Alexander Sunderland of Eaton and Windsor

Tonight I think I may have stumbled upon a better understanding of Alexander Sunderland, who is mentioned in posts below. In earlier entries I speculated that he may have been involved with law in Windsor, which could explain why Francis Daniell (1749-1793) was in Windsor, Berkshire, in the 1770s. There is no evidence for this (so far), just speculation. More substantively, there may be some evidence that Alexander was part of the Yeomen of the Guards, or one of the bodyguards and personal attendants to kings George II and George III.

Here is what I know for sure:
Alexander Sunderland was of Eaton, Buckinghamshire in 1759 and 1761, and of Windsor, Berkshire in 1768. He was married to Margaret Mantell (chr. 9 Sept. 1716 at Elmsted, Kent; living 1768). The marriage date and place has not yet been found yet. Margaret is one of the daughters of Walter Mantell (born 1687) and Jane Bell (died 1775). According to Capt. William Mantell's 1761 will, Mr. Sunderland was of Eaton and was married to his sister Margaret Mantell. Margaret Sunderland is also mentioned in the Daniell v. Daniell 1801 Chancery Court case.

There is a PCC will of Alexander Sunderland, Gent., of Eaton, Buckinghamshire that was written 10 May 1759 and proved 26 March 1770. All his worldly estate goes to "my dear and loving wife Margaret" who is also his executrix.

[A possible first marriage is found in The Register Book of the Parish of St. Christopher nere the Stockes in London on page 21: 1732 April 10th: Alexander Sunderland of Eaton in ye County of Bucks Batchelor and Ann Pilgrim of ye same parish spinster were married by License by the Revd Major Best.]

My thoughts this evening:
I tried to find Eaton, Buckinghamshire in google maps, but google 'corrected' my search to Eton, Buckinghamshire. This is where the famous Eton College is located. I quickly found that Eton is just a little north of Windsor Castle. Prior to finding this, Eaton and Windsor seemed like to random places to me. Their proximity seems to fit well together. Did Alexander have a military connection to Windsor Castle, the royal residence?

Then I found the following entry as part of The Database of Court Officers 1660-1837 by Prof. Robert O. Bucholz and Sir John Sainty:
Sunderland, Alexander Yeoman of the Guard first occ. 1743 [Yeoman Hanger first occ. 1745] (Chamberlayne [1743] II iii, 217; ibid. [1745] II iii, 217; LC 3/58, f. 83). Vac. by 11 Mar. 1770 (Ibid., p. 394).

See: http://luc.edu/history/fac_resources/bucholz/DCO/DCO.html
www.luc.edu/history/fac_resources/bucholz/DCO/Database-Files/Index-S.pdf
http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=43966

E. and J. Chamberlayne wrote Magnae Britanniae Notitia (1708-1755). LC stands for Lord Chamberlain's Papers, PRO. 'occ.' means occurs or occurrence. 'vac.' means vacated or vacation of office.

Notice that 'our' Alexander Sunderland's will is proved 26 March 1770, and the office of Yeoman of the Guard that was held by an Alexander Sunderland was vacated by 11 March 1770.

I realize this is more speculation, but the theory can now be tested. The evidence is very circumstantial: 1. proximity of Eton and Windsor, 2. possible approximate death dates. The general concept that I'm working on that makes all this seem plausible is that my 5x great-grandfather Francis Daniell (1749-1793) was an attorney and a 'soldier.' I don't think he was a common soldier, but I'm not sure he was an officer either. Finding this website on the Royal Household offers me another line to pursue, i.e. that Francis Daniell may have played some other role with the army at Windsor Castle. I don't see Francis Daniell in these lists online, but not all servants of the Crown are included. If it can be shown that Francis's uncle Alexander was a member of the Royal Household as a member of the Yeomen of the Guards, then my line of thought concerning some sort of royal appointment for Francis may be more likely. In this age of patronage it seems that connections and recommendations meant everything.

[If I can get to it, I hope to show in another writing that there are some other royal associations by the 1790s with the Daniells.]

Here are a few historical things on the Yeomen of the Guards:
They were bodyguards and personal attendants to the monarch. They are not the same as the Yeomen Warders or Beefeaters that you see at the Tower of London. In the 1700s a position with the Yeomen of the Guards could be purchased. Their main job was to follow the monarch around and protect him. Alexander Sunderland was a Yeoman Hanger which means that he was part of the group that "place and displace the tapestry in the royal apartments when the king removed from one palace to another." They used to be a military unit that went with kings to battle, and indeed their last opportunity to function in that capacity with when King George II led troops at the Battle of Dettingen in 1743. Since Alexander Sunderland started with this company "by 1743," I supposed he may have been present at that battle. Since the time of the Gunpowder Plot of 1605, the Yeomen of the Guards always search the Houses of Parliament for possible threats to the king when His Majesty comes to open parliament. See Gentleman's Magazine, Vol. 165, page 161, of 1838. Also see Encyclopedia Britannica, Vol. 28, 1911 under 'Yeomen of the Guards.'

The Royal Household is only one part of British officialdom. The link below suggests other avenues of research for Alexander Sunderland and Francis Daniell.
http://www.history.ac.uk/bookshop/office-holders/office-holders-modern-britain

Greg Ramstedt 17 October 2010