The morning Astorian. [volume] (Astoria, Oregon) 1899-1930, 1908-06-14
SPRUNG FROM KINGS
Very Many Ordinary Folk Had
Monarchs For Ancestors.
LOOK UP YOUR FAMILY TREE.
yeu May Do Related TO Royalty end =
Very important Parsonage Without
Knowing 1.-THE oodwins and tho
Last of Enyland's Saxon Kings.

Very important Parsonage Without
Knowing 1.-THE oodwins and tho
Last of Enyland's Saxon Kings.
A Duke OF Norfolk once, inspired by
q generous at, announced his Intention
of entertaining at dinner all the How
ards In existence who were related To
him. the duke Of course being the head
or the Howard family. He set agents
10 work 10 seek out his relations, but
had TO abandon his proposed little
party when he was assured that some.
thing like 10000 people would have a
right 10 come 10 IT,
In tho same way an astonishing mum.
ber OF people might DO able to claim
kinship not with mere dukes, but with
royalty, II they only knew NIL about
themselves The heirs OF monarchs
who have died on their thrones are
comparatively easy to trace and arc,
roughly speaking fairly well known.
In this way, for Instance. II was no
secret that the late Sir william Har.
court was descended from the Plan
tagenet kings. and several gentlemen
who bear no other legal designation
than plain Mr.. are known to have royal
blood In their veins.
This does not apply TO kings who
have lost their thrones, King Harold,
the last Saxon sovereign Of England,
was the son OF Bari Goodwin. When he
was slain at the battle Of Hastings he
undoubtedly left children behind him,
Some of them fied abroad to escape
from William tho Conqueror, but 9th.
ers remained In the country, where
they sank into poverty and obscurity,
but they married and had children.
There In at least chance, therefore,
that every ono named Goodwin or Good
win is related to a royal family.
King Richard Ill. whom we all know
so well as the wicked Duke Of Glouces
ter. Is popularly believed TO have been
childleaa when he fell at Bosworth, but
some historians hold that there Ia
plausible evidence that he left son.
This son. TO escape the death or cap
tivity to which he would have been
doomed by the victorious Henry VII.
had be been captured. is said to have
taken common name aud retired into
SomemetHhirc. where he died as a pet.
y farmer.
The whole story may be q myth. but
there Ia nothing impossible about II,
and the descendants OF King Richards
uameless son may be numbered among
ordinary working folk.
All the Charles have right, II they
like, to think that they may be con.
4 nected with royalty albeit. royalty OF
a somewhat dubious sort When DR..
Samuel Johnson was doing 30 much 10
make Fleet street famous there was
alive In Europe an adyenturcr who
called himself the Baron Theodore Ste.
phen dc Neuhoff. He found his way to
Corsica and assisted the Corsicans 10
get free from the republic OF Genoa,
which was ruling the island In tyran.
nical manner. In return they proclaim.
ed him king under the title OF Theo-
dore I.
Els royalty was brief. however. He
had frequent QuarreIs with the Corsi.
cans and finally quilted the island Vi.
timately he drlfted to London. where
he kept up sort of shabby genteel re.
gal style. But at last he was arrested
for debt and remained In prison for
sixteen years. When released he was
broken down and old and died In the
house Of poor tailor
The king of Corsica had q grand.
daughter who married an official In the
custom house named Clarke. The fam.
lily became very poor. and all genuine
traces Of them have been lost. But 1t
Is open TO any Clarke who pleases to
imagine that he Is a descendant of the
dashing, unlucky Theodore.
A lot OF people have claims to be-
long to much more distinguished
family, Kindly folk still In the land
of the living have employed a meek
old charwoman who called herself
Miss Paley and was glad to earn a
shilling In odd ways. Nothing concern
ing her ancestry could be definitely
proved. but there was reason for be-
lieving that she was descendant Of
Constantine Palaeologus, the last Greek
~...nauou - Ftnnnknx.Aaunnln
Constantine was killed when the
Turks captured his capital in 1453
and his family and relatives had to
fee for their lives, Some Of them
came to England, and there are living
thousands OF his descendants.
There is general impression that
the old royal family Of Stuart is ex.
tlnct. This, however, is mistake,
Stuarts and Stewards scattered all
over Britain can claim kinship with
the old royal family.
In ancient days there used to be
about dozen kings reigning in Ire
land at once-the king Of Derry, of
Munster, Of Connaught, and SO on.
They are oil gone now, but SO many
of their descendants are alive that
practically every Irishman has right
to fancy himself related to royalty II
he wants to,-Pearson's Weekly.