Overview of the Hendry-Helme-Woodhull Branch and Nobility

Hello to all of the Gray-Piper Clan, it’s been a long time since my last email, we were learning about the Hendry Branch: from the Ulster Plantations of Scotland, the Church of Scotland, the Revolutionary War.  

    We left off with Thomas Hendry (1776-1853) and Euphemia Graham (1771-1847). They are the parents of David Brown Hendry who married Maria Antoinette Stevens -her name made me wonder if there was a link to Marie Antoinette Queen of France. Also, I remember being told that Lucile’s family did approve of her marriage to Robert Gray. and I wondered why? I remember when I saw the portrait of Mary Frances Hendry thinking she looked rather “regal”; that she was definitely from a family that was “well-to-do”.

   After learning about the Hendry Branch, I’m thinking the reason had to do with their “noble” heritage. Recently, I’ve become aware of the importance of the names people gave to their children. The surname carried on the family name of father’s family (the importance of having a son); what we call the “middle” name was often the surname from mother’s family (a way to pay tribute and “carry-on” those surnames). “Lineage” was important and when our ancestors left their homes across the sea and came to America they brought what keepsakes they could; often there was a Family Bible where births had been recorded for generations.

    Maria’s parents were Selah Murray Stevens and Eliza Helm. I have not been able to find the parents of Selah Stevens; I’ve run across the surname, Fitz-Stephens and several other variations… I’ll have to return to that branch, later…

    Eliza Helm named one of her children John “Helm”; all of their children have names that could be attributed to England royalty: Mary, Maria, Ann, John, William, Edward, Chauncy (I haven’t found a King by that name but it’s very English). Note: I googled the origins of the surname Chauncey and found this: Chauncey: from a Norman surname that first reached England following the Norman Conquest of 1066; the family lived in Essex. And, that’s where I found the link to all of our Hendry Branch, beginning after the Norman Conquest in England; following the ascension of William, the Duke of Normandy to William I. King of England he rewarded his supporters (both military and financial) with land in England. William established a survey (like a census) referred to as the Domesday Book (1086) that recorded, in great detail, all those “gifted” lands and their owners; many of these landowners built Manors -Castles -and were given the title of Baron by the King; to keep that title and estate the Baron had to join King’s military (Barons were often made Knights by the King) and be summoned to serve on the Parliament. Because of the Domesday Book and other records kept by the government of England “nobile heritage” can be verified. The biggest challenge to tracing lineage is the changing of the surnames; surnames as we currently know them did not exist; the surname was most often linked to land ownership and title, eg. the Baron of Wahull becomes Walter de Wahull, he came from Flanders where he was referred to as Walter the Fleming or Walter de Flanders.

    Richard Woodhull is our immigrant ancestor of the Hendry-Helme branch. The Woodhull branch begins with Walter de Flanders, who follows William the Conqueror to England; most likely, he fought in the Battle of Hastings alongside William; proof of his importance is found in the Domesday Book where he is shown to be one of the largest landowners, the seat of his estate is Wahull (also known as Odell); he becomes Walter de Wahull - he is the progenitor of all the Wahull’s of England and the immigrant to America, Richard Woodhull. The Woodhull-Helme lineage begins in Flanders, migrates to England in 1066, migrates to America (New York) in 1643.

  

These are the new Blog Posts: Descendants of Woodhull-Helme: http://gray-adamsfamily.blogspot.com/2016/03/1-descendants-of-woodhull-helme.html

    a pretty “dry” reading, traces the Hendry-Helme-Woodhull lineage (Maria A. Stevens to Richard Woodhull I, immigrant to America. [1] Woodhull, Americans of Royal Descent: http://gray-adamsfamily.blogspot.com/2016/03/1-woodhull-lineage-to-william-i-king-of.html

    a Google Search lead to this book; which features a Pedigree lineage to William the Conqueror, King of England. Further research lead me to discount that claim; the book was published in 1891 and later research disproved this claim. The next generation, Gundred, was said to be the daughter of William and his wife Matilda; Gundred is not listed among their children; infact, her parentage in unverified. What is verified is that she married William de Warren and our “Royal” descent is verifiable from them down to Richard Woodhull. In this Post you’ll see (“ruins” of) Castles in England: Castle Acre, Norfolk; Skelton Castle, Yorkshire; Kendal Castle, Wesmorland; Ravensworth, Yorkshire. You’ll see a sketch of William de Warenne I, 1st Earl of Surrey, one of the few who was documented to have been with William the Conqueror at the Battle of Hastings in 1066; his Castle Acre (once of the finest examples of Norman town planning in the country) along with the Castle Acre Priory which are now in the care of the English Heritage association. You’ll see a painting of his wife Elisabeth de Vermandois whose parents both represented the Capetian line (House of France), her paternal grandfather being Henry I of France; her maternal grandfather of the Carolingian ancestry. The direct succession of French kings father to son, from 987 to 1316, of thirteen generations in almost 330 years, was unparallelled in recorded history. The beginning of the Carolingian era is marked by the coronation of Charlemagne, or Charles the Great by Pope Leo III at Christmas of the year 800, and its end with the death of Charles the Fat in 888, although kings of Italy continued to claim the nominal title of Emperor until 924. (yes, we are also descendants of Charlemagne but I’m not covering this lineage, yet). You’ll see the Coat of Arms of Sir William Parr, 1st Baron of Kendal, Knight - the Coat of Arms given by the King to his Knights. You’ll see a map that shows France (across the channel from England) and Normandy (close to Paris). William, of Viking descent, Duke of Normandy, the first Norman to become King of England - thus, the title William I. King of England. So far we know that we are the descents of Norman Vikings, the Flemish of Flanders, and, French nobility.

Noble Family, House of Flanders, Counts of Flanders and Counts of Boulogne: http://gray-adamsfamily.blogspot.com/2016/04/noble-family-house-of-flanders-counts.html

County of Flanders

    Founder of House of Flanders, Baldwin I - you’ll see the Coat of Arms… he married Judith, daughter of Charles, King of West Francia; he became the first Margrave of Flanders. You’ll see the County of Boulogne Coat of Arms - Count of Boulogne, historical title in the Kingdom of France. Baldwin II, married Elfthryth of Wessex; his estates and titles were divided between their two sons: 1. Arnulf I, Count of Flanders (35th great-uncle), provides the lineage to Matilda (4th cousin 32x removed) and William I, King of England (through marriage). And, 2. Adelolf, Count of Boulogne (34th great-grandfather)... descended down to Arnulf III, upon his death his lands were divided between his three sons, Baldwin II got Boulogne - thus changing our lineage surname to Baldwin; next generation Eustace I (noteworthy, his mother Adelina was from Holland), he married Matilda of Leuven (who as a direct descendant of Charlemagne was

County of Boulogne

among the most prestigious brides - noble families of the 11th and 12th centuries sought to trace their descent specifically to the Carolingian line). His son Eustace II is one of the few proven Companions of William the Conqueror; he was rewarded … His son, Eustace III, was a major participant in the First Crusade. You’ll see a map of the County of Boulogne. Eustace is said to be a direct patrilineal ancestor of Anne Boleyn, 2nd wife of King Henry VIII, and mother of Queen Elizabeth I. He was also Count of Lens with passed to his son Lambert upon his death. Lambert II, Count of Lens, is the father of Seirer and Walter (de Lens) - their mother is unknown; he died in 1054, killed at the battle of Lille. His sons went with William the Conqueror to England - Seirer is our Wahull lineage of England.

Woodhull Lineage in England: http://gray-adamsfamily.blogspot.com/2016/04/woodhull-lineage-in-england.html

begins with Seirer (last mentioned in the above mentioned Post) - the variations of his name made tracing the Wahull lineage in England a HUGE CHALLENGE. The Post begins with a list of the de Wahull descendants of Walter the Fleming aka Seirer de Flanders, de Seton, also nicknamed Dougall the Black Stranger; followed by  details added to that “blood” lineage chart. The section, Lineage of the Flanders in Normandy before the 1066 Battle of Hastings, explains (to the best of my ability) the confusion relating to Seirer de Flanders who became Baron of Wahull consequently he became Walter de Wahull: The Wahull name was “stabilized” by the Domesday Book: Walter Flandrensis or De Cambray [came to England 1066, and (by) 1086 (Domesday Book)  held a great barony in Bedford, Bucks, and, of which Woodhull or Wahul was the chief seat, and from him descended the barons Wahull, by writ, 1295]; [married Jonet de Quincy]. Walter aka Seier de Flanders, de Seton. B. 1046, Cambray… Lower Normandy, France d. 1124, Scotland  m: Jonet de Quincy  b. 1068 d. Scotland. The Waddell (Wahull) surname did not exist before the Conquest in 1066 and the Domesday Book (1086) in which Walter de Wahull is listed. Neither, in fact, did surnames in general. The only form of identification (apart from the Christian name) was a territorial title of seigneury such as Duke William of Normandy, Count Eustace of Boulogne or William Malet, Seigneur of Granville. And unless you had such a distinction, your part in the battle, however valiant, would not be recorded or remembered…. Walter de Wahull’s estates and title were passed down through his ancestors; changing to Woodhull with Fulk Woodhull (born 1459) son of John de Wahull and Joan Etwell.

    The Post continues with information about the Seton Family and House of Seton (Walter, also known as Walter de Seton); and, since Walter (Seier) was the son of Count Lambert de Lens, he was also known as Walter de Lens. County Flanders (where Walter’s family lived prior to the Conquest) leads to him also being called Walter de Flanders and Walter the Fleming.

    The Post then covers Baldwin V, Count of Flanders whose daughter Matilda married William Duke of Normandy (who became William I King of England). Eustace of Boulogne, credited with the greatest number of estates and, from an agricultural point of view, most valuable in Essex, and, Walter the Fleming as having three estates, the seat being Wahull - leading to his name (and our family’s surname) becoming de Wahull.

    Lastly, Matilda of Flanders is covered; and,Gundred, who married William I de Warenne is covered.

Lineage: Nobel Family - House of Capet, also called the House of France: http://gray-adamsfamily.blogspot.com/2016/04/lineage-nobel-family-house-of-capet.html

   The House of Capet ruled the Kingdom of France from 987 to 1328 (you’ll see the Capet Crest); the Capet lineage begins about 636 with noblemen living in Neustria; the first Capetian King, Hugh (26th GGF), was crowned in 987… I begin with our 28th GGF Henry I, King of France who married Anne of Kiev, Russia; after the death of his 1st wife, he couldn’t find a Princess bride that he could legally marry (wasn’t too closely related to him); he sent an envoy to Russia, they brought back Anne, the daughter of Yaroslav I, Grand Prince of Russia (29th GGF) and Ingegerd of Sweden. Jaroslav was the son of Vladimir The Great(30th GGF) and Rogneda of Polotsk. Vladimir was a pagan ruler until his desire to marry Anna Porphyrogenita, Imperial Princess, daughter of Byzantine Emperor Romanos II and the Empress Theophano caused him to convert to Christianity (he had to divorce all his wives and be baptised; he was said to have had 800 concubines along with numerous wives). You’ll see paintings, sketches and statues memorializing these ancestors; impressive Russian Cathedrals (Saint Sophia in Novgorod and Saint Sophia in Kiev) sponsored by the Ingegerd Olofsdotter (29th GGM), wife of Jaroslav and their eldest son; you’ll see the Convent Rogneda retired to after her divorce from Vladimir.

    You’ll see that we descended from the Franks (Germanic Tribes -The Franks are historically first known as a group of Germanic tribes that roamed the land between the Lower and Middle Rhine in the 3rd century AD, and second as the people of Gaul who merged with the Gallo-Roman populations during succeeding centuries, passing their name to modern-day France and becoming part of the heritage of the modern French people. ) evolving to French culture as we know it.

In Conclusion:

All of these Blog Posts contain lineage charts, the objective being to “Verify” our Wahull (Woodhull) blood-lineage and claims to “Nobility”. Which makes for difficult rather than interesting reading. However, they contain some interesting and important period history; which for me, helps answer “Origin” questions, eg. social structures, traditions, governing policies and laws (including when the church and Kings governed side-by-side with the church often behind new laws and traditions, eg. marriage needing to be blessed and performed by clergy).

FRANCE: Normandy, Flanders

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