FitzGerald dynasty

The FitzGerald dynasty is a Hiberno-Norman or Cambro-Norman dynasty, and have been Peers of Ireland since at least the 14th century. The dynasty has also been referred to as the Geraldines. They were established by the conquest of large swathes of Irish territory by the sons and grandsons of Gerald FitzWalter of Windsor (c. 1075 – 1135). Gerald was a Norman Castellan in Wales, and is the male progenitor of the Fitzgerald dynasty ("fitz", from the Latin "fils" indicating "sons of" Gerald).

Gerald's Welsh wife Nest ferch Rhys (c. 1085 – before 1136) is the female progenitor of the Fitzgeralds. She was the daughter of Rhys ap Tewdwr, last King of Deheubarth. Through her the Fitzgeralds are descended from the Welsh rulers of Deheubarth as well as related to the Tudors who are descended from the same Welsh royal line. Consequently, the Fitzgeralds are cousins to the Tudors (Tewdwrs) through Nest and her Welsh family.

In his poetry, Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey, referred to Elizabeth FitzGerald (1527–89) as "Fair Geraldine".

FitzGerald (surname)

FitzGerald or Fitzgerald is a surname derived from the Hiberno-Norman FitzGerald dynasty. The article on that dynasty links to biographical articles about nobles surnamed FitzGerald.

Other notable people with the surname include:

Fitzgerald, Georgia

The city of Fitzgerald is the county seat of Ben Hill County in the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2010 census, it had a population of 9,053. It is the principal city of the Fitzgerald Micropolitan Statistical Area, which includes all of Ben Hill and Irwin counties.

History

Fitzgerald was developed in 1895 by Philander H. Fitzgerald, an Indianapolis newspaper editor and a former drummer boy in the Union Army, who founded it as a community for Civil War veterans – both from the Union and from the Confederacy. The majority of the first citizens (some 2700) were Union veterans. It was incorporated on December 2, 1896. The town is located less than 15 miles (24 km) from the site of the capture of Confederate president Jefferson Davis on May 10, 1865.

Fitzgerald is one of the few truly planned cities in the United States. The city was laid out as a square, with intersecting streets dividing it into four wards. Each of the wards was divided into four blocks and each block had sixteen squares. Streets running North/South on the east side of the city were named after Confederate ships and generals, whereas the ones on the west side were named after Union ships and generals.