Bryan, Francis

  General Notes:

Francis Bryan, first surviving son of Thomas Bryan III an d Lady Margaret Bourchier, was born in 1490 in Cheddington , Buckinghamshire, England. He was educated at Oxford an d was a personal friend of King Henry VIII , for whom he pe rformed important missions and personal services. He spok e to the king in "plain speech." In April, 1513, he receiv ed his first official appointment – captain o f the ship Margaret Bonavanture. Before March, 1522, he ma rried first Phillippa Montgomery , and Sir Edward Bryan wa s their son.

The Vicar of Hell

Francis Bryan was something of a poet. He was also a "ciph erer", or code expert, and he also enjoyed jousting. He l ost an eye in one of the matches, and wore an eye patch fo r the rest of his life.He was a supporter of Ann Boleyn , and was accused of complicity in her misdeeds. For this , and for his capacity for immorality, Francis Bryan was du bbed "The Vicar of Hell" by Thomas Cromwell in 1536, but Cr omwell couldn't prove any charges against Francis Bryan, s o Francis Bryan was able to regain favor with Cromwell.

The marriage of Francis Bryan and Lady Joan Fitzgerald unit ed 2 royal houses - one English and the other Irish. Thei r descendants are from the distinguished line of English Br yans, as well as the noble Geraldine line, the ancient Dalc assian line of Irish kings, and the Plantagenets and Saxons.

Francis Bryan married second Lady Joan Fitzgerald (See Cha pter 11) before August 28, 1548. This was a political marr iage, probably arranged to prevent Lady Joan's marriage t o the heir of Desmond, Gerald Fitzgerald. (Such a marriag e would have united the leading representatives of the tw o chief Irish noble houses.) Shortly after this marriage , he was named Lord Marshal (Governor General) of Ireland i n 1548, and sent to Dublin. In 1549, he was made Lord Chie f Justice of Ireland, and he held large estates in County C lare, which the crown had given him upon the dissolution o f the monasteries.

Francis Bryan died February 2, 1549 or 1550, in Clonmel, I reland. After Francis Bryan's death, Lady Joan Fitzgeral d did marry (in 1551) Gerald FitzGerald. Some think that L ady Joan Fitzgerald poisoned Francis Bryan.

Source:
http://www.carsonjohnson.com/chapter07-bryan.htm
***

I have a genealogy book called THE SPEAR AND THE SPINDLE... which gives the
ancestors of Sir Francis Bryan and then tries to list som e of his
descendants. The following is a quote from Pgs. 47-48. Acco rding to this
source, Francis Bryan does have issue, which I hope is tru e since I have
claimed him through Morgan Bryan of Pa & NC. The line is fo llowed past the
1600 cutoff for this list so I only went to 1650. There i s much information
about the ancestors of Francis Bryan since that is the mai n focus of the
text. The book was complied by T.A. Fuller and printed by H eritage Books in
1993. I have put the full title at the end of this email. I t is one of the
longest titles I have ever seen!

"Bryan, Sir Francis (d. 1550)
knight Banneret; Chevallier; Baronet; Lord of Tor Bryan; po et and
translator; chief gentleman of the privy chamber (appointe d 1536) and close
friend of Henry VIII; he was a sometime commander of the En glish Army in
Ireland, admiral of the fleet, and in 1548 was knighted fo r bravery in
Brittany (Briaiana). On Shrove Tuesday 1526, he lost an ey e in a jousting
tournament (Starkey, David, HENRY VIII, A EUROPEAN COURT I N ENGLAND, 1991,
PG. 47).





In a box in center of page:

Sir Francis Byran (b. 1490).........Sir Thomas Bryan
Margaret "Lady Bryan"
Bourchier

Text again:
His sister Elizabeth m. Nicholas Carewe, Kt, who was execut ed in 1539; his
sister Margaret (d. by 1521) m. Henry Guildford, Kt (d. 153 2).

Byan m. (l) after 1517 Philippa (d. aft 1534) widow of Si r John Fortescue
and daughter of Sir John Montgomery of Scotland; by this ma rriage he came
into the possession of Faulkbourne Hall. m (2) bef Aug. 154 8 (CP Ormond
section) Joan Fitzgerald, daughter of James Fitzgerald, Ear l of Desmond.
Joan was countess and dowager of Ormond.

Bryan was present with Henry VIII in 1520 at the Field of C loth of Gold. In
1528, Henry sent Bryan to Rome to obtain papal sanction fo r his divorce from
his queen, Catherine of Aragon, in order that he might marr y Anne Boleyn.
The mission, of course, failed.

During Henry's courtship of Anne Boleyn, Bryan was an advoc ate of his
rising"cousin," as he called her. He was of the group tha t had its center
in Anne Boleyn. Henry VIII's lasting affection of Bryan an d Bryan's own
sense of self preservation protected him during the time o f downfall of
Henry's second queen; while others literally lost their hea ds because of
Henry's determination to rid himself of Anne, Bryan came th rough unscathed.

He was present 15 Oct 1537 for the christening of Prince Ed ward, Henry's son
by Jane Seymour and afterwards Edward VI. He was among th e group that met
Henry's fourth wife, Anne of Cleves, at Calais and escorte d her into
England. He was a member of parliament of Buckinghamshire i n 1542 and 1544
and in Feb. 1547 at the funeral of Henry VIII.

Bef 28 Aug 1548 Bryan m. Joan daughter of James FitzMauric e (FitzGerald),
10th earl of Desmond (CP, Ormond section). This was a polit ical marriage
intended to prevent Joan from marrying with Gerald FitzGera ld, the heir of
the 15th Earl of Desmond, a marriage that would have unite d two chief Irish
noble houses. Bryan became Lord Marshal of Ireland and in t he following
year was elected Lord Justice. Two months later, on 2 Feb 1 550, Byan
suddenly died at Clonmel. An autopsy was performed, but th e cause of death
was not discovered. Within a year, Joan married Gerald."

In Appendix B, the author lists as the descendants of Frani cs Bryan the
following which she took from MacKenzie's COLONIAL FAMILE S (vol.II, Bryan
section). T.A. Fuller states that the names are presented a s "possible
working clues for the reader."

Sir Francis Bryan m. (1) Philippa, daughter of Sir John Mon tgomery
His son by first marriage was
Edmund Brian of Tor Brian in Devon. His eldest son

Robert Bryan of Tor Brian. m. Eleanor, the daughter of Thom as Bendish of
Bumpstead. His eldest son

John Bryant of Tor Brian m. Rose, the daughter of John Chur ch of Erles,
Colne, Co. Esses. His eldest son

John Bryant of Tor Brian m. Grace Wrayford. He was ancesto r of

John Bryant of Bampton, Co. Devon. Will proved 1641"

WHITIFELD, BRYAN AND SMITH AND RELATED FAMILIES. (Vol II, p gs 157, 407-408)

Edmund Bryan, son of Sir Francis Bryan m. Margaret Courtney . They lived at
Tor Bryan in Devonshire

Robert Bryan, Esq. (b. 1548) m. Elizabeth Livingston.

Thomas Bryan, Esq. m. (1) ? (2) Margaret Compton. Lived i n Aylesbury, Co.
Buckingham.

Guy Bryan (b. 1601) m Rebecca Kirkman. Lived at Aylesbury . Whitfield says he
was a merchant

The complier, T. Fuller includes information on Joan FitzGe rald and I am
including some of the more colorful parts..this is the lin e from which I
think I descend.
"
....Joan FitzGerald...was the widow of James Butler....Thi s James Butler,
called "the Lame" died 28 Oct 1546, London, from poison tak en at a supper on
Oct 17. His steward and sixteen of his servants reportedl y died of the same
(CP, Ormand section, Pg. 144). It is interesting to note th at not only did
her first husband die unpleasantly, Sir Francis Bryan die d of unknown causes
while it is said, Joan was seeing Gerald FitzJames, the Reb el Earl who would
become her third husband. There was no issue of the third m arriage. Joan
died 2 Jan 1564/65. There was no mystery of FitzGerald's de ath,..he was
attainted, chased down and on 11 Nov 1583 slain, and his he ad sent to Queen
Elizabeth...."

."....Thomas R. Bryan in THE NAME AND FAMILY OF BRYAN OR BR IAN (p. ix)
states that Sir Francis Bryan had issue of a son named Fran cis by his second
wife....The young Francis Bryan held lands in the County o f Clare, Ireland;
married an Ann Smith, and had a son William or William Smit h Bryan who was
deported in 1650 by Cromwell. "

I have more information on the above line if anyone is inte rested.

Full title of the work from which my information was taken : (My email won't
underline)

The Spear and the Spindle. Ancestors of Sir Francis Bryan ( d. 1550), Kt.,
Chief Gentleman of the Privy Chamber for Henry VIII of Engl and

Bryan, Bourchier, Bohun, FitzAlan and Others

Including Kings and Queens of England, France, and Other Co untries
Some Magna Charta Sureties

and Some Descendants Including Those Commonly Believed to b e Ancestors of
Rebecca Bryan (m. Daniel Boone)
____

Beth Sloan
eas@coam.net




***
Birth date from:

Source:
Histories and Genealogies of the Families Boone, Bryan an d Morgan CD


David W. Scott, Histories and Genealogies - Royals, Preside nts and Descendants in America, (Copyright 2004, TekStrea m Genealogical Services, Overland Park, Kansas).

***
Sources:

Author: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Title: "International Genealogical Index™ - Version 5.00"
Publication: Common Index of International Genealogical Inf ormation (Salt Lake City:UT, Family History Center, July 19 96 © data as of 2 January 1996), (Created by FamilySearch I nternet Genealogy Service, 50 East North Temple Street, Sal t Lake City, UT 84150, Oct 12,
Text: Repository:Family History Library35 N West Temple Str eetSalt Lake City, UT 84150 USA
Repository:
Name: SLC - Family History Library
Salt Lake City, UT 84150 U.S.A.
SLC - Family History Library
25 N. West Temple Street
Salt Lake City
UT
84150
U.S.A.

Page: Film Number: 457896
Author: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Title: "FamilySearch® Ancestral File™ v4.19"
Publication: 3 Feb 2001
Repository:
Name: SLC - Family History Library
Salt Lake City, UT 84150 U.S.A.
SLC - Family History Library
25 N. West Temple Street
Salt Lake City
UT
84150
U.S.A.

Author: Larson, Kirk
Title: "Genealogical Research of Kirk Larson"
Publication: Personal Research Works including Bethune & Ho henlohe Descendants, 1981-2001, Kirk Larson, Private Library
Repository:
Name: Kirk Larson
Laguna Niguel, CA 92677 U.S.A.
Kirk Larson
23512 Belmar Dr.
Laguna Niguel
CA
92677
U.S.A.

Author: Arnaud Bunel
Title: "Héraldique européenne"
Publication: Coats of Arms for European Royalty and Nobilit y (http://www.heraldique-europeenne.org, Arnaud Bunel, 1998 ) , Internet
Note:
"Armigerous" (ahr-MIJ-ehr-us) adjective

Bearing or entitled to bear heraldic arms.

The reason the notion of a family crest was brought into th e language was that those who were armigerous (entitled t o bear arms) used to put their crest or achieveme
Repository:
Name: Arnaud Bunel
Arnaud Bunel
France

Francis married Philippa Montgomery, daughter of John W Montgomery and Unknown. (Philippa Montgomery was born about 1502 in England.)