Bernard family

In the thirteenth century, when Henry III was King of England, Godfrey Bernard of Wanford was a landowner in Yorkshire. He evidently belonged to a well established family, with clearly defined armorial bearings, and is the first member of the family entered in the Heralds' College, but it has been found possible to trace the lineage two generations further back.

The arms were perpetuated by his descendants, who were settled in other counties, and also by members of the family who remained generation after generation in Yorkshire, and who were probably descendants of his parents and grand-parents. They were: ' Argent, a Bear rampant sable, muzzled or; Crest, a Demi Bear as in the Arms.' In the eighteenth century there were still Bernards, or Barnards, in Yorkshire-the spelling, of course, varied in olden times- and in all probability some may still be found who bear the same arms.

There is a circumstance which suggests a connection between the Yorkshire family and the great St. Bernard of Clairvaux, who was the son of a Burgundian nobleman of Fontaine, near Dijon. The motto borne by the Yorkshire Bernards was ' Bear and Forbear,' which in its English form is a ' canting' or punning play upon the name. It was used by St. Bernard in a Latin form, ' Sustine et Abstine.' ... more

Saint Bernard of Clairvaux

• A1. Thomas FitzBernard, lvd:1171, m. Jane Picot;
  • B1. Thomas FitzBernard, lvd:1171/1214, m. Alice de Jarpenville;
    • C1. Roger FitzBernard, lvd:1203/1280;
      • D1. Godfrey Bernard, b:1235;
        • E1. William Bernard, lvd:1274/1340, m. Margaret Sauston;
          • F1. Gilbert Bernard, lvd:1305/1369, m. Clarice;
            • G1. William Bernard, lvd:1340/1380, m. Agnes;
              • H1. Sir William Bernard, lvd:1365/1419, m. Elizabeth Lillyng;
                • I1. Sir John Bernard, lvd:1394/1452, m. Ellen Mallory;
                  • J1. Sir Thomas Bernard, knight, m. Elizabeth Lillyng;
                    • K1. Sir Thomas Bernard, lvd:1396/1454, m. Margaret Mauntell;
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  • L1. John Barnard of Abingdon, lvd:1396/1454, m. Margaret le Scrope;  ==>  le Scrope family
    • M1. John Barnard, d:1508, m. Margaret Wake;  ==>  Wake family
      • N1. John Barnard, b:1491, m. Cecily Muscote;
        • O1. Francis Barnard, lvd:1520/1602, m. Alice Haselwood;  ==>  Gascoigne family
          • P1. Elizabeth Barnard m. Thomas Harrison;  <==  Harrison family
          • P2. John Barnard, lvd:1612/1646, m. Phebe Whiting;
            • Q1. John Barnard, b:1631, m. Sarah Flemming;
              • R1. James Barnard, lvd:1666/1726, m. Judit Jennison;
                • S1. James Barnard, b:1696, m. Elizabeth Bemis;  ==>  Harington family
                  • T1. Jonas Barnard, b:1728, m. Abigail Viles;
                    • U1. John Barnard, lvd:1755/1813, m. Sarah Bachman;
                      • V1. Elizabeth Barnard, lvd:1790/1826, m. Oliphant Woolsey;  <==  Woolsey family

'The Apparition of the Virgin to Saint Bernard', by Filippino Lippi, c.1486, Florence, Italy