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Warham St Leger (abt. 1526 - abt. 1597)

Sir Warham St Leger
Born about in Ulcombe, Kent, Englandmap [uncertain]
Ancestors ancestors
Son of and
Brother of and
Husband of — married 1549 in St Martin Ludgate, London, Englandmap
Husband of — married about 1577 in Englandmap
Descendants descendants
Father of , and
Died about at about age 71 in County Cork, Irelandmap [uncertain]
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Profile last modified | Created 12 Jul 2010
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Not to be confused with his nephew Warham St. Leger (ca.1555-1600), who also died in County Cork.

Contents

Biography

Warham St Leger, second son of Anthony St. Leger, K.G., and his wife Agnes Warham, daughter and heiress of Hugh Warham, Esq., was born about 1526 (this is an estimate based on the fact that his parents were thought to have been married before 1525) at Ulcombe, Kent, England.[1][2] He married (first) Ursula Neville, daughter of Sir George Neville, Lord Abergavenny, Constable of Dover Castle, Warden of the Cinque Ports, and Mary Stafford, during 1549 in St Martin's Church, Ludgate, London.[1][3] Warham married (second) Emmeline Goldwell.[1][2]

Early Career

Warham St Leger appears to have followed in the military/political footsteps of his father. The earliest mention of his military service was of his participation in Somerset's invasion of Scotland in 1547, during the final years of the war with Scotland referred to as the Rough Wooing.[1][4] He was taken prisoner by the Scottish during that conflict and eventually was ransomed by the English government for £100. Permission to pay his ransom was granted by the Privy Council, which issued a "warrant to Willam Dix and Gregory Richardson, auditours, to allow to John Uvedall, late treasurer in the North, [cash] pay[ed] by the same Uvedall uppon therle of Wiltshir's letters for the raunsom of Warham St Leger, prisoner in Scotland, as money due to Sir Anthony his father for service in Ireland, wherof a warrant being made before was lost."[5]

He was also actively involved, in 1553/4, in countering Wyatt's Rebellion.[4] This was a protest primarily against Queen Mary's decision to wed Philip of Spain, but also reflected a deeper unease about the possibility of Catholicism being restored as England's state religion.[6] The four primary leaders of the rebellion were all Protestants, and each was responsible for organizing an army in a different region of the country. Sir Thomas Wyatt's army was gathered in Kent. Opposing Wyatt on the Queen's behalf were Lord Abergavenny; Sir Robert Southwell, sheriff and privy councillor; John Twyne, mayor of Canterbury; Christopher Roper; John Tucke; George Darell; George Clarke, gent.; Sir T. Cheney, lord warden; Warham St Leger; Sir John Fogge; the Bishop of Rochester; Sir T. Moyle; and Sir T. Finch.[7] The rebellion did not succeed, and Thomas Wyatt (along with many of his allies) was executed.

In 1560 Warham St Leger was appointed sheriff of Kent, a position which he held for one year.[8]

Knighthood and Further Service in Ireland

In 1565, Sir Warham St Leger was knighted in Ireland by the lord deputy.[9][10][11] His father (Sir Anthony) had died six years previously, but from 1540 until 1556, discounting several brief intervals when he was recalled to London, Sir Anthony was himself the lord deputy of Ireland[1][12] and it is thought that Warham frequently had served in Ireland under his father's direction.[4] Sir Warham was well respected there, and in 1566 he was appointed Chief Governor of Munster.[13] In a letter dated 17 April 1566 , Lord Deputy Sidney wrote to Secretary Cecil that "if ever there be faulte founde for partiality in Sir Warhame Sent Leger, let it be my faulte as well as his; he hath already done good fervice to the gret quiet of the countye of Waterforde and doubtless he is an honest and efficient man."[13]

His career suffered a temporary set-back when he somehow became involved in the bitter blood feud between Gerald Fitzgerald, 14th earl of Desmond, and James Butler, 9th earl of Ormonde. Sir Warham was a friend of Desmond and the queen greatly favored Ormonde.[4] Warham was recalled to London several times to defend what was perceived as leniency toward Desmond, and when Desmond and his brother were temporarily imprisoned in the Tower of London Sir Warham was able to eventually get them both released into his own custody.[4] Desmond, his brother, and other members of his family (sometimes as many as two dozen of them) lived in Sir Warham's homes and at his expense for two years (1570-1572) and this put a great strain on their relationship. Sir Warham eventually petitioned to have them either taken into someone else's custody or returned to the Tower as the expense of feeding all the Desmonds was so great, and as it was impossible to stop Desmond himself from violating his confinement and going freely about the town.[14] In August, 1572 Sir Warham refused to renew the [bail] bond he had taken out for the Desmonds, but rather than being returned to the Tower (where the queen would have been forced to bear the cost of their maintenance) they were returned to Ireland. The earl of Desmond was killed in 1583 and, because he had been proclaimed a traitor, all his estates were forfeited. Over 6,000 acres of these lands were granted to Sir Warham St Leger.[14]

When Sir Warham returned from England to Ireland, he spent a great deal of his time in the northern part of that country fighting rebels. His wife remained at their estate at Carrigaline, near Cork, and at one point during her husband's absence became "greatly distressed by the Munster Irish, and obliged to shut herself up in the CIty of Cork, there being daily menaced with death."[15] The Lord Deputy Sydney was obliged to march to Cork to relieve her, meeting up with 400 recruits from England and finally dispersing the rebels.[15] This incident illustrated the growing bitterness and divisiveness that existed between the English and the Irish, and the extent to which Sir Warham's credibility with the Irish had fallen.

On 11 October 1579 by warrant under the privy seal Sir Warham was nominated Provost Marshall of Munster, and his appointment was confirmed 11 February 1580.[16] Shortly after this a commission of martial law was sent to him from England and in July, 1580 he had a rebel prisoner named James Desmond hanged at Cork.[16] In August 1584 he became the governor of the Queen's County (now known as Laois, in the province of Leinster), and on 26 April 1585 he represented that county in parliament.[16]

Whether years of fighting against the rebel Irish had made him bitter or, as some historians have suggested,[17] it was greatly to his benefit to have wealthy Irish landowners declared traitors in order to confiscate their estates (which were then given to Sir Warham and other supporters of the queen) it is impossible to say. His animosity is evident, however, in many of the letters he sent to London during this period. In a letter to the queen dated 10 January 1589 he tried to persuade her to order the execution of several Irish nobles. "The government of this your Province being laid on me....I hold it my parte and dutie to advise your Majestie.....how a greate parte of daunger may be prevented. To cut off the hopes of foraine invaiders, is to foresee that such as be wicket members in this province be apprehended and made suer, and those that be now captives in your castell at Doblyn also be safely kept, and chieflie the seneschall of Immokyllie, Patrick Fitzmaurice, and Patrick Condone, who be the very wickede men, such as will never be good except they were to be made anew. And therefore yf they may be brought within compasse of law it were a good sacryfice to God, and a benefyte to this realm, yf they were cutt shorte by their heads..."[18] The queen, however, was not moved by these entreaties and the prisoners were eventually pardoned.

Sir Warham was succeeded as Provost Marshall by George Thornton later in 1589, but spent the remaining years of his life holding various offices in Ireland. In 1590 he governed Munster in the absence of its vice president,[4] and as late as August, 1597 he served as the constable of the Castle of Castlemagne in Kerry.[19]

Marriages and Family

Warham St Leger married (first) Ursula Neville during 1549, in St Martin's Church at Ludgate, London.[3] She was the daughter of George Neville, Lord Bergavenny, and Mary Stafford.[1] According to Richardson, they had five sons and four daughters, although only the names of one son and one daughter have been adequately proven.[1][2] They are:

  1. Anthony St Leger[1], b. 1551; m. Mary Scott[20]; d. 1602[21]
  2. Anne St Leger[1], b. 1555; m (1) Thomas Digges[22]; m(2) Thomas Russell; d. 1637

Sir Warham married (second) Emmeline Goldwell, although the date of this marriage is not known it is thought to have been about 1577.[1][2][23] A transcript of his will gives her name as Emblin.[24] There was one son from this marriage: Walter St Leger.[1][2]

Death and Will

Sir Warham St Leger died in Cork, Ireland in 1597.[23][24] He left a will dated 20 July 1593 and proven 28 January 1598.[24] He left to his widow, Emmeline, the sum of 1,000 marks which was due to him from his son Anthony and made her the sole executrix of that specific part of his estate.

Research Notes

Conflation with Nephew

There has been an extraordinary amount of confusion caused by the fact that Sir Warham St Leger, the subject of this profile, had a nephew (the son of his elder brother William who had married Isabel Keys) who was also named Warham, was also knighted, was also heavily involved in military and political events in Ireland and was slain not far from Cork only two years after his uncle Warham had died in Cork. Even reputable secondary sources confuse the two: Richard Bagwell, in Ireland Under the Tudors, gives an accurate account of Warham's career but then completely confuses his death with the death of his nephew;[25] Thomas Stafford in Pacata Hibernia, similarly interchanges incidents in the lives of Sir Warham and his nephew Sir Warham.[26] C.M. Tennison, in an otherwise excellent article on Cork M.P.s from 1558-1800 written for the Journal of Cork Historical and Archeological Society profiles correctly the briliant political career of Sir William St Leger, son of the (nephew) Sir Warham St Leger but incorrectly lists him as the son of the Warham St Leger of this profile.[27]

Disputed Daughter

It should also be noted that Richardson suggests that an (unknown) daughter of Warham and Ursula was married to William Kingsmill.[1] Walford Selby convincingly refutes this possibility in an article written for The Genealogist in 1896.[28] He also includes a pedigree found in the Office of Arms in Dublin which dates from the seventeenth century and which is remarkably similar to the pedigree provided by Richard Stone in an article on the St Legers which appeared in the Archaeologia Cantiana in 1975.[29]

Descendants

Descendants of Warham and Ursula include several of the First Families of Virginia who controlled the ruling Council of Virginia from the mid 1600s until the American Revolution. See D.H. Fischer, Albion's Seed (Oxford, 1989), p 216-225 (note: the accuracy of this source is questionable):[30]

Of 152 Virginians who held top offices in the late seventeenth and early eighteenth century, the sixteen families with aristocratic connections included Aston, Berkeley, Booth, Culpeper, Digges [see Dudley Digges], Fairfax, Gage, Mason, Mathews, Pawlett, Percy, Spencer, Spotswood, Throckmorton/Throgmorton, West, and Zouch.[30]

Sources

  1. ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 Richardson, Douglas. Royal Ancestry: A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families, 5 vols., ed. Kimball G. veringham (Salt Lake City, Utah: the author, 2013), Vol IV, p. 537, SAINT LEGER 19. Warham Saint Leger.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Richardson, Douglas, Magna Carta Ancestry: A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families, Royal Ancestry series, 2nd edition, 4 vols., ed. Kimball G. Everingham (Salt Lake City, Utah: the author, 2011), Vol III, p. 482, SAINT LEGER 14. Warham Saint Leger.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 England, Boyd's Marriage Indexes 1538-1850. Warren Sentleger. Marriage year: 1549; Spouse: Ursula Nevyll; Marriage place: St Martin, Ludgate; County: London; Country: England; Source: England, Boyd's Marriage Indexes 1538-1850; Record set: Boyd's; Category: Birth, Marriage, Death and Parish records; Subcategory: Parish marriages https://www.findmypast.co.uk/transcript?id=GBPRS%2FM%2F754611690%2F1
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 Dictionary of National Biography Online. Entry for St. Leger, Warham (1525-1597) available here.
  5. ↑ Acts of the Privy Council 1547-1550. Vol. 2, p. 373 available online.
  6. ↑ Proctor, John. The Battle of Hartley 1554. Kent: publ. onine by Hartley-Kent.org.uk available here.
  7. ↑ Robertson, William Archibald Scott. Coulyng Castle. Archaeologia Cantiana, Vol. 11 (1877), p. 143 available online.
  8. ↑ Lists of Sheriffs for England and Wales, Compiled from Documents in the Public Record Office. New York: Kraus Reprint Corp, 1963, p. 69 available online.
  9. ↑ Kinney, Arthur F. Titled Elizabethans: A Directory of Elizabethan Court, State, and Church Officers 1558-1603. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 3rd ed. (2014), p.193-194.
  10. ↑ Shaw, William Arthur. The Knights of England. London: Sherratt and Hughes, 1906, p. 71 available online.
  11. ↑ Britain, Knights of the Realm and Commonwealth Index. Warham St Leger. Biography: President of Munster 1566; Birth year: 1525; Death year: 1597; Award: Kt Bach; Award date: Jul 1565; Remarks: DNB; Country: Great Britain; Record set: Britain, Knights of the Realm and Commonwealth Index; Category: Directories and social history; Subcategory: Medal rolls and honours. https://www.findmypast.co.uk/transcript?id=GBOR%2FKNIGHTS%2FREALM%2F031603
  12. ↑ Smith, Charles.The Ancient and Present State of the County and CIty of Cork. Cork: J. Connor, 1815, pp. 330-331 available online.
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 Lodge, John. The Peerage of Ireland. J. Moore, pub., 1789, Vol. 6, p. 108 available online.
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 Wykeham-Martin, Charles. The History and Description of Leeds Castle. Westminster: Nicholas and Sons, 1869 , pp. 152-153 available online.
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 Lodge, John. The Peerage of Ireland. J. Moore, pub., 1789, Vol. 6, p. 109 available online.
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 16.2 Lodge, John. The Peerage of Ireland. J. Moore, pub., 1789, Vol. 6, pp. 108-111 available online.
  17. ↑ Raymond, P. The Condons of Cloghleigh, Barony of Condons and Clongibbons. Journal of the Cork Historical and Archaeological Society, 1892, pp. 480-482 available online.
  18. ↑ Raymond, P. The Condons of Cloghleigh, Barony of Condons and Clongibbons. Journal of the Cork Historical and Archaeological Society, 1892, p. 482 available online.
  19. ↑ Lodge, John. The Peerage of Ireland. Vol. III, William Johnston, 1754, p. 184 available online
  20. ↑ Kent Marriages and Banns. Anth St.Leger; Residence: Smeeth; Marriage date: 13 May 1578; Marriage place: Smeeth, St Mary; Spouse: Mary Scott; Spouse's residence: Smeeth; Notes: Esq. d. of Sir Thomas; County, Kent; Country: England; Archive: Canterbury Cathedral Archives; Record set: Kent Marriages and Banns; Category: Birth, Marriage, Death and Parish records; Subcategory: Parish marriages. https://www.findmypast.co.uk/transcript?id=GBPRS%2FEASTKENT%2FMAR%2F059232%2F1
  21. ↑ Kent Burials. Anthonius Sentleger. Burial date: 17 Jun 1602; Burial place: Ulcombe, All Saints; Country: England; Archive: Kent History and Library Centre; Archive reference: P376/1/A/1; Register type: Baptisms, Marriages and Burials; Year range: 1560-1643; Page: 25; Record set: Kent burials; Category: Birth, Marriage, Death and Parish records; Subcategory: Parish burials. https://www.findmypast.co.uk/transcript?id=PRS%2FKENT%2FBUR%2F0590164
  22. ↑ Kent Marriages and Banns. Anna St Leger. Residence: Ulcombe; Marriage date: 24 May 1577; Marriage place: Ulcombe, All Saints; Spouse: Thomas Digges; Spouse's residence: Ulcombe; Notes: both gent. marr. at Leeds Castle; County: Kent; Country: England; Archive: Canterbury Cathedral Archives; Record set: Kent Marriages and Banns; Category: BIrth, Marriage, Death and Parish records; Subcategory: Parish marriages. https://www.findmypast.co.uk/transcript?id=GBPRS%2FEASTKENT%2FMAR%2F055713%2F2
  23. ↑ 23.0 23.1 Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, entry for 'St Leger, Sir Warham (1525?–1597)', print and online 2094, revised online 2008, available online via some libraries
  24. ↑ 24.0 24.1 24.2 Last Will and Testament of Sir Warham St Leger, whose daughter Ann St Leger married Thomas Russell, the overseer of the will of William Shakespeare. The Oxford Authorship Site, citing National Archives TNA Prob #11/91/61 available online.
  25. ↑ Bagwell, Richard. Ireland Under the Tudors. London: Longmans, Green, 1885, p. 354 available online
  26. ↑ Stafford, Thomas. Pacata Hibernia: or, A History of the Wars in Ireland. London: Downey, 1896, Vol. 1, p. 14 available online.
  27. ↑ Tenison, C.M. Cork M.P.'s 1559-1800. Journal of Cork Historical and Archeological Society. Cork: The Society, 1892, p.275 available online.
  28. ↑ Selby, Walford Dakin. The Genealogist. London: George Bell and Sons, 1896, p. 76 available online.
  29. ↑ Stone, Richard.Ulcombe, Ireland, and the St Legers. Archaeologia Cantiana, Vol. 91 (1975), pp. 111-117. available online.
  30. ↑ 30.0 30.1 Albion's Seed, note 8, p 82
See also:
  • British History online: Ulcombe
  • Browning, Charles H. Americans of Royal Descent. Philadelphia, PA: Porter & Coates,1891, p. 668.
  • Wikipedia: Warham St Leger
  • Stemmata de Leodegaria - Pedigree of the St. Leger family compiled by Rev. Edward St. Leger, of Kirton-in-Lindsay, 1867 which is held at the British Library, London Ref: 14000 r 23 16 8674728.
  • The National Archives. Discovery. IPM of Warham St Leger, C 142/248/40

Acknowledgments

Magna Carta Project

Warham St Leger is a descendant of Magna Carta Surety Barons Robert de Vere, Saher de Quincy, Hugh le Bigod and Roger le Bigod in trails badged by the Magna Carta Project to the following Gateway Ancestors:
See Base Camp for more information about identified Magna Carta trails and their status. See the project's glossary for project-specific terms, such as a "badged trail".




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Comments: 10

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Lee-5956 Robin Lee
St Leger-276 and St Leger-9 appear to represent the same person because: intended to be the same person, but the second wife on St Leger-276 needs validation
posted by Robin Lee
Thiessen-117 Traci Thiessen
St Leger-285 and St Leger-9 appear to represent the same person because: clear dup
posted by Traci Thiessen
Stevens-17832 Jen (Stevens) Hutton
I am going to be updating the source list for this profile and possibly expanding the biography to incorporate additional sources on behalf of the Magna Carta Project. If anyone knows of material that should be included please contact me directly or leave a message here. Every suggestion will be appreciated! Thanks, Jen
posted by Jen (Stevens) Hutton
Cayley-55 Michael Cayley
Thank you, Jen, for your work on this profile
posted by Michael Cayley
Noland-165 Liz (Noland) Shifflett
changed status of 753 to be false error.

EuroAristo says titles go in "Other Nicknames", and "Sheriff of Kent" is a title appropriate for that field (see Help:Name Fields for European Aristocrats)

WikiTree Guidelines say:

This field could also be called Other First Names, Also Known As or Aliases.

This can be used for almost anything. It's appropriate to put any first name here that doesn't fit neatly into the Proper First Name or Preferred First Name.

This and the Other Last Names field are the only one that can include multiple names. Separate these with commas (e.g. Frank, Frank the Tank).

Do not include quotation marks.

posted by Liz (Noland) Shifflett
Stevens-17832 Jen (Stevens) Hutton
Liz, as part of updating this profile I am wondering if there would be any objection to just deleting the "Sheriff of Kent" title from the "other nicknames" field. My reasoning is this: sheriff of kent is not the only office he held, in fact it could be argued that it is the least important position that he held (fairly early in his career). Also, it does nothing to distinguish him from other members of his family, as his father also held the position of sheriff of kent (although many years earlier). To be clear....this is not a big issue with me and I'm happy to either leave it as is or delete it, whichever is your preference. Thanks, Jen
posted by Jen (Stevens) Hutton
Noland-165 Liz (Noland) Shifflett
Thanks Jen! My comment was addressing the database error (it wasn't an error). What you say makes good sense. Thanks for sharing & please do make the change.

Cheers, Liz

posted by Liz (Noland) Shifflett
McCallum-662 Stephen Norman Craig McCallum
753 Prefix in Nicknames
posted by Stephen Norman Craig McCallum
Noland-165 Liz (Noland) Shifflett
in response to the 2017 comment (the Warham m Ursula died 1642):

Richardson's Royal Ancestry shows him (husband of Ursula) as leaving a will proved 28 January 1598.

An estimate for his birth in this profile is 1525. Ursula's father died 1535, so she was born before then (and after her parents' 1519 marriage). While women commonly married men much older in this era, the reverse was not true (so the "circa 1525" is likely to be fairly accurate, making his death in 1642 at age 117 impossible for the era & highly improbable even today).

posted by Liz (Noland) Shifflett
Gilbert-5441 Chris Gilbert
Is there a mix up of St Legers here? I think Sir Warham who maried Ursualla Neville died in Jul 1642 in Cork
posted by Chris Gilbert

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