Edworth Parish Registers 1580s/1590s

[Aulus]

I have traced back my COLLIS line to my great x9 grandfather Samuel COLLIS who married Joane WHISSON.

Her baptism is on the IGI (5 Nov 1615 at Baldock in Hertfordshire), showing her father as William WHISSON.

But I can't trace that William WHISSON.

The reason I'm posting this here, and not on the Hertfordshire board is that I've found a number of baptisms of Whyssons/Whissons on the IGI in Edworth in the 1550s, 1560s and 1570s.

What appears to be missing is the generation between these Edworth Whissons (1550s to 1580s) and the Baldock Whissons (Susanna, Joane, Richard, George, 1613-1620).

If anyone has access to the Edworth parish registers, I'd be interested to know if the missing generation is because the IGI hasn't transcribed the full sequence, or if there's a gap in the registers, or if simply the Whissons have upped sticks and walked the five miles down the road to  Baldock.

Many thanks for any information.

[RichardK]

Looking at the extracted batch numbers for Edworth and Baldock there certainly seem to be plenty of baptisms in both parishes from the 1570s to 1610s.  Whilst this doesn't guarantee they are complete, it certainly looks possible.  (I did notice a baptism of Agnes Whisson daughter of John, 11 Aug 1590 at Edworth).

If we assume that the IGI is therefore reasonably complete for those parishes at those periods, then it would appear that there is a gap in the Whisson records - and that's assuming the Edworth and Baldock families are somehow linked.  Unfortunately, if they did move somewhere else, there are several parishes in this area where the records don't go back that far, including:

Bygrave's early records were destroyed by fire - earliest surviving baptisms are 1802, although some Bishop's Transcripts back to 1615 (but even that's too late for the period you're after)
Caldecote - PR from 1726, BT from 1605
Ashwell 1686, BT from 1604

Bygrave and Caldecote are pretty small, although on possible routes from Edworth to Baldock, but Ashwell was a market town.  If they went to any of these places (or elsewhere where records don't go back that far) you'll have difficulty proving a link.  Might they have left wills?
Richard.

[johnP-bedford]

The preamble at the start of the Edworth PR says it is complete. There are entries for baptisms, marriages & burials for the 1580s/1590s; including....

Baptisms
Mar 10 1588 Elizabeth, daughter of John Whisson, junior
Aug 11 1590 Agnes, daughter of John Whisson

Marriage
Oct 20 1583 Thomas Haukins to Ellen Whisson

Burials
Aug 23 1586 Edward, servant to John Whisson
May 11 1587 Lawrence, son of John Whisson
Apr 12 1593 Michael, son of Warrin Whisson
Aug 30 1597 Warrin Whisson

[Aulus]

Many thanks for looking this up.  I'm away from my records at the moment, so will have to see how/if these fit in later.

thanks again

[janan]

Hi Aulus

This entry from BLARS looks as if it could be relevant

http://tinyurl.com/2fgyqb

Jan

[Aulus]

Thanks Jan - that's an interesting one.  Must rate as a probable I think, given the apparent lack of William Whissons.

Looks like Harvard University in the States have the same lease: http://www.law.harvard.edu/library/collections/special/manuscripts/deeds/deeds12.php

Unfortunately I can't prove any link with this William Whisson, or the other Whissons that JohnP found.

RichardK - not sure about wills (not something I've particularly looked at in any branch of my tree).  Apart from their names, I know nothing about the people in this branch of my tree in the 16th and 17th centuries.  By the 19th century my lot are poor - the highest up the social tree they've got seems to have been "gardener" and some ended up in workhouses.  That made me think that it was unlikely they'd leave wills, but of course we're talking about 200-250 years earlier with the Collis-Whisson marriage.  Unfortunately searching A2A for Whisson in this period comes up with nothing whatsoever.

[Coningesby]

Hi Aulus,
              I'm sorry that I can't help with your Whisson query, but wondered if you can help with mine?
Have you ever come across a Whisson connection with the Coningsby family?

A friend of mine in Canada is looking for the origins of Robert Whisson Coningsby
 
He married Mary Ann (Lyons I think?) and had the following children
Arthur         Coningsby 1849
Whisson            "        1842
Alfred               "        1847
Robert James    "        1837
 
I thought that this second name of Whisson would make my next move back very easy, but this has not been the case! It is for this reason that I am 'casting around' for clues!

Hope you can help

Barry
 

[Aulus]

No, sorry, I've not come across Conningsbys.

I can't see a Coningsby-Whisson marriage on the IGI or on Pallots.  Though (while it's not as likely) the Whisson name might have come to the Coningsbys other than by marriage.

The baptism of Robert James Conningsby is on the IGI - 30 Dec 1836 St John The Evangelist, Lambeth Surrey, son of Robert Conningsby and Mary.

Is this them on the 1841 census (HO107/1083, fol. 8, pages 10-11):

Surrey Row(?), Southwark

Robt Coningsby, age 31, cab owner, not born in Surrey
Mary do, age 26, not born in Surrey
Robt Coningsby, age 4, born in Surrey

They're on the 1861 census at 14 New North Street in Finsbury, London (RG9/182, fol. 86, p. 79)
Robert W Coningsby, Head, married, age 52, brass finisher, born in London
Mary A. do., wife, married, age 46, born London
Whisson do, son, unmarried, age 19, brass finisher, born London
Eliza A do, daur, age 16, gold chain maker, born London
Alfred do, son, age 13, office lad, born London
Arthur do, son, age 11, scholar, born London
William C. do, son, age 9, scholar, born London
Frank do, son, age 7, scholar, born London
Mary do, daur, age 5, scholar, born London
Thomas Hayes, visitor, married, age 73, gentleman, born London

I can't immediately spot them on the 1851 census.  Whisson Coningsby looks easy to find on the 1781 and 1881 at least.

Presumably you've got Robert Whisson Coningsby's death Q2 1873 Edmonton, 3a, 146?

Pallot's Marriage Index has a marriage of Robert Whisson Coningsby to Mary Anne Lyons, St James Clerkenwell, 1835.