John  Royall

• General Notes
  • This is a chronological descent of the ROYALL family complied from various sources. The data, substantiating each step of this genealogy, is a matter of public record.
    
    Special assistance was rendered and information secured from the records of: The British Genealogical Society, the British National Museum, Public Records Office in London, England, the State Archives of Virginia in Richmond, The United States War Department, The United States Pension Rolls, land grants and records of various states, Bureau of Vital Statistics of the state of Virginia, North Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi and Texas and from old family records such as entries in family Bibles and ancient documents and receipts. Some minor facts and details may be missing from this report but the important facts and data are included and the line of descent is correct, as shown.
    
    Our heritage is a rich heritage, replete with the names of pioneer Americans who did much toward the development of a new country and a new way of life. Among our ancestors were the very men and women who founded this country, who developed a new land, a new code of laws and the highest civilization that the world has ever known. Your forbearers were the lawmakers of the country, the men who fought to defend it against enemies from without and within; the men who opened the new frontiers of the West against almost insurmountable odds; who tilled the virgin soil; erected cities; built the roads, the dams and the industries that supported the civilization as it moved westward.
    
    ORIGIN OF THE NAME:
    
    Family names, up until around the year 1000 and even later, were uncommon as we know them today. At first, each individual was known by his father's given name, the name of his lord, duke, bishop or landholder. For example: John's son became Johnson, Peter's son became Peterson.
    
    Around the year 1000 AD, those in attendance to the king of a country (these might be personal servants, bodyguards or gentlemen and ladies attached to the royal court for various reasons of state or the personal preference of the king or queen) were known as "ye royal families" or "ye familie royal". This title applied only to those who lived in the residence of the king or who attended him on his missions. A son of royal blood would be Prince John. He might have a personal servant or bodyguard by the name of John. This John became: John of ye royal familie". If he were freed by the king or became a freeman by wars or acts, he would still go by the only name he knew, only he dropped part of his title. He became: john royal (no capital letters). He was not of the so called royal blood and this caused confusion and bitter resentment among the nobility. By kingly decree, the family was ordered to spell their name differently and they did this by adding an additional L to royal.
    
    EARLY HISTORY
    
    The family originated in Normandy of France and their lineage may have extended back to the dark ages of around 800 AD or earlier. The first recorded instances of the family were those bodyguards, personal servants and artificers attached to the French kings and various dukes, engaged in the wars of the Crusades, during the years from 800 to 1300 AD. These "ye familie royal" accompanied their kings on trips to the Holy Lands on these war expeditions, often fighting the Turks alongside their masters, acting as couriers back to France or as metal workers supplying the armies of their king with instruments of war. WILLIAM the CONQUEROR, who was born in 1037, had a retinue of such persons attached to his court and among these were some of our ancestors as will be shown by events to follow.
    
    EARLY MIGRATION
    
    The ROYALL family lived in France, for we don't know how may hundreds of years, but we have been unable to find any records of them having lived anywhere in that country other than Normandy. In the year 1064 WILLIAM the CONQUEROR, of Normandy, invaded England and, after successfully waging a war against the Saxon rulers of that country, was crowned King of England on Christmas Day, 1066. He took all of the land from those who had opposed him and gave it to his followers in exchange for their loyalty and military service to him in his campaigns. He ordered that there be published a book which would contain all the names of his followers, all freeman of the land and all of the land owners and their financial status. This was a roster of his most loyal followers and was used for the purpose of taxation of all inhabitants. This book, later to become, next to the Bible, the most famous book of all time, was called the "Domesday Book", was written in long hand and in Latin. There are two families of ROYALL's listed in this book.
    
    These two families settled on the Thames Estuary, near the village of London and it was little more than a village in that year. According to the tax records, they were tillers of the soil and paid tithe to the king only. In reality, they were still little better than serfs and were available for any duty that the king might impose at any time.
    
    WILLIAM the CONQUEROR, now King of England, awarded many new titles to those who followed him from Normandy, created ranks of nobility that have survived until the present day and awarded family crests or coat-of-arms to families who met with his favor. The family crest, pictured, was granted to our family and it's design was approved by WILLIAM the CONQUEROR sometime in the 1070's.
    
    
    
    JOHN ROYALL 1467 - C1519
    Born before the discovery of America and during the reign of Edward 4th. Land title deeds and tax records find him in the CALENDAR OF PATENT ROLLS which cover the years from 1476 to 1485 both showing the same location and same dates but spelled differently. One was RYALL and the other ROYAL. He held some sort of public office holder "in ye svc sfe Richard 3rd an Henry 7th". He was involved in some sort of court intrigue and records show him acquitted. Attending his trial were his wife LUCITTE and "fmal fon (small son) ROGER.
    
    

Click here for details of John 's family with Lucitte

Sources/Citations http://www.jcsisle.com/royall.html, Land title deeds and tax records find him in the CALENDAR OF PATENT ROLLS which cover the years from 1476 to 1485 

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