Joanna (pictured in the gallery) is my second great grandmother and collateral to the Bass family. Her son, Matthew Joshua Girlinghouse, married Amret Bass, daughter of Esaw Bass and Margaret McCarty.

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Where does one start with a story that may be more apocryphal than true, one based on secondary sources and perhaps wishful thinking? I guess I’ll start with the known. Joanna Croom’s father, Joshua, was born into a plantation family in North Carolina. He moved with his mother’s parents to Arkansas, and when he was old enough, traveled down the river to Amite County, Mississippi where he met and married Elizabeth Jones. They crossed the river together into Catahoula Parish, Louisiana where they spent the rest of their lives. Their daughter, Joanna, met a German immigrant there named, Christian Girlinghouse, and their descendants live in this area today.

Joanna’s great grandfather, the first Joshua Croom, married a Bryan. Her name was Nancy or maybe Ann or Nancy Ann. My best internet resources say she was the granddaughter of Hardy Bryan, also the grandfather of Hardy Bryan Croom whose Florida home, Goodwood Plantation, is now on the National Register of Historic Places. This is where the story becomes legendary.

In 1650 (some say 1615), William Smith Bryan landed in Gloucester Beach, Virginia, from County Clare Ireland, with a shipload of goods, 11 sons, 3 daughters, and some of the first thoroughbred horses to be brought to this continent. Others give him 21 children. As the story goes, William was popularly known as Prince William of Ireland and considered himself the rightful heir to its throne. England had been waging war for control of Ireland since Henry VIII installed William’s grandfather, Sir Francis Bryan, as the de facto ruler of Ireland in Henry’s name under the title Lord Chief Justice of Ireland. He married Joan Fitzgerald, countess of Ormond, of the dynasty Fitzgerald that had ruled Ireland for centuries before being deposed by Henry VIII. Some consider this marriage to have been a political maneuver. Francis Bryan was a known womanizer, and there are those who doubt that Joan was the mother of his son, Francis Bryan II, Justicar of Ireland--a position similar to Prime Minister. Better sources may be able to prove claims that Francis II inherited estates from Joan, but it is said these estates were confiscated during the Puritan Revolution when his son, William Smith Bryan, was exiled, ostensibly by Cromwell, to Virginia for his rebellion against the commonwealth.

Sir Francis Bryan was the son of Baroness Margaret Bouchier (3rd great granddaughter of King Edward III Plantagenet) and Sir Thomas Bryan. He was one of Henry VIII’s closest advisers--the one who brought him word that the pope refused to acknowledge his divorce. He was considered a yes-man always bending to Henry’s will but was one of the few who could speak his mind to the king. He never lost Henry’s loyalty. His mother, Margaret, was Anne Boleyn’s aunt and the beloved governess to all three of Henry’s children. Francis was cousin not only to Anne Boleyn but to Catherine Howard and Jane Seymour. He was branded The Vicar of Hell by Cromwell for his profligate lifestyle and the fact that he was one of the instigators in the conviction and execution of his cousin, Anne Boleyn. He was a man of letters, a poet, accomplished jouster, member of the Privy Council and commander of the navy. He lost an eye in one bout and wore a patch the rest of his life and is always portrayed with it in film. He died suddenly on Feb 2, 1550 of unknown causes, though his wife, Joan, has been accused of poisoning both Francis and her first husband. Was granny really a serial killer? I guess we’ll never know. His last words were “I pray you, let me be buried amongst the good fellows of Waterford which were good drinkers.”

The names of most of William Smith Bryan’s many children are unknown, but it’s presumed that Hardy Bryan’s grandfather, John, was one of them as was the ancestor of Daniel Boone’s wife Rebecca Bryan. Francis is said to still be a popular name in the Bryan family in America.

Presumptive lineage: Stephaun> Lavon> Lizzie Girlinghouse> Matthew Joshua Girlinghouse> Joanna Croom> Joshua Croom> William Croom> Nancy Ann Bryan> Thomas Bryan> Hardy Bryan> Edward Bryan> John Bryan> William Smith Bryan> Francis Bryan II> Sir Francis Bryan> Lady Margaret Bouchier> Sir Humphrey Bourchier> Sir John Bourchier> Lady Ann Plantagenet> Prince Thomas Plantagenet> King Edward III Plantagenet