My Name Is Stanley

It has taken a while, but finally I have received a third piece of documentation that supports the earlier information pertaining to the origins of the Harrington family. From my understanding, there were two distinct Harrington lineages in England. For simplicity, the northern and southern Harrington families. Our early ancestors were from the northern part of England.

QUOTED FROM SOURCE

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"The Harrington lineage is a long, for the most part, a distinguished one. Early generations came from Cumbria in the north west of England, having settled there after the Conquest, claiming through the marriage to William of Normandy's niece Matilda, royal kinship."

"By the 14th Century the main Harrington family was established around Morecombe Bay in Lancashire, though they held land as far afield as Ireland, with other branches in the English Midlands. The northern family's fortunes prospered under John of Gaunt and later Harrington's distinguished themselves with Henry V on the field of Agincourt. Though they (Harrington's) had been stout supporters of the the Lancastrian kings previously,the ineffectual rule of Henry VI persuaded them to support the Yorkist cause in the struggle of the Roses, resulting in catastrophic disaster for the northern Harrington's. The deaths of several of the principal males of the family resulted in most of their property and land being acquired through martial connivance by the Stanley family."

"The northern Harrington's re-emerged under Henry VIII with one of their number, John Harrington of Stepney, marrying Ethelreda Malte, daughter of Henry's tailor, though generally regarded as an illegitimate daughter of the king himself. The estates Henry generously granted his tailor and Ethelreda in Somerset provided the foundation for the Harrington of Kelston. John Harrington's son John by his second marriage to Isabella Markham was a godson of Elizabeth I and was poet of controversial distinction, though history remembers him better, unfortunately as the inventor of an early water closet."

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I have additional information pertaining to burial sites in the Morecombe Bay area of several Harrington's including James Harrington(1592 - 1630) (11th Great Grandfather, Page IX Family Book) who was born in Bath, Somerset, England but his death occurred in Watertown, Massachusetts. The reason is unknown to me why his remains would be returned to England from the colonies. One can only assume that he was a gentleman of distinction or possibly ranking military officer.

The two members of the family named John in this documentation were father and son which are the 12th and 13th Great Grandfather (Page IX and X Family Book). James Harrington in the previous paragraph was the son of John Harrington (12th Great Grandfather).

I thought it coincidental that the "Stanley family" acquired much the of the Harrington family properties through martial connivance. This is the only time that I have seen my first name in our family history. Could I be a "Stanley" and not a "Harrington" :)