Early in my research, in the early 1990s, my instinct was that the name Arthur, at least before 1700, was unique to the Hertfordshire family and that all those named Arthur Ginn were connected to it. Time has proved that with one exception that instinct was entirely correct.
Arthur here (heir of Henry of Fyfield d. 1615 - see post of 20th July) was a Yeoman and
clearly prospered, though whether unfairly to the loss of his siblings is
unclear.
Research in 2007 revealed
his landholdings at Fyfield in some detail.
He inherited "Clarks" and "Gibbs" from his father and set about acquiring
more land, adding various fields and tenements as he went along. By his death he had about 80 acres of free
and copyhold in Fyfield. He was
therefore of yeoman status but not particularly that well off.
I know from his will
that he married Agnes Howe. No marriage
survives. I know this because he
mentions Thomas Howe his “wellbeloved brother in law” and he had no surviving
sisters to whom this might otherwise refer.
At present I have no idea as to who Agnes Howe was or where she came
from.
It seems clear that some
of the children were not baptised at Fyfield.
A Lay Subsidy Certificate of Residence (National Archives
Ref. E 115/175/39) says that in 1628 the family were in Birds Green Hamlet
and that “Arthur Gynne and his familie have resided here for the past yere”. The
hamlet was and is in the south east corner of Beauchamp Roding, bordering on
Willingale Doe and forming part of that parish also. Certificates of
Residence were only required where a man had two houses, the tax only being
chargeable on his main one. It seems clear that for much of the time he
was having children Arthur and his wife technically lived in Beauchamp Roding,
whose registers sadly do not survive for the period.
If, as alleged by his brother Humphrey, Arthur did cheat his siblings then he paid a terrible price, because he died at Fyfield in the Essex plague epidemic of 1637 - he was 48. He left a will (ERO) a page of which with his signature is reproduced below. Arthur
left his wife an interest in his lands for 8 years, to allow his children to
grow up; then it was split between the sons with Thomas, the eldest,
getting the most.
There does not seem to
be a record of the death of Agnes. The
manorial records mention Arthur’s
death and deal with the various inheritances, but are silent as to the fate of
Agnes. See D/DCW M109 (ERO). My suspicion is that she remarried, because by the English Civil War the various children, though obviously remaining close to each other emotionally, were scattered geographically.
Arthur and Agnes had a good number of children. Some I am still researching:
Thomas - the heir - see later post
Agnes/Anna/Hannah - a kindly soul left £70 by her father and who married the Yeoman,George Brockwell in 1642 at Berners Roding (by licence which does not survive). They had one child at Fyfield and then moved to little Hutton in Essex where they had further children. She was popular with her siblings, particularly with brother John who died whilst visiting her in Hutton in 1660. George Brockwell was implicated with his three Ginn brothers in law of he theft of deer from the Petre family during the Commonwealth. I have a strong suspicion that George and Anna brought up her orphaned cousin Arthur Ginn (later of nearby Shenfield) who is the subject of a later post
Hutton
Arthur - see next post
Sarah - was left £70 by her Dad in 1637 and was living with her sister Anna at Hutton in 1644. This research took years. In 1644 she married the Yeoman farmer Robert Gill (said to be of Little Burstead in 1644 but who had land in Hutton and was of East Horndon in Essex at his death ) at St Botolph Without Aldgate in London. They had four known children (Robert, John, Elizabeth and Sarah) who were mentioned by Robert Gill in his will drawn up in 1656 at which point he was seriously ill. He did not actually die however until 1662 when he was likely about 40 (which suggests tuberculosis) and the intervening years must have been very difficult for all, with young children and him ill. His will is at ERO. John Gill "son of widow" died in 1662 and so three children were left. Sarah was left reasonably off and an eligible widow in her 30s. The Gills seem to have left East Horndon, but no remarriage has yet been traced.
Henry - died away from home, during and possibly as a result of the English Civil War. I know this because he inherited land from his father which was inherited by his brother Thomas from him in 1647. May well have fought with Cromwell and thus
John - became a Grocer and Citizen of London - see later post
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