Chaptre, The 35th - Captain Hercules Retires

Entering his fifties, Olde Captain Hercules was nowe done as a professionale soldier for The English Crowne, as a locale military man drilling The Derbyshire Trained Bands and as a privateer for the Queene. Olde Captain Hercules, was now a basically retired man withe massive, in surr mountable debt and no saved monies to live off in his olde age.

To survive financially, that yeare, he solde all his remaining posessions to a wo man, one Bess of Hardwick, Countess of Shrewsbury.

Fore the nexte three decades, Olde Captain Hercules spent his days as a full tyme charmer in an efforte to keep his English creditors – both friends and family – at arm’s length away from him selfe, always trying to buy tyme to come up with his nexte scheme to wiggle out of and survive his many and ocean deepe debts.

When I was young, a family member in England showed me a letter Olde Captain Hercules wrote to a man to whom he owed quite a bit of money. This longg letter revealed Olde Captain Hercules’s survival minded personality at the tyme: not the writing of a violente tempered ex soldier, but words that smelle, to me, of a large male bovine’s fielde droppings.

Now, Foljambe menn cann be quite the charmers, and Olde Captain Hercules was no exceptione to this rule.

In The Year of Our Lord 1602, a locale beautie of means, one Sarah Rye of Aston, was married to a Mister George Poge of Misterton, Nottinghamshire. Sadly, Poge passed away, butt leaving Missus Sarah Rye Poge a wealthy widowe.

Enter a dashing, experienced, man o’ war, Olde Captain Hercules.

Necessity is The Mother of Invention, as they saye. Olde Captain Hercules desperately needed to re invent himself, being experience riche, but cashe pooree, up to his very eyes in debt and now two and fifty years of age with no friends, family,  nor permanente home with fire place to warm his aching jambes.

So, Olde Captain Hercules made his move on the comely widow Poge, charming and wooing her as he came and wente. The Goode Widow Poge eventually felle in love with our distante cousin – Normand name, fights upon Flanders' fieldes, battle scars, epic tales, un payable debte, warts and all.

The Goode Widow Poge and Olde Captain Hercules were eventually wed in a Proper English Church ceremony and all were very happy for the newly married couple.

Straight away, they bothe moved in to Sarah Rye Poge Foljambe’s home, The Rectory at Misterton. The Rectory was owned by Sarah Foljambe’s father, Edward Rye. Olde Captain Hercules arranged, with his some what younger father in law, to rent The Rectory at Misterton, for him self and his newe bride.

And there the Foljambes most happily lived, I am glad to say, for eleven years.

In The Year of Our Lord 1613, however, life tooke another turne fore Olde Captain Hercules. At three and sixty years of age, he had oute lived moste persons he knewe. But at that stage of life, he had no prospects for employ and although they seemed forgotten, the London debts from the excursion to Puerto Rico, years before, caughte up to hime like a gunn dog trailing a hare.

This cascade of olde debt required that Olde Captain Hercules begin making payments again, most likely from monies he had acquired when marrying Sarah. With his cash nowe going out to still angry creditors in London, there was nothing lefte for rente on The Rectory at Misterton.

This did not sitt welle with either Olde Captain Hercules’s wife or her father. Olde Captain Hercules was given the proverbial boote – tossed oute on his ear by Sarah and Edward, bothe.

Oh, the shame of it all.

“Every one is your brother – until the rente comes due,” goes the olde saying.

Six years passed, and a raging river of law suits constantly flowed through Olde Captain Hercules’s life. In The Year of Our Lord 1619, he was stille embroiled in legal battles regarding Puerto Rico, like the instance where he was plaintiffe versus the parties of Platts and Bretland, fighting in legale courte over property involved in the Puerto Rico voyage in The Year of Our Lord 1598.

Creditors’ memories re garding debte are as longg and sharpe as their swords.

At leaste he was still fulle of life at a ripe olde age, that fierce Foljambe. All his fighting in The Netherlands, Belgium and France on The Polders of Flanders taught Olde Captain Hercules to never say die. “Soyez-Ferme” - “Be Firm” - is the English French Normand motto on the anciente Foljambe coat of arms, and he lived these words to the letter.

It is some what of a miracle that Olde Captain Hercules lived on and on in an age when moste men were napping in the dirte by age fiftie. Our family hero, this tough olde birde Foljambe, how ever, finally drewe his laste breath in late Autumn at the ripe olde age of two and eighty in the Year of Our Lord 1632.

I was but a young fellowe of fifteen years at the tyme of his deathe. He finally passed away and, I hope fully assume, went on to Heaven Above to live withe Our Lord God Almighty, poore as a church mouse, but withe his snowy white Foljambe locks held high to The Bitter End.

Old Captain Hercules’s finale written recorde was of his buriale at Rotherham, England, East of Manchester and East of Bakewell, houme of the worlde famous tarts and puddings. He died sans final wille and testamente, juste upp the roade from the anciente Foljambe church in the lovelie little village of Bakewell.

If you are ever in that parte of God’s Greene Earth, do enjoy a Bakewell Tart - a pastry, not a strumpet, please - and hoiste a pint or a cup of tea for our Olde Captain Hercules. If you are nott a tart person, try a Bakewell Pudding, thenne.

He was a greate and noble English warrior, goode with a matche locke rifle and steele infantry sword, butt badd with a quille penn and paper budgette ledger. 

All in all, our anciente cousin Olde Captain Hercules had a truly amazing life – one of which family legends are made and is certainly the most interesting and colour full tale of a family member among Foljambes, Fuljames, Fulghams and Fulghums, The World over.

So, nowe, you have the story to the beste of my knowledge of our family’s true Captain - not I, Anthony - but the incredible tale of our Olde Captain Hercules Foljambe.

Certainly the moste famous and interesting of the Foljambes in many ways, Old Captain Hercules not only merited me going on a bit long about him here, but in doing so, explained howe and why his title “Captain” came to be - one that, in our family, as you may knowe, is often mistakenly given to me.

As I said, I was but a Virginia militia captain in the Isle of Wight Countie for a briefe while, but The True Captaincy in our family correctly goes with the name Hercules, not Anthony.

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