Griggs family Messing Essex

[helvissa]

I've made an error there... it's William Brewster's aunt who was Mr. Andrews' mother, not his sister. Still, that means  William Brewster is the cousin of that chap in the painting!

[helvissa]

Ba-dum-tish! I have a Golding/Griggs connection!

I got the EDFH memorial inscriptions CD and there is a grave in Belchamp Otten's churchyard which contains five people:

• Thomas Golding, gent., died 23 Jan 1719, aged 60 years and 11 months (this gives him a dob about 1658)
• Mary, wife of John Griggs died 18 Oct 1760, aged 72 (b abt 1688)
• Sarah, wife of John Pratt, died 24 Nov 1858, aged 71 (b abt 1787)
• John Pratt (husband of Sarah), died 27 Dec 1865, aged 84 (b abt 1781)
• John Griggs Pratt, 2nd son of John & Sarah, died 29 June 1832 aged 21 (b abt 1811)

I'm not entirely sure what to make of all this. I do wish they'd put relationships on the headstone! Because is Mary the daughter of Thomas Golding? If so, she would not be the Mary Cleer who married John Griggs in Copford, and possibly appears in the 1712 will of Thomas Cleer of Copford. Unless "my daughter Griggs" in that will is a red-herring and Mary Cleer who married John Griggs in 1708 in Copford was in fact a widow? Then again - she could be Thomas Golding's niece, if, say, her mum had been a Golding. All this can be easily (perhaps!) cleared up because it looks like Thomas Golding left a will: D/AMW 12/215 at ERO (1720). I'm going to ERO in about a week, so if I have time, will have a look. If not, will order a digital copy (just cos I'm extremely nosy!). If we get a mention of "my daughter Mary Griggs" or "my niece Mary Griggs", then I think we've cracked it.

Sarah, who married John Pratt, is probably the daughter of John Griggs & Sarah (née Parmenter, married in Belchamp St. Paul in 1785 - John is the son of John & Rose Griggs), baptised at Belchamp Otten in 1787. She had a brother baptised in the same place in 1790 called Golding. So Mary would be her great-grandmother.

1851 census:
Coles Farm, Belchamp Otten
John Pratt aged 66 farmer of 200 acres b Belchamp Walter
Sarah, wife, aged 62, b Belchamp Otten
Philip, son, aged 32, b ditto
Charles, son, aged 30, b ditto

John and Sarah married in Belchamp Otten in 1805.

[helvissa]

It could of course be that John Griggs married twice. He married Mary Cleer in Copford in 1708, had his son John by her in abt 1711, then Mary died and he married Mary Golding. And John jnr was brought up by his stepmother, hence continued the naming convention with Golding? Erm... or something....!

[helvissa]

I had a look at Thomas Golding's will on microfilm at ERO last week. Info as follows:

Thomas Golding of Belchamp Otten, gentleman. 5th August 1719 (the headstone says January 1719 - must be 1719/20)

• My sister Judith Grimwood? (her surname was awkward to read - might be clearer on original) £6. To her children, £10 each.
• To the four children of my cousin Ann Ray? (again, surname reading issues) deceased £10 each when they reach 21
• To my brother Griggs' seven youngest children, £10 each
• To my cousin Frances Andrews, £10
• All my household goods at Kemson in Cavendish to my brother William Golden
• To my goddaughter, wife of of Mr. John Doking of Glemsford, 1 guinea
• £5 to each of my servants
• All my messuage, lands etc in Belchamp Otten and Cavendish, and all my rest and residue, to my nephew John Griggs

I wonder if John Griggs, who is his main legatee, is the eldest of "my brother Griggs'" children, and that he is the John Griggs who is the father of Golding Griggs, born about two years after Thomas Golding's death (hence why he names his son Golding).

This doesn't clear up very much though, because we still don't know what Thomas' relationship is to "Mary, wife of John Griggs". Would she have been buried with her uncle-in-law? (if John Griggs in Thomas' will is the John Griggs who was Mary's wife).Perhaps there was an inscription on the same grave for John, but it has since worn away?

And "my brother Griggs" - does Thomas mean his half-brother or his brother-in-law? ie. Thomas had a sister who married Griggs, and John Griggs is his nephew that way?

Note regarding Frances Andrews - this might be another connection with the Andrews family of Bulmer - the chap in the Gainsborough painting (Robert Andrews) had an aunt called Frances. Through her, Robert had a cousin called William Nunn (son of Francis Nunn and Frances Andrews, who married in 1726). And we have a Frances Andrews, cousin of Thomas Golding, in the 1719 will. Could this be the same lady?

[helvissa]

This is one of the wills that's just been added to Seax, so I can now go from a nice scan of the original, rather than a microfilm of the registered copy - the first mention in the will is of his "sister Judith Garrwood and her two children" - not Grimwood.

[helvissa]

You might want to look at the will of Maria Griggs, widow of Foxearth - she mentions (amongst many other people) "Mary, Sarah and Dorcas, the three daughters of my sister Cleere, late wife of Elias Cleere of Foxearth, yeoman." Written 1699, proved 1702 (D/AMW 11/68).

[helvissa]

Will of Elias Cleere of Foxearth, written 1700, proved 1703:

Three sons: John, Robert and Samuel Cleere.
Three daughters: Mary (wife of Isaac Mott), Sarah (wife of Thomas Aldridge) and Dorcas (wife of William Aldridge). 
Grandchildren: Mary Abbott and Mary Mott