Francis referred to himself as a Yeoman, which by birth he
was - Frank was son of Henry Ginn of Datchworth - see post of 8th September 2012. He also owned freehold land which
strengthened his claim to calling himself a yeoman, but in terms of the amount of land held he was a
Husbandman. His main occupation,
however, was Charcoal burning: Francis was a Collier.
Francis Ginn is a significant man in my Study and has a great number of descendants alive today. He spawned a long, long line of descendants called Francis Ginn, the last of whom died as late as the 1970s.
I read Francis's will some years before I realised who he
was. The "coal" mentioned in
his Inventory always puzzled me. I
assumed that it was what we call coal, but later realised that that was called
"sea-coal” in 1668. Seventeenth century
"coal" was charcoal.
Francis owned three freehold cottages; these gave him the
vote. One of these cottages was at
Burnham Green in Datchworth, the other two were at Welwyn. He lived at Datchworth, the other two being tenanted.
He was the second son of Henry and so logically did not inherit any property from him. Henry bequeathed him half of the chattels and money that he left after all his other bequests were paid. This probably did not amount to a great deal. But when Frank's Mum Jane died in 1633 she appointed Francis administrator of her estate and he took on this role in 1635 and likely received the better part of her money which was the lion's share of £100 in my view. This enabled him to buy properties.
In 1663, his two roomed cottage (with outbuildings) at
Burnham Green had one hearth (Hearth Tax).
Burnham Green sits atop a hill - there is quite a view. In the English Civil War there was a reputed incident. An Edward Pennyfather had Welches Farm which sat astride Welwyn and Datchworth. Pennyfather was minor gentry. All of this is certainly true. The Pennyfathers were supposedly Royalists in a county that had declared for Parliament. At some point during the 1640s it is said a troop of Cromwellian cavalry arrived at the farm to arrest Pennyfather who resisted. He was killed. He was beheaded and his head put on a spike at the entrance to the farm. The troopers attempted to take away his horses and his favourite white horse reared up and was itself killed and reputedly beheaded. The story goes that White Horse Lane and later the White Horse alehouse are named after this incident. There have been repeated tales of the horse haunting the area over several centuries.
The English Civil War is relevant to this story, because in 1646 (three years before King Charles the 1st was beheaded) Francis bought his Burnham Green cottage. By some incredible chance the original deed survives, this not being discovered until very late 2021 when Herts Archives indexed a series of Deeds. The Conveyance (DE/P/T2876) is below
We know from various sources that the cottage had two rooms and was in Burnham Green Lane (now Road) It had a barn and a parcel of one and a half to two acres of land adjoining. It was called "Image Croft". The cottage still stood in 1866. Now Burnham Green lies in three to four parishes, but the cottage was in Datchworth. A lot of research remains to be done, and it will be difficult during the Covid pandemic, but the historical cottage below fits what we know. I can not yet say it is, nor can I say it isn't, the cottage we are discussing -but it fits the description. Originally it was thatched and two roomed with one storey - ignore the tiling and the additions.
In 1637, Francis married Ann Nash. I have not researched her family, but she was
pretty obviously born around 1600.
Francis no doubt worked the land in the same way as his
brother: buying a few acres of woodland, logging it, setting fires and working it out for charcoal, then moving
on. It is very doubtful that he ever
farmed in any meaningful sense. It is of course quite likely that at least for a time the brothers worked together.
Ann Ginn died in 1648, possibly with a late child. Francis did not remarry, and the Inventory
taken at his death shows him to be living in stark rustic simplicity, perhaps
illustrating the lack of a woman about the place.
Francis died in 1670, aged 67. His original will with signature is at the Hertfordshire Record Office and the inventory taken by some of his friends and relations is shown below.
Francis and Ann had a good number of children:
Ann - married ______ Baldock about 1660. I have never found a marriage entry.
Alice - married _________ Finch about 1670. I have never found a marriage entry.
Ellen - was alive and unmarried in 1668, she was then 24. I have not traced her.
Mary - married Stephen Uncle of Datchworth in 1669
John - married Sarah Harvey at Datchworth in 1676 - see later post
Francis - married Sarah ______ in approx 1668 - see later post
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