British Lunsfords

[Lunsford]

I would love to hear from my cousins across the pond regarding Lunsford's in England or the Isles.

It has been long held that our Patriarch was Sir Thomas Lunsford of Wyleigh, Sussex. no proof has ever been found to prove the claim. We do know that after Sir Thomas's arrival in the colonies, his wife, Lady Katherine Neville Lunsford, with William Lunsford Esq. We know that William Lunsford Esq was a young man but who his father was has never been proven. Speculation has been that he was a illegitimate child of Sir William, a son secreted (from Cromwell) by Sir Thomas or was a son of an Edward Lunsford. We do know that after his death his three daughters, Elizabeth Philippa Mary returned to England.

Sir Thomas had three wives, Mary Ann (Hudson) Lunsford — married 1633 in Peckham, Surrey, England, Katherine (Neville) Lunsford — married 1 Jun 1640 in Binfield, Berkshire, England and Elizabeth (Wormeley) Smith — married 24 Oct 1653 to 1654. It is unknown if he married Elizabeth in England or the colonies.

The problem with the Edward theory is that we know there was one, but have not been able to attach him to Sir Thomas.

Sir Thomas was known to have two brothers, Sir Herbert and Sir Henry.
Sir Herbert was born circa 1610 and died after 1664. Sir Herbert was married to Margaretta Engham and had three children, Frances and Margaret and a son Thomas.Thomas is not believed to have survived, nor left issue. Sir Herbert served as governor of Monmouth and Orgueil Castle.

Sir Henry was christened Sep. 29, 1611 and died July 25, 1643. Sir Henry was killed in battle, leading a charge to capture Bristol. He may have married, but left no known issue.

I would appreciate any information about the Lunsford family in Britain. I would also welcome hearing from any Lunsford's, no matter what lines they descend from.

There is a group of us doing DNA research on the Lunsford line.

Thanks so much..........William Lunsford

[VEOwens]

Proof that William Lunsford, Esquire was the son of Sir Thomas Lunsford and his birth was legitimate is at www,genealogybyvirgil dot com. My email is askVirgil at aol.com

I believe the marriage to Elizabeth (Wormeley) Kemp almost certainly took place in Virginia. It’s unlikely that Sir Thomas would have gone back to England because he had been a defeated supporter of Charles I in the British Civil War and was imprisoned in the Tower of London after Charles was executed. He was apparently released on the condition he would leave England. The late husband of Elizabeth (Wormeley) Kemp requested (in his will) that she return to England upon his death but there is no evidence that she did so. It’s unknown exactly when her husband died and how soon after she married Sir Thomas.

According to parish registers, Sir Thomas may have had as many as five brothers:
William - died young without issue
Sir Herbert - born 1610 (only hearsay evidence that is probably wrong)
John - born July 1610 according to a parish register. May have died in infancy
Henry - born 1611. A misprint in a book by W. A. Shaw shows Henry as being knighted in 1640 but it was actually Herbert who was knighted. In a later biography written by Shaw for the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, he correctly states that Herbert was the other brother who was knighted.
Edward - only hearsay evidence that he was a brother of Sir Thomas

Note: In a book written about 100 years after Sir Thomas was born, it was stated that an unknown contemporary claimed Sir Herbert (born about 1610) was the twin of Sir Thomas. This is impossible because a parish register proves Sir Thomas was born in 1604 (new calendar). Also, a parish register shows John Lunsford was baptized in July 1610 with no mention of Herbert which means it would have been impossible for his mother to have had any other child within the year 1610.