Robert de Holland, 1st Baron Holand

Robert de Holland, 1st Baron Holand (c. 1283 - 1328) was an English nobleman, born in Lancashire. He was a son of Sir Robert de Holland and Elizabeth de Samlesbury.

He was a favorite of Thomas Plantagenet, 2nd Earl of Lancaster and had been knighted by 1305. He served him by suppressing the 1315 rising of Adam Banastre, Henry de Lea, and William de Bradshagh (Bradshaw) who banded together and launched an attack on the Liverpool Castle. From 1314 to 1321 he was called to Parliament. After that his part in the Battle of Boroughbridge was deemed cowardly and led to his disfavor. Although King Edward III of England would later pardon him, the partisans of the Earl of Lancaster considered him a traitor and had him executed. [http://sagemckenzie.com/ancestors/PS01_341.HTM] [http://www.wiganarchsoc.co.uk/content/News_Letters/news3.htm] His execution occurred in 1328 by beheading in Essex, his body was sent to Lancashire to be buried.

He is also noted in genealogy sites for being the earliest notable ancestor of several disparate world leaders. He is reportedly ancestral to George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, the Harrison family, Louis XVI, Winston Churchill, and others. He also has connections to the royal line of Medieval Scotland.

Marriage and issue

About 1308 he married Maude la Zouche, daughter of Lord Alan la Zouche, 1st Baron la Zouche of Ashby and Eleanor de Segrave.

Robert and Maude had thirteen children:

* Joane Holland (c. 1305 - 1340). Married John Radcliffe.
* Margery Holland (born c. 1308).
* Robert Holland (c. 1312 - 16 March, 1372/1373).
* Thomas Holland, 1st Earl of Kent (c. 1314 - 26 December, 1360).
* Otho Holland (c. 1316 - 3 September, 1359).
* John Holland (born c. 1318).
* Maud Holland (born c. 1319). Married Thomas Swinnerton.
* Alan Holland (c. 1320 - 1339).
* Elizabeth Holland (born c. 1320).
* Margaret Holland (c. 1322 - 1349).
* Jane Holland (born c. 1326).
* Eleanor Holland (c. 1327 - 1341).
* Elizabeth Holland (born c. 1328).

Further References

The family line of Robert de Holland can be traced through the Washington lineage right up to today, where several generation of Hollands live in the village of Washington, Tyne & Wear. One notable member being Robert George Holland the emenent Astronomer and former Countdown contestant. Who after graduating from Trinity college Dublin lived and worked in Hawaii and Peru before returning to Washington and founding the Golden Pig (referring to the Peruvian legend) award for young astronomers.

References

* "The Royal Ancestry Bible Royal Ancestors of 300 Colonial American Families" by Michel L. Call (chart 27) ISBN 1-933194-22-

External links

* [http://users.legacyfamilytree.com/USPresidents/4959.htm Legacy site]
* [http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~jamesdow/s040/f093891.htm Free pages site]
* [http://worldroots.com/brigitte/famous/j/james2scotsancestors.htm World Roots]
* [http://worldconnect.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=ralphroberts&id=I045726 A geneaological profile of his wife]