14. HINDMERSH

Baker  Tree

 THOMAS HINDMERSH (14)

 

THOMAS HINDMERSH. In 1538 Henry VIII gave a boon to family historians when he decreed that every church should keep a register of baptisms, marriages and burials carried there.

Shortly after this, in 1541, we find the first of three baptisms for children of Thomas Hindmersh at St Peter’s, Sandwich.

These were almost certainly not his only children. There are burials for others whose baptism we do not have, and which probably took place before 1538.

The likelihood is that Thomas married around 1530, and was probably born early in the 16^th century in the reign of Henry VII.

We do not have a record of his marriage, which would have taken place before the registers started. We might have hoped to find at least the first name of his wife at her burial, but no such record has been found. It may be on a damaged or illegible page of the early register.

The 16^th century occurrences of Hindmersh in Kent are entirely confined to Sandwich. The surname is believed to have originated in Northumberland. A more common spelling is Hindmarsh.In the 16^th century, there are a number of occurrences in the Yorkshire town of Howden, north of Goole, close to the lower reaches of the Humber.

There seems to be just this one family in Sandwich when the registers begin. Possibly the first Hindmersh in Kent came in a ship trading down the North Sea coast.

Sandwich is in east Kent, 6 m SW of Ramsgate and 5 m north of Deal. It was one of the original five Cinque Ports. It was once a busy harbour, but by the 16^th century the River Stour had silted up, leaving Sandwich 2 m from the sea. Its winding streets are flanked by timber-framed houses.

There are three Norman churches: St Mary the Virgin, St Peter the Apostle and St Clement. This first family of Hindmershes used St Peter’s.

Baptisms. St Peter, Sandwich.
1541 Apr 13  Joan. She was buried on 18 Jun 1543, aged 2.
1542/3 Mar 13  Agnes

There follow three burials for sons of Thomas Hindmershe whose baptisms we do not have and who were presumably born before 1538.

Burials. St Peter, Sandwich.
1544 Aug 18  Rycharde
1545 May 20  Robarte
1545 Sept 25  John

The next burial is for their father Thomas.

1546 Apr 14  Thomas Hyndmershe

Evidently he left his wife pregnant with their last child.

Baptisms. St Peter, Sandwich.
1546 Dec 3  Thomas

We have not found a remarriage or a burial for the older Thomas’s wife. Nor do we know how many children she was left with.

We do not have a record of Thomas’s occupation, but his posthumous son Thomas junior grew up to become a parish clerk. This required him to be competently literate and numerate. It is likely that his family were something more than agricultural labourers.

 

 

[1] Sandwich Kent England UK: St. Peter’s Church