The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1899-01-15
THE PERCY FAMILY.
No Psrcies in It, and None for Centuries
A Great English House.


3 No Percies In It, and None for Centuries
, A Great English House.
The Duke Of Northumberland, Algernor
. George Percy. who died the other day. wa
the head OF the house of Percy In England. Il
was to this family that Harry Hotspur be.
lonRed. and moro recently another member Of
It. Earl Percy. made himself rather obnoxious
in this country during the Revolution.
As a matter OF fact. the house of Percy died
out nearly 700 years ago. long before Hotspur
Yet the estates OF the house lasted. and so the
people OF whatever name who became pos
sessed OF them took the name Of Percy. and
like the Major General In The Pirates OF
Penzance." respected their acquired ances-
tors and endeavored with q good deal of sue
cess to live up to them. For. as even a radi-
cal writer said in a book attacking the peers
right and left: There is scarcely a house
among our older nobility that has a fairer
record than the Percles." They used their
vast wealth wisely. says the same writer. and,
!" as n rule. have not figured largely as place.
men,"
According to'Burke's Peerage the family OF
Percy started with William, the Conqueror.
though even Burke is not certain where the
first Percy came from. At all events. he was
on hand to work with William. He had a son.
and that son had a son but this third genera
tion left only two daughters, Maude and Agnes.
So the real line Of the Percies ended with this
third baron's death in ITO.
Maude de Percy married and died without
children her sister Agnes married Josceline.
son OF Geoffroi. Duke Of Louvaine In France
in the time of Henry II. and his sons ENGLAND
was really more French.than it.was.English-
and compelled him to take her name. Her
estates and those OF her sister Maude. which
Agnes's sons inherited. were not in Northum-
berland then. but in Hampshire. Lincolnshire
and Yorkshire. The descendants of Josceline
de Louvaine- Percy held those estates and the
barony OF Percy for 200 years. doing good work
for the country and probably for themselves.
Richard, son Of Josceline. was one Of the
barons who opposed King John, and had his
eye on the King wheE the latter signed Magma
Charta. He was one Of the twenty-five ,barons
who guarded the charter. too.
In the reign OF Edward H.. about 1920, the
ninth Baron Percy was made warden OF the
Scots marches. and then acquired the castle of
Alnwick. In Northumberland. which since
then has been the home Of the family. He
was the second Henry of the Louvaine- Percies
and after him came nine other Henries, so
that there was always a Henry Baron Percy
or Earl Of Northumberland.from about 1920 to
late in the sixteenth century. when Henry,
Earl Of Northumberland. died childless In Ed
ward Wis time.
In 1877. at the coronation OF Richard H., |
Henry Baron Percy W as created Earl of
n NoFsshhs uPase.s1s: ! He + The E + WIZ WIS appears
HitcGtspaarr 8 was nii killed fTa M IN i4 ~ in ran the sp niG 8 Or;
Earl fell at Bramham Moor. the Whole fam shS
wa ce a1ta1nte All an Hot its estates ties contiscated to
In blood. and the estates and title given buck
70 e him. So that he became the second Earl OF
tr Glans side IN tSe w he Of tRs Eds tse a L"pG was
killed at st. Adams. and his son and brothers
eG fo at p,tr rSw59n by 9 tbs es sSGses tfsY y were ATT atta Int
time; The fourth Earl was restored by Ed
at the battle a Of IL BoswortG ffeIff in h i4sS. That hat
fact endeared him for a time to Henry, VII.
SaPilFrl@siee q Grace" il i55 Z and P$fi he en- a md
the Percy estates departed from " the imsrG fam SIhe
One of the Earl's brothers was Sir Ingelram,
or Ingram Percy. OF whom. as Burke says.
But the nephew Of the atteinted Earl. Thorn
created Baron Percy. and the next day Earl Of
SDit th smaSihiHSa;t fp 6sd Ir9 n. him him u the FL line ran
teenth century. JoseelIne. eleventh Earl Of the
creation Of Richard H.. and NTH. Earl Of the
daughter. Elizabeth. in her own right. Baron,
This, young lady had an e%yentful life. When
ogle; but he died very shortly. Then she
married Mr.; Thomas Thyme, known as Tom
was murdered in 1852 by Count KoniGsmark
who had been his rival in this love affair.
as the Proud Duke" BY. him she had thiir-
non Seymour, who succeeded her "a as baron baron
Percy. But this mucn-married lady had not
on the Percy name and estates. When Duke
Josceline died in 1870 a trunkmaker named
estates az DESCENDED from Sir ineelram Percy.
executed IN 1921 Tor his share the Pilgrim
for so long a time that the House Of Lords
having thrown his case out Of court. az last
ordered him I to stand in the Westminster Hall
false and fraudulent pretender to the earldom
dnnsbter. E 1ffshedl P by n reaH,nE x f9 0 %ns
S spSSsas up ab p h her 1 999f16nd Mas mat ths pq tx 81 e
Hugh smithson, Q, Yorkshire gentleman.
VI H Al had been made a baEonet ,foE;
s.Tsagth Of having married the last OF the
and his gIandfather- In Jaw were able to have
him created Earl and then Duke OF Norihum:
AilnwicE; this last title was not TO descend 20 {
his eldest, son. but TO his second son, 80 the
bly, and. was a Percy, tool it was mighty Tor. ;
t tSIn9 tb TER n This country %It that in spite Of every -.
70 his wife or to her memory; for In 1854 he
had an il%legitim9te son. James smithson. who
g. HnI h.s d Statss n a S1'' tl ieIt his hbst pT6oDSTty 70 the
the Smithsonian Institution.
The Duke died. and his eldest son became
second Duke. and after him came a third and
q fourth Duke; This fourth Duke was an ex-
'elent man; he had been "A naval officer on
small, pay and Income. and was q simple and
ind hearted man; He spent his great wealth
Ike 80 many OF his acquired ancestors. In do
ne spent more than "a million and a half dol,
ars in building improved cottages for his ten
tnts. S5OO.OOO IN building churches. and
on thousands in roads and bridges
md drainage. He was Duke from lSI7 TO
he second:Earl Of Beyerley.:third Lord Lou.
,aine. a son 81 Duke Hugh's second son, for
whom that kindly. father had obtained the
.ordship,o Of Louyaine. The Earl Of Beyerley
vas an old man and died in 1857. when his
hi. b aiEer mon tGeoTge; became Duke; 1t is
Ihls.late Dnks bad two sons, the elder OF
vas brought into the. House Of Lords. not by
icing 'einng created a peer In his own right, but by
,%ouyaine. This was In 1897. He married. in
SoS q daughter Of the Duke OF Argyll. who