Sunday, January 3, 2021

Nicholas Baker and Mary Hodgetts of Stourbridge, Worcestershire, England

I have recently discovered some errors and new information regarding my 12th great-grandparents, Nicholas Baker and Mary Hodgetts of Stourbridge, Worcestershire, England.
The book County Genealogies, Pedigrees of Hertfordshire Families, by William Berry, published 1844, pages 83-84 (available to read at Hathitrust.org) stated that Nicholas died "ob. 14 Nov 1632."  This is incorrect.  Through the England & Wales, Prerogative Court of Canterbury Wills, 1384-1858 database at ancestry.com, I learned that Nicholas wrote his will 29 Apr 1604 in Stourbridge, and that it was probated 16 Jun 1604.  In his will he requested that he be buried at St Mary in Old Swinford (about 1 mile from Stourbridge), and per a transcription of the parish register that can be found at freereg.org.uk, he was buried 6 May 1604.  He mentioned his mother Margery, wife Mary, and children Margery, Elizabeth, Judith, Joseph, Nicholas and John, all of whom were under age 21, therefore born after 1583.  I now knew where to look for a burial record for Mary Hodgetts Baker, and learned that she was buried at St Mary 14 Nov 1632.  This was the date that was erroneously attributed to her husband.  Mary wrote her will in Aug 1632 and her estate was inventoried 10 Dec 1632.  She mentioned her son John and daughters Margery Nash and Elizabeth Doolittle.  Her son-in-law Thomas Nash was a witness.  Her will was at The Hive, the library of the University of Worcester.  
Through googlebooks.com I learned of the book The Madstard Case:  Or Stark Mad in Stourbridge, by R. L. Chambers, 1986 and purchased a copy.  I learned quite a bit about the Bakers and the Madstards from this well sourced book.  It is about the lawsuit brought forward by Richard Madstard, the nephew of Margery Madstard, and the first cousin of Nicholas Baker.  He claimed that the 8 governors of King Edward's Grammar School were embezzling and committing other misdeeds.  His suit was unsuccessful, partly due to his erratic and sometimes destructive behavior, which earned him the nickname "Richard Starkmad."
Genealogical Summary of the Baker Family
I.  Nicholas Baker, blacksmith, is the earliest known ancestor in Stourbridge.  He was fined two pence as a retail seller of ale for breaking the assize in 1529, he was a witness to Kenelm Smythe's will in 1542, a creditor of 8 pence in Henry Perx's estate in 1544, a tenant by indenture in Old Swinford in 1550 and died before 1569 in Stourbridge (1).
II.  John Baker, son of Nicholas Baker, blacksmith, was a baker and a brewer, and married Margery Madstard.  He was nominated as a juror in 1575 and was a juror in fact in 1577-1578.  He was an affeerer (assessor) in Apr 1578 and a juror in fact 1580-1581.  John wrote his will and died in 1582 (1).  Children:1.  Margaret married William Boldon before 1582 (1, 2, 3)2.  Alice married William Wight (not West as Berry stated) about 1580, as their son Richard was baptized 13 Aug 1581 at Halesowen, Worcestershire (1, 4).3.  Mary married Richard Smarte before 1582 (1, 2, 3).4.  Nicholas, born about 1552 in Stourbridge, married Mary Hodgetts.  He was one of the 8 governors of King Edward's Grammar School 15 Jan 1586/87* to May 1604 (1).5.  John, born about 1554 in Stourbridge, butcher, married Joan, daughter of Gregory Woodward of Bromyard, Hertfordshire.  He wrote his will 20 May 1614 in Stourbridge, and was buried at St Mary 1 Jun 1614 (1, 2, 3, 4)6.  William married Joan Gill in 1594 in Worcestershire and he was still living when Joan was buried 31 Mar 1632 at St Mary (1, 3, 4, 5)7.  Thomas died young, after 1582 (1)8.  Elizabeth married William Cox in 1593 in Worcestershire (1, 2, 3, 5)
III. Nicholas, son of John and Margery Madstard, married Mary Hodgetts.  Children:1.  John died before 29 Apr 1604 in Stourbridge (1)2.  Margery married Thomas Nash and they arrived at Boston, Suffolk, Massachusetts, British Colonial America 26 Jul 1637.  She died between 11 Feb 1655 and 1 Aug 1657 in New Haven, Connecticut, British Colonial America (3, 6, 7, 8)3.  Nicholas married 20 Jan 1612/13 in Birmingham, Warwickshire to Dorothea Pemberton, buried 4 Jan 1617/18 at St Mary, estate inventory and administration dated 20 Jan 1617/18 in Stourbridge (1, 3, 4, 9)4.  Joseph buried 23 May 1607 at St Mary, died "of the sickness" (2, 4)5.  John married 7 Jun 1624 at St Mary to Elizabeth Moseley, died 24 Mar 1669/70, buried the following day at St Mary, estate administration 18 May 1670 in Stourbridge (2, 9, 10, 11).6.  Elizabeth married 27 May 1609 at St Mary to Edward Doolittle and was buried 23 Oct 1636 at St Mary in Kidderminster, Worcestershire (2, 4, 12).7.  Judith, the youngest daughter per Nicholas' will, buried 7 May 1607 at St Mary, died "of the sickness" (2, 4)
*Double date years:  a double date year comes from the transition between the use of the Julian Calendar and the Gregorian Calendar that occurred between 1582 and 1758.  Since both calendars were used simultaneously for such a long time, dates were often ambiguous unless it was specified which calendar was being used.  For this reason, many people wrote dates falling between 1 Jan and 25 Mar using both dates to clarify.  According the the Julian Calendar the year began in March (first month) and according to the Gregorian, the new year began 1 Jan.  Old Style (OS) referred to the Julian and New Style (NS) referred to the Gregorian.
Genealogical Summary of the Madstard Family
Margery Madstard, a baker and brewer (1) had 5 known siblings, who were identified through the will of her brother Thomas.1.  Thomas, mercer, married Jan 1553 in Pedmore, Worcestershire to Mary Tyrer, he wrote his will 24 Aug 1587 in Stourbridge, probated 9 Oct 1587.  He was the father of Richard, who brought a lawsuit against his cousin Nicholas Baker and 7 other governors of King Edward's Grammar School (10 13, 14).2.  John, no information3.  Agnes, married a Harrold, died before Thomas wrote his will.4.  Joyce, married a Warham.5.  Isabell, who married John Bache.
Sources:
1. The Madstard Case: Or Stark Mad in Stourbridge, R. L. Chambers, Dulstan, 19862. 2. County Genealogies, Pedigrees of Hertfordshire Families, William Berry, J. R. Smith, London, England, 1844, at https://www.hathitrust.org/digital_library 3. The Nash Family; or, Records of the descendants of Thomas Nash, of New Haven, Connecticut, 1640, Sylvester Nash, Tiffany Case, 1853 at https://www.hathitrust.org/digital_library4. Parish register transcriptions at freereg.org.uk 5. England, Boyd's Marriage Indexes, 1538-1858 at findmypast.com 6. U. S. and Canada, Passenger and Immigration Lists Index, 1500s-1900s at ancestry.com 7. Families of Ancient New Haven, Volume VI, Donald Lines Jacobus, New Haven, CT, 1930 at ancestry.com 8. Genealogical Notes on the Founding of New England: My ancestors part in that undertaking, Ernest Flagg, Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 1926 at books.google.com 9. Worcestershire Probate Index, 1600-1858 at findmypast.com 10. England, Select Marriages, 1538-1973 at ancestry.com 11. Worcestershire Monumental Inscriptions at findmypast.com 12. National Burial Index for England & Wales at findmypast.com 13. Extracted Probate Records, 1269-1975 at ancestry.com 14. England & Wales, Prerogative Court of Canterbury Wills, 1384-1858 at ancestry.com

    No comments:

    Post a Comment

    Elizabeth, wife of Edward Morgan of PA, was probably the sister of John Williams of Cheltenham, Montgomery, PA

    I recently discovered that a person going by the handle "MableJaneStone1" on familysearch.org (https://www.familysearch.org/tree/p...