Edward Ginn of Layston d. 1778

Edward, son of Nicholas in my last post, presumably moved to Buntingford when his father died.  He clearly took up residence with his mother’s family, the Kings (because he took up shoemaking, the principal trade amongst that family).  This was to start a century of Ginn shoemaking.

Edward married Mary Matthews at Layston in 1719.  Mary was born in Buntingford in 1688, her father was Richard Matthews, the landlord and probable owner of the "Bell Inn" at Buntingford (see parish registers - Layston) which still stands and is shown below, though now a gallery.  The Inn goes back to the 1500s, is supposed to be haunted and, yes you guessed it, Good Queen Bess slept here on one of her many trips north.

So, Mary was 43 in 1731, when the last child was born.  Logically, there were others born in the period 1723-8, perhaps one or two, but I can find no trace.  An unidentified Elizabeth (the clerk did not distinguish infants) was buried in 1730, but this could be Edward's sister.

The only known surviving personal record relating to Edward is the Marriage Licence of his son of 1750 which Edward signed and will be shown in a later post.

Mary is probably the Mary dying in 1759 (if so, she was 71).  Edward Ginn died in 1778, at the great age of 89.  

Edward and Mary had four known children:

 
William -  married Sarah Chirk at Layston in  1750 - see later post 

Richard - untraced for certain. BUT given that a lot of missing Ginns have been traced to London, I have considered the possibility that the Richard Ginn who died in St Botolphs, Bishopsgate London in 1766 with a quoted age of 45 is this chap,  no London born candidate having ever been found and the age exact.  It may be that that same man married Bithia or Bethia Philips at St Leonard’s Shoreditch (no children known) in 1748.  It is not known (unfortunately) whether the London Richard was a shoemaker.

 Mary - the second of that name, she married William Page (Basketmaker)  at Layston in 1759