10. UREBY-NICHOLSON

Bray Tree

JOHN UREBY and ELIZABETH NICHOLSON (10)

 

JOHN UREBY. We have identified Jane Ureby, who married Francis Tripp in the Lincolnshire village of Horkstow as the following.

Baptism. St Maurice, Horkstow.
1672 Jun 2  Jane daughter of John Ureby and Elizabeth his wife.

This leads to a likely marriage in 1658 between John Ureby and Elizabeth Nicholson..

The Horkstow registers go back to 1562, so if John was born there, his baptism should be listed. The nearest we have found is the following:

Baptism. Elsham.
1632 Apr 29  John son of William Ureby.

This fits well with a marriage date in 1658.

Elsham is 5 m south of Horkstow. They are two of the five Low Wold villages on the northern edge of the Lincolnshire Wolds.

The unusual surname Ureby is first found in the village of Irby in the Marsh, on the southern end of the Lincolnshire Wolds. It appears to be a variant spelling of the village’s name.

We have been unable to discover anything else about John Ureby’s family. He may well have grown up in a village whose records do not go back to John’s childhood.

John settled in Horkstow. Much of the parish is fertile chalk soil, lending itself to the cultivation of root crops, though there are also areas of more difficult clay.

 

ELIZABETH NICHOLSON. Weddings usually took place in the bride’s parish, and it is in Horkstow that we find Elizabeth’s baptism.

Baptism. St Maurice,  Horkstow.
1636 Aug 14  Elizabeth ye daughter of John Nicholson & Jane his wife.

A previous daughter had been christened Elizabeth the year before, but had been buried in June 1636.

Their mother was Jane Baynton.

Elizabeth was the oldest of the surviving children. She had two younger sisters and two younger brothers, though the younger of these died aged 3.

Unlike John, Elizabeth was of a well-established Horkstow family, with other Nicholsons having children at the same time.

John and Elizabeth grew up in the Civil War. Sympathies in Lincolnshire tended towards Parliament.

In 1641-2, all males were required to sign the Protestation oath, pledging loyalty to the King, Parliamen and the Protestant religion. In March 1642, the oath was sworn in Horkstow in the presence of the minister, two churchwardens and two constables. One of the churchwardens was Elizabeth’s father, John Nicholson. He was the only one of the five who could not sign his name, but made his mark N. Despite being illiterate, he was evidently a respected member of the community.

The couple married before the end of Oliver Cromwell’s Republican Commonwealth.

Marriage. St Maurice,  Horkstow.
1658 May 11  John Ureby & Elizabeth Nicholson

We have found only three baptisms for this couple, and they start in 1672. There may have been older children born in a parish whose registers do not go back that far.

Baptisms. St Maurice,  Horkstow
1672 Jun 2  Jane
1673/4 Jan 20  John
1675 Nov 25  Elizabeth

On the other hand, we would expect the names John and Elizabeth to be used quite early on.

The church of St Maurice stands on the edge of the village. It is believed to have been founded by the Knights Templar in the 12^th century.

We have been unable to find the burials of either John or Elizabeth. It may be that they are on a page of the register where the ink has become faded, or the family may have moved to another village.