Daniel Weston
| “ | As a matter of fact, among my, uh, mother's side in the uh, ancestral traits *sighs* we have uh, we have been traced down to Daniel Weston, who was on the main--Mayflower voyage. | ” |
| Captain's Log, Stardate November 7th, 2007 | ||
Daniel Weston is one of the people who Chris claims to be one of his illustrious ancestors, through whom he is descended from Anne Boleyn,[1] whose only daughter died childless. According to Chris, Daniel Weston's ancestor was Richard Weston, 1st Earl of Portland, who was in turn related to Anne Boleyn.[2]
In 2007, Chris claimed that Daniel Weston was aboard the Mayflower, the ship that carried the Pilgrim Fathers to America in 1620;[1] however, according to all known passenger lists of the Mayflower, there was never a man named Weston aboard.[3]
Chris later revised his theory, saying that Daniel Weston was actually not on the Mayflower, although "he made his voyage later on".[4] This was essentially the story he related to Catherine in 2014, although he could provide no clear details. This highly nebulous revision is no more persuasive than the original version, and neither version of the story accounts for Chris being descended from Anne Boleyn, who had no descendants whatsoever.
These flatly impossible notions were probably spoonfed to Chris by his mother to make him feel special. Indeed, he credits her with doing the historical research. Judging by Barb's comments in the Rental House Tour, she seems to believe that the British nobility and the royal family are identical. She also seems to believe that whenever a title is created in the English nobility, everybody who bears that surname becomes a noble (or "royal").
Candidates for the historical Daniel Weston
Thomas Weston
One theory holds that Chris actually meant to say Thomas Weston (1584–c. 1647), an English merchant who funded the Mayflower. This is dubious, as Thomas's only child, Elizabeth, married Roger Conant and adopted his surname. Her children, Samuel and John, bore the "Conant" surname.[5] Although either Samuel or John could be an ancestor of Barbara, they would not be the origin of the "Weston" surname.
Richard Weston, 1st Earl of Portland
Daniel Weston may have been a descendent of Richard Weston, 1st Earl of Portland (1 March 1577 – 13 March 1634/1635), who was Chancellor of the Exchequer and later Lord Treasurer of England under James I and Charles I. He was created 1st Baron Weston in 1628 and 1st Earl of Portland in 1633. He is most likely the Richard Weston mentioned in the Rental House Tour and Date with Catherine. Chris claims that Richard "preceeded" Daniel but is not sure what their exact relationship was.
Sir Richard Weston (canal builder)
A less likely possibility is that Daniel Weston was a descendent of Sir Richard Weston (1591–1652), an English canal builder and agricultural improver. Richard broadly lived around the time of the Mayflower, and he was a descendant of Sir Francis Weston, who was (dubiously) accused of adultery with Anne Boleyn. Although he was not a member of the nobility, he was knighted in 1622. Barb may have confused this Richard Weston with the more illustrious one mentioned above.
The reality
Christorians have traced Barb's paternal ancestry back to the English-born immigrant Francis Weston (Feb 1793 - 19 March 1836), who arrived in America well after the Revolution and settled in Ohio. It is possible that Francis was a descendent of some earlier illustrious ancestor named Daniel, but there is no evidence to suggest this.[6]
Chris does, however, indeed have some connection to royals and early settlers, albeit on his father's side - his ancestor John Chandler, a pre-Mayflower settler of Virginia whose descendents later ended up in Alabama, was married to Elizabeth Bassano, a relative of the court musicians of King Henry VIII.[7]
References
See also
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