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England (Counties as in 1851-1901) => England => Sussex => Topic started by: MattD30 on Friday 19 June 20 18:37 BST (UK)
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Hi
I'm trying to establish the identity of the wife of my ancestor William Homewood of Fletching and have come across two candidates.
I know that William had the following children who were all christened in Fletching:
Mary - born February 1623/24 Fletching
Jane - born February 1625/26 Fletching
William - born January 1627/28 Fletching died 1629
John - born January 1628/29 - married Frances Peckham
Joan - born March 1631/32
Anne - born Januray 1634/35 [possibly twin]
William - born - January 1634/35 [possibly twin]
What puzzles me is that I've found two diffent marriages and mothers shown for them online.
Firstly there is a tree at the Weald of Kent, Surrey & Sussex website which can be seen here:
http://theweald.org/N10.asp?NId=80230131
This shows all the above children as the children of William Homewood and Joan Pain who married at Chailey on 6 August 1623 and gives sources for the marriage and all christenings.
According to this William was christened on 22 March 1600 at Fletching [Source given as Fletching PR] but so far I haven't seen this myself.
This states that William and Joan married at Chailey and gives the Prs as the source.
However there are also two trees on online at Familysearch which gives the name of William's wife and the mother of his children as Winifred Holden.
Firstly there is the following tree which shows William Homewood and Winifred Holden as being married at All Saints, Lewes on 29 July 1624. This states that he was the son of George Homewood.
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/2:2:3NRV-9J6
However the following online tree shows William as being “of Bolney” [no christening/birth date given] and the son of John Holden and Jane Dunstall
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/2:2:3WQP-DHM
The marriage of William Homewood and Winifred Holden took place by licence and this describes William as being “of Bolney” but given that Bolney is only 6 miles from Fletching it's possible that William was christened in either parish.
Again parish registers are given as a source and this also quotes a work entitled “Sussex Genealogies”
The first of these two charts has a slight variation in the christening years of some of the children but of William and Winifred but only by a year. The second of these two charts does not give the names of all of William and Winifred's children however.
I am leaning slightly towards the second of the two charts on Familysearch as this shows William as being the son of John Homewood and Jane Dunstall and William did have a son named John and a daughter named Jane.
So far I haven't found a christening for William Homewood in either Fletching or Bolney although it seems certain he was born sometime between the 1590s and early 1600s
William died in 1663 leaving a will in which he mentions his children and grandchildren but not his wife so that doesn't help identify her. One of the witnesses may have been an "Anthony Holden" however [I'll post an image of his signature]. William was living in Fletching when he died.
Can anyone help establish who was the mother of William's children? Chailey is about 3 miles from Fletching and Lewes is about 8 miles from Fletching.
There's no indication on the marriage licence that the William who married Winifred was a widower, but is it possible that the same William was married to Joane [by whom he had his daugter Mary] and then Winifred [by whom he had Jane and all the other children]?
Many thanks for any help and suggestions
Matt
Moderator comment: see also here:
https://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php?topic=828548.msg6976646#msg6976646
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Here are the signatures of two of the witnesses of William Homewood's 1663 will. The first is Thomas Snell who I believe is William's son in law (named in his will).
Could the signature underneath be Anthony Holden? The firs letter looks like a C with a line through at first, but could it be a "H" with cured upright lines?
Matt
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I would read that as a 'C' - it does not look like the 'H' in William's surname on the other side of the page in the will. Also compare it with the initial letter in the phrase on line 8 ' I comend' and 'Chattels' further down.
Nell
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Baptism of William can be found in Fletching PR 22 March 1600/01
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HT-DYLH-2YM?i=43&cat=215426
Nell
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I would read that as a 'C' - it does not look like the 'H' in William's surname on the other side of the page in the will. Also compare it with the initial letter in the phrase on line 8 ' I comend' and 'Chattels' further down.
Nell
Hi Nell
Yes "C" was what I had it as originally, "H" was just an idea that came to me when I was looking at it again a few days ago.
Thanks for confirming it as "C", at least I know I had transcribed right.
Matt
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Baptism of William can be found in Fletching PR 22 March 1600/01
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HT-DYLH-2YM?i=43&cat=215426
Nell
Thanks for that Nell, I don't know how I missed it before. It's a shame no parents are listed in this record, I'll check the BT to see if there is anything in there.
Anyhow at least I know when he was christened, even if I'm not 100% certain if his father was John or George.
Now if only I could establish who he was married to, Joan Pain or Winifred Holden. At the moment I am leaning slightly towards Winifred simply because I have seen this marriage in more records but either could be possible.
Matt