- St. Leger
The St. Leger (pronounced "saint ledger" or "sellinger") family is an old
Anglo -Irish family with Norman and German roots going back over a thousand years, and whose name has appeared more than a few times in history.The surname St. Leger is recorded in several forms [Anglo-French and Norman-Irish St. Leger, St. Ledger, and Leger, and the concentrated Irish spellings of Sallinger, Sallenger, and Sellinger. [http://www.surnamedb.com] ] The St. can be dropped altogether. "St." is an abbreviation of
Saint , and the whole name is an anglicized version of "de Sancto Leodegario". Branches of the family have dropped the Saint part of the name, some partly for religious reasons during the reformation as the name is perceived as stronglyCatholic .This name can be described as French, but is originally of Germanic origins. The name ultimately derives from the pre 7th century
Old German personal nameLeodegar composed of the elements "liutr" (tribe), and "gari" (spear). St. Leger, a 7th century martyr andbishop of Autun , contributed to the popularity of the name in France, while in Germany the name was connected with a different saint,Ludger , an 8th centurybishop of Münster .The name was introduced into England by the
Normans after 1066, and is first recorded (without surname) in the 1192Pipe Rolls of Hampshire. The surname was introduced into Ireland in the 13th century, where it achieved considerable status. Early examples of the surname recording include SirAnthony de Saint Leger , 1540,Knight of the Order of the Garter , thriceViceroy of Ireland , who forced Ireland into submission in the reigns ofHenry VIII ,Edward VI andMary Tudor . A plaque dedicated to Sir Anthony Saint Leger can be found inSaint George Chapel atWindsor Castle .William Ledger and Elizabeth May were married at St. Margarets, Westminster, London, on April 25th 1595. The first recorded spelling of the family name is possibly that of Adam Leger, which was dated 1279, in the
Hundred Rolls ofCambridgeshire , during the reign ofEdward I of England .The English and Irish family can trace it origins back to Robertus de Villapari vel. de Sancto Leodegario (also known as
Sir Robert de Saint Leger ), a Norman knight who arrived as part of the Norman conquest of1066 . His son,Ralph De St. Leger fought at the Battle of Hastings. Sir Robert hadstigmata [ [http://worldconnect.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=rwfurtaw&id=I36789 RootsWeb's WorldConnect Project: Furtaw & Edwards Ancestry ] ] .Several generations of St. Legers fought in the
Crusades . LordJean St. Leger (1160-1216) 'lived mainly on his French lands in Normandy whilst his brother Wizo cared for the lands at Fairlight in Sussex. As a result of his feudal duties, he accompanied the French King Philip August on his conquest of Normandy, placed thus in a bad position, in reprisal the English King confiscated his English lands and arrested him on reconquering Normandy. Jean was held prisoner at Corfe Castle in Dorset for many years. The Barons revolt allowed the St. Leger family to offer ransom/release aided by the English Master Templar Roger St. Leger on 30 Aug 1216. Lord of Fairlight.'The Christian name Jean runs in the French St. Leger family. Another, Sir Jean De St. Leger, accompanied
Robert, Duke of Normandy on theFirst Crusade 1096. Another St. Leger rode withPhilip Augustus in Palestine in 1191. A map of Jerusalem 1099-1147 during the times of the Crusades, shows a "Leger's Pool" just outsideSt. Stephen's Gate .Geoffrey De St. Leger fought withRichard I of England in Palestine from 1186 to 1201 or 1202. He was present at thesiege of Acre in 1187.Ralph St. Leger, Lord of Ulcombe also too part in the siege of Acre in 1187.. His tomb still exists in Ulcombe Church. He returned to England around 1201. As his son carried the same name there are confusions but aRalph St. Leger was a signatory toMagna Carta in 1215.Another Jean St. Leger was a
Benedictine and Abbot of theAbbey of St. Wandrille , France, during the 14th century. BishopThomas St. Leger 1240-1320 was the Archdeacon ofKells around 1275 and is said to have raised money for the Crusades.Sir Thomas Saint Leger was aKnight of the Order of the Bath and Ambassador to France. He along withLouis XI and others signed thetreaty of Pecquigny , ending theHundred Years War . He marriedAnne Plantagenet, Duchess of Exeter . UponEdward IV of England 's death in 1483, St. Leger was beheaded byRichard III of England . He and Anne, who had died giving birth to their only child also named Anne, are buried in The Roos Chapel, St. George's Chapel, Windsor Castle. Their daughter marriedSir George Manners , of the family of theDuke of Rutland . Their tomb (Sir George Manners) can be found in the Queen's private chapel in St. George's Chapel, Windsor.Another St. Leger of historical importance was Gen. Anthony St. Leger. He was born in 1731 probably in Kildare, Ireland. He was one of a group of noblemen and gentlemen who in 1778 gathered for a private dinner party in an upper room of the Red Lion Inn which stands in the market square in Doncaster. When they departed, history had been made. A horse race which was to set the pattern for classic racing throughout the world had been christened the St. Leger. The race, a sweepstake for three-year-olds, had been born two years earlier in 1776, at the suggestion of Lt. Col. (later Major-General) Anthony St. Leger and ran for the first time over a two-mile course on Cantley Common in Doncaster. The classic race, The St. Leger has been run at Doncaster ever since.
And another important branch of the St. Leger family is that of Sir Anthony St. Leger KG of Ulcombe in co. Kent. Sir Anthony was a courtier and lawyer of Lincolns Inn charged by King Henry VIII to devise a policy to bring Ireland under the Crown. Sir Anthony drew up the 'grant-re-grant' policy whereby Irish chieftans would hand over their lands to Henry and be granted them back with an English title. Sir Anthony travelled to Ireland and met each chieftan to negotiate. Sir Anthony, considered by Irish historians to be an English gentleman and reasonable man, spent 13 months travelling through Ireland on this mission. He managed to persuade the majority of chieftans to accept this plan but three great chieftans in the north of Ireland held out, sowing the historical seeds of the troubles to come. He served 5 terms as Lord Deputy in Ireland, and was granted Leeds Castle in Kent for his service to the King. His descendants became the Lords Doneraile of Doneraile Court in co. Cork in Ireland. The male line became extinct and the title is now in abeyance.
t Legers in history
St Legers of notable historical interest include:
*Anthony St. Leger (Lord Deputy ofIreland ) - (1496 –1559 ) Served as Lord Deputy in Ireland for 5 terms (not 3 as previously stated)
*Sir John St. Leger of Annery - (knight, and land owner) - (1515 (1525 )–1593 )
*Sir William St. Leger - (1586 –1642 )- president of the province of Munster in Ireland
*Anthony St. Leger - (soldier, British MP and founder of theSt. Leger Stakes ) - (1731 –1786 )
*Colonel Barry St. Leger (British Colonel involved in theUnited States Revolutionary War ) - (1737 –1789 )
*John Hayes St Leger (1756-1800), General - friend of the Prince of Wales
*Moya St. Leger - journalist, author, and president of theConnolly Association [http://archives.tcm.ie/businesspost/2006/02/19/story11879.asp] ) - (b.1938 )
*Antony Selwyn St Leger - epidemiologist - (b.1948 )
*Raymond St. Leger - (entomologist ,mycologist and collegeprofessor ) - (b.1957 )
*Elizabeth St Leger ,- first lady Mason [http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~heveningham/page8.html]Anthony St Leger. Established Architect Living in South London
References
*Moya Frenz St. Leger, "St. Leger The Family and the Race", 1986 ISBN 0-85033-588-4, reprinted in 2004
External links
* [http://www.uk-genealogy.org St. Leger genealogy by Nigel Batty-Smith]
* http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~heveningham/
* http://www.genealogy.com/users/s/t/l/Rosemary-Stlegermay/
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.