Will of Johanne Pencombe - widow of East Buckland, Devon - PROB 11/76 - Image reference 242/207

Since I have only read the many Pincombe wills and have not transcribed them I decided that I would spend a little time working on the transcriptions. The will of Johanne Pencombe was written 7 May 1563 and she states that she is a widow of East Buckland (Devon) and lists her sons and sons in law. The sons are William, Richard and John and the sons in law are John Locke and John Jasse. The 1620 Visitation of Devon ( The visitation of the county of Devon in the year 1620, ed. by Frederic Thomas Colby, published 1872, London, UK by the Harlein Society, Publication, Volume 6, page 250) Thomas Pyncombe of Filleigh and East Buckland had a son William who married Emotte Snowe and they had nine children mentioned in yesterday's will transcription. no siblings are mentioned in the Visitation for William. Trying to give this somewhat of a date line William wrote his will in 1602 and it was probated 1605. He mentions grandchildren so is not that young but could one say that he might be as old as 70; his wife Emotte left a will (destroyed in the WWII bombing of Exeter) dated 1620. Thinking that through was he likely closer to 50 when he died which would yield late 1540s and early 1550s as his birth date? Emotte however had a brother William whose daughter Honor married in 1570. Could it be that Emotte perhaps lived to be quite elderly; perhaps as much as 90 years? The East Buckland Parish Registers do not commence until 1684 so are too late to help me with any such decisions. If one thought that Emotte was quite elderly when she died in 1620, then William could have been 70 in 1605 and born n the mid 1530s.

Enter the will of Johanne Pencombe date 1563 in which she mentions her sons William, John and Richard and sons in law John Locke and John Jasse plus she mentions grandchildren to whom she is giving each a heifer. Johane is not young when she dies. She could though be in her 50s rather than older which would place her birth around 1500  - 1510. A son born in the mid 1530s that is her oldest (since he is executor of her will) sounds plausible or he could have been born earlier and she later. But the time frame is interesting. Her husband could be Thomas Pyncombe who lived at Filleigh and died at East Buckland.  This Thomas is said to be a son of the Pyncombe that accompanied Lord Zouch to North Molton in 1485. This unknown Pyncombe is said to have three sons - two named John and one named Thomas. Looking at the subsidies paid by the Pyncombe family in the 1500s and 1600s I am tempted to believe that there were actually two sons who came with the original Pyncombe and they had the three sons mentioned above. The time frame suggests that all the Pincombes listed would have needed to have parents older than the Visitation chart suggests (a generation appears to be missing) to satisfy the following information gleaned from Genuki where there is an index prepared by a number of transcribers of  Beckerlegge, J.J. (Ed.). Index of the Wills and Administrations relating to the County of Devon proved in the Court of the Archdeaconry of Barnstaple, 1563-1858 (5 vols.) and these wills were held at the Devon Record Office (and fortunately prepared before they were destroyed in WWII bombing). The two wills that I have posted the last two days will not be in this list because they were probated at London. Noting the different spelling of the name between Bideford and North Molton Pynckham and Pyncombe. The name is pronounced "pink  um" which is the other spelling commonly found at this time along with Pincombe but both are pronounced the same although when I was a child I usually heard it pronounced as "Pin  cumb" but I grew up in London, Ontario, Canada and 100 years nearly after my 2x great grandfather had arrived in Canada. The yDNA of descendants of each of these two family lines at 25 markers is 22/25 - but does it prove a relationship. That remains to be seen.


Pyncombe     William     North Molton     DEV           1567   
Pynckham     William     Bideford     DEV           1570   
Pincombe     Edith         Tawstock     DEV     widow     1572   
Pyncombe     Peternell     North Molton     DEV           1591   
Pincombe     Richard     Bideford     DEV           1592   
Pyncombe     Edward         Tawstock     DEV           1594   
Pyncombe     Anthony     Warkleigh     DEV           1596   
Pinckomb               North Molton     DEV           1610   
Pinckombe               North Molton     DEV           1610   
Pynckomb               South Molton     DEV           1614   
Pynckomb               North Molton     DEV           1615   
Pynckomb     John         Barum [Barnstaple] DEV           1616   
Pyncombe     Emot         East Buckland     DEV           1620   
Pyncombe     Peter         Bideford     DEV           1622   
Pyncombe     George         North Molton     DEV           1624   
Pyncombe     John         Molland     DEV           1625   
Pyncombe     Lodovic     West Buckland     DEV           1625   
Pyncombe     Joan         Yarnscombe     DEV           1628   
Pyncombe     Ann         South Molton     DEV           1630   
Pyncombe     Philip         Bideford     DEV           1632   
Pyncombe     Amia         Molland     DEV           1636   
Pyncombe     William     Alwington     DEV           1637   
Pyncombe     William     Alwington     DEV           1637   
Pyncombe     Mary         Molland     DEV           1637   
Pincombe     William     Bideford     DEV           1641   
Pyncomb     Henry         South Molton     DEV           1644   
Pincomb     Anthony     Ashreigney     DEV           1662   
Pincomb     Mary         Buckland Filleigh DEV           1662   
Pincomb     Thomas         Bideford     DEV           1663    

All of these wills were probated at Barnstaple. When I discovered this online I had to rethink my Pincombe line in the late 1400s to the early 1600s. There were too many people leaving wills. I had originally postulated that William (d. 1605)'s seven sons had been the progenitors of these many lines but there are too many wills in the 1500s for that to be true.

I now postulate that there is a generation missing on the Visitation between Thomas Pyncombe of Filleigh and East Buckland and the unknown Pyncombe who lived at North Molton and had arrived circa 1485 in the company of Lord Zouch. Why would this unknown Pyncombe name two of his sons John? This isn't unheard of actually as I have instances in the Blake family in this time period when sons were called John the Elder and John the Younger; Robert the elder and Robert the younger. They appear to have the same mother so not a second family. However, the number of wills left in the 1500s by Pincombes makes this seem less likely. The charts that I have from an earlier group that studied the Pincombe family certainly has some interesting "heads" of Pincombe families in the areas mentioned above. They did not attempt to link them back to the Pincombe in 1485 at North Molton. Rather they begin suddenly in the early to mid 1500s.

The will of Johanne Pencombe for anyone interested is below, I have included the probate as well to show that William did assume responsibility for his mother's will :

Recorded: 30 July 2011
Source: Public Record Office, London, UK, PROB 11/76 - Image reference 242/207
Place: East Buckland, Devon, England
Type of Record: Will
Dated: 7 May 1563

Condition: photocopy, bold, old English writing

[In margin] T[estator] Johanne Pencombe


1    In the name of God, Amen.  In the yeare
2    of our Lord God one thousand fyve hundred sixtie three and in the seaventh daie
3    of Maye That I Johane Pencombe widdowe of Est Buckland beinge of whole mynde
4    and in good remembrance (lauded be god) make and ordaine this my last will and
5    testament in this manner and forme followinge First I bequeathe my soule unto
6    allmightie God and my bodie to be buried in the Churche of Est Buckland there Item
7    I bequeath unto Richard Pencombe my sonne twentie poundes And to his sonne a
8    heafer of three yeares of age. Item I bequeath to John Locke my sonne in Law nyne
9    poundes. Item I bequeath to John Pencombe my sonne nyne poundes And to his
10    daughter a heafer. Item I bequeath to John Jasse my sonne in Lawe nyne poundes
11    Item I bequeath to John Jasse the younger six poundes thirteene shillings four pence
12    Item to Anne Takle twentie shillings Item to Amye Rolle six shillings eight pence
13    Item to Roberte Hollaniore a yearlinge Item to Thomas Hichton a ewe. Item to everie
14    of my Children's Children five shillinges eight pence. Item unto every of my godchildren
15    twelve pence apeece. Item to the poore twentie shillings. The residue of all my goodes
16    and everie parte thereof as well moveable as unmoveable not gyven nor bequeathed I give
17    and bequeath unto William Pencombe my sonne whome I make my executor and he to
18    bestowe it as he seemeth best And alsoe I devise and ordaine Sir John Taye John Hartill
19    and Richard Lympstable to be my overseers and wittnesses of this my last will and Testament
21    Probatum fuit Testamentum
22    Suprascriptum apud London coram venerabili, viro mag[ist]ro Will[iel]mo Levin Legium
23    Doctore ad exercend officium magisteri custodis sive Comissarii Curie Prerogative
24    Cant ltime deputat vicesimo tertio die mensis Octobris Anno Domini millesimo quin
25    Nonagesimo Juramento Thome Redman notary public procuratoris Willi[a]m Pencombe filii of
26    Executoris in h[uius]mo[d]i testamento nominat Qui commissa fuit administerato bonorum iurium et creditorum
27    Dicti defuncti de bene et fideliter administerand ad sancta dei Evangelia Jurat

Is this William married to Emotte Snow? No children are mentioned for William; no gifts as mentioned to the other grandchildren. Richard (my ancestor) was their fourth son (some could have died and been lost to time though; I keep remembering that). This will actually supports my idea that they married in the latter part of the 1560s rather than early on. William could be the youngest son as well and has remained at East Buckland to manage their farm there which is located at Filleigh. Filleigh is close to East Buckland having driven those roads a few years ago. It is a quick five minutes from East Buckland Church to Filleigh by car. I did not find a gravestone for any Pincombes at East Buckland but I also didn't find anything that old there. Either the Church has sunk or the ground has filled in around the Church as it sits in somewhat of a hollow. Or did they do it on purpose to protect it. The outside of the Church is very very old and I will add a picture to this blog. The inside at first glance strikes you as very fresh and modern looking except as you look about you realize that the wood is incredibly old but the condition of the Church is amazing for such an old building.

St Michael's Church, East Buckland (22 Apr 2008)

The interior of St Michael's Church, East Buckland (22 Apr 2008)


We had traveled a basically one lane road (with laybys periodically) through West Buckland and into East Buckland and the road was bordered with hedges about 14 feet high. We then continued on the road going south east towards South Molton and passed Filleigh on the way a distance of about 2 miles from East Buckland. Westcott is at Filleigh and was mentioned in William's will.

This will is dated 7 May 1563 but in the catalogue listing it is dated 23 October 1590 and the Probate note attached to the will does give this date as the date of probate. Why ever a will would be held for 27 years is amazing really and why do it in 1590? I wonder what the reason was for the late probate. Was it because of a sudden realization on the part of the Executor that it exceeded the limit for the Diocese to probate?

Pincombe Family of Devon (Will of William Pincombe - PROB11/106 - Image Reference 35/405) , Blackford Family of Somerset - two different emails

I had an interesting email lately on the Pincombe family wherein the writer quoted me as saying that all Pincombe descendants have a common ancestor and this from my one name study webpage. Actually what I say is:

"The first Pincombe appears to be Thomas Pencombe and he had two sons Thomas and John. I suspect that this is a singleton surname with all descendants related back to the common ancestor Thomas Pencombe whose name was spelled Pincomb in the next generation or Pyncomb."

Proving this to be fact will be a long time coming I suspect in that my yDNA study has only one person and I have knowledge of one other set of yDNA results. They only match 22/25 which is not that close. More samples are needed to prove that this line is a singleton or not.

He was asking about a descendant of Jane Pincombe (daughter of William Pincombe and Joan Davies) who married Silas Hiscott 31 Dec 1755 at Bideford. I wrote the following for others who may be interested in this particular line.

"I have two yDNA results only and they are not conclusive - one set is from my own direct line and the other from a descendant of the Barnstaple Pincombe family. yDNA remains the best way to distinguish whether or not a name is a singleton.

I have Jane Pincombe (daughter of William Pincombe (baptized 3 Aug 1705) and Jane Davies who were married 26 Dec 1727 at Bideford) marrying Silas Hiscott 31 Dec 1755 at Bideford. I do not have their children listed yet. This information was from the earlier Pincombe one name study.

William Pincombe was the son of William Pincombe (baptized 13 Apr 1665 Abbotsham/Northam) and Mary Pearce and he was baptized at Abbotsham according to the chart and Northam according to the IGI. I have not yet found their marriage place and date.

I have as the father of William baptized 1665 another William (baptized 20 Oct 1631 and it is implied that this is at Bideford) but no wife listed. Again the father was a William (baptized 24 Dec 1599; d 1641 and this time at Bideford). This William is said to be the son of Richard Pyncombe and Joan Row who were married 27 July 1599. This Richard has William listed as his father and he was said to be born at Bideford.

All very interesting and I have yet to prove all of it to my satisfaction but I share the results of the earlier study with you.

There is a family lore in the Pincombe family that says that William Pincombe of South Molton (son of a William Pincombe there) moved to Barnstaple/Bideford in the 1500s. Still remains to be proven and as more and more records become available it may yet be proven. However y DNA remains the best means to connect family lines that can not connect back on paper.

I can continue back from William Pincombe at South Molton to the first known Pincombe who arrived in Devon in 1485 from unknown location but possibly Herefordshire. This too is still to be determined."

 A second email that has proven to be most interesting came from a Blackford family researcher. I spent a couple of  hours sorting through material that I had thought about earlier because the published book on the Siderfin Family of West Somerset had the wife of Robert Siderfin as Elizabeth Blackford. This proved to be quite erroneous and fortunately not too long after I started to think about it out loud in my blog. I had a comment back a few days later wherein the researcher looking at her own family had found my reference to Robert Siderfin and mentioned a will that included Robert Siderfin and his wife Elizabeth; this Elizabeth actually being Elizabeth Question daughter of Augustine Question. That answered two questions; one Elizabeth was Elizabeth Question not Elizabeth Blackford and two the name of their second child was Augustine which had not appeared in the Siderfin family to date but obviously named after his grandfather.

For the benefit of other Blackford researchers I will relate the information that I sent to the Blackford researcher here in my blog as well.

At the National Archives (UK) documents on line provides the following wills of interest to the Blackford family of Devon and Somerset:

Will of William Blackford of Holnicote Court , Somerset    03 March 1732    PROB 11/650 Will of Elizabeth Blackford, Widow of Dunster, Somerset    23 May 1699    PROB 11/450 Will of Richard Blackford, One of the Kings Majesty's Masters extraordinary of His High and Honorable Court of Chancery of Dunster, Somerset    04 April 1689    PROB 11/395 Will of Sidwell Stoden otherwise Blackford, Widow of Selworthy, SOM 01 May 1657 PROB 11/264 Will of John Stodden alias Blackford, Weaver of Selworthy, Somerset
Will of John Blackford, Weaver of Bishops Nympton, Devon  11 January 1610 PROB 11/115
I also searched the Catalogue of the National Archives  http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/catalogue/default.asp?j=1  looking for mention of the Blackford family of Somerset and found:
Item reference C 11/100/18 Short title: Coffin v Dyke. Document type: three bills and ten answers. Plaintiffs: John Coffin merchant of Minehead, Somerset administrator of Mary Coffin deceased his late wife. ...  Context C  Records created, acquired, and inherited by Chancery, and also of the Wardrobe, Royal Household, Exchequer and various commissions      Division within C  Records of Equity Side: the Six Clerks        C 11  Court of Chancery: Six Clerks Office: Pleadings 1714 to 1758           Sewell Division              C 11/100  Pleadings. (Described at item level). Record Summary Scope and content Short title: Coffin v Dyke. Document type: three bills and ten answers. Plaintiffs: John Coffin merchant of Minehead, Somerset administrator of Mary Coffin deceased his late wife. Defendants: William Blackford esq, Edward Dyke, Henrietta Blackford an infant (by James Samson), George Sawbridge Littell esq, James Samson esq, Edward Leeds esq, Gregory Gardiner esq, Richard Cridland gent and Elizabeth Dyke widow. Date of bill (or first document): 1729. Date of last document: 1733 Covering dates 1733 Note The naming of a party does not imply that he or she will appear in all the documents in this cause (after the bill) Held by The National Archives, Kew  Legal status Public Record(s) Language English This actually gives me the name of Mary Coffin's husband - John. My interest in all of this is the Quirke family. Mary Coffin (sister to John) married John Quirke and they had three daughters: Isott married her cousin John Quirke; Mary married John Question brother to my Elizabeth Question (married to Robert Siderfin) and Alice married Walter Siderfin (cousin to Robert Siderfin). The son of Walter and Alice inherited Old Cleeve manor from his cousin. The researcher with whom I was corresponding was interested in James Blackford who had gone to Jamaica. I was looking for possibilities on where his name might be mentioned and found the reference below in the right time period. However, one must really be on the spot at Kew to go through all this material in any practical way. Item reference C 112/168 Dyke v. Coffin (1744): Three cash books concerning Holnycote Court, Selsworthy and William Blackford (d. 1730). Context C  Records created, acquired, and inherited by Chancery, and also of the Wardrobe, Royal Household, Exchequer and various commissions     Division within C  Records of the Equity Side: Chancery Masters        C 112  Chancery: Master Rose's Exhibits           C 112/168   Record Summary C  Records created, acquired, and inherited by Chancery, and also of the Wardrobe, Royal Household, Exchequer and various commissions    Division within C  Records of the Equity Side: Chancery Masters      C 112  Chancery: Master Rose's Exhibits        C 112/168  Scope and content Dyke v. Coffin (1744): Three cash books concerning Holnycote Court, Selsworthy and William Blackford (d. 1730). Covering dates 1726-1730 Held by The National Archives, Kew  Legal status Public Record(s) This document has William Blackford dying in 1730 (his will was dated 1730) although probate did not occur until 1732. This would be a brother to James. C  Records created, acquired, and inherited by Chancery, and also of the Wardrobe, Royal Household, Exchequer and various commissions     Division within C  Records of the Equity Side: Chancery Masters        C 112  Chancery: Master Rose's Exhibits           C 112/207   Top of page Record Summary Scope and content Two deeds of property in Dunster and Old Cleeve, Som, with related bonds etc. securing them to William Blackford in return for loans. Covering dates 1697-1734 Held by The National Archives, Kew  Legal status Public Record(s) Scans of these documents would be available for purchase. I mentioned them in case one is able to find someone in England (hopefully in London) who is also interested. They do imply a fair amount of legal manipulation with the properties in the late 1720s into the 1730s. The following document may be helpful in figuring out the property which William Blackford held at death (perhaps from his mother).

Item reference C 11/286/2
Short title: Nicholls v Hayman. Document type: Bill and three answers. Plaintiffs: Iltyd Nicholls clerk of Llanvase, ...

Context
C  Records created, acquired, and inherited by Chancery, and also of the Wardrobe, Royal Household, Exchequer and various commissions
    Division within C  Records of Equity Side: the Six Clerks
       C 11  Court of Chancery: Six Clerks Office: Pleadings 1714 to 1758
          Sewell Division
             C 11/286  Pleadings. (Described at item level).
Top of page Record Summary
Scope and content Short title: Nicholls v Hayman.
Document type: Bill and three answers.
Plaintiffs: Iltyd Nicholls clerk of Llanvase, Glamorganshire (administrator of Susannah Nicholls deceased his late wife, who was a daughter of John Whitlock junior, gent of Winsham, Old Cleeve, Somerset and Joan Whitlock his wife, who was only daughter and heir of William Shenton, gent and Joan Shenton his wife both deceased), Whitlock Nicholls (eldest son and heir of said Susannah Nicholls) an infant aged 4 years (by his father said Iltyd Nicholls).
Defendants: William Blackford, Philip Sydenham and Sarah Sydenham his wife, William Francis and Joanna Francis his wife, George Hayman, Robert Darch and John Sealy.
Date of bill (or first document): 1728
Covering dates 1728
Note The naming of a party does not imply that he or she will appear in all the documents in this cause (after the bill)
Held by The National Archives, Kew 

Legal status Public Record(s)
Language English

  I then turned to the Country Registry office and  looking at the Somerset Record Office Catalogue
http://www1.somerset.gov.uk/DServe/DServe.exe?dsqApp=Archive&dsqDb=Catalog&dsqCmd=Search.tcl

and using the search expression blackford and limiting the date to 1700-1740 yields 100+ documents some of which might be interesting. You can open up the finding aid and sometimes there is some detail.

It seems odd not to find the Blackford family on the Visitations. They appeared to hold substantial property but that wasn't always the criteria for inclusion; "old" family I think predominated the Visitations particularly in the more agrarian parts of England. It was likely possible to retain one's ancient home long after the property had been sold that had originally given the family their status.

I also continued working on the Blake marriages matching up spouses and this is an enormous task which has only really just begun (over 30,000 marriages in Free BMD). Once I have completed that then I can start working with the family lines that I already know in Hampshire and put them together. I will then move out from Hampshire to the Home Counties where the Hampshire Blake families moved. But I want to also work concurrently on the other Blake families of the British Isles. It will be a slightly different approach because I do not know as much about their lineages.

But in the meantime the garden grows weeds rapidly and is my first call. The other argument in the summer is that it lasts such a short time in reality here and then the long dark cold days and nights come back which are absolutely perfect for reading fiche and transcribing wills. It is a little too bright in the summer to spend too much time at that. However, yesterday I transcribed a will that I thought I had completed years ago. In actuality it was back in my early days of genealogy (2003) and I had read it so I have now transcribed it. This particular Pincombe had seven sons and it is my premise that these sons moved out from the North/South Molton area towards Barnstaple/Bideford in the later part of the 1500s. Proving that will be an interesting task although yDNA makes it more likely that one can actually prove or disprove Pincombe as a singleton name with respect to having a single founder. Over time other haplogroups/markers may well appear because of surname changes or non paternal events but initially I do wonder if Pincombe was a single family taking up that name.

Will of William Pincombe (Richard the fourth son is my ancestor and he settled at Bishops Nympton; amazingly his son William is also mentioned) I insert below for anyone interested. William was married to Emotte Snow (this marriage does not appear in the Parish Register which commenced for marriages in 1558). I do not know the name of her father but her brother William Snowe was the father of Honor Snow and she married Thomas Blackmoore (my 10x great grandparents) 8 Oct 1570 at Bishops Nympton.

Richard Pincombe (my ancestor) married twice and the two families represent all the Pincombe lines found at Bishops Nympton in the 1600s and into the 1700s. There are several entries in the Parish Registers there that I can not sort into these families though in the later 1700s. When this will is written in 1602 William (son of Richard) is three years old; his elder sister Anne died in 1598 as a small child and his mother Anne (surname unknown) was buried 3 May 1600 at Bishops Nympton. Richard married Francis Gill 11 Nov 1603 at Bishops Nympton. Richard was buried 31 Jan 1648 but his age was not listed. Working from the premise that Anne was his first marriage and that Anne (daughter was born in 1598) then Richard may have been born in the mid 1570s or earlier.

Recorded: 29 July 2011
Source: Public Record Office, London, UK, PROB11/106 - Image Reference 35/405
Place: East Buckland, Devon, England
Type of Record: Will
Dated: 20 December 1602

Condition: photocopy, bold, old English writing

[In margin] T[estator] Willi[a]m Pyncombe


1    In the name of God, Amen.  The Eighte and
2    twentithe day of december in the yeare of our Lord God one thousand six hundred
3    and two I Willyam Pyncombe the elldeste of Easte Bucklande in the countie of Devon yeoman
4    beinge of perfecte remembrance (thanks be unto Allmightie God) do make and ordayne this
5    my laste will and Testamente in manner and forme followinge.  Firste I bequeathe my
6    soule unto Allmightie God.  And my bodie to be buried within the Churche or Churchyard
7    of East Bucklande aforesaid.  Item I give and bequeathe unto the poore of the parish of East
8    Bucklande aforesaid Three Shillings foure pence.  And toward the rep_cord of the parish Churche
9    there Three shillings foure pence.  Item I give and bequeathe unto the poore of Southmolton
10    tenne Shillings.  And unto the poore of Northmolton tenne shillings.  Item I give and bequeathe
11    unto Willyam Pyncombe my sonne Sixe pounds thirteene Shillings foure pence.  Item I give
12    and bequeathe unto my saide sonne Willyam Pyncombe my greate tableboord whiche standeth in
13    my hall, the cubborde in the same hall, and the seelinge of the saide halle, my beste fetherbedd
14    performed and all my ploughe s_ath, to have and enioye the same presentlie after the decrease or
15    nexte maryage of his mother. Item I give and bequeathe unto Symon Pyncombe my sonne (if he
16    bee nowe lyvinge and do returne againe into this Realme of Englande) Tenne pounds. And I doe
17    praye his mother to have further consideration of him. Item I give and bequeathe unto Johane
    [Page 2]
18    Johan Pyncombe my daughter Fiftie pounds.  Item I do give and bequeathe unto Katheren Pyncombe
19    my daughter Fiftie pounds.  Item whereas I have and houlde by the demise and grannte of John Davy
20    gentleman deceased to me my executor and assignes for terme of Fourescore and nyneteene yeares ___
21    to be compleate and ended, if Symon Pyncombe, Richard Pyncombe and Thomas Pyncombe my sonnes
22    so longe lyve, or anie of them so longe lyve, all that the hall of the Tenement and Barton commonlie
23    called Over Mollande Sarazin, the entire, and house adioyning to the northe part of the said halle
24    the chambers over the saide halle and the house within the said halle, one chamber over the said house
25    and the shippinge in the easte part of the saide house. And all that parte or portion of the Towne
26    place there which is lymitted and appointed by meerts and bonds, the garden by southe the yokinge
27    house. One close of lands called the Southedowne, one other close of lande called the bottoms close
28    and dyvers other closes platts and quilletts of lande, meadowe, woods, wayes and other hereditam[en]ts
29    within the appurtennces in Northmolton in the countie before said, as by a deed indented whose date
30    is the nineteenth day of September in the foure and twentithe yeare of the Queenes ma[jes]ties
31    raigne that nowe is more plainelie the large yf dothe and maie appear. I do give and bequeathe
32    unto Lewes Pyncombe and Peter Pyncombe my sonnes their executors and assigns all and singuler
33    my rights, tytle,  estate, intereste and terme of yeares whiche shal[l ]be to come and unexpired of their
34    foresaid terme at the tyme of my deathe of and in all and singuler the foresaid house, landes, tenem[en]ts
35    closes, meadows, curtilages, woods, Quillettes and parcelles of lands and meadows w[i]th all & singuler
36    their appurtenances, and everye parte and parcell thereof contayned in the foresaid deed, indented
37    excepted suche parte of the houses, closes of lande, meadowe, curtilages, woods, quilletts, and parcelles of
38    lands and meadows with the appurtenances contayned in the foresaid recited deed indented, as before this
39    tyne I have by deed wrytinge given, grannted, assigned and sette over to John Pyncombe my sonne
40    his executors and assigns. To have and to houlde all and singuler the aforesaid houses, closes of
41    Lands, meadowes, curtilages, woods, quilletts, and parcelles of lands and meadows withe their appurtenances
42    (excepte before excepted) unto the said Lewes Pyncombe And Peter Pyncombe my sonnes their executors
43    and assignes from the daie of my deathe untill the expiration and end of the same terme of fouerscore
44    and nyneteene yeares, yeeldinge, performenge and doinge as I my executors and assignes are bounde by the
45    afore recited deed indented to yeelde, do and performe. And my meanenge is that my executors shall
46    freelie have and take all suche corne in and uppon the premisses afore geven and bequeathed as shal[l ]be
47    in the Earthe at the tyme of my deathe or decease withoute payenge any thinge for the standinge
48    thereof Item I geve and bequeathe unto my saide sonne Peter Pyncombe Tenne poundes Allso
49    I geve and bequeathe unto my foresaid two sonnes Lewes and Peter all my pewter vessells w[hi]ch
50    are marcked w[i]th W and P equallie to be devided betwixt them ymediatlie after the deathe or next
51    marrage of their mother. Item I geve and bequeathe unto Elizabeth Colliscotte the daughter of John
52    Colliscotte deceased fortye shillings to be employed to the beste use for her untill she accomplishe one
53    and twentie yeares of age by my sonnes Willyam Pyncombe and John Pyncombe And then to be payde her
54    by them withe the proffytte thereof (if see be lyvinge) otherwise to remaine and be by even and
55    equall portions unto my two sonnes Willyam and John Item I geve and bequeathe unto my brother
56    Richarde Pyncombe Thirtie shillinges Item I geve and bequeathe unto Thomas Pyncombe
57    sonne of my brother Richarde Pyncombe Tenne shillinges and an ewe and a lambe Item I geve
58    and bequeathe unto Willyam Pyncombe, John Pyncombe and Marye Pyncombe the chilldren of
59    my sonne John Pyncombe twentie shillings equallie to be divided amongste them Item I geve
60    bequeathe unto Willyam Pyncombe sonne of Richard Pyncombe my sonne Sixe shillings eighte
61    pence Item I geve unto Willyam Hutche one ewe sheepe Item I geve unto Anne Breshton
62    Agnes Brisheton the daughter of Thomas Brisheton to either of them a lambe Item I geve and
63    bequeathe unto everie of my god chilldren sixe pence a peece. The residue of all my goods moveable
64    unmoveable I geve and bequeathe unto Emott Pyncombe my wife whom I ordayn and make my
65    Executrix of this my presente Testamente and laste will. And I do ordayne and make overseers
66    of this my presente Testamente & laste will my lovinge sonnes Willyam Pyncombe and John
67    Pyncombe and my lovinge neigheboure Anthony Wedlake alias Brailey whom I do desier to see
68    this my laste will and Testamente in all thinges performed accordinge to my entente and
69    meanenge In wytnes whereof the saide Willyam Pyncombe the elldeste have hereunto sette
70    my signe the daie and yeare before saide in presence of those whose names are hereunder wrytten
    [Page 3]
71    Signed William Pyncombe the elldeste wytnesses hereunto Willyam Pyncombe Thomas
72    Birsheton

Hearth Tax - Roehampton University project

The Hearth Tax project at the Roehampton University has now added East Yorkshire information. This is an incredible resource for looking at East Yorkshire Riding in 1672. The Hearth Tax is a listing of householders in England of the 1660s and 1670s and provides an insight into the status of individuals (i.e. their property).

http://www.hearthtax.org.uk/

All of my East Yorkshire Riding people can be found in the hundred / wapentake of Harthill Bainton Beacon and specifically the Constabularies / Wards of Great Driffield and Little Driffield, Etton, Hutton Cranswick, Holme on the Wolds, Cherry Burton, Lund near Beverley, Kilnwick, Skerne, Watton, and Barmby on the Moor.

The lists also reveal to me that some of my surnames were indeed somewhat unique with only a couple of members listed for each particular surname. In particular Sproxton, Beilby, English, and Garratt belong to this group. My other surnames of Grey/Gray, Cobb, Harland, Wilkinson, Hilton, Constable, and Stephenson are also listed although in greater numbers.

I have found a Robert English at Barmby on the Moor who may be my ancient ancestor. Dorothy English married Richard Sproxton 15 Nov 1716 at Hutton Cranswick. Her parentage is unknown to me.

Knight families at Spetisbury

Following yesterday's revelations on the Knight families at Spetisbury I decided to separate the families out from the transcription of the Knight family in the Spetisbury Parish Registers. I did not actually do this transcription but hope to be able to see the Spetisbury Parish Registers once Ancestry has added the earlier Dorset records to their site.

Using the extracted Parish Register information for Spetisbury and the OPC Dorset website for earlier marriages in the Knight family there I will build the family groupings.

Henry Knight married Mary Oliver 25 Dec 1727 at Spetisbury

Thomas Knight 
Henry Knight
David Knight baptized 2 May 1736

Henry Knight (Junior)  married Ann Holloway 6 Jun 1754 (father Henry Knight)
(data likely missing)
Henry Knight baptized 21 Mar 1764; buried 20 Sep 1773
Sarah Knight baptized 2 Feb 1766
Elizabeth Knight baptized 24 Feb 1768; buried 26 Feb 1768
David Knight baptized 20 May 1770
Henry Knight baptized 3 Apr 1774
David Knight baptized 27 Dec 1777

David Knight married Martha Butler 17 Feb 1756 (father Henry Knight)
John Knight baptized 2 Oct 1757
(Data likely missing)
William Knight baptized 5 Feb 1764
Thomas Knight baptized 13 Dec 1772
Henry Knight baptized 21 Nov 1773
Mary Knight baptized 26 Jan 1777
George Knight baptized 1 Oct 1778

Thomas Knight married Martha
Henry Knight baptized 26 Jan 1777
George Knight baptized 1 Oct 1778

John Knight married Elizabeth
Joseph Knight baptized ?; buried 4 Sep 1785
David Knight baptized 2 May 1784; buried 19 Jan 1786
Jane Knight baptized 1 Jan 1786; buried 31 Jan 1787
David Knight baptized 16 Dec 1787
Henry Knight baptized 1 Dec 1789; buried 21 Apr 1791
Jane Knight baptized 21 Apr 1791
Charlotte Knight baptized 3 Jun 1792
Mary Ann Knight baptized 7 Oct 1792
Harriet Knight baptized 3 Mar 1794; buried 13 Jan 1796
Henry Knight baptized 17 Sep 1795; buried 5 Jan 1796
Henry Knight baptized 25 Sep 1798


John Knight  married Ann Vincent 9 Jun 1783 (at Shapwick)

Joseph Knight baptized 24 Aug 1785
Eleanor Knight baptized 12 Dec 1786
Sophia Knight baptized 25 Sep 1789
Martha Knight baptized 8 Oct 1796
Maria Knight baptized Jan 1797 ?
John Knight baptized 30 Nov 1800

William Knight married Ann Ballet 23 Oct 1786 (Thomas Knight witness)
Charles Knight baptized 28 Jun 1789
Elizabeth Anne baptized 16 Oct 1791
James Knight baptized 3 Jul 1794
Jemima Knight baptized 13 Nov 1797

Thomas Knight married Elizabeth
Mary Ann Knight baptized 3 Jun 1792

Thomas Knight married Ann
Mary Knight baptized 30 Jan 1794
Ann Knight baptized 15 Dec 1795
Joseph Knight baptized 29 Apr 1798

William Knight (widower) married Sarah Loader 3 Nov 1798 (Henry Knight witness)
William Knight baptized 22 Sep 1799
James Knight baptized 11 May 1802
Hannah Knight baptized 22 Mar 1807
George Knight baptized 20 Aug 1809
Harry Knight baptized 24 May 1812

Henry Knight married Ann Holloway 13 Apr 1799
Benjamin Knight baptized 22 Mar 1799
Henrietta Knight baptized 11 Jan 1801
Mary Ann Knight baptized 26 Dec 1802
Eliza Knight baptized 21 Oct 1804
Eliz Knight baptized 25 Feb 1807
Jane Knight baptized 30 Oct 1808
George Knight baptized 1 Oct 1810

William Knight (widower) married Elizabeth Mitchell 8 Apr 1804 (Henry Knight witness)
David Knight baptized 16 Aug 1807
William Knight baptized 8 Oct 1810; buried 8 Oct 1810


Ellis Knight married Eleanor Knight 29 May 1804 (William Knight witness)
Ellis Knight baptized 27 Jul 1806
George Knight baptized 28 Jun 1808
Mary Ann Knight baptized 26 Nov 1809
Samuel Knight baptized 8 Nov 1811; buried 14 Jul 1823 (at Turnworth)
Maria Knight baptized 16 Feb 1814
Henry Knight baptized 28 Jan 1816
Elizabeth Knight baptized 30 Aug 1818 (at Turnworth)
Edward Knight baptized 12 Nov 1820 (at Turnworth); buried 8 Nov 1841 (at Turnworth)
John Knight baptized 18 May 1823 (at Turnworth)
Thomas Knight baptized 24 Apr 1825 (at Turnworth)
Samuel Knight baptized 25 May 1828 (at Turnworth and my 2x great grandfather)
Martha Knight baptized 21 Nov 1830 (at Turnworth)
George Knight b c 1831 (at Turnworth)

From the Militia Rolls of 1787 at Spetisbury there are the following Knight males listed:

John KNIGHT  bricklayer  1 child

John  KNIGHT  ?servant, bricklayer
   
Willm.  KNIGHT  bricklayer
   
There are two John Knight families at Spetisbury in 1787. John Knight married to Ann Vincent has two children (Eleanor was born at the end of 1786) and John Knight married to Elizabeth has buried all of their children with one born near the end of 1787. More evidence would be nice but it would appear perhaps that John Knight bricklayer with 1 child is the John Knight married to Ann Vincent. William Knight bricklayer would appear to be William married to Ann Ballet and later Sarah  Loader. William and Ann were married in Oct 1786 and did not have a child until after 1787.

This charting has been somewhat helpful but I still do not have a clear line back before John Knight since there are two John Knight families at Spetisbury in this time interval. Going through the burials might be helpful to see when these two men died - one John Knight was buried 17 Nov 1826 and by his age at death he is likely the John Knight baptized 2 Oct 1757 and the son of David Knight and Martha Butler but was he the husband of Ann Vincent. I shall need to re-examine the burial records for Spetisbury.

The other interesting item is my other 4x great grandfather William Knight married to Sarah Ellis 7 Aug 1775 at Winterborne Stickland. There really isn't any evidence to prove that this William Knight was ever living at Spetisbury. There was a William Knight son of David Knight and Martha Butler baptized 5 Feb 1764 but he is likely the William Knight who married Ann Ballet and then Sarah Loader and was a bricklayer at Spetisbury. Looking at the Winterborne Stickland records will be most interesting once they are available on Ancestry before 1813.

But again I do not know the history of the Knight family at Spetisbury prior to 1727 when Henry Knight married  Mary Oliver. My suspicion is that these two families are linked but I have no idea how far back - the naming of the 13 children of Ellis and Eleanor Knight is most interesting.

There was a John Knight who married Elizabeth Kebble 31 May 1778 at St Peters Shaftesbury Dorset. This is the location for the William Knight/Mary Dashwood marriage as well. There is a family lore that the Knight family were stone masons/bricklayers in Cann and gradually moved down to the Blandford Forum area from the mid 1600s on.

Knight family of Spetisbury, Winterborne Stickland and Turnworth

An interesting email and a number of images from an Australian correspondent on the Butt family has led me back once again to my Knight family. I haven't been able to agree with other Knight researchers on our mutual ancestors before William Knight (married to Sarah Ellis) and John Knight (married to Ann Vincent). I have a vague recollection of my Grandfather mentioning that he had grandparents that were cousins and that they had 18 children. It does appear that it was a set of his great grandparents who had 13 children but I was only eight when he died so could easily have misunderstood that. I haven't been able to find the cousin relationship although Ellis Knight and Eleanor Knight certainly shared the same surname (they were my grandfather's great grandparents). There is at least one cousin marriage though that I do know about now and my grandfather could have been confused in that regard now that I have put the Carter/Blake/King family puzzle together with Joseph Blake and Joanna King (one set of my 4x great grandparents) being first cousins.

As I was going through the Winterborne Stickland Parish Registers I noted a marriage with John Vincent of Dewlish and so I had a look at that parish and discovered many Vincent entries including Ann baptized 26 Oct 1755 at Dewlish and the daughter of James Vincent and Ann Moulam. Ann Vincent married John Knight 9 Jun 1783 at Shapwick (2 miles from Spetisbury) and I have been trying to find information on this couple for quite a while. Why do they marry at Shapwick and not Spetisbury? Dewlish is 11 miles from Shapwick as well; why not Dewlish if that is her birthplace? James Vincent and Ann Moulam married 28 Nov 1733 at Dewlish and their first daughter Ann died young. However, when I check the OPC Dorset site for Shapwick the marriage registration is there for John Knight and Ann Vincent but no baptisms at Shapwick for the Knight family. Also they are the only Knight marriage at Shapwick between 1731 and 1813.

Also in the Winterborne Stickland Parish Registers I found the burial of John Knight 17 Nov 1826 and his age was listed as 69 years giving him a likely year of birth of 1757 and there is a christening 2 Oct 1757 at Spetisbury of John son of David Knight and Martha Buller (married 17 Feb 1756 at Spetisbury). I had discarded this couple as the parents of John because John and Ann did not name one of their sons David. Nor did they name one of their sons Henry and David is known to be the son of Henry Knight and Mary Oliver (married 25 Dec 1727 at Spetisbury). But as I worked my way through these thoughts I am remembering that I did not find the children of John Knight and Ann Vincent - they were given to me early on in my genealogy work. I did not touch the Knight family when we went to Salt Lake City so in fact I have not really looked at this family beyond doubting the connections that other researchers have found between William and John Knight (both are my 4x great grandfathers) and the ancestors of these two.

Looking at the IGI since the baptisms are not yet online at Ancestry in the Dorset records, I find

Eleanor baptized 12 Dec 1786 at Silton
Martha baptized 28 Oct 1796 at Silton

I know from the census that Eleanor always says she was born at Spetisbury so the Silton is somewhat confusing and as well 19 miles from Spetisbury. Is this an error of transcription? Once the registers are online prior to 1813 I will have an answer to that question. Looking at the OPC Dorset website, Silton Bishop Transcripts do not list any Knight baptisms between 1731 and 1880 so it is an error but in favour of which village? That remains to be discovered.

Did they have only the two children? There are seven other children listed for this couple by other researchers: Elizabeth Ann, Thomas, Jemima, Benjamin, Joseph, James and Samuel. No baptisms are listed by other researchers for these children; dates given are from the census when available otherwise they would appear to be subjective.A great deal is known about Eleanor and she was 83 years of age when she died. She lived with my grandfather's grandfather and died just before the marriage of my great grandparents Blake 25 Sep 1870 at Turnworth (Edward Blake married Maria Jane Knight 29 Oct 1870 at Upper Clatford).

Eleanor Knight married Ellis Knight 29 May 1804 at Spetisbury but their marriage in the IGI is listed as Silton. This Knight marriage does not appear on the Silton Parish Records on the OPC site.

From another researcher I have but not verified by me:

Spetisbury Parish Records
FHL Film # 1239228

Baptisms
1812  May 24    Harry  s/o William & Sarah Knight 
1811  Nov 8      Samuel s/o Ellis & Eleanor Knight
1810  Oct 1       George s/o Henry & Anne Knight
1810  Oct 8       William s/o William & Eliz Knight
1809  Aug 20    George s/o William & Sarah Knight
1809  Nov 26    Mary Ann d/o Ellis & Eleanor Knight
1808  Jun 28     George s/o Ellis & Eleanor Knight
1808  Oct 30     Jane d/o Henry & Ann Knight
1807  Feb 25    Eliz d/o Henry & Ann Knight
1807  Mar 22    Hannah d/o William & Sarah Knight
1807  Aug 16    David s/o William & Eliz Knight
1806  Jul 27      Ellis s/o Ellis & Eleanor Knight
1804  Jan 22    Charles s/o William & Sarah Knight
1804  Oct 21    Eliza d/o Henry & Ann Knight
1802  May 11   James s/o William & Sarah Knight
1802  Dec 26   Mary Ann d/o Henry & Ann Knight
1801  Jan 11    Henrietta d/o Henry & Ann Knight
1800  Nov 30   John s/o John & Ann Knight
1799  Mar 22    Benjamin s/o Henry & Ann Knight
1799  Sep 22   William s/o William & Sarah Knight
1798  Apr 29    Joseph s/o Thomas & Ann Knight
1798  Sep 25   Henry s/o John & Eliz Knight
1797  Jan ?      Maria d/o John & ?? Knight (bef Jan 10)
1797  Nov 13   Jemima d/o William & Ann Knight
1796  Oct 8      Martha d/o John & Ann Knight
1795  Sep 17  Henry s/o John & Eliz Knight
1795  Oct 4      George s/o Sarah Knight
1795  Dec 15   Ann d/o Thomas & Ann Knight
1794  Jan 30    Mary d/o Thomas & Ann Knight
1794  Mar 3      Harriet d/o John & Eliz Knight
1794  Jul 6        James s/o William & Ann Knight
1792  Jun 3       Charlotte c/o John & Eliz Knight
1792  Aug 9      Mary Ann d/o Thomas & Eliz Knight
1792  Oct 7       Mary Ann d/o John & Eliz Knight
1791  Apr 21    Jane d/o John & Eliz Knight
1791  Oct 16    Elizabeth Anne d/o William & Ann Knight
1789  Jun 28   Charles s/o William & Ann Knight
1789  Sep 25   Sophia d/o Jo & Anne Knight
1789  Dec 1     Henry s/o John & Eliz Knight
1787  Dec 16   David s/o John & Eliz Knight
1786  Jan 1      Jane d/o John & Eliz Knight
1786  Dec 12   Eleanor d/o John & Ann Knight
1785  Aug 24   Joseph s/o Joh & Anne Knight
1784  May 2      David s/o J & Eliz Knight
1778  Oct 1       George s/o Thomas & Martha Knight
1777  Jan 26     Mary d/o Thomas & Martha Knight
1777  Dec 27    David s/o Henry & Ann Knight
1774  Apr 3        Henry s/o Henry & Ann Knight
1773  Nov 21     Henry s/o Thomas & Martha Knight
1772  Dec 13    Thomas s/o David & Martha Knight
1770  May 20     David s/o Henry & Ann Knight
1768  Feb 24     Elizabeth d/o Henry & Ann Knight
1766  Feb 2       Sarah d/o Henry  & Ann Knight
1764  Feb 5      William s/o David & Martha Knight
1764  Mar 21    Henry s/o Henry & Ann Knight

Marriages
1804  Apr 8     William Knight & Eliz Mitchel
1804  May 29  Ellis Knight & Eleanor Knight
1799  Apr 13    Henry Knight & Ann Holloway
1798  Nov ?     William Knight & Sarah Loader
1793  Nov 7      James Collins & Ann Knight
1791  Jan 17     John Smith of Blandford Forum & Mary Knight
1786  Oct 23     William Knight, b & Ann Ballet, s, both OTP

Burials

1810  Oct 8      William s/o William & Eliz Knight
1806  Jan 1      Martha Knight
1801  Feb 3     Henry Knight
1801  Jun 10    Elizabeth Knight
1801  Sep 14   Charles Knight
1801  Sep 14   James Knight
1799  Feb 15   John Knight
1798  May 8     Ann Knight
1796  Jan 5      Henry s/o John & Eliz Knight
1796  Jan 13    Harriet d/o John & Eliz Knight
1793  Oct 19    Miriam Knight
1791  Apr 21   Henry s/o John & Eliz Knight
1788  Jun 2      Henry Knight
1788  Jun 11    Ann widow of Henry Knight
1787  Jan 31    Jane d/o John & Eliz Knight
1786  Jan 19    David s/o John & Eliz Knight
1786  Aug 16    Mary Knight
1785  Sep 4      Joseph s/o John & Eliz Knight
1778  Sep 28   Henry Knight, parish clerk
1773  Sep 20   Henry s/o Henry & Ann Knight
1768  Feb 26   Eliz infant d/o Henry & Ann Knight


From this list I have as children of John and Ann Knight:

1800  Nov 30   John s/o John & Ann Knight
1796  Oct 8      Martha d/o John & Ann Knight
1789  Sep 25   Sophia d/o Jo & Anne Knight
1786  Dec 12   Eleanor d/o John & Ann Knight
1785  Aug 24   Joseph s/o Joh & Anne Knight

I am noticing that Elizabeth Ann, Thomas, Jemima, Benjamin, James and Samuel belong to different parents namely William and Ann Knight. David, Henry and Thomas are all brothers and sons of Henry Knight and Mary Oliver. The big question to me at this point is who is Henry Knight married to Mary Oliver. He was Parish Clerk at Spetisbury and buried 28 Sep 1778.

I shall check the Spetisbury records on Ancestry now to see if I can find any marriages for these children and I did not find anything conclusive for Sophia, Martha, Joseph or John siblings of Eleanor.

I do have one part of my question answered with respect to John and William Knight. They are not brothers. Probably they are not first cousins but beyond that I have no idea. I am not sure of the parents of William Knight and Sarah Ellis. Sarah does appear on the census so I know that she was born around 1756 which fits with the data that I have. But were the parents of William Knight as thought? Were they William Knight and Mary Dashwood who married 9 Aug 1760 at St Peter Shaftesbury Dorset?

BIFHSGO Conference September 2011 and the Moggridge family of Somerset

I received a contact today from a descendant of the Moggridge family of Somerset. He has been researching his line and we will correspond. That is such good news. Sarah Moggridge married John Rew and their son John Rew married Elizabeth Siderfin; their daughter Elizabeth Rew married John Pincombe and they emigrated to Canada via the Port of New York with their five children (John, William Robert, Elizabeth, Richard and Louisa) in November 1850 arriving early January 1851. It will be interesting to discuss our mutual family with him.

The contact that I received has reinforced my thought that as well as having a table for the Guild of One Name Studies I will attend the BIFHSGO Conference this year. There are a number of speakers coming from England that I would particularly like to hear. Although I have acquired a good deal of information on my family lines there is probably a great deal more that I can learn. I am very aware of the many sources that exist particularly at Kew and the individual County Record Offices from my courses at the National Institute for Genealogical Studies (U of T) but it is now four years since I graduated and the access to records has augmented exponentially since that time.

http://www.bifhsgo.ca/cpage.php?pt=22

Working with my Beard cousin in London has uncovered an entire family line totally unknown to me. I had searched and searched for the wife of Christopher (Christy) Buller to no avail until I received an email from my cousin with a note that the will of Henry Beard mentioned his daughter Mary Buller wife of Christy Buller a slop seller in Bermondsey. This worked for us and united our research ever since. The Beard line has been pushed back another generation or so and the Hemsley line (Henry Beard's first wife was Elizabeth Hemsley) to has been taken back and recently we discovered a Roland line into Hemsley. However, I am still sitting with my 3x great grandfather Christopher Buller about whom I now have a lot of information except for his parents. There are many possibilities but I think that reading the St Olave Bermondsey parish register will help to answer them. Thus far this register is not available on Ancestry although is at the London Metropolitan Archives. My cousin is primarily interested in Beard so I have not asked to have the Buller information pushed back. It was enough to learn so much about the Beard family!

The talks on London and environs will be most interesting for me and I believe that I will attend the Conference as well as have the Guild table. It will be a fair amount of running about but the results could prove to be quite interesting.

Charlotte Rawlings - Enford Wiltshire

I have been a member of Genes Reunited for five years now and I have found this particular website to be an excellent tool for my genealogy pursuits. I have met descendants of all but one of my 2x great grandmother Elizabeth Pincombe née Rew on this site and that is amazing in itself because everything that I knew about Elizabeth Rew had her origin as Devon England. In reality she was born at Selworthy Somerset and finding her birth/baptism at Selworthy opened up an entire line of Somerset people. The pieces for this family came together quickly and very soon I was finding fourth cousins online. All of them continue to live in England. My 2x great grandmother was not keen on emigrating and once here was totally unwilling to go back. You can hardly blame her as her brother in law Thomas Pincombe, his wife and six children all drowned on the Bark John when the ship was headed for a new life in London, Ontario Canada.

The Pincombe family leaving Devon I have discussed a short while ago and suffice it to say they would still be there but for that I strongly suspect. On the other side of that, the Pincombe families here are very Canadian and would find it strange to think that they might not be here :)

Today on Genes Reunited I heard from a descendant of George Rawlings who was a brother to my Elizabeth Rawlings. He had traced back to George and found his eldest and only daughter Charlotte. Being an unusual name and finding it also on my tree in his searches he wrote to me. He would be my third cousin and for me that is always a big deal. I do not have any first cousins and very few second cousins so a third cousin feels very close. However, that is unlikely the case with this individual as I found with my other third cousins as they have a multitude of second and often many first cousins. Visiting my second cousin in Dorset three years ago was an exciting event for me and having corresponded with him for over 20 years we enjoyed meeting. It is lucky we did do so as he passed away just this past year.

The Rawlings family contains my one illegitimate line - my paternal grandmother was illegitimate although she was raised by her natural mother who had married when she was six years old to William Taylor. William was not my grandmother's father however. My grandmother's name may give a clue to her actual father in that her second middle name was Cotterill and there was only one Cotterill family in the village that they lived in. However, to prove that I would need a descendant of that family to verify it or perhaps a family finder result that might help to tie in to the Cotterill family and indeed I do have one that could be as close as my second cousin.

I wrote back to the Rawlings descendant to share my tree with him and he will have a few surprises as our mutual 3x great grandfather George Lywood was a Waterloo Veteran as a member of the 23rd Regiment of Foot now known as the Royal Welsh Fusiliers. I have a picture of William Rawlings and Elizabeth Lywood his wife and I forgot to tell him that so when he writes back I will let him know that. He is descended from one of the younger sons of George. I do not know if he is in Australia; some of George's sons went to Australia.

I have now begun my scanning as that fits well into my gardening schedule. I had to do a schedule so that I would be able to do all the items that need doing. Today is a very warm one but I have already worked up the one bed that I wanted to and cut the grass. Tonight when it is cooler I will trim and with this heat the grass will probably not grow much for another week or more.

We took on our daughter and son in law's two bunnies to care for them for the next two years. It just isn't possible for them to look after them as well as the dogs for the moment. One is a Lop Bunny and the other is a Lion Bunny. They get along extremely well and have a large playpen cage to spend their days and nights in. We let them run once a day in the stairs area - just close off all the rooms that lead into the hallways. They are having great fun running up and down the stairs and then back into their cage for a good feast and a long rest. With this heat and their fur it is as well that we are air conditioned. We bought our air conditioner about twenty years ago for our rabbit Peter who lived to be ten years old. These bunnies are young still - 2 years and 4 years old only.

Scanning letters

I have close to 2000 letters that my mother sent to me over a period of almost 30 years and includes cut out of the newspaper that I might be interested in as well as family information. I have decided to scan all the letters and create a DVD. She often commented on the weather and other interesting area details. She passed away in 2002 at the age of 85.5 years still living in her own home and very independent. My father lived to be 94.5 and she was twelve years younger so had  thought she would be be with us for a longer period of time. I decided in her memory to create this DVD of her weekly/monthly letters to us after we moved away in April 1975.

Like her father who had experienced by the age of 14 the death of his beloved mother, his only sister and brother, my mother was only eight when her father passed away. Like him, she watched as her many relatives too passed on although she did have quite a few second cousins/third cousins that she knew well. She grew up though on stories of her Pincombe, Gray and Routledge families whilst her father was still living and also her Buller and Taylor families from her mother. She loved the history of her family and her death in 2002 was perhaps the first inkling in my mind that someone should really write down all of these stories and gradually as the years passed it became self-directed as I realized that I did have an interest in genealogy although well-hidden through the first 39 years of marriage. My husband has been an avid genealogist for as long as I have known him although active research did not begin until the early 1970s.

I think I will logically put all of these letters in by date and build a file system by year/month/day to be systematic. I can also include the many pictures that she also sent where I haven't yet separated them out from the letters. Because genealogy wasn't one of my interests during this time period I simply kept filing the letters away in a large container just as they came. I tend to be somewhat of a "pack rat" where some items are concerned and quite the reverse for other items.

This is something that I can work at whilst doing the gardening since I am finding it very difficult to set aside long stretches for genealogy this summer.

Family Finder

Family Finder results have come in for one of my brothers and he has ended up with myself as his closest match and three other individuals who are 2 - 4th cousin. Although I have these matches as well they are at the 4-distant cousin match level. One I do not have at all. I have downloaded everything to excel so that I can compare our results. Of the 500,000 SNPS tested we match on  almost all of them. He is #3 child and I am #4 child although that doesn't particularly make any difference except my parents were just two years older when I was born.

Eventually I want to test my youngest brother and see the differences. My older brother looks very like my Dad and my younger brother looks very like my paternal grandfather. I am curious what his results will be like.

Interestingly for the Population analysis I come up as 92% Orcadian and 8% Ukranian/MiddleEast. His population analysis was 89% French, Orcadian, Spanish and 11% Southeastern European. I look like my paternal grandfather's sisters apparently although when I look at the picture of my paternal grandmother I think that I look somewhat like her as well.

We continue to match many people who have German ancestry (and recent) so I am still left to wonder about the parents of Christopher Buller who was born circa 1763 and I have absolutely no idea who his parents were. The parish registers of St Olave Bermondsey are not available in this time period. He is buried there as was his first wife and two infant children who died. The interesting part is that the burial yard was closed in 1830 but Christopher Buller appears in the burial register in 1832. Somewhat confusing and I hope to be able to resolve that one day.

The Buller family is well documented in England but I do not know if and how I fit into this family. The name Christopher Buller is found in the Somerset Buller family that moved to Bermondsey in the early 1800s. Are they related? I am unable to resolve that relationship but will continue checking all references.

My great uncle Edwin Denner Buller born in 1888 was the last of this particular Buller family and he did not marry - no male Buller children are descendant of Christopher Buller as far as I know thus far. My great grandfather (father to Edwin Denner Buller) Edwin Denner Buller was born in 1850 but he had several brothers. The eldest was Henry but his only son died at the age of 1 year. His other brother Clement Charles last appears in South Africa working as a jeweller and I wonder if the South African Buller family is descendant of Clement. Perhaps I shall be lucky one day and they will test on Family Finder. Christopher Buller was my 3x great grandfather, his son Henry Christopher Buller my 2x great grandfather and Edwin Denner Buller my great grandfather so I am probably looking at their being my 3rd cousins. However, I have long generations in this family. Christopher Buller was around 32 when he married and 42 when Henry Christopher Buller was born. Henry Christopher Buller was 45 when my great grandfather Edwin Denner Buller was born and 53 when Clement Charles Buller was born. My grandmother (Edwin Denner Buller's daughter) was 28 when my mother was born, my mother was 29 when I was born.

I do have 4th cousins in the Buller line (Emily Hemsley Buller married Isaac Debnam) and perhaps I can persuade one of them to do Family Finder just out of curiosity.

Altogether my brother has 55 matches on Family Finder and I have 43. Interesting really and I have written to a couple of them that overlap with my results. He is actually closer to one that I have corresponded with several times. We were unable to find a linking relative but I thought I would check again.

Our Bewcastle Ancestry

I posted a history of my Routledge family on a blog a couple of years ago but discovered that I was in error on the names of one of my 4x great grandparent's parents. I added two comments and the proof to correct this earlier error on my part.

http://ourbewcastleancestry.blogspot.com/2009/10/routledges.html

I was led somewhat astray on Grace's line by a bit of family lore that had George Routledge and Grace Routledge (married 16 June 1763 at Bewcastle, Cumberland) as first cousins. Actually they were both descendant of the Oakshaw Routledge family but not first cousins. They were possibly third cousins. The parents of Grace were Thomas Routledge and Mary Routledge who were themselves married at Bewcastle 18 Nov 1733 and this family (Mary was widowed by 1767) was identified in the will of

Carlisle Record Office Will of Archibald FORRESTER of Cleughside, Bewcastle [Bc] 1767, pg 63.
Grace Forrester, deceased poss. The mother of John Routledge
John Forrester, Wit
Adam Routledge s o Mary, Wid
George Routledge, of Oakshaw, Bc, father of 2 children
Grace Routledge, daughter of [d o ] Mary Routledge, Wid
Henry Routledge, s o Mary R*
Henry Routledge of Borderrigg, dec., father of 3 children
John Routledge s o Mary R*, Wid
John Routledge, my “sister’s son, possibly s o Grace
Leondard Routledge of Oakshaw
Mary Routledge of Crossgreens or Strandsheads, Wid, mother of Grace, Mary, Adam, John & Henry
Mary Routledge, d o Mary, Wid
William Routledge of Oakshaw, deceased, father of William R*
William Routledge of Oakshaw s o late William Routledge
Francis Armstrong, Wit
Catherine Dowglass of Ash w o Thomas Douglas
Thomas Dowglass [sic Douglas] of Ash husband of Catherine
Catherine Henderson d o Robert & Helenor Henderson
Helenor Henderson wife of Robert and mother of Catherine
Robert Henderson husband of Helenor & father of Catherine
Alexander Kennedie of Cleughside, Friend husband of Sibella
Catherine Kennedie of Cleughside, d o Alexander
Elizabeth Kennedie of Cleughside
John Kennedie of Cleughside s o Alexander
Sibella Kennedie of Cleughside w o Alexander
William Kennedie of Cleughside s o Alexander

and interestingly enough three of my 4x Routledge great grandparents (George, Grace and Henry) appear in this will along with several 5x great grandparents it would appear. I would like to purchase the original will as it would be helpful to see the context around this abstract. I will look into purchasing that will along with a couple more shortly.

I have also continued working on the Blake marriages and will soon be back to 1901 which means a complete list from 1901 to 1951 is matched up with the correct spouse (although there are some that I can not yet determine; will probably require looking at emigration  and burials).

The yDNA study for Blake is progressing slowly and it is probably still our best means as a group of separating out different Blake lines in the British Isles and elsewhere.

Once I have all the marriages then I will start working on the census by Registration District pulling out the families and then the births/deaths from Free BMD coincidentally in case I am able to match any families in that way. Once I have that work done then I can start looking at the Parish Registers which I already have and decide on whether to purchase or borrow other parish registers. It is easier to purchase them as I have a microfiche reader but some can not be purchased and I do have to consider the cost although fiche are relatively inexpensive. There is also the problem of storage. I already have several thousand fiche.

Looking at I2a y DNA haplogroup

I extracted 72 I2a samples from the British Isles study at FT DNA and discovered that, as I had initially thought, most of them have the United Kingdom as their ancestral location. The most recent thought expressed by Ken Nordvedt who is really the most knowledgeable on the I yDNA haplogroup in the DNA newsgroup is that the I2a is an ancient "British Isles" haplogroup and thus referring to all of the Islands that comprise that group. Looking at the 72 samples there are: 25 England, 12 Ireland, 7 Scotland, 9 United Kingdom, 15 Unknown, 1 Wales, 1 Belgium, 1 Germany and 1 Croatia. Thus yielding 69 out of 72 as being of the "British Isles."

Looking at Number of samples - DYS393 DYS390 DYS19 DYS391 DYS388 the resultant allele values are:

01 - 13    21    15    10    15
01 - 13    22    16    10    13
02 - 13    22    16    11    13
21 - 13    23    15    10    15
01 - 13    23    15    11    13 (Germany)
04 - 13    23    16    10    13
02 - 13    23    16    10    15
04 - 13    23    16    11    13
01 - 13    23    17    10    13
01 - 13    24    15    10    13
04 - 13    24    15    11    13
01 - 13    24    15    11    14
01 - 13    24    16    10    11
03 - 13    24    16    10    13 (Croatia)
01 - 13    24    16    10    14
05 - 13    24    16    11    13
01 - 13    24    17    10    14
06 - 13    24    17    11    13
02 - 13    25    15    10    13
01 - 13    25    15    11    11
01 - 13    25    15    11    12
02 - 13    25    15    11    13
02 - 13    26    15    11    13
01 - 14    23    15    10    15
01 - 14    23    15    11    9   (Belgium)
01 - 14    23    17    10    13
01 - 15    25    15    10    13

I thought I could just exclude the result from Belgium, Croatia and Germany but surprisingly two other results in the "British Isles" belong to this same grouping so I decided to leave them in.

Frequency of occurrence of alleles may be interesting to look at with regard to these values obtained for I2a.

393 - 13 is the value found most commonly with 14 being the next most common and 15 the fourth most common

390 - 24 is the value found most commonly with 23 being the next most common, then 25 is the third most common, 22 the fourth most common and 21 the fifth most common

19 - the most common found value is not listed in this grouping (14), the next most common is 15, the third most common is 16 and 17 is the fifth most common

391 - 10 is the value found most commonly and 11 is the second most commonly found value

388 - 12 is the most commonly found value, the next most common is 14, the third most common is 13, the fourth most common is 15, 11 is the seventh most commonly found value and 9 is the ninth most commonly found value.


That is looking at the world population however and I need to find the particular statistics for I2 haplogroup and Whit Athey in his paper: Haplogroup prediction from Y-STR values using an allele-frequency approach, Journal of Genetic Genealogy 1: 1-7, 2005 does have a table looking at R1b. A second paper by the same author: Haplogroup prediction from y-str values using a Bayesian-Allele-Frequency approach, Journal of Genetic Genealogy 2:34-39, 2006 also looks at this question with respect to  I1. Nomenclature has moved on and I2a originally belonged to I1.

Looking at 393 - 13 was most commonly found with 14 being second, 12 being third, and 15 being fourth

Looking at 390 - 22 was most commonly found, followed by 23 as second, 24 as third, 21 as fourth and 25 as fifth

No particular surprises there other than 25 as a value for 390 being commoner looking at the world data.

Can I learn anything more about I2a from these allele values? One item I did note was that all the I2a2b were from the British Isles (with one exception - one is unknown but the name is a Yorkshire one). Six people have tested their subclade only in the 72. The predicted break is L161+ and if positive directs you towards the British Isles. Ken Nordvedt shows this group of P37.2 + individuals coming out from the Balkans heading north towards present day Poland where this group divides with L161 + (heading towards the British Isles) and L147+ towards Eastern Europe. Looking at the results verifies this chart which can be found:

http://knordtvedt.home.bresnan.net/ and a powerpoint file Tree and Map of Hg I.xlsx .

More people testing their deep clade results will aid in analyzing this haplogroup.

Looking at the much larger group I2a with a sample size of 403 but which will also include potential I2a1, I2a2, and I2a3 since they haven't had their deep clade test the resting spot is of course much more widespread. However there are 99 samples that are I2a2 and I2a2b (with 25 having tested L161 +).

This group has 3 unknowns, 20 British Isles, 1 Germany and 1 Poland.

The range for allele values looking at 393-390-19-391-388

01 - 13  23  15  11  13
10 - 13  24  15  11  13
01 - 13  24  16  10  11
01 - 13  24  16  11  13
01 - 13  24  16  12  13
01 - 13  24  16  11  13
02 - 13  24  16  10  13
01 - 13  25  13  11  12
01 - 13  25  15  11  11
01 - 13  25  15  11  12
02 - 13  25  15  11  13
01 - 13  25  15  10  13
01 - 13  25  16  10  13
01 - 13  25  16  11  13

I will play with the data a little more and see the locations for the other sets of data and the large I2a set. I will look at the alleles for the larger group that are just I2a. There are 304 members in the I2a study who have not done further subclade studies so that they could potentially belong to I2a1, I2a2 or I2a3 and looking at their country of origin (user generated) Unknown is a rather large section being 93 members, followed by the British Isles (England 34, Ireland 33, Northern Ireland 1, Scotland 16, Wales 2, United Kingdom 12) 98 members, Western Europe 56, Eastern Europe 55 and the remaining members have United States and Canada (3). The British Isles again predominates  but this could also be the bias of more people testing who have known British Isles heritage or continue to live in the British Isles. Until members of this group test their subclade and have more knowledge on their ancestral "resting spot" it would be difficult to say much more about I2a2b other than it does appear to be a "British Isles" group predominantly. Ken Nordvedt on his chart has the arrowhead in Ireland but one would imagine that individuals would have stopped along the way which is perhaps why the numbers for Germany and Poland are also substantial.

The Blood of the Isles database by Bryan Sykes also gives an interesting story on I. There are 225 entries for I with I2a having 150 of these entries. Looking at my paternal line and the entries close by (19 390 391 392 393):

16    24    10    11    14 London
16    24    10    11    13 North England
16    24    10    11    13 Northumbria
16    24    10    11    13 Northumbria
16    24    10    11    13 Northumbria
16    24    11    12    14 South west England
16    24    10    11    13 South west England

would seem to imply that perhaps my ancestors lived in Northern England/Northumbria at some time although on paper I know that my Blake line is found at Andover (or within 2 miles of that city) from the late 1400s on. It does cause one to think carefully though looking at the Blake family which is very diverse in England and already the study has more than five different haplogroups for this surname. Interestingly if you look at Ken Nordvedt's latest map of migration for I2a2b the arrow leads one across from Poland through Doggerland into the north of England and thence on to Ireland. Always interesting these thoughts on the migratory path of the various haplogroups. It is simply impossible to actually trace on paper back thousands of years but the answer to our early history does lie in our genes. Although my matches on just 5 markers are rather interesting my best overall match is with the London entry where the match is 8/10 markers. As it turns out a portion of the Andover family does end up in the London area by the end of the 1600s.