Henry Ginn of Anstey d. 1615

Henry Ginn was the eldest son of his father Robert Ginn of Anstey (d. 1587 - see post of 25th June 2012).  He has a pivotal role in the establishment of a major branch of the Ginn family of Hertfordshire.

I have estimated that Henry was born in around 1527, possibly earlier and perhaps as late as 1530.  In 1553 he married Margaret Fordham of Therfield; she was one of two daughters of William Fordham, a prosperous yeoman of that parish and mentioned as one of the main freeholders there in the 1561 survey listed in Cussans’ work on Hertfordshire.

The Fordham family are famous in this part of the county and were prominent in local affairs until the 20th century.  Fordham seems to have had quite a bit of land but no male heir: his property going to Margaret and her sister Agnes.  This no doubt made the girls very desirable in the marriage stakes.

It is apparent that Henry acquired considerable lands in Therfield on and shortly after his marriage.  Some land was acquired as a dowry, some he clearly bought from his father-in-law who in his will of 1570 (Essex Record Office) mentioned a transfer of 40 acres which he described as being simply his “last” conveyance to Henry.

                                        Henry would have known this house in Therfield

                         

The whole picture is not known, but it is clear that Henry held in excess of 200 acres of freehold and copyhold land in Therfield at one time or another between his marriage and the 1590s, mostly held in Therfield and Mardlen/ Mardleybury (West Reed) manors. Margaret brought a dowry of 50 acres (held in her own name in Therfield Manor) and Henry was already a Therfield freeholder by 1561.  He acquired at least another 40 acres in the same manor from his father-­in-law (mentioned in Fordham’s will as said and also written up in the court rolls).  Upon her father’s death those same manorial records show that Margaret shared an interest (with her sister) in another 50 including a tenement called “Pies”.  All were disposed of by Henry (in one way or another, chiefly to Henry jnr) before 1600.  At the same time Henry had acquired just over 100 acres in Mardlenbury and the Rectory which he still held at his death and which went to his other principal heir, his son Robert.  And these were just his holdings in Therfield!

I say “just Therfield” because it is clear that Henry also held lands in Anstey, Barkway, Nuthampstead and Layston, though how much in total is far from clear.  He obviously held “Passmers” and other Anstey and Barkway lands but I suspect not more than 40 acres.  He briefly lived in Layston (see below) in the 1580s and probably had some lands there, but again it is difficult to be sure how much.  My guess in that his non-Therfield lands never totalled more than 100 acres and probably a good deal less.  By any measure Henry was a considerable Yeoman however, and it is no surprise to continually find him on the Grand Jury at Hertford Assizes.

                                     Therfield village green

Initially Henry lived in Anstey, but by the mid 1550s he had moved to Therfield and apparently stayed there until the 1580s when muster records and a court case (see below) show him to be in Layston.  From 1590 he seems to have always been “Henry Ginn of Anstey”, probably reflecting the death of his parents and his new responsibilities in that parish.  Wherever he lived he was right at the top of the list of those paying the Lay Subsidy.

In 1579 we get insight into the ignorance of the period when we find Henry accusing one Alice Cole, spinster of Therfield of bewitching two of his cows whilst they drank at a water vat (Assize records).  Alice was found guilty and was forced to confess her guilt, being pilloried four times for the offence.

Margaret Ginn gave Henry a string of children but seems to have begun to have miscarriages in 1570.  She appears to have died with the last in 1572 and is buried in Therfield churchyard.  Within a year Henry had remarried a widow, Alice Finch.

Alice Finch brought Henry two stepchildren: William and Marion, and the dining table must have been pretty crowded with the adults and various offspring when Alice gave Henry two further children of his own by 1576.

During the course of his life Henry was involved in two court cases in Chancery.  The first was that of the 1580s involving the King family and the second involved the estate of Agnes Chapman (nee Fordham) Henry’s sister-in-law by his first marriage.  Apparently Agnes left some money to Henry’s children by Margaret when she died in the 1580s.  There was a technical problem because she had not taken Letters of Administration of the estate of her late husband (William Chapman, probably the leaseholder of Mincinbury Manor at Barley) and was accordingly not legally able to deal with his property.  Her executor had inadvertently paid out and sued Henry (as proxy for his children) for the money back.  The result of the case is not known.

Henry was obviously determined to largely disinherit his eldest son: it is unclear why.  Two sons were chosen to receive what appear to have been almost equal shares in his property: Henry Jnr receiving the lands of Therfield Manor while those of the Rectory and Mardlebury went to Robert.  William clearly received little in Anstey and Barkway, whilst both Arthur and Richard were scarcely husbandmen in terms of inherited copyhold and freehold land.

By 1600, it is clear that Henry had largely retired and was leaving management of his remaining lands to his sons.  The Victoria County History of Herts mentioned that he was involved in the donation of land for almshouses in Barkway.  I had no idea what this referred to until 2020 when it finally became apparent that this involved the two cottages that William Mores or Morris left in his will of 1526 and were subsequently held in trust by the Ginn family for 80 years.    See post on Henry's grandfather, also Henry  of 24th June 2012 which explains what this related to. Henry here transferred the two cottages left for almshouses by Mores out of the Ginn family to trustees in 1607.   Amazingly - the original deed with his aignature survives (Herts Archives DP13 25 .1.)   and below. 

That seems to have been the last significant flourish of a long life: for Henry died well into his 80s in 1615.  Alice died at Anstey in 1619 and they would both appear to have been buried in the church there, which is what Henry requested.  Henry’s original will with his signature survives (ERO)

Henry and his two wives had a good number of children -

William - continued the Anstey family - see later post

Henry  - established Ginn family of Fyfield - see later post 

Arthur - an unmarried yeoman who assisted nephews

Robert - an intriguing person to research - see later post

Dorothy - married the yeoman, John Creed, son and heir of Anthony Creed a yeoman and one time High Constable of Edwinstrey Hundred.  John Creed was a Caliverman with William Ginn (his future brother in law - above) in the Herts Trained Band in the English Army at Tilbury in the Spanish Armada scare of 1588.

John and Dorothy had four children - John, Alice, Frances and Arthur.  John snr then died in 1606 (will ERO).  All of the children are mentioned in Ginn wills and Captain Arthur Ginn (d.1652) left small sums to his great nephews and nieces through John Creed jnr and to Arthur Creed.  Dorothy Creed (nee Ginn) died in 1633 aged 70.

Frances - married ____ Beddell and lived to her 80s.  She was alive in 1650 at a magnificent 83.

Ellen - married the weaver, Nicholas Bird only son of William Bird who died in 1606 and left a will (ERO).  There was/is a small plaque in Anstey church describing William Bird as a Gent.  This was creative genealogy by one of Bill's Jermyn grandsons who wanted to make his in law rather grander than he was.  William mentioned Henry Ginn in his will though.  Nick and Ellen had numerous issue mentioned in Ginn wills, but Ellen died in 1614 likely in childbirth - she was 39.  There is some suspicion on my part that Nick and his brood moved to Ware.

Richard - a Husbandman.  He styled himself a Yeoman which he was by birth, but he was from the second family, a younger son and did not inherit a great deal.  Richard Gynne "yeoman of Anstey in Herts" married Mary Dinley at St Peter and St Paul's Wharf Church in London no less in 1606.  It is strange because Mary was an Anstey girl, her father was Robert Dinley, a Husbandman.  I have assumed that they decided to make a day of it in London.

Richard inherited about six acres of land in Anstey upon his father's death in 1615 (his father's will) and may have been given more in Anstey, but the manorial rolls for there do not survive for this period.  I found that he inherited another nine in Barkway.

Richard and Mary had five children (Richard jnr died infancy, Alice, John, Thomas and Ann).  Thomas was alive in 1650 aged 35 but I have never traced him.  The rest are also lost to me except for John (see below). Mary Ginn died in 1619, likely in childbirth - she was 37..  Richard snr has no burial entry, but I know from manorial records that he died in 1631 aged 55

 John Ginn, Richard's heir is an intriguing cove - he was born in 1611.There is scattered evidence that hints he was a soldier in the Parliamentary forces (likely the County Militia) during the English Civil War,  namely that it looks like he was a non- conformist and did not attend Anglican church, was favoured by  his Uncle "Captain Arthur Ginn", was absent from the manorial juror lists for much of the 1640s and, crucially, married a London girl while I have assumed being in London on garrison duty in  1651.  For John Gynne "Yeoman of Anstey" married Ann Warren  "of London" at St Helen's Bishopsgate that year.  John was 40 and  Ann likely of simiar age because they never had any children.

  John had inherited a tenement called "Wheelers" from his father in 1631, and in 1648 the manorial records have his uncle Arthur gifting him a tenement called "Longs".  Arthur also made bequests  to him in his will of 1650 (probated 1652)  In 1663 John and Ann had 2 Hearths in the Hearth Tax - presumably at "Longs". I know that John died between 1663 and 1678, there is no surviving burial entry.  Ann died in 1678, she must have been about 70.

Thomas & Christopher - who died in infancy