921.73 W589w.pdf - Mesa FamilySearch Library

Rev. Samuel W/dgin_. 4 t
the army of the Conqueror; and he appears to
have rendered that monarch important assist-
ance in the battle of Hastings. This chief re-
ceived large rewards for his services, and was
the founder of the family in England.
"William de St. John left two sons, who, by
their noble alliances, increased the influence
and possessions of the family. Bolingbroke
was descended from John, the younger of these
sons, through a female descendant named May-
bel. This lady married Adam de Port, a de-
scendant of the barons of Basing in Hampshire;
a title which his ancestors had enjoyed long an-
terior to the conquest. The heir of Adam de
Port assumed, upon the death of his father, his
maternal name of St. John, which was retained
by his issue. Thus, though Bolingbroke derived
his name from one of the Norman chiefs, who
upheld the standard of the Conqueror, his pa-
ternal descent was from the ancient nobility of
the Saxons.
"Nor did this house owe all its importance to
its antiquity and wealth. In each succeeding
age, it produced men conspicuous in the field,
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