FANTELINA
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~ Fantalena, Fantalina, Fantelena, Fantelina, Fantalenah ~ FANTELINA (nee JOY?) of Charles County, Maryland Place of birth and parents not known. She married . . . . |
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[Joy?] |
Gilbert Clarke Circumstantial: |
Philip Jenkins ============ |
William Penn, |
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~ The only descendant surnames listed above are those appearing in the below "citings." |
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There is no evidence supporting one family tradition that Fantelina was the daughter of King Philip V of Spain, and/or that she married Scroggin, Davidson, Lewis and/or an Irishman. |
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Fantelina appears several times in the official documents of Charles County, Maryland, beginning in 1691. However, as discussed below, this was not known until 1972, when Neil D. Thompson published his article Fantelina Joy And Her Husbands. (1) The below compilation of Fantelina "citings" is presented in chronological order for your information and entertainment.
The first known written report of the princess legend appeared in 1898 in a tiny book, privately published in Iowa, by R. G. English:
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"Joseph Scroggin Jr. was the son of Joseph Scroggin Sr. who being a native of England was called Joseph the Briton, whose wife, the mother of Joseph Jr. was a Spanish princess, Fantalina by name, and the daughter of Phillip the Fifth of Spain. Phillip the Fifth was the recognized grand son of Louis the Fourteenth of France. Thus we find Sally [Sarah Wharton], wife of Elisha English was the great grand daughter of Fantalina the Spanish princess." The Early History Of A Noted Family(2) |
It is likely the name Fantalina was part of the author's family tradition. But did he embellish the tradition by inventing the princess legend? Did he invent Joseph the Briton? Joseph Scrogin (Fantelina's son-in-law, not her husband) was the son of John and grandson of George Scrogin, the earliest known Scrogin/Scroggins in America. It is likely George had ancestors in England and Scotland; however, there is no evidence of his place of birth.(3) It also appears R. G. English bestowed knighthood on some of his English family ancestors. He mentions Sir Thomas English and his wife Lady Kitura, Sir John O'Loch and Lady Honora, and Sir Cotman Wallar. There is evidence an English ancestor married a Wallar/Waller but there is no known evidence of any of the other names (and no evidence of knighthood). If R. G. English did not invent these tales, what is their origin? Was he, or some other member of the English family, the dupe of an unethical and/or unqualified genealogist? If he inherited the princess story from the Clarke-Scroggins-Wharton-English family tradition, why is it that the story was not passed on by descendants of Fantalena's other children?
By 1900, several descendants of Elisha and Sarah "Sally" Wharton English had joined the National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution (NSDAR). The qualifying ancestor was Sarah's father, Revel Wharton whose wife Mary Scrogins was a descendant of Fantelina. At least one Kentucky application, dated 1899, cites the R. G. English book as a source of ancestry.(4) Thus, within a year of publication, R. G. 's book had made its way from Iowa to Kentucky (and probably beyond) and the mass perpetuation of the legend was well underway.
In 1912, Fanta Lena appears as a "lady of rank" in COLONIAL FAMILIES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA (CFUSA). The wealthy family of a Wharton-English descendant in Indiana is believed to have commissioned research leading to information appearing in CFUSA for the English family and other lines associated with their other branches.
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"FANTA LENA of Spain; a lady of rank, imprisoned by her father in a tower near the water, escaped by a rope ladder to her lover and sailed with him in his vessel anchored nearby to Maryland, where her husband d.; she is said to have m. a second husband, a widower with children, named _________ DAVIDSON, and to have become estranged from her own child, who m. in opposition to her wishes; her gd.son Joseph SCROGIN, settled near Snow Hill, Maryland, where he m. Sarah CALDWELL, dau. of John CALDWELL, who d. in 1747, in Somerset County, Maryland." Colonial Families Of The United States Of America (5) |
Although demoted from princess in the CFUSA material, in that same year, Princess Fantalena appeared in Polk Family and Kinsmen.(6) William G. Scroggins, author of The Scroggins Papers, says " . . . the Princess Fantalena legend was foisted upon us [by Polk] which I recall arose with the English family. . . . As far as I know, Polk's legend was pretty much accepted by many of our families.(7) The Polk version apparently contained additional embellishments (summarized below under Scroggins' material).
A few years later, by 1920, Fantelina acquired a middle name (or surname?) and yet another (undocumented) husband in The Walling-English Family compiled by Rosalind English Walling, a descendant of the Indiana line:
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"FANTALINA THEODORA, a Spanish lady of rank, whose father, probably living 1605 to 1665, imprisoned her in a tower by the sea, whence she escaped at night, by a window, to her lover, Captain Lewis, with a waiting boat, and sailed with him and his brother, another Captain Lewis, to Maryland. Her daughter married Scrogin, and had son, John." The Walling-English Family (8) |
In the early 1960's, descendant Jean Spaulding Maire attempted to find Fantelina's alleged Spanish connection. She worked with Edith Carter Bauman (Marie considered her "an authority on our Scroggins line") who "truly believed the Princess Fantalina story." Maire wrote to Spain and France and says she was told there was a child of Philip who eloped with a sailor but the King had all references to her were removed from the records - but one entry for the enfanta survived.(9) During this period Maire corresponded with a Scroggins family historian. According to William G. Scroggins, "Arthur E. Scroggins of Dodge City, KS, compiled his records in a privately published soft cover book titled Scrogin Scroggin Scroggins in 1964 with a subsequent supplement. Arthur also included correspondence between Jean Maire and Spanish authorities who denied that Fantalena was a daughter of Philip V." (7)
In 1972, Neil D. Thompson published his article Fantelina Joy And Her Husbands in THE AMERICAN GENEALOGIST.(1) Thompson reports the subject appears in the official documents of Charles County, Maryland, as:
Fantelina Joy beginning 1691/2, " for having borne a bastard child . . ."
Fantelina/Parthenia/Fantolany Clarke by 1698
Fantelina Jenkins (widow) by 1714
Fantelina Penn by 1720
Thompson states she had a son named Joseph Joy and may have had one or more illegitimate children before marrying Clarke. She had at least one legitimate child by Clarke and at least four by Jenkins. There is no mention of the princess legend in the article. The name Scroggin is mentioned once but not as a family member. (William G. Scroggins included Thompson's complete article in his Clarke family material and granted permission to include it here; see Gilbert Clarke).
Thompson, a Jenkins descendant, had no inkling of the legend or the Scroggins connection until he was contacted by William G. Scroggins, who says, "As far as I know, I was the first Scroggins to contact Neil Thompson, after his article appeared, to develop a connection between our Jane [Clarke?] Scrogin and his Fantalena Joy."(7) Scroggins material on the Clarke family includes these remarks: "In due course, the [Thompson] article came to the attention of this compiler, who submitted data about the Scrogin family to [Thompson], from which [Thompson] concluded that Jane Scrogin must have been the illegitimate child of Fantalena Joy by Gilbert Clarke, who was born about 1691."
By 1977, William G. Scroggins, had included remarks about Fantelina under various entries in The Scroggins Papers:
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"Joseph Scrogin (C1) was incorrectly identified as the son of Captain Joseph Scrogin, an Irish naval officer in the service of King Philip V of Spain who fell in love with Philip's daughter Princess Fantalena. He rescued her from a tower, where she was imprisoned by her father to prevent the romance, and they eloped to England, where they were married. In 1714 they emigrated to Maryland, bringing land grants, diamonds, gold snuff boxes and other jewels. They settled at Snow Hill in Worcester County where Captain Joseph Scrogin, Sr. died. At some time, during an argument, the tempestuous Fantelena threw some valuable land grants or deeds into a fire, thereby reducing the affluence of the family. Their only son Joseph Scrogin, Jr. was born in 1715 and married Sarah Ann Caldwell in 1740. Reflecting the high temper and passion of his combined Irish and Spanish blood, Joseph Scrogin, Jr. was described as being a self-willed and uncontrollable youth who fell out with his mother and left home, refusing to speak with her further or to submit to her control. It was said that even the taming yoke of matrimony could not cool his fiery nature. This family tradition, perpetuated by its publication, may be based on some facts, but it is fundamentally false. Philip V did not have a daughter named Fantalena, which is not a name found in the Castillian language. King Philip V had three daughters who married European royalty. Joseph Scrogin (C1) of Somerset County, Maryland, is proven absolutely, by Maryland court records, to be the son of John Scrogin (B2), who was a son of George Scrogin (A1) of Charles County, Maryland. A death date of 31 December 1770 is given for Princess Fantelena Scrogin, but it is likely that date applies to Sarah Ann [Caldwell]." ~ ~ ~ "The tradition of Princess Fantalena has its source in the person of the grandmother of Joseph Scrogin (C1). Circumstantial evidence indicates that his mother Jane, the wife of John Scrogin (B2), was the illegitimate child of Fantalena Joy by George Clarke. The origins of Fantalena Joy have not been determined. Although she was not a recognized daughter of King Philip V of Spain, Fantelena Joy may have a royal or noble background and perhaps she was first married to an Irish sea captain, but she was never known to have been married to a Scrogin." ~ ~ ~ "Gilbert Clarke was the first husband of Fantalena Joy by whom he had at least one bastard child who appears to have been Jane, the wife of John Scrogin (B2). Fantalena married (2) Philip Jenkins (Jenkinson) and (3) William Penn of Charles County, Maryland. When Philip Jenkins died his estate inventory, dated 05 June 1716, was signed by Frances Jenkins Loften and William Jenkins (Jenkinson) as next of kin. [Thompson article cited.]" The Scroggins Papers - offsite link below(10) |
William G. Scroggins material on the Clarke family also includes these remarks:
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Fantalena Joy obviously is the source for the legend of Princess Fantalena Scrogin, a romantic story common to many branches of the family descending from Joseph Scrogin of Somerset County, on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. Perpetuated largely, no doubt, by its publication, (*) the tradition begins with the War of the Spanish Succession, when Princess Fantalena, a daughter of King Philip V of Spain, fell in love with Captain Joseph Scrogin, an Irish sea captain in the English Navy. Disapproving of the romance, the king locked Fantalena in a castle tower near the sea, from which Captain Joseph rescued her. They eloped to England and then migrated to America, where they settled at Snow Hill, Maryland, in 1718 to start the family line. Being a hot-tempered Spanish woman, Fantalena threw the deeds to large land holdings into a fire, in a fit of pique, considerably reducing the financial position of the family. Official Spanish historical records refute the legend. Philip V had three daughters, all of whom married European royalty. (*) Furthermore, Joseph Scrogin of the Eastern Shore of Maryland, who married Sarah Ann Caldwell, daughter of John Caldwell, Jr., a successful businessman of Salisbury in Somerset County, lived near that town and is not known to have had property near Snow Hill, which is in the part of Somerset county that became Worcester County in 1742. Documentary evidence proves that Joseph Scrogin of Somerset County was the eldest son of John and Jane Scrogin of Charles County, Maryland. (*) John Scrogin of Charles County was born there and not known to have been in the English Navy, but his marriage to a daughter of Fantalena Joy provides a basis in fact for the romantic tradition of a Princess Fantalena. William G. Scroggins |
About 1997, Barbara F. Bonham, a Jenkins descendant, submitted Joy of Charles County, Maryland to the USGenWeb Archives (also duplicated on her website), stating it "a compilation of data received from Bill Scroggin, Neil D. Thompson and hours of research by film and books." Except for introductory and concluding remarks, the bulk of the article consists of two paragraphs of Scroggins' material and ten paragraphs of Thompson's material. In both cases this material is presented verbatim but without quotation marks and/or indentation.
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There is no known evidence Fantelina was a Spanish Princess or that she had a mother somehow associated with the Spanish court (mistress? lady in waiting?). On the other hand, there is no known evidence Fantelina was not a daughter of royalty. Until evidence is found of Fantelina's parents, romantics will continue to believe the legend . . . .
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NOTES
(1) Neil D. Thompson. Fantelina Joy And Her Husbands, THE AMERICAN GENEALOGIST, Volume 48, Number 2, April 1972, quarterly, Des Moines, IA.
(2) English, R. G., [Robert George]. THE EARLY HISTORY OF A NOTED FAMILY, privately published in 1898 in Valley Junction, Iowa (14 pages); page 8. (Plans for future website items include a scan of the book).
(3) See THE SCROGGINS PAPERS - details and link are below in note 10.
(4) The 1899 NSDAR application of Betty Holeman Williams [National Number 27591] includes material from the R. G. English book including mention of Princess Fantalina although the Fantalina connection was not relevant to qualification. By now it should come as no surprise to learn that R. G.'s book contains a colorful description of the heroic death of "Capt Revil Wharton," the revolutionary war ancestor. (Revel Wharton does appear on "A List of Bounties paid by Ship Defence to August 15th 1777 - Maryland Navy's armed ship DEFENCE. There is also mention of a "Capt. Wharton, in a Rebel Schooner" in 1777 in the New York Gazette And The Weekly Mercury but it is not known if he is identical to Revel. Plans for future website items include: Revel Wharton - Fact & Fiction.)
(5) COLONIAL FAMILIES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA In which is Given the History, Genealogy and Armorial Bearings of Colonial Families Who Settled in the American Colonies From the Time of the Settlement of Jamestown, 13th May, 1607, to the Battle of Lexington, 19th April, 1775. Edited by George Norbury Mackenzie (Volume IV). Edited by Nelson Osgood Rhoades (Volume VII). Originally published: Baltimore, 1912; reprinted by Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., Baltimore, 1966, 1995. Vol. VII, page 477.
(6) Polk, William Harrison. Polk Family and Kinsmen. Louisville, KY, 1912. Two daughters of Joseph and Jane (Clarke?) Scrogins married into the Polk family. Presumably the author descends from one of them; however, there may be other Polk connections in the family. (Polk's book is listed in the Family History Library Catalog [LDS] at familysearch.org and is available on film.)
(7) Quotes from correspondence with William G. Scroggins, 2002-2003. Note: Before his death, Arthur E. Scroggins sent his files to William G. Scroggins requesting he continue the work. There are many source citations in The Scroggins Papers (see note 10 below) crediting Arthur E. Scroggins.
(8) Walling, Rosalind English. THE WALLING-ENGLISH FAMILY, ca. 1920, page 40. Mrs. Walling's grandson Cheves Walling describes this as "a handsomely bound 91 page typescript . . . put together by my Grandmother Rosalind English Walling in the 1920's for her children. I only know of two copies extant, although there may be more in the English Walling family." In 1992 Mr. Walling sent G. K. Bopp copies of the "pages dealing with Elisha English, Sarah Wharton, and their antecedents who are your direct ancestors." Four of the twenty pages he sent dealt with ENGLISH, the other pages with ancestry of Waller (Elisha's mother) and Wharton (Elisha's wife).
(9) Telephone conversation and/or correspondence between Jean Spaulding Maire and G. K. Bopp in the early 1990's. Maire said she turned over all her papers to the genealogical society in Jackson, IL. The Bauman connection: according to William G. Scroggins, Sallie Jane Scrogin (G9) 1845-1928 married James William Clark. Their daughter Maude Rebecca Clark (H118) and husband Thomas Hough Carter were the parents of Edith Marie Carter (J90) born 1897. She married William Harry Bauman and had children Roberta Jane, William Frederick, Wendall Carter, and William Harry (K 78, 79. 80). His source: Family records of Edith Carter Bauman (J90), Davenport, IA, 1980, undated charts from Patricia Donahue O’Boyle (L62).
(10) Scroggins, William G. A Genealogical History of The Scroggins and Allied Families. Mr. Scroggins granted permission to include the information quoted above. The Polk book(6) is the source of the colorful details; other citations include Arthur E. Scroggins and Neil D. Thompson. See THE SCROGGINS PAPERS, Compiled and Written By William G. Scroggins at http://users.erols.com/scroggjm/scrogginsdata/wgs/index.htm (offsite) Using this link, find your way to (E8) Wharton, Sarah Wharton (1767MD-1849IL), Scroggins08, {RN:3530}. As of June 2002, the author's codes and/or file names associated with the Scrogins/Wharton/English line: (A1) George - Scroggins 10.pdf; (B2) John - Scroggins 09.pdf; (C1) Joseph, (D3) Mary - Scroggins 08.pdf (the pdf files are large: 372, 55, 331 pages).
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For a few additional remarks about CFUSA, English, Walling, and Maire see SOURCES OF PATERNAL ANCESTRY OF ELISHA ENGLISH 1768-1857
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GKBopp 27 March 2003
Descendant of Dr. John B. English,
12th child of Elisha & Sarah Wharton English