The popular TV series “The Last Kingdom” tells the story of a Viking ancestor in the UK during the 1000 AD era. The real life “Uhtred of Bamburgh” turns out to be an ancestor of the Canadian van Nostrands, back 29 generations ago! The TV series is historical based fiction, so it tells a somewhat twisted version of the story, but is fundamentally a true story.
The “POYER” family is our gateway into an interesting line of UK Aristocrats, including many Earls, Nobles, Countesses, and Knights from Wales and Scotland. The Reverend Poyer who sailed to America almost didn’t make it, when the ship Herbert he was on sank, about 100 miles from America, loosing all his belongings. Also, one of our ancestors during the King Henry VIII era, was actually the Aunt of two of Henry’s wives – Ann Boleyn and Catherine Howard!
Ancestorial Castles
Our UK ancestors lived in some of the large castles of the day, as Knights, nobles, mayors and Sherriff.
Pembroke Castle, Wales
Framingham Castle, England
Loughborough Castle, England
Trachselwald Castle, Scotland
Bamburgh Castle, Scotland
Family Tree Line
Starting with my grandfather, 1. Dr. Frederick Harold van Nostrand (1896 – 1975), here is the family line back to my 28th great grandfather:
| vanNostrands | North America | 2. James Albert Marsh vanNostrand (1864-1935) 3. John vanNostrand (1824-1895) 4. Cornelius Innes vanNostrand (1796-1878) 5. James vanNostrand (1764-1840) – to Canada 6. Sarah (Poyer) vanNostrand (1731-1807), NY; married Aaron III vanNostrand | |
| Poyer family | Wales | 7. Rev. Thomas Poyer (1682-1732) – to America 8. Thomas Poyer (1645-1707) 9. Elizabeth (Button) Poyer (1604-1688), wife of Mayor and Colonel of Pembroke Castle | Pembroke |
| Rice / Rhys family | Wales | 10. Mary (Rice) Button (1580-1637) 11. Admiral Sir Walter Rice (1562-1635) 12. Griffith Rhys (1524-1592); Mayor and Sherriff (1604-1688), wife of Mayor and Colonel of Pembroke Castle | Pembroke |
| Howards | England | 13. Countess Catherine (Howard) Daubeney (1499-1554); King Henry VIII era, Aunt of Ann Boleyn and Catherine Howard. 14. Knight and Duke Thomas Howard (1443-1524) 15. Dutchess Catherine (Moleyns) Howard (1424-1465) | Framingham |
| Moleyns | England | 16. Sir William Moleyns (1378-1425); Knight, Member of Parliament 17. Eleanor (Beaumont) de Moleyns (1363-1384) | |
| Beaumonts | England | 18. Lord Henry (Beaumont) de Beaumont (1340-1369) 19. Sir John (Beaumont) de Beaumont (1318-1342); Knight 20. Countess Alice (Comyn) Beaumont (-1349); Scotland | Loughborough |
| Comyns | Scotland | 21. Sir Alexander Comyn (1262-1308); Knight, Scotland 22. Sir Alexander (Comyn) VI Earl of Buchan (1214-1289) 23. William (Comyn) Comyn Earl of Buchan (-1233), Scotland 24. Earl Hextilda Fitz Uchtred (Tynedale) de Comyn (1122-1182) | Trachselwald |
| Uhtred of Bamburgh | Scotland | 25. Uctred FitzWaltheof (1070-1152); Scotland 26. Earl Waltheof (Huntington) of Northumberland (1046-1076) 27. Ælfflæd (Bernicia) of Northumbria (1010-1060) 28. Earl Ealdred (Northumbria) of Bamburgh (0990-abt.1039); 29. Uhtred (Northumbria) of Northumbria (0975-1016) | Bamburgh |
Conclusion
The WikiTree Genealogy website has easy to use tools for investigating your deep ancestry, which can turn up some very interesting notable people. (see our article about it).
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