Augustine Wynnall and Elizabeth Knighte

Great St Helen's Street, London, EC3
cc-by-sa/2.0 - © David Hallam-Jones - geograph.org.uk/p/3406231
The Grade II-listed 12th century Church of "St Helen's, Bishopsgate" occupies the centre space. This was William Shakespeare's parish church when he lived in the area in the 1590s.

Augustine Wynnoll (sic) and Elizabeth Knighte (I suspect the final 'e' is superfluous) - a pair of my 9th great-grandparents - married at St Helen's, Bishopsgate (one of only a few churches in the City of London to survive both the Great Fire of 1666 and The Blitz), on 12 May 1634. (Which, for context was during the reign of Charles I of England. Interesting times.)

Augustine and Elizabeth appear to have had five children:

1. Mary Winnall b. Monday, 17 Feb 1634, Mary daughter of Augustine Winnall of Blackwall, Waterman bap. 20 Feb 1634 at St Dunstan and All Saints, Stepney (at 3 days old).
2. Elizabeth Winnall b. Tuesday, 29 Aug 1637, Elizabeth daughter of Augustine Winnall of Blackwall, Waterman bap. 6 Sep 1637 at St Dunstan's (at 8 days old). Elizabeth daughter of Augustine Winnall of Blackwall, Waterman, was buried at St Dunstan's on 24 Feb 1640.
3. Amy Winnall b. Friday, 1 Nov 1639, Amy daughter of Augustine Winnall of Blackwall, Waterman & Elizabeth bap. 6 Nov 1639 (at 5 days old)
4. John Winnall b. Wednesday, 23 Mar 1642, John son of Augustine Winnall of Blackwall, Waterman and Eliz., bap. 31 Mar 1642 at St Dunstan's (at 8 days old).
5. Rachell Winnall bap. 19 Oct 1643. Rachel daughter of Augustine Winnall of Blackwall, Waterman & Elizabeth, buried 20 Nov 1643.

Their seemingly only son, John Winnall, who was my 8th great-grandfather, therefore, was born in the same year as the start of the English Civil War.

Sadly, almost all the records of the Company of Watermen prior to 1666 were destroyed in the Great Fire of London so finding these records of a waterman from before that time, is gold. That it's my direct ancestor, breath-taking.

Buried on page 408 of the Calendar of the Quarter Sessions Papers: pt. 1. 1591-1621, is the following item: 

If this is the same Augustine Wynnall (and, with the same fairly unusual name, just seven years before the above marriage, I imagine it must be), then several conclusions may be drawn: he appears to have been wanted to appear before the Quarter Sessions for some reason that I have yet to discover; he probably originally hails from Buckland, Gloucestershire and he had been a Labourer. Lending more circumstantial evidence for accepting that this is the right man, is that among the notable burials at St Helen's Church, Bishopsgate is the tomb of Sir Thomas Gresham (1519-1579), royal agent to King Edward VI (1547–1553) and Queens Mary I (1553–1558) and Elizabeth I (1558–1603) and founder of the Royal Exchange, whose father, Sir Richard Gresham (1485-1549), Lord Mayor of London, and Member of Parliament, who served as a commissioner under Henry VIII - both of whom had held the manor of Buckland. One imagines, therefore, that Augustine Wynnall had probably come to London in the service of their descendants.

Augustine Wynnall of Blackwall, Waterman was buried, on 2 Feb 1642, at St Dunstan's, Stepney. Being in the first part of the year, prior to March 25th, this was likely 1642 per the then used Julian calendar, which would equate to 1643 in our modern Gregorian calendar, making sense of the date of his youngest child. This also suggests Rachel was a posthumous child. 

Blackwall and the Watermen

Samuel Pepys, who commuted by water from his home to his job at the Admiralty, refers to the death of his waterman in his diaries of 1665 revealing the particular vulnerability of Thames watermen to infection. 

On Sunday 20 August 1665, he writes, "And I could not get my waterman to go elsewhere for fear of the plague."

Thames watermen and ferries: "Wherries could be hired at many stairs that led down to the Thames. Watermen gathered at each, jostling for custom, crying “oars oars sculls”. Working a passenger wherry, ferry, or barge on the Thames in all weathers and tides required knowledge and skill, with tides used to achieve remarkably quick journeys up and down river. The men who operated such craft, as well as those who transported goods by barge or lighter, were a special breed, whose families undertook the same work for generations."

Blackwall had a proud maritime tradition and both Raleigh and Nelson are said to have had homes here. The first colonists of Virginia sailed from Blackwall in 1606 and later the East India Docks - a group of docks in Blackwall, east London - brought thriving inter­na­tional trade.

Blackwall Yard was famous for building East Indiamen, which vessels were often called Blackwallers. Built in 1614, it was the first wet dock in the port of London and was the East India Company's principal shipyard, "... residential development at Blackwall commenced in earnest during the 1620s and 1630s, and it continued throughout the century as both the shipyard and overseas trade prospered and the demand for labour in the area increased." 

• Anthony Tompson of Blackwall, Sawyer, aged 26 years married Mary Winnall aged 20 years, at St Dunstan, Stepney, on 13 Feb 1654.

Charles Baker and Sarah Hoile

St Mary Aldermary, Bow Lane, London EC4 - West end
cc-by-sa/2.0 - © John Salmon - geograph.org.uk/p/885942

Charles Baker married Sarah Hoile in the parish of St Mary Aldermary with St Thomas the Apostle on 12 Jan 1822. Since the church of St Thomas the Apostle was destroyed in the Great Fire of London in 1666 and not rebuilt, it's probably safe to assume that the venue was St Mary Aldermary. 

The couple had two children, baptised at St Leonard's, Shoreditch:

1. Sarah Baker b. 1 Nov 1822, bap. 10 Jan 1823 
2. Charles Hoile Baker b. 23 Aug 1825, bap. 9 Oct 1825

On the record of son Charles Hoile Baker's marriage, he describes his father's occupation as Waterman. I've not [yet] isolated further records for this pair.

John Winnall and Alice and Elizabeth Woodin

River Thames at Blackwall
cc-by-sa/2.0 - © Nigel Cox - geograph.org.uk/p/792054

John Winnall (bap. 31 Mar 1642), son of Augustine Wynnall and Elizabeth Knighte, reputedly married Alice Woodin (bap. 3 May 1640 in Chislehurst, Kent), daughter of Thomas Woodin, but [so far] I've been unable to locate a record of their marriage, which should have been around 1668.

John and Alice Winnall were, however, the parents of the following children:

1. Elizabeth Winnall bap. 2 Jun 1669
2. Mary Winnall bap. 30 Jul 1671
3. Jo** Winnum (sic) bap. 12 Sep 1672 (Transcribed as Joyce Winnum, however, on the original written document, although the first name isn't easily readable, it says SON of John Winnum of Blackwall, Waterman and Alice. So I definitely don't think it's Joyce, but I do think that Winnum is an error and this is a son of the same John Winnall. John for the first name would be the obvious choice, but it doesn't look like that.)
4. Alyce Winnall bap. 6 Mar 1673
5. Augustine Winnall b. 14 Nov 1678, bap. 16 Nov 1678 (at 2 days old)
6. Anne Winnall b. 3 Mar 1680, bap. 16 Mar 1680 (at 13 days old)
7. Rachel Winnall b. ~1680 (Not found original baptism.)

All of the baptisms took place at St Dunstan's, Stepney and most specify son or daughter of John Winnall of Blackwall, Waterman and Alice.

So, not only was John Winnall born the same year as the start of the English Civil War, this places him and Alice in the capital at the time of the Great Fire of London. They also lived through the plague (1665-6). Interesting times.

It is also reputed that Alice Winnall died around 1681 and this looks likely (the absense of a baptism record for Rachel, as well as there being no record of the death of Alice, leads me to believe the two events are probably linked) as there is then a record of a marriage between John Winnall, Widower and Elizabeth Woodin, at St James Duke's Place, on 16 Nov 1682. "The long-vanished Parish Church of St James’s Duke’s Place is worth remembering for the notoriety it once enjoyed in performing irregular marriages within the City of London." If, as I suspect, John Winnall was marrying his deceased wife's sister, then this is exactly the sort of irregular marriage that Henry VIII's shenanigans probably created the need for this church to perform.

John and Elizabeth Winnall then had a son:

1. John Winnall son of John Winnall of Blackwall, Waterman & Elizabeth bap. 25 Mar 1689 at St Dunstan's, Stepney

The record of the burial of John Winnall, on 16 Nov 1693 at St Dunstan's, Stepney, also lists him as John Winnall of Blackwall, Waterman at Poplar.

William Thomas of Blackwall, Waterman, Bachelor aged 24 years, married Mary Winnall of the same, Spinster, aged 22 years, by and with the consent of her mother, at St Dunstan's, Stepney on 11 Dec 1695. (Why did she need consent at that age? And this must have been her step-mother.)

Michael Bernar of Blackwall, Mariner, a Bachelor aged 20 years married Anne Winnall of the same place, Spinster, 'aged 17 years or thereabouts' (clearly, she was 16) at St Dunstan's, Stepney on 27 Dec 1696. Michael, certainly started out life as Michel. Their daughter Elizabeth Bernar was baptised on 8 Oct 1699 at the French Protestant Church of London - The French Church (Threadneedle St) - the record specifically mentions 'French Huguenot', those who, after French King Louis XIV issued the Edict of Fontainebleau (1685), were forced to either convert to Catholicism or flee as refugees. (Samuel Pepys the diarist and naval administrator, who had links to influential members of the congregation, is known to have worshipped at Threadneedle Street with his French wife, Elizabeth de St Michel. [Source])

On 13 Dec 1698, Augustine Winnall was admitted into the Freedom of the City of London by Redemption in the Company of Embroiderers, paying forty six shillings and eight pence. (Although few of the privileges remain, all Liverymen are still granted the Freedom of the City of London, which is obtained in one of three ways: by right of servitude (apprenticeship to a freemen), by right of patrimony (son or daughter of a freemen), or by redemption (purchase with the approval of the corporation).

William Soper of Blackwall in the Parish of Stepney in the County of Middlesex, Shipwright & a Bachelor aged 26 years, married Alice Winnall of the same place, aged 24 years, on 15 Dec 1698 St Dunstan and All Saints. Their son, John Soper was baptised at St Dunstan's on 22 Mar 1701.

Elizabeth Winnall of Blackwall was buried at St Dunstan's on 18 Jun 1702.

Augustine Winnall from King's Arms Yard, was buried at St Sepulchre, Holborn, City of London (St Sepulchre-without-Newgate) on 18 Mar 1706.

(In the records of Thames Watermen & Lightermen 1688-2010, there is a John Winnall, in Blackwall, apprenticed to a Master Winnall, in 1707.)

Winnall Travally and Elizabeth Benbow

St Dunstan's Church, Stepney
cc-by-sa/2.0 - © Marathon - geograph.org.uk/p/6294631

Winnall Travally (bap. 15 May 1715 at St Dunstan and All Saints, Stepney), son of Thomas Travally and Rachel Winnall, married Elizabeth Benbow (bap. 5 Aug 1716 at St Dunstan and All Saints, Stepney), daughter of Richard Benbow and Elizabeth Cowtley by Licence granted on 14 Oct 1738.

Winnall Travally and Elizabeth Benbow, it appears, had four children; 

1. Sarah Travaly b. Sunday, 5 Aug 1739, Sarah Trevelly (sic) daughter of Winnall Trevelly (sic) Waterman of White Horse Street and Elizabeth, bap. 19 Aug 1739 (at 14 days old) at St Anne's Limehouse
2. Winnall Travally b. Tuesday, 11 Aug 1741, Winnall son of Winnall Travally, Waterman of White Horse Street, Ratt & Elizabeth, bap. 6 Sep 1741 (at 26 days old) at St Anne's Limehouse. Winnall son of Winnall Travally, Waterman was buried 8 Nov 1741, at St Anne's Limehouse
3. Elizabeth Travally b. Sunday, 3 Oct 1742, Elizabeth daughter of Winnall Travally, Waterman of White Horse Street & Elizabeth bap. 14 Nov 1742 (at 42 days old) at St Anne's Limehouse
4. Esther Travally b. Thursday, 27 Sep 1744, Hestor (sic) daughter of Winnall Travally, Lighterman of White Horse Street and Elizabeth bap. 21 Oct 1744 (at 24 days old) at St Anne's Limehouse

Winnall Travally, was a Waterman on the Thames, as was his father.

Elizabeth Travally reportedly "Inherited three houses on White Horse Street, Ratcliff, left to her in the Will of her uncle James Bendbow (sic) (died 1761), on the death of his widow Frances in 1766." In fact, James' Will specifies "give unto Elizabeth Travally my cousin three houses freehold in White Horse Street ...", but he was using the word ‘cousin’ in a generic sense, to mean any close relation; she was his niece as James was her father's brother.

Elizabeth Travally of Poplar died, aged 63, from 'mortification' (mortification is more technically called gangrene or necrosis) and was buried on Thursday, 24 Jun 1779, at St Dunstan and All Saints, Stepney. 

Winnall Travally of Poplar died, aged 68, of Consumption (Tuberculosis) and was buried, on 18 Jul 1783, in the Rector's Grounds at St Dunstan's, Stepney.

George Frederick Harcus and Charlotte Cooper

St Nicholas with St Mary Church, Strood
cc-by-sa/2.0 - © Marathon - geograph.org.uk/p/3568896

George Frederick Harcus (b. 1863), youngest son of John Harcus and Selina Patrick, married Charlotte Cooper (bap. 25 Aug 1867 at St Nicholas Church, Strood), daughter of Henry Cooper and Mary Ann Willan, at St Peter’s Church (now demolished), Rochester, Kent in 1884.

George and Charlotte appear to have two children:

1. Richard John Harcus b. 1888 M Quarter in STROOD Volume 02A Page 555, bap. 27 Apr 1888 at St Nicholas Church, Strood
2. Nelly May Harcus b. 9 Aug 1889 in STROOD Volume 02A Page 545

None of them can be found on the 1891 census, anywhere.

In 1901, George F Harcus (37) Barge Captain was living at 18, Cecil Avenue, Strood Intra, Strood, Kent with Charlotte Harcus (34), Richard Harcus (13), Nellie Harcus (12) and George's widowed mother, Selina Harcus (78).

In 1911, George Harcus (47) Waterman barge captain, Charlotte Harcus (43) and Nellie Harcus (22), lived at 67 Kitchener Road Strood Rochester. 

George Frederick Harcus died, aged 69, on 31 Mar 1932 and was buried at Strood Cemetery in Section K Grave No. 3 (C), where his mother was buried. 

Charlotte Harcus died, on 10 Mar 1939, she will have been 71, at 67 Kitchener Rd, Strood and was buried on 16 Mar 1939, in the same plot with her husband. Probate was granted on 9 Jun 1939 to Nellie May Slater.

• Richard J Harcus married Elizabeth R Andrews, in Strood in the 4th quarter of 1917. There is a Richard John Harcus (b. 1888) in St Olave, Bermondsey, London in 1921, but with no Elizabeth in the household. Richard John Harcus died, aged 72, in 1960. 
• Nellie M Harcus married Ernest J Slater in Strood in the 3rd quarter of 1923. In 1939, Ernest J Slater (b. 5 Jul 1885) Gentleman's hairdresser, and Nellie M Slater were still living at 67 Kitchener Road, Rochester. Nellie May Slater died in 1979, aged 90.