John Ginn of Little Hormead d. 1712

John Ginn was the youngest son of Aquila Ginn in my post of  14th August and was a Yeoman/smallholding farmer.  By birth he was a Yeoman, though in terms of land held it is more probable that he would have been deemed to have been a Husbandman.  He clearly inherited whatever land his father had in the Hormeads.  The absence of manorial records means that I do not know all what this was (see below) but I suspect most land was held by lease. 

I know little about him.  In the years from 1679-83, perhaps longer, he was a Churchwarden of Little Hormead Church.  This was a responsible position, given only to farmers and the like. The church is tiny, very old and very beautiful (I visited many years ago).  Thus in 1679 the Little Hormead register tells us that “a handsome reading desk was set up in the Chancel by John Ginn, Churchwarden, at the charge of the parishioners”.  The Hormeads historian, Christine Jackson, tells me that this reading desk (or lectern) survives.  It is still used and is illustrated in the booklet by Mrs Jackson on Hormead Churches and can be seen in the photo of the interior of Little Hormead church shown below  In 1683 “John Ginn brought to church a fine surplice made by Sarah Ballard of Much (Great) Hormead...". 

John first married Rebecca in about 1670 (I have not traced a marriage entry) and the couple had a large family, including a magnificent eight sons, all of whom lived to adulthood.  It has taken me years of research to track them all down, but find them I have.

In 2011 it was discovered by way of the Essex Beneficiaries Index that in 1707 (when the will was made) that John was the tenant (almost certainly by lease as opposed to tenancy at will) of a freehold and copyhold tenement with house in Little Hormead (will of the yeoman and schoolmaster John Ives of Manuden and Bishops Stortford 1712 ERO ref D/ABW/80/206  ) suggesting he was a Husbandman with a fair sized arable smallholding.

This information was followed up in 2012 and it is clear from the work of  Catherine Jackson on properties in the Hormeads (Hertfordshire Local Studies) that John was the tenant of a smallholding called “Whiscates” of 20 acres or so in Little Hormead.  The tenement included a cottage but Catherine (who did not access the will of John Ives or Ive) believed from the court rolls that this was not in use beyond 1678 as it was supposedly dilapidated.  Whether John had other land and actually lived elsewhere is therefore a moot point as also is how long he held “Whiscates”

Rebecca was unfortunate enough to develop the nasty wasting disease called Scrofula, caused by tuberculosis and leading to the swelling of lymph nodes in the neck.  To her contemporaries it was known as "The King’s Evil" . 

 It was so nicknamed because these superstitious people thought that the touch of a Royal might cure it.  Rebecca also believed this, or at least was game enough to try anything, because in 1684 she was granted a licence (by Royal Proclamation) to go and see William III in London (as shown above) or on one of his tours of the Realm, in the hope she could be cured (Little Hormead register).  This gentleman does not look too kindly a soul in his portrait of 1677 below.

Scrofula and its parent tuberculosis was a fatal disease, killing slowly by degrees and Rebecca died in 1700.  John Ginn temporarily forgot the fact that he had been a churchwarden, getting involved with the “Widow Carter” by whom he had a daughter - Elizabeth (Hertfordshire Quarter Sessions) whom I have not been able to trace.

John did marry again, though I did not know this until 2008 when I found that "John Ginn of Great Hormead"  married an Elizabeth Vincent at Enfield, Middlesex in 1702, the parish where a number of his sons relocated. 

John Ginn died in 1712, he was 66.  It seems clear that Elizabeth remarried Andrew Stone at Anstey in 1713.

John and Rebecca had a very large family:

John   -  went to Essex - see later post

Richard - also went to Essex - see later post

Isaac - stayed in the Hormeads.  Died there in 1703, aged 30 - unmarried.  He had a few pounds, as administration of his estate was granted to his Dad (see Admins 1707 - National Archives)

Rebecca - married Thomas Key in 1695. 

Aquila - moved to Broxted, Essex with brothers Richard and Edward.  He died there in 1703, aged 25.  He also had a few pounds, as administration of his estate was also granted to his Dad (see Admins 1707 - National Archives)

Edward - went to Essex - see later post

Grace - untraced.

Philip - moved to Enfield in Middlesex. See later post

Abraham - moved to Enfield in Middlesex.  See later post

Jacob - moved to Edmonton (next door to Enfield) in Middlesex.  See later post.

Not a single child died in infancy, which is a tribute to Rebecca