Rowland
Taylor
I
am passionate about God, Jesus, The Bible, history, my family and
it's history and stories that they
have
passed down from generation to generation.
My
family lineage consist of Kings, Queens, Martyrs and Saints. Through
my love of history
and
research I have over the years compiled stories that often left me
asking more questions then I had
answers
for. Several families of my bloodline took very well recorded
records. The Eller's, Taylor's and
Gascoigne's
especially.
My
bloodline includes the likes of and not
to mention the Queens and other nobodies.
Saint
Arnulf of Metz (582 – 640)
Saint
Begga (615 – 693)
Charlemagne
(742 - 814)
William
I "The Conqueror" King of England (1024 – 1087)
Henry
I King of England (1068 – 1135)
Henry
II King of England (1132 – 1189)
John
I King of England (1166 – 1216)
Henry
III King of England (1207 – 1272)
Edward
I King of England (1239 – 1307)
My
family history is not that unique. Most people alive today can trace
their genealogy back to
Royal
Heritages. Royal families have always been related to one another in
Europe since they often
intermarried
with each other. Each family creating their own heirs and producing
Kings and Queens of
other
countries. Through the passage of time royals marrying commoners
became more and more
common.
I would estimate that descendants of Royal lineage with illegitimate
children (those not
suited
for the monarchy) is close to the tens of millions in the United
States. Some might be a
descendant
of a Royal descendant and the guy who served as their horse groomer.
Royals
back in those days tended to have larger families and were able to
provide their families
with
adequate food and nutrition than the common family. More of their
children were able to live
until
childbearing age and escape disease, sickness and starvation unlike a
common and less wealthy
family.
Royals
over time and especially the female descents gradually ran out of
stuff to inherit. Most
females
of Royal bloodlines began coming to America with their families in
the 16th century in order to obtain the free land. So
being able to trace your family heritage back to Royal blood is
really no big deal.
In
my family heritage some individuals stand out more than others. The
ones that stand out the
most
to me are the lesser known individuals who stood up for God. The ones
who were martyred and
the
ones who came to the New World to escape religious persecution.
The
one who I think is the cornerstone is my 7th great grandfather
Rowland Taylor (October 6,
1510-February
9, 1559) who was killed by Bloody Queen Mary I. He was burned at the
stake for
preaching
against the Catholic Church and for his support of “the Nine Day
Queen” Lady Jane Grey.
He
was also married to William Tyndale's (of the King James Bible)
sister Margaret. Rowland was a
central
figure of the Protestant Reformation along with Martin Luther and
John Calvin.
Rowland's
troubles began with a sermon he preached at Bury Saint Edmunds on
July 25, 1553
denouncing
the Catholic practice of clerical celibacy in which Catholic Priest
were forbidden to marry.
Many
Clergymen started to abandon this practice since the 1530s as part of
the protestant reformation.
He
was also against a few other of the Catholic practices including the
practice of idolatry.
After
King Edward VI died on July 6, 1553, Bloody Mary I started bringing
the practices of
Roman
Catholicism back to England. Drawing England back into the rule of
the Holy Roman Empire
and
many of the Protestant reformers resisted the new english monarchy
and that of Mary's husband
King
Philip II King of Spain..
On
March 26, 1554 the Privy Council ordered the arrest of Rowland and he
was tried over the
next
several years and sentenced to prison where he made many converts to
the Faith. On January 20,
1555
the Catholic Church reinstated the burning of heretics. Nine days
later On January 29th, Rowland
was
given to opportunity to recant and when he refused, He was convicted
of heresy and was condemned to be burned at the stake.
Rowland's
words to his accusers were, "And
although I know, that there is neither justice nor
truth
to be looked for at my adversaries hands, but rather imprisonment and
cruel death: yet know my cause
to be so good and righteous, and the truth so strong upon my side,
that I will by God's grace go and
appear before them and to their beards resist their false doings."
Rowland
was taken back to his hometown of Hadleigh to
meet his fate as order by the Roman
Catholic
Church. His wife had promised to be there the entire time and the
Sheriff gave Rowland an
opportunity
to speak with his family one last time.
Rowland's
last words to his family were, “I say to my wife, and to my
children, The Lord gave
you
unto me, and the Lord hath taken me from you, and you from me:
blessed be the name of the Lord! I
believe that they are blessed which die in the Lord. God careth for
sparrows, and for the hairs of our heads.
I have ever found Him more faithful and favorable, than is any father
or husband. Trust ye therefore
in Him by the means of our dear Savior Christ's merits: believe,
love, fear, and obey Him: pray
to Him, for He hath promised to help. Count me not dead, for I shall
certainly live, and never die. I
go before, and you shall follow after, to our long home."
Rowland
and Margaret's eldest son was Thomas (my 6th great
grandfather). Rowland's words to
Thomas
were, "Almighty God bless thee, and give you his Holy Spirit,
to be a true servant of Christ, to learn
his word, and constantly to stand by his truth all the life long. And
my son, see that thou fear God always.
Fly from all sin and wicked living. Be virtuous, serve God daily with
prayer, and apply thy boke.
In anywise see thou be obedient to thy mother, love her, and serve
her. Be ruled by her now in thy youth,
and follow her good counsel in all things. Beware of lewd company of
young men, that fear not God,
but followeth their lewd lusts and vain appetites. Flee from
whoredom, and hate all filthy lying, remembering
that I they father do die in the defense of holy marriage. And
another day when God shall bless
thee, love and cherish the poor people, and count that thy chief
riches to be rich in alms. And when
thy mother is waxed old, forsake her not, but provide for her to thy
power, and see that she lacks nothing.
For so will God bless thee, give thee long life upon earth, and
prosperity, which I pray God to grant
thee."
On
his way to the stake, Rowland sought after a blind couple in which he
tossed a glove full of
coins
into their window and as a last act of kindness, he gave his boots to
a shoeless man along the way. While tied to the stake, a local
butcher was ordered to light the fire and he resisted and one of the
guards
had pity on Rowland before the fire could be set and hit Rowland over
his head that instantly
killed
him saving him the suffering of being burned alive. Shortly after his
body was consumed by
the
flames.
The
spirit of God is often found in the descendants of Rowland and
Margaret. Some will say that the descendants of Rowland are Blessed
through his words to his sons. I will tell you that we are
blessed
and we are each blessed in our own unique way. We are blessed with
God's perfect will.
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