Join us in the Magna Carta Project. Badged and Affiliate memberships now available. [closed]

+18 votes
1.4k views

This G2G thread is closed. As of 1 January 2020, the current "Join post" is [here]. Hope to see your answer there :D

Does your family tree have a proven or as yet unproven connection to a Magna Carta Surety Baron?  Perhaps you have a Magna Carta Project Gateway Ancestor (as found in Douglas Richardson’s Magna Carta Ancestry) in your family tree?  Perhaps the WikiTree Relationship Finder has indicated that you are a potential descendant of a Magna Carta Baron? Or maybe you are just curious about the Magna Carta project or have an interest in Pre-1700 or earlier research ? If so, membership in the Magna Carta Project may be for you.

What's required to join? Joining is easy. The main requirements for "badged" membership are to be a member of WikiTree at least 3 months, have a Pre-1700 Badge, and select a Gateway Ancestor (see the table [here]) to be Guardian of. Project members help develop, source and improve the profiles of project-approved family trails from a Gateway Ancestor to a Surety Baron. Although it is helpful if you have some experience working with pre-1700 profiles it is not required. It is a skill that you can learn and improve upon as you work with the project. Nor do you have to be Pre-1500 Certified, but it will be of benefit if you are. Membership in this project will also give Non Pre-1500 members the opportunity to sharpen their research skills and begin to gain the experience needed to meet the requirements for Pre-1500 certification and badging.

Being a Member of the Magna Carta Project

See this page for membership requirements. 

The Magna Carta Project is not for the faint of heart, but it offers a unique opportunity to collaborate and learn. Magna Carta trails will take you from British colonial immigrants in the New World (New EnglandEarly Pennsylvania Settlers,  all the way back to nobles in the British Isles from the Renaissance and Reformation  to the High Middle Ages. The research skills needed in each area and era are quite different and can present both a research challenge and growth opportunity.

Trails from Gateway Ancestors to the seventeen surety barons from whom they descended average fifteen to twenty generations deep. This means we have several thousand profiles needing our attention—not to mention their immediate families (parents, spouses/partners, and children)—everything from basic date and parentage validation and sourcing, to more elaborate dispute resolution and fact checking biographies! Fortunately, the trails overlap as we work back into history, so we can work together on those shared ancestors. No matter what your experience level is today, you'll be amazed at how much you can learn about genealogy working on this project!

Besides Magna Carta Project membership we also have Magna Carta Affiliate Memberships available for those who prefer to work at their own pace or who are not ready to take on the responsibilities of Project Membership and who may want to have the opportunity to develop stronger research skills.   

If this sounds like something you would want to be a part of, let us know by replying to this G2G topic.

closed with the note: the Magna Carta Project has a new "join post" - https://www.wikitree.com/g2g/947461/want-help-magna-carta-project-achieve-main-goal-post-answer
in Requests for Project Volunteers by David Douglass G2G6 Pilot (126k points)
closed by Liz Shifflett
Welcome Dean... Same as what I posted for Laura. Add {{Member|Magna Carta Affiliate}} and you're an Affiliate member :D

Cheers, Liz
According to WikiTree Quick Find I am descended from all of the currently listed MagnaCarta signers. All are listed as 23-25th grandfather of mine. Only one was listed as uncertain. I’m looking forward to finding out where their descendent lists merge to all lead to me.
I should add, I’d like to become a member at the gateway level, if appropriate.  Sue

Hello Susan,

Thank you for your interest in joining the Magna Carta project as a badged member.  There are several activities that  members are asked to participate in at the badged membership level.  The first of these is to participate as a "Gateway Guardian".  A Gateway Guardian helps to protect and improve the profile of a Gateway Ancestor.  Magna Carta Gateway Ancestors are colonial immigrants whose ancestral lineage extends to one or more of the Magna Carta surety barons.  There are about 240 known Magna Carta Gateway Ancestors that are documented in "Magna Carta Ancestry", by Douglas Richardson.  Prior to being badged as a project member you will need to select a Gateway Ancestor that does not have a Gateway Guardian currently assigned.  You can select from the list here.  You will want to pick one that does not have a "g" noted.  You can also check the Trail Tracks page for a list of Gateway Ancestors that already have Guardians.

Once you have selected a Gateway Ancestor (preferably one whose Magna Carta trail needs to be developed), let me know and I will add the membership badge to your profile.  Don't worry if this all sounds a bit confusing at the moment, we will help get you started.  We have a mentor/training coordinator that is available to help you.

Thanks and welcome to the project.

David Douglass

Hi This profile has Magna Carta Lines in bio if this can be verified. I like to join this project.

https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Dudley-19

Billie

Hello Billie

I responded on your WikiTree profile.

Regards, David Douglass
Is Lady Godiva connected to any of the Magna Carta Sureties?
if you know her WikiTree ID, you could check using the Relationship Finder - https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Special:Relationship

I use Quincy-226 as a first check, as he seems to have the most connections. Lanvallei-3 has the fewest (if you're related to most surety barons, Lanvallei-3 would probably be one of the ones you weren't descended from).

But Lady Godiva wouldn't be a descendant - she died way before Magna Carta.

The scope of the Magna Carta Project is from Gateway to Surety.

She is the ancestor to at least one of them, (I stopped after I found one.)

———————

Godiva is the 6th great grandmother of Henry 

1. Henry is the son of Humphrey (Bohun) de Bohun (abt.1143-1181) [confident] 
2. Humphrey IV is the son of Margaret (FitzMiles) de Bohun (abt.1125-1187) [unknown confidence] 
3. Margaret is the daughter of Sybil (Neufmarché) of Gloucester (bef.1093-abt.1143) [unknown confidence] 
4. Sibyl is the daughter of Nesta (Osbern) de Neufmarché (bef.1075-1121) [unknown confidence] 
5. Nesta is the daughter of Nest ferch Gruffudd (abt.1056-1153) [unknown confidence] 
6. Nest II is the daughter of Ealdgyth Mercia (abt.1041-aft.1070) [unknown confidence] 
7. Ealdgyth is the daughter of Ælfgar (Mercia) of Mercia (abt.1002-aft.1062) [unknown confidence] 
8. Alfgar is the son of Godgifu (Lincolnshire) of Mercia (abt.0985-aft.1066) [unknown confidence] 
This makes Godiva the sixth great grandmother of Henry.

I wonder if he knew? And, if he did, he was happy about it!

26 Answers

+11 votes

I have shied away from this project for fear that once I got involved it would suck my last few remaining hours.  But after the ancestor's audit, I have begun to work on the 11th generation ancestors while continuing to improve more recent ancestor's profiles.

I do have a clear paper trail to one Cobb ancestor who's other descendants (my cousins) have a positive Y-DNA match to other sons of Ambrose Cobb the immigrant.  Ambrose has a good paper trail back to England and the Faversham Cobb family.  They appear to be lowly Yeomen who married cadet daughters of other families because they had a bit of merchant money.  

And it is through this line that I see that I'm related to all but one of the Barons, mostly as a cousin 25-27 times removed but in three cases, a direct descent:

Robert de Roos shows as 25th GGF

John de Lacy shows as 26th GGF

Saier de Quincy shows as 28th GGF

I am confident that my paper to the Cobb family is good, that the Cobb Y-DNA connects to Ambrose, and that his paper trail goes back a few centuries.  What I have not yet researched - for myself - are the links to the Barons.  I would like to start to nibble at some of these profiles, explore and validate or exclude them.

With all that said, I think an affiliate membership is right up my alley with the goal of picking up a badge at a later time when I've satisfied some of the other WT obligations I've bitten off.

by SJ Baty G2G Astronaut (1.2m points)

SJ I know that you are one very busy WikiTreer and your time is spread thin.  That just goes to show you that talented WikiTreers are in demand in the projects.  I see that you are an active member of your share,  But that is why Affiliate membership can be the perfect choice for busy members.  At the affiliate level a member is free to participate as they have time without meeting the requirements of "Badged" membership.  I think you would make a great Badged member but understand that may not be right for you at this time  We don't want to take you away from all the great things you do around WikiTree.

All you need to do at this point is add the Affiliate sticker to your profile and join our Magna Carta discussion group.  When joining the discussion group be sure to include your email address and WIkiTree ID.

Add a little bit of code to your profile anywhere under the Biography heading and you are set.  Welcome to the Magna Carta Project !

Regards.

David Douglass, Co-Leader

Thanks David,

Sticker and GG done already ;-)

I went up the tree (between the Cobbs and the Barons) and already saw a few orphaned profiles (pre-1500) and snatched them up.  I already see a missing generation in the Sutton house (married to the Ros family).

Oh, I've gone and opened a can of worms now cheeky

It's going to be fun laugh

+11 votes
From what I can see and understand, I am a descendant of all the Barons.

I would like to join the affiliate group as I am 30+ days shy of the membership requirement.
by MaryAnn Thomas G2G6 Mach 2 (29.3k points)
Hi Mary Ann,

Thank you for your interest in joining the Magna Carta Project.  We simply love new members !  I left a post on your WikiTree profile to let you know the next steps to take ...it's easy.

We welcome you and are looking forward to working with you !

David Douglass, Co-Leader
+10 votes
I am interested in the individuals associated with the Magna Carta.  Potentially, I am related to many of them.  I am joining to research those relationships.

Bill
by William Jones G2G1 (1.6k points)
Hello Bill,

I left a post on your profile page in the comments section about Magna Carta membership.  It's easy to join, we just need to know which one of the two levels that you want to join at.

If you have any additional questions feel free to contact me

Regards, David Douglass
+10 votes
Research wise joining you clever people would be like jumping into the 'deep end of the pool' and in the medieval environment I've barely learned to doggy-paddle. But, I try to learn fast and I'm always (not 100%) respectful. My 'activities' to date: Developing early 17th c. family profiles (under the Great Migration PGM arrival criteria) and some of those families include already acknowledged gateway ancestors. That's fortunate because independent of those confirmed family lines I've spent time disproving many family ancestor links to past notables. The existence of these errors I call the familysearch.org and ancestor.com effect: Click on a link you like and it must be true.  It's all rather hypnotic. But, these commercial sites have their uses in. In any regard as a teaching tool I like to 'hover' and read about your challenges.  Another rationale of mine: The early New England scope that I'm working in bumps up against your pre-1500 domain and although I intend to stay on my side of the fence I'd love to be in your magna-carta affiliates list simply because I'm disproving so many 'across-the-pond' links that I feel like an auditor in some respects. A quality control person. Also by way of example, in working early New England arrivals I've done rewarding work tracing into the beginnings of the Quaker movement which made me work backwards into the early Baptist and Antinomium non-conformists movements which pre-date the Quakers but post-date the dissolution. The Puritan squabbles that arose in the Elizabethan period are fascinating in a terribly pedantic sort of way. Overall work scope: Clean up, tighten up, and generally try to improve upon the early New England arrival family groups as they appear. This is what I've been up to and where I'm currently going. If I have questions or need help I am certain any one of you would step-up to answer. I will try to ask intelligent questions and I will continue to learn from mistakes I make. :-)
by Leigh Anne Dear G2G6 Pilot (138k points)
edited by Leigh Anne Dear
Leigh Anne,

Thank you for your comments.  I posted a response to your profile.

Best regards,

David Douglass, Project co-leader
+10 votes
I'm interested in the Magna Carta Project because of my several direct ancestral connections with several of the Sureties.  Of those connections, I include my 23rd great grandfather, William de Mowbray, Baron of Thirsk.

Thank you.

Chuck Real

Omaha NE
by Chuck Real G2G3 (3.4k points)

Hello Chuck,

We appreciate your interest in the Magna Carta Project and would be pleased to have you as a member.  You are currently eligible to join as an "Affiliate" and as a "Badged" member in June.  

Please take a few minutes to review our Membership Requirements.  When you are ready to join, add the code listed in the "Affiliate Membership" section on the above page to your profile.  Then, join us in the Magna Carta discussion group (Google).

If you need help or have additional questions feel free to contact me

Regards.

David Douglass, Project co-leader

+9 votes
Hi, I'd like to be in the  Magna Carta Affiliate Membership, I do have a Magna Carta ancestor, and have two in-laws that also have Magna Carta ancestors.  Right now, I don't have the time to give Magna Carta the attention it would deserve as a badge member, but I could work as an affiliate member on profiles.
by Pam Kreutzer G2G6 Mach 5 (59.5k points)
Hello P Kreutzer,

I posted a response on your WIkiTree profile.  Looking forward to having you join the Magna Carta Project as a member.

If you have any questions please feel free to contact me.

David Douglass
+8 votes
I would like to join the Magna Charter project and assist with research
by Lee Rawlinson G2G3 (3.3k points)

Hello Lee,

I see that Liz has posted some information about joining the project on your profile.  We just need to know which level (there are two) you want to join at.  If you decide to join us at the badged level you will need to indicate which Gateway Ancestor you want to be guardian of prior to badging.  I realize these terms may be new to you so if you have any questions feel free to contact me.

David Douglass, MC Project, co-leader

+11 votes

Hello.  All 17 surety barons currently listed in this project are my grandfathers.

I would like to act as guardian for Calthorpe, [Col.] Christopher.

by Kimberly Cooper G2G3 (3.2k points)
Hi Kimberly

I will have you badged here in a short while.  Col Christopher Calthorpe is available for you as guardian.  He is in a trail posted as ready for review but I need to check on that status.   I will also check on the status of the Need profiles today.  I believe that they are both available to be assigned a Gateway Guardian and trail development.

We are happy to have you join the project and look forward to working with you,
+11 votes
I would like to be the guardian for Mary Need.  She is my direct ancestor.
by Kimberly Cooper G2G3 (3.2k points)
+11 votes
I would like to be guardian of Joseph Need.
by Kimberly Cooper G2G3 (3.2k points)
+10 votes
I have found that 14 of the Magna Carta Sureties are Great Grandfathers to me through WikiTree Relationship Finder.  I would like to join this project.
by David Michaelis G2G3 (3.2k points)

Hello David

Thank you for your interest in joining the Magna Carta Project.  We would be pleased to have you as a member.  You are currently eligible to join as an "Affiliate" and as a "Badged" member in July.  

Please take a few minutes to review our Membership Requirements.  When you are ready to join, add the code listed in the "Affiliate Membership" section on the above page to your profile.  Then, join us in the Magna Carta discussion group (Google).

If you need help or have additional questions feel free to contact me

Regards.

David Douglass, Project co-leader

+10 votes
Thank you for letting me join your group.  I have found that about 14 Magna Carta are my Great great great grandfathers that is so cool.  I am interesting more about them and how they played a role in our country.
by Theresia Kennedy G2G6 Mach 1 (15.5k points)
+10 votes
I seem to be connected through William Randolph. I am interested in joining your project.
by Susan Woodall G2G6 Mach 1 (12.9k points)

Hello Susan

Thanks for your interest in joining the Magna Carta Project.  I would recommend joining the project at the Affiliate level to get your feet wet and become experienced  working with Magna Carta profiles (most are Pre-1700 and Pre-1500).  The Affiliate level does not have the more stringent participation requirements of "Badged" membership which requires a commitment to meet time frames and work on assigned lineages.  It also requires a member to have been a WikiTree member for at least 90 days from the time the Honor Code is "signed".  

Here are links that will give you more information.

Magna Carta Member Portal

Magna Carta Membership Requirements

If you have any questions feel free to contact me

Thank you Affiliate level sounds right for me right now.
+8 votes

Hi Liz, please add me to the project & I would like to be the Guardian for Olive (Welby) Farwell (Welby-8), #95 IV:302. 

See G2G where I did the research & her other trails I proposed which still needs review. I can tender those as well.

Thanks!

by Kirk Hess G2G6 Mach 7 (71.0k points)
Thanks Kirk! I'll get you set up as her guardian and trail tender for the "waiting review" trails this afternoon.

Cheers, Liz
+9 votes

According to relationship finder, I'm descendent from the following barons:

p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 10.0px Helvetica; color: #454545}
  • Sir Saher Quincy "1st Earl of Winchester"
  • Sir Hugh Bigod "5th Earl of Norfolk"
  • Sir William "Baron of Thirsk" Mowbray
  • John Clavering
  • Henry "5th Earl of Hereford" Bohun
  • Robert FitzWalter
  • Sir Robert "3rd Earl of Oxford" de Vere
  • William "Lord of Belvoir" d'Aubigny
  • Sir Richard de Clare "Earl of Clare"
  • Sir Gilbert de Clare "Earl of Gloucester"


My question, however, is about a missing baron.  From what I understand, Sir Robert de Pynkeney (1170 - 1232), 6th Baron of Weedon, would have been part of the meeting at Runnymede in 1215.  How do barons get on the approved list for this project?

Thanks,
Bill

by Bill Catambay G2G6 Mach 2 (24.8k points)

The barons on the project approved list come from the 25 barons chosen as surety, or enforcers so to speak, of the provisions of the Magna Carta.  Of those 25, seventeen had descendants that immigrated to colonial America.  These barons and their descendant lineages are documented by Douglas Richardson in his work. Magna Carta Ancestry which forms the basis for the work done by the WikiTree Magna Carta Project.

Thanks for that clarification.
+9 votes
I just found out that I am a direct descendant of the Magna Carta signers. I think I am in shock. lol Five of them have an  uncertain on them, So if it were proven certain. Then all are between 22 to 26th great grandfathers to me. If that makes any sense what so ever.
by Linda Richter G2G6 Mach 1 (11.9k points)
edited by Linda Richter

Hi Linda! The trails returned by WikiTree's Relationship Finder (RF) are only as good as the profiles in the trail. The main goal of the Magna Carta Project is to review/approve a trail in WikiTree to a surety baron from each Richardson-documented Gateway Ancestor. I just checked your relationship to Saher de Quincy (Quincy-226) and RF returned a trail (with no "Uncertain" relationships) through the Richardson-documented Gateway Ancestor Diana Skipwith, who is not currently in a badged trail & does not currently have a badged project member as guardian.

So... would you like to join the project as an affiliate member (which carries no participation requirements) or as a badged member, signing up as Gateway Guardian for Diana? If the former, just add {{Member|Magna Carta Affiliate}} to your profile and send in a request to join the project's Google Group. If the latter, let me know & I'll get set you up.  Welcome either way :D

Cheers, Liz

Hi Linda

I want to also welcome you to the Magna Carta Project.  Once you decide which lever is going to work for you we will help get you up and running.  

By the way, looks like we are cousins through our mutual ancestor Col Edward Douglass.  My ancestor, William Douglass and your ancestor Elmore Douglass were brothers and sons of Col Douglass.  So, it's especially nice having a cousin join the project.

Best regards,

David Douglass, Co-Leader, Magna Carta Project

Hi Liz and sure where ever you need me.  I am excited and I have active participation in the Presidents Project as well.  I am a newbie on things like this and will most likely be asking a lot of questions.  Put me where you need me. :-)
Hi Cousin, I really love this.  I could not believe that I was related to that many on the Magna Carta as direct descendants.  Thanks so much.  Let me know what needs doing. I am also working on the Presidents Project as well.  I will do what is needed. I do work full time as well and have 3 people I am helping with their trees and have already found that two of them are cousins due to my stepfather.  I am forever fixing my mistakes so hopefully none made on the Douglass line. :-)

Liz, 

What exactly are the requirements? I enjoy working on trees and finding new clues. I would love to be involved.  I will go where I am needed and willing to help. 

Linda

The requirements for each level, Affiliate and Badged, can be found at the following page <click here>

If you are wondering what to do after joining the project that really depends on the level you join at.  Once you have decided that Liz or me can help you get started,

If you have any questions feel free to contact me.  I'm going to be out of town and away from my computer for a few days on family stuff but will have my phone so I can still answer e-mail.

David D

Hi again Linda! Sorry - my doctor's appt. took longer than I thought.

As Gateway Guardian, you develop the profile of that gateway, if needed (Skipwith's profile has been developed, but it needs to be reviewed against the project's current checklist). As a badged member, you'll have two more participation requirements (the first is being a Gateway Guardian). The second is to develop a trail from that Gateway to a surety baron. I just looked up Skipwith in Richardson & he has her documented as a descendant of Robert FitzWalter (Magna Carta Ancestry, IV:37 SKIPWITH).

I'll update Trail Tracks. When you're ready to start on the trail, please update the Member Check-in page and post a comment to Base Camp.

Sorry again for the delay!

Cheers, Liz

edit: I just realized that it would be helpful to post to Member Check-in when a Gateway's profile is being worked on, so when you start on Diana's profile, please post that info to the Check-in page also. Thanks!

+9 votes

I would like to join, at the affiliate level for now.

I have both direct and indirect descent from most of the barons, which was interesting to discover!

Direct:

p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 14.0px Menlo; color: #000000} p.p2 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 14.0px Menlo; color: #000000; min-height: 16.0px} span.s1 {font-variant-ligatures: no-common-ligatures}

  * Hugh Bigod - 23rd GGF

  * Gilbert de Clare - 23th GGF

  * John de Lacy - 23th GGF

  * Robert de Vere - 23th GGF

  * Roger Bigod - 24th GGF

  * Richard de Clare - 24th GGF

  * Henry de Bohun - 25th GGF

  * William de Huntingfield - 25th GGF

and then several were first cousins 24 and 25 times removed.

 

Thanks!

--Mike Hitchcock

by Mike Hitchcock G2G1 (1.4k points)

Thank you Mike for your interest in joining the Magna Carta Project.  All you need to do at this point is add the Affiliate sticker to your WikiTree profile and join our Magna Carta discussion group.  When joining the discussion group be sure to include your email address and WIkiTree ID.

Add this little bit of code to your profile anywhere under the Biography heading and you are set.  Welcome to the Magna Carta Project !

{{Member|Magna Carta Affiliate}}

Regards.

David Douglass, Co-Leader

Thank you! That was quick!!
Welcome Mike! Thanks for joining!
+7 votes

Interested in the affiliate membership due to time constraints.   My surety Baron would be William Marshal, and on the other side of the table, an "antisurety," King John.  My American colonial gateway person is Francis Dade. There is also a second, more recently documented gateway line from Frances Baldwin, (d. 1668, Stafford County, Virginia) wife of Richard Townshend.  Frances Baldwin is discussed in: John Anderson Brayton, The Ancestry of Frances (Baldwin) Townshend-Jones-Williams. Virginia Genealogist. Vol. 48, pp. 170-184; Vol. 49, no. 3 pp. 210-214; Vol. 50, no. 2 pp. 121-130.  The whole set is available by subscription to the NEHGS American Ancestors online service, and in select libraries worldwide.

cheers, Daniel

by Daniel Mitchel G2G Crew (650 points)

Hello Daniel

Thank you for your interest in joining the Magna Carta Project.  All you need to do at this point is add the Affiliate sticker to your WikiTree profile and join our Magna Carta discussion group.  When joining the discussion group be sure to include your email address and WIkiTree ID.

Add this little bit of code to your profile anywhere under the Biography heading and you are set.  Welcome to the Magna Carta Project !  Will be sending you additional information soon.

{{Member|Magna Carta Affiliate}}

Regards.

David Douglass, Co-Leader

+7 votes
I am the 28th Great Grandson of Robert Fitzwalter! I have met all of the requirements and I wish to join!
by Adrien Hart G2G6 Mach 1 (10.4k points)

Hi Adrien! Sorry for the delayed response. To join as an affiliate, just add {{Member|Magna Carta Affiliate}} to your profile.

To join as a badged member, there's one more requirement:  Let us know which Gateway Ancestor you'd like to be guardian of. See the table at Category:Gateway Ancestors (pick one that has neither a ''b'' nor a ''g'').

+7 votes
i would like to join the project, i have most all the research books, and have traced and documented my line back the 11th century. please advise
by Wendy Browne G2G6 Mach 1 (16.9k points)
reshown by Liz Shifflett

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