Daunt family genealogy

Of Owlpen Manor, County Gloucester

Arms: Sa. three beacons with ladders fired gu.: A bugle horn or, stringed sa. Motto: Vigilo et spero.

In the Harleian MS., numbered 1191, this family pedigree commences with Timon, Symon, or Simon, who lived temp. King Henry IV. That Simon left a son Nicholas, commencing with whom, Holme, in the Harl. Collection numbered 2121, gives Dant throughout. And Nicholas left two sons—1. Nicholas, 2. John.

In Harl. MS., 2230, the arms of the family are the same as in MS. 1191; viz., a chough’s head and an owl.

The Harl. MS. 6174 is similar to MS. 1191. In the Harl. MS. 6185, the pedigree begins with “Thomas Daunte of Olepen,” husband of Alice,[1] daughter of William Throgmorton.

Berry gives the following in his list of arms: Daunt—Sa. three beacons, with ladders, or, fired gu.

In Edmondson’s list we find Dauntre or Dawntre: Sa. three beacons, fired or, the flames proper; and Dauntre: Gloucester or, a chev. in the midst of three birds’ heads, sa. beaked gu.

And in Guillim we find: “He beareth sable three beacons fired or, the flames proper, by the name of Dauntre.”[2]

According to Rudder, who wrote in 1779, the following is the pedigree of the “Daunt”[3] family, which Rudder states was authenticated by Peers Manderit, Windsor herald of arms; and by William Hawkins, Ulster King-at-arms of all Ireland.

1. Simon Daunt.

2. Nicholas: his son; married Alice, dau. of William de Tracy.[4]

3. Nicholas: their son; living 24 Henry VI.; mar. Alice, daughter and heir of Walter Jurden, and left two sons—1. Nicholas, 2. John.

4. John: the second son of Nicholas; married Anne, dau. of Sir Robert Stowell, of Somersetshire, by whom he had three sons—1. John, 2. Thomas, 3. Stephen, and three daughters—Margaret, Maude, and Alice. He was attached to the Lancastrian family, and of considerable power in his time; as may be gathered from the subjoined letter[5] to him by the then Prince of Wales.

5. John: son and heir of John; mar. Margery, the daughter and heiress of Robert Oulepen,[6] in whose right he became seized of this manor.[7] They had issue five sons—1. Christopher, 2. John, 3. George, 4. Robert, 5. William, and two daughters, Jane and Alice.

6. Christopher: son of John; mar. Anne, dau. of Giles Basset, of Tewley, by whom he had three sons—1. Thomas, 2. William, 3. Giles, and one daughter, Faith.

7. Thomas: the eldest son of Christopher; m. Alice, dau. of William Throgmorton, of Tortworth, and had issue five sons—1. Henry, 2. Thomas, 3. Giles, 4. William, 5. John, and four daughters—Mary, Elizabeth, Joyce, and Florence.

8. Henry: the eldest son of Thomas; m. Dorothy, dau. of Giles Hussey, of Motcombe, in Somersetshire; and left Frances, his only daughter and heiress, married to J. Bridgman, of Nimpsfield. Upon the death of Henry, without male issue, his brother Thomas (the second son of Thomas) succeeded to this manor and estate. He married Mary, dau. of Brian Jones, of Glamorganshire, by whom he had Thomas, his only son and heir, and one daughter, Margaret.

9. Thomas: only son of Thomas; m. Catherine, dau. of John Clayton, of the county of Chester, and had issue four sons—1. Thomas, 2. John, 3. Achilles, 4. George, and four daughters, Frances, Catherine, Mary, and Elizabeth.

10. Thomas: the eldest son and heir of Thomas; m. Elizabeth, dau. of Sir Gabriel Lowe, of Newark, in the parish of Ogleworth, and left issue his only daughter and heiress, who was married to Thomas Webb, of Stone, in the county of —, and died in childbed without issue, whereupon George, the youngest brother of Thomas, and next male heir of the family, succeeded to this manor and estate. This George married, first, Martha, daughter of Major Henry Turner, of Bandon Bridge, in the county of Cork, in Ireland; and secondly, Anne, dau. of Thomas Knolles, of Killeheagh, in the county Cork, and by her had issue five sons—1. Thomas, 2. George, 3. Henry, 4, Achilles, 5. John, and one daughter, Martha.

11. Thomas: eldest son of George, succeeded to the manor of Olepen, and married Elizabeth, dau. of George Singe alias Millington, of Bandon Bridge, clerk. They had issue two sons (twins)—Thomas and Achilles, born in 1702; and four daughters, Martha, Hannah, Elizabeth, and Mildred.

12. Thomas Daunt: elder son, and heir of Thomas and his wife Elizabeth; was, in 1779, the lord of the manor of Olepen. (This Thomas Daunt, who died in 1804, left an only daughter and heir who, in 1807, was lady of this manor).

According to Fosbrooke, who wrote in 1807:

“Owlpen, Wolpen, Ulepenne … Robert de Olepen, temp. Edward IV., left Margaret, dau. and heir, wife of John Daunt, father of Christopher, who held this manor and messuages 2 cott 56 acres in Clowe, and 4 mess in Wotton. Christopher was father of Thomas, father of Henry and Thomas; which Henry having issue Giles who died before his father s.p., and Frances, wife of Sir John Bridgman, the latter pretended claim, but was ousted through entails by the male heir, The Daunt, her uncle. Rudder has given a pedigree of this family, which, as it commences only from 24 Henry VI. (from whose son, the unfortunate Edward, Prince of Wales, the family received a letter, still preserved by them and printed in Rudder), I shall carry back to Edward I. and II. The family were settled in Wotton parish, of which was Thomas Daunt, temp. Edward II., after whom was Nicholas, father of John and Nicholas, which John married the heir of Oulepenne; John and Simon. John, son of Simon, who lived temp. H. VII., and others were younger brothers, but a fine was levied in Mich. term 21 Hen. VI., of tenements in Wotton, Wottonforren, and Bradley, and the Wotton estates devolved to the first Nicholas of Wotton. … The capital messuage lies in Owlpen, but most of the lands are in Nenrington Bagpath, which accounts for the benefice being a chapelry of that rectory. Thomas Daunt, Esq., who died in 1804, left an only daughter and heir, now (1807), lady of this manor. … The manor is held of Lord Berkeley, by suit of his hundred court, and the rent of 5s. paid to Wottonforren.”

The various branches of the family of Daunt, now existing in Ireland, derive their origin from the ancient race of that name, long seated in Gloucestershire; where the principal stem possessed the manor of Owlpen for several centuries. Many writers on heraldry identify the name of “Daunt” with that of Dauntre, which occurs in the “Roll of Battle Abbey.” Glover and others assign to “Daunt,” of Gloucestershire, the arms which Gwillyn assigns to “Dauntre,” viz.—sable, three beacons with ladders, or, fired gules. In a very old MS. in Ulster’s office, these arms are also appropriated to Daunt of Gloucestershire.

The first settlement of the “Daunts” in Ireland appears to have been in the reign of Elizabeth; when Thomas Daunt (second son of Thomas Daunt of Owlpen, by his wife, Alice Throckmorton of Tortworth), became the lessee of Tracton Abbey, near Kinsale; and, in 1595, purchased the estate of Gurtigrenane from Sir Warham St. Ledger. This Thomas became lord of the manor of Owlpen, on the death of his elder brother Henry, without issue male, in 1608. From him descended Mary Daunt, sole daughter and heiress of the oldest line. She married Thomas Anthony Stoughton, of Kerry; and died in 1868, being succeeded in Owlpen and Gurtygrenane by her son, Thomas Anthony Stoughton, of Owlpen (living in 1880), who served as High Sheriff of Gloucestershire, in 1873.

James Daunt, of Tracton Abbey (of which place he was joint-lessee with Thomas of Owlpen), was High Sheriff of the county Cork, in 1627; Thomas Daunt, of Gurtygrenane, was High Sheriff in 1645; and Samuel Daunt, of Knocknasillagh, was High Sheriff in 1749.

In Sir Bernard Burke’s Landed Gentry, the genealogical seniority of the existing lines of “Daunt” is stated as follows: I. The Owlpen line, now merged in the family of Stoughton. II. That of Fahalea, Carrigaline, Cork, whose proprietor, Henry Daunt, became representative-general on the death of the late Mrs. Stoughton. This Henry Daunt had two first cousins—1. Thomas Townsend Daunt, of Stoke-Damerel, Davenport, England, Barrister-at-Law, born 31st Dec., 1816; 2. Rev. E. S. T. Daunt, vicar of St. Stephen’s, Launceston, Cornwall, who had issue: both cousins living in 1880, and the only surviving sons of George Digby Daunt, late Lieutenant 97th or Queen’s Own, who was born Oct., 1783, and died Jan., 1861, and who was the second son of Thomas Daunt, of Fahalea, Glinny, etc. The only child of Thomas Townshend Daunt, of Davenport, here mentioned, is George Digby Daunt, born 1846, and, in 1880, in the Royal Navy. III. The family of Mrs. George Daunt, of Newborough. IV. That of the late George Daunt, of Silverne, whose nephew, Dr. Hungerford, now (1880) owns that property. V. That of the late Rev. Achilles Daunt, B.D., of Tracton Abbey, Dean of Cork. VI. That of William Joseph O’Neill-Daunt, of Kilcascan Castle, Ballyneen, living in 1887. This William Joseph O’N. Daunt has a first cousin, Richard Gumbleton Daunt, M.D., Edinburgh, who is a naturalized Brazilian, living (in 1887) in Campinas, San Paulo, Brazil, and has occupied many important public offices there; the descent from whom is as follows:

1. Richard Gumbleton Daunt, M.D., mar., in 1845, Donna Anna Francelina, dau. of Senhor Joachim[8] Joseph dos Santos de Camargo, of the noble family of this name, of Spanish origin, in that province, and had:

1. The Rev. Harold Daunt, Catholic Priest, deceased.
2. Torlogh, of whom presently.
3. Rev. Fergus-O’Connor,[9] Ph. Doc., a Catholic Priest.
4. Brian, a B.L. by the Faculty of San Paulo.
5. Ferdinand.
6. Cornelius.
7. Roger, a Bachelor in Civil Law by the Faculty of San Paulo.
1. Alice (Donna Alicia).
2. Winifred (Donna Winifrida), mar. to the Senhor Joseph de Salles Leme, a Landed Proprietor.

2. Torlogh Daunt, m. a cousin of his on the mother’s side, named Donna Clotilde de Alvarenga de Camargo Barros, by whom he had:

1. Achilles, who d. in Dec., 1881, aged nine years.
2. Roderic.
3. Fergus.
1. Elfrida.

Notes

[1] Alice: This Alice Throgmorton was sister to the wife of Sir Walter Raleigh.

[2] Dauntre: In Stowe’s Chronicle of England, deposited in the Library of the British Museum, London, Edition, A.D. 1615, page 263, it is stated: “Battaile of Poitiers (19 September, 1356) … The next day after the battle, all the prisoners were numbered; to wit, the French King, also Phillip, his sonne, the Archbishop of Lenon, … the Earle Daunter, … Edward Prince of Wales brought all the prisoners and captives of them that kept them, and carried them with him to Bordeaux, there to remain in safe custodie, during his abode there. The Prince returned to England with the French King and many other prisoners.” …

From the fact of an Earl Daunter (presumably, the head of this family) having espoused the cause of the French King, at the Battle of Poictiers (1356) it may reasonably be assumed that the family had fiefs in France, as well as in England: a fact not uncommon in the Anglo-Norman families.

[3] Daunt: It is considered that some members of the Dent family have, in Ireland, assumed the name “Daunt.”

[4] Tracy: It is asserted that this Norman Noble was a descendant of one of the assassins of St. Thomas à Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury, temp. King Henry II.; and that the said William de Tracy is in the male line, represented by the Lord Sudely.

[5] Letter: In the year 1471, John, No. 4 on the foregoing stem, received the following letter written by Edward Prince of Wales, son of King Henry the Sixth: “Trusty and well-beloved wee greete yowe well acquainting yowe that this day wee bee arrived att Waymouth in safety blessed bee our lord and att our landinge wee have knowledge that Edward Earle of Marche the Kings greate Rebell our enemy approcheth him in armes towards the kinges highnes whiche Edward wee purpose with Gods grace to encounter in all haste possible. Wherefore wee hartely pray yowe and in the kinges name charge yowe that yowe incontinent after the sighte heerof come to us wheresoeuer wee bee, with all such felloshippe as you canne make in your defensible aray, as our trust is that yee will doe. Written at Waymouth aforesaide the xiii day of April. Moreouer wee will that yowe charge the bailiff of Merbuck Parton to make all the people there to come in their beste aray to us in all haste and that the said Bayly bring with him the rent for our Lady day laste paste, and hee nor the tenants fayle not as yee intend to haue our fauor.”

To our trusty and well beloued John Daunt.”

Edward.

[6] Oulepen: This family was evidently of Saxon origin. It therefore seems strange that the Yorkists left the “Oulepen” manor to this John Daunt, who was a partisan of the House of Lancaster. But Thierry, in his History of the Norman Conquest, says that the Saxon proprietors were left undisturbed by the Normans in a district which comprised part of the actual Gloucestershire. It may interest the antiquarian to know that, at the Oulepen manor, the same furniture exists there now that existed when Queen Margaret, wife of King Henry VI., was the guest of the aforesaid John Daunt, the night preceding the Battle of Tewksbury. The building is of stone; the outer walls being about six feet thick; and the wainscotting of the apartments richly carved. It is a strange fact that several Lancastrian familes, of whom that of Daunt was one, have changed their old armorial bearings for the Cornish choughs.

[7] Manor: In England, “lords of the manor” were not barons of Parliament, or peers; but merely barones minores.

[8] Joachim: This Joachim’s first cousin, Father Didacus (Diogo) Antony Feijo, was Regent of the Empire of Brazil during part of the Minority of the present Emperor (living in 1887); and was also a Senator.

[9] O’Connor: Tradition says that an ancestor of these O’Connors was roasted over a slow fire by Cromwellian soldiers. His widow secreted a large quantity of gold coins in her woollen under-garment; and in Bandon, then one of the enemy’s strongholds in Ireland (an enemy’s stronghold often being the best hiding place), reared her son (the first, now nominally known, ancestor of General Arthur O’Connor), in English ideas and customs. The widow taught her son to write his name Conner; as the Ballybricken family still spell the name. The Kilcaskan branch of the “Daunt” family shares the blood of the O’Connors Kerry; the paternal grandmother of Mr. William O’Neill Daunt and of Doctor Richard Gumbleton Daunt (both living in 1887) being of that family, and cousin-german of General Arthur O’Connor, son of Roger O’Connor, brother of General Arthur O’Connor, who was in the service of France, and whose grandson, Captain Ferdinand O’Connor, is son-in-law of Marshal MacMahon, the Duke of Magenta, living in 1887. General Arthur O’Connor married Donna Ercilia, daughter of General Francis Burdett O’Connor (brother of Fergus), and had an only son, Don Thomas O’Connor d’Arlach, an LL.D. of the University of Chuquisaca, who in 1883, resided at the City of Farija, in Bolivia, and then had three children. This General was baptized “Francis Burdett,” as godson of the English radical Sir Francis Burdett; and married Donna Francisca Ruyloba, who died October, 1886.