| Dailey Family |
| Richard EDWARDES 1 2 3 4 5 |
The Edwards' of Northampton came from Wales. Their ancestral home, called "Edwards Hall" was in Glen Morganshire near Cardiff. It was built some time around 1050-1100 in the time of William the Conqueror and came into the Edwards family later by marriage into the family of Queen Elizabeth. They occupied it for generations and it was finally abandoned in the early 1700s. Nothing but a pile of rubble now remains to mark its location in this rough, hilly, rocky land. There is no doubt that members of this Welsh family came to America in different generations, at different times. It would be impossible to trace them successfully as some came directly, some came through England, some possibly through Scotland. There is a marked similarity of names in the Edwards families who came to Virginia in the 1600s and 1700s, settling in the Isle of Wight, Surry, and Albemarle and those coming later to Northampton. We will not try to verify the relationship between them. Many historians have traced these families. Several have used as their earliest ancestor the very same Richard Edwardes who appears in our family papers as the head of our family. Where our records originated I do not know. Those used in this book are from our family's files which we have accepted for just what they are - unverified family records - but which they believed to be true and handed down for generations. Richard Edwardes was a cultured, apparently wealthy man. Born in Somersetshire in 1523, he received his higher education at Oxford, in Cartus Christi College. He was both a musician and composer. No traces of his compositions are known and we can only guess their quality by the fact that history records their existence. He died in 1567, not an old man by any means, at Edwards Hall near Cardiff. From The Edwards Family of Northampton by Bruce Montgomery Edwards Richard5, Sr Edwardes was born March [[1523]]1525 in North Pertherton, Somersetshire, England. Richard went to Oxford University (May 11, 1540, at the age of 15 and 2 months) and became a great poet, playwright and composer and Master the parish of North Petherton, Somerset, England. Richard's record at Oxford-He studied music with George Etheridge, one of England's most distinguished musicians. (National Dictionary of Biography, page 125). He was admitted as a Fellow on August 11, 1544. He received his BA degree on November 1, 1544 and his MA degree and was ordained on February 3, 1546. He was ordained in the Anglican Faith and not as a Roman Catholic. Richard was elected Theologian at Christ Church College on April 12, 1550. That was Richard's last official record at Oxford by 1551. There are many circumstances in Richard's life and the events there of that suggest that, he was the natural son of Henry VIII. The real truth may never be known, but many circumstance surrounding Richard and his life would certainly support such a conclusion. Agnes was not around the Court like the other two mistresses. She stayed at his hunting lodge. I quote: "It is indeed correct that Richard Edwardes was Henry's "natural son', his relationship to the King was a well guarded secret and was probably the result of the lady in question having resided near the royal hunting lodge of Huntworth in Somersetshire away from the observance of those at court. From the information that is available the lady's first name was Agnes and it is quite probable that she was a member of a family of high and and long standing. No one will know jist why the secret of his birth was kept only to the Tudors and the family Richard was born into, but it may well have been out of respect for Richard Edwardes' mother and her family." Since the book was written, her last name was found. Agnes and her family were given land in Scotland and that was where Richard was raised as a young lad. Henry paid for Richard's education at Oxford. Richard was the author of the popular courtly drama about ideal friendship, Damon and Pithias [[Pythias]] [[1561]], is his only extant play. DAMON AND PHINTIAS (often incorrectly Pythias) (4th cent. BCE), philosophers of the Pythagorean school noted for their faithful friendship to each other. They lived in Syracuse, in Sicily, a city then under the rule of Dionysius the Younger. Dionysius condemned Phintias to death for plotting against his rule. Phintias requested permission to go home to arrange his private affairs, and Dionysius consented when Damon offered to remain as a hostage. Phintias was delayed and returned just as Damon was about to die in his place. Dionysius was so impressed by this example of fidelity that he pardoned Phintias and asked to share their friendship. The story has been retold in several literary works, notably in a ballad by the German poet Friedrich von Schiller and in a drama by the English playwright Richard Edwards (1523?- 66). He had a high reputation for his comedies and interludes. His Palamon and Arcite, written about the same time as William Shakespear's plays, was acted before Elizabeth at Oxford in 1566, when the stage fell and three persons were killed and five hurt, the play nevertheless proceeding. Richard is quoted in John Bartlett's Familiar Quotations, 9th Edition 1901. "The fallyng out of faithful friends is the renuyng of loue. The Paradise of Dainty Devices.", Paradyse of Dainty Devises, The A collection of works by minor poets of the 1560s and 70s: they include Lord Vaux, the earl of Oxford, Churchyard, and William Hunnis. The volume was compiled by R. Edwards, published after his death, and frequently reprinted. It was edited by H. E. Rollins (1927).
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
http://www.gencircles.com/users/daileyjb/1/data/14323
