First Generation

1. Ilgerus DE WILBERFOSS¹ served in the military in 1174 in Alnwick, Edward I Scottish wars. He was also known as Illgerus of Eagleton. "Illgerus of Eagleton ( now Eggleton), Co Durham, served Scottish wars of Edward I (reigned 1272-1307), married Margaret, daughter of 1sr Lord ( Baron) Kyme ( also ancestor of President George Washington), thus eventually acquiring the Kyme lordship of Wilberfoss." - L G Pine

"Wilberfoss, whence this family took its name, and where it was seated for several centuries, is a village situated about midway between York and Pocklington, on the outskirts of the ancient forest of Galtres, which, when it existed, was tenanted by herds of wild boar, from which circumstance the village obtained the name of Wild-Boar-Foss, later contracted to Wilberfoss.
A Benedictine convent was founded at Wilberfoss by Helias, or Alan de Catton1153, and there is in existence a charter of HENRY II relating to St Mary's Priory, Wilberfoss, of which the benefactors were William, s of Illger(us) de Wilberfoss and Osbert, s of Robert de Wilberfoss. The lordship of Wilberfoss was held by the de Kyme family of Lincs and passed by m to the direct ancestor of the present families of Wilberfoss and Wilberforce." -BLG


"Before going on to give the pedigree as recorded in those documents it is advisable to mention there is a family tradition which would, if true, place Wilberfoss among the most genealogically distinguished families in England. The tradition is that the great grandfather of Ilger of Wilberfoss with whom the Visitation pedigrees begin, fought at the battle of Stamford Bridge, against Harold Hardrada, and then at the battle of Hastings under King Harold in 1066. At Hastings this ancestor is credited with having killed either Normans with his own sword, while at Stamford Bridge the tradition in the family is that he wielded the spear which thrust from below the bridge killed Harold Hardrada himself.... When Ilger received lands with Margaret the daughter of William de Kyme, in the dowry was included land which extended to the bridge at Stamford and which lies about four miles to the northward of Wilberfoss. Ilger was of Eggleston and from this took the family device of an eagle displayed sable on a shield argent. Eggleston lies beyond the river Tees just across the Yorkshire border in the Country of Durham about seven miles west of Barnard Castle, and must once have been a conspicuous nesting place of the birds from which it took its name.

"It is possible to extend even the 1584 Visitation pedigree beyond Ilger who lived as will be seen about 1175. In the Feet of Fines of the County of York from 1232 to 1246 (Yorkshire Archaeological Society Record Series, Vol. LXVII, published 1925) occurs the following entries:
DCCLII. Between Christian, Prioress of Wilberfoss of Wilberfosse, plaintiff and Ilger of Wilberforce, empedient; as to 6 acres of land in Wilberfosse. The right of the Prioress and her church of Wilberfosse, as of the gift of Osbert son of Ulger, father of Ilger, his heir, to hold to the Prioress, her successors and church, of Ilger and his heirs, in frankalmoign quit of all secular services.
DCCLII. Between Christian Prioress of Wilberfoss, plaintiff, and William, son of Wimon (Simon?) of Wilberfosse, empedient, as to 16 acres and 3 perticates of land in Wilberfosse. The right of the Prioress and her church of Wilberfoss as of the gift of William, son of Robert of Wilberfosse, grandfather of William and his heirs, in frankalmoig quit of all secular service.

From these extracts which appear to have been made primarily to confirm the transfer of the land for the purpose of the foundation of the Priory, it will be clear that the original Ilger who begins the Visitation pedigree was the son of Osbert of Eggleston and grandson of Ulgar of Eggleston. Accepting Ilger’s marriage to Margaret de Kyme as having taken place about 1175, his grandfather may be assumed to have been living about 1100, a generation from the Norman Conquest. The number of families in this country who can establish a Saxon ancestry is extremely small.

"At the beginning of the Wilberfoss pedigree in the Visitations we have two Kyme generations, William the father of Margaret, and Philip father of William. The marriage of Margaret to Ilger and the dowry of Wilberfoss were the rewards from the Normal lord of Wilberfoss, Kyme, to the brave English warrior who had fought at the battle of Alnwick in 1174 when the Scots who had invaded England were beaten. - LG Pine

"The family name derives from the village of Wilberfoss near York. The extension of the last element from 'foss', meaning a ditch, to 'force', a waterfall, may be taken as symbolic of the family's remarkable energy in public service. The first part is an Anglo-Saxon feminine name, Wilburg, and not as one obituarist fancifully suggested, 'wild boar'." - Professor Bernard Jennings.

Ilgerus DE WILBERFOSS and Margaret DE KYME were married about 1175. Ilgerus DE WILBERFOSS and Margaret DE KYME had the following children:

+2

i.

Henry DE WILBERFOSS.