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- The ATKIN Family
"Family tradition - handed down through the generations and told to Arabella Drew (ATKIN) HYATT by Richard Garde ATKIN and Aunt Georgie (Georgina ATKIN).
About 1262 A.D. the King of England ( Henry III ) was very hard pressed for money to meet the demands of the Catholic Church who, without payment, would manage to take over control of England and France. A Frenchman (de Montford ), offered to pay the church on condition that he be given control of the government until he was repaid. For several years De Montford remained in complete control, acting as ruler and collecting taxes. Henry was kept under guard, virtually as a prisoner, with no means of acquiring any cash to repay his debt.
However one day Henry succeeded in sending a trusted agent to call on loyal subjects who might be willing to help him out of his predicament.
One of these "loyal subjects" was our ancestor who gave two butterfirkins (eight gallon containers) of gold and upon its presentation, Henry knighted him Sir …. ATKIN.
Arabella's account says "I don't remember whether his name was William or Tommy or whether he made his money as a sea pirate or a land robber or whether he made it honestly, by selling butter and eggs."
Tradition has it, that the gold was hauled to the back door by a manservant in a two wheeled cart pulled by a donkey, while "our noble ancestor" rode his horse in at the front gate. Tradition, further says that Henry gave Sir ATKIN a parchment, promising that he and his heirs should be paid an annuity annually, equal to 2% of the amount presented to the King. Three hundred years later, in Queen Elizabeth's reign, a grant of land in Ireland was given in lieu of the annuity (980 acres, four miles from the City of Cork) at a nominal rental of six pence per acre. This was "ecclesiastical land" taken from the Catholic Church.
In 1848 one of our Richard ATKIN's brothers* (Walter) sold the lease during his life time and divided the proceeds, equally, between his nine (or ten) brothers and four sisters.'
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