Anne (Clifford) Melford (1495 - bef. 1546)

Born 1495 in Skipton, Yorkshire, England [uncertain]

Ancestors

Descendants

Died before 1546 before age 51 in Arnold, Nottinghamshire, England

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Magna Carta Surety Baron Descendant (see text). Join: Magna Carta Project Discuss: magna_carta

Anne Clifford is a descendant of a number of Surety Barons. See below.

Biography

Birth and Parentage

Anne Clifford's birth date is unknown (about 1495 is a plausible estimate). She was the daughter of Sir Henry Clifford, 10th Lord de Clifford,^[1][2][3] known as the Shepherd Lord,^[4] and his 1st wife Anne St John.^[1][2][5] She was quite possibly born at Skipton, Yorkshire where her father had his main seat^[6] and where her mother was buried.^[4]

1st Marriage and Issue

Before 1515, Anne married (as his 2nd wife) Robert Clifton, Esq. of Clifton, Nottinghamshire, the son and heir of Gervase Clifton, Knt. and his first wife Agnes (Anne), daughter of Sir Walter Griffith.^[1][2] They had four children:^[2]

1) Barbara, m. William Jackson of Wentworth^[1][2]

2) Dorothy, m. Christopher Pickering of Crosby^[1][2][5]

3) Gervase, Knt.,^[1][2], under two when his father died in 1517^[5]

4) Robert^[1][2]

Plea for Assistance

On 6 March 1518, six months after Robert's death on 3 Sep 1517,^[2] Anne wrote a letter to her brother Henry Clifford, 1st Earl of Cumberland for financial assistance:^[5][7]

Right wyrchypfull brodere, I hartyly recowmawnd me unto yow, besechyng yow to be gud brodere to me . . . for here hays bene all my husbandes hu[n]kkylles & broders and I hayd nobody to speke in all my cawse bot my selfe. And my husbandes frendes [relatives] thynkes that my frendes ys unkynd, or elles they sete lytyll price by me. . . . I am lycke to be pute [out] bothe fro[m] Hodsoke & Clifton. . . . And Sir, ye knawe that yt ys halfe a yere sene my husband departyd, wo Jhesu pardon . . . and her I ly & kepys hows to my grete coste & charge; and my unkyll dotore [Gamaliel Clifton, her late husband’s uncle] schowys me I must pay for al manere of thyng . . . sene my husband departyd. And that [I] ame not abyll for to do, for ye knaw howe I was left in grete trobyll . . . & lytyll to helpe my selfe with all. . . . and therfor, Sir, [I] beseche yow to send me word by the berer her of qwat ye can do for me in al my matters. . . . No mor at thys tyme, bot Jhesu preserve yow. Wrytyn the sexte day of Marche,

By yowr loffyng syster, Anne Clifton.

[Endorsed] To my ryght wrychypful brodd[er] Sir Harry Clyfforthe . . . deliveryd in haste.

2nd Marriage and Issue

Anne married second, Ralph Melford of Arnold, Esq. in about 1520. They had 6 children:^[1][2][5]

1) George,^[1][2][5] b. before 1524 (he was old enough to be appointed executor in his father's 1546 will^[5])

2) Thomas, b. about 1524^[1][2][5]

3) Mary^[1][2][5], b. before 1530 - her father's will of January 1546 implies she was at least 16^[5]

4) Agnes^[1][2][5]

5) Antony^[1][2][5]

6) Wenefride^[1][2][5]

Anne presumably died before her 2nd husband, Ralph Melford, wrote his will on 6 Jan 1546 since she is not mentioned.^[1][2][5]

Research Notes

Anne's birth year is based on a single online source, an unsourced family tree. However, it does fall in line with years of birth of her other siblings. No other source could be found at this time.

The exact order of birth of Anne and Robert's children is unknown. It is known that Gervase was their eldest son and when Robert died on 9 Sep 1517, Anne was left with two children Dorothy and Gervase (based on the research of Leslie Mahle).^[5] This would imply that Barbara was already married to William Jackson and Robert died young. Further research is required to confirm their order and find their birth years.

The order of birth of Anne and Ralph's children is also unknown. However, if the order that they are listed in their father's will is accurate (which follows the known order for George, Thomas and Mary) then the above order is correct.

Royal Ancestors

Through her father:
Charlemagne, Holy Roman Emperor^[8] - 24th great grandfather.
William I, "The Conqueror", King of England^[9] - 14th great grandfather.
Henry II, King of England^[10] - 11th great grandfather.
Philippe IV, King of France ^[11] - 8th great grandfather.
Edward I, "Longshanks", King of England^[12] - 8th great grandfather.
Edward III, King of England^[5]- 6th great grandfather.

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14} Douglas Richardson. Magna Carta Ancestry: A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families, 4 vols, ed. Kimball G. Everingham, 2nd edition (Salt Lake City: the author, 2011), Vol. III pp. 221-222, NEED 14
2. ↑ ^{2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 2.11 2.12 2.13 2.14 2.15 2.16} Douglas Richardson. Royal Ancestry: A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families, 5 vols, ed. Kimball G. Everingham (Salt Lake City: the author, 2013), volume IV, page 204-205 NEED 18. See also WikiTree's source page for Royal Ancestry.
3. ↑ The University of Nottingham, "Manuscripts and Special Collections", Clifton Family of Clifton: a brief history
4. ↑ ^{4.0 4.1} Douglas Richardson, Magna Carta Ancestry, Vol. I p. 509, CLIFFORD 13
5. ↑ ^{5.00 5.01 5.02 5.03 5.04 5.05 5.06 5.07 5.08 5.09 5.10 5.11 5.12 5.13 5.14 5.15} Mahler, Leslie: "Samuel Levis, Quaker Immigrant to Pennsylvania", The Genealogist, Spring 1999, Vol 13, No 1, p. 30-36 (PDF download)
6. ↑ Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, entry for 'Clifford, Henry, tenth Baron Clifford, print and online 2004, revised online 2018, available online via some libraries
7. ↑ A G Dickens. Clifford Letters of the 16th Century, Surtees Society, 1962, pp. 93-94, Internet Archive
8. ↑ Douglas Richardson. Royal Ancestry: A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families, 5 vols, ed. Kimball G. Everingham (Salt Lake City: the author, 2013), volume V, page 481 Appendix Line B and C. 8th great grandfather of Maud of Flanders, wife of William The Conqueror
9. ↑ Great grandfather of Henry II (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_the_Conqueror)
10. ↑ Great grandfather of Edward I (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_II_of_England)
11. ↑ Maternal grandfather of Edward III of England (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philip_IV_of_France)
12. ↑ Grandfather of Edward III (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_I_of_England)

See also:

• Richardson, Douglas. Magna Carta Ancestry: A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families, 4 vols, ed. Kimball G. Everingham. 2nd edition. Salt Lake City: the author, 2011. See also WikiTree's source page for ‘’Magna Carta Ancestry.’’ Vol. III, pp. 221-222
• Richardson, Douglas: Plantagenet Ancestry, 2nd edn. (2011), 3 vols, Volume 2, page 601.

Acknowledgements

Magna Carta Project

This profile was reviewed/approved for the Magna Carta Project by Michael Cayley on 5 February 2020.

Anne (Clifford) Melford appears in a Richardson-documented trail from from the Levis/Need Gateway Ancestors (Samuel Levis, Hannah (Levis) Blunston, Sarah (Levis) Bradshaw, Mary Need and Joseph Need) to Magna Carta Surety Barons Hugh le Bigod and Roger le Bigod (vol. II, pages 221-223 NEED). This profile is also in trails identified by the Magna Carta Project from the Levis/Need Gateways to surety barons Saher de Quincy, John de Lacy, Gilbert de Clare, Richard de Clare and John Fitz Robert. These trails were developed as part of the Samuel Levis trail to the Bigods by John Sigh and were badged in February 2020 by Michael Cayley. The trails can be seen in the Magna Carta Trails sections in the profiles of Samuel Levis and Mary Need.

See Base Camp for more information about identified Magna Carta trails and their status. See the project's glossary for project-specific terms, such as a "badged trail".