Chamberlain Family

The Chamberlain Family

The Chamberlain's of Ashforth - Family Tree

See also Chamberlain Family RP log

Origins

The Chamberlains were a minor family whose fortunes had been attached to the Dukes of Ashforth for many generations. Distinguished initially as great gameskeepers, they ran many of the small holdings of the Duchy managing the game stocks of the knights of Ashforth and of the Duke himself. Their eventual and comparatively recent rise in status was entirely down to ambition and good fortune. Jared the second son of the gamekeeper of the minor small holding of Lochenbaum, broke with family tradition, becoming a squire to the ageing Duke of Ashforth, he was distinguished by replacing the Duke's son in a duel of honor, wearing more than 60 years he was severely maimed in this combat. His reward was marriage to a teenage heiress being named in jure uxoris Jared the First of his name - Lord of the Marshes. Alongside this he was granted ownership of the small-holding of Lochenbaum. The title of Keeper, he allowed to rest firstly with his elder brother, but on his death granted the title and the estate to his youngest son. Through marriage and alliances the family has survived its early travails and now stands ambitious on the edges of the older noble names, looking to establish their place by right in the annals of history.

Generations

Jared I - Lord of the Marshes

The first titular Lord Chamberlain of the Marshes through the claim of his wife Miranda Tor. He wedded and bedded the 16 year old Lady of the Marshes at the age of 64 following his maiming as a proxy in a duel in Ashforth. Despite their mutual hatred the marriage proved fertile, Miranda giving her husband four children who survived infancy. Jared had always been an active man and following his maiming, transferred his activity to the management of the Manor of the Marshes. From his work as a squire he had learned many of the qualities and duties of a Lord, but also, through his more 'earthy' roots he understood husbandry and management of the land. A keen apiarist he credited the Marsh honey with his longevity, surviving to his 83rd year.

For her part Miranda spent her married days confined within the east wing of The Marshes, her rights and power being wielded fully by her husband, though she had been Lady of the Marshes since her own fathers death in her 7th year. As an heiress described by many as a beauty and being of not inconsiderable means, she had been proposed as wife to many second sons in the area, being married to a crippled geriatric was not to her liking. At his death she made moves to restore herself as Lady of The Marshes, but her attempts met with failure and she lived out the last 20 years of her life in relative obscurity in a townhouse in Ashforth, supplied for her by her sons.

Hedge - Lord of the Marshes

The eldest surviving son of Jared and Miranda, he was 17 years old when his father died. Somewhat unconventionally, he was tutored from a young age by his father in the arts of husbandry and management of the lands. Though his fathers rule had been in the name of his mother. At his death, Miranda made claim as Lady of the Marshes. Hedge moved quickly, being betrothed to the daughter of one of the knights of Ashforth, he called on his prospective father-in-law's support to secure his ascendance to the seat of The Marshes. Miranda remained a threat, at 35 she still had prospects as a bride for someone with ambition, another child by another man could threaten all of their claims. She was kept under house arrest with her daughter Isobel as a companion for the next 15 years.

Hedge oversaw the growth of The Marshes, annexing more farmlands to the banners of the Chamberlains. He also oversaw the development of a property portfolio. He died at 52 years, survived by his 3 children.

Jared - Keeper of Lochenbaum

The second son of Jared and Miranda, assumed the title of keeper on the death of his uncle. He specialised as a hawker and falconer, supplying birds to the Dukes of Ashforth. He was survived by a single daughter, Caroline.

Mayim of Massilon

Regarded as a great beauty, Mayim was educated in Sirion, and at great expense, sent to Atamarra for finishing school. Jared appreciated the value of a good marriage match and Mayim was married to Typhus Valen, an elderly knight of Massilon. the match was productive and the line of the Valens continued strongly after her death.

Isobel Chamberlain

Isobel, styled the Maid of the Marshes, lived much of her young life in conefinement as her mothers companion. She yet maintains a household in Ashforth.