William Griffith (abt. 1480 - 1531)

Born about 1480 in Caernarfonshire, Wales

Ancestors

Husband of Jane (Stradling) Griffith — married about 1500 in Wales

Husband of Jane (Puleston) Griffith — married about Aug 1522 in Wales

Descendants

Died 1531 at about age 51 in Caernarfonshire, Wales

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Biography

Birth and Parents

William was the son of William Griffith and his first wife Joan Troutbeck.^[1][2] His birth date is uncertain; Douglas Richardson estimates it as about 1480.^[1][2] He may have been born in Caernarfonshire, Wales, where his father had his main residence.

Marriages and Children

William married twice. His first wife was Jane Stradling, daughter of Thomas Stradling of Glamorganshire and Janet Mathew.^[1][2][3] Their marriage date is not known. They probably married in Wales, where both families lived. They had the following children, all listed in the Heraldic Visitations Wales:^[4]

• William,^[1][2] who died young^[3][5]
• Edward^[1][2][5][6]
• Rhys^[1][2][5]
• John^[1][2][5]
• Hugh^[1][2][5]
• Grace, who married William Stanley of Hooton^[1][2][5]
• Jane, who married Thomas Mostyn^[1][2][5]
• Elin/Elinor, who married Hugh Conway^[1][2][5]
• Catherine, who married Richard Bulkeley^[1][2][5]
• Anne, who married Hugh Lewis^[1][2][5]
• Elizabeth, who married John Philipps^[1][2][5]
• Dorothy, who married William Williams and Robert Wynn^[1][2][5]
• Margaret, who married Peter Mytton, Thomas Griffith and Hugh Thelwall^[1][2][5]

Jane Stradling died before 1520.^[1][2]

William's second wife was Jane Puleston, widow of Robert ap Maredudd and daughter of John Puleston^[3] and Eleanor Whitney. The settlement for their marriage wass dated 2 August 1522.^[1][2] They had the following children, listed in the Heraldic Visitations of Wales:^[4]

• William^[1][2][3][5]
• Rowland^[1][2][5]
• George, who became Archdeacon of Anglesey^[1][2][5]
• Mary, who married Randall Brereton and Hugh Cholmondeley^[1][2][5]
• Sibyl/Isabel),^[1][2] who married Owen ap Hugh^[5]

Life and Lands

William held the following positions:^[1][2]

• Esquire of the Body to Henry VIII from 1508^[3]
• Chamberlain of North Wales^[7][8] from 1508^[3] (with a brief gap in 1509 when Charles Brandon, Duke of Suffolk took his place^[9])
• Deputy Justice of North Wales

In 1513 William fought in the War of the League of Cambrai, taking part in the Siege of Thérouanne, the Battle of the Spurs (in which forces of Henry VIII and the Holy Roman Empire defeated the French) and the Siege of Tournai.^[1][2][3] He was knighted at Tournai on 25 September 1513.^[10]

William owned lands at Penrhyn, Caernarfonshire, which were worth some £15000 in his time. He divided them among his children; the main house passed out of the family.^[5]

William appears to have had a keen interest in Welsh poets. A number of poets wrote about him and he was involved in an eisteddfod in 1523.^[3]

Death

William died in 1531,^[1][2][3] probably in Caernarfonshire where his interests lay.

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 1.15 1.16 1.17 1.18 1.19 1.20 1.21 1.22 1.23 1.24 1.25} 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. I, p. 560, COYTEMORE 13, Google Books
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 2.17 2.18 2.19 2.20 2.21 2.22 2.23 2.24 2.25} Douglas Richardson. Royal Ancestry: A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families, 5 vols, ed. Kimball G. Everingham (Salt Lake City: the author, 2013), Vol. II, pp. 345-346, COYTEMORE 17
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 3.8} Dictionary of Welsh Biography, entry for 'GRIFFITH OF PENRHYN, Caernarfonshire', National Library of Wales website
4. ↑ ^{4.0 4.1} Samuel Rush Meyrick. Heraldic Visitations of Wales between the years 1586 and 1613, William Rees, 1846, pp. 167-168, Internet Archive
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 5.16 5.17 5.18} John Edwards Griffith. Pedigrees of Anglesey and Carnarvonshire Families, printed for the author in 1914, p. 185, Google Books
6. ↑ The National Archives, ref. C 1/892/46-48, Discovery Centre catalogue entry
7. ↑ The National Archives, ref. STAC 2/28/76, Discovery Centre catalogue entry
8. ↑ The National Archives, ref. E 36/151, Discovery Centre catalogue entry
9. ↑ 'Henry VIII: November 1509', in Letters and Papers, Foreign and Domestic, Henry VIII, Volume 1, 1509-1514, ed. J S Brewer (London, 1920), pp. 113-127, British History Online (entry 78), accessed 14 February 2023
10. ↑ W A Shaw. The Knights of England, Vol. II, Sherratt and Hughes, 1906, p. 39, Internet Archive

See also:

• Weis, Frederick Lewis. Ancestral Roots of certain American Colonists who came to America before 1700, 8th edition, Genealogical Publishing Company, 2004, p. 183, line 199A/36, Google Books

Acknowledgements

Magna Carta Project

This profile was re-reviewed for the Magna Carta Project by Michael Cayley on 14 February 2023.

William Griffith appears in Magna Carta Ancestry in a Richardson-documented trail from Gateway Ancestors Elizabeth Coytemore and Thomas Coytemore to Magna Carta Surety Baron Saher de Quincy (vol. I, pages 559-562 COYTEMORE) that was badged in 2015 by a Magna Carta Project member. Other trails were identified and badged in 2015 between the Coytemore Gateways and several other surety barons, including: Roger le Bigod, Hugh le Bigod, Saher de Quincy, Robert de Vere, Richard de Clare, Gilbert de Clare and John de Lacy. A trail to Henry de Bohun was identified and badged later, in 2019. All of these trails are outlined in the Magna Carta Trails section of Rowland Coytemore's profile.

William Griffith appears in Magna Carta Ancestry in a Richardson-documented trail from the Owen Gateway Ancestors (Rebecca, Joshua and Elizabeth Owen) and the Humphrey Gateways (Daniel, Benjamin, Rebecca, and Anne) to Magna Carta Surety Baron Saher de Quincy (vol. III, pages 279-281 OWEN). This trail has not yet been developed on WikiTree by the Magna Carta Project. The profiles in the trail are set out in the Magna Carta Trails sections of Elizabeth Owen's profile and Benjamin Humphrey's profile.

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".