Family:Whitney, Robert de (b1210-a1242)
Robert de Whitney, parentage unknown, was born before 1224 (and perhaps much earlier), perhaps at Whitney, Herefordshire,[1] and died after 1242. He was probably a 4th or 5th generation descendant of Eustace.[2] He had a brother Eustace, parson of Pencombe.
Nothing is known of his wife.
"The Clifford grant was augmented, probably earlier rather than later in the period 1230 to 1264, by Robert Whitney, lord of Whitney, who granted to Friar Walter the hermit in the Isle upon Wye, all the land with the wood standing on it which lay between the land of 'Domini Eustachii de Stowe' and the wood of Lord Walter Muscegros, to be held by the said Walter (the hermit) and his successors for ever. Although it is not certain which Walter Muscegros is meant, the inference must be that it is the older Walter, who was married to Evet as this grant complements that of the elder Walter's. Therefore both grants would appear to date to the period 1230 to 1234. This grant of Robert's may have been a confirmation, or expansion of an earlier one dated to the wide period 1230 to 1300 whereby Robert Whitney, gave to St Cynidr and Friar Stephen, and his successors in the hermitage, nine acres of land in the old 'Hay, which lay near the land of his brother Eustace 'parson of Pencombe' and the wood of the lord of Winforton, and the Lord Llywelyn ap Llywelyn ab Einion. This grant was afterwards confirmed by Sir Eustace Whitney, Robert's successor."[3]
He was of Whitney, etc., Knight. Living in 1242. Mentioned in the "Testa de Nevill."[4]
He was listed in that section of the "Testa de Nevill" or "Liber Feodorum" (PRO E 164/5-6) known as the "Scutage of Gascony" (PRO E 198/2/21-27), dated 1242. King Henry III was at this time raising funds and men for his ill-fated campaign to recover lands in Gascony that had been lost during the reign of his father. Scutage refers to a payment made by those who held land in return for military service, but who were unable or unwilling to perform it.
- In the reign of Henry III. Pencombe was stated to consist of fifteen hides of land, one moiety of which was held by John de Whytene, of Robert Tregoz, and the other moiety by Thomas de Hemeganes, of Robert de Whytene, by military service, and both of the honour of Ewias.
- "In Pencombe continentur 15 hideae, und Johannes de Whytene, tenet medietatem de Roberto Tregoz, de honore de Ewias, de veteri feoffamento, per serv. militare, et Thomas de Hemegane alteram medietatem, de Roberto de Whytene, et idem Robertus de eodem, &c., ut supra."[5]
Possible children of Robert and ----- (-----) de Whitney:
i. Eustace de Whitney,[6] b. say 1256.[7]
References
1.^ He was listed in the Scutage of Gascony of 1242 as having held a portion of Pencombe, and was therefore at least of the minimum age to own property. Although the location of his birth is complete supposition, he was listed as "de Whytene".
2.^ Melville, Henry, A.M., LL.B., The Ancestry of John Whitney: Who, with His Wife Elinor, and Sons John, Richard, Nathaniel, Thomas, and Jonathan, Emigrated from London, England, in the Year 1635, and Settled in Watertown, Massachusetts; the First of the Name in America, and the One from Whom a Great Majority of the Whitneys Now Living in the United States Are Descended (New York, NY: The De Vinne Press, 1896), p. 15.
3.^ Examination of an 'Earthwork' at Winforton, as well as Cambrian Archaeological Association, Archaeologia Cambrensis, The Journal of the Cambrian Archaeological Association, Vol. XV. Fifth Series (London: The Bedford Press, 1898), p. 216-221.
4.^ Melville, Henry, A.M., LL.B., The Ancestry of John Whitney: Who, with His Wife Elinor, and Sons John, Richard, Nathaniel, Thomas, and Jonathan, Emigrated from London, England, in the Year 1635, and Settled in Watertown, Massachusetts; the First of the Name in America, and the One from Whom a Great Majority of the Whitneys Now Living in the United States Are Descended (New York, NY: The De Vinne Press, 1896), p. 42.
5.^ Henry Austin Whitney, The First Known Use of Whitney as a Surname: Its Probable Signification, and Other Data (Boston, MA: Henry Austin Whitney, 1875), p. viii.
6.^ Supposition. Robert appears to have been succeeded by Eustace. Although theorized that they were father and son, it is possible that they were related in other ways, such as grandfather and grandson, uncle and nephew, etc. It is possible that instead of being his son, that this Eustace was actually his younger brother Eustace.
7.^ Because he presented John de Chaundos to the church of Pencombe in 1277, he must have been patron with the right of advowson in Pencombe, indicating that he was at least 21 years of age.
Copyright © 2006-2008, Robert L. Ward, Tim Doyle and the Whitney Research Group
