Charlemagne!
Who was Charlemagne? He lived from 742 to 814 in Europe, and was King of the Franks and Romans, and eventually the first Emperor of what became the Holy Roman Empire! He was the best-known and most influential king of the Middle Ages, and ruled over most of what is now France, Italy, Germany and points in between. He was the Napoleon of his day. So why would I care about him? Why bother mentioning him here? Let's take a look at his descendants:
  1. Emperor Charlemagne, d.814, married Hildegarde (d. 783) c. 771
  2. Pepin, King of Italy
  3. Bernard, King of Italy (natural son)
  4. Pepin, Count of Senlis, Perone and St. Quentin
  5. Herbert I, Count of Vermandois (married Bertha, daughter of Guerry, Count of Morvois)
  6. Herbert II, Count of Vermandois, Count of Troyes (m. Liegard, dau. of King Robert of France)
  7. Robert de Vermandois, Count of Troyes (m. Adela, Contess of Chalon-sur-Saone, dau. of Gizelbert, Duke of Burgundy)
  8. Adele de Vermandois,Countess of Chalon-sur-Saone (m. Geoffrey Grisnelle, Count of Anjou)
  9. Fulke III, Count of Anjou (m. Hildegarde)
  10. Hermangarde, heiress of Anjou (m.Geoffrey, Count of Gatinois)
  11. Fulke IV, Le Rechin, Count of Anjou (m. Bertarada, dau. of Simon de Montfort-l'Amauri)
  12. Fulke V, Count of Anjou, King of Jerusalem.
  13. Geoffrey V Plantagenet, King of England (m.Mathilda , dau. of Henry I, King of England, widow of Emperor Henry V)
  14. Henry II Plantagenet(1133-1189)(m. Eleanor of Aquitane)
  15. King John Plantagenet(1166-1216)(m. Isabel of Angouleme)
  16. Henry III Plantagenet(1204-1277)(m. 1236 Eleanor of Provence, dau. of Ferdinand III, King of Castile)
  17. Edward I Plantagenet(1239-1307)(m. Eleanor of Castille 1243-1290)
  18. Elizabeth Plantagenet (m.1302 Humphrey de Bohun, Earl of Hereford and Essex)
  19. Sir William de Bohun, Earl of Northampton (1310-1360)(m. Elizabeth de Badelsmere)
  20. Elizabeth de Bohun, (?-1385)(m. Richard Fitz Alan, Earl of Arundel and Surrey, beheaded at Cheapside, Sept. 21, 1397)
  21. Elizabeth Fitz Alan, (?-July 8, 1425)( Had 4 husbands, 2nd was Sir Robert Goushill of Hoverington, Notts)
  22. Elizabeth Goushill (m. Sir Richard Wingfield of Letherington)
  23. Elizabeth Wingfield (m. Sir William Brandon, Kent)
  24. Eleanor Brandon (m. John Glemham)
  25. Anne Glemham(m. Henry Pagrave, Esq., 1470-1516)
  26. Thomas Pagrave (m. Alice Gunton)
  27. Rev. Edward Palgrave (1540-1623)
  28. Dr. Richard Palgrave(b. 1585, England- d. 1651, Charlestown/Watertown, Mass.)(m. Anna ____, d. 1669, Roxbury, Mass.)Note: This is where the journey to the New World occured.
  29. Mary Palgrave (m. Roger Wellington of Watertown, Mass. ca. 1637. He was born ca. 1609/10, d. Marc 11, 1697/8)
  30. Benjamin Wellington, (d. Jan. 8, 1710, m. Elizabeth Sweetman, Dec. 7, 1671, dau. of Thomas and Isabel Sweetman of Cambridge, Mass. They were grandparents of Roger Sherman, signer of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States.)
  31. Elizabeth Wellington(b. Dec. 29, 1669, m. Capt John Fay, Nov.30, 1669 - July 5, 1747, son of John Fay and Mary Brigham)
  32. Bathsheba Fay (m. John Pratt, Jr.)
  33. Betty Pratt(b. May 6, 1726, d. Feb. 18, 1809)(m. Jan. 11, 1753, Elisha Field, b. July 1 1717, d. Jan. 18, 1791)
  34. Elisha Field, Jr. (Mar. 3, 1763-Feb. 18, 1852)(m. Ruth Kirkham, b. May 10, 1770, d. June 21, 1838)
  35. Norman Field (Sept. 22, 1802, d. Mar. 24, 1886 in Burns, Wis.)(m. Jan. 25, 1834, Happylonia Chatterton, b. Mar. 25, 1807 Westford, Vt., d. Oct. 7, 1892, Coin, Iowa)
  36. Charles Carroll Field (b. June 1 1847, Cornwall, Vt., d. June 23, 1903, Puyallup, Wa.)(m. July 18, 1878 at La Crosse, Wis., to Agnes Deborah Marshall, b. Oct. 3, 1849, Utica NY, d. July 8, 1935, Puyallup, WA)
  37. Alma Jean Field (Dec. 25, 1886, Puyallup, WA., Feb. 22, 1966)( m. Mar. 22, 1917, Marcellus Porter, b. July 18, 1866, d. Oct. 29, 1954)
  38. Bettie (Agnes Elizabeth) Porter (b.Dec.29, 1919, Puyallup, WA.)(m. June 26,1945, Horace Grant Dunbar -b.Jan.18, 1917)
  39. Brian Dunbar (Hey! That's me!)(b.Dec. 29,1954, Seattle, WA.)
So, what does this all mean? Hmmm, well, nothing. Except that it goes to show that if you dig hard enough you can trace yourself to almost anyone!
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