John Neville ★

Born Abt in England. He died May 1420, probably at Verneuil, France.

Family Background

John Neville was born around 1387, eldest son of Ralph Neville, 1st Earl of Westmorland, and his first wife Margaret Stafford, holding the courtesy title "Lord Neville" as heir apparent to the earldom.

Disinheritance

After Margaret's death, Ralph remarried Joan Beaufort, a legitimated daughter of John of Gaunt, and proceeded to transfer much of the family's property to the children of his second marriage, especially his son Richard, later Earl of Salisbury — effectively disinheriting John, who nonetheless acquiesced and even witnessed some of the transfers himself.

Marriage and Children

John married Elizabeth Holland, daughter of Thomas Holland, 2nd Earl of Kent, around 1394. They had four children: Ralph, who became 2nd Earl of Westmorland; Margaret, who married Sir Thomas Lucy; John, later Baron Neville, who was slain at the Battle of Towton in 1461; and Sir Thomas Neville of Brancepeth.

Career

John took over his father's post as Warden of the West March in 1414, and played a significant role in securing the return of the young Henry Percy from Scotland, which led to Percy's marriage to John's own half-sister Eleanor.

Death and Legacy

John died in France in May 1420, probably at Verneuil. His death triggered a bitter dispute over the Westmorland inheritance between his sons and his father's second family, creating lasting divisions within the Neville family that fed directly into the Neville-Neville feud and, ultimately, the Wars of the Roses.