The Stafford Family’s Amazing Symmetry and Confluence of Family Branches

By Neil F. Stafford

Revised and amended 11/18/2003

Page 4 of this 5 page article consists of a very important new Stafford family tree and history table, entitled “Stafford Family Ancestry Index of “Cadet” Stafford Family Branch.” Page 5 for your convenience is my handy one page Index of the “Main” Stafford Family Branch.

I have often written that the Stafford family’s history is possibly unique in a combination of many ways. For example the Staffords are direct descendents of both Norman Royalty (King William the Conqueror) and Anglo- Saxon royalty (King Alfred the Great). Many families with English ancestry may have descended from one of these lines but not both!

Also twice in its history a woman managed to both carry on the Stafford family bloodline (pedigree) and also preserve the famous Stafford surname! These two women’s lives were separated by about 400 years.

In the twelfth century the Stafford family was in danger of dying out because Sir Robert III Stafford a knight who accompanied King Richard I the Lion hearted on a crusade to the Holy Land was killed in the year 1189 in the attempt to re-conquer Jerusalem. This was a double tragedy for the very prominent Stafford family First they mourned the loss of Sir Robert and then they feared the death of the Stafford family name (The Stafford family was long close to the throne of England, In fact, in a manner of speaking, the Stafford family was created by the throne of England by King William the Conqueror (just prior to his coronation) when he had built a crude earthen and timber castle in 1066 on a hilltop in Stafford, England and gave it to one of his most trusted knights, a cousin and his Standard Bearer at the Battle of Hastings a young Frenchman (age 27) born and raised in Normandy named Robert de Toeny( a direct descendent of the famous French king Charlemagne also known as the Holy Roman Emperor) to be the governor of the militarily strategic castle at Stafford Young Robert was ordered by William the Conqueror for administrative purposes to change his surname to Stafford to signify the honor of his new position of command over the area; Robert was given a garrison of 60 knights to accomplish this task; thus was born Sir Robert I de Stafford. The very first Stafford! (Robert I de Stafford lived from 1039 to at least the year 1100.) Historians reported that He was still alive during the reign of King Henry I, (1100-1135), the exact year of Robert’s death is not known by me at this time.

[Note: Robert I de Stafford is often confused by historians and genealogists with his immediate cousin Robert de Toeny, the “Lord of Belvoir” who was born in England In the year 1030 and died in the year 1088.]

Robert III and his wife Basila had no children; Sir Robert III Stafford was the last male in the Stafford family at that time, and with his death it seemed that the Stafford surname would cease to exist. However, Robert had a sister named Millicent (1155-1225) who married a knight in the service of the Stafford family named Sir Hervy Bagot. (Hervy’s family was from Bramshaw, in Hampshire, England. [A.k.a. Bramshal]) Hervy married Millicent and officially changed his surname to Stafford in 1194 with the permission of King Richard I the Lionhearted who had just recently returned to England following his release from captivity in Austria where he had been held for ransom. (I presume the king felt sorry and sense of responsibility for the Stafford family which historically was one of the English throne’s wealthiest and strongest supporters; bear in mind that in those times all marriages of the nobility were either directly arranged by the king or done strictly with the blessing of the throne. This is how the ruling classes maintained power and control over society.) To legally change his name, Hervy had to pay a fee of 300 marks so that his name change would receive wide formal public recognition; to raise the fee of 300 marks Sir Henry (Hervey is an early form of the name Henry) was obliged to sell the lordship of Drayton to the canons of St. Thomas, near Stafford, England. Sir Hervy (Bagot) Stafford assumed control of the vast Stafford estate, which had been inherited by Millicent, which included not only ownership of Stafford Castle and lordship over the immediate area but also in addition to that over 150 lordships throughout England!

Hervy’s sons both chose to use the Stafford surname. Sir Hervy and Millicent married in the year 1194, the same year as the birth of their son Hervy (1194-1237). Records also show there was a second son who is not often recognized in Stafford family trees. (An exception to this is the pioneering research work done by Melissa Smith Kennedy). Some sources claim that Sir Hervy had a son prior to his wedding to Millicent named (Sir) William I Stafford of Sandon (1193-1258). Young Hervy and his descendents are usually given most of the attention of historians and genealogists and considered to be the “Main Line” branch of the Stafford family due to their pedigree, wealth and historical importance.

Young William and his descendents are known as the “Cadet Line” branch of the Stafford family (much less is known about them. Because they were not considered to be historically important, they lacked the prominent Stafford family bloodline or pedigree. And many of today’s genealogists and family historians and researchers have failed to see the integral relationship of the “Cadet Line” Staffords who fully merged into the “Main Line” branch of Today’s Stafford family, to put it another way the so-called cadet line is as much a part of the “Main Line” Staffords as Millicent Stafford herself, however it took almost 400 years to accomplish this amazing confluence of family branches) the symmetry of these two branches of the Stafford family is amazing. What amazes me most is that I encountered this symmetry and noted it several times in my own written Research articles over the years without even seeing it and apprehending (or appreciating) what I was seeing!

I have mentioned in the past that the daughter of Earl Ralph Stafford’s young daughter Margaret married a cousin named John, (Margaret was the daughter of Earl Ralph’s first wife, Catherine Hastang, of course at the time this wedding occurred it is possible that there were literally hundreds of Stafford cousins alive who could have sprung from several hundred possible sources to account for the existence of a man named John Stafford. Later within the same article I mention that a Lady Dorothy Stafford married a cousin named William, by this late date (16^th century there were thousands of possibilities to account for a cousin named William (This due to the geometric rate of growth families experience in their expansion.)

But here is the unkindest cut of all in a lengthy article I wrote specifically about Lady Dorothy Stafford and her cousin Sir William Stafford I even point to a connection of this William and how he relates back to the 1st Earl Ralph Stafford and even back to Millicent Stafford and Hervy (Bagot) Stafford. Still I was looking without seeing or appreciating the significance of my own writing! How blind can one get?

To further spell out the prime theme of this article another unique feature of the Stafford family is that for a second time a female Stafford managed to carry on the historic Stafford family bloodline, or pedigree without losing the famous Stafford family Surname! What are the odds of this also happening to another family?

Imagine almost 400 years later Dorothy repeated Millicent’s wonderful accomplishment. But that is not all! The connection between these two ladies does not stop there, the Symmetry is even stronger; Millicent raised two sons and both sons directly affected the marriage of Lady Dorothy Stafford and Sir William Stafford of Grafton. William directly descended from Millicent Stafford’s “Cadet Line” stepson Sir William I Stafford of Sandon. And Dorothy descended directly from Millicent’s “Main Line” son Hervy Stafford! Millicent’s contribution to Stafford family history and pedigree is much greater, than I initially recognized (or perhaps I and others have greatly understated the contribution of Sir Hervy Bagot!)

Again I have just now realized how much I undervalued the significance of Lady Dorothy’s marriage to her cousin Sir William Stafford IV Sr. of Grafton not only does the symmetry of the histories of the two branches of the Stafford family amaze me, there is also the amazing confluence of the two branches of Staffords which occurs with Lady Dorothy’s marriage. This marriage officially and completely closes a genealogical phenomena of a parallel universe of Staffords Note that the “Cadet Line” of Staffords is totally absorbed into the “Main Line” Stafford family pedigree with the birth of their son William V Stafford Jr. (1554-1612) who married Anne Gryme of Antingham Norfolk; the ancestors of the West Ulster Staffords. Thus all of the Cadets and their spouses are truly my direct ancestors just as the Dukes of Buckingham and their spouses are my direct ancestors!

Hmm, I wonder how that will fit into the typical gedcom file! And it sure complicates any hope of having a nice clear and easy to read family tree chart.

I should note that the enclosed 1 page tree index of the “Cadet” branch of the Stafford family branch was very difficult for me to assemble. Because most were not famous personages, there is a great deal of confusion regarding their identities. There are numerous instances of conflicting dates. In order to simplify keeping their identities clear, as I did with the main line Staffords I have assigned numbers to them so we can distinguish one William or Humphrey from another. Also due to the intentional limitation of space, I had to leave out much of the information I learned about these Stafford ancestors. Limited intentionally to one page because I find the one page family tree indexes very handy to use as quick reference pieces.

Missing data includes: the interesting irony that our cadet ancestor Sir Humphrey III opposed our other “main line” ancestor Henry Stafford the 2^nd Duke of Buckingham regarding their relationship to King Richard III. Ironically the loser of the battle of Bosworth Field executed Henry Stafford for opposing Richard. And ironically the winner of the Battle of Bosworth Field King Henry VII executed Humphrey III Stafford for supporting Richard III. Both Staffords had their heads chopped off relative to the same political issue by the leaders of the opposing sides!

To be a bit more specific and to clarify the above cryptic paragraph, Our Main Line ancestor Henry Stafford, the 2^nd Duke of Buckingham (1454-1483) played a major role in bringing King Richard III to power, in fact the story is told how Henry and Richard successfully engineered a farcical bit of political theater (following the death of King Edward IV) wherein Henry brought a large group of his influential friends to the home of Richard of Gloucester and stood outside loudly calling for Richard to come out to a balcony of his home, then Henry begged and pleaded with Richard to take control of the throne of England, while the assembled crowd cheered loudly, Richard pretended to be embarrassed and said in a medieval way, “oh shucks, and golly do you really want me?” And of course Henry Stafford led several rousing cheers! Then rather sheepishly Richard agreed to be their leader. Later Henry Stafford served as the Master of Ceremonies at Richard’s coronation as King of England. For services rendered Richard lavished a great deal of wealth upon Henry and raised him to a position of great social and political power. Then a strange thing happened, one of the greatest mysteries in the history of England. Henry Stafford the 2^nd Duke of Buckingham led a conspiracy against King Richard III. In the process of rebellion and seeking to bring his own army together with the armies of his co-conspirators he needed to cross the flooding rain swollen Severn River to raise a large enough force to march against King Richard III, However lo and behold his own “cadet” cousin Sir Humphrey III Stafford of Grafton (1427-1486) sought to assist King Richard III by suppressing the rebellion of his cousin Henry by blockading the immediate exits across the Upper Severn from Wales and destroying the bridges. Thus prevented from raising rebellion Buckingham’s forces began to disburse and Henry was forced to flee alone into hiding, but he was betrayed by one of his own of his own retainers, captured in Shropshire and executed the next day in November 1483, King Richard refused to speak to Henry, though Henry begged for an audience. Thus King Richard III, (the loser of the Battle of Bosworth Field), executed Henry Stafford.

To complete this ironic bit of history, the conspiracy started by Henry the 2^nd Duke of Buckingham continued on after Henry’s head was chopped off and more and more nobles in England gathered their armies against the King and a battle was fought in 1485 (two years after the execution of Duke Henry Stafford) in Bosworth Field the forces of Henry Tudor won the day and Henry Tudor became the first Tudor king of England. One year after the Battle of Bosworth King Henry VII Tudor executed “cadet” Sir Humphrey III Stafford of Grafton for having supported King Richard III and for his role in suppressing the revolt led by Henry Tudor’s friend and ally Henry Stafford the 2^nd Duke of Buckingham. Thus both Staffords lost their heads because of their dealings with King Richard III!

I was inspired to gather this material and write this article when I read a website operated by Rebecca Lynn (Stafford) Barnes. Unfortunately I haven’t yet managed to figure out how she might be related to me. As I read her web site it made my head spin, because she partially presented the two branches of the Stafford family in a sketchy manner almost in the form of a dual universe! (Side by side) I couldn’t resist the challenge to research and arrange the material in a more complete form. Note that I briefly credit her at the bottom of the Table on Page 4.

It seems strange to notice that now with this more complete picture of the Stafford family tree we can now say that we are descended from both of Ralph Stafford’s wives, Catherine Hastang and Margaret d’Audley! Ralph= (1301-1372) the 1^st Earl of Stafford Now that is a memorable confluence of family pedigree!

Here’s another interesting bit of trivia: note the comment on the chart for “cadet” Sir Humphrey II Stafford.

He was a character in Shakespeare’s play “Henry VI” regarding the episode with the notorious rebel Jack Cade. Humphrey and his brother William Stafford were the leaders of the royal forces trying to suppress the rebellion of Jack Cade. Cade surprised the Stafford brothers in an ambush and killed both Stafford brothers. Cade stripped the armor off of Sir Humphrey III Stafford, and wore Humphrey’s armor when he entered London in a moment of triumph. Note that there are THREE Humphrey Staffords in the play Henry VI, in fact there are a total of 4 Staffords in this play; “cadet” Sir Humphrey II Stafford and his brother William Stafford; also in another part of the play (regarding the first Battle of St. Albans) you find “main line” Humphrey I Stafford the 1^st Duke of Buckingham and his son Humphrey II Stafford the 7^th Earl of Stafford! Incredible, I have now found 12 Stafford family ancestors or progenitors in the plays of Shakespeare. I guess that means I will have to update and revise my article regarding the Staffords and Shakespeare. My most recent version only shows only 10 ancestors!

Of course, the Index on page 5 finishes with my specific immediate family (my two youngest grandchildren Elli Anne Stafford and Lily Margaret Stafford. Descendents of John Stafford and Margaret Brunt are free and invited to amend the index on page 5 to reflect their own immediate family.

STAFFORD FAMILY ANCESTRY INDEX OF “CADET” STAFFORD FAMILY BRANCH

Approx. Dates	STAFFORD FAMILY LINEAGE By Neil F. Stafford 11/18/2003	Background Data, Etc.	SPOUSE
1155-1225	Millicent De Stafford Married 1194 Note: some sources say Hervy had a son named William before he married Millicent.	Two sons in family: Hervy b.1194 (Millicent’s son.) William I b. 1193 (Millicent’s stepson?)	Sir Hervy (Bagot) Stafford (1153-1214) (Hervy is early form of the name Henry)
1193-1258	Sir William I Stafford of Sandon	Two sons: 1. Sir Robert de Stafford of Anslow married Gunedra 2. Sir William II de Stafford	Auda “Alditha” Vernon Daughter of: Sir Warine Vernon and |_Mary Audeville
1255-1340	Sir William II de Stafford		Ermentrude Fitzwakelin
1277-1320	Sir William III Stafford of Sandon	“Cadet” Stafford Cousins	Isabella (Stafford) Daughter of: Sir Robert de Stafford of Anslow and Gunedra
1315-1370	Sir John Stafford of Amblecote and Bramshal Married twice: Elizabeth de Somerville (Liz died in childbirth no child survived) 2. Margaret Stafford (Had son)	Here, for the first time distant Stafford cousins wed, the “Cadet Line” and the “Main Line” Staffords came together. (As a knight John served Amblecote, Staffordshire and Bramshal.)	Margaret Stafford Youngest daughter of Ralph Stafford 1^st Earl of Stafford and Catherine Hastang Countess of Stafford
1354-1410	Sir Ralph Stafford Born: 1534 in Chebsey, Staffordshire, England Died: March 1, 1410 Bromsgrove, Gloucestershire, Eng.	Note: Ralph is the first Stafford to combine and absorb the ancestry of both the “Main Line” and “Cadet Line” Stafford families.	Maud Hastang b. J an.1359 Daughter and heir of: Sir John Hastang (Hastings) Magna Charta Surety
1384-1419	Sir Humphrey I Stafford	Born: Grafton, Worcester, England	Elizabeth Burdett b. 1375 Daughter of: John Burdett and Margaret Fitton
1409-1450	Sir Humphrey II Stafford A character in Shakespeare’s Henry VI There are 3 Humphrey Staffords in this play! (There are 4 Staffords altogether)	Sir Humphrey was killed by the rebel Jack Cade; who took and wore Humphrey’s suit of Armor when he marched into London in 1450.	Eleanor Aylesbury Daughter of: Sir Thomas Aylesbury & Catherine Pabenham
1427-1486	Sir Humphrey III Stafford Born: Grafton, Worcester, England	Opposed cousin Henry the 2^nd Duke of Buckingham! Re: Richard III	Catherine Fray Daughter of John Fray
1461-1535	Sir Humphrey IV Stafford Born Blatherwycke, Northampton		Margaret Fogge Born: Repton, Derbyshire
1500-1556	Sir William IV Stafford Sr. A.k.a. Sir William Stafford of Grafton Married twice: Mary Boleyn (no children with ancestors) Lady Dorothy Stafford (six Stafford children with ancestors)	Cousins Note: the amazing Symmetry! William directly descended from Millicent Stafford’s “Cadet Line” stepson William I And Dorothy descended from Millicent Stafford’s “Main Line” Son Hervy! Separated by almost 400 years both ladies managed to carry on both the “Main Line” Stafford bloodline as well as the Stafford surname!	Lady Dorothy Stafford (1526-1604) Daughter of: Baron Henry Stafford and Ursula Pole Granddaughter of: (Paternally) Edward Stafford the 3^rd Duke of Buckingham and (Maternally) Margaret (Plantagenet) Pole the Countess of Salisbury
1554-1612	William V Stafford Jr. (Direct Ancestor of W. Ulster Staffords!)	Born: Grafton, Northampton, England. He fully possessed both “Lines” of Stafford Ancestry!	Anne Gryme b. 1555 Dau. Of: Thomas Gryme of Antingham, Norfolk

Sources: Clues from Rebecca Lynn (Stafford) Barnes web site, & Some of my own prior research articles.

STAFFORD FAMILY ANCESTRY INDEX OF “MAIN” STAFFORD FAMILY BRANCH

Approx. Dates		STAFFORD FAMILY LINEAGE (Revised on 04/17/2003)				Background Data, Etc.			SPOUSE
675-760		Sveidi (Sveithi) Svidrasson				A.k.a. The "Sea King" (a viking)			Mrs. Sveidi Svidrasson
725-800		Halfdan "the Aged" Sveidasson							Mrs. Halfdan Sveidasson
770-820		Ivar "Oplaendinge" Halfdansson				Earl of the Uplands, (Norway)			Eysteinsdatter
810-894		Eystein "Glumra" Ivarsson				The "Noisy Earl" of the Uplands			Ascrida Ragnvaldsdatter
855-911	Malahule (Haldrick) (Tresney Eysteinsson						Earl of More and Romsdal, Norway				Unknown
890-962		Hugh de Cavalcamp	Founder of the De Tosny family					Mrs. Hugh de Cavalcamp
925-975		Ralph I (Rodulf) de Toeni	(Tosny also spelled Toeni)					Unknown
970-1018		Ralph II (Rodulf) de Toeni						Unknown
990-1039		Roger the Spaniard" Toeni Conches	Standard Bearer of Normandy,					Godeheut (Godehilde) Borrell (Spanish Royalty)
1039-1100 ********		Robert I de Stafford a.k.a. de Toeni (the first Stafford)	Both Born in Normandy, France and both Cousins of king William the Conqueror					Avice Fitzrichard de Clare (Descendent of Charlemagne)
1066-1137		Nicholas I de Stafford		Sheriff of Staffordshire						Maud de Moolte (Meolte)
1101-1178		Robert II de Stafford		(Son Robert III died in the Crusades)						Avice Unknown
1155-1214		Millicent de Stafford		(Bagot changed name to Stafford)						Hervy (Bagot) Stafford
1194-1237		Hervy de Stafford		Pernel was a descendent of the Saxon/English King Alfred the Great						Petronilla (Pernel) de Ferrers
1220-1282		Robert IV de Stafford		Was in the wars of Gascony						Alice Corbet
1246-1287		Nicholas II Stafford		Died in siege of Droslan Castle, a collapsing castle wall crushed him.						Alionore (Eleanor) Clinton
1272-1308		Edmund I Stafford		Baron and 1^st Lord Stafford						Margaret Basset
1301-1372		Ralph de Stafford		2^nd Baron and 1^st Earl of Stafford He built the 1^st stone Stafford Castle						Margaret d'Audley (Norman royalty)
1342-1386		Hugh Stafford		1^st Stafford of English/Norman Royalty						Phillipa Beauchamp
1377-1403		Edmund II Stafford		5^th Earl of Stafford and Anne grand daughter of king Edward III						Anne of Woodstock Plantagenet
1402-1460		Humphrey I Stafford		1^st Duke of Buckingham						Anne Neville
1424-1458		Humphrey II Stafford		7^th Earl of Stafford						Margaret Beaufort
1454-1483		Henry Stafford		2^nd Duke of Buckingham						Katherine Woodville
1478-1521		Edward Stafford		3^rd Duke of Buckingham						Alionore (Eleanor) Percy
1501-1563		Henry Stafford (10^th Baron)		Had 13 children						Ursula Pole
1526-1604		Lady Dorothy Stafford		(Cousins)-name remained Stafford						Sir William Stafford
1554-1612		William Stafford Sr.		Born: Grafton, Northampton, England						Anne Gryme
1594-1684		William Stafford Jr.		Born: Antingham, Norfolk, England						Ursula Moore
1625-1705		John Stafford Sr.		Born: Thornbury, Gloucester, England						Unknown
1660- ?		John Stafford Jr.								Elizabeth Shropshire
1686- ?		Thomas Stafford		Born: Stafford, Staffordshire, England						Ann Handley
1712-1790		John Stafford		Migrated from England to Ulster abt 1736						Margaret Brunt
1742- ?		Thomas Stafford		Born & died in N. Ireland						Barbara Irwin
?- ?		John Stafford		Born & died in N. Ireland						Anne Carr
1822- ?		John Stafford		Migrated to America in 1853						Bessie Rutledge
1853-1919		John Robert Stafford		Canadians						Sarah Linton
1887-1977		Elmer James Stafford (EJ) Born & died in Ontario,Canada		Founder of Western New York State, Stafford Family						Helen Acquard Cobleigh Born and died in USA
1913-1994		Cornelius Everett Stafford (Corny)			Both born- New York State, USA					Mary C. Stuhlmiller
1939-		Cornelius Francis Stafford (Neil)			Both born- New York State, USA					Geraldine Marie Bauer
1969-		Neil Armstrong Stafford 10/26/1969 Born: Buffalo, New York			Elli Anne Stafford b.11/27/1998 Lily Margaret Stafford b.6/24/2000					Lisa Tucker b.6/7/1971 Born: Lockport, New York

QUICK REFERENCE SHEET: [From Sveidi Svidrasson to Lily Margaret Stafford]

(41 GENERATIONS ON 1 PAGE, SPANNING 1, 325 YEARS) Revised by Neil F. Stafford on 04/17/2003.