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(IX) Robert Clarence, son of Hon. Robert
Hewson and Jane Ann (Lansing) Pruyn, was
born in Albany, New York, October 23, 1847.
His early education was received at the
Albany Boys' Academy, following which
careful preparation he entered Rutgers
College, graduating in the class of 1869.
For a time he was an attaché to the American
legation at Tokyo, while his father was the
United States minister to Japan. Governor
John A. Dix appointed him upon his staff.
On February 13, 1901, the legislature
elected him a regent of the University of
the State of New York, on which prominent
board he served until its reorganization in
1903, along the line of new legislative
enactment. Mr. Pruyn was for a long time
president of the board of commissioners of
Washington Park of Albany, until the park
system became a bureau in the department of
public works. He was one of the
commissioners appointed to erect the new
City Hall at Albany, the corner-stone of
which was laid in 1881. He is a member of
St. Peter's Episcopal Church, and for many
years has been a vestryman, participating
most actively in all affairs concerning the
good of that church, and has served a number
of times as delegate to national conventions
of the Episcopal Church in America.
Mr. Pruyn was chosen president of the
National commercial Bank of Albany, may 23,
1885, to succeed Hon. Daniel Manning,
appointed by president Cleveland that spring
on his cabinet as secretary of the treasury,
and who had in turn succeeded Mr. Pruyn's
father as president of the bank. It was
during the officiate of Mr. Pruyn that this
bank erected its own building at Nos. 38-40
State Street, on the line of plans executed
by Architect Robert W. Gibson, but the
remarkable expansion of its affairs soon
necessitated the consideration of acquiring
much larger quarters, and on May 2, 1904,
this bank removed to its new, handsome
granite and marble building at No. 60 State
Street. The Exterior of this edifice is a
chief adornment of Albany's principal
business street, and the interior commodious
and replete with all modern methods for
convenience of customers and officials, is a
subject of unstinted admiration because of
its refined beauty combined with a certain
amount of ornateness. Equally as good a
barometer of its success and progressiveness
under the executive guidance of Mr. Pruyn is
the fact that the stock of this bank has
enhanced in value.
For several years, Mr. Pruyn was
vice-president of the Municipal Gas company,
of Albany, and the president of the Albany
Railroad Company, the two largest
corporations operated in the Capitol City.
He is a director of the Union Trust company,
and was one of its leading organizers;
member of the board of governors of the
Albany Hospital; director of the Albany
Institute and historical and Art society;
member of Philip Livingston Chapter, Sons of
the Revolution; of the Holland Society; the
Albany Chamber of Commerce; Century
Association; of the University and
Metropolitan clubs of New York City; the
Fort Orange, the Albany, the University and
the Country clubs of Albany, and also the
Jekyl Island Club.
Mr. Pruyn's
residence is at No. 7 Englewood Place,
fronting on the most beautiful portion of
Albany's famous Washington Park. The
interior exhibits a peculiar charm of
refinement in its furnishings, and one of
its most admired features is the collection
of ivories brought to this country from
Japan by his father, which is ranked as one
of the finest
Page 150
in this country.
He spends his summers on his Adirondack
preserve, known as Camp Santanoni, attractively
located on Newcomb lake, and reached by
a drive of about thirty miles northward
from North Creek Station. It is
here that Mr. and Mrs. Pruyn surround
themselves with their family, and from
ten to twenty or more guests at a time.
They delight in the pleasure of entertaining,
and are true to the dictum of the old
Dutch hospitality. In the winter
it has been his custom to spend several
weeks at Jekyl Island, as a member of
that southern club. He is especially
concerned in everything pertaining to
art in its best form; enjoys riding, books
and travel.
Robert C.
Pruyn married, at Albany, October 22, 1873,
Anna Martha, born in Albany, May 7, 1753,
daughter of Chauncey Pratt Williams, late
president of the National Exchange Bank of
Albany, and Martha Andrews (Hough)
Williams. All their children were born in
Albany, New York. Children: 1. Edward
Lansing, born November 23, 1874. 2. Ruth
Williams, born October 3, 1877; married in
Albany, June 3, 1903, David Marvin Goodrich;
child, Anna, born at Boston, April 11,
1904. 3. Robert Dunbar, see forward. 4.
Frederic, born July 5, 1881; married, in New
York City, February 5, 1907, Beatrice
Morgan: children: Frederick, born in Short
Hills, New Jersey, February 25, 1908, and
Fellowes Morgan, born in Short Hills, New
Jersey, December 2, 1909.
(X) Robert
Dunbar, son of robert Clarence and Anna
Martha (Williams) Pruyn, was born in Albany,
New York, October 11, 1879. He was educated
at the Albany Academy, then at St. Paul's
School of concord, New Hampshire, 1894-95,
after which he entered Harvard University
and graduated in 1902. He entered the
employ of the Consolidated Car-Heating
company at Albany, in 1902, of which his
father was the president, but the family
inclination for the banking business
determined a change and since 1904 he had
been located in New York City with the
banking firms of Redmond & Company, at
first, and latterly with Kidder, Peabody &
Company, of Wall Street. He is a Republican
and Episcopalian; has traveled, and is fond
of the refined pleasures. He is a member of
The Brook Club, Racquet & Tennis club and
the Harvard Club. His residence, since
removing from Albany, is at Mt. Kisco, New
York. He married, in the Church of the
Ascension of New York City, December 13,
1903, Betty Metcalf, born at Erie,
Pennsylvania, September 30, 1880, daughter
of Frederic Wilder and Ruth (Moorhead)
Metcalf. Children: 1. Robert Lansing,
born at New York City, November 5, 1904.
2. Ruth, born at New York City, May 5,
1807.
CALVERT.
The name Calvert is an historic
one in Yorkshire, England. It has
been a well-known name in York since the
eleventh century. Some authorities
claim that Calvert was a name brought
into England at the time of the Norman
conquest, and others that it antedated
in York the date of that conquest.
There are a number of families bearing
the Calvert name now living in York, and
moss-grown tombstones of their ancestors
are to be found in the burying grounds.
The Calverts of Armagh, County of Armagh,
province of Ulster, Ireland, are descendants
of Rev. Henry Calvert, a Presbyterian
minister, who migrated to Yorkshire, England,
or from over the border in Scotland, in
1623 and settled in county Down.
One chronicler says he migrated from Scotland.
He was probably English with an infusion
of Scottish blood. He married a
Miss Blair, of Scotland, whose brother
was a Presbyterian clergyman, at Bangor,
county Down. He refused to conform
to Episcopacy and was put out of his church
in 1636. Under James I, and later
under Charles II, because of a strong
policy fo religious repression, Ulster
received large immigrations of Scottish
and English settlers, as American in more
recent years received large influx from
Ireland. Lord Baltimore (Leonard
Calvert), who with his brother Cecil came
to America and founded the city of Baltimore,
was born in Kepling, Yorkshire, in 1582.
The Calverts who migrated from Yorkshire
to Armagh and the Lord Baltimore Calverts
were presumably of the same stock.
There is a tradition handed down by the
Calverts of Central New York that the
families sustained friendly relationship
and exchanged visits in the mother country.
The Calverts now living in Armagh and
Dublin are children of John Calvert, who
died in Armagh, November 9, 1873, lineal
descendant of the Calverts, of Yorkshire.
Page 151
(I) John Calvert, the head of the
Cortland, new York, branch of the Calvert
family, came to America from Armagh in
1792. His wife having previously
died he brought with him his seven children,
six sons, John, Nathaniel, William,
robert, Alexander, Thomas, and one daughter,
Margaret. After their arrival the family
remained in new York City for a few years.
The father was a Scotch Covenanter of
extreme type and in order to be in close
proximity to the Scotch Covenanter and
Presbyterian colonies, in Galway, and
other town in Washington County, he sailed
up the Hudson with his family and located
on a farm in that county. With the
opening of the new century, borne along
by the tide of immigration that had been
moving westward from New England since
the close of the Revolutionary struggles,
John Calvert purchased in 1800, a plot
of three hundred acres of thickly wooded
land including the present site of Virgil,
Cortland County, and moved on to it.
He was among the earliest settlers of
Cortland County. The hardships and
privations which the family had to endure
were those incident to the life of all
pioneers of a hundred or more years ago.
After
clearing away the forests, building a log
house, and making other needed improvements,
the farm was sold and a tract of land
purchased, including what has been long
known as the LeRoy Gillett farm, southwest
of Cortland. Here again a house was built
and improvements were made, after which the
place was sold to advantage, and purchase
was made in about 1806 to one hundred and
fifty to two hundred acres situated a little
south of South Cortland, forming a part of
what is still known as the "Calvert
Homestead." The remnants of an old orchard
at the right of the road across the field
shows where the old log house formerly
stood. In this house, which he built, John
Calvert lived only about two years, for his
end came peacefully in 1808, after a
laborious, honorable and highly useful life.
He sleeps in the little cemetery at South
Cortland.
Upon the
death of his father, John Calvert Jr.,
mentioned below, succeeded to the headship
of the family. William and Nathaniel found
home in Crawford County, in western
Pennsylvania. Nathaniel had sons by the
names of John and Joseph. Robert settled in
Livingston County, New York. he had sons by
the names of John, William and Joseph.
Alexander lived and died in Cayuga County.
Thomas with his son John and daughter
Margaret went to Illinois some time about
1840. The only daughter, Margaret, married
Thomas McKee and lived in Cayuga County.
John was a family name, and the eldest son
was usually named John.
(II) John
(2), son of John (1(, Calvert, was seventeen
years of age when he landed with his father
in new York and was consequently
thirty-three when he succeeded to the
headship of the family. He had married
Isabella Story, a woman of rare good sense,
great strength of character and earnest
piety, and being equally yoked together,
they looked out upon life with resolute
courage and faith. Shortly after assuming
his new responsibilities, he purchased an
adjoining farm, making with what he already
possessed a choice tract of from three
hundred and fifty to four hundred acres.
Subsequently other additions were made until
he had about six hundred acres. Some of
this land remains in the hands of his
descendants until this day. In 1831 he
built the large frame house south of South
Cortland which the family occupied until all
he children were married. He accumulated a
large property for his day. After a brief
illness he died June 6, 1846, in the
seventy-second year of his age. His widow,
who survived him, died July 22, 1858, and
now sleeps by the side of her husband in the
Cortland Rural Cemetery. They lived and
died in the strict religious tenets of the
Scotch Covenanter faith and in the
fellowship of the Covenanter church of
Sterling, New York. Thirteen children were
born to them, seven sons and six daughters:
1.
Margaret, born September 7, 1805,
died in South Cortland, January 12, 1844;
married John Bennie, of East Homer, June 15,
1828; children: Thomas, Anne, Hamilton,
Nancy Jane, David M.
2.
2. John ,born May 13, 1807, died
March 30, 1889; married Samantha Goodel,
November 8, 1832; children, Martha B.,
married George Fitts, of Groton; Nancy Jane,
married William H. Myers, of Cortland; a
son, John D., died in infancy.
3.
William, born May 10, 1809, died in
Sterling. November 16, 1866; married Sarah
Ann McFadden, march 13, 1837; children:
Jane, married Robert Stanton, and John A.,
married Julia L. McNish.
Page 152
4.
Thomas, born January 15, 1811, died
in South Cortland, August 28, 1829.
5.
Nancy Jane, born February 24, 1813,
died in South Cortland, August 17, 1815.
6.
James A., mentioned below.
7.
Martha E., born November 4, 1816,
married Walstein B. Sturtevant, M. D., May
7, 1834, children: Julia M.: John, married
Sarah J. Reed, of Cortland; Rachel B., James
W., married Cornelia A. Kingman, of
Cincinnatus; Martha Melina, married Marcus
H. McGraw, of McGraw; Frederick Hyde, died
in infancy; after Dr. Sturtevant's death,
November 4, 1847, the widow, in 1850,
married Hiram McGraw, of McGraw; she died
April 16, 1894.
8.
Susanna, born September 18, 1818,
died November 19, 1842.
9.
Wilson R., born February 19, 1820,
died in South Cortland, June 19, 1898;
married Betsey Wilcox, February 17, 1847,
five children were born to them, of whom
only on daughter, Esther A., grew to
womanhood; she married George H. Hyde, of
Cortland, July 24, 1878.
10.
Sarah, born April 1, 1896; married
Devillow K. Pike, of New Berlin, February
24, 1846; nine children were born to them,
four of them surviving: Margaret, now Mrs.
Frank Haskins, of Cortland; Sarah, wife of
John Wells, of Topeka, Kansas; Esther, now
Mrs. Royal Dustan, of Salt Lake City;
Devillow K., of Piapot, Sask., Canada.
11.
Elnathan, born April 28, 1824, died
in Sterling, December 16, 1896; married
Catherine LA Mont, of Delhi, New York;
children, John D., married Allie Diamond;
Katie Belle; La Mont, married Nellie J.
Moore, of Orange, Massachusetts; Elnathan
Jr., married Ida Shaw; Charles A.; William
B.; Fred W.
12.
Esther E., born November 18, 1826,
died may 26, 1853; married Philip McEachron,
three children died in infancy.
13.
Melancthon W., born March 28, 1829,
died in Sterling, March 22, 1894; married
Mary A. La Mont, 1848; children, Margaret
Evelyn, married Adelbert M. Clark, of
Dryden; John Harvey, married S. Gertrude
Crossman, of Sterling.
(III)
James Alexander, the middle one of
the seven sons of John (2) Calvert, upon
the death of his father
was entrusted with the care of the aged
mother and unmarried children as well as the
supervision of the large property. On
December 22, 1846, he married Olive Adaline
Betts, second daughter of Hiram and Lydia
(Blodgett) Betts, of Cortland. She was of
hardy Connecticut ancestry, her family being
American in the sense of which Richard Grant
White said the word should be used, as her
ancestors had come to New England before the
Revolution. A daughter, mary M., was born
on the Calvert homestead. In the early
fifties the homestead was sold, and the
family moved to a newly purchased farm in
Preble,. The son, John B., mentioned below,
was born there. In the spring of 1854, the
family moved to Homer, where they resided on
various farms until the spring of 1864,
when they took up their residence in
Cortland. While in Homer three daughters,
Ella M., Emma L., Anna M., were born, were
born, making five children altogether.
Because of the father's ill health,
necessitating a milder climate, the family,
in the spring of 1868 moved to New
Brunswick, New Jersey. in that city the
mother died on September 23, 1869, and in
the December following, the family moved
back to Cortland. On September 3, 1872,
James A. Calvert was married in Brooklyn,
New York, to Emily Haviland, sister of James
and Henry Haviland, of the city. he
continued to reside in Cortland until his
death, April 13, 1887. He inherited an
honored name and he honored it by his pure
and godly life. Like his father, he was
esteemed for his integrity, exalted
character, right living and his fraternal
and peace-loving spirit.
Children:
1.
Mary M., married Dr. A., Gaylord
Slocum, July 14, 1875; for the past twenty
years he has been the president of Kalamazoo
College, Kalamazoo, Michigan; two children
were born to them, Arthur G., and Maizie M.,
both of whom are married, the former being
gather of a little daughter, and the latter
mother of a little son.
2.
John B., mentioned below.
3.
Emma L., married Wilmot C. Smith, of
Cortland, June 14, 1876; she died in
Florida, December 26, 1879; James Calvert
Smith, born December 8, 1879, now of
Brooklyn, New York, survives her; another
child died in infancy.
4.
Ella M., married, June 28, 1881,
George A. Gould, of Grand Rapids, Michigan;
an only daughter, Eleanor Augusta, died at
the age of eleven months. George A. Gould
died June 4, 1900.
Page 153
5.
Anna M., married J. W. T. Patchill,
of Corning, New York, July 7, 1880; two
children, Glenn and Isabelle, complete
their family.
(IV)
John Betts, only son of James
Alexander Calvert was born in Preble, August
29, 1852. After
studying at various schools, he was
principal of the high school at McLean,
1871-72. He entered the University of
Rochester, New York, in the fall of 1872,
and was graduated in 1876. In September,
1876, he entered the Union Theological
Seminary in New York City, from which he was
graduated in May, 1879. The degree of A. M.
was conferred upon him the following June by
his alma mater. He was licensed to preach
by the First Baptist Church of Cortland, New
York, March 20, 1875. During the last two
years in the seminary he supplied the
Baptist church at Graniteville, Staten
Island. He also contributed quite
frequently to The Examiner, Zion's
Advocate, and The Standard.
Although designed for the ministry, he got a
taste for newspaper work and formed
acquiantanceships which finally led him into
journalism. In October, 1879, he was chosen
secretary of The Baptist Missionary
Convention of the State of New York, a
society that for more than a century has
been aiding Baptist churches in the state.
He served as secretary for seven years, five
of which he was also assistant pastor of
Calvary Church, New York. He was ordained
in Calvary Church, October 19, 1880. When
he resigned the secretaryship of the
Convention at Poughkeepsie, in October,
1886, he was unanimously chosen president,
which position he filled for twenty-one
years. He is still a member of the board.
On December 10, 1885, he married Mary Dows
Mairs, of New York. In February, 1888, he
purchased The Baptist Weekly and
changed the name to The Christian
Inquirer. He was editor of the paper
and president of the publishing company
seven years. In 1894 he received the degree
of D. D. from Shurtleff College. In March,
1895, The Christian Inquirer was
consolidated with The Examiner, and
he became one of the stockholders of The
Examiner Company and one of the editors
of The Examiner. He continued in
this relation until he went abroad for an
extended trip in 1910. He still has his
office with The Examiner.
He has
traveled extensively in his own country, his
journeys extending from Florida to Alaska
and from Nova Scotia to Southern
California. His travels in Europe embrace
the chief points of interest from Great
Britain to Egypt and Palestine. He is
deeply interested in the cause of education,
and has been a trustee of the University of
Rochester since 1899. He served for ten
years as trustee of Cook Academy, and for
five years as president of the board. He
served as president of the New York alumni
Association of the University of Rochester
for two years, and as president of the Phi
Beta Kappa of the University during
1899-1900, and is not a member of Phi Beta
Kappa alumni of New York. He has also
served as president of the Baptist Social
Union and of the Cortland County Society, of
New York. On the occasion of the
celebration of "Old Home Week" in Cortland
in 1908, he preached a Home coming sermon at
the Baptist Church on Sunday morning, and
made one of the addresses at the public
celebration. He is president of the board
of trustees of the Metropolitan College of
Music, and president of the American
Seamen's Friend Society of New York.
HIRSCHBERG.
The history of the Bench and Bar of
the State of New York is one of brilliancy
and honor, and nobly has the prestige
established by the judges and counsellors
of the past been maintained by their successors
of the present day. among the foremost
of these stands Michael Henry Hirschberg,
judge of the appellate division, second
department of the supreme court of the
state of New York. Judge Hirschberg
resides in Newburg, and for many years
prior to his elevation to the bench was
a recognized leader of the bar of the
Empire State.
(I) Henry M.
Hirschberg, father of Michael Henry
Hirschberg, was born July 21, 1814, in
Poland. He received an academic education
in his native land. At the age of twenty he
went to England, where for six years he was
employed as a commercial traveller. In 1841
he emigrated to the United States, landing
in New Orleans, November 13, of that year,
and remaining until the following spring
when he removed to New York. In that city
he secured employment as a clerk ina
clothing store, and in 1843 returned to
England.
Page 154
In 1845 he came once
more to the United States, settling this
time in Newburg, New York, where he engaged
in the clothing business on his own account.
The enterprise prospered, and until a
few years prior to his death Mr. Hirschberg
conducted a flourishing establishment.
He became a man of prominence in the community,
was associated in politics with the Democrats
and served for three years as commissioner
of excise, for a portion of that time
holding the position of president of the
board. In 1875-83 he served as supervisor,
and was also appointed local civil service
commissioner. For twenty-five years,
Mr. Hirschberg was one of the trustee
of the Newburg Savings Bank. In
1854 he was elected a member of Newburg
Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons, in 1858
was chosen master, and in 1876 was elected
treasurer, holding the latter position
to the close of his life. He was
for seventeen years president of Congregation
Beth Jacob. Mr. Hirschberg married,
in 1844, in England, Frances Francks,
of Newcastle, Staffordshire, and among
their children was a son, Michael Henry,
mentioned below. Mr. Hirschberg
died August 16, 1886, in Newburg, leaving
the memory of an able business man and
an upright, public-spirited citizen.
(II) Michael
Henry, son of Henry M. and Frances (Francks)
Hirschberg, was born April 12, 1847, in
Newburg, New York. He received his
education at the Free Academy, graduating in
1862. After his admission to the bar in
May, 1868, he began practice in his native
city, his steady and rapid advancement
speedily proving his possession, in full
measure, of the essential qualities of a
successful lawyer. From 1875 to 1878 he was
special county judge of Orange County, and
in 1889 he was elected district attorney of
that county, serving until 1895. Intense
application, profound and compressive
knowledge of his profession and unusual
facility in grasping and even anticipating
the points advanced by his adversary made
his record a brilliant one and caused his
tenure of office to be memorial in the legal
annals of the county. In 1896 Mr.
Hirschberg was elected justice of the
supreme court of the State of New York, and
in 1900 was assigned to the appellate
division, second department, Brooklyn. In
January, 1904, he was appointed presiding
justice for a term expiring December 31,
1910. The qualifications of Judge
Hirschberg for his exalted position have
never been questioned and are universally
acknowledged to be of the highest order,
chief among them being the judicial mind
which he possesses in an extraordinary
degree. His decisions are remarkable for
knowledge of the law, lucidity of
expression, depth of insight, and vigor and
originality of thought. On February 10,
1910, Judge Hirschberg received the tribute
of a nomination on the Republican,
Democratic and Independent-League tickets
for judge of the supreme court, being
subsequently given the further tribute of an
election. In 1911 he was reappointed by
Governor Dix to the appellate division,
second department, which office he now
holds. Judge Hirschberg's professional
career, now in its fifth decade, is filled
with achievement to a degree not always
found in records of even fifty years'
service on the bench and at the bar, but to
a man of his type, in the full maturity of
his powers, the future always holds promise
of greater things to come. In 1894 Judge
Hirschberg was state delegate to the
constitutional convention. His club
membership includes the Republican,
Manhattan, Lawyers', Hamilton, Brooklyn,
Powellton and Newburg City. In everything
pertaining to the welfare and progress of
his community he takes an active interest,
and the educational and charitable
institutions which constitute so vital an
element in the life of every city have
received the benefit of his influence and
co-operation. From 1871 to 1883 he was a
member of the load of education of the City
of Newburg, and for several years its
president.
Judge
Hirschberg married, March 16, 1878, Lizzie,
daughter of Thomas s. and Mary (Robinson)
McAlles, of Newburg, and they are the
parents of the following children: 1.
Henry, born February 12, 1879. 2. Stuart
McAlles, may 8, 1886. 3. Mary Frances,
April 23, 1887, married Abner M. Harper.
4. David Scott, September 8, 1893. Judge
Hirschberg and his family are prominent and
popular in the social circle of this home
city and also in those of New York.
KINGSBURY.
The family name of Kingsbury
takes us back to the days of the Saxon
Kings,--as the name of a place.
There were in ancient times four localities
of the name in
Page 155
England, one in the
county of Middlesex, about eight miles
from London; one in Hertfordshire; one
in Warwickshire, and Kingsbury East in
Kingsbury Hundred, in Somersetshire, on
the Parrot River.
The Kingsbury
arms: Several different coats were
associated with the name. One actually in
use in this country at the end of the
eighteenth century: Argent, a fesse azure
between three eagles displayed of the same.
Another confirmed in 1742 to Dr. Thomas
Kingsbury, descended from the Kingsburys of
country Dorset, was: Azure, a chevron or,
between two doves in chief, proper, and a
serpent in base, nowed of the last. Crest:
A wyver vert. Motto: Prudens et
innocens. (Burke's General Armory, Ed.
1878). Burke also gives: Gules. A snail
issuing from its shell, proper. Another
coat given by Usher is: Gules, a chevron or,
between three crescents, argent. A knight's
helmet borne in chief of the second. Crest,
a demi lion rampant, or. Motto: Vincit
amor patrae.
The ancient
name of the place in Somersetshire referred
to was Kingsbury Episcopii, and the manor
was held by the Bishop of Bath and Wells.
Kingsbury in Warwickshire belonged to the
famous countess Godiva, and in the Domesday
book is called "Chinesburie." Loefric, Earl
of Mercia, her husband, was descended from
the Saxon Kings of Mercia, and inherited
their ancient seat. Loefric's granddaughter
married Turchil de Arden, one of the
Conqueror's Norman knights, and their
granddaughter married Peter de Bracebridge,
in whose family the lordship of Kingsbury
remained until the time of Queen Elizabeth.
A daughter of this race married Sir John
Arden, of Arden, who was either the
grandfather or great-uncle of mary Arden,
Shakespeare's mother. The Bracebridges
lived at Kingsbury Hall, and in the church
in Kingsbury their arms may be seen impaled
with those of the family of Francis, which
are a chevron argent, between three eagles
displayed gules. These charges are nearly
the same as those of the old Kingsbury
coat-of-arms used by Hon. Andrew Kingsbury
of Hartford, abort one hundred years ago,
but in those azure is substituted for
gules. Kingsbury hall is described as "a
house of Henry VII's time, built with its
great manor-court chamber within a fortress,
of which the curtain wall and the octagonal
towers remain, probably of the time of King
John."
The Manor of
Kingsbury in the Hundred of Calshoe, county
Herts, was so termed from the Saxon Kings,
who were the ancient possessors thereof, and
often resided and kept their Court there,
among whom Bertulph, King of the Mercians,
celebrated a parliamentary council there on
Friday after Easter, in the year of Christ
851. * * * * * There was a
stately Pallace that belonged to the Castle
of Kingsbury, situated at the west end of
the town of St. Albans, where the Saxon
Kings delighted much, and their Nobles and
officers so often resorted thither that they
became a great burden and charge to the
Abbott and Monks of St. Albans, which
induced them to purchase it; and after they
had made many Addresses to the King for it,
Alfric, who had been Chancellor to King
Etheldred, whilst he was a Secular,
prevailed with the King to sell to them all
the royal Mannor of Kingsbury, with the
Parks and Woods belonging to it, excepting
one small Fortress near the Monastery, which
the King would not suffer to be demolish,
that the Marks of his Royal House might not
be forgotten, and the Abbott and Monks
bought and enjoyed it till the time of the
Dissolution, when it returned to the Crown.
Through various hands it passed to Sir
Francis Bacon, Viscount Verulam, keeper of
the Great Seal (the great Lord Bacon), but
when the Seal was taken from him, and he
retired from the Court, he sold
it.--(Historical antiquities of
Hertfordshire by Sir Henry Chauncy, Kt. II,
314.)
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