Ancestral Trails 2016 » John CHURCHILL (1650-1722)

Persönliche Daten John CHURCHILL 

• Er wurde geboren am 24. Juni 1650 in Ashe Manor House, Musbury, Devon.
• Er wurde getauft am 28. Juni 1650 in Axminster, Devon.
• Titel: Governor of The Hudson's Bay Company
• Titel: Prince of Mindelheim
• Titel: 1st Duke of Marlborough
• Er ist verstorben am 16. Juni 1722 in Windsor Lodge, Windsor, Berkshire, er war 71 Jahre alt.
• Ein Kind von Winston CHURCHILL und Elizabeth DRAKE

Familie von John CHURCHILL

Er ist verheiratet mit Sarah JENNINGS.

Sie haben geheiratet am 1. Oktober 1678 in Sandridge, St Albans, Hertfordshire, er war 28 Jahre alt.

Kind(er):

1. Mary CHURCHILL  1689-???? 
2. Anne CHURCHILL  -1716 
3. Elizabeth CHURCHILL  1687-1714 
4. Henrietta CHURCHILL  1681-1733 
5. John Charles CHURCHILL  1686-1703

Notizen bei John CHURCHILL

General John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough, Prince of Mindelheim, KG, PC 26 May 1650 - 16 June 1722 was an English soldier and statesman whose career spanned the reigns of five monarchs. Rising from a lowly page at the court of the House of Stuart, he served James, Duke of York, through the 1670s and early 1680s, earning military and political advancement through his courage and diplomatic skill.

Churchill's role in defeating the Monmouth Rebellion in 1685 helped secure James on the throne, yet just three years later he abandoned his Catholic patron for the Protestant Dutchman, William of Orange. Honoured for his services at William's coronation with the earldom of Marlborough, he served with further distinction in the early years of the Nine Years' War, but persistent charges of Jacobitism brought about his fall from office and temporary imprisonment in the Tower. It was not until the accession of Queen Anne in 1702 that Marlborough reached the zenith of his powers and secured his fame and fortune.

His marriage to the hot-tempered Sarah Jennings - Anne's intimate friend - ensured Marlborough's rise, first to the Captain-Generalcy of British forces, then to a dukedom. Becoming de facto leader of Allied forces during the War of the Spanish Succession, his victories on the fields of Blenheim (1704), Ramillies (1706), Oudenarde (1708), and Malplaquet (1709), ensured his place in history as one of Europe's great generals. But his wife's stormy relationship with the Queen, and her subsequent dismissal from court, was central to his own fall. Incurring Anne's disfavour, and caught between Tory and Whig factions, Marlborough, who had brought glory and success to Anne's reign, was forced from office and went into self-imposed exile. He returned to England and to influence under the House of Hanover with the accession of George I to the British throne in 1714.

Marlborough's insatiable ambition made him the richest of all Anne's subjects. His family connections wove him into the fabric of European politics (his sister Arabella became James II's mistress, and their son, the Duke of Berwick, emerged as one of Louis XIV's greatest Marshals). His leadership of the allied armies consolidated Britain's emergence as a front-rank power. He successfully maintained unity among the allies, thereby demonstrating his diplomatic skills. Throughout ten consecutive campaigns during the Spanish Succession war, Marlborough held together a discordant coalition through his sheer force of personality and raised the standing of British arms to a level not known since the Middle Ages. Although in the end he could not compel total capitulation from his enemies, his victories allowed Britain to rise from a minor to a major power, ensuring the country's growing prosperity throughout the 18th century.

Churchill was the son of Sir Winston Churchill (1620-1688) of Glanvilles Wootton in Dorset, by his wife Elizabeth Drake, fourth daughter of Sir John Drake (died 1636) of Ash in the parish of Musbury in Devon. The Churchill family are stated by the Devon historian William George Hoskins (1954) to have originated at the estate of Churchill, in the parish of Broadclyst in Devon, during the reign of King Henry II (1154-1189).

Winston Churchill and his wife Elizabeth Drake had at least nine children, only five of whom survived infancy. The eldest daughter, Arabella Churchill, was born on 28 February 1649; John Churchill, the eldest son, was born on 26 May 1650 (O.S.). The two younger sons were George Churchill (1654-1710), an admiral in the Royal Navy, and Charles Churchill (1656-1714), a general who served on campaign in Europe with his eldest brother John.

Little is known of John Churchill's childhood about which he left no written description, but growing up in these impoverished conditions at Ashe, with family tensions soured by conflicting allegiances, may have made a lasting impression on the young Churchill. His descendant and biographer the Prime Minister Sir Winston Churchill, asserted that the conditions at Ashe "might well have aroused in his mind two prevailing impressions: first a hatred of poverty ... and secondly the need of hiding thoughts and feelings from those to whom their expression would be repugnant."

After the Restoration of King Charles II in 1660 his father's fortunes took a turn for the better, although he remained far from prosperous. In 1661, Winston became Member of Parliament for Weymouth, and as a mark of royal favour he received rewards for losses incurred fighting against the Parliamentarians during the civil war, including the appointment as a Commissioner for Irish Land Claims in Dublin in 1661. When Winston departed for Ireland the following year, John enrolled at the Dublin Free School; but by 1664, following his father's recall to the position of Junior Clerk Comptroller of the King's Household at Whitehall, John had transferred his studies to St Paul's School in London. The King's own penury meant the old Cavaliers received scant financial reward, but the prodigal monarch could offer something which would cost him nothing - positions at court for their progeny. Thus in 1665, John's sister Arabella became Maid of Honour to Anne Hyde, the Duchess of York. Some months later John, 15, joined her at court serving as page to Anne's husband, James, Duke of York, the King's brother, destined to be king himself.

The Duke of York's passion for all things naval and military rubbed off on young Churchill. Often accompanying the Duke inspecting the troops in the royal parks, it was not long before the boy had set his heart on becoming a soldier himself. On 14 September 1667 (O.S.), he obtained a commission as Ensign in the King's Own Company in the 1st Guards, later to become the Grenadier Guards.

On 21 February 1670, the 1st Guards, in which he had been commissioned, and the Coldstream Guards were ordered each to provide fifty musketeers, a corporal, a sergeant and a commissioned officer for service with Sir Thomas Allen's Mediterranean fleet. In March 1670, there is an order of the King to provide money owed to Churchill's father, Sir Winston, to cover John Churchill's "equippage and other expenses in ye employment he is now forthwith by our command to undertake on board ye fleet in ye Mediterranean seas".

By February 1671, John Churchill was back in London and duelling with Sir John Fenwick. Churchill's handsome features and manner - described by Lord Chesterfield as "irresistible to either man or woman" - had soon attracted the ravenous attentions of one of the King's most noteworthy mistresses, Barbara Villiers, Duchess of Cleveland. But his liaisons with the insatiable temptress were indeed dangerous. One account has it that upon the King's appearance Churchill leapt out of his lover's bed and hid in the cupboard, but the King, himself wily in such matters, soon discovered young Churchill, who promptly fell to his knees. "You are a rascal," said Charles, "but I forgive you because you do it to get your bread." The story may be apocryphal - another version has Churchill jumping out of the window - but it is widely accepted that he was the father of Cleveland's daughter, Barbara, born on 16 July 1672 (O.S.). However, Churchill never formally acknowledged her.

In 1672 Churchill was posted to sea again, and on 28 May fought against the Dutch navy in the Battle of Solebay (Southwold Bay), on the Suffolk coast. He was possibly aboard the Duke of York's flagship, the Prince, which was crippled in the action. Shortly thereafter, Churchill was promoted (above the resentful head of his lieutenant) to a captaincy in the Duke of York's Admiralty Regiment. The following year Churchill gained a commendation at the Siege of Maastricht when the young captain distinguished himself as part of the 30-man forlorn hope, successfully capturing and defending part of the fortress. During this incident Churchill is credited with saving the Duke of Monmouth's life, receiving a slight wound in the process but gaining further praise from a grateful House of Stuart, as well as recognition from the House of Bourbon. King Louis XIV in person commended the deed, from which time forward bore Churchill an enviable reputation for physical courage, as well as earning the high regard of the common soldier.

Although Charles II's anti-French Parliament had forced England to withdraw from the Franco-Dutch War in 1674, some English regiments remained in French service. In April Churchill was appointed the colonelcy of one such regiment, thereafter serving with, and learning from, the great Marshal Turenne. Churchill was present at the hard-fought battles of Sinsheim in June 1674, and Enzheim in October; he may also have been present at Sasbach in July 1675, where Turenne was killed.

Marriage and family
On his return to St. James's Palace, Churchill's attention was drawn towards other matters, and to a fresh face at court. "I beg you will let me see you as often as you can," pleaded Churchill in a letter to Sarah Jennings, "which I am sure you ought to do if you care for my love ..." Sarah Jennings' social origins were in many ways similar to Churchill's - minor gentry blighted by debt-induced poverty. After her father's death when she was eight, Sarah, together with her mother and sisters, moved to London. As Royalist supporters (despite the fact that Sarah's great uncle, James Temple, was convicted of regicide), the Jennings' loyalty to the crown, like the Churchill's, was repaid with court employment, and in 1673 Sarah followed her sister Frances into the household of the Duchess of York, Mary of Modena, second wife to James, Duke of York.

Sarah was about fifteen when Churchill returned from the Continent in 1675, and he appears to have been almost immediately captivated by her charms and considerable good looks. Churchill's amorous, almost abject, missives of devotion were, it seems, received with suspicion - his first lover, Barbara Villiers, was just moving her household to Paris, feeding doubts that he may well have been looking at Sarah as a replacement mistress rather than a fiancée. However, his persistent courtship over the coming months eventually won over the beautiful, if relatively poor, Maid of Honour. Although Winston wished his son to marry the wealthy Catherine Sedley (if only to ease his own burden of debt), Colonel Churchill married Sarah sometime in the winter of 1677-78, possibly in the apartments of the Duchess of York.

John and Sarah had the following children:
Lady Harriet Churchill (Oct 1679-c.1698)
Henrietta Churchill, 2nd Duchess of Marlborough (19 Jul 1681 - 24 Oct 1733)
Lady Anne Churchill (27 Feb 1683 - 15 Apr 1716)
John Churchill, Marquess of Blandford (13 Feb 1686 - 20 Feb 1703)
Lady Elizabeth Churchill (15 Mar 1687 - 22 Mar 1751)
Lady Mary Churchill (15 Jul 1689 - 14 May 1719), became Duchess of Montagu by marriage to the 2nd Duke
Lord Charles Churchill (19 Aug 1690 - 22 May 1692)

The Churchills' combined income now ensured a life of some style and comfort; as well as maintaining their residence in London (staffed with seven servants), they were also able to purchase Holywell House in St Albans (Sarah Jennings' family home) where their own family could enjoy the benefits of country life. While in Edinburgh Sarah had given birth to Henrietta on 19 July 1681 (O.S.). Another daughter, Anne, arrived in 1684, followed by John in 1686, Elizabeth in 1687, Mary in 1689, and Charles in 1690 who lived for only two years.

Churchill resumed court life with enthusiasm. In July 1683 he was sent to the Continent to conduct Prince George of Denmark to England for his arranged marriage to the 18-year-old Princess Anne, the Duke of York's younger daughter. Anne lost no time in appointing Sarah - of whom she had been passionately fond since childhood - one of her Ladies of the Bedchamber. Their relationship continued to blossom, so much so that years later Sarah wrote - "To see [me] was a constant joy; and to part with [me] for never so short a time, a constant uneasiness ... This worked even to the jealousy of a lover." For his part, Churchill treated the princess with respectful affection and grew genuinely attached to her, assuming - in his reverence to royalty - the chivalrous role of a knightly champion. From this time forward the Churchills were increasingly detached from James's Catholic inner circle and more noticeably associated with the Princess.

On 9 February 1703 (O.S.), soon after the Marlboroughs' elevation, their daughter Elizabeth married Scroop Egerton, Earl of Bridgewater. This was followed in the summer by an engagement between Mary and John Montagu, heir to the Earl of, and later Duke of, Montagu, (they later married on 20 March 1705 (O.S.)). Their two older daughters were already married: Henrietta to Godolphin's son Francis in April 1698, and Anne to the hot-headed and intemperate Charles Spencer, Earl of Sunderland in 1700. However, Marlborough's hopes of founding a great dynasty of his own reposed in his eldest and only surviving son, John, who, since his father's elevation, had borne the courtesy title of Marquess of Blandford. But while studying at Cambridge in early 1703, the 17-year-old was stricken with a severe strain of smallpox. His parents rushed to be by his side, but on Saturday morning, 20 February (O.S.), the boy died, plunging the duke into 'the greatest sorrow in the world'.

Bearing his grief, and leaving Sarah to hers, the Duke returned to The Hague at the beginning of March.
Marlborough writing the Blenheim despatch to Sarah, by Robert Alexander Hillingford. "I have no time to say more but to beg you will give my duty to the Queen, and let her know her army has had a glorious victory."
John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough by Godfrey Kneller. This oil sketch shows Marlborough, victor at Blenheim and Ramillies, in triumph.

The Queen lavished upon her favourite the royal manor of Woodstock and the promise of a fine palace commemorative of his great victory at Blenheim; but since her accession her relationship with Sarah had become progressively distant. The Duke and Duchess had risen to greatness not least because of their intimacy with Anne, but the Duchess's relentless campaign against the Tories (Sarah was a firm Whig), isolated her from the Queen whose natural inclinations lay with the Tories, the staunch supporters of the Church of England. For her part, Anne, now Queen and no longer the timid adolescent so easily dominated by her more beautiful friend, had grown tired of Sarah's tactless political hectoring and increasingly haughty manner which, in the coming years, were to destroy their friendship and undermine the position of her husband.

While Marlborough fought in the Low Countries a series of personal and party rivalries instigated a general reversal of fortune. The Whigs, who were the main prop of the war, had been laying siege to Godolphin. As a price for supporting the government in the next parliamentary session, the Whigs demanded a share of public office with the appointment of a leading member of their Junto, the Earl of Sunderland (Marlborough's son-in-law), to the post of Secretary of State. The Queen, who loathed Sunderland and the Junto, and who refused to be dominated by any single party, bitterly opposed the move; but Godolphin, increasingly dependent on Whig support, had little room for manoeuvre. With Sarah's tactless, unsubtle backing, Godolphin relentlessly pressed the Queen to submit to Whig demands. In despair, Anne finally relented and Sunderland received the seals of office; but the special relationship between Godolphin, Sarah, and the Queen had taken a severe blow and she began to turn increasingly to a new favourite - Sarah's cousin, Abigail Masham. Anne also became ever more reliant on the advice of Harley, who, convinced that the duumvirate's policy of appeasing the Whig Junto was unnecessary, had set himself up as alternative source of advice to a sympathetic Queen.

Following his victory at Ramillies Marlborough returned to England and the acclamation of Parliament; his titles and estates were made perpetual upon his heirs, male or female, in order that 'the memory of these deeds should never lack one of his name to bear it'.

The Duke's return to favour under the House of Hanover enabled him to preside over the defeat of the 1715 Jacobite rising from London (although it was his former assistant, Cadogan, who directed the operations). But his health was fading, and on 28 May 1716 (O.S.), shortly after the death of his daughter Anne, Countess of Sunderland, he suffered a paralytic stroke at Holywell House. This was followed by another, more severe stroke in November, this time at a house on the Blenheim estate. The Duke recovered somewhat, but while his speech had become impaired his mind remained clear, recovering enough to ride out to watch the builders at work on Blenheim Palace and attend the Lords to vote for Oxford's impeachment.

In 1719 the Duke and Duchess were able to move into the east wing of the unfinished palace, but Marlborough had only three years to enjoy it. While living at Windsor Lodge he suffered another stroke in June 1722, not long after his 72nd birthday. Finally, at 4 a.m on 16 June (O.S.), in the presence of his wife and two surviving daughters Henrietta Godolphin and Mary Montagu, the 1st Duke of Marlborough died. He was initially buried in the vault at the east end of Henry VII's chapel in Westminster Abbey, but following instructions left by Sarah, who died in 1744, Marlborough was moved to be by her side lying in the vault beneath the chapel at Blenheim
SOURCE: Wikipedia - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Churchill,_1st_Duke_of_Marlborough

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