Burwell, Isleham and Fordham PR's- Wilkin family connections

[Kylie B]

Hello
I am trying to trace this family and put the pieces of the puzzle together, and am hoping for some help please!!

I have a Simon Wilkin (1)- yeoman of Burwell who died in 1735. His will mentions his son Simon, and a daughter Elizabeth who is still under 21 years. No wife mentioned, and no other family mentioned.

I have Simon Wilkin(2) (son of the above) who married Martha ? circa 1730-35. They had 2 sons- Simon b 1735 and Joseph b 1739. Simon (2) died in 1739 in Burwell. Martha remarried in 1743 in Chippenham to William Kidman. I have not found the marriage to Simon, nor the sons baptisms.

I have a William Wilkin who died in 1777 in Fordham and in his will mentions his nephews Simon and Joseph Wilkin (sons of Simon (2)), and also mentions John, Mary and Susannah Wilbrow- his neices and nephew of Isleham.

I have Joseph Wilkin (son of Simon (2)) who died in 1806 in Bowthorpe Norfolk and in his will mentions John and Susannah Wybrough- the children of his mothers sister, Mary Wybrough.

I am thinking Mary Wybrough, mother of John and Susannah must have been the sister of Simon (2) and William, and therefore the daughter of Simon (1), and that Wilbrow and Wybrough are the same?? Although not sure why William and Mary are not mentioned in his will of 1735...

Can anyone help with baptisms, marriages or burials for any of these family members to help put it all together please!!!

Thanks so much
Kylie

[Victor Harvey]

Hi Kylie,
William WILKEN was buried at St Andrew, Isleham, Cambridgeshire, March 22nd, 1777.
Victor 

[Racing Girl]

Hello Kylie
I have the Burwell PR's and will check when I get home from work tonight.

Regards
Brenda

[Kylie B]

Thanks Brenda!

And thanks Victor- so his will requested he be buried in the parish church at Fordham, but he was buried at Isleham? Interesting! There is no mention of a wife or children of his own in William's will, so I guess he either didnt have any, or they pre-deceased him.

Thanks again!
Kylie

[Racing Girl]

Not much to go on so far Kylie but I'll check my other cd's in the area too.  There are no marriages or baptisms for Simon to Martha and their sons in Burwell.  There are a couple of other Wilken marriages in Burwell from about 1707 onwards, not many though.  I did find the burial records of both Simons:

Simon snr (1) - buried in Burwell on 15 November 1735, listed as a farmer, surname spelled WILKEN.
Simon jnr (2) - buried in Burwell on 4 September 1739, listed as a farmer, surname spelled WILKEN.

And the baptism of Simon jnr (2) in Burwell - 28 September 1706, Simon, son of Simon, surname spelled WILKIN

Hopefully back in a moment with more once I check some other cd's.

Brenda

[Racing Girl]

Bottisham has a lot of Wilkins/Wilkens/Welkens activity, especially for marriages from 1563 to about 1730, then a big gap until 1777.  Nothing for either Simon though.  There are som baptisms scattered about, not near enough for the amount of marriages taking place though, and there's a massive gap in Wilkin baptisms in this parish between 1718 and 1833.

There are two interesting burials though which may just be coincidence but are worth mentioning:

22 July 1740 - Martha dau of Martha
14 Dec 1741 - Martha widr

Bottisham Lode and Reach didn't have their own churches at the time.  Stow cum Quy has a couple of WILKIN marriages but no baptisms.

Back again in a mo!

[Racing Girl]

Fen Ditton has just three WILKIN marriages in the period 1538 - 1795, but oddly enough the same period has a plethora of baptisms!  There's also a good amount of burials up to 1710ish too.  Nothing about Simon or Simon/Martha though.

Horningsea - No marriages before 1751 for the name, but quite a few baptism, again, nothing of use.

Back with the Swaffhams in a mo.

[Racing Girl]

Swaffham Bulbeck - Quite a few WILKIN marriages before 1697, then a gap until 1739.  It's a similar story with the baptisms, quite a few but then a big gap between 1716 and 1740!  What were these people doing!

Swaffham Prior - It's a similar story, a few marriages up to 1642, then a huge gap until 1737, and the baptisms follow the same pattern too!

Nothing else to suggest I'm afraid, I suppose if nothing else you can cross these parishes off any lists you might have.

Brenda

[Racing Girl]

I was just looking at the IGI, they have the burials of both Simons recorded, Simon jnr (2) has this:

residence      Parish of Burnell, County of Cambridge
death      Bury, St. Edmund, Suffolk, England
burial                   04 Sep 1739   

Is it possible they moved to Suffolk?  Do you know where they farmed?

Brenda