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Fitzwilliam

There are descents from two families here, the Viscounts Fitzwilliam of Ireland and the Earls Fitzwilliam of England. There is no reason to believe these two families share a common origin - though there were a number of contacts between the two families through the centuries, and they often referred to each other as kinsmen.

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The Viscounts Fitzwilliam of Ireland

• References:
  • FITZWILLIAM OF MERRION in [Complete Peerage]
  • FITZWILLIAM in [Burkes Extinct]

  • MERRION (and other districts) in [Ball, vol.2, 1903]

• Sources yet to be consulted:
  • "The Fitzwilliams of Merrion", Reportorium 2(1):88-96, 1958.

  • Wilton House has a pedigree of the Fitzwilliam family, c.1700 (note this is before the marriage with the 9th Earl - Wilton may have inherited all the Fitzwilliam papers).

Various members of the Fitzwilliam family not shown below were connected with:

• Jobstown Castle, W of Tallaght, from 1326 (see JOBSTOWN in [Ball, vol.3, 1905]).
• Other lands in Dundrum (not the Castle), early 1300s.

• Swords Castle, end of Main St, Swords, N Co.Dublin, c.1400
  [built 1183 for the first Norman Archbishop of Dublin, the Archbishops of Dublin left it for Tallaght in 1324],
  later in 1500s the Viceroy Sidney attempted to renovate it.

• Donnybrook, Co.Dublin (later inherited by their cousins below), 1400s.
• Thorn Castle (later inherited by their cousins below), 1400s.
• Booterstown Castle (later inherited by their cousins below), 1449.

For our line, I take the descent shown in [Ball, vol.2, 1903], which is more convincing than that shown in [Burkes Extinct]:

Richard Fitzwilliam, "of Ballymon" (perhaps Ballymun, N Co.Dublin),
fl temp Edward II (reigned 1307-27), had issue:

1. William Fitzwilliam,
   of Moreton, nr Swords, N Co.Dublin [must be Mooretown, W of Swords, and N of Ballymun],
   NOT of Swords Castle,
   built Wicklow Castle, Co.Wicklow,
   granted Dundrum Castle, Co.Dublin, 1365,
   also occupied Baggotrath Castle, Co.Dublin.

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The Earls Fitzwilliam of England

• References:
  • FITZWILLIAM in [Burkes Peerage]
  • FITZWILLIAM in [Burkes Extinct]

Sir William Fitzwilliam, mar Maud Cromwell [descendant of King John] and had issue:

Sir John Fitzwilliam, mar Eleanor Greene and had issue:

John Fitzwilliam, mar Helen Villiers and had issue:

1. Sir William Fitzwilliam, Knt.,
   of Milton and Gainspark, Essex,
   mar 1stly to Anne Hawes and had issue:
   1. Sir William Fitzwilliam, Knt., died 1576, having had issue:
      1. Sir William Fitzwilliam, born 1526,
         mar Anne Sidney,
         Lord Deputy (governor) of Ireland and Lord Justice of Ireland, period 1560-94,
         his brothers-in-law Sir Henry Sidney, K.G. and Thomas Radcliffe, 3rd Earl of Sussex were Lord Deputy etc. at similar time,
         received the petition to found TCD 1590,
         died 1599, age 73 yrs,
         had issue:
         1. Sir William Fitzwilliam, Knt., died 1618, having had issue:
            1. William Fitzwilliam, 1st Baron Fitzwilliam.

   2. Anne Fitzwilliam,
      mar Sir Anthony Cooke and had issue.

   
   mar 2ndly to Mildred Sackville,
   died 1534,
   had issue by 2nd wife:

   1. Mary Fitzwilliam, mar John Shelley and had issue.

Related to this English branch:

Sir Thomas Fitzwilliam, Kt, had issue:

1. Thomas Fitzwilliam, killed at Battle of Flodden 1513.

2. John Fitzwilliam, killed at Battle of Flodden 1513.

3. William Fitzwilliam, 1st Earl of Southampton,
   cr 1537, died 1543, title extinct.

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• The Viscounts Fitzwilliam
• The Earls Fitzwilliam

• Fitzwilliam genealogy (and p.2 and p.3 and p.4) by Peter Barns-Graham

• Fitzwilliam surname discussion forum