Whitchurch of Frome Selwood and Nunney

Published on

An Analysis of the Genealogical and Heraldic Dictionary of the Landed Gentry of Great Britain and Ireland – James-Joseph Whitchurch

This post examines an entry in the Genealogical and Heraldic Dictionary of the Landed Gentry of Great Britain and Ireland and its fidelity to actuality and fact. After careful research of wills and other records, there are some difficulties in reconciling records with this authority, and inaccuracies have been found. More precisely, unfortunately, the dictionary cannot be trusted with complete accuracy.

The entry in the dictionary, titled “Whitchurch of Frome Selwood and Nunney”, focuses on the lineage of James Joseph Whitchurch, Esq., and begins:

“Whitchurch, James-Joseph, Esq. of Westbury-upon-Trim, Gloucestershire, b. in 1789; s. his father in 1815; m. in 1821, Susan-Hamilton, dau. of Richard-Toll Newman, M.D.* of Thornbury Park, Gloucestershire, (see Newman of Thornbury.)

This is more or less accurate and not troublesome; James Joseph was born in 1788 and baptized in 1789. His father died in 1816, not 1815. I have not looked up the lineage of Susan Hamilton Newman but it appears there is a possible name change in her lineage, as happened from time to time as condition of inheritance. More research is needed.

The entry then continues, beginning with the actual “lineage”.

“William Whitchurch (whose father, b. circa 1560, was resident at Frome Selwood, where his ancestors had been seated for many years previously) was b. in 1596. He m. and had seven sons.”

The parish records do not support this. I have searched the Frome parish records all the way back to the early 1500’s and there are no Whitchurches recorded in Frome prior to 1575. There is also no record of a William Whitchurch baptized in 1596 in Frome or in the surrounding areas, the first of that name recorded in Frome in 1605. This could be due to a lack of records, but then, where did this information come from?

The seven sons, said to be listed in order of oldest to youngest: William, Samuel, Edward, Joseph, James, Anthony, Leonard:

“1. William, who had issue, two sons, This first son William is the “home” person on the Whitchurch Legacy Project tree. He died in 1681. In his will, he listed 4 brothers, probably those still living at the time of his decease: Edward, James, Samuell and Leonard, presumably listed in order of their age, as was usually customary.

This paragraph of the lineage is generally accurate, with the following notes: William did have two sons (surviving), William and Joseph, but he also had daughters, not listed here.

  • William, of Frome Selwood, high-sheriff of Somerset in 1691, who had issue, two sons, He also had daughters, not listed here.
    1. John, of Nunney, who had issue, three sons: William of Nunney; John and Samuel This is accurate; John married Elizabeth, maiden name unknown, and the couple had 3 known sons. This is the Nunney Castle branch. William of Nunney married Elizabeth Musgrave. The couple had one son, William, who died unmarried and without issue; John and Samuel died as young men, unmarried and without issue, and this line ended.
    2. William, who had three sons: William of Frome; John of Nunney; and Samuel of Frome This is not entirely accurate. William married Dorothy Smith and the couple’s sons were William, Robert, John and Joseph plus a few daughters, not a Samuel in the bunch (there were other Samuel Whitchurches born to other parents, though). William of Frome married Mary Weight (nee Newport) and his line continued through his son William and his daughter Elizabeth (the ancestor of this Whitchurch family). Robert died unmarried and without issue. John of Nunney has turned out to be John of Sharpshaw (in Nunney), who married the widow of William of Nunney above. It appears Joseph died young, unmentioned in subsequent wills.
  • Joseph.” Joseph, who died in 1690 at the age of 23, did not marry or have issue.

“2. Samuel, who had issue, one son, Jonathan. Jonathan was Samuel’s surviving son. He also had daughters, not listed here. Jonathan’s only surviving son, Jonathan, preceded him in death, married but without issue, leaving only his daughters to carry on the family line, the Whitchurch surname for this line ending with him.

3. Edward. Not much is known about Edward. If he ever married and/or had issue there is no indication found in any records thus far or mention of any such family in his will, thus it appears his line also ended.

4. Joseph, had issue, two sons, It is not known what became of this Joseph. There is record of a Joseph Whitchurch being Constable of Frome in 1639/40 but Joseph would have only been about 11-12 years of age at that time. The other known Joseph Whitchurch of the time, the son of William Whitchurch and Susannah Cox, is the likely (and only other found) candidate for Constable.

Joseph probably died before 1681 since he is not listed among the other brothers in William’s will. It is reasonable to assume that he lived (and perhaps died) in the Bristol area, since presumably that is where his sons originated. More research is needed.

I have found 2 brothers as described, in Bristol; unfortunately no records (will entries, baptism records, etc.) other than this entry in the dictionary have been found yet to link them to Joseph as their father (though, two brothers Samuel and Francis were born to Anthony and Mary Whitchurch in Salisbury, Wiltshire in 1647 and 1650 respectively). There are no records linking them to the other members of this family either. It is also not known who their mother was. Assuming the dictionary is correct and Joseph is their father:

  • Francis mayor of Bristol in 1704 He was also an Alderman, which made some records confusing and hard to find since his Alderman title was used instead of his name. It does not appear he had issue, despite having married twice, though he did have step-sons (John and James, sons of his 1st wife, a widow, Sarah Rich, nee D’Orville), thus his line ended.
  • Samuel, of Bristol, who had issue, three sons: Charles, Edward, Thomas These sons are mentioned in Samuel’s will; he also had surviving daughters, not mentioned here. In all, Samuel had 11 known children, sadly most did not survive. A name change occurred in this line to carry on the Peach surname (through a daughter’s marriage, not affecting the Whitchurch surname). Charles passed away, leaving only a daughter. Edward had issue; 2 sons who died in infancy and at least 3 daughters, and one other son, Francis. There is no indication in Francis’ will of any wife or issue, the only specific relative mentioned his nephew, but more research will be needed to understand the relationship of the numerous bequests made. At the very least, it appears that the Whitchurch surname died out in this line as well.

Joseph’s sons, Francis and Samuel (assuming they are indeed his sons), appear to have very interesting and convoluted crossover relationships between them, and Francis’ two wives appear to be closely related in some way, having the same maiden names. More research is needed here to map out this family fully.

5. James, had two sons, James also had 2 daughters, not listed here.

  • Ralph; and Ralph died in 1696 unmarried and without issue.
  • James, of London, who had issue, James, merchant, who left about L40,000 in charities. James had 9 known children by his wife Ruth, already a widow when he married her; sadly, James, merchant, was his only surviving son and appears he did not leave surviving issue. A daughter, Anna, also survived through at least the age of about 40, but it is not known what became of her after that. At the very least, the Whitchurch surname did not survive this line.

6. Anthony Nothing certain is known about Anthony. He probably died before 1681 since he is not listed among the brothers in William’s will. He most likely married Mary Dove in 1646 and lived in Salisbury, Wiltshire, but more research is needed.

7. The youngest son, Leonard…”

With the exception of Joseph’s sons Francis & Samuel, of which nothing has been found to tie them to this family, these brothers and their family members are consistent with each other, tied to each other through their wills, all the way down to their children and grandchildren and so forth, though some family members (like daughters) have been left out of this lineage. Interestingly, both Samuel and Edward refer to William’s son, William Jr. as their cousin, not their nephew, causing me great confusion until I realized the broader context that has been very apparent in other wills as well, in very obvious mistakes (see Family Relations in Wills). However, a more important familial note is that Edward makes it clear in his will that these brothers’ father was not William Whitchurch as described above, but a Samuel Whitchurch.

Samuel Whitchurch (1580-1658) named all seven sons in his will, though as you can see what became of some of his sons is still a mystery. Samuel’s parents appear to be William Whitchurch (?-1621) and Juliann Butcher (?-1590) who bore him in 1580 in Frome, Somerset. After Juliann passed, William married his 2nd wife, Susanna Cox, and expanded his family further. His will was proved in 1621.

If there was a William Whitchurch with 7 sons of the same names and lineage, born in 1596, living in Frome, Somerset, I have yet to find him. (Note: I did find a William Whitchurch born in Malmesbury Wiltshire in 1596/97 son of Henry Whitchurch, but have not found any other family members associated with him as of yet.)

A corrected lineage would read something like:

“Samuel Whitchurch (whose father, b. circa 1560, was resident at Frome Selwood, where his ancestors had been seated for many years previously) was b. in 1580. He m. and had seven sons.”

Another inaccuracy found is that the youngest brother in this group was not Leonard, but was actually Joseph. A corrected order of the seven sons of Samuel, in order of oldest to youngest, would look this: William, Anthony, Edward, Samuel, James, Leonard, Joseph. This is not a complete list of all of Samuel’s children, however. William was preceded by a firstborn Anthony who apparently died in infancy. Samuel also had 2 daughters, Juliann and Joan, not listed here.

“Leonard Whitchurch, had issue, by Jane, his wife, six sons and one dau., Leonard died in 1706 but so far a will for him has not been located.

  1. Edward, b. in 1654
  2. James, b. in 1658
  3. Joseph, of whom presently
  4. Samuel, bapt. in 1666.
  5. Leonard, b. 1668
  6. George, b. in 1671
  7. Jane.”

This is generally accurate, with the exception of the daughter Jane. Leonard and his wife actually had 11 children but these listed are the ones that survived; Jane was one of their daughters that did not survive; a daughter named Joan, born in 1662, is the daughter that survived. Jane, Joan (or Jone as it was sometimes spelled), not hard to mistake.

“The third son, Joseph Whitchurch, merchant, of Bristol, b. in 1659, m. in Feb. 1697, Mary Loader, of Stralton, in the parish of Evercreech, by whom he had issue, five sons and four dau.,

  1. Edward, of Frome Selwood, who had one son, Leonard
  2. Leonard, of Bristol.
  3. James, of Bristol, of whom presently.
  4. Samuel, D.D., some time incumbent of Stapleton, Gloucestershire, and for fifty years rector of Nunney, of which parish the family had been patrons and lords of the manor, m. in Sept. 1742. Elizabeth, dau. of Thomas Coward, Esq. of Spargrove, by whom he had issue, two sons,
    • Thomas, student of Christ Church, Oxford, in 1766, chaplain to the embassy at Vienna, d.s.p.
    • James-Wadham, B.A., of Oxford, d. also s.p. and vita patris, at Bath, in 1797
  5. Joseph, d. in 1772 having m. the heiress of Thomas Walter, Esq. of Heath House, Stapleton, Gloucestershire, by whom he had issue, one dau., Jane, who m. in 1767, Thomas, second son of Sir Jarrit Smyth, Bart.
  6. Susannah
  7. Sarah
  8. Anne
  9. Jane“

This paragraph leaves out some important information. Joseph married Mary (Loads, not Loader) as a widower and two of the children listed here belong to another mother. Additionally, he did not have a daughter named Susannah, but he had one named Joanna. Probably a transcription error from a poor parish record.

Joseph’s first wife was Joan Bryner, who he married in 1686 in Bristol. Edward was born in 1687 and Joanna was born 1690. Joan died shortly after her birth in 1690. The next child in line, Leonard, was born in 1698, after Joseph’s marriage to his 2nd wife Mary Loads in 1697.

Joseph’s fourth son, Samuel, rector of Nunney and Bath, etc. holds a place of honor at the church in Nunney, which we have visited and taken many photographs of the family crest, honorial plaques, etc. In addition to the two sons listed above, Samuel had a daughter, Elizabeth, and another son, James, his firstborn, both of whom died in infancy. The Reverend Samuel Whitchurch is listed as a legatee in many of the wills in the Whitchurch ancestral line.

“Joseph Whitchurch d. in 1726. His third son,

James Whitchurch, of Bristol, b. circa 1704, m. in 1746, Anne* dau. of John Gresley, by whom he had issue, *the Gresley line is another entry in the dictionary to explore; the dictionary also failed to mention that Anne Gresley was James’ 2nd wife, his 1st wife being Anne James with one surviving daughter, Mary.

  1. James, b. in 1746, d. unm.
  2. Joseph, b. in 1747, of Backwell, Somerset, m. Mary, dau. of Samuel Ford, Esq., and had issue, six sons and four dau.
    • Sidenham d. young
    • Augustus d. young
    • James d. young
    • Joseph, m. Sarah Harding, s.p.
    • George, m. Amelia, dau. of T. Webb, Esq. of Henbury, Gloucestershire, by whom he had issue, Samuel-Joseph; Louisa, m. to the Rev. H.G. Eland, d.s.p.; Emma
    • Leonard
    • Mary
    • Jane, m. to George Richardson, Esq., s.p.
    • Anne
    • Amy, m. to Philip George, Esq.
  3. Samuel, b. in 1749.“

This is generally accurate, except that Joseph married Ann Ford, not Mary Ford.

“James Whitchurch d. in 1763. His third son,

Samuel Whitchurch, m. Mary Evans, by whom he had issue, four sons and six daus.,

  1. Samuel, b. in 1779, d. unm. in 1813
  2. James-Joseph, with whom this memoir commences.
  3. Henry, d. young
  4. George-Gresley, drowned whilst an under-graduate of Balliol College, Oxford, in the passage from Guernsey to France, in 1817.
  5. Mary-Anne, m. W. Perry, Esq. of Churchill, Somerset, by whom (who d. in 1825) she had issue, six sons and six daus.
    • John, M.A. Balliol College, Oxford, in holy orders, of St. Breage, Cornwall, m. Sophia, dau. of the Rev. Thomas Staback, rector of Cubit, by whom he has issue
    • William, d. young
    • Samuel-Whitchurch, m. Eliza, dau. of T. Scott, Esq. of Constantine, Cornwall.
    • Henry-Charles
    • Arthur, settled in Van Dieman’s Land
    • George-Gresley, M.A. fellow of Lincoln College, Oxford
    • Mary, m. to the Rev. W.G.Dymock, rector of Hache Beauchamp, Somerset, who d. in 1840.
    • Amelia
    • Ellen
    • Anne, m. the Rev. Thomas-F. Dymock, rector of Shipham, Somerset,and has issue
    • Hannah-More.
  6. Amelia, m. W. Wasborough, Esq. by whom she had issue, two sons and two daus., and d. in 1839?
    • William-Dowel m. Miss Trinder.
    • Sidney-Henry.
    • Mary, m. to Charles Wasborough, Esq. deceased
    • Charlotte, m. John Bligh Stanley, Esq. of Barryhill, by whom she has issue.
  7. Jane m. her cousin Charles Gresley, Esq. and d. in 1842, leaving issue,
    • Charles
    • Nigel, m. Anne, dau. of —– Pears, Esq. of the co. of Limerick.
    • Amelia-Charlotte.
  8. Eliza d. unm. in 1822
  9. Sarah, b. in 1785 m. John Elton, Esq., (see Elton of Ledbury and Home House, Hereford, and Newent, Gloucestershire) late of Redland, now of Weston-super-Mare, Somerset, and has issue, five sons and three daus.,
    • John-William, m. Mary-Anne, third dau. of the Rev. Craven Ord, M.A., of Grensted Hall, Essex, and has issue.
    • Edward, in holy orders, M.A., Balliol College, Oxford, of Stanton St. Bernard, Wilts. m. Harriet-Vashon, dau. of Rear-Admiral Ballard,C.B. and has issue.
    • George
    • Frederick, (twin with George) m. in 1844 Anne-Jane-Rice, eldest dau. of the Rev. C.J. Glascott, M.A., vicar of Seaton and Beer, Devon.
    • Alfred, b. in 1825
    • Mary-Margaret, m. the Rev. Thomas Halliwell, M.A., incumbent of Christ Church, Wrington, Somerset, and has issue.
    • Lucy-Elizabeth
    • Eliza-Charlotte
  10. Charlotte, m. Thomas Austin, Esq., son of Hugh Austin, of Barbadoes, settled at Lennoxville, Lower Canada, in 1835, and has issue, five sons and one dau.,
    • Hugh-Whitchurch, lieut. 56th regt.
    • Henry-Williams.
    • Adolphus, d. in 1840
    • Frederich-Piercy
    • Wyndham-Bruce
    • Charlotte-Theresa“

These all seem generally accurate, with just a few minor small detail mistakes that don’t really change anything.

In a nutshell, the further back in history we go, the more difficult it gets to be accurate. This is certainly understandable. Records are hard to come by, and those that are available are difficult to read and perhaps open to interpretation. Nunney, in particular, is missing a large gap of crucial years that could help solve some of the mystery surrounding the Whitchurch ancestry. Additionally, there appears that there were 2 denominations of Whitchurch families in Frome and the surrounding areas – the Church of England, of which the majority of records can be found, and non-conformist, of which spotty records are available, with the non-conformist members making occasional appearances in the Church of England records. A compounding problem is the fact that same names in same places make identifying people very problematic. It is possible that because of a lack of records, two branches of a family have been confused and combined into one.

I give the Genealogical and Heraldic Dictionary of the Landed Gentry of Great Britain and Ireland points for their tremendous efforts but consider it a resource rather than an authority. I believe sources of information such as this should include a disclaimer for accuracy; I also wish there were cited sources so that the information could be double-checked. Ah well…

No Comments

Post a Comment