Thomas Blake at Upper Clatford

I have completed the baptisms at Andover up to the end of December 1756 and there are 11,785 baptisms from the beginning of the registers to this date at St Marys Andover. Next the burials and then the marriages and I will be ready to move on to Penton Mewsey parish registers. Having just discussed Charles Blake at Abbotts Ann I now move to remind myself of what I know about my own line at Upper Clatford going back to Andover.

My Blake line which runs back from my father who was born at Eastleigh HAM in 1904 to his father born at Upper Clatford HAM in 1875 (Samuel George Blake). Samuel's father was Edward Blake and his mother Maria Jane Knight. Edward was born at Upper Clatford in 1845 and Maria Jane Knight was born at Turnworth, DOR in 1849. Maria Jane Knight's family lines are fairly well defined back into the mid 1700s and I will speak about the Knight family in another blog.

Edward Blake's parents were John Blake (b 1799 Upper Clatford) and Ann Farmer (b 1804 Woodhouse, Little London, Andover). Again I have acquired some information on the Farmer line back into the mid 1700s and it too will be discussed in another blog.

John Blake's parents were Thomas Blake (b 1767 Upper Clatford) and Sarah Coleman (b 1773 Abbotts Ann HAM). The Coleman family dates back to Goodworth Clatford in the late 1600s and they were inn keepers there with more information to come on this line later.

Thomas Blake was born posthumously in Oct 1767 after the death of his father Joseph (b 1730 Andover) in May 1767 and his older brother Thomas also in May 1767. Thomas' mother was Joanna King b 1736 Upper Clatford. She was the only surviving child of Thomas King and Mary Carter who had married 10 Jan 1728. Both of them were older (Thomas King was likely b 1688 Upper Clatford and Mary Carter was likely b 1692 Andover) and only two children were baptized to this couple Elizabeth b 1735; d 1735 and Joanna b 1736. Thomas King in his will 1762 mentioned the daughter Mary of John Blake (malster at Abbotts Ann). Is it significant that he doesn't mention Mary the wife of John (her grave would indicate that she was still living)? I am looking for a connection between Thomas King and John Blake and why they mention each others children in their respective wills (written more than 30 years apart). The mother of Joseph Blake is still a mystery although signs point towards it being Ann Carter and the wife of Thomas King was Mary Carter. John Blake leaves money to the Church at Upper Clatford and what significance should I find there? All these little questions emerged from John's will. Nice to see Thomas Blake mentioned there but so many new questions emerged.

Joseph Blake's father is Thomas Blake and he was baptized in 1730 at Andover. This Thomas is the son of Thomas Blake and Mary Spring who married in 1708 at Andover. I am fairly quickly answering the question of which Thomas this was in that Thomas Blake (b 1671) does not appear on the Poll book in 1710 and as the nephew of Peter Blake one would have expected him to be there I think. More proof still needed. The other Thomas that is a candidate is the son of John Blake and Elizabeth and baptized 1685 at Andover. Although this John Blake appears to be the son of William Blake and Ann Hellier I am holding that in abeyance because the father of Thomas (b 1671) is John the brother of William Blake married to Ann Hellier. I need to resolve this issue before moving back to the father of William and John and he was William Blake married to Dorothy Madgwick.

The line continues back to Richard Blake married to Jone Blake. These two bring the two Blake lines at Andover together in that Richard and Jone are both great grandchildren of Mr. Blake and Jone Blake. Jone left a will in 1527 naming her children: Robert, Nicholas and Elizabeth (married to Mr. Mylne). Jone was descended from Robert (his grandaughter (her father was Robert)) and Richard was descended from Nicholas his grandson (his father was William). Although I still need to work out which Thomas married Mary Spring the ultimate way back is the same result - Nicholas and Robert Blake as my two Blake lines at Andover and they were brothers.