NESTA OF WALES

Princess Nesta was a very remarkable woman. She is sometimes referred to as the "mother of the Irish invasion" since her sons, by various fathers, and her grandsons were the leaders of the invasion. She had, in the course of her eventful life, two lovers, two husbands, and many sons and daughters. Her father is quoted as saying that she had 10 children as a result of her matrimonial escapades, eight sons and two daughters, among them William fitzGerald de Windsor. One of her lovers was King Henry I of England. Some years before she married Gerald, her father, the fierce old Prince of South Wales, was fighting the
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English under Henry, (then the Prince and later King). Henry succeeded in taking the lovely Nesta as hostage. By this royal lover, she had two sons; Meyler fitzHenry and the celebrated Robert of Gloucester. It would seem that Gerald, busily engaged in military business, could have had no peace about his wife, since she was clever as well as beautiful, and every warrior seems to have fallen in love with her. In 1095, Gerald led an expedition against the Welsh on the borders of what is now Pembrokeshire. In 1100, he went to Ireland to secure for his lord, Arnulf Montgomery, the hand of the daughter of King Murrough in

marriage. He was the first of the Geraldines to set foot in Ireland, where they were later to rule like kings. Later, Arnulf joined in a rebellion against the King, was deprived of his estates and exiled in 1102. Then the King granted custody of Pembroke Castle to Gerald. Later, he was appointed president of the County of Pembrokeshire. But it was Nesta that occupied the center of their stage during their marriage. Her beauty continued to excite wonder and desire throughout Wales. At Christmas in 1108, Cadwgan, Prince of Cardigan, invited the native chieftains to a feast at Dyvet (St. David's). Nesta's beauty was a subject

of conversation. She excited the curiosity of Owen, the son of Prince Cadwgan, who resolved to see her. She was his cousin, so that the pretense of a friendly visit was easy. He successfully obtained admission with his attendants into Pembroke Castle. Her beauty -- it was even greater than he expected -- excited his lust. He determined to carry her off! In the middle of the night, he set fire to the castle, and his followers surrounded the room where Gerald and Nesta were sleeping. Gerald was awakened by the noise and about to discover the cause, but Nesta, suspecting some /treason, persuaded him to make his escape.

She pulled up a board and let her husband escape down a drain by a rope. Then Owen broke open the door, seized Nesta and two of her sons, and carried them off to Powys, leaving the castle in flames. Owen had his way with Nesta, (historians say that one of her ten children was his), though whether she yielded from desire or force was uncertain. But at her request, Owen hastened to send back the two sons to Gerald. When King Henry heard of Nesta's abduction, he was furious. He regarded it as an injury almost personal, since Gerald was not only his steward, but his particular friend. The abduction of Nesta led to a war,

which resulted in her return to her husband, and Owen fled to Ireland. Gerald took a conspicuous role in the fighting. In 1116, Henry ordered Owen, who had returned to Wales, to apprehend Gruffuyd, son of Rhys ap Tewdyr. As he passed through a wood on his march to join up with the royal forces, Owen seized some cattle. The owners of the cattle, as they fled, met Gerald, Constable of Pembroke. Gerald was also on his way to join the royal forces. When the cattle owners requested his assistance, he was only too delighted to have the opportunity for revenge for the insult to his honor done by Owen's abduction of Nesta.

He lost no time in pursuing Owen, found him, and a skirmish followed. Owen was slain, an arrow piercing his heart, and Gerald's honor was avenged. Gerald died about 1135, leaving three sons and a daughter by Nesta. They were: Maurice, one of the principal leaders of the Irish invasion in 1169; William, ancestor of the families of Carew, Grace, Fitzmaurice, Gerald, and the Keatings of Ireland; David, who became bishop of St. David's; and Angareth, wife of William de Bari, and mother of the historian, Gerald Cambrensis. Nesta married again. Her second husband was Stephen, Constable of Cardigan, by whom she had one

son, Robert fitzStephen. Nesta's children and their descendants constituted a menace to the English rule of Wales. Royal Welsh blood mingled with the blood of the nobles of Normandy in all the half-brothers, sons of Gerald of Windsor and Stephen of Cardigan. Bastard or legitimate, they were turbulent princes in a /troubled land. Now fighting the Welsh natives, now allying themselves with their cousin, Nesta's brother Gruffuyd, the unconquered Prince of Wales, on whose head Henry had set "a mountain of gold", they remained a constant source of /trouble to the King, an ever-present threat to his security. And so they

fought, these Norman barons, and they went on fighting. It was the able and ambitious Henry II, one of England's really great kings, (the Henry of "Becket" and "Lion in Winter"), the father of Richard the Lionhearted and John of the Magna Carta, who was to find a solution. He was to give these Norman adventurers a free hand in Ireland. It was thus that the Norman invasion of Ireland came about, and the Geraldines arrived in 1169.

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Mark White B: 7 Aug 1873 Maravia, Cayuga, Ny D: 5 Feb 1959 Glenns Ferry, Elmore, Id M: 4 Sep 1901

Nancy Ruth MC MULLEN
B: 28 Jun 1878 Little River Twp., Reno, Ks D: 13 Oct 1964 Mountain Home, Elmore, Id

Levi White B: 8 Nov 1838 Moravia, Cayuga, Ny D: 27 Feb 1927 Roseberg, Douglas, Or M: 17 Sep 1860 , Cayuaga, New York

Lucy Ann Atalanta REED B: 6 Jun 1839 Auburn, Cayuga, Ny D: 23 Jun 1892 Sego, Reno, Ks

James White B: 3 Sep 1812 Locke, Cayuaga, New York D: 30 May 1892 Moravia, Cayuaga, New York M: 6 Oct 1831

Abigail LICK B: 4 Feb 1810 Summer Hill, Cayuaga, New York D: 13 Feb 1891 Moravia, Cayuga, Ny

John White B: 20 Aug 1785 Peru, Berkshire, Massachusetts D: 7 Mar 1854 Moravia, Cayuaga, New York M: 10 Oct 1863

Barbary GREENFIELD B: 6 Apr 1785 , Herkimer, Ny D: 7 Mar 1853

Nathaniel Jr. WHITE B: 9 Aug 1752 Lancaster, Worcestershire, Massachusetts M: 12 Oct 1774 Woburn, Middlesex, Massachusetts

Esther BROOKS B: 14 Oct 1756 Woburn, Middlesex, Massachusetts D: 1842

Nathaniel WHITE B: 1725 Lancaster, Worcester, Massachusetts D: 21 Mar 1813 Buckland M: 25 Nov 1749 Buckland, Massachusetts

Lydia PHELPS B: 18 Feb 1727 Lancaster, Worcester, Massachusetts D: 2 Feb 1802

John (Sr.) WHITE B: 24 Sep 1684 Lancaster, Worcester, Ma, Mass D: 12 Sep 1725 Lancaster, Worcester, Massachusetts M: 1710 Of Lancaster, Worcester, Massachusetts

Eunice WILDER B: 1690 Lancaster, Worcester, Massachusetts D: 15 May 1778 Lancaster, Worcester, Massachusetts

Josiah WHITE B: 4 Jun 1643 Wenham, Essex, Massachusettsss D: 11 Nov 1714 Salem, Essex, Massachusetts M: 28 Nov 1678 Marlboro, Middlesex, Ma

Mary RICE B: 4 Sep 1656 Sudbury, Middlesex, Mass D: 22 Aug 1733 Lancaster, Worcester, Massachusetts

John WHITE B: 7 Mar 1602 South Petherton, Somerset, England D: 28 May 1673 Lancaster, Worcester, Massachusetts M: 28 May 1627 Burton, Drayton, Somerset, England

Joane WEST B: 16 Apr 1606 Of Drayton, Somerset, England D: 18 May 1654 Lancaster, Worcester, Massachusetts

Robert WHITE B: 6 Jan 1573 Petham Lyminge, County Kent, England D: 8 Mar 1642 Waltham, Co. Kent, England M: Abt 1597 So. Petherton, Somerset, England

Joan WEST B: 13 Apr 1577 Of South Petherton, Somerset, England D: 13 Sep 1631 So. Petherton, Somerset, , England

Richard WHITE B: 1542 South Petherton, Somersetshire, England D: 7 Sep 1600 Of South Petherton, Somersetshire, England

Richard WHITE B: 1519 Of, Merriott, Somerset, England D: 6 May 1578 Hill Farence, Somerset, Eng, (wp) M: Abt 1590 S. Featherton, Eng

Helen KIRTON B: Abt 1535 Of, Hill Farence, Somersetshire, England

Thomas WHITE B: 1490 Of Marriot, Somersetshire, England D: Bef 1549 Martock, Somersetshire, England M: Marriot, Somerset, England

Agnes (Alice) ALLER B: 1495 Of, Aller, Somersetshire, England D: 1549 Hill Farence, Somersetshire, England

Robert WHITE B: Abt 1474 Swanborne, Hampshire, England M: 1489 Marriot, Somerset, , Eng

Elizabeth INGLEFIELD B: Abt 1472 Of, Southambornow, Hampshire, England

Robert WHITE B: Abt 1456 Of, Swanborne, Hampshire, England M: 1467 Swanborne, Hmpshr, , Eng

Margaret GAYNSFORD B: 1440 Swanborne, Hmpshr, , Eng

John WHITE B: 1422 Swanborne, Hampshire, England D: 1462/1470 , , , England M: , Swanborne, Hampshire, England

Alice (Eleanor)alice_ HUNGERFORD B: 1426 Of, Swanborne, Hampshire, England

Robert WHITE B: 1370 Yatley, England D: 18 May 1464 Farnham, Surrey, England M: 1421 Swanborne, Hmpshr, Eng

Alice Alecia B: Abt 1373 Of Swanborne, Hampshire, England

(Johannes WHITE) John WHITE B: 1368 Yatley, , , Eng M: 1389 Yatley, , , Eng

Mrs. John WHITE B: Abt 1350 Yatley, , , Eng

Johannes WHITE (Jr.)

Johannes WHITE

Adam WHITE b. living 1365

Wilelmus WHITE

Robertus WHITE

Thomas DE_WHITE

Walter WHITE (The first person to be named White

Maurice (FITZ_GERALD) Lord of Lanstephen, Wales (1100-1177) Steward of St. Davids. b. ABT 1100 r. Windsor d. 1 Sep 1177, Wexford, Ireland bur. Friary of the Grey Friars, Wexford, Ireland b. ABT 1100, of Windsor

Married Alice de MONTGOMERY (1105-)

Gerald (FITZ_WALTER)(Gerald (Gerard) DE WINDSOR)Aka Fitz Walter. Granted Mulsford, Berks. by Hen I; constable of Pembroke Castle, 1108.)

Nesta
Married Nest of_Wales (1073-)
_Rhys AB_TUDOR(.... - 1093)-Cadell of_Dynever __

Walter FitzOther (-1100) d. AFT 1100 (liv: 1066-87) Castellan of Windsor, 1078; warden of Forests in Berks ca. 1066-87.

(Married Beatrice) Gladys D.Of Hevallon AP CYNFYN (b.dau Rhiwallen, Ap Cynfyn )

Otho Geraldino Baron of Windsor (Baron of Eng, ca., 1057)

Otterus (Othoer) Baron of Gherardini, Lord in Tuscany. Otterus was "an Italian Baron of the Gherardini of Florence, Lord in Tuscany, went from Florence into Normandy and then to England and Wales about 1000

Mathias

Cosmus, the great Duke of Florence of the Gherardini family.

Mona Lisa Gherardini

The Gherardini were one of the seigniorial families that fell when the Republic of Florence was founded. The first date we have in the family history is 910 A.D. when one Raniero (Rainier?) was living.Family legend states that Anaes, a survivor of the siege of /troy, wandered for seven years after it�s overthrow, until he came to what was then called Latium, (now Italy). He brought with him his father and small son Ascanius, for whom the province of Tuscany is named. Anaes married the daughter of King Turnus of Latium, who was killed in battle. Anaes succeeded him as king of Latium and divided his lands among his descendants. To Gherardo, he gave the land of He/truria, where Florence now stands.

Rhys AB_TUDOR (Prince) 1093 TITLE: Prince

Cadell of_Dynever BIRTH: of So. Wales

Roderick Mawr the_Great (Rhodri Mawr) slain in 877

Eisylht WALES (Queen of WALES)

Conan Dyndocthwy

Roderick Moelwynoe (Rodri Molwnog), d. in 755

Idwallo

CADWALADER the_Great

CADWALADER