Over the years, they have turned up a number of times, often when I was researching another family altogether, and my notebooks have various references, jotted down in the hope that someday things would make sense. That day came earlier this year, 2020, when Findmypast loaded up a record that made sense only to me, and I finally could see how they fitted in.
This was not easy, because various Ginn families were in this area at the same time, indeed the Ginn family of Croxton in Cambridgeshire which originates in Hertfordshire (- see post on Thomas Ginn of Croxton of 31st December 2012 in my other blog) had two girls marry at Great Staughton, and several others were in the area.
Matthew Ginn (c.1682-1747)
This chap is the key to this, because he was clearly born in Southoe in 1681/2 to James & Ann, I can date it precisely because there is a gap in the register. See post of 13th April 2020. This is in my notebooks but still not online. He married a Mary in about 1705 (likely by declaration as I have not found a church entry) and they had six children in nearby Gt Staughton. Matthew was a Labourer.
The six children were as follows
Elizabeth 1707
James 1709
Matthew 1711 d infancy
Mary 1712 d infancy
Thomas 1715
Mary 1719 d infancy
Mary died at GS in 1738, Matthew in 1747 approximately aged 65.
Of the two surviving sons: Thomas was a Labourer who married Alice Medbury at GS in 1743 (she died 1765) and later Martha Lowe in 1769. There were no issue by either marriage. Martha died in 1783 and Tom in 1784 aged 69.
James Ginn (1709- unknown)
Was a busy chap, marrying three times. He married Elizabeth Howell at Great Staughton in 1735. They had three children and she died with the last in 1738. James then got together with an Elizabeth Road or Read, had two further children by her but did not officially marry her until 1748. She died in 1752. James then married Alice Wadsworth at Great Staughton in 1755. She died there in 1765, but I cannot yet find an entry for James.
James and his first two wives had the following children
James 1737 d infancy
Thomas 1737 d infancy
James 1738
Elizabeth 1745
Matthew 1747 d unfancy
James Ginn (1738-unknown)
This guy married Sarah Ladds at Little Staughton in 1771. He had moved up the road into Bedfordshire. Clearly a Labourer.
They only ever had one child that we know about and even he has no baptism, namely James in reputedly 1778 or thereabouts. Sarah died in Little Staughton in 1783, and James remarried Mary Brown there the next year. There are no burial entries for James and Mary yet found.
James Ginn (c.1778 - 1851 +)
James has often popped up in my research over the years when researching somebody else as is the norm.
We know he was born in Little Staughton in approximately 1778, but there is no baptism record I know of.
He had a bit of a shock in 1803, when Britain was once again (the short Peace of Amiens was over) at war with Napoleon Bonaparte. Britain did not have conscription, as France and other European powers did. It relied on a volunteer army, a full time professional Militia for home defence recruited from volunteers or by parish ballot, and various ad hoc regiments of part time amateur volunteers for service in their locality.
1803 brought a problem, because the country was facing invasion and needed a quick way to raise a back up for the full time militia. The proposal was to raise tens of thousands of men by effective impressment from the counties - these men to be forced to join reserve battalions of the professional army, but on condition they not be sent overseas. The men were to form what was called The Army of Reserve.
It will not surprise you to know that James was selected. We know that he was impressed for service with the 30th Regiment of Foot which formed a 2nd Battalion (for home service initially) that year.
James (like a good number of the impressed men as it happens) ran, ie he deserted. We know this because he is mentioned in the Bounty Returns (they offered a bounty for his capture) see E182/10 at the National Archives. It may not have been a bad move, because the 2nd Battalion 30th later fought with Wellington in the Peninsular War and at Waterloo.
James obviously (like Brer Rabbit) lay low for some years. He surfaces again in 1811 when he married Sarah Pestle at nearby Pertenhall.
James and Sarah had two daughters that married. I have a vague memory (lost to my notes and I can find nothing online) that there were more than two, but I may be mistaken
The two daughters were
Eliza - married Thomas Peacock at Little Staughton in 1839
Elizabeth - married James Stoneham at Little Staughton in 1840
In the 1851 census return, James was living in Little Staughton, sadly as a pauper, and Sarah was a visitor at the home of daughter Eliza and Thomas Peacock. I have not researched further
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