Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill

 I distinctly remember way back in my childhood days in the 1950 - 60s being exposed to the name Winston Churchill, in school studies and news reports of the day. Learning basically that he was a respected political leader and Prime Minister of England. 

I remember his death 25th Jan 1965 and his state funeral, where his casket was ferried on the river Thames on a funeral barge. In later years I learnt that he was also a great military leader defending the United Kingdom against German invasion during the 2nd WW, an Historian, Artis and Writer. Churchill was never a person I researched for ancestral connection, like all other persons; he was not a person I was actually attempting to connect too in my family researching. 

All roads seem to lead to some people at times, and there is always some pleasure in the  surprise when a connection emerges of historical significance. But I now understand that it's not by accident that we discover historically significant people, all we need is a Founding or Key ancestor that leads to such discoveries. I have a number of such ancestors in my family history. 

I arrived at Winston through my 3rd Great grandmother Sarah Acton and wife to William Bond. Sarah's, Acton family line goes all the way back through the Plantagenets to the Dukes of Normandy, giving me a documented blood line (Pedigree) that branches out along the way throughout history, a significant key person is my Sarah Acton. 

My task is to investigate and follow each branch that I come across along my journey and document the facts as they are revealed to me; usually involves reading Peerage journals in the case of nobility. This process, takes place over; in most cases many years and there has never been a quick shortcut to this process. 

Peerage records are usually extremely concise and well written and a trustworthy tool to use when applicable to ancestors with peerage. Sir Winston Churchill was never made a peer and remained a commoner all his life. But people close to him with family relationships to him were made peer's, so there we may find referenced recorded facts. (The Peerage and Baronetage of Great Briton and Ireland, by John Burke.) 

Winston Churchill was the son of Randolph Henry Spencer Churchill Lord and Jeanette (Jenny) Jerome Lady, he was born 30th Nov 1874. Winston married Clementine Hozier 12th Sep 1908, they had the following four children.

1. Diana Spencer Churchill, 1909 - 1963.

2. Randolph Frederick Edward Spenser Churchill, 1911 - 1968.

3. Sarah Millicent Hermione Churchill, 1914 - 1982.

4. Marigold Frances Churchill, 1918 - 1921. 

Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill

I have more than the one relationship to Winston, other than through my 3rd Great grandmother Sarah Acton, and that is a relationship through my 7th Cousin 12 x removed.

 Dionese Bond Lady is the wife to Sir Henry Lord of the Manor Winston, and the Daughter of Sir George Bond Lord Mayor of London and Lady Winnifred Leigh. 

I discovered this second connection 2 - 3 years after finding my Acton family line connection. While researching my ancient Bond family back to Richard Bond De Earth, Cornwall. Dionese Bond is in fact 9th Great grandmother to Sir Winston Churchill and Dionese is a descendant of  Richard Bond De Earth , this is also my Paternal blood line through my 3rd Great grandfather William Bond and husband to Sarah Acton. Richard Bond is14th Great grandfather to Winston Churchill, this was an exciting discovery for me at the time. Proving what tangled weds we may encounter in our family's as we discover our past history. 

• Richard de Earth Bond 1412-1462
  14th great-grandfather
• Sir Thomas Bond 1430-1480
  Son of Richard de Earth Bond
• William Bond Sir Lord 1467-1528
  Son of Sir Thomas Bond
• William (of Buckland Somerset) Bond Sir 1493-1549
  Son of William Bond Sir Lord
• George Lord Mayor London Bond Sir 1534-1592
  Son of William (of Buckland Somerset) Bond Sir
• Dionese Bond Lady 1564-1609
  Daughter of George Lord Mayor London Bond Sir
• Sarah Winston Lady 1598-1678
  Daughter of Dionese Bond Lady
• Winston Churchill Sir 1620-1688
  Son of Sarah Winston Lady
• John 1st Duke of Marlborough Churchill 1650-1722
  Son of Winston Churchill Sir
• Anne Churchill Countess 1683-1716
  Daughter of John 1st Duke of Marlborough Churchill
• Charles 3rd Duke of Marlborough Spencer Sir 1706-1758
  Son of Anne Churchill Countess
• GEORGE 4th Duke Marlborough SPENCER CHURCHILL 1739-1817
  Son of Charles 3rd Duke of Marlborough Spencer Sir
• George Charles 5th Duke Marlborough Spencer Churchill 1766-1840
  Son of GEORGE 4th Duke Marlborough SPENCER CHURCHILL
• George Marlborough Spencer Churchill 1793-1857
  Son of George Charles 5th Duke Marlborough Spencer Churchill
• John Winston 7th Duke of Marlborough Spencer Churchill 1822-1883
  Son of George Marlborough Spencer Churchill
• Randolph Henry Spencer Churchill Lord 1849-1895
  Son of John Winston 7th Duke of Marlborough Spencer Churchill
• Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill Sir
•  Son of Randolph Henry Spencer Churchill Lord

Recommended reading:

The Visitations of The County of Cornwall p.41, by John Lambrick Vivian. 

The Visitations of The County of Cornwall in The year 1620 p.15, by Henry St George.

The Story of the Bonds of Earth, by Allen Kerr Bond.

Artillery of Word, The Writings of Sir Winston Churchill, by Frederick Woods.

Sir Winston Churchill, His Life and His Paintings, by David Coombs & Minnie Churchill.

Sir Winston Churchill, by Allan Farrell.

The True Story of Sir Winston Churchill, by Arthur Harald Booth.

The Wit and Wisdom of Winston Churchill, by James C Humes.

The Early Churchills, by A L Rowse.

The Peerage and Baronetage of Great Briton and Ireland, by John Burke. 

Copyright © Noel Bond. Researched and written by Noel Bond, No written part of this Blog may be reproduced in any form, by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author.

Sir John Emerich Edward Dalberg-Acton

 When I discovered John Emerich Dalberg-Acton, 1st Baron Acton (aka Lord Acton), I was taken by his life achievements in literature, immediately; and the fact that he was my 6th cousin in my paternal Acton-Bond family line only added to my appreciation of him. I learnt through him that we can find family with so much recorded factual evidence and accounts of their lives that we can become overwhelmed by information. In fact there is so much information available on the subject of Lord Acton's life and his literary works that it would be amiss for me to attempt to add to what is available for the family researcher. Having said this I am definitely able to assist any close or distant family member, with a researching interest to connect to him and enjoy a new exciting family member in their tree. I can offer individuals who are not actively researching, but still interested in my family discoveries a detailed account of their connection to Lord Acton or any other family ancestor. Sharing with others is paramount to all my family researching, and my most enjoyable reward is their enlightened surprise.   

There would be no exaggeration in me stating that I put Lord Acton up there with Sir Winston Churchill on my level of admiration scale of people (Family) in history. Maybe because I connected with a statement he wrote in a letter to an Anglican Bishop of the Catholic Church "Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely". I feel I understand him and feel close to his way of thinking, that I admire him. It is apparent that he left too little completed works, to be placed high; among the great historians. However he earned respect and influenced other's with the works that he published. 

Lord Acton

Acton was an English Roman Catholic an Historian, Member of Parliament for Bridgnorth and Writer, born 10th Jan 1834 in Naples and died 19th Jun 1902 Tegernsee, Germany. The only son of Ferdinand Dalberg-Acton Sir and Marie Louise Pelline Von Dalberg. 

He married Countess Marie Anna Lobomilla Euphrosina von Arco auf Valmy, 1st Aug 1865 and they had six children.

1. Hon. Mary Elizabeth Anne Dalberg-Acton, 1866 - 1951.

2. Hon. Annie Mary Katherine Dalberg-Acton-Acton, 1868 - 1917.

3. Richard Lyon Dalberg-Acton, 2nd Baron Acton, 1870 - 1924.

4. Hon. John Dalberg-Acton, 1872 - 1873.

5. Hon. Elizabeth Mary Dalberg-Acton, 1874 - 1881.

6. Hon. Jeanne Marie Dalberg-Acton, 1876 - 1919.

Sir John Dalberg-Acton Quotations:

Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.

Great men are almost always bad men, even when they exercise influence and not authority.

There is no worse heresy than that the office sanctifies the holder of it.

History is the arbiter of controversy, the monarch of all she surveys.

Universal History is not a burden on the memory but an illumination the soul.

The strong man with the dagger is followed by the weak man with the sponge.

The science of politics is the one science that is deposited by the streams of history, like the grains of gold in the sand of a river; and the knowledge of the past, the record of truths revealed by experience, is eminently practical, as an instrument of action and a power that goes to making the future.

Save for the wild force of Nature, nothing moves in this world that is not Greek in its origin.

Liberty is not the power of doing what we like, but the right of being able to do what we ought.

The wisdom of divine rule appears not in the perfection but in the improvement of the world. 

History is the true demonstration of Religion.

The wisdom of divine rule appears not in the perfection but in the improvement of the world, history is the true demonstration of religion. 

The issue which has swept down the centuries and which will have to be fought sooner or later is the people versus the banks.

Recommended reading:

The History of Freedom, by John Emerich Edward Dalberg-Acton.

Historical Essays and Studies, by John Emerich Edward Dalberg-Acton.

Lectures on Modern History, by John Emerich Edward Dalberg-Acton.

Essays in The Study and Writing of History, by John Emerich Edward Dalberg-Acton.

Copyright © Noel Bond. Researched and written by Noel Bond, No written part of this Blog may be reproduced in any form, by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author.

Dukes De NORMANDY

When we first commence our family history research we usually only focus on our immediate family members as far as we know to be fact. This was definitely my plan of operation for my researching back when I was using a floppy disc and no internet connection. 

I was basically afraid of going too far beyond what I knew of the family in fear of getting it wrong. There was no real thought, by me that I would one day have the ability to research far beyond my understanding of my family history at the time. 

I only had family oral history and the news paper article of my Great Grandfather William Henry Wise to steer me in any meaningful direction, before the hard drive replaced the floppy disc.

Now days we have all manner of researching tools / platforms, at our finger tips on our computers and iPhones. An outstanding factor as to the success we have in unraveling our family's history is our depth of dedication to the task of researching. 

Over the years I have had opportunity's to help other people out with their family researching, set them up on the road ahead to their new discoveries. Very few if any of them have taken their family beyond where I have showed the way too, basically they don't have the time, skill or dedication to the task. 

I have come to the realisation that the majority of us are happy to discover a snippet of family history and going deeper than 3 - 4 generations is not their objective. 

To me ancestry is a culmination of snippets and I have hundreds of new found cousins who have an interest in their portion of family, and their connection to my portion (snippet) of family. 

Given all the tools and ancestral platforms available today we can find our way back deeper into our ancestry than ever before. Having said, it is still imperative that we follow the paper or digital record trail that we all have access to through our modern devices.

On the subject of researching Rollo and or the Dukes De Normandy, there are many means towards an end on line, Web sites, Blog pages and Book sale sites. I'v used all in my journey's of discovery over the years for most all of my ancestors, if your thinking purchasing a book or two would be a great way to go; you would be correct.

Keep in mind that most on line book sale sites may not actually have the books we are purchasing in stock, and waiting times can spill into many months. I recommend saving book titles to your Kindle when possible, saving you long delivery delays and extra postage costs (Dukes of Normandy from the time Rollo to the Expulsion of King John, by Philip Augustus of Franc 1839 ).

My first introduction to the Dukes De Normandy was through Rollo 1st Duke De Normandy, a Viking warrior who had succoured a permanent foot hold on Frankish soil in the valley of the lower Seine river. He was granted lands by King Charles III of West Francia in the year 911 after the Siege of Charters.

The alliance between Rollo and the King saw the region that Rollo occupied given over to him in return for peace and his defending the Seine Estuary against further Viking raiders. This is the time of the birth of the place we know now as Normandy. 

De Normandy Line:

1. Ivar Earl of Uplands, 770 -, 34th Great grandfather. Father of  Eyestein "the Noisy".

2. Eyestein "the Noisy", Jarl of Uplands, 788 - 830, 33rd Great grandfather. father of Ragnvald I "the Wise".

3. Ragnvald I "the Wise" Eyesteinsson, 830 - 890, 32nd Great grandfather. Father of  Rollo.

4. Rollo Ragnvaldsson 1st Duke De Normandy, 860 - 931, 31st Great grandfather. Father of William I "Longsword".

5. William I "Longsword" 2nd Duke De Normandy, 893 - 942, 30th Great grandfather. Father of  Richard I "the Fearless".

6. Richard I "the Fearless" 3rd Duke De Normandy, 933 - 20th Nov 996, 29th Great grandfather. Father of Richard II "the Good".

7. Richard II "the Good" 4th Duke De Normandy, 978 - 23rd Aug 1026, 28th Great grandfather. Father of "Robert II  "the Devil" "the Magnificent".

8. Robert II "the Devil" "the Magnificent" Duke De Normandy, 22nd Jun 1000, 28th Great grandfather. Father of Adleliza De Normandy, Father of Willian I "the Conqueror".

9. Adleliza De Normandy, 1030 - 1090, 27th Great grandaunt.

Rollo

Recommended reading:

History of the Dukes of Normandy and the Kings of England, by Paul Webster and Janet Shirley.

Dukes of Normandy from the Time of Rollo to the Explosion of King John, by Philip Augustus of France 1839.

The Story of William I, by Eva Tappan.
William the Conqueror, by David Bates.

Copyright © Noel Bond. Researched and written by Noel Bond, No written part of this Blog may be reproduced in any form, by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author.