Thomas (Neville) Westmorland (abt. 1601 - abt. 1665)

Born about 1601 in Milburn, Westmorland, England [uncertain]

Descendants

Died about 1665 at about age 64 in Milburn, Westmorland, England [uncertain]

Biography

Thomas (Neville) Westmorland is the ancestor of the Westmorland family in America who was probably fabricated in an attempt to link the family to the heirs of the 1st creation of the Earl of Westmorland, Charles Neville, 6th Earl of Westmorland who was attainted by Parliament in 1571 and his title was forfeit.

Disputed existence

Thomas is pretty ubiquitous in other internet genealogy sites and was not a modern internet fantasy. He was not the son of Edmund Neville and Jane Smythe, and is almost certainly a fictional person.

The original bio appears to be copied from Westmoreland né Neville by Olin V. Mapes, which appears to have been sourced by the many myths of the early Westmorland family histories in America.

Lucia Foster’s ‘Westmoreland Ancestry,’ published in 1980 disputes the family story that the Westmorlands were Nevilles and heirs to the 1st creation of the Earl of Westmorland. She specifically cites that the originator of the legend was Edward A. Claypool, Westmorland Lineage And Descendants of Thomas Westmorland The Immigrant to Virginia 1908.^[1]

Legendary Bio

This is the 'legend' which connects the Westmorland family to the Neville family.

Thomas Neville Westmoreland - Generation No. 5 (formerly Neville) (Edmund4, Richard3 Neville, William2, Richard1) was born in 1601 in Milburn, North of Appleby-in-Westmorland County (Now known as Cumbria County, England). On December 29, 1624 the "Earldom of Westmorland" passed from the Neville Family to the Fane Family when Sir Francis Fane was appointed as the 1st (Fane) Earl Of Westmoreland - Based partly on the fact that Charles Neville and Edmund Neville, the 6th and 7th Earl of Westmoreland, both fled England in disgrace. Thomas Neville of Milburn felt in dishonor and reacted by changing his name to Westmoreland, the County in which he was born. His son James, at the age of 17 left home and sailed for America, landing in Boston, Mass., moving on south to Virginia where he settled down and married and had a son named John. His son, Thomas, remained in Milburn, Westmorland County, England. There were many branches of the Neville Family who retained the name of Neville and they, with their descendants, remained and continue to live in England today. Thomas Westmoreland remained in England when his brother James Westmoreland (formerly Neville) came to America.

Thomas Neville Westmoreland formerly: Neville as last name at birth. Birth: 1601 Milburn, North of Appleby in Westmoreland Co (now Cumbria Co), England. Death: 1665 (64) UK.

Parents and Siblings:

Edmund Neville 7th Earl of Westmorland

Jane Smythe Neville

Ralph Neville

Spouse and Children:

Mary (?) Westmoreland

James Neville, born 1635 in Milburn, Westmoreland Co, England. (came to America) (He kept the name "Neville".

Thomas Westmoreland, born 1636. (Stayed in England) (He changed his name from Neville to "Westmoreland" )

Sources

1. ↑ Lucia Foster’s ‘Westmoreland Ancestry,’ 1980 pp.14-15

• http://homepages.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~omeda/NEVILLE_FAMILY.html
• http://www.geni.com/people/Thomas-Westmoreland/6000000008333052527
• http://records.ancestry.com/thomas_neville_westmoreland_records.ashx?pid=29406837

CITING THIS RECORD: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, "Ancestral File," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/2:1:MWQ4-LD1 : accessed 2015-08-28), entry for Thomas Neville WESTMORELAND ;[SIR].

WikiTree profile Westmoreland-157 created through the import of armstrong j.ged on Nov 24, 2012 by Jeff Armstrong.