Nielsen Hayden genealogy

John Stanley, Titular King of Man

Male Abt 1350 - 1414  (~ 64 years)


Personal Information    |    Notes    |    Sources    |    All

  • Name John Stanley  [1, 2, 3
    Suffix Titular King of Man 
    Birth Abt 1350  of Lathom, Lancashire, England Find all individuals with events at this location  [4
    Gender Male 
    Alternate birth of Stanley, Staffordshire, England Find all individuals with events at this location  [5
    Death 6 Jan 1414  Ardee, Louth, Ireland Find all individuals with events at this location  [4, 6, 7
    Alternate death Bef 28 Jan 1414  Ardee, Louth, Ireland Find all individuals with events at this location  [5
    Burial Burscough Priory, Lancashire, England Find all individuals with events at this location  [6
    Siblings 1 sibling 
    Person ID I18915  Ancestry of PNH, TNH, and others | Ancestor of JTS, Ancestor of TSW
    Last Modified 13 Sep 2021 

    Father William de Stanley,   b. of Stanley, Staffordshire, England Find all individuals with events at this locationd. 1397 
    Mother Alice 
    Family ID F11740  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

    Family Isabel Lathom   d. 26 Oct 1414 
    Marriage Bef 1385  [4, 6
    Children 
    +1. Thomas Stanley,   b. of Elford, Staffordshire, England Find all individuals with events at this locationd. 13 May 1463
    +2. John Stanley, Titular King of Man,   b. Abt 1386, of Lathom, Lancashire, England Find all individuals with events at this locationd. 27 Nov 1437 (Age ~ 51 years)
    Family ID F11730  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
    Last Modified 13 Sep 2021 

  • Notes 
    • "Deputy in Ireland for Robert de Vere, Marquess of Dublin, 1386-1387/8; Controller of the Household, 4 Mar 1389; Justiciary of Ireland, 1 Aug 1389-before 29 Aug 1391; Justice of Chester, 28 Apr 1394; Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, 10 Dec 1399-Apr/July 1401; appointed Knight of the Garter, about 1405. In 1405, Henry IV granted the Isle of Man to Sir John Stanley, which he ruled as a petty king until his death, and which passed on to his descendants, each ruling as King of Man and the Isles until the time of Thomas, 2nd Earl of Derby who changed the title to Lord. King's Lieutenant of Ireland, 8 June 1413-6 Jan 1414." [The Ancestry of Dorothea Poyntz, citation details below.]

      From Wikipedia:

      Stanley's father was Master-Forester of the Forest of Wirral, notorious for his repressive activities. Both Stanley and his older brother, William (who succeeded their father as Master-Forester), were involved in criminal cases which charged them with a forced entry in 1369 and in the murder of Thomas Clotton in 1376.

      Conviction for the murder of Clotton resulted in Stanley being declared an outlaw. However, he was already distinguishing himself in military service in the French wars, and he was pardoned in 1378 at the insistence of his commander, Sir Thomas Trivet.

      In 1385 he married Isabel Lathom, heir to the extensive lands of Sir Thomas Lathom (great-great-grandson of Humphrey VI de Bohun, 3rd Earl of Hereford) in south-west Lancashire. The marriage took place despite the opposition of John of Gaunt and gave Stanley the sort of wealth and financial security he could never have hoped to have had as the younger son in his own family.[1] Stanley had four sons, John, Henry, Thomas and Ralph as well as two daughters.

      The year 1386 saw his first appointment in Ireland as deputy to Robert de Vere, Duke of Ireland. This occurred because of the insurrection created by the friction between Sir Philip de Courtenay, the then English Lieutenant of Ireland, and his appointed governor James Butler, 3rd Earl of Ormond. Stanley led an expedition to Ireland on behalf of de Vere and King Richard II to quell it. He was accompanied by Bishop Alexander de Balscot of Meath and Sir Robert Crull. Butler joined them upon their arrival in Ireland. Because of the success of the expedition, Stanley was appointed to the position of Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, Alexander to chancellor, Crull to treasurer, and Butler to his old position as governor. In 1389, Richard II appointed him justiciar of Ireland, a post he held until 1391. He was heavily involved in Richard's first expedition to Ireland in 1394–1395.

      Throughout the 1390s he was involved in placating possible rebellion in Cheshire. Between 1396 and 1398 he served as captain of Roxburgh. Stanley took part in Richard II's expedition to Ireland in 1399. However, on his return to England, Stanley, who had long proved adept at political manoeuvring, turned his back on Richard and submitted to Henry IV of England.

      Stanley's fortunes were equally good under the Lancastrians. He was granted lordships in the Welsh marches, and served a term as lieutenant of Ireland. In 1403 he was made steward of the household of Henry, Prince of Wales (later Henry V). Unlike many of the Cheshire gentry, he took the side of the king in the rebellion of the Percys. He was wounded in the throat at the Battle of Shrewsbury.

      In 1405 he was granted the tenure of the Isle of Man, which had been confiscated from the rebellious Henry Percy, 1st Earl of Northumberland. In this period he also became steward of the king's household, and was elected a Knight of the Garter. In 1413 King Henry V of England sent him to serve once more as lieutenant of Ireland. He died at Ardee, County Louth, in 1414, after being satirised by the O'Higgins of Meath for despoiling the lands and raiding the cows of Niall O'Higgins. He lasted but five weeks, according to the Four Masters, before succumbing "to the virulence of the lampoons". His body was returned to Lathom and buried at Burscough Priory near Ormskirk. This was the second such Poet's Miracle performed by the O'Higgins.

  • Sources 
    1. [S77] The History of the County Palatine and City of Chester by George Ormerod. Second edition, revised and enlarged by Thomas Helsby. London: George Routledge and Sons, 1882.

    2. [S1518] The Baronetage of England, Volume 2, by E. Kimber and R. Johnson. London, 1771.

    3. [S812] The Victoria County History of Lancaster. Portions online, linked from medievalgenealogy.org.uk.

    4. [S413] Genealogy Page of John Blythe Dobson.

    5. [S1526] The Ancestry of Dorothea Poyntz, Wife of Reverend John Owsley, Generations 1-15, Fourth Preliminary Edition, by Ronny O. Bodine and Bro. Thomas Spalding, Jr. 2013.

    6. [S142] Royal Ancestry: A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families by Douglas Richardson. Salt Lake City, 2013.

    7. [S77] The History of the County Palatine and City of Chester by George Ormerod. Second edition, revised and enlarged by Thomas Helsby. London: George Routledge and Sons, 1882., year and place only.