Hi KN / Debbie and Don (via seperate email),
Just saw your replies - great detective work!
Thanks again for your assistance with this - esepcially the Longworth voter's information that seems to definately tie the 2 Francis' together!
I think we are definately on to something here that sounds very exciting as I should be able to get this family back another generation . . . .
From your info below and the seperate email from Don - and ignoring the death date pencilled onto the will (I assume solicitors dont always have all the facts at their fingertips!) we can assume the following (and also ignoring the "Forstens" for now):
There were a Francis and Elizabeth Fortescue living in Longworth that also had land in Baulking and lived there as well for some period of time.
They had the following children at Longworth:
Elizabeth Fortescue ch 13 Feb 1697 parents : Francis Fortescue
Francis Fortescue ch 1 Jul 1700 parents: Fran Foscue and Elizabeth
Mary Foscue ch 16 Aug 1702 parents; Francis Foscue and Elixabeth
(and possibly another daughter - Frances - who is mentioned in the will - and who fits nicely between the first 3 and the next 2)
Then it appears that the first son (Francis) dies at Longworth as an infant
Francis, buried March 18, 1704, s/o Francis, Chimeney in Bampton.
Then it appears that they had another couple of children at Baulking (registered at Uffington - same parish)
Francis Fortescue ch 10 Apr 1709 parents Francis Fortescue
Sarah Fortescue ch 25 Oct 1713 parents: Francis Fortescue
(This next Francis is my ancestor and lives a healthy and long life, dying in 1793)
The parents (Francis and Elizabeth) are buried back in Longworth as follows:
1740 Aug 13, Elizabeth Fortescue
1755 Feb 28, Francis Fortescue
Assuming they started having children around 1697 - they may have been married around 1696 - which means they may have been born around 1675 which would make Francis about 80 when he died and Elizabth about 65.
So it all seems to fit rather nicely!
KN - FYI - Yes Fortescue is not a particularly common name - and all lines seem to come ulimately from the first ancestor as described in Don's Fortescue Web site (
www.fortescue.org)
"Richard Le Fort was at the Battle of Hastings in 1066. The legend is that he saved William, the Duke of Normandy, by use of his shield. He then adopted the name Fort Escu ( Strong shield ) and returned to France to found the French Fortescu Branch. His son Adam, who also fought at the Battle of Hastings, settled in South Devon near Modbury. All English Fortescues are descended from him."
The name "Francis" does seem to ve very prominany in my libe - with most generations using thename for the oldest son. Just struggling to tie my line into the main family branches that Don has compiled on his web site.
Does anyone know if the cemetary inscriptions at Longworth are available? They may give us some other pointers into where they came from or what they were doing?
kind regards and thanks again for your interest!
John