There is some evidence that Harry Ginn of Cheshunt (see last post) had a son John who had his children baptised at both Waltham Holy Cross (Waltham Abbey) and Cheshunt and had a son Thomas there in 1625.
What is certain is that despite there being scarcely any evidence of them on the IGI, there were two Thomas Ginns, father and son, who lived on Theobalds Park in Cheshunt, living full lives and posing this researcher many headaches.
I was born in Cheshunt
and some of my ancestors have lived there
for many centuries and may well
have known this man and, indeed his father and grandfather. The Cheshunt Ginn family, however, had so many links to Theobalds that it is impossible to understand
them without knowing its history,
and I was mortified to discover that I was woefully ignorant of part of the story of my own parish.
Cheshunt is today only really famous for one thing,
it is the HQ for Tesco Supermarkets. In the
16th century its main
claim to fame was Theobalds
Palace. Originally
built for the Cecil family, it became a favourite residence of James 1st who took it off of the Cecils in exchange for
Hatfield House. James died at
Theobalds, and in 1642 it was from Theobalds that Charles 1st rode to Nottingham
to raise his flag for the start of the
Civil War.
The palace apart,
Theobalds was a wooded hunting park, extended and extended again to some 2500 acres, and sitting in
three parishes, Cheshunt, Enfield
and Northaw.
Charles 1st
obviously lost the Civil War, and his
head, and during the 1640s the
palace and park were vandalised and exploited by the local population. In
1651, needing money to pay off the army, Cromwell and his deputies decided to demolish the palace
and deforest the park, making it
into a small number of farms of some 70-200 acres and putting them under the control of a number of local
tenants. It seems possible that
one of these was John Ginn of Cheshunt, but, as below, this might not be the case and Thomas possibly took the
property through his wife.
Oliver Cromwell
(whose family have many associations with Cheshunt)
died in 1658 and the country became
almost anarchical, Charles the 2nd being invited back in 1660 ("the Restoration") and welcomed
by many of the population. One
of the leaders who invited Charles back was a certain George Monck, one of Cromwell' s own generals and friend. In gratitude Charles the 2ndgave Monck certain titles, including Duke of Albermarle, and some lands: including the estates of Theobalds and Old
Park at Enfield
in 1661.
The new Duke was
required to continue with the tenancy arrangements, though from 1661 we see many leases being
granted, either for three lives
or for fixed terms of 21 years, many at quite reasonable rents.
The second Duke of
Albermarle, Monck's son, died in 1688, the
same year that William the Third
and Mary took the throne. The line dying out, the King gave the estate to his banker, William Bentinck, later
Duke of Portland. Portland was not as
generous as formerly, being a banker he attempted to change the tenancy arrangements and extract much more of
a rack rent from his tenants.
What, you may ask,
does this have to do with Thomas Ginn? Well, it is clear that early on, certainly by 1664 and
probably from 1661 or even before,
Thomas Ginn had a lease of one of the farms on Theobalds. Most of these farms still survive, even to this
day, and it is likely that in due course
I will find out which farm he held: for records also survive.
Thomas Ginn was
therefore a Yeoman farmer, and a prosperous one. It
seems likely that he put the money
inherited from his father to good use, and taking advantage of the reasonable rents given him, "made hay
whilst the sun shone" and profited
well until 1688.
He clearly married Elizabeth in about 1658,
during the Commonwealth and
possibly at Northaw, the registers not surviving. I have no information on her maiden name, though some
suspicions based on her will.
What I am certain of is that she was a widow and probably older than Thomas. I say this because in her will
she names Thomas as "my last husband"
and they obviously had few children. I am also fairly certain that it was Elizabeth who inherited
the lease mentioned below which
Thomas took over on marriage. She was an eligible widow therefore. I say this because her will
intimated that Elizabeth
had money of her own (which
technically Tom allowed her) and which was likely brought to her second marriage. This could
explain Tom's rise in fortunes.
Only two children are known, Martha who has no apparent surviving baptism and may have been baptised
at Northaw, and Thomas who was
baptised at Cheshunt.
In 1664, Thomas Ginn
and some other yeomen took on the Disher family of Theobalds (Chancery
actions National Archives), who I know of through my own Cheshunt family history. The Dishers were a
pugnacious, litigious bunch,
avowed Parliamentarians during the Civil War (Capt Disher of Theobalds being a cavalry officer in
Cromwell's army and leader of a Hertfordshire
troop at the Battle of Edgehill) and of the puritanical persuasion. Indeed, Theobalds had a
non-conformist chapel and was one of
the most strongly Presbyterian/ Puritanical
parts of the area, containing many
of what the Quarter Sessions records call "phanaticks". Disher
alleged that Thomas agreed to take a lease of substantial lands on Theobalds
but did not follow through on his promise.
Tom denied all.
One of Tom's friends
was a certain John Benton, who attended at his deathbed, appears in his son's will and who I subsequently found was a
Yeoman of Theobalds and one of Tom's
neighbours. This seems to be the
same John Benton who married at Cheshunt in
1663 and was thus also one of
Tom's contemporaries. In 1683 we find the following in the Herts Quarter Sessions records:
"The
petition of Thomas Bridgeman, Thomas Gynne, John Benton, William Parnell,
and John Disher, inhabitants of
the parish of Endfield, co Middx: sets forth that the petitioners
are tenants of the Duke of Albemarle "for severall messuages and lands
lying in the said parish of
Endfield" where they "with their families dwell and inhabit and have been so for many years past"
and that they are also tenants of the said Duke of some lands lying in the parish of Cheshunt in the county of Hertford... "
The petitioners went
on to ask for relief from repairing the highways of Cheshunt because technically they lived in Enfield. It would thus
seem likely that Tom's farm was
one of those towards Crews Hill in Enfield,
probably including lands in Cheshunt, Enfield and Northaw.
Thomas Ginn
obviously continued to hold his lease after 1688, because it seems clear his son took it. More will be
known in due course, because research
on the internet has revealed that extensive records survive for this period (leases, rentals and all sorts of
papers for Theobalds from 1680
being in the Portland Collection at Nottingham University Library).
What was not known
until 2006 was that this family were Presbyterians/Puritans. I
discovered Elizabeth's
will at the Guildhall Library, quite by chance, and that fact became clear.
As mentioned above, Theobalds had
its own Presbyterian/Baptist Chapel (it was shared by both sects) probably by the 1650s and certainly by
1662. There were two preachers, one
Baptist and one Presbyterian and they
preached there on alternate Sundays. The Baptist preacher was a certain Joseph Maisters, a Somerset man born in 1640.
The Theobalds
congregation numbered one hundred or so souls and was comprised of several of Cromwell's cavalry officers who had taken farms
in Theobalds, together with some two
dozen families of what seem to have
been exclusively anti Royalist "Parliament men". Charles 2nd
was, as said, restored to the throne in
1660 and this Stuart believer in
the Catholic faith and the divine rights of Kings had all non Anglican ministers expelled from office in
1662 and a period of some twenty years of persecution of
non-conformists commenced.
Maisters knew the
famous Puritan theologian John Owen (1616-83). Maisters
preached not only at Theobalds but also in London and in the early 1660s, during the most intense of the
persecutions, Owen moved to a
house near Theobalds, where he often attended the services. In a
letter of this time he was to
write "the Anabaptists
here at Theobalds and the Quakers
in London more numerous than ever .. .a troope (of cavalry) came to Theobalds last Lords day thinking to catch the Anabaptists
at their meeting, but you would not thinke how many came to warne them of it, so they
dispersed and though the troopers stood gazing three or four hours on high ground to watch their rendevouz, yet
they escaped their sight
and met in a wood undiscovered".
John Owen
Owen later moved to
Stoke Newington, but kept in touch with the Theobalds congregation for years to come. Indeed, this was only one of
several occasions when the Presbyterian
and Baptist congregation were to
be sought for arrest by troopers, sometimes they succeeded. Theobalds
became famous for the strength of the anti Royalist feeling and was feared by the King. The men there
were spied upon, plots were considered
all the time, a spy writing to the King's ministers in 1666 "we have a restless enemy amongst us, I mean the
whole fanatic party... the head of which serpent lies especially upon the confines of Essex and Hertfordshire...
about the road near
Theobalds there is a crew of them lie concealed... that there should be the
least commotion in
London, we should find to
our cost that they would be only too ready to second it"
Maisters was at
Theobalds until 1692, when he moved to London,
but continued to preach monthly
at Theobalds until his death in 1717. His funeral oration was given by Jeremiah Hunt.
In the late 1680s,
the persecution of these people ceased, it was lawful for there to be non conformist chapels. At
some point the Ginns started to
attend meetings regularly in Enfield,
though they had possibly done so on
occasion for many years before, because Maisters sometimes preached in Baker
Street, Enfield,
where facilities were sometimes shared with Presbyterians.
At some time in the
1670s a Presbyterian minister called Obadiah Hughes began to preach at these Enfield
meetings. Born in 1640, supposedly
in Plymouth,
Hughes came from a huge family of non conformists, virtually all of whom are mentioned in the Dictionary of
National Biography. Indeed, Hughes'
grandson John became an evangelical
Anglican vicar at Ware in Herts and must have known the Ware Ginns, likely cousins of this
family.
Obadiah was taught
by Owen at Oxford
(nonconformity was a small world)
and was expelled from there for his views in the 1660s, never taking his degree. He eventually was ordained
as a Presbyterian pastor and began to preach in London,
from whence he came to Enfield.
He was likely preaching there from the 1670s and, in 1689, was invited to
take over the chapel in Baker Street, Enfield
which the Presbyterians had taken
over from the Baptists. He died in Enfield
in 1705.
Thomas Ginn died in
1695, he was 70. He left a will (original at HRO) and was stated to be "of Theobalds Park" at his death, although was buried at Enfield. He left extensive
bequests and was clearly quite well off. Amongst mention of his wife,
children and grandchildren, he left money to "Mr Maisters, Minister"
and £10 to "my brother Fordham's children" who was likely not his brother in law but one of his
congregation, the Presbyterians regarding
their fellows as "brothers and sisters"
Elizabeth died at Enfield in 1696. Thomas jnr was
probably there at the time. She
was said to be "of great age" and left numerous bequests to individuals, to the "poor widows of Enfield who fear
God" and to our old friend
"my Reverend Pastor Obadiah Hughes" and "a preacher of London" a certain Richard Franklin
Thomas and Elizabeth had two children: Thomas and Martha :
Thomas Jnr
To some extent this man awaits further
research. He married Mary Trappes in
about 1680 - as yet I have not found a marriage entry . In his will he mentions his
“loving friends” John Benton (of whom we know) and his brother in law John
Trappes. I feel sure that this is John
Trappes of Sewardstone in Waltham Abbey, a fishmonger of some repute (he
supplied the Tower
of London) but cannot
state that as a certainty. What is
certain is that Thomas had a few acres of freehold land in Waltham Abbey
(mentioned in his will) which I have found (2006) came from his mother by dint
of a mortgage from 1694 that was not repaid and she foreclosed on it. The link to Waltham Abbey suggests, however,
that there is more going on here than I know.
Perhaps more will be discovered in due course.
Whatever, Thomas Jnr obviously carried on
with the Theobalds lease, describing himself as a Yeoman and obviously
prospering. He and Mary sadly only ever
had one child;
Mary 1683
who was baptised at Enfield.
Tragedy struck the family in 1699, because
Thomas became very ill, it could have been smallpox, TB or any number of the
diseases prevalent at that time. He made
a will (National Archives) in which he left no less that £300 to his daughter, saw that his
widow was provided for whilst unmarried and carried out his father’s wishes in
respect of his sister’s children. The
most poignant bequest was to his sister - “fifteen shillings to buy a gold ring
in remembrance of me”. He was just 39
and is buried at Enfield.
In 2006 I discovered a case case, (Benton
v Bosgrave and others -Ref C10/409/45 at the National Archives).
Briefly, it appears that the legacies of Thomas Jnr (particularly in so
far as he was passing on the legacies of his father, Thomas snr) to the Benton
and Rickard families were not paid out.
There was substantial legacies to the Rickards children and a £10 legacy
to John Benton. Thomas Ginn jnr was said
to have left “a considerable estate” of about £1,000 in leases for years and
bonds and money.
It appears that Thomas Jnr’s widow, Mary had
remarried a William Bosgrave. There is a
surviving London marriage licence which shows that the marriage took place in
1700 and in 2012 it was discovered that the
marriage took place at St Mary, Islington. The Bosgraves figure in the wills of
this family, so William Bosgrave may have been a cousin of the Ginns and likely lived at
Enfield. In short, once William got his
hands on the Ginn money there was no chance of any of it going the way of the
Benton or Rickards family.
John Benton, a yeoman, was dead and his
eldest son Abraham launched the action, for himself and as “next friend” of the
infant Rickards children. We do not know
the result, but it looks clear to me that Bosgrave and the widowed Mary were
caught out. They probably wished to hang
on to the Ginn money and lands for themselves and the young Mary Ginn of whom as yet I know nothing.
Martha
Martha here married Robert Rickards at All Hallows London Wall in 1676 (her name was mistranscribed as Gwin) and had a
gigantic family:Viz Elizabeth, Robert, Martha, Thomas, John, Mary, Ursula,
Sarah and Deborah. It would appear that Robert Rickards lived in Edmonton and
had children baptised both there and at Enfield. It seems likely there are descendants.
All of these children are left £20-25 each in
their grandfathers will and bequests by Martha’s brother also. The family seemed invisible on the IGI which puzzled me for
ages (I thought they were non-conformists) then I made one discovery. Whilst
researching the story of Theobalds in David Pams’ “History of Enfield” I came
across one Robert Rickards, yeoman farmer of Old Park at Enfield (also held
from the Duke of Albemarle) who actually lived at Edmonton . In 1706,
Rickards had 157 acres of arable alone on Old Park (now Bush Hill Park housing).
The research in 2006 mentioned above revealed a court case between the Benton
and Rickards families and the estate of Thomas Ginn Jnr. In 1702 Robert Rickards was stated to be of
Northaw and it would seem likely that this man
farmed Albermarle lands in both Theobalds and Old Parks.
In 2011 I actually found a will, Robert Rickards "of Edmonton" being buried at Enfield in 1708 and a page of his will with signature reproduced below. Many of his children are traceable on the IGI and I am hoping that some of his and Martha's descendants might find their way to this blog which is why it is here.
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