William Ginn of Anstey (see post of 19th July) had a son, also William, this son marrying Elizabeth Stringer at Anstey in 1635 and having a family in turn. One of William and Elizabeth's sons was John born in 1639, and when William jnr died in 1658 (will at National Archives) he left his house to the young John. John is the subject of this post.
This is one of those families where there is clearly an untold story. One that must have been of considerable gossip value in Anstey, in its time.
This is one of those families where there is clearly an untold story. One that must have been of considerable gossip value in Anstey, in its time.
John Ginn was the only surviving son of a yeoman. Of a Yeoman family that was, in fact, in
decline. Yet, in 1661, young John
married Mary Gill, a gentlewoman, the daughter of a local Lord of the Manor!
Other Hertfordshire Ginns had married (at various times)
into minor gentry families, but the Gills were not exactly minor gentry. The Gill family had held significant lands in
Buckland since the mid 1400s (or earlier) and Wyddial Manor (including Wyddial
Hall) from the early 16th century. Two
of the family had recently been knighted, and Mary could claim a number of knights
among her ancestors. What on earth (with
due respect to the chap) was she doing marrying John Ginn? I was amazed when I first discovered this
link.
I should first stress that there is no doubt about this
marriage. Mary Gill was an Anstey girl,
her father held the Manor of Bandons in that parish. The Gills have a pedigree enrolled in the College of Arms
(in London) and
it contains the marriage to John Ginn.
I think that I know why Mary was allowed to marry John. Mary was an orphan, and the Anstey branch of
the Gills were in decline, certainly in the mid- seventeenthth century. They were somewhat the "poor
relation" of the main family, who were at Buntingford.
You see, the main family had bought a large house called
"Littlecourt" at Buntingford, a house they had in fact had
built. The Anstey branch were a cadet
family, coming from a younger son. The Gill family will be discussed in a later post.
The couple married at Buntingford Chapel, so
the marriage was recorded both in the Anstey and Layston registers. The date is the same.
Mary as I say was an orphan.
Her mother had died at her birth, and her father had remarried. Mary was just seventeen when she also lost her father, and she was left with her stepmother Lucy and assorted half-brothers and
sisters. The implications from the records are that Lucy
was in dire financial straits (she only had one hearth in the Hearth Tax) and
Bandons Manor House (still there) was in the hands of Mary's Uncle George in
1663 (5 Hearths) Mary's half-brothers
being infants.
My guess is that Lucy Gill did not care what happened to her
step-daughter. She was probably glad to
get Mary off her hands, and the Ginn family were respectable enough. For whatever reason, the marriage took place.
Mary's ancestry deserves investigation. I have made some effort, particularly
regarding her Herts ancestors. Of these,
her most famous ancestor was John Perient, of the Perients of Digswell. Both the Gill family and the Perient family will be discussed in a later post.
It seems clear that the marriage slightly revived the Ginn
fortunes. John Ginn's father had had a
one-hearthed cottage, yet John had a three-hearthed farmhouse by 1663. My guess
is that that was the Gill's wedding present.
They could not have Mary living in a hovel.
Little was originally
known about John and Mary, but over the years a few bits of information have
surfaced. It is know for instance that
John was the surveyor of the highways in the area for a number of years (Quarter
Sessions records).
In 2008, I was amazed to discover that John
has left us some documents upon which his signature appears as a witness, three Anstey wills of the period 1666-1671, the originals of which are at the Essex
Record Office.
These three wills (of
Stephen Rowley and his widow Joan of 1666 and 1671, with Thomas Jourden of
1666) images of which are available online on the ERO website, reveal quite a
bit. Firstly they show that John was no
illiterate farmer, but a man who had had some education and could write a very
good bold hand. Secondly, they imply
that John was a friend and neighbour, possibly even a relation of Stephen
Rowley and his wife, Rowley being the Anstey blacksmith in 1666 (the year of
the Great Fire of London) and, astonishingly, owner of the cottage and smithy that John
Ginn’s son Charles was to buy in 1698 (see later post).
Did John Ginn therefore live in the Cheapside
area of Anstey, perhaps even next door to where his son Charles moved in in
1698 ? I think it must be likely.
Mary was desperate to have a son called Edward, in memory of
the men of that name in her family. The
first Edward was actually baptised at Barkway (where Mary's parents were
married and her mother was buried). This
is the only entry at Barkway, and was surely a sentimental gesture on Mary’s
part, designed to show her parents their grandson. Alas, Edward died, as did a second Edward;
Mary was never to have an Edward who lived to marry.
The Anstey Court Rolls do not survive for this period, and
other records are few and far between.
So, I do not know what land John held, but it is pretty clear that he
called himself a Yeoman and was clearly in a position to pass some money on to
all of his surviving sons thus allowing them all at one time or another to
become freeholders and have the vote. He
died in 1694 aged 55.
Mary Ginn (nee Gill), she of the amazing story, died in
1728, aged 87. What I would give to know
more about her, and what was going on in mid 17th century Anstey.
John and Mary had a number of children:
John - married Agnes ___ in circa 1689 and had a family at Anstey
William - married Elizabeth Whitby and had a family in Anstey
Charles - married Mary _______ in circa 1699 - see later post
Thomas - married Lydia Mace at Anstey in 1709 - see later post
Edward - two sons of the name, neither of whom lived long
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