My Great Grandfather’s Welsh Castle Treason

Authors experiences genealogy vanNostrand

Exploring your extended family history can be both enjoyable and inspiring. It has given me fresh ideas for our retirement travels. I’ve always loved visiting grand stone castles, whether they are the medieval British or French ones, the distinctive Moorish and Moroccan designs, or the incredible Inca fortresses in Peru. Nowadays, it’s much simpler to trace your ancestry back well beyond the 1700s, even reaching as far back as the first century, thanks to online tools!

Castles

Various British castles are a part of my family tree, and one interesting one turns out to be Pembroke Castle, in Pembroke, Wales, in the UK. This classic medieval fortress, originally built in 1093, was very similar to an imaginary scale model that I built in my Grade 9 history class out of lego blocks, so it piqued my interest! It has a natural moat in the form of a local river around most of its high cliff side walls, and various towers along the thick walls, and a central 5 story defensive tower (“keep”). It even has an underground cave/grotto/cavern with a spiral stair entrance to the inner castle and a dungeon of course. It turns out that King Henry VII was born in it. It safely defended its inhabitants for hundreds of years, until Cromwell arrived on the scene.

Treason and execution

Colonel John Poyer (1605-1649)

My 8th great grandfather was Colonel John Poyer (1605-1649). As mayor and Governor he successfully led several defensive forces against various invaders of Pembroke Castle over time, however he subsequently lost to Oliver Cromwell of England. The three leaders were charged with treason. The judge then decided that only one needed to die, which would be decided by lots drawn from a child, from which John Poyer lost. The child is said to have asked him “Did I do well?” Poyer to have responded “Yes, you have done very well”. He was executed by firing squad at Covent Garden, London. His widow was given a healthy pension by King Charles II of England.

Exhibit depicting a child giving John Poyer the note that ordered his execution. One of the interesting exibits in the current day Pembroke Castle in the UK.

Finding your distant ancestors

I used the WikiTree genealogy site to quickly identify this connection using the “Relationship to me” feature. This family tree site uses one single family tree of the whole world, rather than many individual islands of information. This way if you add a few of your current generations (Grandparents and great grandparents) you could very well find that it automatically links into the work that others have already done for the distant generations. I find it most useful for deceased relatives, since there is privacy security in place for living relatives.

Conclusion

We will be taking a trip to Wales in the United Kingdom to enjoy exploring some of the family related history that affected our distant ancestors. My grandfather’s story poignantly illustrates that there are always two sides in a rebellion, and its never easy to decide which one is best to side with – only the final outcome will make that clear. The WikiTree web site is a great tool to add some personal insight and stories to your family tree research.

You might also enjoy this related article: Finding Royalty in your Family Tree


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