Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Grey, Launcelyn, Digby, Lynde, Locke

Extracts from some emails between Vaughan Southgate and Grant Menzies

Thank you for confirming Bennet Grey's parentage - it makes the brasses of John and Alice Launcelyn all the more meaningful to me. I have read that John Launcelyn was justice of the peace for the county, and lived at a property called Woodend, but didn't know how Bennet was related to him. I shall now have the pleasure of looking into his history as well!

My connection to the Greys and Launcelyns is through Simon Digby of Bedale, who married Anne Grey, granddaughter of Thomas and Bennet Grey. Their granddaughter, Elizabeth Digby, married a London merchant named Enoch Lynde, and their son, Simon Lynde (who was brought by his mother's cousin, the Earl of Bristol, to kiss the hand of King Charles I), became a prominent citizen of Boston, Massachusetts. I descend from Simon's granddaughter, Hannah Lynde, who married the Rev. George Griswold in Connecticut. For years it was thought that Anne Grey Digby was from another branch of the Grey family (one with a descent from Edward III, if memory serves). I think the correct ancestry is much more interesting, as it takes in the Launcelyns, the Isaacs, and Guildfords. It was families like these that really made up the backbone of their England.

I'm especially intrigued by the connection to Henry VIII via John and Alice Launcelyn's daughter. The king was also connected to my ancestor Sir William Locke, when he was Sheriff of London and mercer to the court. It was a small world even then!

If someone recognises the names, is perhaps a descendant, or simply has an interest in local history and can supply more information for Grant Hayter-Menzies at Grant_menzies@yahoo.com
(Vaughan Southgate)