The tragic fate of their daughter, Lady Jane Gray, diverse branches. It was said that Walter, William's maternal uncle, was occasionally forced to hide the young duke in the houses of peasants,[23] although this story may be an embellishment by Orderic Vitalis. [77] The Norman fleet finally set sail two days later, landing in England at Pevensey Bay on 28 September. The Norman sources do not dispute the fact that Harold was named as the next king, but they declare that Harold's oath and Edward's earlier promise of the throne could not be changed on Edward's deathbed. William Gray (1750-1826) What families came over with William the Conqueror? The seal shows a mounted knight and is the first extant example of an. He then proceeded to buy off the Danes. William's final years were marked by difficulties in his continental domains, troubles with his son, Robert, and threatened invasions of England by the Danes. Valiant service during a 1066 expedition to England with William the Conqueror earned the Grays high position in political circles. William's biographer David Bates argues that the former explanation is more likely, explaining that the balance of power had recently shifted in Wales and that William would have wished to take advantage of the changed circumstances to extend Norman power. [108] While William was in Normandy, Edgar the theling returned to Scotland from Flanders. by George Washington as a privateer during the Revolutionary War. Aug 29, 2018. On the death [60], Count Herbert II of Maine died in 1062, and William, who had betrothed his eldest son Robert to Herbert's sister Margaret, claimed the county through his son. [97], In 1068 Edwin and Morcar revolted, supported by Gospatric, Earl of Northumbria. York was captured by the combined forces of Edgar and Sweyn. The exact date of William's birth is confused by contradictory statements by the Norman chroniclers. She was a nobody, likely the daughter of a tanner and far, far below his father's station. 6. Nor is there evidence that many English pennies were circulating in Normandy, which shows little attempt to integrate the monetary systems of England and Normandy. Edward was ailing, and he died on 5 January 1066. After a long effort, the duke succeeded in exiling Guy in 1050. Instead, some of the English clergy and magnates nominated Edgar the theling as king, though their support for Edgar was only lukewarm. Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882), poet. Thomas were sent to America by relatives who were scheming for the property Although the chronicler William of Poitiers claimed that Edward's succession was due to Duke William's efforts, this is highly unlikely, as William was at that time practically powerless in his own duchy. During the reign of Queen Elizabeth I of England, Archbishop Matthew Parker saw the Conquest as having corrupted a purer English Church, which Parker attempted to restore. of Pennsylvania and the early settlers of Virginia and other southern states. [132], Besides taxation, William's large landholdings throughout England strengthened his rule. Mrs Thomas Houghton (Born 1551) 5775 People 13 Records 25 Sources. Museum number . [5], Danish raids on England continued, and thelred sought help from Richard, taking refuge in Normandy in 1013 when King Swein I of Denmark drove thelred and his family from England. [72] Harold's claim to the throne was not entirely secure, as there were other claimants, perhaps including his exiled brother Tostig. Tostig appears to have received little local support, and further raids into Lincolnshire and near the River Humber met with no more success, so he retreated to Scotland, where he remained for a time. The name has various spellings and includes GRAY and GREY - sometimes different spellings occur in the same generation of a single family.The first Gray to arrive in the United States was John Gray in about 1620.The origins of the name would seem to be multiple. Each shire was administered by a royal official called a sheriff, who roughly had the same status as a Norman viscount. William, Duke of Normandy, conquered England in 1066. In August and September 1079 King Malcolm of Scots raided south of the River Tweed, devastating the land between the River Tees and the Tweed in a raid that lasted almost a month. Marcher Lords. William then laid siege to Gerberoi in January 1079. VCG Wilson/Corbis via Getty Images. He The union of the Grays with the royal line of Tudor was by the marriage William was the son of the unmarried Duke Robert I of Normandy and his mistress Herleva. In 1064 William invaded Brittany in a campaign that remains obscure in its details. baptized November 25, 1610, buried January 20, 1621. Robert also had a commission issued He was the second The period from 1047 to 1054 saw almost continuous warfare, with lesser crises continuing until 1060. [38] William met the invasion by dividing his forces into two groups. He did not try to integrate his domains into one empire but continued to administer each part separately. William of Jumiges claimed that Harold was killed by the duke. It is unclear what exactly happened at Edward's deathbed. Another consequence of William's invasion was the sundering of the formerly close ties between England and Scandinavia. In 1086, he ordered the compilation of the Domesday Book, a survey listing all of the land-holdings in England along with their pre-Conquest and current holders. William was crowned King of England on December 25, 1066. A further blow was the death of Queen Matilda on 2 November 1083. most eventful periods of English history. [2], Norman government under William was similar to the government that had existed under earlier dukes. [14] After his accession, Robert continued Norman support for the English princes Edward and Alfred, who were still in exile in northern France. [o] William ordered that the body was to be thrown into the sea, but whether that took place is unclear. de Gray, (III) John from whom the most illustrious branches of the house of Croy. Harold stopped in London, and was there for about a week before marching to Hastings, so it is likely that he spent about a week on his march south, averaging about 27 miles (43 kilometres) per day,[81] for the distance of approximately 200 miles (320 kilometres). 2, 1589 and married on October 6, 1606 to Elizabeth Ward. [73], William of Poitiers describes a council called by Duke William, in which the writer gives an account of a great debate that took place between William's nobles and supporters over whether to risk an invasion of England. (born 860 A.D.). William was unhorsed by Robert and was only saved from death by an Englishman, Toki son of Wigod, who was himself killed. [24] Although many of the Norman nobles engaged in their own private wars and feuds during William's minority, the viscounts still acknowledged the ducal government, and the ecclesiastical hierarchy was supportive of William. [109] William returned to England later in 1075 to deal with the Danish threat, leaving his wife Matilda in charge of Normandy. Although some sort of formal assembly probably was held, it is unlikely that any debate took place, as the duke had by then established control over his nobles, and most of those assembled would have been anxious to secure their share of the rewards from the conquest of England. Born in the United States. who reigned briefly as an unwilling Queen, has attracted the attention Genealogies" and "A History of Wales" by John Davies. The trouble in 1077 or 1078 resulted in Robert leaving Normandy accompanied by a band of young men, many of them the sons of William's supporters. [9] Herleva was possibly a member of the ducal household, but did not marry Robert. It is unclear whether William would have been supplanted in the ducal succession if Robert had had a legitimate son. [118], Word of William's defeat at Gerberoi stirred up difficulties in northern England. Also, in England, no other coinage was allowed, while on the continent other coinage was considered legal tender. Birth, marriage and death of that parish for some years. In the 1050s and early 1060s, William became a contender for the throne of England held by the childless Edward the Confessor, his first cousin once removed. I know there are loads of wonderful programs to assist in the tabulation, formation and display of the largest family tree. told him what kind of work he could do "in language that can't be [20], The anarchy in the duchy lasted until 1047,[21] and control of the young duke was one of the priorities of those contending for power. themselves in politics, literature, and the learned professions and still [126], At first, most of the newly settled Normans kept household knights and did not settle their retainers with fiefs of their own, but gradually these household knights came to be granted lands of their own, a process known as subinfeudation. Owain received 10,000 marks (L6,666) ransom for him. He made arrangements for the governance of England in early 1067 before returning to Normandy. [6], After Cnut's death in 1035, the English throne fell to Harold Harefoot, his son by his first wife, while Harthacnut, his son by Emma, became king in Denmark. The corpse was too large for the space, and when attendants forced the body into the tomb it burst, spreading a disgusting odour throughout the church. issue has continued in Scotland." William was able to secure the departure of Sweyn and his fleet in 1070,[103] allowing him to return to the continent to deal with troubles in Maine, where the town of Le Mans had revolted in 1069. Wikimedia Commons. [98], While at Winchester in 1070, William met with three papal legates John Minutus, Peter, and Ermenfrid of Sion who had been sent by the pope. Its effect, though, was to destabilise Brittany, forcing the duke, Conan II, to focus on internal problems rather than on expansion. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle states that it was a military campaign, but Welsh sources record it as a pilgrimage to St Davids in honour of Saint David. Alfred returned to England in 1036 to visit his mother and perhaps to challenge Harold as king. Norwich was besieged and surrendered, with the garrison allowed to go to Brittany. [49], There are records of two tutors for William during the late 1030s and early 1040s, but the extent of his literary education is unclear. Although some of his supporters tried to dissuade him from undertaking the journey, he convened a council in January 1035 and had the assembled Norman magnates swear fealty to William as his heir[2][15] before leaving for Jerusalem. in and about London. They included the duke's uncle Robert, the archbishop of Rouen, who had originally opposed the duke; Osbern, a nephew of Gunnor the wife of Richard I; and Gilbert of Brionne, a grandson of Richard I. merchant in Plymouth. [92], William may have hoped the English would surrender following his victory, but they did not. Stigand and his brother, thelmr, the Bishop of Elmham, were deposed from their bishoprics. T he surname is originally French, being first borne by Fulbert, Great Chamberlain of Robert, Duke of Normandy, who granted him the castle and lands of Croy or Gray in Picardy which he thereafter assumed as the family surname. February 12, 1621. [96] Once in Normandy the new English king went to Rouen and the Abbey of Fecamp,[94] and then attended the consecration of new churches at two Norman monasteries. father or the son. His reign in England was marked by the construction of castles, settling a new Norman nobility on the land, and change in the composition of the English clergy. [109] William's ability to leave England for an entire year was a sign that he felt that his control of the kingdom was secure. John, baptized 1612. Scotland in the reign of Alexander II, (about 1130), and gave his allegiance Gray, had become proprietors of the island of Nantasket in Boston Harbor It resulted in a work now known as the Domesday Book. He took part in church councils and made several appointments to the Norman episcopate, including the appointment of Maurilius as Archbishop of Rouen. Regarding the Grays of Scotland being of the same family, Nesbits says, Tostig went into exile in Flanders, along with his wife Judith, who was the daughter of Baldwin IV, Count of Flanders. Another Tiverton Gray, Pardon Gray was active during the war also. David Gray of Tiverton was captured by the British during the war and [55] Most of the income came from the ducal lands, as well as from tolls and a few taxes. Since then they have repeatedly distinguished The elder John de Gray had a son, Henry He marched to the River Tees, ravaging the countryside as he went. His marriage in the 1050s to Matilda of Flanders provided him with a powerful ally in the neighbouring county of Flanders. In 1058, William invaded the County of Dreux and took Tillires-sur-Avre and Thimert. A Norman chief, whose name was in Harrow-on-the-Hill church records there is a John Gray baptized February Richilde proposed marriage to William fitzOsbern, who was in Normandy, and fitzOsbern accepted. A Marcher Lordship passed from an Owain to son-in-law John Charleton. Swein's death in 1014 allowed thelred to return home, but Swein's son Cnut contested thelred's return. The historian Eleanor Searle speculates that William was raised with the three cousins who later became important in his career William fitzOsbern, Roger de Beaumont, and Roger of Montgomery. continue prominently represented among the titled nobility in England, It was an annual tax based on the value of landholdings, and it could be collected at differing rates. He married Matilda of Flanders in 1051, in Normandy, France. This lone relic was reburied in 1642 with a new marker, which was replaced 100 years later with a more elaborate monument. [2] He also relied on the clergy for advice, including Lanfranc, a non-Norman who rose to become one of William's prominent ecclesiastical advisors in the late 1040s and remained so throughout the 1050s and 1060s. [112], The exact reason for the rebellion is unclear, but it was launched at the wedding of Ralph to a relative of Roger, held at Exning in Suffolk. The listing for each county gives the holdings of each landholder, grouped by owners. Joan, buried William I (c. 1028 - 9 September 1087), usually known as William the Conqueror and sometimes William the Bastard, was the first Norman monarch of England, reigning from 1066 until his death in 1087.A descendant of Rollo, he was Duke of Normandy from 1035 onward. The rest of his life was marked by struggles to consolidate his hold over England and his continental lands, and by difficulties with his eldest son, Robert Curthose. as [117] William's forces were forced to lift the siege, and the king returned to Rouen. (Former King of England (1066 - 1087)) William the Conqueror was the Duke of Normandy, who later became the King of England. By 1060, following a long struggle to establish his throne, his hold on Normandy was secure. [22] Yet another guardian, Osbern, was slain in the early 1040s in William's chamber while the duke slept. The soldier took offense and went at Sam and military commanders in the British realm. a royal commission set up by William in 1085-86), as lord of many manors Most were constructed from earth and timber, but work had also begun on great stone towers in . William I (c. 1028 - 9 September 1087), usually known as William the Conqueror and sometimes William the Bastard, was the first Norman king of England, reigning from 1066 until his death in 1087.A descendant of Rollo, he was Duke of Normandy from 1035 onward. left Tiverton to settle all across the country. Gray instead of Grey is almost universally used in the different branches William's son Robert, still allied with the French king, appears to have been active in stirring up trouble, enough so that William led an expedition against the French Vexin in July 1087. 1. Towns were listed separately. thelred and Emma's two sons, Edward and Alfred, went into exile in Normandy while their mother, Emma, became Cnut's second wife. [60] The trip is unlikely given William's absorption in warfare with Anjou at the time. Interaction between father and son, nevertheless, remained problematic right up until William's passing. Robert raided into Lothian and forced Malcolm to agree to terms, building a fortification (the 'new castle') at Newcastle upon Tyne while returning to England. England remained unstable. Robert was accused by some writers of killing Richard, a plausible but now unprovable charge. Although William returned to York and built another castle, Edgar remained free, and in the autumn he joined up with King Sweyn. But William was not finished; he marched over the Pennines during the winter and defeated the remaining rebels at Shrewsbury before building Chester and Stafford Castles. Not all of the Normans who accompanied William in the initial conquest acquired large amounts of land in England. of a series of incidents that brought about the Boston Massacre later that This made William's power more secure in northern France, but the new count of Flanders accepted Edgar the theling into his court. [93], William remained in England after his coronation and tried to reconcile the native magnates. Guillaume "Le Btard", or William the Conqueror, transformed the Middle Ages and laid the foundations of a new Europe. Orderic Vitalis preserves a lengthy account, complete with speeches made by many of the principals, but this is likely more of an account of how a king should die than of what actually happened. [2] Even after the younger William's death in 1100 and the succession of his youngest brother Henry as king, Normandy and England remained contested between the brothers until Robert's capture by Henry at the Battle of Tinchebray in 1106. [94] But the families of Harold and his brothers lost their lands, as did some others who had fought against William at Hastings. George Herbert Walker Bush (1924- ), 41st President of the US. Others have viewed him as an enemy of the English constitution, or alternatively as its creator. [40] Henry and Geoffrey led another invasion of Normandy in 1057 but were defeated by William at the Battle of Varaville. de Gray, who was in high favor with King Richard I and King John. The French king, seeking a focus for those opposed to William's power, then proposed that Edgar be given the castle of Montreuil-sur-Mer on the Channel, which would have given Edgar a strategic advantage against William. This made Emma of Normandy his great-aunt and Edward the Confessor his cousin. Some of the native abbots were also deposed, both at the council held near Easter and at a further one near Whitsun. in 1536. The Norman conquest changed all that. Perhaps another stipulation of the treaty was the expulsion of Edgar the theling from Malcolm's court. Gray Family of Tiverton, RI. The Conquest brought the kingdom into closer contact with France and forged ties between France and England that lasted throughout the Middle Ages. [138], Disorder followed William's death; everyone who had been at his deathbed left the body at Rouen and hurried off to attend to their own affairs. [119] William departed Normandy in July 1080,[120] and in the autumn his son Robert was sent on a campaign against the Scots. William was always described as close to his wife, and her death would have added to his problems. Edgar, having lost much of his support, fled to Scotland,[98] where King Malcolm III was married to Edgar's sister Margaret. Nevertheless, despite all the high-tech stuff, you can't beat good old text! in Northumberland. He was crowned the Duke in 1035 and over the years made himself the mightiest noble in France, later seizing the English throne in 1066. [2], While William was in Normandy, a former ally, Eustace, the Count of Boulogne, invaded at Dover but was repulsed. Gray Family History. They were among the Pilgrims of New England, the Quakers In 1047, William was able to quash a rebellion and begin to establish his authority over the duchy, a process that was not complete until about 1060. [46][k] The marriage was important in bolstering William's status, as Flanders was one of the more powerful French territories, with ties to the French royal house and to the German emperors. William the Conqueror. at Salem, Boston, Plymouth and Yarmouth and in the provinces of Connecticut His William's movements during 1084 and 1085 are unclear he was in Normandy at Easter 1084 but may have been in England before then to collect the danegeld assessed that year for the defence of England against an invasion by King Cnut IV of Denmark. The Gray family in America is numerous, widespread and consists of many [107] He left England in the hands of his supporters, including Richard fitzGilbert and William de Warenne,[108] as well as Lanfranc. [97], Early in 1069, Edgar the theling rose in revolt and attacked York. [132], William took over an English government that was more complex than the Norman system. (or Croy as some write), in Picardy, their patrimony before the Conquest.". [87] The available sources are more confused about events in the afternoon, but it appears that the decisive event was Harold's death, about which differing stories are told. [29] Although the Battle of Val-s-Dunes marked a turning point in William's control of the duchy, it was not the end of his struggle to gain the upper hand over the nobility.

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