Lady Urith Trevilian

The brother of Lady Chichester was Arthur, Lord Chichester b.1563. After attending Exeter College, Oxford, Arthur commanded the HMS Larke against the Spanish Armada in 1588. In 1595 he accompanied Sir Francis Drake on his last expedition to the Americas.

Lady Urith's older brother John Chichester had been killed at the Battle of Carrickfergus. It is said that John Chichester was decapitated, his head being used as a football by the MacDonnell clan after their victory.

Urith's brother, Arthur later became Lord Deputy of Ireland from 1604 to 1615. Arthur saw Catholicism as a major threat to the Crown and he probably did not forget his brother's head being kicked as a football by the Irish. Arthur became instrumental in the enforcement of English Protestant rule over Ireland. Chichester was a leading figure during the Plantation of Ulster. Initially he intended that the number of Scottish planters would be small, with native Irish landowners gaining more land. However, after a rebellion in Donegal in 1608, his plans changed and all the native Irish lords lost their land.

Urith's death is given as 1591. Yet, we see that Urith's youngest daughter Susanna's birthdate is given as 24 April 1592.

No problem!

In 1591, the legal, civil and church year began in March. Thus the year 1591 for Urith and 1592 for Susanna's records each began March 25 and ended March 24.

Furthermore, then as now, children were typically baptized a few months after their birth. Susanna was probably baptized in April 1592, not born on that date. Baptismal dates are often given as the birthdate because of the availability of church baptismal records, in lieu of the actual birthdate which was less known. True birth dates are lesser known while baptismal records are more common.

Urith Chichester may have died in childbirth (or other cause) in 1591. She was only 32. She may have died between January to March 25th of 1591, which we would now call 1592. We can investigate her burial records to verify an exact day of death. It is not on her Geni record at the moment.

Genealogists need to be aware that in England, from about the late 12th century until 1751 the civil, ecclesiastical and legal year began on 25 March, nearly three months later than the standard historical change of year we now use.

For dates in the intervening period, the historical year will therefore be different from the civil year. For example, the date we call 1 January 1751 (historical year) remains 1 January 1750 (civil year), because the civil year 1750 continues until 24 March. Clearly, for dates between 1 January and 24 March, the civil year is one less than the historical year. To avoid confusion, such dates are sometimes written as 1 January 1750-1, or 1 January 1750/1.

It appears that most dates entered on Geni are the exact dates given in the source records. If a date is in the first quarter of the year, it could seem incorrect, as in this case, but it is not, because of the calendar and baptismal conventions of the day.

Note that caution is needed when dealing with records earlier than the 12th century, as previously different conventions were used for the start of the year. In Anglo-Saxon and Norman times the year was generally began on 25 December (i.e. three months before 25 March), and this dating convention lingered later in the Benedictine community. In some centuries earlier, the year sometimes began in September!