Portrait of King Henry VII holding a Tudor Rose, wearing collar of the Order of the Golden Fleece, oil on panel dated 1505 by an unknown artist. National Portrait Gallery, London. In his research, Dad noted the following:
Grant of Arms to Henry Jewet 5 July 1486 - Henry VII gules, on a cross argent five fleurs -de-lis of the field On the family tree we don't have the exact connection between Henry Jewett c. 1594 and Henry Jewet c. 1486, but clearly Dad's research had pointed to this as part of our family's heritage. So one of our projects is to figure out if we can document that connection. Meanwhile, what exactly is a grant of arms? According to Wikepedia: "in its most general sense, it encompasses all matters relating to the duties and responsibilities of officers of arms." A further scan of the internet uncovers this on several Jewitt websites: July 5, 1486, King Henry VII., of England, granted to Henry Jewet certain offices for life, viz., "Forrester of Windsor Forest and Parker of Sunnyng-Hill Park within Windsor Forest," but no reason is given in the grant for these honors. There will be more in future posts with connections to the more established Jewitt genealogical sites and the historical document this is derived from, but for now, it is pretty neat just to think that we are descendants of a royal park ranger officially appointed by Henry VII. Of course we all know who Henry VII of England was, right? Well in case you forgot, we again refer to our handy Wikipedia resource: Henry won the throne in 1485 when his forces defeated the forces of Richard III at the Battle of Bosworth Field, the culmination of the Wars of the Roses. Henry was the last king of England to win his throne on the field of battle. Henry was successful in restoring the power and stability of the English monarchy after the political upheavals of the civil wars. He founded the Tudor dynasty and, after a reign of nearly 24 years, was peacefully succeeded by his son, Henry VIII. Next we explore: what does "gules on a cross argent and five fluer-de-lis of the field" mean?
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In placing the early Jewitts on a map of Lincolnshire it is fairly easy to observe that the family settled in the most settled parts of the area. (Unfortunately, we won't find any unique history to grab onto there!) These more populated areas are marked by the red boundaries: Lincoln is to the center and west of the county. North Scarle to the southwest and Saxilby to the northwest of Lincoln are practically suburbs, not more than 10 or 20 miles away. Grimsby is represented by the red area on the coast northeast of Lincoln; and Boston, which figures prominently in later Jewitt history, is represented by the red area near the coast southeast of Lincoln. Grimsby and Boston themselves are no more than 40 or 50 miles from Lincoln and from each other, so the Jewitts did not venture far from home.. at least not at first.
What about the history of these towns? The 12th century is key for all of them: North Scarle is a village on the River Trent with a parish church dating from the 12th century. Saxilby has a 12th century church dedicated to Saint Botolph, as does Boston, which is said to be where the saint was given a grant of land to build a monastery in the 7th century. According to the history books, Saint Botolph was one of the earliest and most revered of East Anglian saints, and became known as the patron saint of wayfarers. Grimsby was a busy port and fishing village in the 12th century, but by the time our ancestors arrived in the late 17th - 18th, the town had suffered a decline. However, by the late 18th century the town is said to have revived a bit, and a new town hall was built. Maybe the Jewitts had something to do with that! This and more is what we hope to find out as our research continues. Also found: A BBC news headline from 2013: "Geocache Hunter Trampled by Cows in North Scarle Field" actually an interesting story accompanied by another beautiful image of the wolds, complete with a textbook example of a verge. And apparently a less than flattering movie entitled "Grimsby" directed by the infamous Sacha Baron Cohen is set to be released in 2016. Grrrrr.... already, I feel protective of this unfairly derided town... home to our ancestors. How dare they! It turns out that St. Michael on the Mount -- the setting for the marriage of our earliest documented ancestors, Henry Jewett and Hellin Marshall -- is today, a luxury boutique hotel and wedding venue known
as The Old Palace Lodge. How fitting! According to Rod Collins whose photograph appears above: "It’s a superb building in an incredible spot seated high on the hill, looking out over Lincoln and just in the shadow of Lincoln Cathedral. It was destroyed by Parliamentary forces and their artillery in 1643 providing something of an easy and tempting target in its exposed spot. It was then completely abandoned from 1685 to 1744 before getting a complete rebuild in 1853." "It's had something of a chequered history," he goes on to report, "the church was declared redundant in 1998 and sold off by the Diocese." Ultimately it was put up for auction and purchased by the folks who are now running the luxury hotel. Considering the other possibilities, including ruin and decay, this is not such a bad outcome. St. Michael on the Mount in its day, was a well-known repository of genealogical records including birth, marriage and death records going back to at least 1562. These records are now deposited with the Lincolnshire Archives on St. Rumbold Street in Lincoln, and bear further scrutiny. Overall, the cathedral city of Lincoln with its many churches and its significance to Anglo Saxon history going as far back as the 5th and 6th centuries, may provide other relevant sources leading to the discovery of Jewitt ancestors in our line, even earlier than Henry and Hellin. Wold - noun (usu. wolds) in Britain, often in place names; a piece of high, open, uncultivated land or moor: the Lincolnshire Wolds. ORIGIN: Old English wold 'wooded upland,' Germanic perhaps related to WILD. So our ancestors emerged from the wilds of Lincolnshire... at that time it was a pastoral landscape rich in grassland and wildflower meadows. Despite modern developments, the traces of ancient routes and drove roads (where cattle were driven to market) still remain today -- as evidenced by old verges (British: grass edging such as that by the side of a path) containing an abundant variety of wildflower species including the green-winged orchid. Hidden in the wolds are rare grassland plants such as adder's tongue fern and meadow saxifrage. The barn owl, skylark, linnet and corn bunting can be spotted there too. The Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust is working to preserve the wolds -- a natural treasure and the scene of so much important history. |
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July 2018
Links to Related Sites Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust Rod Collins - Lincolnshire Thro' History, Life, Lens and Words The Old Palace Lincoln - Elegant Bed and Breakfast National Portrait Gallery - London College of Arms The Jewett Family of America History and Geneaology of the Jewitts of America Jowett Variations Marvinas Bay Lodge First Peoples of Canada |
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