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.

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Biography of William Killigrew 1606-1695

Paternal Family Tree: Killgrew

Maternal Family Tree: Jane Ferneley 1552

William Killigrew and Mary Hill were married.

In 1604 [his father] Robert Killigrew (age 24) and [his mother] Mary Woodhouse were married.

In 1606 William Killigrew was born to [his father] Robert Killigrew (age 26) and [his mother] Mary Woodhouse.

In July 1614 [his father] Robert Killigrew (age 34) was appointed MP Bath and Heytesbury.

In May 1626 William Killigrew (age 20) was knighted.

In March 1628 William Killigrew (age 22) was elected MP Penryn.

In 1629 William Killigrew (age 23) was appointed Governor of Pendennis Castle.

In 1633 [his father] Robert Killigrew (age 53) died.

After 1633 [his step-father] Thomas Stafford (age 59) and [his mother] Mary Woodhouse were married. He the illegitmate son of George Carew 1st Earl Totnes.

In 1636 [his brother] Thomas Killigrew (age 23) and [his sister-in-law] Cecilia Crofts (age 26) were married.

Around 1638 Anthony Van Dyck (age 38). Portrait of William Killigrew (age 32).

Before 1650 [his brother-in-law] Francis Boyle 1st Viscount Shannon (age 26) and [his sister] Elizabeth Killigrew Viscountess Shannon (age 27) were married. He the son of Richard Boyle 1st Earl Cork and Catherine Fenton Countess Cork.

In 1655 [his brother] Thomas Killigrew (age 42) and [his sister-in-law] Charlotte Hesse (age 26) were married.

Memoires of Jacques du Clercq

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.

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In 1664 William Killigrew (age 58) was elected MP Richmond.

Samuel Pepys' Diary. 26th July 1665. Up, and after doing a little business, down to Deptford, Kent [Map] with Sir W. Batten (age 64), and there left him, and I to Greenwich, Kent [Map] to the Park, where I hear the King (age 35) and Duke (age 31) are come by water this morn from Hampton Court [Map]. They asked me several questions. The King mightily pleased with his new buildings there. I followed them to Castle's (age 36) ship in building, and there, met Sir W. Batten, and thence to Sir G. Carteret's (age 55), where all the morning with them; they not having any but the Duke of Monmouth (age 16), and Sir W. Killigrew (age 59), and one gentleman, and a page more. Great variety of talk, and was often led to speak to the King and Duke.