I26787: WILLIAM III de BEAUCHAMP 5th Baron of Elmley (ABT 1215

Notes

says born abt 1215.

"There is no doubt that the Beauchamp family would have continued to be only of regional historical importance were it not for the marriage between William Beauchamp of Elmley and Isabel Mauduit. The Mauduits were a ‘respectable official family’ in the same mould as the Beauchamps. One of Isabel's ancestors had been chamberlain of the exchequer under Henry I, and the Mauduits inherited that hereditary office from him. What made Isabel such a prized catch, however, was that her brother, William Mauduit, earl of Warwick, lacked legitimate issue, making Isabel his heiress. Mauduit had inherited the title from his mother, a member of the twelfth-century Beaumont earls of Warwick. The inheritance of the earldom can perhaps be viewed as more of a fortuitous accident than a planned marriage; Earl William was said to be between the ages of 26 and 30 in 1268, placing the marriage of William and Isabel in the late 1230s or early 1240s. At this time, the chances of the earldom passing to Isabel must have seemed remote at best: Thomas Beaumont was married to Ela, countess of Salisbury (who nearly lived on until the very end of the thirteenth century), and if their union failed to produce any issue, then it was likely that the marriage of his sister Margery to John de Plessis probably would. It was only on Margery's death in 1253 that it was clear the earldom was going to descend to the Mauduits, and even then any issue from the marriage of William Mauduit and Alice de Segrave would have prevented the earldom coming into William of Elmley's hands. In effect the earldom descended by chance and by default, for it was the failure of both the Beaumont and Mauduit lines to produce male heirs that allowed the earldom to pass into the hands of the Beauchamps in 1268, and not the result of a cunning marriage policy on the part of William of Elmley.

"Sir William, the first earl of Warwick from the Beauchamp family, formally did homage for his lands on 9 February 1268. From the outset, this was unusual; whereas most sons only received their inheritance on the death of their father, it is evident that Earl William's father, William Beauchamp of Elmley, was still alive at the time when his son acceded to the earldom; the will of the elder William clearly refers to his son as the ‘earl of Warwick’, and we also have an undated charter in which the elder William Beauchamp concedes 20 librates of land to his son, ‘William, earl of Warwick’. William Beauchamp of Elmley had the right to assume the title of earl himself, as had happened in similar circumstances a generation earlier, but chose to give the title to his eldest son. Earl William had inherited his title from his uncle, William Mauduit, whose sister Isabel had married William Beauchamp of Elmley, Earl William's father. It was the union between William and Isabel which proved to be the making of the Beauchamp fortunes, changing them from a strong family of regional significance into one of the greatest English families of the later middle ages.

The Beauchamps, up to this time, were essentially a great Worcestershire family."

Citations: 1. [S6] G.E. Cokayne; with Vicary Gibbs, H.A. Doubleday, Geoffrey H. White, Duncan Warrand and Lord Howard de Walden, editors, The Complete Peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain and the United Kingdom, Extant, Extinct or Dormant, new ed., 13 volumes in 14 (1910-1959; reprint in 6 volumes, Gloucester, U.K.: Alan Sutton Publishing, 2000), volume II, page 44. Hereinafter cited as The Complete Peerage.

^[S2182] ^[S3761] ^[S3761]

Notes

Children:
2 Bridget CLEMMONS b: Abt. 1741 d: Aft. 1788
2 Stephen CLEMMONS b: Abt. 1742 d: Aft. 1798
2 Mary CLEMMONS b: Abt. 1743 d: Aft. 1782
2 Nanny CLEMMONS b: Abt. 1745 d: Aft. 1782
2 Susannah CLEMMONS b: Abt. 1747 + Meshack MEARS
2 Peter CLEMMONS b: 12 Mar 1748/49 d: 17 Nov 1815 + Comfort COSTEN b: 12 Mar 1753 d: 3 Aug 1828
2 Siner CLEMMONS b: Abt. 1768 d: Aft. 1785 + Exekiel COSTEN b: Abt. 1765

Notes

Margaret Morgan b: November 29, 1798 in KY d: February 01, 1864 in McDonough Co., IL + James McCaffree

Notes

Tilden MORGAN b. 1876

My Southern Family

WILLIAM III de BEAUCHAMP 5th Baron of Elmley

ABT 1215 - AFT 7 Jan 1268

ID Number: I26787

Notes

Sources

Stephen CLEMMONS

12 Sep 1721 - 1786

ID Number: I49562

Notes

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Richard GREGORY

1795 - ____

ID Number: I78087

Sources

Martin HARDIN

ABT 1716 - 1780

ID Number: I74766

Sources

Margaret MORGAN

29 Nov 1798 - 1 Feb 1864

ID Number: I101273

Notes

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Tilden MORGAN

1876 - ____

ID Number: I97541

Notes

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John WATKINS

ABT 1780 - ____

ID Number: I24417

Sources