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John DE BEAUFORT, 1st Earl of Somerset

John DE BEAUFORT, 1st Earl of Somerset

Male 1373 - 1410  (37 years)

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  • Name John DE BEAUFORT  [1
    Suffix 1st Earl of Somerset 
    Born 1373  Chateau de Beaufort, Goudet, Haute-Loire, France Find all individuals with events at this location  [1
    Christened 1373  Ch?teau de Beaufort, Maine-et-Loire, France, France Find all individuals with events at this location  [1
    Gender Male 
    FamilySearch ID 9HTZ-YQ8 
    MilitaryService   [2
    Captain of Calais 
    MilitaryService 1397  [2
    Lord High Admiral of England 
    Royal House   [2
    Plantagenet 
    Occupation 1397  Dover, Kent, England Find all individuals with events at this location  [2
    Constable of Dover Castle 
    Title (Nobility) 10 Feb 1397  [2
    1st Earl of Somerset 
    Buried 1410  Canterbury, City of Canterbury, Kent, England, United Kingdom Find all individuals with events at this location  [1
    Died 16 Mar 1410  St. Catherine's Hospital by the Tower, London, England Find all individuals with events at this location  [1
    Person ID I594767491  Carney Wehofer 2024 Genealogy
    Last Modified 2 Jan 2023 

    Father John OF GAUNT, 1st Duke of Lancaster,   b. 6 Mar 1340, Gent, East Flanders, Belgium Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 3 Feb 1399, Leicester, Leicestershire, England Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 58 years) 
    Mother Katherine DE RO?T, Duchess of Lancaster,   b. 1349, Hainaut, Belgium Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 10 May 1403, Lincolnshire, England Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 54 years) 
    Family ID F536728937  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

    Family Margaret HOLLAND, Duchess of Clarence,   b. 1385, Upholland, Lancashire, England Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 30 Dec 1439, Bermondsey, Surrey, England Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 54 years) 
    Married 1397  England Find all individuals with events at this location  [2
    Children 
     1. Henry BEAUFORT, 2nd Earl of Somerset,   b. 1401, Lancashire, England Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 4 Dec 1418, Westminster, Middlesex, England Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 17 years)
     2. John BEAUFORT,, 1st Duke of Somerset and Earl of Kendal,   b. 25 Mar 1404, Westminster Palace, Westminster, London, England Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 27 May 1444, Wimborne St Giles, Dorset, England Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 40 years)
     3. Thomas BEAUFORT, Count of Perche,   b. 1405, Westminster, Middlesex, England Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 3 Oct 1431, Louviers, Eure, Haute-Normandie, France. Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 26 years)
     4. Sir Edmund BEAUFORT,, 2nd Duke of Somerset,   b. 25 Mar 1406, East Barnet, London Borough of Barnet, Greater London, England, United Kingdom Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 22 May 1455, First Battle Of Saint Albans, Saint Albans, Hertfordshire, England Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 49 years)
     5. Joan BEAUFORT, Queen Consort of Scotland,   b. 27 Dec 1407, Palace of Westminster, Westminster, Middlesex, England Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 15 Jul 1445, Dunbar Castle, Dunbar, Haddingtonshire, Scotland Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 37 years)
     6. Margaret BEAUFORT, Countess of Devon,   b. 1408, Westminster, Middlesex, England Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. Nov 1449, Colcombe Castle, Colyton, , Devonshire, England Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 41 years)
    Last Modified 2 Jan 2023 
    Family ID F536728935  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  • Notes 
    • The Life Summary of John
      When John Beaufort 1st Earl of Somerset was born on 29 January 1371, in Kettlethorpe, Lincolnshire, England, his father, John of Gaunt Duke of Lancaster, was 30 and his mother, Katherine de Roet Duchess of Lancaster, was 20. He had at least 3 sons and 2 daughters with Margaret Holland Duchess of Clarence. He registered for military service in 1397. In 1404, at the age of 33, his occupation is listed as lord high constable of England. He died on 16 March 1410, in London, England, at the age of 39, and was buried in Canterbury Cathedral, Canterbury, Kent, England.

      John Beaufort, 1st Marquess of Somerset and 1st Marquess of Dorset, later only 1st Earl of Somerset, KG (c. 1373-16 March 1410) was an English nobleman and politician. He was the first of the four children of John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster, and his mistress Katherine Swynford, whom he married in 1396. Beaufort's surname probably reflects his father's lordship of Beaufort in Champagne, France.

      The Beaufort children were declared legitimate twice by parliament during the reign of King Richard II of England, in 1390 and 1397, as well as by Pope Boniface IX in September 1396. Even though they were the grandchildren of Edward III and next in the line of succession after their father's legitimate children by his first two wives, the Beauforts were barred from succession to the throne by their half-brother Henry IV.

      Early life
      Between May and September 1390, Beaufort saw military service in North Africa in the Barbary Crusade led by Louis II, Duke of Bourbon. In 1394, he was in Lithuania serving with the Teutonic Knights.

      John was created Earl of Somerset on 10 February 1397, just a few days after the legitimation of the Beaufort children was recognized by Parliament. The same month, he was also appointed Admiral of the Irish fleet, as well as Constable of Dover Castle and Warden of the Cinque Ports. In May, his admiralty was extended to include the northern fleet. That summer, the new earl became one of the noblemen who helped Richard II free himself from the power of the Lords Appellant. As a reward, he was created Marquess of Somerset and Marquess of Dorset on 29 September, and sometime later that year he was made a Knight of the Garter and appointed Lieutenant of Aquitaine. In addition, two days before his elevation as a Marquess he married the king's niece, Margaret Holland, sister of Thomas Holland, 1st Duke of Surrey, another of the counter-appellants. John remained in the king's favour even after his older half-brother Henry Bolingbroke (later Henry IV) was banished from England in 1398.

      Later career
      After Richard II was deposed by Henry Bolingbroke in 1399, the new king rescinded the titles that had been given to the counter-appellants, and thus John Beaufort became merely Earl of Somerset again. Nevertheless, he proved loyal to his half-brother's reign, serving in various military commands and on some important diplomatic missions. It was Beaufort who was given the confiscated estates of the Welsh rebel leader Owain Glyndwr in 1400, although he would not have been able to take possession of these estates unless he had lived until after 1415. In 1404, he was named Constable of England.

      Family
      John Beaufort and his wife Margaret Holland, the daughter of Thomas Holland, 2nd Earl of Kent and Alice FitzAlan, had six children. His granddaughter Lady Margaret Beaufort married Edmund Tudor, 1st Earl of Richmond, the son of Dowager Queen Catherine of Valois by Owen Tudor.

      Somerset died in the Hospital of St Katharine's by the Tower. He was buried in St Michael's Chapel in Canterbury Cathedral.

      His children included the following:

      1.) Henry Beaufort, 2nd Earl of Somerset (1401-25 November 1418)

      2.) John Beaufort, 1st Duke of Somerset (baptized 25 March 1404-27 May 1444), father of Margaret Beaufort, Countess of Richmond and Derby, grandfather of King Henry VII of England

      2.) Joan Beaufort, Queen of Scotland (1404-15 July 1445) married James I, King of Scots.

      5.) Thomas Beaufort, Count of Perche (1405-3 October 1431)

      6) Edmund Beaufort, 2nd Duke of Somerset (1406-22 May 1455)

      7.) Margaret Beaufort, Countess of Devon (1409-1449) married Thomas de Courtenay, 13th Earl of Devon.

      Titles, styles, honours and arms
      Arms
      As a legitimated grandson of the sovereign, Beaufort bore the arms of the kingdom, differenced by a bordure gobony argent and azure.

      The family emblem featuring the portcullis was shown on the reverse of British pennies minted between 1971 and 2008.

      According to genealogists, a few of Beaufort's notable descendants include British actor Benedict Cumberbatch and codebreaker Alan Turing. Coincidentally, Cumberbatch portrayed Turing in the film The Imitation Game.



  • Sources 
    1. [S1160] FamilySearch Family Tree (http://www.familysearch.org), The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, ((http://www.familysearch.org)), accessed 2 Jan 2023), entry for Joan Beaufort, person ID M72D-PDF. (Reliability: 3).

    2. [S1160] FamilySearch Family Tree (http://www.familysearch.org), The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, ((http://www.familysearch.org)), accessed 2 Jan 2023), entry for John de Beaufort, person ID 9HTZ-YQ8. (Reliability: 3).