April 1321,
his heirs were found to be his two paternal aunts, Margaret de Clare
(wife of Sir Bartholomew de Badlesmere, 1st Lord Badlesmere) and Maud
de Clare (wife of Sir Robert de Clifford, 1st Lord Clifford), which
two ladies have an enormous number of descendants. At the time of
Thomas de Clare's death in 1321, however, he still had one Clare uncle
yet alive, namely Master Richard de Clare (died 1338), a royal
official who was a priest. Master Richard de Clare's place in the
family is established by a record found in Cal. of Entries in the
Papal Regs.: Letters 2 (1895): 12, which item shows that a
dispensation was granted in 1306 to Richard son of "Thomas de Clare
son of the Earl of Gloucester" at the request of his [i.e., Richard's]
aunt, Margaret de Clare, Countess of Cornwall. Master Richard de
Clare subsequently served as the one of executors of the countess'
will, which will was proved before 3 July 1315. Schwennicke,
Europäische Stammtafeln 3(1) (1984): 156 (sub Clare) identified Master
Richard de Clare as an illegitimate son of Thomas de Clare (died
1287), presumably because Master Richard was not named as heir to his
nephew, Thomas de Clare, in 1321. However, the records of Master
Richard de Clare's life and career suggest to me that he was
legitimate. Master Richard de Clare was possibly passed over as the
heir of young Thomas de Clare in 1321, due to a previous settlement
which excluded him from the family inheritance.
Best always, Douglas Richardson, Salt Lake City, Utah
Douglas Richardson
For interest's sake, I thought I'd post for everyone a list of the
nurmerous 17th Century New World immigrants that descend from Sir
Thomas de Clare (died 1287) and his wife, Juliane Fitz Maurice.
Robert Abell, Dannett Abney, Elizabeth Alsop, William Asfordby,
Barbara Aubrey, Charles Barnes, Henry & Thomas Batte, Anne Baynton,
Dorothy Beresford, Richard & William Bernard, Essex Beville, William
Bladen, George & Nehemiah Blakiston, Joseph Bolles, Thomas Booth,
Elizabeth Bosvile, Mary Bourchier, George, Giles & Robert Brent,
Nathaniel Browne, Obadiah Bruen, Stephen Bull, Nathaniel Burrough,
Elizabeth Butler, Charles Calvert, Edward Carleton, Kenelm Cheseldine,
Grace Chetwode, Jeremy Clarke, James & Norton Claypoole, William
Clopton, St.Leger Codd, Henry Corbin, Elizabeth Coytemore, James
Cudworth, Francis Dade, Humphrey Davie, Frances, Jane & Katherine
Deighton, Anne Derehaugh, Edward Digges, Thomas Dudley, Rowland Ellis,
William Farrer, John Fenwick, John Fisher, Henry Fleete, Edward
Foliot, Thomas Gerard, William Goddard, Muriel Gurdon, Katherine
Hamby, Elizabeth & John Harleston, Warham Horsmanden, Anne Humphrey,
Henry Isham, Edmund Jennings, Edmund Kempe, Mary Launce, Hannah,
Samuel & Sarah Levis, Thomas Ligon, Nathaniel Littleton, Thomas Lloyd,
Henry, Jane & Nicholas Lowe, Thomas Lunsford, Agnes Mackworth, Roger &
Thomas Mallory, Anne, Elizabeth & John Mansfield, Oliver Manwaring,
Anne & Katherine Marbury, Elizabeth Marshall, Anne Mauleverer, Richard
More, Joseph & Mary Need, John Nelson, Philip & Thomas Nelson, Ellen
Newton, Joshua & Rebecca Owen, Thomas Owsley, John Oxenbridge, Richard
Palgrave, Herbert Pelham, Robert Peyton, William & Elizabeth Pole,
Henry & William Randolph, Edward Raynsford, George Reade, William
Rodney, Thomas Rudyard, Katherine Saint Leger, Richard Saltonstall,
Anthony Savage, William Skepper, Diana & Grey Skipwith, Mary Johanna
Somerset, John Stockman, Samuel & William Torrey, Margaret Touteville,
Jemima Waldegrave, Olive Welby, John West, Thomas Wingfield, Hawte
Wyatt, Amy Wyllys, George Yate.
Douglas Richardson
The book, The Council Book of the Corporation of Youghal, is available
online. On pages xxxv-xxviii of this work, there is a full transcript
in English of the inquisition post mortem taken in 1321, following the
death of Thomas de Clare, the minor son of Sir Richard de Clare, Knt.,
Lord Clare. This inquisition establishes that Thomas de Clare's heirs
in 1321 were his two paternal aunts, Margaret de Clare (then wife of
Sir Bartholomew de Badlesmere) and Maud de Clare (then wife of Robert
de Welle, she formerly being the wife of Sir Robert de Clifford).
This agrees with other contemporary records involving the estate of
young Thomas de Clare.
For those wishing to view the transcript of this inquisition, they may
do so at the following weblink:
pg. xxxv: http://books.google.com/books?id=RAYwAAAAMAAJ&pg=RA2-PR41&dq=Thomas+Clare+Juliana+Ireland#PRA2-PR35,M1
pg. xxxvi: http://books.google.com/books?id=RAYwAAAAMAAJ&pg=RA2-PR41&dq=Thomas+Clare+Juliana+Ireland#PRA2-PR36,M1
pg. xxxvii: http://books.google.com/books?id=RAYwAAAAMAAJ&pg=RA2-PR41&dq=Thomas+Clare+Juliana+Ireland#PRA2-PR37,M1
pg. xxxviii: http://books.google.com/books?id=RAYwAAAAMAAJ&pg=RA2-PR41&dq=Thomas+Clare+Juliana+Ireland#PRA2-PR38,M1
The 1321 inquisition dovetails nicely with the petition dated 1320
which I gave in my earlier post, as it names the three same three
widows who held dower of Thomas de Clare's inheritance, namely (1)
Emeline Longespée, widow of Sir Maurice Fitz Maurice; (2) Joan, widow
of Richard de Clare [she being the mother of the said Thomas de
Clare]; and Isabel, widow of Gilbert de Clare. This inquisition taken
together with the petition provides fresh evidence that Isabel, widow
of Gilbert de Clare, is Isabel le Despenser, then wife of John de
Hastings, as the 1320 petition calls her Isabel de Hastings, while the
1321 inquisition refers to her as Isabel, widow of Gilbert de Clare.
That Isabel, widow of Gilbert de Clare, is the same person as Isabel
de Hastings, see Reg. Simonis de Gandavo Diocesis Saresbiriensis 2
(Canterbury & York Soc. 41) (1934): 778-779.
A note of warning: On page viii, the editor of the above cited
Youghal work incorrectly names Emeline Longespée, 2nd wife of Sir
Maurice Fitz Maurice, as the mother of Juliane Fitz Maurice, wife of
Sir Thomas de Clare (died 1278). This is a longstanding error in the
literature. As I indicated in my earlier post, contemporary records
prove conclusively that Emeline Longespée died without issue. Juliane
Fitz Maurice's actual mother was Maud de Prendergast, the first wife
of Sir Maurice Fitz Maurice. For concrete evidence of Juliane Fitz
Maurice's maternity, see the evidence provided in my earlier posts in
the newsgroup archives regarding this subject.
Douglas Richardson
Please find below a descent from King John of England for Joan Fitz
Thomas (living 1322), the newly identified wife of Sir Richard de
Clare, Lord Clare (ded 1318).
1. King John of England, King of England, by a mistress, _____ de
Warenne.
2. Richard Fitz Roy (otherwise Richard de Warenne, Richard de
Chilham), Knt., of Chilham, Kent, married Rose de Dover.
3. Isabel de Dover (otherwise Isabel de Chilham), married Maurice de
Berkeley, Knt., of Berkeley, Gloucestershire.
4. Thomas de Berkeley, Knt., 1st Lord Berkeley, Vice-Constable of
England, married Joan de Ferrers.
5. Margaret de Berkeley, married Thomas Fitrz Maurice (died 1298),
Keeper of Ireland.
6. Joan Fitz Thomas (living 1322), married Richard de Clare, Knt.,
Lord Clare.
Best always, Douglas Richardson, Salt Lake City, Utah