Cleburnes of Westmorland

This is the ancient family of Westmorland County, England who resided in Cliburn Hall. Their origin is contested with no less than 3 distinct legends surrounding their early history, so for now this information will be presented only after the family has adopted the Cleburne surname. The legends surrounding their origins will have a deep-dive done later on.

Cleburnes of Cliburn Hall

The basis for this genealogy comes from the Heralds Visitation of Yorkshire and the Heralds Visitation of Cumberland & Westmorland. Due to the fact that these are contemporary sources compiled by a type of government official, I rate these sources as fairly reliable and thus, they for the basis for the family tree. As other documents are detailed this tree will be expanded.

1. Robert Cleburne

   m. Emma Kirkbride (d. of George Kirkbride).

   1. Edward/Edmond Cleburne (1501-1540)

      m. (1524) Anne Layton of Delmayne (1506-1546).

      Arms: Quarterly: 1 and 4: Argent, 3 chevronnels braced in a base and a chief sable (Cleburne); 2 and 3: argent a saltire engrailed vert (Kirkbride).

      1. Richard Cleyburne of Killerby, Richmond, England (1526-1607)

         m. 1553 Ellinor Lancaster of Stockbridge (1531- )

         Implied Arms: Quarterly: 1 and 4: Argent, 3 chevronnels braced in a base and a chief sable (Cleburne); 2 and 3: argent a saltire engrailed vert (Kirkbride); overall a label for difference.

         1. Edmond Cleburne (1554-1590)

            m. 1 Sep 1576 Grace Bellingham (sister of James) of Westmorland (1558-1594)

            1. Thomas Cleburne (1580-1640)

               m. 1594 Frances Lowther (daughter of Sir Richard Lowther of Lowther Hall) (19 Oct 1560-

               Arms: Quarterly: 1 and 4: Argent, 3 chevronnels braced in a base and a chief sable (Cleburne); 2 and 3: argent a saltire engrailed vert (Kirkbride).

               1. Edward Cleburne

                  m. Elizabeth Hutton

               2. Richard Cleburne
               3. William "the Wise" Cleburne of St. John's Manor, Wexford
               4. Grace Cleburne (6 Feb 1598- )
               5. Anne Cleburne
            2. William Cleburne
            3. Robert Cleburne
         2. Gerard Cleburne
         3. Eillinor Cleburne
         4. Barbara Cleburne m. Thomas Banks of Quixley
         5. Jane Cleburne
         6. Anne Cleburne
         7. Agnes Cleburne
         8. Emma Cleburne
      2. John Cleburne.

         Implied arms: Quarterly: 1 and 4: Argent, 3 chevronnels braced in a base and a chief sable (Cleburne); 2 and 3: argent a saltire engrailed vert (Kirkbride); overall a crescent for difference.

      3. Thomas Cleburne of Hay Close, Cumberland.

         Arms: Quarterly: 1 and 4: Argent, 3 chevronnels braced in a base and a chief sable (Cleburne); 2 and 3: argent a saltire engrailed vert (Kirkbride); overall a mullet for difference.

      4. William Cleburne.

         Implied Arms: Quarterly: 1 and 4: Argent, 3 chevronnels braced in a base and a chief sable (Cleburne); 2 and 3: argent a saltire engrailed vert (Kirkbride); overall a martlet for difference.

      5. Elizabeth Cleburne

         m. John Thwaites of Marston.

   2. Unknown Daughter Cleburne

      m. Richard Kirkbride.

The Westmorland Family

Over the years I have seen many different versions of Cleburne Family tree, few of which I trust as reliable. For example, some trees connect the Cleburnes with the Le Franceys Family, but these same trees also erroneously connect Col William Claiborne to there Westmorland group. Other trees connect the Cleburnes to Bardolf of Ravensworth and still others connect them to one of the Barons of Kendal. Before we can attempt to tackle the question origin, I feel it prudent to attempt to build out this family tree in more detail.

Building out this tree has always been a complicated task due to the many similar family names - especially William, John, Thomas, and Robert - and the sparse detail in the historical records.

In an attempt to solve this, I will be taking the following approaches:

1. gathering records from every parish within Cumbria County and pulling out all Cliborne/Cleburne references
2. organizing all of the records and sorting them by first name.
3. re-examining the originals for extra details -for example, several of the Cleburnes are listed as living in other cities throughout the county
4. assuming that the first child is born when their father is between 18 and 30, which will provide an estimate for the father's birth year.
5. assuming that the first child is born within 5 years of the marriage
6. and finally, once all of those variables are calculated, re-examining the tree for best-fit solutions.

Naturally, whenever assumptions like this are made there will be some data that doesnt fit the model. Some fathers may not have a child until they are in their 30s, others may have them after 6 or 7 years of marriage. Thr idea here is to use the model that fits most of the data on the first pass. By doing that, the outliers will be easier to identify.