Francis Ginn of Therfield d. 1673

 Francis was the son of Robert Ginn mentioned in my post of 23rd July.  He may or may  not have descendants, there is certainly a chance, but whatever the case deserves a mention here.

Francis Ginn married Elizabeth Peede at Layston (Buntingford) in 1621.  Francis was described as a labourer, at that time certainly having little land: though he was a yeoman in waiting.  The Peede family are something of an enigma, some of the family certainly being mentioned in the grand jury records which suggests some status, though I have a feeling that the Buntingford family were largely craftsmen.

For a long time it was assumed that Francis had been chosen as his father’s heir, though recent discoveries have made me question whether Robert split his estate (if not his lands) fairly evenly between the three sons, a point on which research is continuing.  In any event Francis was a fairly prosperous yeoman.  His father transferred some 50 acres of land to him during the 1630s and 1640s, principally in West Reed Manor.  He also purchased lands of his own there and had small amounts of land in Therfield Manor and that of Therfield Rectory: about 70 acres in total.  In the 1663 Hearth Tax he was living quite comfortably in a house with 4 hearths.

Francis was often active in various manorial offices (principally at West Reed) and was also a churchwarden at Therfield from 1636-8 and Sidesman (Asst. Churchwarden) in 1641 (see: BT’s at HRO).  Few other personal facts are known, though in 1669 he was involved in an altercation with a certain Thomas Gatward (Yeoman of Royston) which ended up in the Quarter Sessions, the latter being censured for “speaking these false and violent words” to Francis: “What you come into the highway to steal men’s horses?  It is all one to pick a man’s pocket!”  This could imply that Francis had yet another local post: that of procuring horses for the royal palace at Royston, this being an infamous job as local farmers were “taxed” by the Stuart kings into “lending” their horses from time to time for Royal supply wagons and messengers. He is also known to have been involved with the Wadesmill Turnpike which ran north to Royston and beyond and may have been forcing Gatward to pay the due tolls.

Unfortunately Francis was not apparently successful in ensuring descendants.  He had three children by his first wife, the third daughter being unbaptised and probably a stillbirth.  There were no further children from this marriage and Elizabeth herself died in 1651.  He clearly remarried a few years later but during the Commonwealth period and thus the entry is not in the parish register.  By the second (clearly much younger) Elizabeth he had yet another daughter in 1661.

It is plain that Francis lost both of the surviving daughters by his first marriage before his death.  When he died his only surviving child was not yet in her teens and there was every chance she would die in infancy.  He was clearly worried by this and the surviving manorial records show that Francis sold a fair chunk of his land just before his death: some of this being transferred to his former son-in-law, John Crane.  What remained (the full extent of which is not known) was left to his daughter Elizabeth and in the event of her death without issue to his wife and her heirs (see below).

In 1666 he was involved in a court case in Chancery  (C78 663 )concerning land in Reed called "Minchins Portion".  The tythes from this land were the private perquisite of the Rector of Reed, in the 1650s one Andrew Willett, whose father Andrew (a well know theologian) was also Rector there until 1615.  Andrew Willett junior mortgaged the tithe income to three locals, including Francis, before Willett's death in 1659 (his will proved in 1661 is at the ERO).  The mortgage repayments were never made by Willett's estate, so in the year of the Great Fire of London, Francis and friends sued.

                                                   Reed

Francis died in early 1673, he was 76 years of age. His will (PROB 11/343/296) being at the National Archives.  His widow remarried Roger Steward at nearby Royston later that same year.

The only known full surviving signature of Francis Ginn (shown as Gine and second from top in right hand column) from Grand Jury record of January 1668/9 (HRO)

Francis and his wives had the following children:

Joan - she married Henry Barnwell of Therfield in about 1647.  There is nothing in the Therfield register but there is a note in the West Reed manorial roll.  They had two children: John and Elizabeth, and then Henry Barnwell died in 1654.  John inherited about 12 acres of land in West Reed and Francis Ginn (as his grandfather) became guardian for his infant grandson. It is sadly apparent that Joan and the children died before her father, for two manorial entries make it plain that Francis only had one daughter living in 1673 and no heirs save those she might deliver.

Mary  - she married John Crane of Yardley at Layston in 1647.  It has taken me a long while to confirm this and it was not proven until the discovery of Therfield Manor records at the Guildhall in London in 1998.  Crane was a prosperous Yeoman (5 hearths in 1663) but Mary died giving birth to their first child (John Jnr) in 1651.  John Jnr soon followed.  John Crane remarried and by this marriage has reputed connections to the Mormon leader, Brigham Young (see IGI).

Elizabeth - she married Cornelius Rickard at Royston in 1679.  There is a marriage licence for this at the ERO.  There is some suggestion that Rickard was of Abington in Cambs.  She had inherited a small amount of land in Therfield Rectory (manor) on her father’s death and in 1689 she and her husband sold this.  No issue are recorded at Royston but Abington has not yet been checked.  On her rests the question as to whether Francis Ginn has any descendants.

It is believed that this couple had Cornelius Rickard junior who married Carolina Wolfe of Anstey at Widford in 1709.  Cornelius jnr died at Ware in 1711 and Carolina purely coincidentally married Henry Ginn from Braughing (see post of  19th September 2012  ) The only child of Cornelius and Carolina , also Carolina born circa 1710 married Ralph Grave at Bishops Stortford in 1730.  The latter had a good number of children and through her it is quite likely that Francis Ginn does indeed have descendants alive today