Mary (Berkeley) Gerard (abt. 1665)

Born about 1665 in England

Ancestors

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Biography

Mary Berkeley was daughter of Charles Berkeley, Earl of Falmouth and his wife, Mary Bagot. ^[1] Her father was killed at the Battle of Southwold Bay on 3 June 1665. ^[2] Since her parents had only married on 18 December 1664 Mary must have been a posthumous child, born at the earliest in September 1665 and before April 1666.

She married Gilbert Cosins Gerard, son of Gilbert Gerard and his wife, Mary Cosin, who divorced her in 1684. There were no children from the marriage.^[1]

Research Notes

Divorce was introduced into the Law of England in 1670. Men could apply for a divorce but it needed an Act of Parliament. Not until 1857 could it be applied for in the courts. ^[3]

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1} A genealogical and heraldic history of the extinct and dormant baronetcies of England by J. and J.B.Burke: Gerard
2. ↑ History of Parliament online: BERKELEY, Sir Charles II (1630-65), of Whitehall
3. ↑ Cordell Cordell: A History of Men's Divorce

• Charles Mosley, editor, Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage, 107th edition, 3 volumes (Wilmington, Delaware, U.S.A.: Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd, 2003), volume 1, page 350.

• Westminster Abbey: Charles Berkeley, Earl of Falmouth

• Court Satires of the Restoration By John Harold Wilson