Rebellious Ancestors and a Mark on History
Discovering the misfits among the nobility in my family tree
As I’ve been researching for the second volume of My Lineage from the Roots Up, I’ve found that several of my ancestors on that side of my tree were caught up in rebellion. It seems it’s in the blood — that side of the family is from Appalachia, where they had brother vs. brother in the American Civil War. But going back further, as my ancestors mostly came from England, they were caught up in the intrigue of pre-Tudor England.
One such ancestor, Richard Lovelace (d. 1466), took part in Jack Cade’s Rebellion in 1450. Jack Cade was an Irishman who organized an uprising in Kent in protest of the leadership and tax policies of King Henry VI and England’s loss of Normandy (the region in France where William the Conqueror came from). The rebellion is credited for laying bare the financial and military bankruptcy of the Lancaster king, adding fuel to the already smoldering political rivalry with the Yorkists. The protestors marched from Sevenoaks to London, ending in looting of the city and then Cade’s death. Richard and many of the other thousands who marched or sided with Cade were pardoned for their role, including others in my family tree like William Hextall (d. ~1470).
