Robert de Holland, 1st Baron Holand was born in Lancashire, England, in 1270. He was a son of Sir Robert de Holland and Elizabeth de Samlesbury. He was a favorite of Thomas Plantagenet, 2nd Earl of Lancaster and knighted in 1307. He served him by suppressing the 1315 rising of Adam Banastre, Henry de Lea, and William de Bradshagh (Bradshaw) who banded together and launched an attack on the Liverpool Castle. From 1314 to 1321 he was called to Parliament. After that his part in the Battle of Boroughbridge was deemed cowardly and led to his disfavor. Although King Edward III of England would later pardon him, the partisans of the Earl of Lancaster considered him a traitor and had him executed.[1][2] He was something of a small player in this era and so might be more noted for being of genealogical interest. This is because he's apparently an ancestor to George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, William Henry Harrison, Benjamin Harrison, Ulysses S. Grant, Louis XVI, and Winston Churchill. He also has connections to the royal line of Medieval Scotland. There is actually some information on his ancestors going back to Mathew de HOLLAND[3], but before then little is known. In 1328 he was beheaded in Essex. His body was sent to Lancashire to be buried.
Marriage and issue
About 1308 he married Maude la Zouche, daughter of Lord Alan la Zouche, 1st Baron la Zouche of Ashby and Eleanor de Segrave. Robert and Maude had thirteen children:
- Joane Holland (c. 1305 - 1340). Married John Radcliffe.
- Margery Holland (born c. 1308).
- Robert Holland (c. 1312 - 16 March, 1372/1373).
- Thomas Holland, 1st Earl of Kent (c. 1314 - 26 December, 1360).
- Otho Holland (c. 1316 - 3 September, 1359).
- John Holland (born c. 1318).
- Maud Holland (born c. 1319). Married Thomas Swinnerton.
- Alan Holland (c. 1320 - 1339).
- Elizabeth Holland (born c. 1320).
- Margaret Holland (c. 1322 - 1349).
- Jane Holland (born c. 1326).
- Eleanor Holland (c. 1327 - 1341).
- Elizabeth Holland (born c. 1328).
References
- The Royal Ancestry Bible Royal Ancestors of 300 Colonial American Families by Michel L. Call (chart 27) ISBN 1-933194-22-7
