The Pembrokes

The Curse Of The Pembrokes

~The Curse of the Pembrokes~

The Pembroke family originated from Bristol, United Kingdom. It was said that their Saxon ancestors held a family seat as Lord of the Manor in Avon. Oswald Pembroke, the youngest and scoundrel son of Lord Ebenezer Pembroke, 5th Duke of Bristol, settled in Virginia, United States in the early 18th century. He left behind his high life because he was on the run from the law, for the murder of a mason by the name of Elias Turner during a drunken rage.

Lord Pembroke tried to offer the mason's family money under the table to keep them quiet but they refused. They preferred to leave the matter to the law and they wanted to see Oswald Pembroke punished for his crimes. Lord Pembroke had no choice but to pay the captain of a cargo ship sailing to the Americas to smuggle his son across the Atlantic Ocean. 

The title of the Duke of Bristol became extinct after the death of the last of Oswald's older brothers, the 9th Duke of Bristol. Their father, the 5th Duke, Lord Ebenezer had more than 25 children, 13 of them sons. However 6 of his sons and 4 daughters didn't survive past their infancy. The Duke outlived two out of his 7 remaining sons who survived into adulthood. He lost his eldest and third sons when they were young adults.  

Wenworth Isidore Pembroke, the then Marquess of Avon fell down from his horse and was stomped by his ride, Silver.   He struggled with his life for weeks before dying from head and internal injuries at a young age of 16. Jamie looked at Fern, wanting to interrupt that a 16 year old boy wasn't an adult yet.  Fern, knew exactly what her lover intended to comment so she quickly explained that during the late 17th century, the age of consent for boys were around 11-12 years of age. Wenworth was already eligible to inherit his father's secondary title at the age of 15. Blaise Wainwright Pembroke on the other hand, contracted tetanus, originating from infected wounds.  Blaise accidentally cut himself when he tried to repair the steel spring of his horse-drawn carriage which had broken down halfway between Bristol and Somerset. The 3rd son of Lord Ebenezer was just 17 at the time of his death.

Lord Ebenezer himself died from Tuberculosis less than a year after his youngest son, Oswald left for Virginia. The Duke's second son, Francis Tobias Pembroke, succeeded him and became the 6th Duke of Bristol. His Dukedom was passed on to his fourth brother, Jefferson Balthasar Pembroke after Lord Francis died from an injury sustained while playing cricket without leaving a male heir.  The 7th Duke died a few years later, apparently from Syphilis, though covered up by his family.  Lord Ebenezer's fifth son, Isaac, took over as the 8th Duke of Bristol since his brother Lord Jefferson, didn't leave behind any heirs, all his children were either stillbirth or died in infancy.

Lord Issac Severin Pembroke had 3 sons and 7 daughters but none of them lived long or old enough to inherit his title. Majority of his children died from Scarlet Fever, small pox and typhoid fever. The 8th Duke himself died from an accidental shot fired by his best friend during a hunting trip.  Lord Aurelius Hastings, the 2nd Duke of Bridgewater mistook the crouching Lord Pembroke as a deer when he fired the shot.  The poor Duke of Bristol died instantly from the bullet wound to his head.

Since only 2 daughters out of the Duke's 10 children survived him, Wilfred Matthias Pembroke became the unwilling 9th Duke of Bristol after the death of his brother.  He was a drunk who substituted his daily intake of water with mostly Gin, Brandy and Rum.   It was also rumored that he liked to cross dress behind close doors and was known to have kept the company of men. He died childless in a drunken brawl where three perpetrators hit his head consecutively with empty Rum bottles when they fought over some petty matters.   Since Oswald Pembroke was a fugitive of the law, he was not eligible to inherit the title as the 10th Duke of Bristol even though he was the only surviving brother of Lord Wilfred.   Hence, the title became extinct after the death of the 9th Duke of Bristol.