William Ginn of Braughing d.1794

William was the son of William Ginn in my post of 25th October 2012 . I do not know a great deal about this family.  There is little in the way of surviving material on Braughing for this period.

Until 2010 it was thought that the future of this family (and its involvement in the carpentry trade) was the result of William’s marriage to Elizabeth Lawrence in 1731.

I knew that Elizabeth was the daughter of Randall Lawrence and Ann (nee Totman), head of a family that moved between Great Hormead and Braughing and owner occupier of a good sized cottage (Land Tax).  The Herts historian  Lionel Munby told me of the Lawrences, numerous in Braughing, and, says Lionel, the "outstanding" family of Braughing carpenters.  All the males were in the trade, men and boys.

However it was not the Lawrence’s who introduced the Ginns of this family to carpentry, but rather Thomas Ginn, William’s uncle and Freeman of the Company of Carpenters and Citizen of London, for Will here was apprenticed to him in 1723, qualifying in 1730 though not taking up his citizenship but returning to Braughing.  So Will was a carpenter.

We can be sure of the Lawrence influence however.  Why, they even named a son after the family, a fact commented on by Lionel (who, of course mentions the Ginns in his study). William Ginn was also witness to Randall Lawrence's will ( 1749 -ERO) and his signature likely therefore upon it.

The Ginns of this family were likely reasonably prosperous,  never mentioned in the Overseer’s book of the mid 18th century (HRO) and William able to pay for the apprenticeship of his youngest son

The implication of William the Gamekeeper’s will is that William and Elizabeth moved into the Braughing Street cottage in or before 1762.

Elizabeth died in 1774, I regret that I have not noted her age.  It seems probable that William sold the cottage, it certainly disappears from the Land Tax between 1767 and 1780.  I have assumed that he sold up and moved in with his son Thomas.

William lived a long life, just as his father had done: he died in 1794, he was 85.

William and Elizabeth had six children

William - married a Mary Dellow in 1753.  They had a daughter, Ann, in 1755.  Ann may have died in the same year (or this could be William's sister) but, in any event, the family had moved by 1758.  William is never in the Militia list, and there is no trace of them in Hertfordshire.  I have assumed that he was a Carpenter.

John -  Untraced for sure; not in the Militia.   It is either this man or his second cousin  who went to Farnham in Essex - see later post

Lawrence  - quite an interesting chap to research             

Lawrence was a Carpenter.  He married Martha Gayler in 1763  when he was 25.  They had a daughter, Ann, in 1767 and in the summer of 1767 the trio applied for a Certificate of Settlement, with the intention of moving to Bishop's Stortford.  (HRO)  

However, he delayed the move; because, in late 1767 they had a son William at Braughing.

They had still not moved in 1771, because Martha died that year, presumably in childbirth; she is buried in Braughing.

Lawrence then made the move to Bishops Stortford.  In 1777, he married Ann Arrows, they had just the two children.  Unfortunately, Ann was no luckier than Martha: she died in 1781, presumably in childbirth; she was stated to be 34.

I list the children below

                        Ann                 1764

                        William           1767 
                       - ----------------------

                        Mary              1778

                        John               1780

                                   

Lawrence was not buried at Bishop's Stortford.  I am pretty certain (there being no other known surviving Middlesex candidate)  that he is the Lawrence Ginn (passing through ) who I found (quite by accident) being buried in St Andrew Enfield in 1799 "poor". He may have obtained work there.  If so, he was 61.

Of these four children:

Ann married Richard Tharby at Albury in 1790 (established for definite in 2022) 

William is untraced.

Lawrence’s daughter Mary had an illegitimate child - William , who died in infancy.  She is thereafter untraced.

John Ginn joined the Napoleonic War Army and died in South Africa - see my post of 3rd October 2012

Elizabeth - married William South in 1764

Thomas - see later post 

Ann - probably died  in her teens. 

Francis Ginn of Weston & Clothall d.1798

Francis Ginn, son of William in my post of 6th January 2013,  moved to Weston in, or about, 1757.  He was 30.  I know little of his early life, but I do know that he had a severe limp.  This seems to have resulted from a poorly reset broken leg, possibly the result of an accident at his father's Mill.  Windmills were generally on five floors, each floor used for a particular task.  I have wondered if Francis fell through one of the hatches.  The evidence of his injury comes from the Militia records.

He married Ann Swain at Weston in 1757 when he was 30.  I have not researched Ann's family, but she was quoted as being a minor.  From her burial entry, she seems to have been 16 (if this is accurate).  Her brother Samuel was a local blacksmith and it was through his influence that this family eventually developed their interest in smithing and metalwork/engineering which lasted for the next 200 years.

If the register is accurate  then Francis and Ann seem to have had few children at Weston.  They seem to have been scrupulous in having their children baptised (and properly married) and there seem to be no unaccounted for Ginns.  So the whole thing is strange.  I have even wondered whether Francis's injury contributed to this.

In about 1765 (see Militia) Francis moved to Clothall.  He was a Labourer, and if his injury was really bad, may have had trouble finding work.  However, by 1790, he achieved the Labourer's dream; he became the Landlord of the local Pub - "The Barley Mow and Windmill".  We know this, because in 1790 (HRO) he is mentioned in a conveyance of the Alehouse to James Ind (of later Ind Coope).  He was Landlord there until his death.

"The Barley Mow and Windmill" later became just "The Barley Mow".  The building appears to still stand (it no longer has a licence) and is fairly remote from the village,  I visited in the early 1990s and below is a photo of the building still called by that name and I believe at least in part the building of the 1790s.

Francis Ginn died at Clothall  in 1798.   The register gives his age as 72 (he was 71).  In 1803 Ann had the unpleasant task of nursing her dying son Francis, who had been brought home from Broxbourne.

Ann Ginn was buried in December 1815.  She was quoted as being 74.

Francis and Ann had six children:

Francis - he obtained the permission of the magistrates to move to Broxbourne.  See later post

Mary - married Jeremiah Nutting

Judith - she had an illegitimate child - either George Bill or George Bull Ginn in 1798 who is untraced.  Later married William Watson.

William - second of that name, he was a Blacksmith.  Established a large Ginn clan at Weston.  See later post

Ann - married John Bygrave

Benjamin Ginn of Great Hormead & Aspenden d. 1782

Benjamin , second son of Ben in the penultimate post, was a Labourer.  He moved (initially) to Gt. Hormead, with his brother William, where he married Elizabeth Williams in 1757; they then moved to the outskirts of Buntingford (always using Aspenden Parish Church).

Despite the gap in the children born (between 1765 and 1771) the militia list of the numbers of children tallies with the names given in the register.  None of these children seem to have died in infancy.  The Militia list of 1775 states that 6 were living (Charles was not born until late 1775).

Benjamin is in the Militia for the last time in 1775.  This would accord with his being 45, and thus born in 1730. 

I know very little about this couple.  They were certainly poor.  Benjamin died in 1782,  aged 52.  Elizabeth (widow) died in 1808; no age was given.

Benamin and Elizabeth had seven children:

William - is in the 1781 Militia list aged 21.  Then leaves.  All the brothers seem to have left when their father died.  .

Benjamin  - in Aspenden Militia as Benj. Jnr in 1780, then left and  moved to Hertford in 1781.  See later post

Joseph -  he moved to Hertford (via Weston) with his brothers.  See later post

Charles - see my post of 11th September 2012

Sarah - a correspondent, Danny Scriven,  has traced her - his wife is a descendant.  She married Joseph Hall at Weston (where her bro Joe first went so he likely stayed with her first when Dad died) with her parents consent - she was not quite 21 -in 1779.  She died there in 1822 aged 64.

James - untraced

Ann - untraced

William Ginn of Great Hormead d. 1808

William Ginn of Anstey (son of Ben in the last post) moved to Gt. Hormead in 1755, when he married.  At that time he was a Labourer.  Mary was the daughter of William and Ann Spicer and was 28 when she married.  This accounts for the relatively low number of children; she was 42 when the last was born.

The Militia Books list William as a Labourer until 1772.  In 1772, he is listed as “William Ginn, 5 children - Alehouse-keeper”.

The excellent book by Christine Jackson, Gt Hormead's historian, on “Inns and Innkeepers of the Hormeads” mentions William as the Landlord of the "Three Horseshoes" Alehouse.  This Alehouse was owned at the time by a Henry Colton (who also owned the "Three Tuns" which has recently (1993) burnt down and been rebuilt) . I visited the "Three Tuns" just before the fire.

The "Three Horseshoes" was on Smith's Hill, now renamed Horseshoe Hill, after the Pub.  The Alehouse was a tar-boarded house, built in the 1740s.  It continued in an unchanged state (according to drawings and photographs) up until the 1960s, when it was pulled down.  So (an absolute rarity) I can actually show you where William and his family lived.  Below is an 1839 drawing (the original is at the HRO)  and  below that the only known photograph from the 1960s which shows it unchanged.

We know that William was the Landlord  from 1772-84.  Henry Colton had sold the Pub by 1787. 

The reason that William ceased to be an Alehousekeeper in 1784, may have something to do with his inheritance of that year.  As seen, William inherited two cottages from his Aunt Mary of Anstey.  He entered Letters of Administration for her estate and signed an Administration Bond (all at HRO) for £100.  Her estate must therefore have been in that region.  In 1784 William was therefore the proud owner of two cottages in Eastwood Lane, Anstey.  We know that he did not move there because in 1786 he mortgaged them both for £36.  They were mortgaged to a John Walls, of Gt. Hormead.  In 1789 William and Mary (they both signed the deed - HRO) sold the cottages to the same John Walls for £63.  I assume that the latter was minus the mortgage and that William and Mary had thus prospered by £100, overall.  Both in 1786 and in 1789 a certain Samuel King was in occupation of both the cottages.  This confirms that William and Mary stayed in Gt. Hormead throughout.

In 2015 I discovered an Insurance Certificate at the London Metropolitan Archives which shows that William considered himself to have improved his status considerably at this time, as in April 1787 he described himself as a Farmer of Great Hormead and the certificate describes him as having property at Anstey (in occupation of Samuel King, Labourer) and also property at nearby Westmill (part of Buntingford) which seems to have run to a number of cottages in the occupation of Jonathan Blakes, William Head and a man called Tinsley, all labourers.  So Bill had wisely invested the mortgage money.

William and Mary therefore had some money to see them through their old age.  They did not buy a cottage however, as they are not noted in the Land Tax.  They may have used some of the money to give their son Benjamin (below) a start.

Mary died in 1802 aged 75.  William died in 1808, as the register says, aged 80.

William and Mary had five children:         

Benjamin -went to Royston - see later post

James - stayed in Great Hormead - Ginn descendants were there until very recently - see later post

William - is untraced

   
Mary - married Thomas Clarke in 1787

 Ann - married Joseph Blakeby in 1795

Benjamin Ginn of Anstey d. 1759

Benjamin here was the youngest son of Charles Ginn in my post of 30th December 2012.  He is pivotal to his branch of the Ginn family as his two sons, William and Benjamin, founded seperate branches of his line in Royston, Hertford and Great Hormead.  These branches themselves split and there are a large number of descendants from Ben alive today.

This couple are one of those about which I know next to nothing.  Benjamin  married Grace Graves in 1726 and lived in Anstey all his life, but I have been unable to find out where.  He is not mentioned in surviving Land Tax returns, so presumably rented a cottage.

Grace Graves seems to be the Grace born to Thomas and Ann Graves of Therfield.  This would be logical and indeed this is the only entry for a Grace Graves in Herts.  She stated that she was "of Layston" (i.e. Buntingford) in 1726, so was presumably working there.

Benjamin was a Labourer.  As the youngest surviving son of his father he stood no chance of inheriting his father's cottages: but his sons did.

Benjamin died in 1759, aged about 55.  Grace died in 1764, aged 62.

Benjamin and Grace had seven children:

William - inherited the cottages of his grandfather - see next post

Benjamin  - see later post

James and Joseph - died

Mary - one died, the other is untraced 

Grace - untraced

Richard Ginn/Genn of Ely d. 1772

Richard Ginn, possibly only surviving son (we cannot be sure as others were alive in the 1690s) of Richard Ginn/Genn of Ely in my post of  28th September 2012 , married a Margaret in about 1702 but they only had one child, also Richard, in 1705.  All we know of Richard senior here is that he died at Ely Trinity in 1726 aged 50.  What happened to Margaret is unknown but it is likely she remarried.

The subject of this post is the Richard born in 1705.  The work which has been produced pre 2005 on this family is, I am discovering, only a small part of the story.  There is still a lot to be discovered.  Some of the things that I have found would probably have astonished previous researchers.

Richard Ginn was a Shoemaker.  He was also, at least for a time, one of the constables in Ely and in 1755 the Quarter Sessions records show that Richard and the Chief Constable went in to an Ely pub and declared that they were ale tasters and demanded a free pint.  They got their drink and all was well until the landlady discovered they weren't what they said they were, hence the court case.  Nobody knows the verdict.

That, frankly, is all that prior researchers knew of Richard except for the fact that at this point the surname was changing from Ginn to Genn and thereafter remained so. 

I have discovered, astonishingly, that for at least a few years (1766-69) Richard lived in Hertfordshire and, indeed, Hoddesdon in southern Hertfordshire where I lived until very recently.  He had moved with his son William and family.  He was, indeed, a Constable for Hoddesdon also and two settlement examinations (for the purpose of the Poor Law) survive proving this (contained under reference PS/E/ASS4 & 16) at Cambs Record Office. See text of one (1769) below:

"Richard Genn the elder, 64, cordwainer and wife Mary, born in Ely Trinity. Formerly Constable for the parish of Hoddesdon, Hertfordshire"

 

             Hoddesdon as Richard knew it (I have this engraving)

Richard and Mary were likely moved back to Ely when he was too old to work properly and Mary became ill and thus possibly a burden on Broxboume parish.  She died at Ely that same year. There was a further examination in 1770, Richard now being a widower. He died at Ely in 1772 aged 67.

Richard and Mary had five children, all sons:

John - in RSG's study it simply says in regard to John "married Mary Gotobed from an old Ely family in 1755, after this there is no other information".

I have made some progress however.   He was a shoemaker.  He married Mary and they do not appear to have ever had any children. In 1760 the “Apprentices of Great Britain” records show that John “Ginne” of Ely, Cordwainer took an apprentice at a premium of £5.  The surname was even then still in transition.  He was a witness (as Genn) to his brother William's marriage in Ely in 1764 and could sign his name.  He similarly was the witness/oath swearer to his brother William's Certificate of Settlement in Hoddesdon in 1766 so was obviously still in Ely then.

In 1778, the couple were in Cambridge.  The London Gazette of that year reports that “John Genn formerly of Ely in the Isle of Ely but late of Cambridge, cordwainer” was in Cambridge Castle (below) as a prisoner.  This was almost certainly (as it was reported in the London Gazette) because of debt which was imprisonable in that period.

In 1785, the couple were in St ClementParish, Cambridge - there is a document at Cambs Record Office (P27/13/11) dealing with settlement for the poor Laws that states that the couple were sent back to Ely.  John Genn was then 54.  I have no further information but they do not appear to have died in Ely.

Richard - see post of 9th March 2013

William - the second of that name, ignored in previous research by RSG and others - moved to Hertfordshire - see post of 10th March 2019.

 

James- no prior research has ever been done on James.  In 2010, I fiirst found him with wife in Littleport.  No other information turned up until 2019 and research on him is active.

James Genn was a Glover.  Allied to shoemaking - just different digits !  He has astonished me because he married a Norfolk girl - marrying Annabel Jarvis at North Runcton in Norfolk (near Kings Lynn) in 1757.  I had to do some "field research" on this and went to Norfolk Record Office.  Annabel was  born in North Runcton ,with the lovely name Anabel Gervaise in August 1739 - so she was barely 18 when she married.  Her parents were Edmund and Ellen, Ellen being Edmund's second wife, but I cannot find either marriage or occupation for Edmund.  The Gervaise family were fairly extensive in the area  Like his brothers James could write his name.

 

In 1760 the couple were back at Littleport near Ely where they had a daughter Mary who sadly died there in infancy in 1761.

                                                                    Littleport

                                                    
By 1763 they were back in Annabel's home turf however, because she died that year as "Ann Bell Ginn" (the parish clerk could not cope with the Christian name) at Shoulham near Kings Lynn, likely in childbirth.  I am researching further and seeking to trace James, who pretty muh could have gone anywhere.  It seems likely that there was at least one child unknown to me.