Ralph de Stafford 1st Earl of Stafford 
Ralph was born on September 24th, 1299 in Stafford, Staffordshire, England. Ralph's father was Edmund de Stafford 1st Baron de Stafford and his mother was Margaret Basset. His paternal grandparents were Nicholas de Stafford Sir and Alionore de Langley; his maternal grandparents were 1st Baron Bassett Ralph Basset and Hawise de Grey. He had a brother and two sisters, named Ralph, Catherine and Catherine. He was the second oldest of the four children. He died at the age of 72 on August 31st, 1372 in Tunbridge Castle, Stafford, Staffordshire, England.General Notes
Sir Ralph de Stafford, KG, b. 24 Sep 1301, d. 31 Aug 1372, KG 23 Apr1349, Earl of Stafford. By his 1st wife, Katharine de Hastang, he hadMargaret Stafford, who married her cousin John de Stafford, Knight, ofBramshall, co. Stafford. [Magna Charta Sureties]
Note: Ralph's 1301 birth date does not agree with Ancestral Roots, norline 136 in MCS. They have 1299.
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Ralph de Stafford, 2nd Lord (Baron) Stafford and 1st Earl of Stafford, socreated 5 March 1350/1, KG (1348), KB (Jan 1326/7), JP (Staffs March1331/2); campaigned against Scots 1336, 1337 and 1343 and French atBattles of Sluys 1340 and Crecy 1346 and Siege of Calais 1346-7, also1355-60; Steward of the Household Feb 1340/1, Seneschal of Aquitaine orGascony Feb 1344/5-March 1345/6 and Aquitaine Oct 1346-March 1346/7;married 1st probably c1326-27 Katharine, daughter of Sir John Hastang, ofChebsey, Staffs; married 2nd by 6 July 1336 Margaret, Baroness Audley inher own right, daughter of Hugh Audley, 1st and last Earl of Gloucesterof the 1337 creation and 1st Lord (Baron) Audley of the 1317 creation,and died 31 Aug 1372. [Burke's Peerage]
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Ralph de Stafford, 2nd baron, summoned to parliament from 14 January,1337, to 25 November, 1350. This nobleman attaining majority in the 17thEdward II [1324], and then doing his homage, had livery of his father'slands, and the next ensuing year, being made a knight by bathing andother sacred ceremonies, had robes, &c., as a banneret, allowed him outof the king's wardrobe for the solemnity; after which he soon became apersonage of celebrity in the wars of King Edward III. His lordship wasfirst engaged in Scotland for some years, and he then embarked forBrittany, where he was made prisoner at the siege of Nantes. In the 19thEdward III [1346], he was sent into Gascony with Henry of Lancaster, Earlof Derby, and while that nobleman assaulted Bergerath by land, LordStafford commanded the force which attacked it by sea. the next year hewas constituted seneschal of Aquitaine, when John, son and heir ofPhilip, King of France, coming to besiege Aguillon, where his lordshipthen resided, he stoutly defended that place against the whole power ofthe French, until King Edward came to his relief, and forced the enemy toraise the siege. After this, joining his troops with the army of KingEdward, he had a principal command in the van of the English at theglorious battle of Cressy. On the termination of this great conflict, hislordship being sent with Sir Reginald Cobham and three heralds to viewthe slain, reported the number to be 11 great princes, 80 banneret, 1,200knights, and more than 30,000 common soldiers. He was afterwards, whenCalais surrendered, appointed, together with Sir Walter Manny, and theEarl of Warwick, to take possession of that place for the king; andsubsequently his lordship was one of the ambassadors deputed to thecardinals of Naples and Claremont, to treat of peace between King Edwardand Philip de Valois, then assuming the title of King of France. The nextyear he had license to make castles of his manor houses at Stafford andNadeley; as also a grant from the king of £573, for his expenses inforeign service. About this time his lordship was elected a knight of theGarter, being one of the original members of that noble order. In the24th Edward III [1351], he was in commission with the bishop of Durham,and the Lords Percy and Nevill, to treat with the nobles of Scotland, atYork, for a firm and final peace between the two realms; for all whicheminent services he was created, 5 March, 1351, Earl of Stafford, andconstituted lieutenant and captain-general of the Duchy of Aquitaine. Hislordship m. Margaret, only dau. and heiress of Hugh de Audley, BaronAudley, and in right of his wife, Earl of Gloucester, by which alliancehe acquired a considerable inheritance, and the Barony of Audeley ispresumed to have merged in that of Stafford. He had issue, Ralph, who m.Maud, dau. of Henry, Earl of Derby, Duke of Lancaster, but d.v.p., s.p.;Hugh, his successor; Beatrice, m. 1st, Maurice, son and heir of Maurice,Earl of Desmond, 2ndly, Thomas, Lord Ros, of Hamlake, and 3rdly, SirRichard Burley, Knt.; Joane, m. to John, son and heir of John Cherlton,Lord Powis; Elizabeth, m. to Fulke le Strange; and Margaret, m. to SirJohn Stafford, Knt. His lordship d. 31 August, 1372, was buried atTunbridge, and was s. by his only surviving son, Hugh de Stafford. [SirBernard Burke, Dormant, Abeyant, Forfeited, and Extinct Peerages, Burke'sPeerage, Ltd., London, 1883, p. 499, Stafford, Barons Stafford, Earls ofStafford, &c.]
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Ancestor Pedigree Chart
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*There are earlier generations for the ancestor(s) indicated. See their page(s) for details (click name)
- b.1246 in Stafford, Staffordshire, England d.01 Aug 1278 in Seige of Droslan Castle
- b.15 Jul 1273 in Clifton, Staffordshire, England d.<12 Aug 1308 in Clifton, Staffordshire, England
- b.~ 1250 in Clifton, Staffordshire, England d.> 1274
- b.24 Sep 1299 in Stafford, Staffordshire, England d.31 Aug 1372 in Tunbridge Castle, Stafford, Staffordshire, England
- b.~ 1160 in Drayton, Staffordshire, England d.1211
- b.~ 1189 in Drayton, Staffordshire, England d.04 Aug 1265
- b.~ 1165
- b.1215 in Drayton, Staffordshire, England d.04 Aug 1265 in Slain at Battle of Evesham, Worcestershire, England
- b.< 1244 in Drayton Bassett, Staffordshire, England d.31 Dec 1299 in Drayton Bassett, Staffordshire, England
- b.~ 1190 in Dinas, Cardigan, Pembrokeshire, Wales d.<26 Aug 1273 in Dudley Castle, Warwickshire, England
- b.~ 1225 in Dudley, Warwickshire, England d.>18 Jun 1293 in Cromwell, Nottinghamshire, England
- b.~ 1173 in Arundel, Sussex, England d.BEF Jan 1220/1221 in Cainell near Rome, Lathium, Italy
- b.~ 1193 in Barrow on Soar, Leicesershire, England d.< 1254 in Dudley Castle, Warwickshire, England
- b.~ 1174 in Chester, Cheshire, England d.< 1232 in Chester, Cheshire, England
- b.~ 1275 in Drayton Bassett, Staffordshire, England d.BEF 17 Mar 1336/1337
- b.~ 1150 in Thurrock Grey, Essex, England d.> 1198 in Standlake, Witney, Oxfordshire, England
- b.~ 1161 in Codnor, Derbyshire, England d.1224 in Codnor, Derbyshire, England
- b.~ 1155 in Tunbridge Castle, Kent, England
- b.~ 1200 in Shirland, Derbyshire, England d.18 Mar 1265/1266 in Shirland, Derbyshire, England
- b.~ 1156 in Thurrock, Essex, England d.~ 1176 in Thurrock, Essex, England
- b.~ 1182 in Thurrock, Essex, England d.<18 Jun 1246 in Codnor, Derbyshire, England
- b.~ 1155 in Thurrock, Essex, England d. in Thurrock, Essex, England
- b.~ 1255 in Shirland, Derbyshire, England d.1343
- b.~ 1220 in London, Middlesex, England d.1256 in Leyham, England
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Ralph were married in a religious ceremony about 1326.
Ralph were married in a religious ceremony before July 6th, 1336.
Sources/Citations
Ancestral Roots of Certain Americian Colonists, 7th Edition, by Frederick Lewis Weis, additions by Walter Lee Shippard Jr @ 32-31, 10-31, Magna Charta Sureties 1215, Frederick Lewis Weis, additions by Walter Lee Sheppard Jr, 5th Ed {1999} @ 1-6, 28-6, 30-6, Burke's Peerage & Baronetage, 106th Edition, Charles Mosley {1999} @ 2680
Ancestral Roots of Certain Americian Colonists, 7th Edition, by Frederick Lewis Weis, additions by Walter Lee Shippard Jr @ 32-31, 10-31, Magna Charta Sureties 1215, Frederick Lewis Weis, additions by Walter Lee Sheppard Jr, 5th Ed {1999} @ 1-6, 28-6, 30-6, Burke's Peerage & Baronetage, 106th Edition, Charles Mosley {1999} @ 2680
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