This is a translation of the 'Memoires of Jacques du Clercq', published in 1823 in two volumes, edited by Frederic, Baron de Reissenberg. In his introduction Reissenberg writes: 'Jacques du Clercq tells us that he was born in 1424, and that he was a licentiate in law and a counsellor to Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy, in the castellany of Douai, Lille, and Orchies. It appears that he established his residence at Arras. In 1446, he married the daughter of Baldwin de la Lacherie, a gentleman who lived in Lille. We read in the fifth book of his Memoirs that his father, also named Jacques du Clercq, had married a lady of the Le Camelin family, from Compiègne. His ancestors, always attached to the counts of Flanders, had constantly served them, whether in their councils or in their armies.' The Memoires cover a period of nineteen years beginning in in 1448, ending in in 1467. It appears that the author had intended to extend the Memoirs beyond that date; no doubt illness or death prevented him from carrying out this plan. As Reissenberg writes the 'merit of this work lies in the simplicity of its narrative, in its tone of good faith, and in a certain air of frankness which naturally wins the reader’s confidence.' Du Clercq ranges from events of national and international importance, including events of the Wars of the Roses in England, to simple, everyday local events such as marriages, robberies, murders, trials and deaths, including that of his own father in Book 5; one of his last entries.
Available at Amazon in eBook and Paperback format.
New York is in New York State.
Samuel Pepys' Diary. 29th September 1664. So to supper and to bed. Fresh newes come of our beating the Dutch at Guinny quite out of all their castles almost, which will make them quite mad here at home sure. And Sir G. Carteret [aged 54] did tell me, that the King [aged 34] do joy mightily at it; but asked him laughing, "But", says he, "how shall I do to answer this to the Embassador when he comes?" Nay they say that we have beat them out of the New Netherlands too1 so that we have been doing them mischief for a great while in several parts of the world; without publique knowledge or reason. Their fleete for Guinny is now, they say, ready, and abroad, and will be going this week. Coming home to-night, I did go to examine my wife's house accounts, and finding things that seemed somewhat doubtful, I was angry though she did make it pretty plain, but confessed that when she do misse a sum, she do add something to other things to make it, and, upon my being very angry, she do protest she will here lay up something for herself to buy her a necklace with, which madded me and do still trouble me, for I fear she will forget by degrees the way of living cheap and under a sense of want.
Note 1. Captain (afterwards Sir Robert) Holmes' [aged 42] expedition to attack the Dutch settlements in Africa eventuated in an important exploit. Holmes suddenly left the coast of Africa, sailed across the Atlantic, and reduced the Dutch settlement of New Netherlands to English rule, under the title of New York. "The short and true state of the matter is this: the country mentioned was part of the province of Virginia, and, as there is no settling an extensive country at once, a few Swedes crept in there, who surrendered the plantations they could not defend to the Dutch, who, having bought the charts and papers of one Hudson, a seaman, who, by the commission from the crown of England, discovered a river, to which he gave his name, conceited they had purchased a province. Sometimes, when we had strength in those parts, they were English subjects; at others, when that strength declined, they were subjects of the United Provinces. However, upon King Charles's claim the States disowned the title, but resumed it during our confusions. On March 12th, 1663-64, Charles II granted it to the Duke of York [aged 30] ... The King sent Holmes, when he returned, to the Tower, and did not discharge him; till he made it evidently appear that he had not infringed the law of nations ". (Campbell's "Naval History", vol. ii, p., 89). How little did the King or Holmes himself foresee the effects of the capture, B.
John Evelyn's Diary. 27th October 1673. To Council, about sending succors to recover New York: and then we read the commission and instructions to Sir Jonathan Atkins [aged 63], the new Governor of Barbadoes.
On 11th August 1706 Katherine O'Brien [aged 43] died at New York. She was buried at Trinity Church, New York. Her son Edward succeeded 9th Baron Clifton of Leighton Bromswold in Huntingdonshire.
In 1732 James De Lancey was born in New York.
On 12th October 1753 Danvers Osborn 3rd Baronet [aged 37] committed suicide at New York. His body was found in the garden of the house in which he was lodged, which belonged to a local councilman. The body presented evidence of strangulation. His son George [aged 11] succeeded 4th Baronet Osborn of Chicksands in Bedfordshire.
On 13th January 1777 Thomas Dalrymple Hesketh 3rd Baronet was born to Thomas Hesketh [aged 28] and Jacintha Dalrymple at New York. He married 1st February 1798 Sophia Hinde Lady Hesketh and had issue.
On 25th September 1777 John Tollemache [aged 27] was killed in a duel in New York by Lowther Pennington. His two-year old son John Tollemache [aged 2] was adopted by his brother Lionel Tollemache 5th Earl Dysart [aged 43]. Pennington was "accused of the Murder of the Honorable John Tollemache, Captain in the Royal Navy, and Commander of His Majesty's Ship of War, Zebra." Concluding, the court, "having considered the Evidence against the Prisoner Captain Lowther Pennington, together with what he had to Offer in his Defence, is of Opinion that he is not guilty of the Crime of which he stood accused, and doth therefore Acquit him."
September 29, New-York Gazette: "The Evening after the Arrival of the Fleet [September 25], a duel, with Swords, was fought at Hull's, between the Honorable J Talmash (Brother to Earl Dysert) Commander of the Zebra, and Capt Pennington (Son to Sir Ralph Pennington) of the Guards, who came Passenger in the Zebra; in which the former received a Wound under the left Breast of which he expired immediately; the latter was wounded in 7 different Parts, but is like to do well. Captain Talmash's Corpse were [sic] decently interred in Trinity Church Yard last Saturday Evening."
October 4, Rivington's New-York Gazette: "An unhappy difference having taken place on the passage between the Hon Capt Tollemache, of the Zebra, brother to the Right Hon the Earl of Dysert, and Capt Pennington, of the Guards, brother to Sir Joseph Pennington, it terminated in a duel on the night of their arrival, at Hull's Tavern, when the former was killed by a thrust in the breast, and the latter who received three wounds is in very great danger."
General Richard FitzPatrick [aged 29] to his sister-in-law Anne Liddell FitzRoy FitzPatrick [aged 40], Countess of [Upper] Ossory: "Captain Tollemache is killed in a duel by a wrongheaded officer in the Guards, a Mr Pennington, whom he brought over in his ship. As it happened at New York, we do not know the particulars, but everybody concludes the latter to have been in the wrong, from his general character. I cannot help pitying Lady Bridget, though she is a detestable woman."
On 18th December 1792 David Kennedy 10th Earl Cassilis [aged 58] died unmarried. His second cousin once removed Archibald [aged 72] succeeded 11th Earl Cassilis at which time he was lviign in New York. Baronet Kennedy of Culzean in Ayrshire extinct.
On 14th December 1814 Isabella Johnston [aged 77] died at New York. She was buried at the Houston Street Cemetery.
William of Worcester's Chronicle of England
William of Worcester, born around 1415, and died around 1482 was secretary to John Fastolf, the renowned soldier of the Hundred Years War, during which time he collected documents, letters, and wrote a record of events. Following their return to England in 1440 William was witness to major events. Twice in his chronicle he uses the first person: 1. when writing about the murder of Thomas, 7th Baron Scales, in 1460, he writes '… and I saw him lying naked in the cemetery near the porch of the church of St. Mary Overie in Southwark …' and 2. describing King Edward IV's entry into London in 1461 he writes '… proclaimed that all the people themselves were to recognize and acknowledge Edward as king. I was present and heard this, and immediately went down with them into the city'. William’s Chronicle is rich in detail. It is the source of much information about the Wars of the Roses, including the term 'Diabolical Marriage' to describe the marriage of Queen Elizabeth Woodville’s brother John’s marriage to Katherine, Dowager Duchess of Norfolk, he aged twenty, she sixty-five or more, and the story about a paper crown being placed in mockery on the severed head of Richard, 3rd Duke of York.
Available at Amazon in eBook and Paperback format.
In 1841 David Archibald Douglas [aged 42] died at New York.
On 11th October 1853 William Lawrence Breese of New York was born at New York.
On 22nd September 1871 Cornelia Martin Countess Craven was born in New York.
In October 1875 Rita de Acosta Lydig was born at New York.
On 2nd March 1877 Consuelo Vanderbilt Duchess of Marlborough was born to William Kissam Vanderbilt [aged 27] and Alva Erskine Smith [aged 24] at New York. She was named after her godmother Consuelo Yznaga Duchess Manchester [aged 24]. She married (1) 6th November 1895 Charles Richard John Spencer-Churchill 9th Duke of Marlborough, son of George Charles Spencer-Churchill 8th Duke of Marlborough and Albertha Frances Anne Hamilton Duchess of Marlborough, and had issue (2) 4th July 1921 Jacques Balsan.
On 2nd August 1884 John Leslie 2nd Baronet [aged 26] and Leonie Blanche Jerome Lady Leslie [aged 25] were married at New York; both families disapproved.
On 14th November 1938 William Lygon 7th Earl Beauchamp [aged 66] died at New York. His son William [aged 35] succeeded 8th Earl Beauchamp, 8th Viscount Elmley of Worcestershire, 8th Baron Beauchamp Powick in Worcestershire.
On 29th March 1970 Percy Bryant Baker [aged 88] died in New York.
On 22nd May 1876 George Victor Drogo Montagu 8th Duke Manchester [aged 22] and Consuelo Yznaga Duchess Manchester [aged 23] were married at Grace Church, Manhattan. Arguably a Dollar Princess. He the son of William Drogo Montagu 7th Duke Manchester [aged 52] and Louisa Vonalten Duchess Devonshire and Manchester [aged 43].
On 15th May 1894 Henry Alexander [aged 34] committed suicide, for want of money, by swallowing oxalic acid in the Oriental Hotel at Broadway and Thirty-Ninth Street.
On 28th July 1922 Adele Beach Grant Countess Essex [aged 55] died. She had a heart attack whilst in her bath at her home 72 Brook Street, New York see Obituary, New York Times.
Anne Boleyn. Her Life as told by Lancelot de Carle's 1536 Letter.
In 1536, two weeks after the execution of Anne Boleyn, her brother George and four others, Lancelot du Carle, wrote an extraordinary letter that described Anne's life, and her trial and execution, to which he was a witness. This book presents a new translation of that letter, with additional material from other contemporary sources such as Letters, Hall's and Wriothesley's Chronicles, the pamphlets of Wynkyn the Worde, the Memorial of George Constantyne, the Portuguese Letter and the Baga de Secrets, all of which are provided in Appendices.
Available at Amazon in eBook and Paperback format.
New York Times 29 Jul 1922. 29th July 1922. Obituary. New York Times.
Former Adele Grant of New York Stricken With Heart Attack After Dinner Party.
TRIED TO SUMMON HELP
Dowager, Once Famous Beauty, Was Model for Herkomer's "A Lady in White." [Note. This appears to be a mistake - A Lady in White]
1922 by The New York Times Company. By Wireless to The New York Times.
London, July 28. Dowager Countess Essex [deceased], who was the daughter of the late Beach Grant of New York and the second wife of the Seventh Earl of Essex, was found dead in her bath today at her home, 72 Brook Street, by one of her maids.
Lady Essex attended last night a dinner party given by the Hon. Mrs. Rupert Beckett and appeared in the best of spirits. She was driven home by Mrs. Asquith, with whom she was to have lunched today.
Apparently she took her bath before going to bed and had the seizure. She seemed to have endeavored to get help as the hanging electric bell push had been pulled into the bath. The tragedy was not discovered until this morning when Lady Essex's maid found her bed had not been slept in.
The bath room door was locked and the electric lights were full on. When the door was forced Lady Essex was found dead. She had suffered for years from a weak heart and it is presumed that she had the seizure when she could not help herself.
In her prime Lady Essex was famed for her beauty, being tall and graceful, with soft eyes and dark hair. Indeed she belonged to the group that was playfully christened "Lovely Five" and included Lady Warwick [aged 60], Lady Lytton [aged 80], Lady Westmoreland and the Duchess of Sutherland [aged 54]. She was the model for Herkomer's famous picture "A Lady in White."
A coroner's inquest into Lady Essex's death will be held on Monday.
Adele Grant. daughter of the late Beach Grant of this city, was married to the seventh Earl of Essex in St. Margaret's Church, Westminster [Map], Dec. 14 1893. Archdeacon Farrar performed the ceremony, the occasion being one of the brilliant social events of that Winter in London. There have been two children, Lady Iris Mary [aged 27] and Lady Joan Rachel [aged 23], respectively 26 and 22 years old. Presumably they will share their mother's fortune, which is not inconsiderable since her inheritance in 1915 of some $600,000 from her uncle, R. Suydam Grant, of the New York Stock Exchange.
Her husband was a widower when she married him. The present Earl [aged 38], son of his father's first marriage, did not have sufficient income to keep up the magnificent ancestral estate of Cassiobury Park, and last Fall it was offered for sale. On previous occasions it had been rented to Americans, among others to Otto H. Kahn.
An anecdote of the family that reveals the firmness of the Countess is that of her refusal of the tempting offers repeatedly made to her by Lady Meux, widow of Sir Henry Meux, the wealthy brewer. The story has it that Lady Meux, originally a "queen of burlesque" and aunt by marriage of the Earl of Essex, offered to make the Earl her heir if only the Countess would introduce her to society. But the Countess did not allow her thorough disapproval of the brewer's widow to be overcome by the bribe.
Before her marriage Adele Grant had been engaged to the late Earl Cairns, the unfortunate man who acquired the nickname of "Gumboil," thanks to his courtesy title of Lord Garmoyle. She broke off the match on the eve of the wedding owing to the prospective bridegrooms extortionate demands for a settlement. And, in 1920, after the death of her husband, she was reported, not on the highest authority, however, to be engaged to the Duke of Connaught [aged 72], brother of Edward Vll. The affair progressed no further than the circulation of the report.
During the World War the Countess did much relief work, serving with Queen Mary's Needlework Guild, on the Urban Executive Committee of the Urban Council for War Relief, and also as President of the Soldiers and Sailors Families' Association.
On 4th August 1904 Montrose Stuart Graham 12th Baronet was born to Montrose Stuart Graham 11th Baronet [aged 29] in Brooklyn, New York.
On 9th January 1854 Jenny Jerome was born to Leonard Jerome "King of Wall Street" Financier [aged 36] and Clarissa Hall [aged 29] at Cobble Hill Brooklyn, New York. She married 15th April 1874 Randolph Henry Spencer-Churchill, son of John Winston Spencer-Churchill 7th Duke of Marlborough and Frances Anne Emily Vane Duchess of Marlborough, and had issue.
On 16th December 1962 Lawrence of Arabia received its premiere in New York at the Criterion Cinema New York. Alec Guiness, Peter O'Toole, Omar Sharif, David Lean (Director) and Sam Spiegel (Producer) attended.
In 1873 Cara-Mia, Southampton was constructed: "a Southampton masterpiece – and the definitive American shingle style estate".
Around 1955 Consuelo Vanderbilt Duchess of Marlborough [aged 77] purchased Cara-Mia, Southampton.
On 6th December 1964 Consuelo Vanderbilt Duchess of Marlborough [aged 87] died at Southampton, Long Island, probably at her home Cara-Mia, Southampton. She was buried at St Martin's Church, Bladon [Map] next to the grave of her son Ivor Charles Spencer-Churchill who had died in 1956.
On 10th November 1880 Jacob Epstein was born to Max Jarogenski aka Epstein and Mary Solomon at 102 Hester Street, Lower East Side. He was the third of eight children that survived to adulthood. He married (1) 1906 Margaret Dunlop (2) June 1955 Kathleen Garman.
On 4th February 1867 Cornelius Vanderbilt II [aged 23] and Alice Claypoole Gwynne [aged 21] were married at the Church of the Incarnation, Madison Avenue.
On 7th November 1870 William Jackson Palmer [aged 34] and Mary Lincoln Mellen were married at Flushing, New York.
On 7th January 1956 Henry Herbert 7th Earl of Carnarvon [aged 31] and Jean Margaret Wallop Countess of Carnarvon [aged 20] were married at St James' Episcopal Church, New York. He the son of Henry Herbert 6th Earl Carnarvon [aged 57] and Anne Catherine Tredick Wendell Countess Carnarvon [aged 55]. They were third cousins.
Chronicle of Geoffrey le Baker of Swinbroke
Baker was a secular clerk from Swinbroke, now Swinbrook, an Oxfordshire village two miles east of Burford. His Chronicle describes the events of the period 1303-1356: Gaveston, Bannockburn, Boroughbridge, the murder of King Edward II, the Scottish Wars, Sluys, Crécy, the Black Death, Winchelsea and Poitiers. To quote Herbert Bruce 'it possesses a vigorous and characteristic style, and its value for particular events between 1303 and 1356 has been recognised by its editor and by subsequent writers'. The book provides remarkable detail about the events it describes. Baker's text has been augmented with hundreds of notes, including extracts from other contemporary chronicles, such as the Annales Londonienses, Annales Paulini, Murimuth, Lanercost, Avesbury, Guisborough and Froissart to enrich the reader's understanding. The translation takes as its source the 'Chronicon Galfridi le Baker de Swynebroke' published in 1889, edited by Edward Maunde Thompson.
Available at Amazon in eBook and Paperback format.
On 6th November 1895 Charles Richard John Spencer-Churchill 9th Duke of Marlborough [aged 23] and Consuelo Vanderbilt Duchess of Marlborough [aged 18] were married at St Thomas' Church New York. She by marriage Duchess Marlborough. The marriage arranged by Mary "Minnie" Fiske Stevens [aged 42] and encouraged by mother Alva Erskine Smith [aged 42]. The marriage was unhappy; they separated in 1906 and the marriage was annulled on 19th Augiust 1926. He the son of George Charles Spencer-Churchill 8th Duke of Marlborough and Albertha Frances Anne Hamilton Duchess of Marlborough [aged 48].
The marriage settlement provided for the Duke to receive a $2,500,000 trust that would pay $100,000 per year. Consuelo also received a further $100,000 per year. The combined annual income of $200,000 (£40,000) more than doubled the income the Duke had enjoyed from his estates prior to the marriage. Consuelo and the Duke also acquired several large gifts from her father, William K. Vanderbilt, including a palatial London townhouse and a reported sum of $1,000,000 in cash to mark the Duke's safe return from South Africa.
On 4th March 1816 Maturin Livingston was born at Staatsburg.
On 27th May 1794 Cornelius "Commodore" Vanderbilt was born to Cornelius van Derbilt and Phebe Hand at Staten Island. He married (1) 19th December 1813 his half first cousin Sophia Johnson and had issue (2) 21st August 1869 Frank Armstrong Crawford.
On 11th November 1843 Cornelius Vanderbilt II was born to William Henry Vanderbilt [aged 22] and Maria Louisa Kissam at Staten Island. He married 4th February 1867 Alice Claypoole Gwynne and had issue.
On 12th December 1849 William Kissam Vanderbilt was born to William Henry Vanderbilt [aged 28] at Staten Island. He married (1) 20th April 1875 Alva Erskine Smith and had issue.
On 11th August 1706 Katherine O'Brien [aged 43] died at New York. She was buried at Trinity Church, New York. Her son Edward succeeded 9th Baron Clifton of Leighton Bromswold in Huntingdonshire.
On 6th May 1709 John Lovelace 4th Baron Lovelace [aged 37] died. His son John [aged 4] succeeded 5th Baron Lovelace of Hurley in Berkshire. His funeral was held in Trinity Church, New York.
After 6th May 1709 John Lovelace 5th Baron Lovelace [deceased] died. He was buried at Trinity Church, New York. His brother Neville [aged 1] succeeded 6th Baron Lovelace of Hurley in Berkshire.
On 17th August 1763 Margaret Heron [aged 22] died. She was buried at Trinity Church, New York.
Genealogical Data From Colonial New York Newspapers, Page 95: Moncrieffe, Mrs. Margaret (wife of Thomas Moncrieffe, Esq., Captain in H.M.'s 55th Regt of Foot and one of the majors of brigade to Sir Jeffery Amherst —died Aug. 17 in NYC in her 23rd year; buried Aug. 18 at Trinity Church (8/22)
On 28th February 1777 John Coghlan [aged 24] and Margaret Maria Moncrieffe [aged 14] were married at Trinity Church, New York by the Reverend Samuel Auchmuty, Rector of Trinity Church, New York.
Henrici Quinti, Angliæ Regis, Gesta, is a first-hand account of the Agincourt Campaign, and subsequent events to his death in 1422. The author of the first part was a Chaplain in King Henry's retinue who was present from King Henry's departure at Southampton in 1415, at the siege of Harfleur, the battle of Agincourt, and the celebrations on King Henry's return to London. The second part, by another writer, relates the events that took place including the negotiations at Troye, Henry's marriage and his death in 1422.
Available at Amazon in eBook and Paperback format.
On 10th December 1791 Colonel Thomas Moncrieffe [aged 60] died. He was buried at Trinity Church, New York.
On 1st August 1804 George Richard St John 4th Viscount St John 3rd Viscount Bolingbroke [aged 43] and Isabella Charlotte Hompesch Baroness von Hompesch [aged 28] were married at Trinity Church, New York.
On 23rd September 1853 William Backhouse Astor Jr [aged 24] and Caroline Webster "Lina" Schermerhorn [aged 23] were married at Trinity Church, New York.