My earliest documented ancestress was Ecgfrida, daughter of Bishop Aldhun of Durham and Chester Le Street. Her first husband was Uhtred, Earl of Northumbria and from this marriage there was one surviving child, Aldred. For some unknown reason, Uhtred and Ecgfida divorced. Uhtred went on to marry twice more whilst Ecgfrida married one further time before she retired to become a nun.
Ecgfrida's second and final marriage was to a Yorkshire thegn, Kilvert son of Ligulf. It was this marriage that produced my ancestress, their daughter Sigrida.

Having grown quite fond of Uhtred, the brave Anglo Saxon warrior and diplomat, I was reluctant to cast him aside but I began delving deeper into other descendants of Ecgfrida and was quite surprised to find that her genes live on through many of the same names that I had found when researching descendants of Uhtred.

Robert the Bruce was descended from both Uhtred and Ecgfrida via their son Aldred, earl of Northumbria. One of Aldred’s great grand-daughters Maud,via Aldred's grandson WALTHEOF, married David I (The Saint) King of Scots and, from this line, came Robert the Bruce. Aldred’s other grand-daughter Alice married into the de Toeni family, her grand daughter becaming one of the most renowned beauties of history - the fair Rosamund Clifford, mistress of Henry II of England. From this liason came the Mortimer family, one of whom married Henry Hotspur, producing the Percy’s,(Earls of Northumberland) and the Nevilles. Cecily Neville married Richard Plantaganet and became mother of my favourite King of England Richard III.

Cecily's grand-daughter married Henry VII and was mother and grandmother to King Henry VIII and Queen Elizabeth I of England.

More unfolded as I delved deeper into Sigrida’s line. She had married three times, once even to Edwulf, Uhtred’s son by his second marriage to Sigen. Her third marriage was to Arkil, son of Ecgfrith and from here the Hebden line emerges through their son Gospatric de Rigton. For quite some time there was little emerging except the families Lascelles, Thoresby and Hebden.

Arkil had fled to Scotland in 1068 with his younger son Alwyn and from here emerged the clans Lennox and MacFarlane. The Lennox family had notable names in the line, which included the Stewarts, Mary Queen of Scots and even Napoleon Buonaparte but Gospatric’s line ( which had remained in England) seemed to disappear into mediocrity

However, a few details began to emerge slowly that cast a slightly different picture and I was surprised to find that the Hebden line had not passed totally into oblivion, primarily through the marriages of the womenfolk. Amongst the yeomen and tradesmen there has been an ambassador to Russia, one of Handel's musicians and a smattering of bishops. Current living Hebdens include a chess master, author, actors and scientists.

John Hebden, composer and one of Handel's musicians

Hebden genes have managed to spread over many continents, including the United States of America and the following three left their mark in American history

Gospatric de Rigton’s grandson was Uhtred first Lord of Hebden.

One of his descendants was William Brewster .of Mayflower fame. William Brewster was one of the original passengers of the 1620 voyage and became the Reverend Elder of the Pilgrim's church at Plymouth, Mass. Brewster was a fugitive from the King of England, because he had published a number of religious pamphlets while in Leyden, Holland which were critical or opposed the tenets of the Church of England. One of the signatories of the Mayflower Compact, he was the oldest Mayflower passenger to have participated at the First Thanksgiving

Zachary Taylor, The 12th President of the United States was a descendant of William Brewster. Serving less than 500 days before dying of a stomach complaint, he was also known as the Warrior President as he was a career soldier.

However, these were not the only descendants of note from the Hebden gene pool and the last named is possibly the most famous American of them all, the father of the nation and first President

GEORGE WASHINGTON

18 generations down the line from the first Lord of Hebden, a Mildred Warner married an Augustine Washington and produced a son George.

George Washington, 21 times great grandson of Ecgfrida and 17 times great grandson of the first Lord of Hebden became the first president of the United States of America.

George Washington was not only descended from Ecgfrida through the de Hebden line but also through the Neville line, his ancestors being the first Lords of Raby from which came the de Wessingtons. However this descent came through Uhtred’s third marriage to Alfgifu, daughter of King Ethelred II of England. Uhtred and Alfgifu had a daughter, Ealdgyth who married Maldred of Scotland. Their descendants became Lords of Raby and from here the direct male line of Washington led straight to George.

There have been those in the direct male Hebden line who have become ambassadors and bishops but very often it is the female line who have produced those who have left the real mark on history.

Ecgfrida’s descendants have included Kings, Queens and world leaders who have forged places in the history books and yet so often the names of their mothers and grandmothers are forgotten.