THE PLANTAGENET CONNECTION ONLINE THE ANCESTRY OF ELIZABETH OF YORK
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Marlyn Lewis, the compiler
of the data, is the Chief of Finance for the Public Department of Health for the State of Oregon. Long interested in genealogy and royal connections, he began this project while
tracing his own family connection to the Plantagenet dynasty. He has a master’s degree in accounting and language
skills that enable him to take advantage of non-English genealogical source material. The Ancestry of Elizabeth of York
is the product of his many years of research and countless hours of concentrated data entry. The quest for this
information has led Mr. Lewis to research both American libraries and other specialized libraries in various countries around the world. John Stuart is a resident
of Southern California where he is an executive with a high-technology company. His interest in medieval genealogy was stimulated
by a relative who also traced a branch of their family to the Plantagenet lineage. Reference to his computer database
on this subject matter caused him to formulate a series of detailed and observant questions for Mr. Lewis as excerpts
of the Elizabeth of York ahnenliste were published in The Plantagenet Connection. Mr. Lewis incorporated many of Mr. Stuart’s observations in subsequent
versions of the file. Portions of the exchange between Mr. Lewis and Mr. Stuart have been published in The Plantagenet Connection. Mr. Stuart
also played a central role in preparing The Ancestry of Elizabeth of York for publication. Kenneth Harper Finton
is a Colorado resident and publisher and editor of the afore-mentioned The Plantagenet Connection, published since 1993. He is also author of From Tribes
to Nations, A Family Saga from the 6th to the 20th Centuries, a genealogically-oriented historical chronicle of the evolution of European
royal houses. In addition to his passion for matters historical, Mr. Finton is a publisher, a recording artist and
a songwriter.
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Elizabeth of York was one of the more interesting figures in the medieval world of royal politics. In April 1483, Edward IV, the first Plantagenet King of England from
the House of York, died suddenly. He left two sons, Edward and Richard, and five daughters, of whom Elizabeth of York was the eldest. Edward IV’s will named
his brother, Richard, as protector of the
two boys. Richard, who had enjoyed considerable power and influence while Edward IV was alive, saw that position threatened on his death by the influence of Anthony Woodville, Earl Rivers, brother of
Edward IV’s wife, Elizabeth, and governor of the royal heirs. To forestall an immediate coronation of the young Edward as Edward V, which would have eliminated Richard’s
role as protector, Richard concocted a theory under which the boys were considered illegitimate and declared himself, RichardIII, King of England. The boys were taken to the Tower
of London, never to emerge,
purportedly murdered in about September 1483 on the orders of Richard III.
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