Magna Carta

About the Magna Carta

The Magna Carta was the first document forced onto a King of England by a group of his subjects, the feudal barons, in an attempt to limit his powers by law and protect their rights. The 1215 charter required King John of England to proclaim certain liberties and accept that his will was not arbitrary. It became an important symbol for those who wished to show that the king was bound by the law. For more information on the Magna Carta, click here for a detailed Wikipedia article.

About the Signers (Sureties) of the Magna Carta

There were 25 signers of the Magna Carta. These were people of nobility and included Barons, Bishops and Abbots.
The purpose of this page is to note the descendants of 15 of these signers connecting them to my "gateway" ancestor Robert Abell (1589-1663). Robert's ancestry is traced to Charlemagne through British nobility. Also note that of the 25 signers, only 17 of them have identified descendants with the others either having no issue or their lines have died out in the 3rd or 4th generations.

The 15 Signers of the Magna Carta which are known to be direct ancestors of Robert Abell
#	Name	Title	Birth/Death	Notes
01.	William d'Aubigny	Lord of Belvoir Castle	- 1236	Click here for descent
02.	Roger Bigod	Earl of Norfolk and Suffolk	c1144 - 1221	Click here for descent
03.	Hugh Bigod	Heir to the Earldoms of Norfolk and Suffolk	c1182 - 1225	Click here for descent
04.	Henry de Bohun	Earl of Hereford	1176 - 1220	Click here for descent
05.	Richard de Clare	Earl of Hertford	c1153 - 1217	Click here for descent
06.	Gilbert de Clare	Heir to the earldom of Hertford	1180 - 1230	Click here for descent
07.	John de Lacy	Pontefract Castle	c1192 - 1240	Click here for descent
08.	William Malet	Sheriff of Somerset and Dorset	1175 - 1215	Click here for descent
09.	William de Mowbray	Lord of Axholme Castle	c1173 - 1222	Click here for descent
10.	Saire/Saher de Quincy	Earl of Winchester	c1170 - 1219	Click here for descent
11.	Robert de Roos	Lord of Hamlake Castle	c1170 - 1227	Click here for descent
12.	Robert de Vere	Heir to the earldom of Oxford	c1164 - 1221	Click here for descent
13.	Geoffrey de Say	Baron	1155 - 1230	Click here for descent
14.	John FitzRobert Clavering	Lord of Warkworth Castle	1190 - 1240	Click here for descent
15.	Robert FitzWalter	Lord of Dunmow Castle	- 1235	Click here for descent

These 2 Signers of the Magna Carta have living descendants but do not have a known connection to my line at this time
#	Name	Title	Birth/Death	Notes
01.	William de Huntingfield	Sheriff of Norfolk and Suffolk
02.	William de Lanvallei	Lord of Walkern and Standway Castle	- 1217

These 8 signers of the Magna Carta do not have any living descendants
#	Name	Title	Birth/Death	Notes
01.	William de Fortibus	Earl of Albemarle	- 1242	no children after 3rd generation
02.	William Hardel	Mayor of the City of London	- c1219	nothing known of family
03.	Geoffrey de Mandeville	Earl of Essex and Gloucester	c1191 - 1216	no known surviving children
04.	William Marshall Jr,	Heir to the Earldom of Pembroke	1190 - 1231	no known surviving children
05.	Roger de Montbegon	Lord of Hornby Castle, Lancashire	- 1226	no known surviving children
06.	Richard de Montfichet	Baron	- 1267	no known surviving children
07.	Richard de Percy	Baron	c1170 - 1244	no legitimate issue
08.	Eustace de Vesci	Lord of Alnwick Castle	1169 - 1216	no children after 4th generation

Societies and Publications

National Society - Magna Charta Dames and Barons

This society has a webpage for those interested in their organization. Through an association with Brookfield Publishing Company, they show many immigrant connections to the signers including a number for Robert Abell. They also have detailed biographies for each signer.

"The Magna Charta Sureties, 1215" - 5th edition (Weis)

Lists ancestry of a number of colonists to the signers. While my gateway ancestors are not listed, a number of the lines connect to their families making it a useful resource.