James (Haviland) de Havilland (abt. 1486)

Born about 3 Oct 1486 in St Martins, Guernsey, Channel Islands [uncertain]

Ancestors

Biography

Proposed by John V.S. de Havilland (a family genealogist and Herald of the College of Arms, and author of the rewrite of The Chronicle de Havilland that was later published in 1895), James de Havilland was a son of James de Havilland & Helena de Beauvoir and married Juliana de Sausmerez. He believed this James (rather than his father) was Mayor of Poole in 1502 and 1506, immediately succeeding his father in that station. ^[1]

Eratta

The following research is controversial and only primary evidence should be cited to make any changes that contradict the below work. Many, many years have been spent on this research by individuals ranging from certified genealogists to award winning researchers. Unfortunately the "tradition" is in contrast to the below contentions largely due to the author of the Chronicle de Havilland who had a heavy influence on the official record of the College of Arms (which itself impacted the records in Burke's Landed Gentry, Visitation records, etc). And so it is deeply embedded in many secondary sources that might tempt modern researchers to accept these claims without actually checking the facts.

James may not have Existed

Several certified genealogists have pointed out that there is nothing in the surviving record that supports the theory that the James de Havilland of this profile ever existed. They maintain that there was only one James de Havilland (father of this profile, a son of Thomas, Sieur de Havilland and husband of Helena de Beauvoir), a merchant of Poole who was mayor four times there (1494, 1498, 1502 and 1506). ^[2]

"In his Chronicle of the De Havillands [sic] (published anonymously about 1860) the late John V. S. de Havilland, Esq. (York Herald in 1879), follows the pedigree as given in Hutchins's "Dorset,"(*) i. 640, ed. 1860. According to this, Christopher was the son of a James de Havelland, Mayor of Poole 1502 and 1506, by wife Juliana, and grandson of another James de Havelland, also Mayor of Poole 1494 and 1498, by wife Helena. Neither Hutchins nor Mr. de Havilland gives any proof or even evidence for these statements. There is proof that there was a James de Havelland Mayor of Poole in the years 1494, 1498, 1502, and 1506, but no reason to think, without evidence, that they were not one and the same person. This James's wife's name was Helena ____. There is reason to believe they had but three sons who reached maturity: Richard, John, and William; and one daughter, Hélène or Eleanor." ^[3] Hillman's footnote reads, "* Since writing this, I have noticed that the pedigree in Hutchins's Dorset was partly compiled by Mr. de Havilland, the Wilkeswood branch being done by the late Thomas Bond, Esq." ^[3] (See Hutchins, John. The History and Antiquities of the County of Dorset. Vol 1. p. 640, Footnote: "The Wilkswood branch, commencing with John Havelland and Mary Carew, has been compiled by Thomas Bond, esq. from deeds, wills, parish registers, &c. The rest of this pedigree has been communicated by J . De Havilland, esq. from the History of the Havilland family...")

On p. 39 of the Documentary Evidences section of the Chronicle de Havilland, John published a letter by Sir Peter Thompson, Fellow of the Antiquarian Society and Member of Parliament, to a Mr. Brown Willis, on 30th Aug 1749 in Poole. In this letter, Sir Peter Thompson wrote, "...James de Havelland and Hélène his Wife added the North Isle in 1502, at their own expense." Here it is clear that 1502 is associated with the project, not with the death date of James, son of Thomas. However, on p. 83 of that same section in the Chronicle, wherein appears the pedigree referenced by Eduardo Haviland Hillman above, John entered, "James de Havellande" (son of Thomas) "born in Gernsey circa 1440; settled in 1471 at Poole, co. Dorset, of which place he was maior A.D. 1494-1498. He built ye north aisle, and endowed a chantry in St. James' Church, Poole, where he and his wife are buryed, as appeareth on a brass in the said chantry. O. 1502." (The "O" stood for the Latin "obiit" which means "deceased," which could reference either a death date or a burial date.) This seems to suggest that James, (father of this profile, son of Thomas), died in the same year as the North Aisle was finished and dedicated to him, and the same year in which the proposed son, also allegedly named James (in that same pedigree) became Mayor (represented by this profile).

One wonders if all of this isn't a typo in the unknown record on which John based this part of the pedigree (which was not the Visitation of Gloucestershire of 1623) which mistook 1502 as the date of his death when in fact it was the date of his dedication of the North Aisle where he was eventually interred, once upon a time recorded on a brass that is now missing. (John V.S. de Havilland wrote: "At the East end of this aisle is a Stone which retains the marks of effigies, labels, and coats of arms; it was for James de Havelland and his wife, founders of the aisle; but the brasses are gone.") In 2017, Christopher Sirmons Haviland spoke to the church at St. James who searched and could not find evidence of any death date for James there.

With no actual evidence having been found to suggest that James, son of Thomas, died in 1502 and was not also the Mayor in 1502 and 1506, and with ambiguity over the date of 1502 being a dedication of the North Aisle of St. James and/or a death date, we must take the position that this profile might be fictional.

There are are two approaches genealogists take: dismiss the theory based on lack of evidence, or document contrasting theories or potential errors. It is that latter approach we take with the placement of this profile, with the caveat lector that this James son of James may be fiction, or else may have existed but was not Mayor and whose marriage and issue are unknown.'

Correction to Son Christopher

The other theory of John V.S. de Havilland was that [[Havilland-6|Christopher Havilland], Bailiff of Poole 1553 and briefly Mayor of Poole 1569, was the son of this James. ^[1] That was based on two evidences:

1. A Poole Parish Record that records the burial date of a "Mastr Christopher Havilland, the Sone of James Havilland" in 1589. However it does not identify who the Christopher or the James were, nor where the burial took place. While this James may have had a son named Christopher who died in 1589, this was not the Bailiff and Mayor of Poole.
2. A faded entry for the father of Christopher Havilland in the records of the Visitation of Gloucestershire of 1623 do not reveal his father's name, but someone interpolated that the name had said "Jakobus" (Latin origin for James) and penciled it into the official record. John V.S. de Havilland might have had the will and the means to do this, but unfortunately this apparently altered history, for all publications thereafter assumed Christopher had to be the son of a James.

For multiple reasons, genealogists for over a hundred years questioned this, including Eduardo Haviland Hillman and Josephine C. Frost, whose work culminated in the Haviland Genealogy published in 1914, who published that Christopher was the son of James de Havilland, Jurat of Guernsey in 1517, son of Thomas de Havilland & Jenette Careye.

Unfortunately their theory was not based on any hard evidence at all, but merely a dismissal of the Chronicle theory. (This is not uncommon when there is lack of evidence. One can only surmise based on logic.)

Both theories about the father of Christopher Havilland have now been proven incorrect to the satisfaction of most researchers into the primary evidences of these individuals, and he has been moved to the corrected position in the genealogy as shown in the above link.

As stated, a vast majority of the secondary sources, including Burke's Landed Gentry which transcribed the interpolation in the Visitation, John de Havilland's Chronicle de Havilland, Hutchins' History of Dorset (who derived a lot of information from John's authority), Frost's The Haviland Genealogy, and later books that used these as references, popularized the error.

2017 Modifications

Christopher Sirmons Haviland is leaving a record of his 2017 modification to this profile in case there is future feedback or questions.

1. The birth date 3 Oct 1486 that pre-existed on this profile was marked as "uncertain" as there is no secondary much less primary source listed for it.
2. The death date of 14 Oct 1540 was removed as that belongs to a different James (the Jurat of Guernsey).
3. Christopher Havilland, known as the brief Mayor of Poole in 1569, was removed as a son of this James as it was disproven, negating its record in The Chronicle de Havilland, Burke's Landed Gentry, and Hutchins' History of Dorset, all major secondary sources whose work is incestuous and trace back to the author of the Chronicle who was a York Herald.
4. This James was marked as an uncertain son of James & Helena.
5. The wife on this profile was replaced to align with the theory of the Chronicle de Havilland and The History of Dorset.

Sources

Footnotes

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1} Secondary:de Havilland, John von Sonntag. A Chronicle of the Ancient and Noble Norman Family of De Havilland, originally of Haverland, in the Cotentin Normandy, now of Guernsey. The Mekeel Press, 1895. pp. 10-11. Archive.org
2. ↑ The Haviland - de Havilland Heritage Society
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1} Secondary:Frost, Josephine C. The Haviland Genealogy : Ancestors and Descendants of William Haviland of Newport, Rhode Island, and Flushing, Long Island, 1653-1688 : with special records of the allied families of Field, Hull, Torrey, Willett-Willis. New York, NY: The Lyons Genealogical Co., 1914. p. 13.

Documentation

• Secondary:Frost, Josephine C. The Haviland Genealogy : Ancestors and Descendants of William Haviland of Newport, Rhode Island, and Flushing, Long Island, 1653-1688 : with special records of the allied families of Field, Hull, Torrey, Willett-Willis. New York, NY: The Lyons Genealogical Co., 1914.
• Secondary:de Havilland, John von Sonntag. A Chronicle of the Ancient and Noble Norman Family of De Havilland, originally of Haverland, in the Cotentin Normandy, now of Guernsey. The Mekeel Press, 1895.

Original Import Records

• WikiTree profile Haveilland-1 created through the import of BDM7-7-11.ged on Jul 8, 2011 by Brian McCullough. See the Changes page for the details of edits by Brian and others.
• MyHeritage website: Haviland, Miller, Melton and Williams Family Tree managed by Elizabeth Williams.

Acknowledgments

• Thanks to Loren Fay for starting this profile. Click the Changes tab for the details of contributions by Loren and others.
• Some research, citations and biographical contributions commencing in 2017 by Christopher Sirmons Haviland, president of the Haviland - de Havilland Heritage Society, on behalf of its researchers.