Katherine (ferch Tudor) Thelwall (abt. 1540 - 1591)

Born about 1540 in Berain, Llanefydd, Denbighshire, Wales

Ancestors

Wife of John Salusbury — married 1557 (to Jun 1566) in Denbighshire, Wales

Wife of Richard Clough — married 1562 (to 1570) in Denbighshire, Wales

Wife of Maurice Wynne MP — married 1570 in Denbighshire, Wales

Wife of Edward Thelwall — married 1580 (to 27 Aug 1591) in Denbighshire, Wales

Descendants

Died 27 Aug 1591 at about age 51 in Llanefydd, Wales

Problems/Questions Profile managers: Steve Bartlett [send private message], James Bourbon Dampierre [send private message], Jon Bush [send private message], and Wales Project WikiTree [send private message]

Katheryn of Berain (ferch Tudor) Thelwall is managed by the Wales Project. Join: Wales Project Discuss: wales

Biography

Katheryn of Berain ferch Tudor was a member of the aristocracy in British Isles.

Katheryn of Berain (Welsh: Catrin o Ferain) (1534 – 27 August 1591), sometimes called Mam Cymru ("mother of Wales") was born Katheryn ferch Tudor, the daughter of Tudor ap Robert Vychan and Jane Velville. Her maternal grandfather was Sir Roland de Velville (1474 - 25 June 1535), who is thought to have been the illegitimate son of King Henry VII of England.

Katheryn married 4 times;

1. c.1557 Sir John Salusbury (d. c. June1566)
2. c. 1567 Sir Richard Clough (d. 1570)
3. aft 1570 Maurice Wynn (d. 18 August 1580)
4. aft. 1580 Edward Thelwall.

Children of Katherine and SIr John Salusbury:

1. Thomas Salisbury (c. 1564 - September 20, 1586). Executed as a traitor for his involvement in the Babington Plot.
2. John Salusbury (d. 1612), married Ursula Stanley, illegitimate daughter of Henry Stanley, 4th Earl of Derby and Jane Halsall. Only son and heir Sir Henry Salusbury , 1st Baronet, the first of the Salusbury Baronets of Lleweni (1619), and Henry was the father of Anne Salusbury, the wife of Arthur Stanhope and ancestor of all the earls of Chesterfield from the fifth Earl. Shakespeare's 1601 poem The Phoenix and the Turtle was published in a collection dedicated to Katheryn's son, John Salusbury.

Children of Katheryn of Berain and Sir Richard Clough:

1. Anne Clough (born 1568). Married Roger Salusbury, a brother of John Salusbury and paternal uncle to her older half-brothers. Their only son was John Salisbury.
2. Mary Clough (born 1569). Married William Wynn, A relative of Maurice Wynn.

Children of Katheryn of Berain and Maurice Wynn of Gwydir:

1. Edward Wynn. m. Blanche Vaughan.
2. Jane Wynn. m. Simon Thelwall.

She was interred at Llanefydd, Wales.

Nickname and theories

By marrying into 4 gentry families and having heirs by 3 of her 4 husbands, her descendants took to nicknaming her "Mother of Wales" well after her death.

On the other hand, since three of Katheryn's four husbands predeceased her, a legend later grew up that she had poisoned them.

She was also supposed to be the ward of Elizabeth I.

Sources

• wikipedia:Katheryn of Berain

• Enid Roberts, Katheryn of Berain [Mam Cymru (c.1540–1591), Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, May 2008 , accessed 28 June 2016

• Dictionary of Welsh Biography. KATHERYN of BERAIN