Eaton

The Eaton branch from Hannah Bancroft's mother and ggg-grandmother of Cordelia Pickering, Elizabeth Eaton, to at least the first American immigrant of that line is documented in several places as follows: Elizabeth Eaton ß John Eaton ß William Eaton. Much of the information regarding the Eaton line from Elizabeth Eaton comes from Richard Treswell's "Visitation of Shropshire Taken in the Year 1623". Heraldic Visitations were tours of inspection undertaken by the College of Arms in England, Wales and Ireland in order to regulate and register the coats of arms of nobility and gentry and boroughs, and to record pedigrees. They took place from 1530 to 1688, and their records provide important source material for genealogists. Visitations occurred in Shropshire in 1569, 1584, 1623 and 1664. The College of Arms holds these papers as unofficial records of the Visitations under the names of the various Heralds of the day: notes of the 1623 Visitation are held in the Vincent papers. However, the Harleian Society has published the Shropshire Visitation of the year 1623 based on several manuscript copies, with additions from the two earlier ones of 1569 and 1584. This publication was made in 1889 under editors George Grazebrook and John Paul Rylands. The original 1623 Visitation was conducted by Robert Tresswell, Somerset Herald, and Augustine Vincent, Rough Croix Pursuivant of Arms.

The introduction to the "Visitation of Shropshire Taken in the Year 1623" discusses some problems that exist with the pedigrees contained within the volume. �It states that "absence of a name altogether from the list is no proof whatever that their social position and heraldic rights were not all the time perfectly well assured" and that "the pedigrees ought most assurderly to be received with great caution and few of them to be regarded as indisputably correct unless tested by documentary evidenced."

Shropshire, also known as Salope, is a county in the West Midlands of England. It borders Wales to the west. Shropshire is one of England's most rural and sparsely populated counties, with the population of the non-metropolitan/shire county 289,100 - making it the least populated two-tier governed area in the United Kingdom. Shropshire was established during the division of Saxon Mercia into shires in the 10th century and after the Norman Conquest experienced significant development, after the principal estates of the county were given to eminent Normans.

The district which is now Shropshire was annexed to the Saxon Kingdom of Mercia by King Offa, who in 765 constructed Watt's Dyke to defend his territory against the Welsh, and in 779, having pushed across the River Severn, drove the Welsh King of Powys from Shrewsbury, then known as Pengwerne, and secured his conquests by a second defensive earthwork known as Offa's Dyke, which, entering Shropshire at Knighton, traverses moor and mountain by Llanymynech and Oswestry, in many places forming the boundary line of the county, and finally leaves it at Bron y Garth and enters Denbighshire. Mercia was mapped out into shires in the 10th century after its recovery from the Danes by Edward the Elder. The first mention of 'Shropshire' in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle occurs under 1006, when the King crossed the Thames and wintered there. In 1016 Edmund Atheling plundered Shrewsbury and the neighbourhood. After the Norman Conquest of 1066 the principal estates in Shropshire were all bestowed on Norman proprietors, pre-eminent among whom is Roger de Montgomerie, 1st Earl of Shrewsbury, whose son Robert de Bellesme forfeited his possessions for rebelling against Henry I, when the latter bestowed the Earldom on his Queen for life.

During the early Norman period a very large portion of Shropshire was covered by forests, the largest of which, Worf Forest, at its origin extended at least 8 miles in length and 6 miles in width, and became a favorite hunting-ground of the English Kings. The forest of Wrekin, or 'Mount Gilbert' as it was then called, covered the whole of that hill and extended eastward as far as Sheriffhales. Other forests were Stiperstones, the jurisdiction of which was from time immemorial annexed to the barony of Caus, Wyre, Shirlot, Clee, Long Forest and Brewood. The constant necessity of defending their territories against the Welsh prompted the Norman lords of Shropshire to such activity in castle-building that out of 186 castles in England no less than 32 are in this county. Shropshire became a key area within the Welsh Marches. Of the castles built in this period the most famous are Ludlow, founded by Roger de Montgomery; Bishop's Castle, which belonged to the Bishops of Hereford; Clun Castle, built by the FitzAlans; Cleobury Castle, built by Hugh de Mortimer; Caus Castle, once the Barony of Peter Corbett, from whom it came to the Barons Strafford; Rowton Castle, also a seat of the Corbetts; Red Castle, a seat of the Audleys. Other castles were Bridgnorth, Corfham, Holgate, Pulverbatch, Quatford, Shrewsbury and Wem.

Presented below is the line from Elizabeth Eaton to her 16th great-grandfather, Robert de Eyton.

Elizabeth Eaton, ggg-grandmother of Cordelia Pickering, was born on 8 September 1662 at Reading, Middlesex, Massachusetts. She married John Bancroft, son of Thomas Bancroft and Elizabeth Metcalf, on 24 September 1678 at Reading, Middlesex, Massachusetts. She died on 12 March 1705 at Lynn, Essex, Massachusetts, at age 42.

"She [speaking of Abigail Eaton] was undoubtedly the daughter of John and Elizabeth [Kendall] Eaton, of Reading. Her name does not appear in the list of their children in the history of Reading. In that list is Elizabeth m. ____Bancroft. This I find to be John Bancroft.".

John Eaton, father of Elizabeth Eaton, was born on 20 December 1635 at Watertown, Middlesex, Massachusetts. He married Elizabeth Kendall, daughter of Thomas Kendall and Rebecca Paine, on 8 March 1658 at Reading, Middlesex, Massachusetts. He died on 17 December 1695 at Reading, Middlesex, Massachusetts at age 59.

There are conflicting dates for the marriage and death of John Eaton:

John, son of William and Martha Eaton was born in England, December 20, 1635. He lived in Reading, where he died May 25, 1601. He married in 1658. Elizabeth Kendall, born 1642. daughter of Deacon Thomas Kendall, and they had children. He died May 13, 1673. She died in 1680 or 1681.

John Eaton, eldest son and third of the five children of William, resided in Reading; married March 8, 1668 or 1669, Elizabeth Kendall, dau. of Deacon Thomas Kendall of Reading; he died Dec. 17, 1695.

William Eaton, grandfather of Elizabeth Eaton, was born in 1604 at Staple, Kent, England. He married Martha Jenkins, daughter of Edward Jenkins and Martha Phillips, on 28 January 1628 at Staple, Kent, England. He died on 26 September 1672 at Reading, Middlesex, Massachusetts.

William Eaton was born in England about 1604. He married Martha Jenkins. and was a husbandman in Staples, in the county of Kent. With three children, William and Martha sailed from Sandwich, June 9, 1637. and settled in Watertown, Massachusetts, of which he was a proprietor in 1642. and a freeman in 1653. He subsequently removed to Reading.

The emigrant ancestor of this family was William Eaton of Staple in the county of Kent, England. With his wife Martha, three children and one servant he sailed from Sandwich in 1637 and settled first at Watertown, and subsequently removed to Reading, where he d. May 16, 1673. His wife d. Nov. 14, 1680.

Peter Eaton, great grandfather of Elizabeth Eaton, was born in 1575. He married Elizabeth Patterson on 28 January 1603 at St Marys, Dover, Kent, England. He died in 1658. William Eaton, gg-grandfather of Elizabeth Eaton, was born in 1540 at England. He married Jane Hussey, daughter of Thomas Hussey and Bridget Bowes, in 1569. He died before 1584 at England.

William Eaton, ggg-grandfather of Elizabeth Eaton, was born in 1512 at Rowington, Warwickshire, England. He died in 1590. This William Eaton is the weakest link in the chain between the Eaton's of Massachusetts and the Eatons (Eytons) of Shropshire. The Visitation of Shropshire, 1623 shows a William (Willimus) as son of Henry Eyton, but indicates for him "s.p." (sine proles) meaning without issue. It is unclear whether this is taken to mean literally that he had no descendents or that his descendents have been, for whatever reason, omitted. There are two footnotes one that states that for the line from Henry Eaton (below) that there is another document (Harl. MS 1396) that differs from the Shrewsbury MS. The second footnote states that William and six of his brothers are "omitted in the Shrewsbury MS." There is also shown in the "List of Disclaimed, 1585" one William Eton of Pimhill.

Henry Eaton, gggg-grandfather of Elizabeth Eaton, was born in 1485. He married Jane Cressett, daughter of Thomas Cressett and Elizabeth Cornwall, say 1510. He died in 1580.

Thomas Cressett, the father of Jane Cressett, was the son of Thomas Cressett and Jane Corbet - the Corbet line is discussed in more detail starting here.

Louis Eaton, 5th great grandfather of Elizabeth Eaton, was born in 1447. He married Anne Savage, daughter of Sir John Savage and Katherine Stanley, in 1474. He died at Eyton Upon Weald Moors, Shropshire, England. The Visitations of Essex by Hawley shows that Lewis Etton of Etton (son of Sir Nicholas Eaton) was married to an un-named daughter of Sir Thomas Blunt of Kinlett (knight).

Nicholas Eaton, 6th great grandfather of Elizabeth Eaton, was born in 1397. He was Sheriff of Shropshire between 1440 and 1449. He married Katherine Talbot, daughter of John Talbot, in 1445. The Talbot line is discussed in more detail starting here.

Georgius Eaton, 7th great grandfather of Elizabeth Eaton, was born in 1367. Humphrey Eaton, 8th great grandfather of Elizabeth Eaton, was born in 1345 at Salop, Shropshire, England. He was Ranger of the Forest of Wrekin and Wildomores circa 1394 at Salop, Shropshire, England. He died at England. Peter (V) de Eyton, 9th great grandfather of Elizabeth Eaton, was born before 1334. The Visitation of Shropshire, 1623 shows Peter born 39th year of reign of Edward III which would be 1366. He died circa 1400.

Peter de Eyton (V.), presumed son and heir of John, occurs as a witness on March 25 and May 3, 1354.5 On April 2, 1366, he presented to Eyton Church, and on May 21, 1377, he occurs again as witness of a Deed already quoted, but not as a knight.

John de Eyton, 10th great grandfather of Elizabeth Eaton, was born before 1308 at Cresswell, Derbyshire, England. The Visitation of Shropshire 1623 shows a date for John in 11th year of reign of Edward III which would be the year AD 1338, but it is not clear what that date represents. He died after 1344.

�John de Eyton, presumed to have been son and heir of Peter de Eyton (IV.), occurs as John de Eyton on August 13, 1328, and as John, Lord of Eyton, on Sept. 21, 1331, and as John de Eyton on Jan. 6, 1333;-and from thence till July 25, 1344, when he is styled Dominus Johannes de Eyton super le Wildmore [Eaton on the Wealdmoors], but it is evident from the context of this Deed that he was not a knight, and I take it that neither he nor his father nor yet his son ever attained that dignity. On May 7, 1339, a Fine was levied whereby Richard de Tatenhall and Margery his wife (Deforciants) quitclaim for themselves, and the heirs of Margery, to John de Eyton (Plaintiff) 100s. rent in Eyton super le Wyldmore. For this, John de Eyton paid 60 merks.

Peter (IV) de Eyton, 11th great grandfather of Elizabeth Eaton, was born before 1282 at Weald Moors, England. He died between 1325 and 1328.

Peter de Eyton (IV.), who, in October 1302, March 1303, January 1305, and March and May 1308, occurs as a prominent witness of Wombridge Charters, is in no instance styled a knight. He was, I doubt not, the above-named son of Peter (III.), now in possession of his estate. On May 21, 1311, he is styled "Lord of Eyton," and either under that style or as merely Peter de Eyton, he is a frequent witness of Wombridge Charters, the latest of which bears date January 20, 1324. A charter which I have ventured to date in 1320 speaks of him as Peter son of Sir Peter de Eyton and as having granted to the Canons of Wombridge a right of road through his land of Lega.1 This estate at Leonards Lee, whatever its extent, probably came to him in right of his grandmother, Matilda. On April 28, 1325, he was appointed a Commissioner for the purpose of raising Hobelers and Archers in Shropshire and Staffordshire, in place of Alan de Cherleton. Three Writs of the same year, the latest dated Sept. 20, instruct him concerning the marching and inspection of these levies;-but nothing further do I learn certainly of him. He Some pedigrees show a William between Peter IV and John. Others show a William between Peter I and Peter II.

Sir Peter (III) de Eyton, 12th great grandfather of Elizabeth Eaton, was born before 1246. He married Margery in 1246. He died after 1292.

The first mention of his name, otherwise than as an infant, is early in 1272, when Hugh Burnell had a Writ against him for disseizing the said Hugh of common-pasture in Eyton, and John de Appele had a Writ against him for disseizing the said John of a tenement in Eyton. At the Assizes of September 1272 Peter de Eyton was third Juror for Bradford Hundred. His position on a Jury of March 1276 is not among the knights who composed it, but in an Inquest of December 2,1277, he takes precedence of several whom I know to have been knights at the time. In July 1278 he appears as one of the Verderers of the Shropshire Forests, and in January 1283 he is expressly styled a knight on a Newport Inquest. From this period till his death his occurrences as a Verderer, a Juror, or a Witness, are very frequent. The Feodaries of 1284-5, when collated, show that Peter de Eyton was then holding two knights'-fees under Walter de Hopton and his wife Matilda (Baroness of Wem). The Manors named as constituting this Fief are Eyton, Brochetone ( Bratton), Sutton, and half Lawley, in Shropshire, and Cresswell in Staffordshire. The latter was held under him by Henry de Cress, well. At the Assizes of 1292 he was one of the two Elisors, sworn to elect the Jury for Bradford Hundred. In the same year he was one of the Knights who tried several of those Pleas of Quo Waranto to which I am so often referring. He was returned for Salop as a knight of the Shire to the Parliament held at York on May 25, 1298, and again to the Parliament held at Lincoln in January 1301. The latter he attended, and obtained his Writ of- expenses for so doing. His Manucaptors were Roger le Wodeward of Eyton, and Richard his Brother.1 Meanwhile, on June 5, 1300, as one of the Verderers of Shropshire, he attended the great Perambulation then made, and afterwards ratified by Edward I. Peter de Eyton (III.) had settled his estate, or at least the Manor of Eyton, by a Fine levied at Westminster on January 27, 1292. He first gives it to his son Peter (the Plaintiff), who returns it to his father, to hold for life, under the Lords of the Fee, with remainder to Peter junior and the heirs of his body, or in default of such heirs to Margery, sister of Peter junior and the heirs of her body, with remainder to the right heirs of Peter senior quit of any other heirs of Margery.

The Visitation Of Shropshire shows Peter born (or flourished) in 6th year of the reign of Edward I - that would be 1278.

William de Eyton, 13th great grandfather of Elizabeth Eaton, was born before 1216. He married Matilda in 1216. He died between 1251 and 1255.

William de Eyton, whom the Feodaries of 1240 enter as holding one fee in Eyton, and one fee in Kereswall (Cresswell),3 of the Barony of Wem. Though so great a Feoffee, it does not appear that this William ever obtained the honour of knighthood. We have had double proof that in November 1240 he had married an heiress or coheiress, Matilda by name.1 Her interest at Leonards- Lee seems to have been in partr sold, while that at Rochull (near Wall-Town) was established against certain disputants. It is probable that William de Eyton was for a time cotemporary with his Uncle of the same name, and it is certain that a third William de Eyton was resident near the Wrekin about this period. I can hardly distinguish the Lord of Eyton and these cotempora- ries, by their position in certain testing-clauses and jury-lists. Between the years 1242 and 1248 William de Etton was the third of twelve Recognizors who attended the Sheriff, Forester, and Verderers of Shropshire to decide what were the Abbot of Lilles- hall's rights in a question of forest-law. In 1248 William de Etun was fourth juror on a Withyford Inquest. Again William de Eton was Foreman of the Jury which about February 1249 attended at Shrewsbury to make Inquest as to the estate of Hugh Fitz Robert, late Forester of Shropshire. This William I take to have been surely the individual now under notice. As William de Ethon he again sat Foreman of a Jury which on January 30, 1251, decided a dispute between the Abbeys of Buildwas and Lilleshall. In 1255 he was deceased, his widow Matilda surviving him, but his son and heir, Peter, being an infant, probably under ten years of age. Hence the Bradford Hundred-Roll of 1255 says as follows.-" Peter de Eiton is Lord of Eiton and is in ward to Peter Peverel by gift of Ralph le Butiler (then Baron of Wem). And he (Peter de Eiton) holds the said Manor by service of one knight at Wemme, in time of war, for 40 days, at his own charges. And the Manor used to do suit to County and Hundred, but it has been withdrawn these ten years; and the said suit is worth 2s yearly. Matilda, widow of William de Eyton, remarried to Walter de Pedwardine and took with her in dower one-third of two parts of the estate of Eyton. The remaining part had never come to William de Eyton's hands, for it was held at the time of his death by his mother Alice, who survived him. Alice however died before 1256, and at the Assizes of January in that year a curious point in the Law of Dower had its solution. Walter de Pedwardine and Matilda his wife, having already one-third of two-thirds of two carucates in Eyton in Wydemore as Matilda's dower, sued Peter Peverel and Ralph de Kent for a third of that remaining third which had now lapsed to the general estate by death of Alice. The Plaintiffs asserted that William de Eyton had given dower to Matilda out of this remaining third. This the Defendants denied, saying that William had never been seized of the said third except in tenancy and during the period between his father Peter's death and the allotment of the said third as his mother's dower. The facts were not in dispute. They were, that Peter de Eyton died seized of the whole estate, that William his son and heir instantly afterwards gave one third to his mother Alice in dower, and had never been otherwise in seizin of such third;-obviously because his mother survived him. The question was one of law, viz. whether Walter de Pedwardine and Matilda could demand dower out of dower, i.e. take thirds in such part of William de Eyton's estate as had reverted since his death ? The Court decided in the negative, dismissed Peverel and Kent sine die, and pronounced the Plaintiffs in misericordid for a false claim.

Sir Peter (II) de Eyton, 14th great grandfather of Elizabeth Eaton, was born before 1186. He married Alice in 1186. He died between 1237 and 1240.

About the year 1220, [according to Eyton], Peter de Eyton, calling himself " son of Peter de Eyton, made a concession to Lilleshall Abbey. His Charter is entitled in the Chartulary of that House as Carta Petri de Eyton de stag-no de Lubersty et molen- dino ibidem firmando. He concedes for the souls'-health of himself, his ancestors and successors, and in pure alms, a stank for the Abbot's Vivary on the rivulet called Holebroch in the Moor of Hordbur', and allows that the Canons may establish such stank on his land, and that the water may thus be made to back-pound on his land. A similar and, I presume, cotemporary concession by the Tenants-in-fee of the adjoining Manor of Preston was sanctioned by the Deed of their Suzerain, viz. Baldwin de Hodnet, who died in December 1224. This gives the probable date of the transaction. Some local peculiarities are worth observation. The spot where the Abbot of Lilleshall intended to establish a Vivary, or Mill, or both, is still known as Lubstrec Park. The Brook, then called Holebrook, but now Humber-Brook, here divided the Abbot's Grange of Honington on the East, from Peter de Eyton's Manor of Horton and Baldwin de Hodnet's Manor of Preston on the West. Such a brook could not be dammed up or impounded without the consent of the landholders on the opposite bank. Hence the above concessions to Lilleshall. In Trinity Term 1222 and again in Easter Term 1226, Peter de Eyton and Thomas de Constantine were the only two Recognizors who attended at Westminster, in a great cause between Giles de Erdington and Elena Princess of Wales, concerning the Manor of Wellington. Between the years 1216 and 1224 we have seen Peter de Eyton attesting a Deed of Alan, Abbot of Lilleshall. This conjunction of names may serve to date an agreement which resulted after some dispute between the said Abbot Alan and Peter de Eyton relative to the right of common in their respective woods. The Canons and their men were now to have the same entire common-right in Peter's Wood as they had enjoyed of old. Peter was to have similar right in the Canon's wood, except in the Park called Gubalcfs Haye and in other places enclosed with diteh or fence. Moreover Peter's men of Buterey were to have housebote and haybote in the Canons' moor of The Wildemoor, without question or view of the Canons' Foresters, but they were to give or sell nothing of the said easements, nor indeed to use them themselves, except when Peter's own land could not fully supply their needs. And the said men of Buterey were to make oath to keep faith with the Church of Lilleshall both with respect to that moor and other places. Each Party sealed a counterpart of this agreement and the Writings were exchanged. The above agreement affords some presumption that Peter de Eyton had not as yet recognized his Ancestor's grant of Buttery to Shrewsbury Abbey. We happen however to know that he did so subsequently. The years 1225 and 1227 are the certain limits of a Deed whereby " Peter de Eyton gives to the said Abbey the whole land of Butherey and acquits it of all services to himself." This purports to have been done for a nominal sum of 2s. paid by the Monks, and the Deed was attested by Sir John le Strange, William Pantulf, Ralph de Picheford, John Boneth then Sheriff of Salope- sire, William Thaleboth, Hugh fitz Robert, Hugh de Hedlega, John de Chetewind, Roger Sprenghose, William Chaplain of Wroccestre, Thomas de Eston, Wido de Gleseg (Glazeley), Ralph Mareseall (of Boreton), and Hugh de Kynsedeleg. The Pipe-Roll of 1231 has Peter de Eytun as amerced 20s. for not producing one, for whom he was Surety, at a recent Forest- Assize. An agreement between the Abbot of Shrewsbury and William de Ercalwe bears date May 13, 1234, and is attested by Peter de Eyton as second, and by William de Eyton as fifth witness. Peter and William were, perhaps, father and son, though, as we shall see, Peter had a brother named William. The latest notice which I have of Peter de Eython as he is called, bears date October 13, 1237, when with twelve other Recognizors of knightly degree, he attended a great Trial concerning Shawbury, taken before the King himself at Worcester. At his death, which must have taken place within three years after this, Peter de Eyton left his wife Alice surviving. On February 3, 1249, the said Alice quitelaimed to Adam Abbot of Shrewsbury all her right in Botereye, in the way of dower, the Abbot undertaking to pay her an annuity of half a merk. Witnesses, Richard de Preston and Robert de Rodinton.2 In or about January 1250, Geoffrey de Langley set an arrentation of 9d. on an acre at Eyton, taken from the Forest by " Alice, Relict of Peter de Eyton." William de Eyton, the brother of Peter, already mentioned, was seated at Eaton upon Tern. He occurs as a Juror or a Surety in June 1220 and August 1226, his name being written Eton or Ethon; but in a grant which about 1223 he made of a meadow at Eaton, he calls himself " William son of Peter de Eton," son that is, as I think, of Peter de Eyton (I.). I shall recur to him and his successors at Eaton, when I come to that place. Peter de Eyton (II.) was succeeded at Eyton by his son and heir, William de Eyton.

Peter (I) de Eyton, 15th great grandfather of Elizabeth Eaton, was born before 1160. He died between 1207 and 1212.

Peter de Eyton, [successor and presumed son of Robert de Eyton], is known chiefly by his attestations of the earlier Charters of Wombridge Priory. The Benefactions of Madoc ap Gervase, Lord of Sutton, of Walter de Dunstanvill, Lord of Idsall, of John de Cambrai Lord of Lee-Gomery and of Alan de Hadley Lord of Hadley, range between the years 1180 and 1194, and they are nearly all attested by Peter de Eyton. In 1191, as [Eyton infers] from the names of the Justiciars who tried it, a suit about land in Cheswell was decided by verdict of twelve Recognizors. Peter de Eyton was one of them, and the matter having been re-opened in June 1200, he attended at Westminster with six other Recognizors (survivors, I presume, of the twelve), to certify what had taken place in 1191. In 1207 a number of amercements (probably inflicted at a recent Forest-Assize) are entered on the Shropshire Pipe-Roll. One of half a mcrk is charged on Peter de Eaton. The Pipe-Roll of 1212 contains a Fine of 100 shillings. which Peter de Hetton had proffered and paid for having the land of his Father (pro habendd terrd patris sui). It is not known that the Eytons were Tenants-in-capite, nor was the Barony of Wem likely at this period to have been in custody of the Crown. Still I cannot help thinking that this Fine indicates the succession of an Eyton of Eyton to his Father.

Robert de Eyton, 16th great grandfather of Elizabeth Eaton, was born before 1145. He was a contemporary of Henry II of England (between 1154 and 1189). He died between 1175 and 1180.

Some sources suggest that Robert de Eyton was a son of William Fitz Alan, and therefore either a descendent of Banquo, Thane of Lochabar (AD 1000) or of Alan, Senschel of Dol (c. 1066). The former has been traced as follows: ( I) Banquo, Thane of Lochabar, A. D. 1000. ( II) Fleance, son of Banquo, married Guenta Princess, of North Wales. ( III) Alan Fitz Flaald, son of Fleance, married Amieria. ( IV) William Fitz Alan (son of Alan) Isabel de Say. (V) Robert de Eaton, son of William Fitz Alan.

The Banquo, who heads the list above, is none other than the character who appears in Shakespeare's Macbeth and who is murdered under orders of the title character and who later comes back as a ghost to haunt Macbeth. Banquo was thought be the progenitor of the Royal of House of Stuart (Stewart) which ruled Scotland and later both Scotland and England as the United Kingdom. Shakespeare alludes to this in the opening scene of the play in which the three witches prophesied that Banquo's descendents would take the throne of Scotland. However, this pedigree was largely discredited by 19th century historians and literary critics, such as Sir Walter Scott.

"These characters, though named by Holinshed, followed by Shakespeare, are now considered by the best authors to be altogether fictitious personages. Mr Chalmers says, 'History knows nothing of Banquo, the thane of Lochabar, nor of Fleance his son.' Sir Walter Scott observes, that 'early authorities show us no such persons as Banquo and his son Fleance; nor have we reason to think that the latter ever fled further from Macbeth than across the flat scene according to the stage direction. Neither were Banquo and his son ancestors of the house of Stuart.' Yet still modern ' Peerages' and 'Genealogical Charts' retain the names of Banquo and Fleance in the pedigree of the Royal Houses of Scotland and England ; even the laureate Southey invokes Fleance, as,- ' Parent of the sceptred race;' and our great Dramatist makes the weird sisters foretell to Banquo,- ' Thou shall get kings, though thou be none.' The real progenitor of the Stuarts has been ably traced by George Chalmers, in his Caledonia (1807), to the common ancestor of the Fitz-Alans in England, and of the Stuarts in Scotland. FLAALD, or Flathald, obtained from William the Conqueror, whom he accompanied to England the castle and lordship of Oswaldestre, now Oswestry, in Shropshire ; he left a son, Alan Fitz-Flaald, who had two sons, the eldest, William Fitz-Alan, was ancestor of the Fitz-Alans, Earls of Arundel; the second son, Walter, was made seneschal, or high-steward to David I., King of Scots, 'and the dignity becoming hereditary in the family, what was originally a title was converted into a surname, and employed as such.".

An alternate pedigree of Robert de Eyton is accepted by some. If Robert de Eyton is in fact the son William Fitz Alan then the revised pedigree follows the accepted pedigree for the Fitz Alan brothers and that is as follows: ( I) Alan, Seneschel of Dol, a Breton of Normandy, fl. A. D. 1066. ( II) Flaald fis de Alan ( III) Alan Fitz Flaald.( IV) William Fitz Alan. (V) Robert de Eaton, son of William Fitz Alan. However, even this pedigree is controversial as discussed by Rev. Robert Eyton in his multi-volume Antiquties of Shropshire published in the 19th century.

"The probability that Robert de Eyton was Warin's direct descendant and heir is not the mere average probability that the Tenant of three distinct Manors a century after Doomsday was the lineal representative of the Tenant of those same Manors at Doomsday. Pantulf's Barony was exempt from all probability of being disturbed as to its constituents by that great Shropshire catastrophe, the fall of Earl Robert de Belesme. We know in short that it was then or afterwards enlarged rather than diminished, and we may fairly presume that this was in reward of the loyalty of its Chief, and his services at the siege of Bridgenorth. Again, it is probable that Warin was himself a Cadet of the House of Pantulf, for the Descendants of Robert de Eyton, his presumed heir, have uniformly quartered the Arms of Pantulf. It has been suggested that this quartering of the Arms of a Suzerain might have been merely in token of feudal dependence. The alternate theory seems to be that, when a Vassal is found bearing the Arms of his Suzerain, as a quarter, and without any difference, he was his Suzerain's relation by blood as well as tenure.

"I should now observe that the Lords of Eyton are found to have obtained feoffment from the Barons of Wem in four Manors, in which Doomsday does not state that Warin or any other Tenant had as yet acquired investiture. That this change was soon after Doomsday is clear, for the whole Fief held by DC Eyton under Pantulf was of old Feoffment. The four Manors in question were Buttery, Half-Lawley, and Sutton, all in Shropshire, and Cresswell, in Staffordshire. It is with respect to Buttery, and Robert de Eyton's disposal thereof in the reign of Henry II., that the history of this family recommences, nearly a century after Doomsday. Robert de Eyton gave Buttery to Shrewsbury Abbey, with the consent of Ivo Pantulf his Suzerain. As usual in such early grants, the confirming Deed of the Suzerain is the only one preserved, perhaps the only one executed at the time. Ivo Pantulf addressing his sons, acquaints them that "he has conceded in almoign to the Monks of Shrewsbury a certain estate (unam terram) which is called Buttereia, which Robert de Eiton had given to the said Monks. Witnesses, Alured Abbot of Hageman, Ivo Chaplain, Ralph Pantulf, Walter Meverel, Roger de Bethesloua, John de Eppeleia, Helias de Jai, Robert Christian, &C." The above Deed probably passed between 1170 and 1175, and so was coeval with the close of Robert de Eyton's life.".

The coat-of-arms of the English family of Eaton is: Azure fret on a field. Crest : An eagle's head erased sable in the mouth a sprig vert. Motto: Vincit Omnia Veritas. (Truth conquers all things.) The surname Eaton is of Welsh and Saxon origin, a place name meaning hill or town near the water. In Welsh 'Aw' means water, and 'Twyn,' a small hill ; Awtyn, called 'Eyton,' a small hillock near the water. In Saxon 'Ea' means water and 'Ton' town - the same significance, viz.: A town or hill near the water. And from some place bearing this name the first of the family to use the surname took their home-town name, after a very common custom. The name of the family is spelled in various ways: Eton, Etton, Eyton and Eaton by all authorities during the early days, but the latter spelling became generally used several generations before the first emigrant came to America.

If Cordelia Pickering is in fact the mother of Della Gaume DeBacker, then Robert de Eyton is my 25th great grandfather.

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