Hancocks in their own words

I mentioned in my biographical sketch of Ammon Goode Hancock that he had written a petition to then-President Johnson asking for an official pardon for, essentially, being rich while in the Confederacy. I wanted to post a transcription of that petition, and this seems like a good time to also post the contents of a couple of letters written to Ammon's wife, Charlotte Hewitt Hancock, by her nephews, during the Civil War. Without any further ado, here are the Hancocks (and Hewitts) in their own words...

Lynchburg, Va, in 1875

To his Excellency Andrew Johnson, President of the United States of America.

The Petition of Ammon G. Hancock, of the City of Lynchburg and State of Virginia, respectfully represents:

That he is a native of the County of Bedford, Va, is fifty years of age and has been a resident of said city for the last twenty years, engaged in the business of buying and selling Tobacco. He has at no held (sp.) time held any political office and [illegible] of any kind except that of Justice of the Peace for the County of Campbell. He has had no connection with the army of the Confederacy in any way or held any position of profit or trust under its government. He was not aware that he had subjected himself to any penalties by any thing he has done or omitted during the Rebellion. He accepted the overthrow of the Confederacy as an accomplished fact after the surrender of Genl. Lee, and designed to embrace the first opportunity of declaring his allegiance to the Government of the United States. Accordingly on the 26th of May last, he took the amnesty oath under the Proclamation of President Lincoln of the 8th of Dec. 1863, and supposed that by so doing he was re-instated to all his rights and immunities as a loyal citizen of the United States. He promised, if he had incurred penalties, that amnesty was afforded by the bona fide taking of that oath and meeting the obligations imposed by it – which he honestly intended [intends?] to do.

But he is advised, that being the owner of more than $20,000 worth of taxable property, it is safer for him to obtain, by special applications to your Excellency, a warrant of Pardon, so as to assure him in his rights of property and enable him to peaceably to enjoy it. As a condition precedent, he is willing to [illegible] all right and title to the slaves heretofore owned by him and let them at liberty.

The premices (sp.) considered, your Petitioner respectfully asks your Excellency to grant him a special warrant of Pardon under the provision of the Proclamation of the 19th of May last, so that in all things he may be fully restored to his rights and immunities as a loyal citizen of the United States.

And as in duty, etc., etc.

A.G. Hancock
Of the City of Lynchburg
17th day of June 1865



Letter from Virgil Hewitt to Charlotte Hewitt Hancock. Virgil was the third son of Robert Hewitt, Charlotte Hewitt Hancock's brother, and his wife (and first cousin) Elizabeth Chastain. Robert and Elizabeth Hewitt settled in Elizabethtown, Kentucky, where Charlotte's father had moved long before the war. He was a well-educated man who ran a school and the family was prominent in Kentucky. We have letters preserved from three of the four sons. This one is from Virgil, who served with General Helm in the first year of the war, He was promoted to first lieutenant and adjutant to the Sixth Kentucky regiment in October of 1863. He fought at Murfreesboro, Jackson, Chickamauga, Rocky Face Ridge, Resaca, and then was wounded in Dallas, Georgia during the Atlanta Campaign (May 26, 1864). He returned to fight at the battle of Intrenchment Creek, another battle for Atlanta at the end of July, but was so severely wounded there that he was out for the remainder of the war.

Camp near Tyners Station(1)
October 30, 1863

My dear Aunt,

You must always look over any delay in answering your letters, for a soldier's life, as you are aware, is decidedly wandering and uncertain. Your kind and interesting letter came to hand after the Battle of Chickamauga. It would have been answered immediately but we were bivouacking around Chattanooga with no tents or shelter or any baggage whatever with us. We were of course entirely devoid of any materials for writing.

We are now very comfortably fixed, having some fires to protect us from the weather. It is now pouring down rain. The pattering of the rain upon the tent has a dreary, lonely sound and makes me sick for home and its comforts. Such longings are vain and fruitless of course and I always dismiss them from my mind but it is perfectly natural that one should long for home occasionally, but oft as we are from the pleasures of ladies' society and their refining influences. I know you would be shocked at my behavior were I to visit you now, for one almost becomes a savage from associating with none but soldiers for eighteen months. I think that with your good teaching and kind influence I would soon become civilized and presentable to ladies. Do you not think so? I wish I could have an opportunity of being trained by you for a month or so. It would be quite pleasant to me.

Battle of Chickamauga by Kurtz and Allison

The Battle of Chickamauga was bloody and decisive. It was a complete and utter rout of the enemy. The fight lasted two days - Saturday 19th and Sunday 20th. On Saturday our Brigade was posted on extreme left of our line and was engaged in attracting the attention of the enemy whilst the main attack was made on the right. There is something grand and sublime in an artillery fight. The cannon belching forth, every discharge a perfect hail of shell and shot, carrying death along with it, whilst the thundering report echoed and re-echoed among the neighboring mountains. Whilst we were in the midst of the fight we received orders to march to the extreme right. This was about 4p.m. We immediately withdrew and proceeded as ordered. As we neared the right wing of our army the deadly war of rocketry and the wounded coming to the rear told us plainly that a terrible conflict was then progressing and that each volley sent a spirit back to its creator. Oh, how solemn a scene is a battle field. To think that every second an immortal soul wings its flight to an unknown and untried reality [illegible]. It is sad, sad, sad. It was dark when we arrived upon the battle field. As we marched we passed hospital after hospital of our wounded and met them in large numbers hobbling off the field. It was really amusing to hear their replies to questions asked by our boys as we passed. One fellow in particular I remember - a tall, strapping fellow - was limping to the rear. I asked him if he was wounded, to which he replied in the negative. I then asked him what was the matter. In a very piteous tone he informed me that he had been knocked down by a bomb. The tale was so ridiculous that I burst out laughing right there - the idea of a man being knocked down by a bomb shell and not wounded. I knew immediately that he was scared.

We built large fires that night for the air was very chilly. Ere retiring for our bed upon Mother Earth, Fayette(2) came from Headquarters to see me. We talked a short time and parted about 10. No one can imagine one's feelings upon retiring to bed at night upon a battle field with the certainty of a desperate conflict on the morrow. The heavers were filled with bright starts which seemed to look solemnly down upon the bloody scene. I gazed upward at them and wondered if I would have the pleasure of doing likewise on tomorrow night. Then my mind sped away to loved ones at home. Oh, what a pleasure to sit by Ma's side tonight with my head resting on her lap whilst I gazed into those eyes which so often beamed upon me with a mother's love. Such a pleasure would certainly make me strong for the conflict tomorrow. Then I saw her kneeling in prayer as she retired and I knew she was praying for her absent sons. With such thoughts as these floating through my mind, I sank to sleep on the night preceding the bloody fight of Sunday at Chickamauga.

About 3 a.m. we were aroused by the stirring notes of the drums and soon all were ready. It was yet dark and very chilly. We had to march a mile or more yet to gain our position in line of battle, which we reached about daylight. Here we remained inactive until 10 a.m., when Gen. Breckenridge(3) rode down our line and informed us that in five minutes we would begin the fight and he wanted us to carry everything before us. In five minutes the signal gun was fired and before its report had died away the command "Forward [illegible] center, march!" was given. At that command the boys marched steadily forward for five or six hundred yards, when the enemy met us. First came an occasional shot from a skirmisher, then often and more often the bullets came until there was one deafening roar from one end of our line to the other. The brave fellows fell fast but on we marched. The battle raged with terrific fury for several hours, when there was a cessation at sundown. We renewed it and completely routed the enemy. They fled in every direction. Thus ended the Battle of Chickamauga.

I thanked God for the preservation of my own life and Fayette's. Fayette has gone to the hospital sick. I have not heard from him since he left. I miss him so much. I would be miserable without him in the army. He is much sick.

My love to Uncle Ammon and Uncle Wils, also to Tex, Brud, and your children (4). I would like so much to see all of you but that pleasure is denied me.

Write soon to your devoted nephew.

V.

Direct to Chattanooga
Virgil Hewitt


Notes:
(1) Tyners Station is today Tyner, Tennessee, and is within the city limits of Chattanooga. The Battle of Chickamauga, described here, had taken place September 19-20, 1863. The first of the Battles of Chattanooga began in October and continued until the end of November.

(2) Fayette Hewitt, eldest son of Robert and Eliza (Chastain) Hewitt. Fayette served adjutant-general in the trans-Mississippi department under "President" Davis, and then under General Breckenridge. See his letter below.

(3) Major General John C. Breckenridge, commanded one of the divisions on the right wing, under Lt. General Leonidas Polk.

(4) Uncle Ammon is Ammon Hancock, Charlotte Hewitt Hancock's husband. Uncle Wils is Wilson C. Hewitt, one of Charlotte Hewitt Hancock's older brothers. No idea who Tex and Brud are.

Fayette Hewitt
 (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/6101155/fayette-hewitt)

Letter from Fayette Hewitt to Charlotte Hewitt Hancock. Fayette was the eldest son of Robert and Eliza Chastain Hewitt. He was appointed adjutant-general in the trans-Mississippi department by "President" Davis, under General Breckenridge (see Virgil's letter above).

Headquarters(1)
Jan. 15, 1864

Dear Aunt,

Your letter announcing the sending of the second box was not received for some time after it was due. Since it came to hand I have been so busy - the general big attack on Richmond - that I have not had time to write to you. The first box was received shortly after I wrote you last - the other has not yet come to hand. I am sorry Uncle Wils(2) went to so much trouble to get the boots and overcoat. I would have written to him not to buy them but I did not know whether it would reach him. I believe I wrote you at one time to tell him I could get along without an overcoat and afterwards that he need not get the boots. I had no idea he would have to go away from home for them. I thought perhaps he could get me a pair made in Bedford County(3) without any trouble and I had just paid $150 for a pair of shoes and they asked $250(4) for boots - I thought I might save a little by getting them made in the county somewhere. But I had no idea of putting you and Uncle Wils to the trouble you have been in getting the articles I asked for and I am very sorry you did so, for I might have gotten them here.

I have had a long letter from Fox(5) telling me how he has been enjoying himself with you all. I should have liked very much to have taken my Christmas dinner with you. As it was I had to content myself with [illegible] beef and corn bread. I have no doubt it was a great treat for Fox to get with you once more, for I expect he does not live very famously in Richmond now since the present high prices for provisions.

I have just stopped to read a long letter from Fox enclosing a couple of letters from home. All well - Hannibal(6) talks a great deal about the little negroes (sp, 7), the dogs and the canary bird. I should not be surprised at all if he were to send in his next letter the pictures of the little negroes (sp, 7) and his favorite dogs. I know he would never think of sending his own or Ma's.

Chattanooga during the Civil War

Nothing new. Virgil(8) keeps well - both of us are far and hearty, in far better health than we were before. The army has made men of both of us. I believe we can stand almost everything.

The army lies still - it is impossible to move at this season on account of the roads. We are about to be mounted. The men are all anxious to be on horseback and placed under Morgan(9). I think we will probably be mounted. I greatly prefer being with Infantry but will go with the Brigade. I have not been promoted - was offered it but refused because I would have been separated from men whom I love and who have every confidence in me.

We are about electing members of congress - the army has to vote - or rather [illegible] soldiers. My name was placed before the Convention for our District but I refused to let it be used. I shall leave the army for nothing so long as the war shall last(10).

Love to all - a good, warm kiss to all the children - Lil and Lucy(11) are of course included among the children. In which direction from Liberty(12) is Mr. Hopkins' farm?

Good Bye
Fayette

Notes:
(1) There is no location included with the letter, but General Breckenridge fought the battle of Missionary Ridge in Chattanooga, TN, on Nov. 25, 1863, and afterward his army had retreated toward Dalton, GA.

(2) Wilson C. Hewitt, born 1816, one of Charlotte Hewitt Hancock's older brothers.

(3) Bedford County, Virginia, just northwest of Lynchburg, where both the Hancock and Hewitt families lived, although Fayette's father, Robert, had moved to Kentucky with his own father and many of his siblings before Fayette's birth.

(4) Given the rampant inflation at the time, it is very difficult to adjust this to "modern" dollars, but this would be around $320 for a pair of shoes and $535 for a pair of boots.

(5) Fox Hewitt, Fayette's youngest brother and the youngest son of Robert and Eliza (Chastain) Hewitt. He was a clerk  in the Treasury Department of the Confederacy until May 1863 when he joined the 25th VA Battalion and served on the fortifications of Richmond for the remainder of the war.

(6) Hannibal Hewitt (seriously, what's with these names?!), the second son of Robert and Eliza (Chastain) Hewitt. I don't know anything about his service record. It seems he was at home in Kentucky, at least at the time this letter was written.

(7) I maintained the original language, with humble apologies to anyone who is offended. It gives me some hope to realize that the children mentioned here were so close to freedom that they likely would never remember the days of slavery.

(8) Virgil Hewitt, third son of Robert and Eliza (Chastain) Hewitt. He served with General Ben Hardin Helm, and in October 1863 he was made Adjutant of the 6th Regiment, fighting in the Battle of Chickamauga (see his own letter).

(9) Not sure to whom Fayette refers. There was a General John Hunt Morgan who led a foolhardy raid into Ohio in 1863. He was a Kentuckian, a cavalryman, and served under General Bragg (with whom Fayette was at the time). However, Morgan had only recently escaped from a Union prison in Ohio (at the end of November), and was in more-or-less disgrace at the time. He was killed in September of 1864.

(10) After the war, Fayette served as State Auditor and Quartermaster General for Kentucky.

(11) Not certain who Lil and Lucy are. I would assume cousins, but whose children I'm not sure. Ammon and Charlotte (Hewitt) Hancock had a daughter named Lily, but she was born in 1864, so presumably she's not the person intended. Ammon had a sister named Lucy, who is living with the family in 1870. She would not have been a blood relative of Fayette, but perhaps she was living with the family during the war, so he knew her?

(12) Liberty was the previous name for Bedford City, Virginia

Letter from Fox Hewitt to Charlotte Hewitt Hancock. Fox Hewitt was the youngest son of Robert and Elizabeth Chastain Hewitt. He was a clerk  in the Treasury Department of the Confederacy until May 1863 when he joined the 25th VA Battalion and served on the fortifications of Richmond for the remainder of the war. (At least, that's what his cousin remembered, but note that this letter suggests that he's working in the Treasury Department still in 1864.)

Richmond, Virginia

December 15, 1864

My dear Aunt,

Your kind letter would have been answered sooner but that I have been very busy at the Office. The rest of the clerks in this Office have been detailed for 30 days from the field and we are working very hard to get up the work of the Department which is a long ways behind.

Mildred(1) treated me badly about her wedding by not inviting me, nor letting me know it was to take place. Your letter was my first intimation of it. You can tell her for me when you see her that I never intend to speak to her again, and that I don't care if she breaks her leg [illegible] so that she may be a fit companion for that husband of hers.

Richmond in 1865, after it was recaptured by the U.S. Army

I had a short note from Virgil(2) today from Columbus, Georgia, on his way to the army. He has not entirely recovered but was anxious to be on duty again, though he had a delightful time wherever he had been staying lately, being almost taken possession of by the ladies, I have heard. The Georgia ladies are exceedingly kind to him. I am told Fayette(3) is very popular among them also. He is at present sick at Newman(4), though not seriously ill. Virgil will not go back to his Regiment but goes on duty during the winter at least with Col. Cofer, who is Provost Marshal General of Hood's Army. He will be assistant to the Col. The position will be easy, pleasant and safe - no danger at all. Col. C. is on the Staff of the Commanding General. Virgil has induced Fayette to accept a similar position with the Col. who will shortly issue the order detailing him.

Fayette's health is so bad that he has not been with the Brigade for several weeks, and I am fearful his health has been permanently injured by his last arduous campaign.

I am very grateful, my kind aunt, for your very warm and cordial invitation to spend the Christmas with you. Schwarzman's(5) family made me promise last summer that I would pay a visit to them at that time. If I leave here at all I will have to go there, but there is so much work to be done in the next few weeks in the Office that I have not much expectation of being able to leave here for a single day. Nonetheless thanks to you dear Auntie, for your kindness. It would indeed be a great relief and happiness to be with you for a short time, but I will have to put it off until some other time, soon I hope.

There has been no truce boat for two months, consequently no letters from home.

I enjoyed myself very much while Burkett was here and regretted he could not stay with me longer. How long did he remain with you?

What are Brud [word not quite legible] and Tex doing now? Love to them, Uncle Wils, if with you, and the boys (6).

A merry Christmas to all of you, especially Miss Lily(7).

Your affectionate nephew,

Fox Hewitt

Notes:

(1) A relative? An ex? I have no idea if he's honestly upset or just joking

(2) Virgil Hewitt, Fox's younger brother and third son of Robert and Eliza (Chastain) Hewitt. He served with General Ben Hardin Helm, and in October 1863 he was made Adjutant of the 6th Regiment, fighting in the Battle of Chickamauga (see his own letter).  He was wounded at the Battle of Dallas, near Dallas, Georgia, May 26, 1864. 

(3) Fayette Hewitt, eldest son of Robert and Eliza (Chastain) Hewitt. Fayette served adjutant-general in the trans-Mississippi department under "President" Davis, and then under General Breckenridge.

(4) Probably this should be Newnan, GA, just southwest of Atlanta. General John Bell Hood, who had lost a leg at the Battle of Chickamagua the year before, was the general in charge of defending Atlanta from General Sherman. Atlanta had been liberated September 2, 1864 (or had fallen, I suppose, depending on one's perspective), just a couple of months before this letter was written. From then through December, Hood was engaged in the Tennessee Campaign, trying to cut Sherman's supply lines from Ohio. Since Sherman was heading in the opposite direction, and was perfectly happy to live off the land, this was not much of a problem. Hood would have been near Nashville at the time this letter was written. Col. Cofer, mentioned here, was probably Col. Martin Cofer of the 6th Regiment Kentucky Mounted Infantry. Couldn't find much information about where exactly they were in the fall/winter of 1864.

(5) A friend?

(6) Yeah, no idea who Burkett, Brud, or Tex are. Uncle Wils is Wilson C. Hewitt, born 1816, one of Charlotte Hewitt Hancock's older brothers, and "the boys", presumably are James, Earnest, and Edwin Hancock, the sons of Ammon and Charlotte Hewitt Hancock. Fox mentions there have been no truce boats, and therefore no letters from home. His immediate family lived in Kentucky, which by this time was entirely in Union hands.

(7) Ammon and Charlotte Hewitt Hancock's youngest child, Lily Hancock Thornhill, born that year. She was the one who preserved these letters.

Manakin Town, Virginia

It's a marker

I'm continuing to work on the Hancock line and uncovering a number of family ties to the French Huguenot settlement of Manakin (or Manakin Town), Virginia.

Huguenots were French protestants. They had been persecuted in France since the Reformation, but in 1685, when Louis XIV revoked the Edict of Nantes, which had granted rights to protestants, a large number of Huguenots immigrated to England or other protestant nations. As many as 500,000 Huguenots fled France. (Incidentally, some of these Huguenots, especially those from La Rochelle, went to Quebec, where they became some of my maternal ancestors).

Many Huguenots in England supported William III in his wars in Ireland and abroad. In gratitude, the king offered his support for a Huguenot colony in Virginia. A total of five ships sailed with his blessing to Jamestown in 1700-1701. The first of these was the The Mary and Ann, which arrived in Jamestown on July 31, 1700, with 205 passengers. Pierre Chastain, one of the leaders of the community and my 7xgreat-grandfather, was on board with his family.

The colonists weren't planning to join the English, but rather to found their own village of Huguenots. They were settled northwest of Richmond, where they found an "abandoned" Monacan village. (I use the term "abandoned" because that's the one you see in the histories. A better term would be "destroyed".) They named the new town Manakin, for the previous inhabitants. The English colonial authorities thought this location would provide a useful buffer between Jamestown and the Native communities farther inland.

The original 1704 land grant

In 1704, the Virginia House of Burgesses granted 10,000 acres to the community. (Interestingly, one of our Hancock relatives was the surveyor for the land grant.) About 390 French Huguenots moved to Manakin, although fewer than 200 remained after 1705. The town itself was abandoned by 1750, as the French assimilated into the English colony.

The Hancocks have multiple ties to Manakin. Charlotte Hewitt, the wife of Ammon Goode Hancock, was the daughter of Jane Chastain, Pierre's great-granddaughter (and, of course, also a direct descendant of his wife, Susanne Reynaud, and his son, Jean, who accompanied him on the first Manakin ship). Jean Chastain's wife, Marianne David, was also a Manakin Huguenot, the daughter of Pierre David (still looking for documentation on that). 

Charlotte Hewitt Hancock, therefore, was the descendant of six of the original colonists of Manakin. Charlotte's husband, Ammon, was himself a Manakin descendant. Ammon Hancock's great-grandmother, Jane Flournoy, was the daughter of Francois Flournoy, who, along with his father, Jacob, and mother, Martha Morel, arrived in Jamestown in October of 1700 on The Peter and Anthony, only a few months after the Chastains. Ammon's mother, Harriet Walden, was the great-grandaughter of Mary Dismukes. William Dismukes (or desMeaux), Mary's grandfather, was another of the original Manakin settlers. 

Finally, there are two potential, but far from proven, connections to the Manakin settlement in the Hancock family: 1) Ann Ammon, wife of Samuel Hancock, was the daughter of Christopher Ammon. Nothing is known about the Ammon family. They appear out of nowhere with Christopher's birth in 1715. It is possible that Ammon was a corruption of Amonet. There was a Jacob Amonet who sailed to Virginia on the Nassau in 1701. His daughter, Charlotte, was the second wife of Jean Chastain, who was Charlotte Hewitt's great-grandfather; 2) Harriet Walden, mentioned above as Ammon's mother and the great-great-grandaughter of the Dismukes colonist, was the grand-daughter of Richard and Candace Walden (Richard's mother was Mary Dismukes). Richard and Candace had a daughter named Mourning. The name is unusual. Charlotte Hewitt, Ammon's wife, had a grandmother whose name was Mourning. Mourning Hewitt was her married name, but her maiden name is unknown. It is possible  Mourning Hewitt was actually Mourning Walden, and therefore also a descendant of the Dismukes.

In sum, my great-great-grandfather, Ernest Justus Hancock, as the product of Charlotte and Ammon's ancestry, was at least 1/8 Manakin French Huguenot, and may have been nearly 1/3 French, if all of the possible connections played out. I'll keep looking!

For an easier-to-understand visual of the Hancock Manakin ancestry, here are the ancestor charts for Ammon and Charlotte Hancock, with the known Manakin ancestors circled in red, and the suspected Manakin ancestors circled in blue. Note that Mary Dismukes is circled, but it's actually her father who is the Manakin colonist. Click for a larger picture.

Updates

I'm trying to post once a week, but this week I don't have a biographical sketch to share. I've spent my genealogical time updating the Hancock line, and I have the great good luck of being able to use someone else's well-documented research. John Frederick Dorman, who is the top expert on Virginia genealogy and the senior fellow of the American Society of Genealogists, wrote a series of books on the early settlers of Virginia and their descendants. The books, Adventures of Purse and Person: Virginia, 1607-1625 are now in their fifth edition. The Hancocks are covered in the chapter on the descendants of Thomas Harris. Harris was an "Ancient Planter", meaning he arrived before 1616, stayed at least three years, and paid his own passage to Jamestown. His daughter, Mary Harris, married Thomas Ligon, the "gateway ancestor" I discussed in my last post. Their daughter, Johan Ligon, married Robert Hancock. Johan and Robert are my 9xgreat-grandparents.

As part of my Hancock work, I came across another Revolutionary War soldier, "Colonel" Samuel Hancock. I don't know how I overlooked him before. His older brother, Simon, died in 1776 in Pennsylvania, near the Delaware River. There is no information about how he died, other than that it was while undertaking "military duties". Washington crossed the Delaware at the end of 1776, so it is possible that the Bedford County militia, which is likely where they served, was with Washington. As I discover more, I will continue adding to my earlier post listing Revolutionary War ancestors.

We're all kings now

In earlier posts, particularly the one about French Canadians as an isolated population, I mentioned that our number of ancestors goes up exponentially as we go back through the generations, but the number of people who lived in any particular place (or on earth in general) was smaller than today. Ergo, if you go back far enough (and how far depends on how large of an area/population you're talking about), then you're pretty much guaranteed to be descended from almost anyone who left descendants in that particular place and time.

I recently ran across this old Carl Zimmer blog post while searching for something else: Charlemagne's DNA and our Universal Royalty. He discusses a 1999 paper by Joseph Chang, a statistician at Yale, who mathematically modeled how far you go back in Europe before, in fact, every European living today is a descendant of anyone who was living at that time (and had descendants). His answer is: around 1000 years. This number has been confirmed with more recent studies on DNA, as Zimmer discusses. In other words, if you are of European ancestry, then you're pretty much guaranteed to be a descendant of Charlemagne.

This reminds me of another example of wide-spread genes that we frequently mention in Anthropology classes: Genghis Khan. As Razib Khan (ironically, no relation) explains in this blog post, 1 in 200 men worldwide are thought to be direct male-line descendants of the Mongol leader. This means that his Y-chromosome has been passed on to millions of people throughout the world, and that doesn't even count his genetic contribution to many more descendants who do not have a direct male-line connection.

Of course, if you narrow the region, then you don't have to go back as far to find common ancestors. I recently read a fascinating biography of the English King Edward III, at the end of which the historian, Ian Mortimer, states that most people of English ancestry are probably descendants of the king, who died in 1377.

This isn't the place for a discussion of genetics (we teach full courses on that)*, but I'll just quickly state: A) there's no reason to believe that "kingly" genes are any better or worse than "peasant" genes. Although genes are important in understanding how we interact with our environment, kings - even highly successful ones - are made through a combination of luck and learning, rather than genetic superiority; and B) even if Genghis Khan, Edward III, or Charlemagne had "supergenes", their very ubiquity shows how diluted they must be. I don't mean diluted in the sense of "mixed with inferior genes", rather that you have 2048 ancestors in your 11th-great-grandparent's generation (which is how far back you need to go to get to King Edward), making you only 1/2048th King Edward. You, that is, and millions of your closest relatives.

It's not surprising that in the United States, many genealogists are obsessed with finding ties back to royalty. This is such an obsession, in fact, that many unsubstantiated family legends about royal links have found their way into publications and are perpetuated through the internet and inexperienced genealogists. To avoid these traps, the gold standard of royal ancestry is to trace your family tree back to one of the well-researched "gateway ancestors" whose links to the royal family are well established. (Again, we're probably all descended from royalty somewhere, if you go back far enough, but these gateway ancestors are links to documented royal lines.)

Unsurprisingly, research on gateway ancestors has focused on links to European, and particularly English, royalty. Of course, kingdoms existed by at least 6,000 years ago and were found all over Eurasia, Africa, and Central/South America, but the information we have on non-European lineages is sparse and overlooked. The gateway ancestors who are vouched for by various genealogical societies are mostly English or French colonists in the early years of British colonization of North America.

I only have one "gateway ancestor" that I know of: Thomas Ligon (or Lygon). In addition to being a gateway ancestor to the English royals, he is a gateway ancestor to the Magna Carta barons (that is, he is descended from one or more of the men who signed the Magna Carta). This is unsurprising, since once you can document a link to the Plantagenet line, you're pretty much tied in to most royal and aristocratic families in Europe.

Thomas Lignon was born in England in 1624. At the age of 16, he traveled to the Jamestown settlement in the company of his second cousin, Sir William Berkeley, who had been appointed governor of Virginia. Lignon made his fortune, and his home, in Henrico County, Virginia, where his daughter Johan (or Joan) married Robert Hancock. My great-grandmother, Vera Hancock, was Johan and Robert's 6xgreat-grandaughter.

Lignon had good family connections. His gubernatorial cousin, Sir William, was a favorite of King Charles II. William's older brother, John, was made the 1st Baron Berkeley for his support of the king. Because the Lignon family was well-off and tied into the aristocracy, their lineage is well known. (Kings and peasants have equally long family trees, it's just that nobody bothered to write down the family trees of peasants until near-universal literacy allowed the peasants to do it for themselves.) Lignon's most recent royal ancestor is Edward Plantagenet, aka King Edward III (see, Dr. Mortimer was right!).

Edward's close relationship with his wife, Philippa of Hainault, led to eleven children. His third son was John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster, who was never king himself, but whose son and grandsons were kings. John of Gaunt had two state marriages, the first to Blanche of Lancaster, whose children included King Henry IV and Queen Philippa of Portugal. Blanche died of plague in 1369, and John of Gaunt's second state marriage was to Constance of Castile, Their only child, Catherine, became queen of Castile. Constance died in 1394, but their marriage was not loving. By 1373, John of Gaunt had begun a long-term relationship with his daughters' tutor, Katherine Swynford (born Roet). Katherine was an educated woman, married to an English knight, and her older sister, who served as a lady in waiting to Queen Philippa, was married to the poet Geoffrey Chaucer. John and Katherine had four children out of wedlock before they were forced apart, for political reasons, in 1381. Their attachment must have been strong and sincere, however, because after the death of Constance of Castile, the couple married.

John of Gaunt legitimized his four children with Katherine after the marriage. These children took the last name "Beaufort" after the castle where they were born. They were close to their half-brother, King Henry IV, and took up positions of importance in his government. Although the Beauforts had originally been barred from inheriting the throne (despite being legitimated), eventually their claim became pivotal to the War of the Roses. The Beaufort family's descendants include King Edward IV, as well as the monarchs of both the Tudor and Stuart lines.

John and Katherine's second son was Cardinal Henry Beaufort, Bishop of Winchester. Cardinal Henry served as one of the regents for his nephew, Henry VI, and may have played an important role behind the scenes in the witchcraft trial of St. Joan of Arc. For purposes of our family, however, the most important aspect of his life was an affair with Alice FitzAlan, Countess of Arundel, which led to a daughter, Joan Beaufort, whose descendants include Thomas Ligon.

I should note that there is controversy over Joan Beaufort. It seems quite clear that Joan Beaufort was the natural daughter of Cardinal Henry. She married Sir Edward Stradling, who was advanced by Cardinal Henry and who was mentioned in his will. It is not as clear that Joan's mother was Alice FitzAlan, however.

One last note: since Thomas Ligon was a descendant of Edward III, he was also a descendant of Queen and Saint Margaret of Scotland, whose daughter, Matilda, married Henry I, the oldest son of William the Conqueror. My little Maggie, then, is a direct descendant of her name saint.

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* If you'd like to read an interesting take on genetics, I highly suggest this oldie but goodie by Robert Sapolsky. I assign it in my classes.