John Ginn of Aston (d. 1557)

Thomas Ginn of Aston (d 1526/7) (see earlier post) and his wife Joan had the following children living at his death:- William, John, Walter, Joan, Margery, Thomas and Elizabeth.  Joan remarried Lawrence Benn.

Thomas died at the turn of January/February 1526/7 (Henry the 8th had been on the throne some 17 years) and there was an immediate dispute as to the ownership of "Garetts".

It seems clear that Thomas' eldest son was called William and it is equally clear that Thomas did not get along with him as he  left the farm to his son John in his will (Huntingdon Archives).  William protested to the manorial court in Aston and there was an argument as to whether William was, in fact, the eldest son - the argument ending in a compromise whereby John got the family farm but had to make some financial recompense to William.  What follows is a rough translation of the Latin entry in the manorial register kindly translated for me (my Latin being OK but not that good) by Sue Flood, the senior archivist at the Hertfordshire Record Office

 

"That Thomas Gynne at around the time of the Feast of the conversion of St Paul (25th January) 1526/7 surrendered into the hands of George White one tenement with messuage with certain other lands and tenements in Aston called Gerrards to the use of John Gynne son of the said Thomas to be held to him according to the customs of the manor at the said customary rent.  And further that William Gynne eldest son of the said Thomas on Tuesday next after the Feast P.B.V.M (2nd February) 1526/7 (note that Thomas's Will was dated 31st January) surrendered into the hands of Edward Ibgrave the same property to the use of the said John Gynne for which surrender John owes to the said William 40s out of which John still owes 4d.  And further it is not known how old William is.  And further that the said John Gynne on the bargain made between John and William is to hold a calf or 10 sheep or 20s for the said William until he seeks them from the said John and further that John will give William food as often as he comes to the house of the said John and further that the said John promises Joan Benn his mother now the wife of Lawrence Benn that he William will not lack for food as long as John is able to administer the same"

So John Ginn here inherited the farm. In 1525 or so (this is still before parish registers) he married a lady called Margaret, later research establishing her as Margaret Cherry from the Mundens.

Her maternal grandfather was a certain John Cheef or Cheyfe of Great Munden.  He was born in around 1430.  He married and had issue but only two children survived him - a son William and a daughter Margaret. This Margaret married someone with the surname Cherry and was the mother of the Margaret who married John Ginn. The court case tells us that  William Cheef inherited two tenements (farms) on the death of his father called "Osbornes" and "Wakeleys".  William himself married a lady called Cecily whose maiden name was almost certainly Sell.  William Cheef died in 1507 (will at National Archives)and he made John Sell of Much Hadham  his executor.  William gave "Osbournes" to this John Sell (whose son Simon moved to Munden to claim it) but directed that "Wakeleys" should go to a third party, and if this third party died then the farm should be sold for alms to the poor.  Cecily Cheef died in 1522 (will at National Archives) and directed that John  Sell should carry out her husband's wishes.  This he did not, nor did Simon Sell after John died in 1529 as the Sells kept "Wakeleys" for themselves.  Margaret Cherry had had four daughters who survived her - Katherine, wife of Francis Bele in 1533, Joan wife to Bennet Powyer, Elizabeth wife of John Shepherd and Margaret Cherry, now wife to John Ginn here.  In 1533 the four husbands, on behalf of their wives, launched an action (C1/805/50-51at National Archives) against Simon Sell and must have succeeded as it is known (Feet of Fines records for 1541) that John and Margaret subsequently acquired freehold land in Great Munden.

As is well known, King Henry the 8th turned England from the Catholic faith and created the Church of England in order to divorce Katherine of Aragon and marry his second wife Ann Boleyn.

Now, Aston Manor was held by Reading Abbey, and John Ginn held his lands directly from them, under the form of medieval manorial ownership known as "copyhold".  Reading Abbey had always been very fair to John and his ancestors, keeping the dues he owed them low and allowing the Ginn family of Aston to prosper, this was to change.

When Henry the 8th broke from the Roman Catholic Church he also decided to break the power and wealth of the Abbeys and Monasteries of England and take their lands and give and sell the same to his cronies to enrich himself and his friends.

In 1539, the Abbot of Reading Abbey who protested both at the move away from the Catholic faith and the "Dissolution of the Monasteries" as it was called was executed on the orders of the King and the lands of Reading Abbey seized, including Aston.  Aston Manor was now given by the King to the Boteler family of Watton, but the Botelers themselves leased it to a certain Roger Amis, a Norfolk so called "gentleman" for 21 years from 1540.

Roger Amis was not best pleased when he found that John Ginn was a major peasant farmer in the village, and very shortly afterwards he took both John Ginn and his good friend William Benn (who was to later marry John's widow) to court (see C1/935/11-12 at the National Archives).  Roger's case was, effectively, that John was too prosperous for a peasant and basically must have been doing something a bit dodgy (which was OK for a gentleman of course).  The allegation was that the Ginn family were holding the farm of the Lord of the Manor (and Amis wanted it back).  Both John and William Benn had a difficult time for a while, mostly because they were too busy farming to go up to London to fight the court case, but eventually John Ginn got three of his firiends to go up to London to give evidence in his favour - Luke Akaster, George White (friend of John's father Thomas) and Robert Mitchell, all farmers of Aston and nearby.  These men were to give evidence that John had not done anything wrong, that the manor had granted the farm to the Ginn family since "time out of mind of any man" ie that no man living could remember when the Ginn family had not held it - the stuff genealogists can only dream of !  There follows a transcript of the evidence of Luke Akaster:

Luke Akaster of Aston aforesaid Husbandman aged 66 yeres sworn and executed the day and yere above written saith that he hath dwelt in Aston aforesaid the space of 20 yeres and also have dwelte nere unto Aston 30 yeres by reson whereof he knows the said tenement called Garetts lying in Aston aforesaid now being in the tenure of the said John Gynne which said tenement with the appurtenances hath bin used by the space of 50 yeres to this deponents perfect knowledge to be granted by the Lord of the said Manor for the time being by copy or court rolle and by comon reporte so hath bin used to be granted time oute of mind; And this deponent hath knowen the grandfather of the said John Gynne, and also the father of the said John Gynne and also the said John Gynne himselfe to holde the said tenement with the lands thereto belonging by the space of 50 yeres amongst them one after an other; And non know the sed tenement nether the land thereto belonging to be occupied by the Lorde of the said Manor nor by their farms nor farmers as parcell of the demesnes of the said Manor and now or otherwise cannot depose.

So John Ginn won the court case and he and William went home.  John continued to prosper and added some land to the farm.

    Copy of Aston Manor Rental 1540 (Hertfordshire Archives)

John and Margaret had a good number of surviving children, and in 1553 it was decided that their son and heir John the elder should marry his second cousin, Katherine Ginn of Anstey -tying the two families together again.

Unfortunately the England of the time was subject to periodic outbreaks of plague, virulent influenza epidemics and sundry fevers and in 1557 there was a major epidemic of what was called the "sweating sickness" likely a fatal influenza and sadly John Ginn died of it, he was about 58.

John left a will (Huntingdonshire Archives).  Margaret Ginn was granted the farm for her life, but in 1559 she remarried William Benn and the Aston manorial records show the farm passing on to her son John, widow's rights under manorial custom disappearing on remarriage.  William Benn died in 1564 (will Huntingdonshire Archives) but I do not believe Margaret outlived him.

John and Margaret, as I said, had a number of surviving children.  Isobel seems to have died a maid in 1561.  George is a mystery, but he likely died young as did Henry.  Alice was the wife of a John Adams in 1557 and  Joan the wife of Edmund Woods - neither marriage has been traced - this being so early.

But there were two Johns, the elder and the younger, it being a Tudor custom (so many died young) to have two sons of the same name if it is was important, and these two Johns will be the subject of later posts.