Origins of Samuel Dakin

[ALewis]

Hi, I am just wondering if anybody can help me try and make sense of my Dakin family please. Sorry for the long post. I will provide what information I can.

I have found the will of Samuel Dakin (my 7x great grandfather), dated 1785, Hemington, of the parish of Lockington in Leicestershire. His occupation was a blacksmith.

From the will and parish records of Lockington, I have discovered he was married twice. He was first married to Ellen. Ellen Dakin was buried 28th November 1746, in Lockington, wife of Samuel. Samuel then married Elizabeth Cotton 29th December 1747 in Lockington.

These are the children from the two marriages and mentioned in his will:

Samuel and Ellen:

1. Thomas Dakin (my 6x great grandfather). No baptism found but mentioned in will. Married Ann Wall, 1760 in Lockington.

2. Ellinor Dakin, baptised 1741, Lockington

3. Samuel Dakin, baptised 1744, Lockington.

Samuel and Elizabeth:

1. Mary Dakin, baptised 1748, Lockington.

2. William Damin, baptised 1752, Lockington.

3. Robert Dakin, baptised 1758, Lockington.

Samuel mentioned a son John Dakin in his will. No baptism found.

Samuel Dakin was buried 4th February 1785 in Lockington. Incredibly, it gives his age of 74 (born about 1711).

I believe that my direct ancestor Thomas Dakin is the son of Ellen. No marriage has been found in Leicestershire for Samuel and Ellen.

The most likely marriage I can find is Samuel Dakin marrying Ellen Steanson 27th December 1735 in Ashbourne, Derbyshire. Samuel was of Etwall, Derbyshire and Ellen of Spondon, Derbyshire. They married by licence. Samuel's occupation was yeoman and he was about 24 (born about 1711). Ellen was about 19. A James Dakin, of Ashbourne, yeoman, is mentioned with paying the licence.

I have found Hellen Stenson being baptised 1st September 1714, Spondon to Joseph and Margaret.

I am struggling to establish the baptism of Samuel Dakin though. The only likely baptism I can find in Leicestershire/Derbyshire is Samuel Dakin is 12th December 1709 in Spondon to William and Mary. This looks good as, it would tie in with Samuel being born about 1711 and his wife from Spondon.

If Spondon looks to be the baptism of Samuel, I can't tie him in with the James Dakin of Ashbourne (mentioned in the marriage licence).

Thank you in advance for any help or advice. 

[ALewis]

The only thing preventing me with going with the 1709 Spondon baptism is a Samuel Dakin and Elizabeth had two children baptised in Spondon. Ann in 1735 and Griffin in 1738. This Samuel was buried 26th July 1739 in Spondon. Mentions wife Elizabeth and children Ann and Griffin in his will.

It is possible that this Samuel Dakin was baptised 4th December 1675, Spondon to parents Griffin and Ann. This ties in with naming conventions of his kids. He would have been in his 60's when his children were born though.

There is only one burial in Spondon I can find in the 1700s. So perhaps the younger Samuel Dakin baptised 1709 moved to another parish?

[iluleah]

Lockington is a village in the Leicestershire parish of Lockington-Hemington. The village is close to the Derbyshire border.

So you have one primary record connecting Thomas to Samuel ( Samuels Will)  does the Will state he is Samuels son or just names him as an heir?

When I first started to research I was taught that I needed 3 connecting primary records before I could 'be sure' of connection in lineage, of course the further you get back the harder it is to achieve as there are fewer 'connecting' records, for me I want MY ancestors in my tree I don't want people who just might fit so for me if I can't find the connecting records the line comes to a natural end and I continue to research in the hope that one day I will find more and I can be sure and put the people in my tree..

As you say naming of children through the generations can help, as does the ages each generation marry as that is 'family script' , the jobs they do is also a clue.

In the early 1700s being a blacksmith, could mean an independant village blacksmith or he worked for one of the two manors of Lockington , Nether Hall and Over Hall or of course Lockington Hall ( which is a grade 2 listed building in main st ) So it might be worth your while researching these Halls, who owned them at that time and if they had other Halls/Manors in other counties as staff would often move with those families or take a job opening in another of their properties

Example for Lockington Hall https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/c/F18257

[ALewis]

Hi iluleah,

Thank you for your reply.

Samuel's will lists Thomas as his son. Up until this point, I had no evidence of who Thomas' father was. This has been a brick wall for over a decade.

Like, you I look for primary records too. I may have theories about how people were related but don't add them to my tree until I have a primary record linking them. I will leave branches for a while and come back to them and see if any new records come online. I haven't added the Spondon lot to my tree yet as I can't prove the connection. Only added Samuel as Thomas' father and Ellen as his mother with a '?' next to her name.

Thank you for providing further information on the occupation of the blacksmith and the link to Lockington Hall. Much appreciated, will definitely look into this. :-)

Kindest regards,

ALewis

[Pheno]

When I first started to research I was taught that I needed 3 connecting primary records before I could 'be sure' of connection in lineage, of course the further you get back the harder it is to achieve as there are fewer 'connecting' records, for me I want MY ancestors in my tree I don't want people who just might fit so for me if I can't find the connecting records the line comes to a natural end and I continue to research in the hope that one day I will find more and I can be sure and put the people in my tree.

Yes I agree with this in principle but now that there is DNA testing it is quite good to speculate.  If you add someone you are not sure about to your tree to which your dna is attached it gives an opportunity to see if there are any dna matches/thrulines to this person.  If yes it will probably confirm your speculation and then you can go and hunt for the paperwork.  If no then just remove them from the tree and try another candidate if you have one.

Waiting for the paperwork may be an unfulfilling experience if, by use of dna, you can prove a connection. 

Maybe using dna confirmation is what you would term a primary confirmatory source, but you won't get that without a bit of speculation.

Pheno

[ALewis]

Hi Pheno,

DNA is definitely a useful tool that helps with genealogy/family history. Mum and I have done DNA tests and we have several cousin matches and our common ancestors are William Dakin and his wife Ellen Bates (my 4x great grandparents),who lived in Hemington.

Samuel Dakin was the great grandfather of William Dakin. I can trace my paper trail (including parish records) back Samuel.

DNA also helped me to prove the biological father of my illegitimate great grandmother. Found two photographs of my now proven great great grandfather!

DNA is definitely a valuable tool, when used alongside the paper trail. :-)

Kindest regards,

ALewis