Our 15th Great Uncle Edward and Henry VIII. Brotherhood and Betrayal

Edward Stafford, Anne's Brother, our 15th Great Uncle

Hello Family,
Today we discuss our 15th Great Uncle and brother of our 15th Great Grandmother Anne Stafford and his relationship with Henry VIII of England.

Edward was the 3rd Duke of Buckingham. Born on 3 February 1478 and executed by order of King Henry VIII on 17 May 1521. His father, our 16th Great Grandfather was executed for rebelling against King Richard III when Edward was 5 years old. When his cousin, King Henry VII (Henry VIII's father) became King he was accepted into the royal household and made a ward of the Queen, the Countess of Richmond and Derby (Henry VIII's mother). He later married and built Thornbury Castle pictured below.

Thornbury Castle Today

As a young man, our Great Uncle was made a Knight of the Garter (1495), and had various ceremonial roles at the Royal Court of Henry VII. He was given further honors following the crowning of King Henry VIII: Buckingham was Lord High Steward at the King's coronation in 1509, where he also carried the King's crown, and in 1514 he became Lord High Constable.

Henry VIII

Buckingham fell out dramatically with the King in 1510, when he discovered that the King was having an affair with the Anne, his sister, our 15th Great Grandmother. As we already know, Anne was taken to a convent sixty miles away. There are some suggestions that the affair continued until 1513. However, Edward returned to the King's graces, being present at the marriage of Henry's sister and served in Parliament.

Betrayal and Execution

The real power in King Henry VIII's court was not with the great nobles but with low-born men. Buckingham, with his royal blood and numerous connections by descent or marriage with the rest of the aristocracy became a leader of the disaffected nobles. During 1520, suspicions were raised about potentially treasonous actions and investigations began. Henry VIII personally examined witnesses against him and gathering enough evidence for a trial. Edward was finally brought to Court in April 1521 and arrested and placed in the Tower of London. Buckingham was tried before a panel of 17 peers, being accused of listening to the prophecies of the King's death and intending to kill the King; however, the King's mind appeared to be decided and conviction was certain. He was executed on at the Tower on 17 May 1521.

Henry Stafford, Our 16th Great Grandfather and the Murderer of Princes?

Henry Stafford, 2nd Duke of Buckingham (4 September 1455 – 2 November 1483) was Anne Stafford’s father and our 16th Great Grandfather. When he was young he was the ward of Queen Elizabeth Woodville, Consort of Edward IV of England. In May 1465 he married the Queen’s sister Catherine. He spent much of his life plotting to take the throne of England. He eventually supported the claim of his second cousin Henry VII for king. Henry VII later became King. Henry VII’s son Henry VIII eventually became king. We all know about Henry VIII (The Six Wives of Henry VIII). Yes, this makes Henry VIII a distant cousin. Ahhhh, the plot thickens.

Our 1st cousins 16 Times Removed, The Two Young Princes, children of King Edward IV and our 16th Great Aunt His Queen Consort Elizabeth Woodville. Murdered in the Tower of London? History seems to support the fact, and most likely our Great Grandfather either did it or played a major role in the murder.

It is rumored that our Great Grandfather was the murderer of the Princes in the Tower. The Princes in the Tower were Edward V of England (November 4, 1470 – 1483?) and his brother, Richard (17 August 1473 – 1483?), were the only sons of Edward IV of England and Elizabeth Woodville (our 16th Great Aunt, thus our 1st cousins 16 times removed). They disappeared without a trace from the Tower of London 1483. Their uncle, Richard III of England, placed them both in the Tower in 1483. There are no records of them having been seen after the summer of 1483. Their fate remains unknown, and it is presumed that they were killed there. There is no record of a funeral.

In 1674, the skeletons of two children were discovered under the staircase leading to the chapel, during the course of renovations to the White Tower. At that time, these were believed to have been the remains of the two princes.

Did our 16th Great Grandfather have our two young cousins killed? Henry Stafford was third in line to the throne, behind Henry Tudor and Henry's mother. He also had loyalties to the current king. He in fact had the perfect opportunity to play both sides against each other. And so, in a matter of course, he did. He gave away battle positions (discreetly, through "spies") to both sides, allowing them to war each other down. When the Yorks began making large headways, he stepped in - though on the side of Richard, Duke of Gloucester, rather than Edward IV. He remained beneath the scenes, though he wrote his cousin Henry Tudor (Henry VIII’s Father) on occasion. When Edward IV passed away unexpectedly, Stafford saw his chance. Many believe he murdered the boys, and when Richard took the blame, he defected to the Lancasters, who used the deaths as a reason to declare Richard unfit for the crown. Were it not for a freak storm in which Henry's armada was soundly destroyed and Stafford's army demoralized perhaps he, and not Henry Tudor, would have become the next king of England.

Our Naughty 15th Great Grandmother Anne, Mistress to Henry VIII

Our Beautiful but Naughty 15th Great Grandmother Anne Stafford. She was 52 at the time of this painting.

Family Tie: Through the Mattson Family Lines.

Tonight we explore our family tree and spotlight a 15th Great Grandmother. Her name was Anne Stafford. She was born in 1483 and died in 1544. The year she was born her father (a 16th great grandfather to us) was executed for teason by order of King Richard III. Her mother Catherine was queen consort to King Edward IV.

Anne married twice, first in 1503 to Sir Walter Herbert. He died in Spetember 1507. They were childless. Her second husband, our 15th Great Grandfather was George Hastings. They married in 1509. He later became Earl of Huntingdon. They had eight children. Their oldest son Francis was our 14th Great Grandfather.

Anne was a lady in waiting to Queen Catherine of Aragon, Henry VIII's fist wife. She had a well documented affair with King Henry VIII around 1510, only one year after Henry wed Catherine. Their adultery became a scandal when it was made public. Queen Catherine was enraged along with her brother, the Duke of Buckingham. Her husband sent her to a convent. There are suggestions that her relationship with the King continued until 1513.

After her ‘time‘ with King Henry, she entered into an affair with Sir William Compton. He wrote in his will in 1522, leaving her many lands. He died in 1528 of the sweating sickness. Our dear Anne seems to have developed a strong and loving relationship with her husband, as evidenced by letters he wrote to her, and she was named as one of the executors in his will. They lived primarily at Asby-de-la-Zouche, Huntingdonshire and at Stoke Poges, Buckinghamshire. Anne was present at the Field of Cloth of Gold in 1520. She may have been at court when her brother was executed for treason in 1521. She became countess of Huntingdon in 1529 when Hastings was elevated in the peerage and from the late 1530s was part of the household of Henry VIII's daughter, Mary Tudor.

June 24, 1974. The Family Conquers Harney Peak

The one and only time we climbed Harney Peak as a family occurred on June 24, 1974. There is something universal about our Dakota family - we all love the Black Hills. That love came from spending so much of our free time in the hills. There is something magical about the Black Hills on a warm summer's day. If we had the chance we were out soaking it all in.

I don't remember much about this outing. Let's face it, my memory is pretty shot anyway. What I do remember sparks from seeing these pictures.

In the above picture you'll see Janice, little Lisa and Dad on their way up the mountain. The hike starts from Sylvan Lake. You follow this road for awhile and then you start up. Dad always set the pace. He really didn't care if you kept up or not but one thing is for sure, you didn't pass him. He wouldn't allow it.

Here we are at the top. Mom (Luella) is at the top of the steps, coming down are Jilane, squinting in the sun (either that or hiding her lazy eye, not wanting it captured on film only to surface some day is some demented blog). Behind Jilane is Kevin with shirt open. Don't know why, he was the very definition of toothpick thin. Janice is next and last comes Jon, drinking the last of our water. Poor kid was so skinny he needed the water to add ballast. Without a bit of extra weight the boy could have been blown away in the next gust of wind. Funny but I remember that white blouse mother is wearing. She wore it with a blue slacks if my memory is correct.

Here we are again, resting at the top of Harney Peak. Notice we succeeded without the use of extra oxygen or warm clothing. We didn't even stop at the various base camps along the way. What do you think of that Brandon!? Lisa is looking a bit confused. She doesn't seem to know where to look. I blame the altitude or severe ADD. Jon is happy in this picture. Jon was always happy. Why was that? Come on Jon - just look at you. You've got the worst hair cut on the planet - a Luella special. You're so skinny not even a misquito could get a decent meal off you yet you're happy. There's a lesson to be learned there somewhere. Dad looks detached. Sometimes he was involved and sometimes he wasn't. By the way, if you're looking for Grandma Mattson forget it. She tired to climb but gave up early in the morning.

Here are the youngest looking from the Fire Lookout Station at the very top of Harney Peak. The station wasn't manned in 1974, but in its day a ranger staffed it every day. From this lookout the Ranger could see smoke from a new fire somewhere in the Hills and report it so it could be extinguished before it spread.

And finally we have Grandma Mattson and Mom at the end of the hike. Grandma nearly made it to the top. I've got to hand it to her for giving it her best effort. She waited below the peak for our return then walked down with mom. I took this picture at the end of the trail at Sylvan Lake. Grandma's face was almost a perfect purple red from the heat and the climb. She was a fantastic ole gal. I'm sorry many of you never got to know her.

There you have it - another trip to the Hills through the eye of the camera and the wisps of memory.

Simply,
Victor

Wait, Isn't One Royal House Enough?

Coat of Arms of the House of Capet – a blue field strewn with Lilies

Hello Family,
No, one royal house isn't enough. Let's keep going with our famous ancestors. Yesterday we introduced ourselves to our 27th Great Grandfather William I of England. Tonight I introduce you to another 27th Great Grandfather from another line. Drum Roll Please.............

King Henry I of France of the Capetian house - our 27th Great Grandfather. I know, I know. You knew it all along didn't you? You just knew there was something special about you but try as you might, you could never get anyone else to agree. Well, here is all the proof you need, and we haven't even started. There are still names down the line that will shock you.................And you thought we were all descendants of some dirt farmers from the high plains of Montana. Well, we are but how nice to have our humble origins seasoned with a bit of the silver, gold, glitter and snobbery of the finest Royal houses in Europe.

OK, Let's get back to King Henry I. This Great Grandfather was born in May 4, 1008 and died August 4, 1060. He became the King of France in 1031 and remained so until his death.

During his reign France dimenished in size to its smallest land area in history, gobbled up by everyone else that had more 'determination'. Some historians regard him as a strong but realistic king, who was forced to conduct a policy mindful of the limitations of the French monarchy.

To defend his throne against his mother, his brothers Robert and Eudes, and subsequently against the Count of Blois, he secured, at the cost of territorial concessions, the aid of Robert I, Duke of Normandy, and of Geoffrey Martel, Count of Anjou. After Robert admitted defeat, Henry unwisely granted him the Duchy of Burgundy. It was a mistake because it set him up to be a powerful rival to the French kingdom and his throne.

Now this is interesting because our two 27th Great Grandfathers had a bit of a falling out. First understand that our Great Grandfather William I was the nephew in law of Henry I. William, later William I of England, became Henry's number one enemy. Grandpa William successfully resisted two invasions by Grandpa Henry. Well, it seems there are problems even in the finest families.

Simply,
Victor

Seal of Henry I

King William I (William the Conqueror) Our 27th Great Grandfather

May I introduce you to King William I of England our famous 27th Great Grandfather coming from Grandma Mattson's family line. He is on that short list of history's famous people. He is known as William the Conqueror. Here are a few interesting facts on our famous Great Grandfather.

WILLIAM THE CONQUEROR
William I (c. 1027 or 1028^[1] – 9 September 1087), better known as William the Conqueror, was the King of England from Christmas, 1066 until his death. He was also William II, Duke of Normandy, from 3 July 1035 until his death. Before his conquest of England, he was known as "William the Bastard" (French: Guillaume le Bâtard) because of the illegitimacy of his birth. William was already known as "the Conqueror" before 1066 due to his military success in Brittany.

To press his claim to the English crown, William invaded England in 1066, leading an army of Normans, Bretons, Flemish people, and Frenchmen (from Paris and Île-de-France) to victory over the English forces of King Harold Godwinson (who died in the conflict) at the Battle of Hastings, and suppressed subsequent English revolts in what has become known as the Norman Conquest.^[2]

His reign, which brought Norman-French culture to England, had an impact on the subsequent course of England in the Middle Ages. The details of that impact and the extent of the changes have been debated by scholars for over a century. In addition to the obvious change of ruler, his reign also saw a programme of building and fortification, changes to the English language, a shift in the upper levels of society and the church, and adoption of some aspects of continental church reform.

And a few pictures to illustrate some of his minor accomplishments.

William I built the central White Tower in the Tower of London.

William the Conqueror invades England

The signatures of William I and Matilda are the first two large crosses on the Accord of Winchester from 1072.

The castle of William, Château Guillaume-Le-Conquérant, in Falaise, Calvados, France.

The Duke of Normandy in the Bayeux Tapestry

English coin of William the Conqueror (1066–1087).

Folks, This is just the beginning. Check back daily. You'll never know what else I dig up.
I want to thank my sisters Kim and Jilane for doing a lot of the painstaking genealogy work on the church's web site that let to this discovery.

The Rapid City 2nd Ward's Church Outing, August 1975 Continues.

Hello Family,
You'll notice this blog jumps from family to family and decade to decade. Why? Because I don't always have Mom or Dad on hand to answer questions about certain pictures. I go to my own albums and slides if neither mom or day are here to question. Besides, I'm sure you all enjoy a bit of the old with a bit of the less old :)

Please notice there is a box in the right side bar for questions, comments and requests for pictures. If I have pictures of you and you'd like them posted let me know. If you have questions concerning posted pictures - ask away. My point in doing this blog is not to have something else to occupy my time. My point is to archive our Dakota pictures and tell the stories that go with them. This gives us roots and firmly plants us in a time. From this South Dakota start we've all gone our separate ways, creating lives for ourselves. Let's get this done right. Let's post all our pictures, accompanied with stories that go with them for all to read and see.

And now, the new pictures for today. The Rapid City 2nd Ward's Campout. August 1975.

Jon and Lisa in Sheridan Lake. Lisa is running from Jon. Everybody ends up running from Jon at some point. He could never leave well enough alone. Always looking for mischief.

Ah yes. Here we have three year old Lisa a bit shocked at seeing Bishop Bateman's youngest minus a swimsuit.

I don't remember who all these people are. Perhaps you do and can help.

Kevin and Brad Haugen. I think they are taking down the tent.

And finally, here we have mom, relaxing on a bench. The others in this picture are, Left to Right:
Sister Sorenson
Sister Lamphere
Sister Bergeron
Mom (Luella)
Sister Olmstead
Randy Berquist
Kathy Berquist

And to wrap up our Ward Outing for 1975, we set out our lawn chairs, sit on the beach and watch Kevin and Brad try their hand at fishing. It's a beautiful night. August's pine scented air is cooled as it blows in from the lake. Tomorrow we strike up camp, load the Rambler and head back to Rapid City. The 1975-1976 school year will start in a few weeks. I'll be a senior at Steven's High.



Simply,
Victor

Five Generations. 1973/74

Hello All,
This is our five generation photograph taken in 1973/74. Luella is on the right. Grandma Violet Mattson (Luella's mother) stands beside her. Great Grandma Logan is seated. Great Grandma Logan was Grandma Mattson's mother. Kim stands to their left. She is holding Forrest. That makes 5 generations. Isn't that something. Forrest was Grandma Logan's Great Great Grandchild!

We have 4 generations today with all of Charles and Luella's Great Grandchildren. Wouldn't it be cool to get a picture of all the Great Grandchildren with them? Perhaps at the next family gathering.

I didn't know Grandma Logan very well, having only spoken to her a few times before she passed away.

The picture was taken in Rapid City, South Dakota. We were living at 2214 38th Street then.

Simply,
Victor

The Williamson's Gather for Thanksgiving and Life in a Wyoming Ranch House.

The Williamsons gathered for Thanksgiving Dinner. This picture was taken at Alfred and Inez Mauch's ranch in Sundance Wyoming in 1942, 43 or 44.
From Left to Right the feasters are

• Walt Williamson (Dad's Uncle partially blurred)
• Gene Madison
  
• Lester Mauch is next. He was dad's first cousin and son of Inez and Alfred. (The baby in Lester's arms is Pat Williamson, Walt and Francis's girl).
• Francis Williamson, Walt's Wife.
• Inez Mauch.
• Teresa Madison.
• Grandma Plato (Francis's mother)
• Woody Williamson (little boy in front of Grandma Plato). Woody is Walt and Francis's son.
• Elda Williamson (Dad's mother)
• Esther Mauch
• Mystery Woman
• Tracy Martin (man in the back. He is Vinny Martin's son. Dad's first cousin)
• Vinny Martin (Dad's aunt)
• Alfred Mauch
• Charles Williamson (Dad's dad).
• Dad, in the very front standing in front of Vinny.
• Mystery man in the suit and glasses.
• Grandma Williamson (Dad's grandma. Effie Helen Victor Williamson)
• Gayle Williamson (in front of the suited man. Daughter of Walt and Francis)
• Finally, Maurice Williamson. He is wearing his Conoco Service Station Uniform. Their station was closed just for Thanksgiving Dinner.

The home had no electricity, no running water and used wood to heat the home. There was no bathroom. They used an outhouse. It was a two holer, the holes were side by side. Only the high up ranch homes had two holers. There was no toilet paper. You used the Sear's Roebuck Catalog. Or there was always the corn cob. Every bed in the home had a chamber pot for nighttime peeing. In the morning you threw it out. They had a pot to pee in and a window to throw it out of. The outhouse was 50 feet or so from the house. In the winter you didn't stay too long.

The fire was always going in the cook stove. Not only did they cook in the stove but they used it to heat the iron for ironing. There were always two irons on the stove. The well was inside the house. They had a pump in the kitchen. You pumped your water. Nice ice cold water dad remembers.

Clothes were washed by hand. Once a week they made butter using an old churn. What was left on top was sweet cream. Once in a very great while they made ice cream. They'd go to town to buy ice and rock salt.

Dad stayed there one summer in 1945. He rode their horse all summer. He remembers they drank raw milk. Dad had a room all to himself upstairs. You went to bed at sundown. If you wanted to read you needed the kerosene lamp. In the winter you went to bed early. They had an old Victrola record player that had to be cranked to work. As the spring unwound the music played slower and slower so you'd have to recrank the machine.

Comments:

Thanks for the memories. Inez and Alfred's home didn't change from the 1940's to the 1950's. I recall the chamber pots under the beds and the hand pump in the kitchen as a child. We loved to spend the night at Grandma's (Inez) in the early l950's. A note of correction: Their ranch was not "sold", it was divided amongst their children, Esther, William, and Lester. The property is still owned by their descendants.

Posted by Cheryl (Mauch) Bullock, Lester's daughter

I have a house, about a 135 ft, from the old house, where my grand parents, Alfred, and Inez lived. My brother Dennis, has a house on the old Hoffer homestead, that my great grand father, Lorenz, had purchased for pasture, and has been a part of the place since the early 1900's. The only part we don't still have in the family, is the acre, that Aunt Mary sold, with the house she and Bill built, in the old corral spot. Everything else is still in tact, it just has several of us owning smaller parts.
A Post Update from Steve Mauch

A Small Family Gathering in Sundance.

Hello All on a cold January evening in Utah. Just got back from school. This was our first day back from Christmas Vacation. You could tell, the kids were in their new clothes Santa brought them. Several had new shoes and of course, what they got for Christmas was the primary topic of conversation.

My advance math kids were sharp and on the ball. They said they were happy to be back to school because they missed math. Ahhhhh, how I've taught them well. They know that if I'm in a good mood I give less homework. Bless their hearts.

Well, Here is this evening's picture from the past. This picture was taken in 1942 or 43 according to dad. It was taken on the Mauch Ranch near Sundance Wyo.
The people are, from left to right,
Maurice Williamson, Dad's uncle. Josie Williamson Maurice's wife. Charles Williamson, dad's dad. Sitting on top of the car was none other than our dad Charlie at the ripe old age of 6 or 7.
Then Alfred Mauch and his wife Inez. Finally we end with Grandma Elda, dad's mother.

Inez Mauch was dad's aunt. The sister to dad's dad - Charles Williamson. She was older than Charlies. Maurice was the youngest. The Mauch's owned 640 acres, including Sugarloaf Hill. The ranch is gone, sold several years ago. Inez died in 1955. They had 3 children,Lester (everyone called him 'Buster'), William (Bill), and Esther. Esther is the only one still alive of the Inez children. She lives in an assisted living home in Spearfish. Her married name is Esther Mauch Acerman. She and her husband had a ranch around Aladdin Wyo. Her son runs the ranch now. Her daughter Judy owns a chain of Taco John's throughout South Dakota, Montana and Wyoming.

For your information, here are the Williamsons,
Parents: William Jonathan Williamson, and Effie Victor
Josie Williamson
Ethel Williamson
Della Williamson
Vennie Williamson
Inez Williamson
Emmett Williamson
Walt Williamson
Charlies Williamson (Dad's Dad).
Maurice Williamson