Wednesday, January 19, 2011

Robert Blake at Penton Mewsey

An interesting find in the Penton Mewsey Register is the baptism of John Blake 22 Feb 1714 (born 14 Feb 1714) to Robert Blake and unfortunately the priest does not give the mother's maiden name which would have been most helpful in this case. This is the second child baptized to a Robert Blake at Penton Mewsey with the first having been Sacheverell. This puts an enormous hole in the thought that I had of the Robert Blake of Andover being the Robert Blake at Abbotts Ann. Not that he couldn't be but the Sacheverell name that passed into the Charles Blake family did not come from the Robert Blake and Elizabeth Russell family necessarily. There is another Robert Blake at Penton Mewsey but who is he?

Looking at the 1665 Hearth Tax at Penton Mewsey there are the following heads of household:


Surname Forename Status
Beare
widow
Blake John
Carter
mister
Cradock
widow
Crouch John
Crowch John
Crowch Thomas
Dalby Thomas
Fray David
Grace John
Grace Robert
Hellier John
Hellier John
Knowles Henry
Knowles John
Lancaster Thomas
Lewis John
Moncke John
Mundy Jasper
Mundy William
Noyes Richard
Osgood Stephen
Poynter
mister
Read Henry
Read
widow
Russell
mister
Smith William
Trewelove widow
Twine John

John Blake is the only Blake family listed at Penton Mewsey in 1665.His descendants baptized there are Joseph (b 1659) and Elizabeth (b 1651). Another John and Em Blake are baptizing children between 1693 and 1706 and these children are: John, Joseph, Sarah, Ann, Thomas and William. Joseph (b 1659) could be the father of John baptizing children later although it is a rather short generation. Once I have extracted all the Blake families from the various registers I might have an answer. But there isn't a Joseph Blake at Andover in this time period baptizing children.

Hence my hypothesis of a couple of days ago is partly flawed. However, the will of John Blake does appear to look at the Robert Blake/Elizabeth Russell family of Andover. I wonder why the name Sacheverell enters the Blake family?

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