United States
Waller Genealogy
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Family" Home Page
Almost all the Wallers in the world are
descendants of the
people listed below.
Generation 1, Alured de Valer, a Norman knight who came over to
England with
William the Conqueror, fought at the Battle of Hastings on October 14, 1066,
was granted
land in England for his military services and whose name is in The Domesday
Book.
Generation 2 and 3, Unknown de Valers. Statements have appeared
in print that
Alured de Valer fought with William the Conqueror in the Battle of Hastings,
14 Oct. 1066;
was given land in England for his military service; that his name is
recorded in The
Domesday Book (published in 1086) and that he died in 1183. Now, since there
is a spread
of 117 years from the Battle of Hastings to the year 1183, it seems clear
that the same
person could not have taken part in that battle and lived until 1183. It has
been decided,
at least to our satisfaction, that two generations of Valers must have
existed between the
veteran of Hastings and the recorded death of an Alured in 1183.
Generation 4, Alured de Valer, who died in 1183, was a great
grandson of The
Hero of Hastings. He is mentioned on the mural tablet erected by Sir
Jonathan Wathen
Waller (b. 1769) at Speldhurst Church, near Tonbridge Wells, in County Kent.
He lived at
Newark, Nottinghamshire and married Adelina de Hockerton.
Generation 5, John de Valer, born about 1165. We would
appreciate any
documented information we can get on this individual.
Generation 6, Henry de Valer, born about 1200. We would
appreciate any
documented information we can get on this individual.
Generation 7, Vilhelm de Valer, (ca. 1230-1278). We would
appreciate any
documented information we can get on this individual.
Generation 8, Valer de Valer, (ca. 1260-1316). We would
appreciate any
documented information we can get on this individual.
Generation 9, Henry de Valer (ca. 1295-1371), of Hockerton, who
married Alicia
de Mortimer. From this union sprang the Wallers of Groombridge
Hall.
Generation 10, Thomas Waller (1330-1390), oldest son and heir.
He married
Christina Chalfunt, daughter of Henry Chalfunt. We do not know when the
family left the
estate in Nottinghamshire, given them by William the Conqueror, but it was
this Thomas
Waller, of Lamberthurst, who in 1360 purchased from Lord Clinton the estate
known as
"Groombridge" (also spelled Gromebridge and Groomsbridge) to begin
a 244 year
tenure there by the Waller family. Records show License of Land, (Title) at
Billingston in
1407. Much earlier in Saxony times Groombridge had been a moated castle.
This was the time of the Renaissance (1300-1550), a time of
learning. Thomas
was a contemporary of the great English writer, Geoffry Chaucer (1340-1400).
Modern
English was beginning to take shape as Normans began to use more of the
Anglo-Saxon
language and Saxons took up some of the Latin. Thomas changed the spelling
of the family
name to "Waller" and dropped the "de".
Generation 11, John Waller (1363-1420), married Margaret
Lansdall, daughter of
Thomas Lansdall of County Sussex.
Generation 12, Sir Richard Waller (1395-1462), Hero of
Agincourt. Knighted in
the field by King Henry V for capturing Prince Charles, the Duke of Orleans
who was
commanding the French forces. Sir Richard married Margaret Gulby and we have
records of
two sons. (see "A Very Interesting Waller" on the Home
Page)
Generation 13e, Sir William Waller, born around 1420, oldest son
and heir, who
inherited Groombridge Castle and the title of Baronet, to become a part of a
line of
Baronets which was still going in 1975 in England.
Generation 13a, John Waller (ca.1420-1490), a younger brother of
Sir William
Waller, from whom sprang the Wallers of Beaconsfield, most, if not all, of
the Wallers in
Virginia and Tennessee, and Edmund Waller, Poet Laureate of England. John
was settled in
Leigh, County Kent, when he purchased Beaconsfield Castle in
Buckinghamshire, somewhere
around 1450, and moved his family there to become the first of the Bucks
Wallers and to
begin a 200 year tenure for the Waller Family. Beaconsfield is located about
25 miles
northeast of London on the main road to Oxford. He married Elizabeth
Farinfold, daughter
of William of Leigh, Kent.
Generation 14, Richard Waller of Beaconsfield, who married Anne
Symmons,
daughter of Dr. John Symmons of London. We need a documented date of birth
and/or death on
Richard. Anne was born ca. 1524.
Generation 15, Robert Waller (1482-1545) Robert married twice,
Elizabeth Fryer
and Elizabeth Duncomb, and from each marriage there sprang an important
American lineage.
Generation 16, William Waller (1510-Feb 5, 1557) His mother was
Elizabeth
Fryer. William is the ancestor of the Wallers of Stafford and Henry Counties
Virginia,
Roane County Tennessee and Fannin County Texas. From this point go to
Stafford County,
Virginia to continue the line on William.
Generation 16, Edmund Waller (ca. 1530-1603) His mother was
Elizabeth Duncomb.
Edmund married Cicelie Bell in 1555 and sired the lineage of Edmund Waller,
the Poet
Laureate of England. There is a great mystery to be solved regarding the
descendants of
Edmund the Poet. We will be looking at that at some time in the
future.
We have generation 17 branching at this point. The great
majority of American
Wallers have generation 15, Robert Waller and one of his two wives, in their
family tree.
To avoid confusion we will be treating Robert's sons, William and Edmund
separately.
I will be happy to send a GEDCOM of the above list
to any Waller
descendant. Click the Email button below. If you are not comfortable with
GEDCOMs it is
time you learned. I don't have all the answers but I'll work with you until
you have it
right.