Person Page - 140

     Roger D'Aubigny, son of William D'Aubigny and Albreda du Plessis, was born circa 1036 in St. Martin d'Aubigny, Manche, Normandy, France.

Roger married second Amicia de Mowbray circa 1060. From Encyclopedia Brittanica (ed. Hugh Chisholm), Vols. 17-18, p. 948 (1919)

"A sister of Bishop Geoffrey [Bishop of Coutances] was mother by Roger d'Aubigny (of Aubigny in the Cotentin) of two sons, Nigel and William, who were ardent supporters of Henry I. They were rewarded by him with great estates in England. William was made king's butler, and was father of William d'Aubigny, first earl of Arundel; Nigel was rewarded with the escheated fief of Geoffrey de la Guerche, of which Melton (Mowbray) was the head, and with forfeited lands in Yorkshire. Nigel married, by dispensation, the wife of his cousin, the imprisoned earl, but afterwards divorced her, and by another wife was father of a son Roger, who took the name of Mowbray."

Roger D'Aubigny, his father, William D'Aubigny, and Neil III d'St. Sauveur fought underWilliam the Conqueror on 14 October 1066 in the Battle of Hastings.¹

Roger D'Aubigny died circa 1104.

     Robert D'Albini, son of Willliam D'Aubigny "Brito" and Cecelia Bigod, was born circa 1130 in Belvoir Castle, Leicestershire, England. "Willielmus de Albeneio Brito et Ceciliam uxorem meam et Willielmum filium meum" donated land to Thorney monastery, Cambridgeshire, by undated charter, witnessed by "Rogero et Roberto fililis meis et Warino Ridel et Olivero et Iwan et Gaufrido nepotibus meis et Roberto Brito..."

Military fee certifications in the Red Book of the Exchequer, in 1166, record that "Robertus de Albenny frater suus" held 15 knights fees from "Willelmi de Albenny ritonis quam pater suus tenuit" in Leicestershire.

Robert acquired an interest in Stoke in the manor of Hope during the reign of King John (1199-1216.)

Robert D'Albini died in 1205.

     William D'Albini "Brito" II, son of Willliam D'Aubigny "Brito" and Cecelia Bigod, was born in 1113 at Belvoir Castle in Leicestershire, England. He was also known as William "Le Meschin", which means "William the younger."

William D'Albini "Brito" II held Stackhorne and Belvoir. He also acquired other land including some in Muston, Leicestershire.

William D'Albini "Brito" II died in 1168 at Belvoir Castle in Leicestershire, England.

     William D'Albini "Brito" III, son of William D'Albini "Brito" II, was born circa 1164 at Belvoir Castle in Leicestershire, England.¹ He became third Baron of Belvoir Castle, as his father's heir. William was a minor at the time that his father died in 1167 or 1168 and appears to have come of age in about 1172. He witnessed charters of Henry II in England and Normandy, and from 1190 to 1193 served as constable of the castle of the Peak. When his father died he was made a ward to King Henry II and, in 1194, he was in the army of Richard I in Normandy. For his support of King Richard against the rebellion of the king’s brother John, he was rewarded with part of the estate confiscated from the rebel, Roger de Montbegon. In 1194 he travelled to Speyer in Germany, to greet Richard on his release from captivity.

Like a number of the future Magna Carta surety barons, in John’s reign he embarked on the road to rebellion only reluctantly, being by upbringing and instinct a natural royalist. He had long experience of serving in royal administration locally. He served as sheriff of Rutland from 1195 to 1198, as sheriff of Warwickshire and Leicestershire from 1196 to 1198, and as sheriff of Bedfordshire and Buckinghamshire in John’s first year. In the 1190s and later, he acted as an itinerant royal justice and in 1211-12 he was appointed keeper of the ports in Lincolnshire and Yorkshire. In February 1213, as John’s suspicions of the northern lords deepened, he served as a commissioner to look into money allegedly collected by sheriffs and other officials that never found its way into the royal coffers. His kinship to a number of the northern lords may have been a factor in his appointment.^2,3

William married first Margery de Umfraville circa 1185. She was the daughter of Odinel de Umfreville, of Prudhoe, Northumberland, by Alice, daughter of Richard de Lucy, Knight, of Chipping Ongar, Essex, Chief Justiciar of England. They had four sons, William, Odinel, Robert, and Nicholas (clerk) [Rector of Bottesford, Lincolnshire].^3,4

For all his involvement with royal government under John, however, William was not entirely uncritical of the king’s policies. In 1201 he was party to a baronial confederation objecting to military service in Normandy on the grounds that it was contrary to their terms of tenure. King John demanded that their castles should be given up to him as security for their allegiance, beginning with William d'Albini; and therewith Belvoir Castle, instead of which d'Albini gave him his son, William, as a hostage. He appears to have remained longer faithful to King John, as well as more moderate in his opposition to the King than most of the Barons, and he did not join the insurgents until he could no longer with safety remain neutral or adhere to the King for, as late as January 1214/5, he was one of King John's commissioners appointed for the safe conduct of such as were traveling to his Court at Northampton. William threw his weight behind the baronial opposition shortly after the barons’ takeover of London in May, doing so for several reasons. Almost certainly he had grown disenchanted with the oppressive nature of John’s rule.

William D'Albini III was one of the 25 guarantors of the Magna Carta 15 Jun 1215 at Runnymede; the most significant early influence on the extensive historical process that led to the rule of constitutional law today. In the war between King John and the Barons that followed the signing of the charter, he held Rochester (It was situated on the great Northwest Southeast Road built by the Romans and known to later Englishmen as Watling Street) for the barons. It was well guarded, on one side by the swirling waters of the Medway, and on the other three by a curtain wall.

While William d'Albini held the Castle against King John and his army of mercenaries, the King appeared on the scene in person. The siege continued for seven weeks. The outer wall had been badly damaged and the soldiers had resorted to the keep. But when John's soldiers made a breach in the wall and attempted to enter, they were promptly repelled. The siege continued, and finally, hunger and thirst forced a surrender. The siege had lasted three months and his army suffered considerable loss. King John ordered that all nobles in the Castle be hanged, but his chief counsellers resolutely opposed this sentence and William d'Albini and his son, Odonel, with several other Barons, were mereIy committed to the custody of Peter de Mauley, and sent as prisoners to Corfe and Nottingham Castles.

While d'Albini remained at Corfe, King John directed the siege of William’s castle at Belvoir. After he had issued a threat to starve William himself if the garrison held out, the latter’s son Nicholas, who was heading the defence, hastily offered his surrender. Nicholas d'Albini, a Clerk in Orders, delivered the keys to the King, asking only that his father should be mercifully treated. The fortress was then committed to the custody of Geoffrey and Oliver de Buteville. William's liberty was gained by paying to the King a fine of 6,000 marks (more than 4,000 pounds). He had handed over 1000 marks of this sum by November when, shortly after the the death of John and the accession of the new king, Henry III (John's young son), he was released, his wife, Agatha, offering herself as a hostage instead. In 1223 William was permitted to pay off the balance of the ransom in easy instalments of 40 marks a year. William’s career from 1217 was that of a committed supporter of the new Minority regime. On 20 May 1217 he was one of the King's commanders at the Second Battle of Lincoln.

The clash at Lincoln Castle took place during the First Barons' War between the forces of the future Louis VIII of France and those of King Henry III (1216-1272) of England. Louis' forces were attacked by a relief force under the command of William Marshal, 1st Earl of Pembroke. The Comte de la Perche, commanding the French troops, was killed and the defeat led to Louis being expelled from his base in the southeast of England.

In 1223 he joined the young Henry III on his campaign against Prince Llewellyn and the Welsh at Builth Wells and Montgomery. Two years after this, he was one of the group of counsellors who witnessed the final and definitive reissue of Magna Carta and the Charter of the Forest.^2,3,4

William D'Albini "Brito" III died on 1 May 1236 in Offington, Lincolnshire, England.

William D'Albini "Brito" III was granted land an unknown date in an unknown place . William Albini III granted land for the repose of the souls of himself and Agatha, his wife, and for the repose of the soul of Margaria, his first wife. This was witnessed by William Albini IV, Odonel, Robert and Nicolas. William D'Albini "Brito" III's body was buried in Newstead Priory, Stamford, Lincolnshire, England, and "his heart under the wall opposite the high altar" of the priory at Belvoir Castle.³

     Margery de Umfraville was born circa 1165.

Margery married William D'Albini "Brito" III, son of William D'Albini "Brito" II, circa 1185. She was the daughter of Odinel de Umfreville, of Prudhoe, Northumberland, by Alice, daughter of Richard de Lucy, Knight, of Chipping Ongar, Essex, Chief Justiciar of England. They had four sons, William, Odinel, Robert, and Nicholas (clerk) [Rector of Bottesford, Lincolnshire].^1,2

Margery de Umfraville died before 1198 at Belvoir Castle in England.¹

     William D'Aubigny, son of Roger D'Aubigny and Amicia de Mowbray, was born in 1072 in St. Martin d'Aubigny, Manche, Normandy, France. He was pincerna to King Henry I.

William married Maud Bigod circa 1101 in Norfolk, England. She was the daughter of Roger Bigod and Adeliiza de Toeni, and was born at Belvoir Castle.

In 1107, William now a prominent Norfolk landowner with estates in Wymondham and nearby New Buckenham, founded the Wymondham Abbey as a Priory of the Benedictine Monastery of St. Albans. William was the nephew of Richard D'Albini, Abbot of St. Alban's. The priory was relatively small, initially for some twelve Benedictive monks, but grew in influence and wealth over the coming centuries. In 1448 the Pope granted Wymondham the right to become an Abbey in its own right. It was suppressed by Henry VIII in 1538 and since then it has served as the Anglican parish church of Wymondham.

The building was on an ambitious scale. Stone was shipped across the English Channel from Caen, in Normandy, and the original Nave-- a scaled down version of the Nave of Norwich Cathedral-- was twelve bays long. The church and monastery were substanially complete by 1130. In 1174 the founders son, also called William d'Aubigny, established a chapel in town dedicated to Thomas Becket and served by two monks from the priory.¹

William D'Aubigny died in 1139. He was buried in Wymondham Abbey, Norfolk, England.

     William D'Aubigny was also known as William "Strong Hand". As related by William Dugdale, this is the story of how he came by the name: "It happened that [in 1137] the Queen of France, being then a widow, and a very beautiful woman, became much in love with a knight from an other country, who was a comely person, and in the flower of his youth; and because she thought that no man excelled him in valor, she caused a tournament to be proclaimed throughout her dominions, promising to reward those who should exercise themselves therein, according to their respective abilities; and concluded that if the person whom she so well affected should act his part better than others in those military exercises, she might marry him without any dishonor to herself. Hereupon divers gallant men, from foreign parts hasting to Paris, amongst others came this our William de Albini, bravely accoutered, and in the tournament excelled all others, overcoming many, and wounding one mortally with his lance, which being observed by the queen, she became exceedingly enamored of him, and forthwith invited him to a costly banquet, and afterwards bestowing certain jewels upon him, offered him marriage; but, having plighted his troth to the Queen of England, then a widow, he refused her, whereat she grew so discontented that she consulted with her maids how she might take away his life; and in pursuance of that design, inticed him into a garden, where there was a secret cave, and in it a fierce lion, unto which she descended by divers steps, under color of showing him the beast; and when she told him of its fierceness, he answered, that it was a womanish and not a manly quality to be afraid thereof. But having him there, by the advantage of a folding door, thrust him to the lion; being therefore in this danger, he rolled his mantle about his arm, and putting his hand into the mouth of the beast, pulled out his tongue by the root; which done, he followed the queen to her palace, and gave it to one of her maids to present her. Returning thereupon to England, with the fame of this glorious exploit, he was forthwith advanced to the Earldom of Arundel, and for his arms the Lion given him."

William D'Aubigny was born circa 1109 in England, son of William D'Aubigny and Maud Bigod. He was the 1st Earl of Arundel and Chief Butler of England.

William married Adeliza de Louvain in 1138. She was the young widow of King Henry I who died in 1135. Adeliza was the daughter of a French Count, Godfrey I of Brabant, Count of Louvain and Duke of Lower Lorraine, and Ida de Namur. Adeliza was known for her great beauty.¹

William was a prolific builder. He built the Castle at New Buckenham in Norfolk in 1145, as well as the magnificent square keep at Castle Rising . He also constructed the fantastic keep at Arundel which still survives today.

Arundel has grown from its modest origins as a motte and bailey keep built by Roger de Montgomery, 1st Earl of Arundel, to a palatial castle. It was constructed around 1068 during the reign of William the Conqueror as a fortification for the River Arun and a defensive position for the surrounding land. After Roger de Montgomery died, the castle reverted to the crown under Henry I (1068-1135). The King, in his will, left Arundel Castle and the attached land to his second wife Adeliza of Louvain. In 1138, three years after Henry's death, she married William d'Aubigny II. William was made Earl of Sussex on his marriage was responsible for creating the magnificent keep on the motte (an artificial mound over 100 feet high), thus increasing the defence and status of the castle. The keep was built of Caen stone which was brought over from Normandy, and Quarr Abbey stone from the Isle of Wight. It is in fact an irregular oval in its plan with walls 27 ft high and 10 feet thick, the exterior is smooth stone punctuated at intervals with small buttresses. By the standards of the time, the interior of the keep would have been luxurious and richly decorated, fit for a Queen dowager, but would also have served as the administrative centre for the district.

The year following their marriage in 1139 William and Adeliza invited the Empress Matilda, daughter of Henry I to stay, as she intended to press her claim to the throne from Stephen (1135-1154). Stephen threatened to besiege Arundel and a safe passage was quickly established for her to go to Bristol . Matilda continued with her claim to the throne, but was unsuccessful, although she managed to get Stephen to agree that her eldest son Henry Plantagenet would inherit the Crown on his death. King Henry II (1154-1189) in 1155 confirmed William d'Aubigny II as Earl of Arundel, with the Honour and Castle of Arundel. D'Aubigny owned Arundel until his death in 1176 when it again came under ownership of the Crown. Arundel Castle has belonged to the Earl's of Arundel and the Dukes of Norfolk for many centuries. Passing from the d'Aubignys to the Fitzalans in the 13th century and to the Howards in the 16th century, it has been home to many prominent figures in English History. The current Duke of Norfolk, Edward Fitzalan-Howard, is a direct descendent of the d'Aubigny/Albini family.

William being held in high regard by Henry II served in the King's embassy to Rome in 1163/4, and also to Saxony in 1168. He was commander of the Royal Army in August 1173 in Normandy, against the King's rebellious sons, where he is said to have distinguished himself with "swiftness and velocity". He fought in the battle near Bury St. Edmunds on 29 Sep 1173, where he assisted in the defeat of the Earl of Leicester who had, with his Flemings, invaded Suffolk.

William D'Aubigny died on 3 October 1176 in Waverly, Surrey County, England. He was buried in Wymondham Abbey, Norfolk, England.

     Adeliza de Louvain was born in 1103 in Brabant, Netherlands. She was also known as Alice.

Adeliza of Louvain (1103-1151) was queen consort of England from 1121 to 1135, the second wife of King Henry I of England. She was the daughter of a French Count, Godfrey of Louvain.

She married King Henry I in 1121 when she is thought to have been aged somewhere between fifteen and eighteen; he was fifty three. It is believed that Henry's only reason for marrying again was his desire for a male heir. (Despite holding the record for the largest number of illegitimate children of any British monarch, Henry's only legitimate male heir had died in 1120.) It was partly the report of Adeliza's singular beauty (on which all the chroniclers are agreed), and Louvain and England had a mutual enemy in Flanders; these were the likely reasons she was chosen. However, no children were born during the almost 15 years of the marriage.

When her husband died in 1135, Adeliza lived as a nun at Wilton, near Salisbury. As she was still young she came out of mourning some time before 1139 and married William d'Albini, who had been one of Henry's chief advisors. She brought with her a queen's dowry, including the great castle of Arundel, and King Stephen named d'Albini Earl of Arundel. Seven of their children were to survive. Among the descendants of this marriage came two girls destined to become tragic queens; Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard.

One of Adeliza's brothers, Jocelin, came to England and married Agnes de Percy, heiress of the Percy family. Their children took their mother's name, and their descendants include the medieval Earls of Northumberland.

Adeliza married William D'Aubigny, son of William D'Aubigny and Maud Bigod, in 1138.¹

Adeliza de Louvain died on 25 March 1151 at Afflighem Abbey in Brabant, Flanders, Belgium. For unknown reasons in 1150 Adeliza retired to the nunnery of Afflighem in her home country where she died the following year.² She was buried in Reading Abbey, Berkshire, England. This was the monastery she and Henry I had founded in the year of their marriage thirty years earlier.³

     Richard D'Aubigny was butler to the Earl of Chester. M2.

Richard D'Aubigny, son of Roger D'Aubigny and Amicia de Mowbray, was born before 1086 in Pulton, Cheshire, England.

Richard D'Aubigny died in 1118 in Abbey, Cheshire, England.

     Nigel D'Aubigny, son of Roger D'Aubigny and Amicia de Mowbray, was born circa 1072 in Thirsk Castle, North Yorkshire, England. He was 3rd Baron of Thirsk and 1st Baron of Mowbray.

Nigel D'Aubigny held the Manor of Eye, now Towersey; also a manor in Hughenden, anciently called Tilleberie, now known as Brand's Fee, from the family of Brand, who held it in the 13th century. Nigel d'Albini was the landless younger son of Roger d'Albini, by his wife Amicia, who was of the family of Mowbray. In 1101 he entered the service of Henry I, probably as a household knight. Nigel was bow-bearer to the King in 1106 at the battle of Tinchebrai, in Normandy, between Henry I and Robert, sons of William the Conqueror. At the commencement of the battle, the English were thrown into confusion, when Count D'Evreaux fought his way to the standard-bearer and dealt King Henry a very violent blow. Nigel rushed forward to save his royal master, and at the same time seized Duke Robert and conducted him as a prisoner to his victorious brother Henry, who, instead of making a friendly arrangement with him, ordered him to be forthwith conveyed to England, where he was confined for the period of his life in Cardiff Castle, and for 28 years treated with great indignity. For these and other great services which he had rendered, Henry bestowed upon Nigel the estates forfeited by his maternal uncle, Robert de Mowbray, Earl of Northumberland. It included lands in western and southern Normandy and in the midlands and the north of England. Nigel had one of the largest baronies in England.^1,2

Nigel married Matilda de L'Aigle in 1108. She had married Robert de Mowbray, earl of Northumberland, shortly before his rebellion against Henry I. She lived for many years after her husband's imprisonment in an ambiguous state with a husband she hardly knew, before arrangements were made for her divorce and remarraiage. But her misfortunes were not over. Unable to bear Nigel a child, she was again divorced.³

Nigel married second Gundreda de Gournay on 2 June 1118. She was the dauther of Gerald de Gournay and Edith de Warenne.⁴

Nigel D'Aubigny died on 21 November 1129 at Thirsk Castle in Hovingham, Yorkshire, England.

     William D'Aubigny, son of William D'Aubigny and Adeliza de Louvain, was born circa 1140 at Buckenham in Norfolk, England.

William married Maud de Saint Hilary circa 1174 at Arundel in Essex, England. She was the daughter of James de St. Hilary and Aveline.

He was not immediately named 2nd Earl of Arundel, that dignity having been in accordance with the policy of Henry II returned to the crown upon the death of his father in 1176, but it as restored to him by Richard I 27 Jun 1190. He had however styled Earl of Arundel before he received possession. He was made the Custos of Windsor Castle in 1191, and in 1194 was one of the reeivers of monies raised for the King's ransom.

William D'Aubigny died on 24 December 1193 in Norfolk, England.

     Joana R. Brantley was born on 1 October 1813 in Georgia.

Joana married Rev. Peyton Smith GRAVES, son of William GRAVES and Sarah SMITH, circa 1830. She was the daughter of Harris Brantley and Dorothy Brooks Minter. Peyton and Joana had at least 5 children: George D. Graves, Peyton Smith Graves, Harris Brantley Graves, Charles W. Graves, and Georgia Arlene Graves.¹

Joana R. Brantley died on 23 May 1847 in Selma, Dallas County, Alabama, at age 33.² She was buried in Live Oak Cemetery, Selma, Dallas County, Alabama. Inscription: Sacred to the memory of Mrs. Joanna R. Gaves, consort of Rev. Peyton S. Graves, and daughter of Harris & Dorothy Brantley, born In Georgia, Oct. 1st, 1813 & died Mary 23rd 1847, and her son, George D. Graves, who was born Jan. 10th, 1841, & died Nov. 18, 1845.

     Thomas Jefferson Varner, son of Sarah GRAVES, was born in 1811 in Oglethorpe County, Georgia. He was was a land speculator and planter in Lowndes County, Alabama, throughout the 1830s, buying and then selling many acrerages. He also expanded his slave holdings. Thomas joined the Masons in Lowndes county Lodge #33 on 7 Sep 1833. He passed the membership exam in November and was raised to Master Mason in December.

Thomas married Nancy L. GRAVES, daughter of William GRAVES III and Mary Young, on 24 July 1832 in Lowndes County, Alabama.

Thomas Jefferson Varner died on 28 September 1843 in Columbia, Caldwell Parish, Louisiana.

Thomas left an estate appraised at $5,500 to support his wife and children. The estate included 19 slaves all named in the record. They were divided among the four children. After the death of Nancy in 1844, the estate was monitored for each child by the Lowndes County, Alabama Orphan Court until each came of age.

     Henry Hill Whetstone was born on 27 August 1818 in Orangeburg District, South Carolina.¹

Henry married Sarah J. GRAVES, daughter of William GRAVES III and Mary B. DURHAM, on 15 December 1843 in Manack Station, Lowndes County, Alabama. The ceremony was performed by Y. W. Graves, justice of the peace.

Henry Hill Whetstone and Sarah J. GRAVES appeared as head of household on a census enumerated 10 December 1850 in Lowndes County, Alabama. The household was listed as H. H. Whetstone, a 32-year-old planter from South Carolina, and Sarah J., his 26-year-old wfe. He had real estate valued at $4,000. Their children were Caroline 7, Mary 5, and William 3. Also living with them was 19-year-old Peyton H. Whetstone from Virginia. He was also a planter whose real estate was valued at $6,000. Sarah's father, William Grave III lived two houses away.²

Henry Hill Whetstone died on 7 June 1879 in Alabama at age 60.³

     Warren Thomas Stone was born in 1814. He and William GRAVES were Before 1828 William Graves and Warren Stone were the primary members of the first Methodist Episcopal in Manack, Montgomery (now Lowndes) county. It was the first Methodist church in Montgomery county and one of the oldest churches in the state.²

Warren married Susan D. GRAVES, daughter of Charles GRAVES and Mary U. Taylor, on 5 October 1836 in Lowndes County, Alabama. William Rice, minister of the Gospel, performed the service.¹

Warren Thomas Stone died in 1878 in Lowndes County, Alabama.³