Plantagenet Ancestry: A Study In Colonial And Medieval Families (Royal Ancestry) [Hardcover]

Douglas Richardson; Kimball G. Everingham (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 30, 2004 | ISBN-10: 0806317507 | ISBN-13: 978-0806317502

This book provides detailed information about descents from the Plantagenet Kings of England for over 185 individuals who emigrated from the British Isles to the North American colonies in the seventeenth century. It combines research in original documents with the use of published literature and features new ancestral lines for virtually all American colonists who possess royal ancestry, with many corrections to existing lines. Plantagenet Ancestry treats all known descents, both legitimate and illegitimate, for seventeenth-century colonists from Geoffrey Plantagenet, Count of Anjou (died 1151), founder of the Plantagenet dynasty which ruled England from 1154 to 1485. It features hundreds of biographical sketches as well as over 14,000 citations to published materials, making it the most documented source book of its kind. In addition, the book includes a massive 75-page bibliography - probably the most exhaustive listing of royal and noble genealogy ever published - a special study of "king's kinsfolk," and an index of over 10,000 entries.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 945 pages
• Publisher: Genealogical Publishing Company (June 30, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0806317507
• ISBN-13: 978-0806317502
• Product Dimensions: 11.2 x 8.8 x 2.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #502,337 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

44 of 45 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Most authoritative secondary work I've seen . . ., March 27, 2005

By 

Michael K. Smith (South Louisiana) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Plantagenet Ancestry: A Study In Colonial And Medieval Families (Royal Ancestry) (Hardcover)

Even though I do not, to my knowledge, have a single drop of royal blood in my veins, I have a longstanding interest in peerage genealogy -- if only because the earliest surviving records concern the lineages of European society's movers and shakers, not the yeoman farmers and small tradesmen whose genes I carry. Richardson is well known and widely respected in this field, having published numerous peerage articles in the most respected journals and having been a contributor to the last couple of editions of Weis. Those of us who hang out on the soc.genealogy.medieval newsgroup have watched for years as this massive work took shape (always keeping in mind that the level of discourse in that venue often verges on the sophomoric). The final result is close to being a masterpiece not only of genealogy of the traditional sort but of comparative historiography. His purpose is to document the lines of descent for about 190 individuals who immigrated to the North American colonies before 1700 from the Plantagenet dynasty who ruled England from 1154 (the accession of Henry II, Duke of Anjou) to 1485 (the defeat and death of Richard III at Bosworth Field at the hands of Henry Tudor). He notes that his work is an expansion and major revision of David Faris's _Plantagenet Ancestry of Seventeenth-Century Colonists,_ but the new work is so very extensive, this must really be regarded as an entirely new work; Faris considered only the descendants of Henry III (who died in 1272), where Richardson traces the progeny of all sixteen of Geoffrey's great-grandchildren who left descendants, both legitimate and illegitimate. Further volumes are planned to cover descents from Magna Carta sureties, the early feudal barons, and the Emperor Charlemagne. (Remember that anyone who descends from a single royal house in Britain or on the Continent will also have descents from most of the others.)

The plan of organization is reminiscent of that devised by Frederick Weis, with each family's listed lineage beginning at the point of bifurcation from the previous, earlier lines; all generations are numbered from Geoffrey, Count of Anjou, the first "Plantagenet." Citations are very, very full, which is sure to make this a heavily cited secondary source itself. In fact, Richardson seems to have read everything (the bibliography is the most complete I have ever seen, running to more than seventy-seven pages!) and obviously has thought very carefully about what he read. A number of important discoveries and changes to previous scholarship are included, such as the proven parentage of both Margery de Bohun and Joan Hastings (both major problems for decades), and the maiden name of Margaret de Mowbray (important for descendants of Mayflower passengers). Even more important is the discovery that the "Fair Rosamond" Clifford, mistress of Henry II, was not the mother of William Longspée (created Earl of Salisbury); that dubious honor now goes instead to "Countess Ida," wife of Roger Bigod, Earl of Norfolk. Nor does he consider his work to be complete: His snail-mail and e-mail addresses are included, as well as a website address, with the plea that new discoveries, additions, and corrections will be submitted by readers. This oversized volume was my birthday gift to myself this year and it already has two dozen bookmarks tucked into it.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Plantagenet Ancestry, March 8, 2007

By 

G. Oosterhoudt "genealogy buff" (Atlanta, GA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Plantagenet Ancestry: A Study In Colonial And Medieval Families (Royal Ancestry) (Hardcover)

Exceptionally well-sourced and well-indexed. One can tell at a glance which immigrants are descendants of each person listed. Where possible, the author has listed both parents for each person, along with all possible siblings. A must-have for anyone doing research on American colonial ancestry.

11 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars The Devil is in the details!, August 26, 2009

By 

A Skeptical Reader (Westminster, MD United States) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Plantagenet Ancestry: A Study In Colonial And Medieval Families (Royal Ancestry) (Hardcover)

I bought this book because it was the first "Royal Ancestry" tome to list one of my own ancestors, namely Richard Parker, 17th century immigrant to Virginia. The author accepted the research of amateur genealogists Waunita Powell and Fred Olen Ray, and included Richard and George Parker, allegedly sons of James Parker and Catherine Buller of Cornwall, in the "Courtenay" line (pp 238-243). Reading this part of Richardson's book, one would naturally assume that this descent was "proven," at least as much as any pedigree can be without DNA verification. However, because these are my ancestors, I have looked in great detail at this Parker family, and I have found a great many problems that would make me hesitate to take the ancestry shown by Richardson at face value. To look at Richardson's bibliography for this line on p. 243, you couldn't tell that McSwain (1980) is a book (now long out of print), while Powell (1990) is just a typewritten collection of notes. There is also no mention of the fact that McSwain and Powell came to opposite conclusions, nor any mention of the fact that the identification of Richard Parker of Cornwall with Richard Parker of Virginia essentially rests on one document which appeared in the late 19th century, the original of which has apparently vanished. When I wrote to Mr Richardson and laid out in great detail the problems associated with the Parker identification, his reply was short, dismissive, and showed a complete lack of understanding of the issues involved. If there are all these ambiguities and uncertainties with this one line, which are not even touched upon by Richardson in his presentation, how many other lines in the book rest on equally shaky ground? How did he get such a reputation as a thorough genealogist? I don't think I'll ever buy any of his books again, because I do not feel I can trust the ability of the author to evaluate sources. Gary Boyd Roberts, in the most recent edition of The Royal Descents of 600 Immigrants to the American Colonies or the United States Who Were Themselves Notable or Left Descendants Notable in American History includes this Parker family in an addendum, and that has made me wonder now about him. Genealogy is big business, and everybody wants to be able to trace their family tree back to Charlemagne, never mind that it's often hard enough to find out who great-grandma really got pregnant by!