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Personal data John Beaufort Fairborn, 1st Earl of Somerset 

• He was born in the year 1373 in Goudet, Haute-Loire, Auvergne, France (Château de Beaufort).
• (note1) .Source 1

  Source: Theresa Hindle, Gary Lang, Ben Strubl, et al.

• He died on March 16, 1410 in London, Eng. (St. Katherine by the Tower Hosp.), he was 37 years old.
• He is buried after March 16, 1410 in Canterbury Cathedral, Kent, Eng. (St Michael's Chapel).
• A child of John of Gaunt and Katherine de Roet
• This information was last updated on January 25, 2025.

Household of John Beaufort Fairborn, 1st Earl of Somerset

He is married to Margaret de Holland.

They got married in the year 1397 at Eng, he was 24 years old.

Child(ren):

1. Joan Beaufort  1404-1445 

Notes about John Beaufort Fairborn, 1st Earl of Somerset

John Beaufort , Fairborn, 1st Earl of Somerset

Sources: Author: Hindle, Teresa; Lang, Gary; Strubl, Ben; et al.; Title: "John Beaufort, Fairborn, 1st Earl of Somerset," (Publication site: Salt Lk. City UT, Publisher: Family Search, Publication date: xxii Jan MMXXV)

https://www.familysearch.org/tree/person/details/9HTZ-YQ8

"... John Beaufort, Fairborn, 1st Earl of Somerset Last Changed: January 19, 2025 Sarah Ayling Sex Male Last Changed: January 12, 2012 KWRN-WL2

Birth 1373 Château de Beaufort, Goudet, Haute-Loire, Auvergne, France Last Changed: November 10, 2024 Wilma Fleming Haynes

Death 16 March 1410 St. Katherine by the Tower Hospital, London, England Last Changed: November 10, 2024 Wilma Fleming Haynes

Burial Aft 16 March 1410 St Michael's Chapel, Canterbury Cathedral, Kent, England Last Changed: November 10, 2024 Wilma Fleming Haynes

Legitimate February 1397 by Pope and Parliament
Military Service 1397 Lord High Admiral of England
Occupation 1397 Dover, Kent, England Constable of Dover Castle
Occupation 1397 Warden of the Cinque Ports
Occupation 1398 Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports
Occupation 1404 Lord High Constable of England
Military Service Admiral of the North and West
Military Service Captain of Calais
Title of Nobility 1st Duke of Somerset
Military Service Lord High Admiral of England
Title of Nobility 1st Earl of Somerset
Title of Nobility Knight of the Garter
Title of Nobility 1st Marquess of Dorset
Title of Nobility 1st Marquess of Somerset
Royal House Plantagenet

Spouses & Children

John Beaufort, Fairborn, 1st Earl of Somerset Male 1373-1410 9HTZ-YQ8 [<-ancestor]
Margaret de Holland, Countess of Somerset Female 1385-1439 LD79-5VT [<-ancestress]
Marriage 1397 England

Children (6)

[1] Henry Beaufort 2nd Earl of Somerset Male 1401-1418 LY5Y-G8D
[2] John Beaufort II, Duke of Somerset Male 1404-1444 G2JT-PPD
[3] Thomas Beaufort 1st Count of Perche Male 1405-1426 LQRJ-TMG
[4] Edmund Beaufort 2nd Duke of Somerset Male 1406-1455 KPQH-LWX
[5] Joan Beaufort Queen of Scots Female 1407-1445 M72D-PDF [<-ancestress]
[6] Margaret Ann de Beaufort Female 1410-1449 LV12-ZGJ

Parents and Siblings

John of Gaunt 1st Duke of Lancaster, 1st Earl of Richmond Male 1340-1399 GWZX-F4D [<-ancestor]
Katherine de Roet Duchess of Lancaster Female 1350-1403 9C7T-V6M [<-ancestress]
Marriage 13 January 1396 Lincolnshire, England

Children (5)

[1] John Beaufort, Fairborn, 1st Earl of Somerset Male 1373-1410 9HTZ-YQ8 [<-ancestor]
[2] Lady Katherine Beaufort Female 1373-1418 G121-Z5X
[3] Joan de Beaufort Countess of Westmorland Female 1375-1440 MMWD-3QP
[4] Henry Beaufort Cardinal Bishop of Winchester Male 1375-1447 LZ2T-ZGS
[5] Thomas Beaufort 2nd Duke of Exeter, Earl of Dorset Male 1377-1426 93RF-BNT

Brief Life History

The Life Summary of John

When John Beaufort 1st Earl of Somerset was born on 29 January 1371, in Kettlethorpe, Lincolnshire, England, his father, John of Gaunt Duke of Lancaster, was 30 and his mother, Katherine de Roet Duchess of Lancaster, was 20. He had at least 3 sons and 2 daughters with Margaret Holland Duchess of Clarence. He registered for military service in 1397. In 1404, at the age of 33, his occupation is listed as lord high constable of England. He died on 16 March 1410, in London, England, at the age of 39, and was buried in Canterbury Cathedral, Canterbury, Kent, England.

John Beaufort, 1st Marquess of Somerset and 1st Marquess of Dorset, later only 1st Earl of Somerset, KG (c. 1373-16 March 1410) was an English nobleman and politician. He was the first of the four children of John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster, and his mistress Katherine Swynford, whom he married in 1396. Beaufort's surname probably reflects his father's lordship of Beaufort in Champagne, France.

The Beaufort children were declared legitimate twice by parliament during the reign of King Richard II of England, in 1390 and 1397, as well as by Pope Boniface IX in September 1396. Even though they were the grandchildren of Edward III and next in the line of succession after their father's legitimate children by his first two wives, the Beauforts were barred from succession to the throne by their half-brother Henry IV.

Early life
Between May and September 1390, Beaufort saw military service in North Africa in the Barbary Crusade led by Louis II, Duke of Bourbon. In 1394, he was in Lithuania serving with the Teutonic Knights.

John was created Earl of Somerset on 10 February 1397, just a few days after the legitimation of the Beaufort children was recognized by Parliament. The same month, he was also appointed Admiral of the Irish fleet, as well as Constable of Dover Castle and Warden of the Cinque Ports. In May, his admiralty was extended to include the northern fleet. That summer, the new earl became one of the noblemen who helped Richard II free himself from the power of the Lords Appellant. As a reward, he was created Marquess of Somerset and Marquess of Dorset on 29 September, and sometime later that year he was made a Knight of the Garter and appointed Lieutenant of Aquitaine. In addition, two days before his elevation as a Marquess he married the king's niece, Margaret Holland, sister of Thomas Holland, 1st Duke of Surrey, another of the counter-appellants. John remained in the king's favour even after his older half-brother Henry Bolingbroke (later Henry IV) was banished from England in 1398.

Later career
After Richard II was deposed by Henry Bolingbroke in 1399, the new king rescinded the titles that had been given to the counter-appellants, and thus John Beaufort became merely Earl of Somerset again. Nevertheless, he proved loyal to his half-brother's reign, serving in various military commands and on some important diplomatic missions. It was Beaufort who was given the confiscated estates of the Welsh rebel leader Owain Glyndwr in 1400, although he would not have been able to take possession of these estates unless he had lived until after 1415. In 1404, he was named Constable of England.

Family
John Beaufort and his wife Margaret Holland, the daughter of Thomas Holland, 2nd Earl of Kent and Alice FitzAlan, had six children. His granddaughter Lady Margaret Beaufort married Edmund Tudor, 1st Earl of Richmond, the son of Dowager Queen Catherine of Valois by Owen Tudor.

Somerset died in the Hospital of St Katharine's by the Tower. He was buried in St Michael's Chapel in Canterbury Cathedral.

His children included the following:

1.) Henry Beaufort, 2nd Earl of Somerset (1401-25 November 1418)
2.) John Beaufort, 1st Duke of Somerset (baptized 25 March 1404-27 May 1444), father of Margaret Beaufort, Countess of Richmond and Derby, grandfather of King Henry VII of England

2.) Joan Beaufort, Queen of Scotland (1404-15 July 1445) married James I, King of Scots.

5.) Thomas Beaufort, Count of Perche (1405-3 October 1431)

6) Edmund Beaufort, 2nd Duke of Somerset (1406-22 May 1455)

7.) Margaret Beaufort, Countess of Devon (1409-1449) married Thomas de Courtenay, 13th Earl of Devon.

Titles, styles, honours and arms

Arms

As a legitimated grandson of the sovereign, Beaufort bore the arms of the kingdom, differenced by a bordure gobony argent and azure.

The family emblem featuring the portcullis was shown on the reverse of British pennies minted between 1971 and 2008.

According to genealogists, a few of Beaufort's notable descendants include British actor Benedict Cumberbatch and codebreaker Alan Turing. Coincidentally, Cumberbatch portrayed Turing in the film The Imitation Game.

John Beaufort, 1st Earl of Somerset (c. 1371– 1410).
Henry Beaufort, 2nd Earl of Somerset (c. 1401– 1418).
John Beaufort, 1st Duke of Somerset (c. 1404– 1444).
Margaret Beaufort, Countess of Richmond and Derby (1443– 1509), mother of King Henry VII of England
Joan Beaufort, Queen of Scotland (c. 1404– 1445)
Thomas Beaufort, Count of Perche (c. 1405– 1431)
Edmund Beaufort, 2nd Duke of Somerset (c. 1406– 1455).
Henry Beaufort, 3rd Duke of Somerset (1436– 1464).
Margaret Beaufort, Countess of Stafford (c. 1427– 1474)
Edmund Beaufort, 4th Duke of Somerset (c. 1438– 1471).
John Beaufort, Marquess of Dorset (c. 1441– 1471)
Margaret Beaufort, Countess of Devon (1409– 1449)
Henry Beaufort (c. 1375– 1447), Cardinal Bishop of Winchester
Thomas Beaufort, Duke of Exeter (c. 1377– 1426)
Joan Beaufort, Countess of Westmorland (c. 1379– 1440)
Cecily Neville, Duchess of York (1415– 1495), mother of Kings Edward IV and Richard III of England

geni.com Sir John "Fairborn" Beaufort, 1st Earl of Somerset Also Known As: "Fairborn", "1st Earl of Somerset" Birthdate: 1373 Birthplace: Château de Beaufort, Anjou, France Death: March 16, 1410 (36-37) St. Catherine By The Tower Hospital, London, Middlesex, England (United Kingdom) Place of Burial: Kent, England, United Kingdom Immediate Family: Son of John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster, 1st Earl of Richmond and Katherine Swynford, Duchess of Lancaster Husband of Margaret Holland, Duchess of Clarence Father of Henry Beaufort, 2nd Earl of Somerset; Joan Beaufort, Queen of Scots; Thomas Beaufort, Earl of Perche, Duke of Exeter; Lady Margaret Beaufort, Countess of Devon; John Beaufort, 1st Duke of Somerset; and Edmund Beaufort, 2nd Duke of Somerset« less Brother of Thomas Beaufort, 1st Duke of Exeter; Joan Beaufort, Countess of Westmorland and Cardinal Henry Beaufort, Bishop of Winchester Half brother of Blanche Swynford; Dorothy Thimelby (Swynford); Sir Thomas Swynford; Blanche fitzJohn; Filipa de Lencastre, rainha consorte de Portugal; John Plantagenet, of Lancaster; Edward Plantagenet, of Lancaster; John II (1366-1367) of Lancaster; Henry IV of England; Isabel Plantagenet, of Lancaster; Elizabeth Plantagenet, Duchess of Exeter; Catalina de Lancáster, reina consorte de Castilla and John of Lancaster« less Joan Beaufort, Queen of Scots Birthdate: circa 1404 Birthplace: London, England (United Kingdom) Death: July 15, 1445 (36-45) Dunbar, Haddingtonshire, Scotland (United Kingdom) Place of Burial: Scotland Immediate Family: Daughter of John Beaufort, 1st Earl of Somerset and Margaret Holland, Duchess of Clarence Wife of James I, King of Scots and James Stewart, the Black Knight of Lorn Mother of Margaret of Scotland, Dauphine de France; Isabella of Scotland, Duchess of Brittany; Eleanor Stewart; Joan of Scotland, Countess of Morton; Mary Stewart, Countess of Buchan; Alexander Stewart, Duke of Rothesay; James II, King of Scots; Annabella of Scotland; John Stewart, 1st Earl of Atholl; James Stewart, 1st Earl of Buchan and Andrew Stewart, Bishop of Moray« less Sister of Henry Beaufort, 2nd Earl of Somerset; Thomas Beaufort, Earl of Perche, Duke of Exeter; Lady Margaret Beaufort, Countess of Devon; John Beaufort, 1st Duke of Somerset and Edmund Beaufort, 2nd Duke of Somerset

Last Changed: January 10, 2025 Lois Voisine"
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