Who were you Hester Manley when you married Thomas Ashwin?

[RodChasH]

Researching my Ashwin ancestors brought up a lot of Ashwins with a given name of Manley. I didn't think them relevant until I discovered Manley Ashwin (b.1719) was my 4xgreat grandfather. He was the son of Thomas Ashwin (1688-1741) and Hester Manley. She was married in 1719 (apparently after Manley was born!) and was born in Crowle Worcestershire in 1680 the daughter of Job or John Manley. Both Hester and Job are described in this forum as "of Charlecote and Honeybourne Estates", yet I can find nothing to back this up. Thomas Ashwin was from Honeybourne, Worcestershire.

The name Manley seems to have significance with the Ashwins and I think knowing about Hester and Job may give me a clue. Does anyone have any information?

[avm228]

I know it isn't your main point, but I would be wary of concluding that Manley was born before his parents' marriage.

The marriage I think was April 1719.

Manley's baptism is transcribed as 8 March 1719 - which to a modern eye looks as though it must be earlier than April 1719, but you have to bear in mind that the register year ran at that time from 25 March-24 March, not 1 Jan-31 Dec.  Dates between 1 January and 24 March inclusive were very often treated in a hybrid way as (e.g.) 1719/20, but transcriptions often lose this detail.

If you consult the parish register you may well find that the March in which he was baptised was at the end of 1719/20, in other words some 11 months after his parents' marriage.

On another note - Hester would have been a very late first-time bride at 39 in those days.  Are you sure she was the same Hester as was baptised in 1680?  Did she go on to have more children following the birth of Manley?

[RodChasH]

Thank you AVM228, I had been thinking that there may be a reason like that for the anomaly over Manley's date of birth. It may also explain another similar instance elsewhere.

I am very doubtful about Hester's date of birth, in fact I left it blank on the family tree when I first discovered her, yet there is no other record. They did in fact have 3 more sons which seems odd.

Hester has become someone I am really intrigued by, it has been mentioned that she was from Charlecote which as I am sure you know is "stately home" fairly close by, yet I can find no record of this. The impression I gain is that both families were reasonably well off, the Ashwins at the time were probably yeoman farmers.

[Annie65115]

I'm a bit confused as Honeybourne is in Worcestershire, but Charlecote Park is in Warwickshire - so where did the family come from?

[mazi]

http://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php?topic=521731.72.

Here?

Mike

Edit, see reply 20 on this long thread

[josey]

Well found, Mike 

[mazi]

Well found, Mike 

Charlecote is well worth a visit, you can spend a lot of money in the adjacent garden centre 

[josey]

TOT but I do know one of Britain's main moth & butterfly men who lives at Charlecote.

[avm228]

They did in fact have 3 more sons which seems odd.

Daughters too (these are transcribed baptism dates):

25 Oct 1721 Eliz Ashwin dau of Tho/Esther, Church Honeybourne
11 Sep 1723 Esther Ashwin dau of Tho/Esther, Church Honeybourne