Hugh Blood (abt. 1543 - bef. 1623)

Born about 1543 in Dalbury, Derbyshire, England

Died before 3 Dec 1623 before about age 80 in Dalbury, Derbyshire, England

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Biography

Hugh was the youngest surviving son of Thomas Blood, possibly by Agnes, his father's wife at the time of his death. Robert was likely born in Dalbury, Derbyshire where his father resided, and where he speaks in his will of previous generations of his family having been buried (see below).

Hugh is first known from his father's 1558 probate entry,^[1][2] in which he is listed last of Thomas' four sons, meaning he was the youngest. That he was named an executor of his father's will means, by law, he must have been at least 17 years of age, but it's known that a certain amount of overlooking was done of underage executors as long as they were "close enough" in age. Therefore, an age of 15 years at the time of his father's will has been used to estimate his year of birth.

He is likely the Hugh Blood who conducted the 18 Jan 1588 probate inventory of Edmund Blood of Makeney in Duffield parish. The rarity of the name (this profile is the only Hugh Blood found anywhere in the Midlands in the 16th century) and Edmund of Duffield's connections to Dalbury make it difficult to imagine it could be any other Hugh Blood.

On 1 Aug 1588, Elizabeth Blood, wife of Hugh Blood, was buried at the church of All Saints in Dalbury.^[3][4] Even more so than for the case of Edmund Blood's probate inventory above, the extreme rarity of the name combined with the fact the event takes place in the parish where we know Hugh resided makes it as close to certain as we can get that Elizabeth was the wife of this Hugh Blood.

Hugh's second wife, Joan, would have been the mother of the majority of his children listed further down in this biography. Given that the first of these children, the first William, was born in Feb 1590, Hugh must have remarried to Joan not later than May of the previous year, 1589.

We also know from Hugh's 1620 will (see below) that he had outlived at least two wives, so between the children born after Elizabeth's death and this reference from his will, we know there had to be a second spouse. But no marriage record can be located and no baptismal record for any of Hugh's children name the mother.

On a register of 16th and 17th century church officers of the Parish of Dalbury Lees, which comprises the third page of the original parish record book, Hugh Bloud is listed as a parish officer (possibly a churchwarden) for the year 1615. Later on the same somewhat confusingly-organised page, he is listed as serving again (or perhaps previously) as a parish officer sometime between 1612 and 1617.^[5]

On 10 Jul 1620, Hugh wrote his last will and testament,^[6][7][8] even though he was at that time "in good health and of perfect memorie at the making." Early in his will, Hugh, identifying himself as a yeoman of Dalbury, made a request of particular interest -- that he be "buried in the church yard of Dalbury aforesaid (i.e., the churchyard of All Saints) before the porch door near unto my father, mother, and wives and other kinsfolk there before time buried." From this we can discern that:

• Hugh was from a multi-generational Dalbury family, a conclusion reinforced later in the will by his request to "be brought to the church and grave in some orderly fashion as my ancestors have been."
• Hugh was from a well-off Dalbury family, as burial "before the porch door" was both a prestigious and expensive location in any English churchyard, yet his parents, his wives, and his "other kinsfolk" were all buried there.
• At least two wives had predeceased him.

Another important genealogical detail to be gleaned from the will is that Hugh was not married at the time of his death, otherwise he would have been required to provide for his wife's "widow's third" had there been one still living.

Hugh's will also names seven people he identifies as sons or daughters. In the order in which they appear in the will, these are:

• "My daughter Anne Granger."
• "My sonne William Bloude."
• "My sonne Thomas Bloude."
• "My daughter Margaret Mason."
• "My daughters Elyn Yates & Kateren Bloude & Anne Bloude" (strikethrough from original)

Hugh amended his will on 12 May 1623 and the will was subsequently recorded for probate on 3 Dec 1623, meaning his death came sometime between those two dates.

Some of the children in Hugh's will are also found in other Dalbury parish records; some of his children do not appear in his will but appear in the parish records; and others do not appear in any surviving records. The following are all believed, with a high degree of confidence, to be children of this Hugh Blood:

1. "My daughter Anne Granger" is very likely the Anne Bloud who married Robert Granger on 6 Nov 1604 at All Saints in Dalbury.^[9][10] Given that this was her first marriage (marriage entry in maiden name) and given that the average age of first marriage for women in 17th century England was 25, this places her birth at about 1579. That means she was a daughter of Hugh's previous wife Elizabeth and was not a full sibling of the other children listed here. That she was significantly older than his other children would explain why her father addressed her first in his will.
2. William Blood, a son of Hugh Blood, was baptised in Dalbury in Feb 1590 (corrected NS/Gregorian year).^[11] This same William Blood was buried about a month later on 30 Mar 1590 (corrected NS/Gregorian year)^[12][13] and therefore cannot be the William that Hugh references in his will.
3. "My sonne William Bloude" is prominent in Hugh's will, and even witnesses the 12 May 1623 amendment to the will. No birth, marriage, or death records for him have been found, so it is impossible to say which of Hugh's wives was his mother. However, the evidence points to him having been named as a "replacement child" for the William who died in 1589, indicating he may have been born in the nearly seven-year gap between sisters Margaret and Katherine. As eldest son, it makes sense he would have been named immediately after his much older half-sister Anne even if some of his full female siblings might have been older than him.
4. "My sonne Thomas Bloude" does not match any known birth, marriage, or burial in Dalbury or the surrounding area. Clearly he was Hugh's son and, given his secondary standing in the will to his brother William, he must have been born after him; possibly in the same gap between Margaret and Katherine or perhaps after the Anne born in 1600.
5. "My daughter Margaret Mason" conforms to the Margaret Blood, daughter of Hugh Blood, baptised in Dalbury on 30 Apr 1591.^[14][15] She would have been 29 at the time of her father's will, well past the average age of marriage for women at the time (25), meaning it's historically consistent she would have been married by then.
6. "My daughter Elyn Yates" does not appear in the records as either Elyn/Ellen Yates or Elyn/Ellen Blood, or any variation of either given name or either surname. Given that Hugh was married at least twice she could be a step-daughter from a previous marriage, although typically in a will the term daughter-in-law was used to identify what we now call a step-daughter. She was probably a natural daughter of his, but from when and what mother is not apparent. Age-wise (based on her order of appearance in the will) she may fall into the same gap between Margaret and Katherine or she may have been younger than Anne. Either way, it is more likely she was a daughter of Joan than Elizabeth.
7. "My daughter Kateren Bloude" matches the Katherine Blood, daughter of Hugh Blood, baptised at Dalbury on 3 Dec 1597.^[16][17] That she was unmarried at the time his will was written conforms to the historical norm as she was only 22 years old.
8. "My daughter Anne Bloude," though struck out in the will for some reason, clearly existed. She is very likely the Anne Blood, daughter of Hugh Blood, who was baptised at Dalbury on 23 Nov 1600.^[18][19][20] She was 19 years old and also unmarried at the time of her father's will. Note that giving multiple siblings the same name (in this case, a second Anne) wasn't uncommon in 16th century England.^[21]
9. Grace Blood, the last known child of Hugh Blood, was baptised in Dalbury on 29 Jul 1604^[22][23] and died there in Mar 1618 at the age of 13, explaining her absence from her father's will.^[24]

Research Notes

Hugh Blood, Jr: A record for another child, a Hugh Blood son of Hugh Blood also baptised on 29 Jul 1604,^[25] can be found in the FindMyPast.co.uk database. A number of issues with the FMP entry (e.g., baptism date is same as Grace's; Hugh's mother is listed as Grace) indicated this entry could be erroneous. Examination of the 1604 entries in the original parish record book^[26] has shown this to be the case. There was no Hugh Blood, Jr. son of this Hugh Blood; at least not one baptised in 1604.

Sources

1. ↑ "Staffordshire, Dioceses Of Lichfield And Coventry Wills And Probate 1521-1860," online database, FindMyPast.co.uk (https://www.findmypast.co.uk/transcript?id=GBPRS%2FSTAFF%2FWILLS%2F062119 : accessed 19 Oct 2022); data from entry -- First name: Thos; Last name: Blod; Will year: 1558; Parish: Dalbury Lees; Place: Dalbury Lees, Derbyshire, England; Series description: Registered wills and original wills, administrations and inventories, 1494-1860, and, act books, 1532-1638 for Diocese of Lichfield Episcopal Consistory Court; Piece description: Calendar of wills and admons.; Piece year range: 1494-1650.
2. ↑ Probate Entry, Thomas Blood of Dalbury, 1558 (image of original entry in probate book), FindMyPast.co.uk (https://search.findmypast.co.uk/record?id=GBPRS%2FSTAFF%2F007620604%2F00460&parentid=GBPRS%2FSTAFF%2FWILLS%2F022769 : accessed 19 Oct 2022).
3. ↑ "England, Derbyshire, Church of England Parish Registers, 1537-1918," database with images, FamilySearch.org (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:KB6P-1XV : accessed 20 Oct 2022); date from entry -- Name: Elizabethe Blood; Death or Burial Date: 1 Aug 1588; Death or Burial Place: Dalbury, Dalbury, Derbyshire, England; Spouse's Name: Hue Blood.
4. ↑ "Derbyshire Deaths And Burials," online database, FindMyPast.co.uk (https://www.findmypast.co.uk/transcript?id=R_22561722678 : accessed 20 Oct 2022); data from entry -- First name: Elizabethe; Last name: Blood; Burial date: 01 Aug 1588; Place: Dalbury; County: Derbyshire; Spouse's last name: Blood.
5. ↑ Derbyshire, England, Church of England Baptisms, Marriages and Burials, 1538-1812, image database (digital image of parish record book), Ancestry.co.uk (https://www.ancestry.co.uk/imageviewer/collections/61407/images/RS00013361_4452621-00615)
6. ↑ "Staffordshire, Dioceses Of Lichfield And Coventry Wills And Probate 1521-1860," online database, FindMyPast.co.uk (https://www.findmypast.co.uk/transcript?id=GBPRS%2FSTAFF%2FWILLS%2F066406 : accessed 20 Oct 2022); data from entry -- First name: Hugh; Last name: Blood; Will year: 1623; Parish: Dalbury Lees; Place: Dalbury Lees, Derbyshire, England; Series description: Registered wills and original wills, administrations and inventories, 1494-1860, and, act books, 1532-1638 for Diocese of Lichfield Episcopal Consistory Court; Piece description: Calendar of wills and admons.; Piece year range: 1494-1650.
7. ↑ Will & Probate Documents of Hugh Blood of Dalbury, 10 Jul to 3 Dec 1623 (image of original documents in probate record), FindMyPast.co.uk (https://search.findmypast.co.uk/record/browse?id=gbprs%2fstaff%2f007620736%2f00029 : accessed 20 Oct 2022)
8. ↑ "Index of Wills - Diocese of Lichfield and Coventry, 1600-1790," online database, Staffsnameindexes.org (https://www.staffsnameindexes.org.uk/default.aspx?RecordID=118317&Index=C&LastName=Blood&Place=&YearFrom=1600&YearTo=1650&Part=0&County=0&Gender=0&Occupation= : accessed 20 Oct 2022); data from entry -- Surname: Blood; Forename: Hugh; Place of Residence: Dalbury Lees; County; Derbyshire; Status: Yeoman; Date Will Recorded: 3 Dec 1623; Court: Lichfield Consistory Court; Reference: B/C/11.
9. ↑ "Derbyshire Marriages," online database, FindMyPast.co.uk (https://www.findmypast.co.uk/transcript?id=R_22561722742%2F2 : accessed 25 Oct 2022); data from entry -- First name: Anne; Last name: Bloud; Marriage date: 06 Nov 1604; Marriage place: Dalbury, Dalbury, Derbyshire, England; Spouse's first name: Robert; Spouse's last name: Granger.
10. ↑ "Derbyshire Marriages," online database, FindMyPast.co.uk (https://www.findmypast.co.uk/transcript?id=GBPRS%2FM%2F121059287 : accessed 25 Oct 2022); data from entry -- First name: Anne; Last name: Bloud; Marriage date: 01 Nov 1604; Place: Dalbury & Lees; Dedication: All Saints; Residence: Dalbury; Spouse's first name: Robert; Spouse's last name: Granger; County: Derbyshire; Country: England. NOTE: Date of 01 Nov in this entry is incorrect. The parish register clearly says "sixt daie."
11. ↑ "England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975," online database, FamilySearch.org (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:NKT9-MV4 : accessed 24 Oct 2022); data from entry -- Name: William Bloode; Death Date: 30 Mar 1589; Christening Date: Feb 1589; Christening Place: Dalbury, Derbyshire, England; Father's Name: Huge (sic) Bloode.
12. ↑ "Derbyshire, England, Church of England Baptisms, Marriages and Burials, 1538-1812," database with images, Ancestry.co.uk (https://www.ancestry.co.uk/imageviewer/collections/61407/images/RS00013361_4452621-00620?treeid=&personid=&hintid=&usePUB=true&usePUBJs=true&pId=3602578 : accessed 25 Oct 2022) -- digital image of the original parish register for Dalbury, entries for 30 Feb (sic) 1589 and 30 Mar 1589.
13. ↑ ""Derbyshire Deaths And Burials," online database, FindMyPast.co.uk (https://www.findmypast.co.uk/transcript?id=R_22561722690 : accessed 25 Oct 2022); data from entry -- First name: W[illia]m; Last name: Bloode; Death year: 1589; Burial year: 1589; Burial date: 30 Mar 1589; Place: Dalbury; County: Derbyshire; Father's first name: Hugo; Father's last name: Bloode; Country: England.
14. ↑ "England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975," online database, FamilySearch.org (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:NKT9-M81 : accessed 24 Oct 2022); data from entry -- Name: Margaret Blood; Christening Date: 30 Apr 1591; Christening Place: Dalbury, Derbyshire, England; Father's Name: Hue Blood.
15. ↑ "Derbyshire Births And Baptisms," online database, FindMyPast.co.uk (https://www.findmypast.co.uk/transcript?id=GBPRS%2FB%2F120001376 : accessed 24 Oct 2022); data from entry -- First name: Margaret; Last name: Blood; Baptism date: 30 Apr 1591; Father's first name: Hue; Church: All Saints; Place: Dalbury & Lees; County: Derbyshire; Country: England.
16. ↑ "England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975," online database, FamilySearch.org (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:N1TC-8M5 : accessed 24 Oct 2022); data from entry -- Name: Katherine Blood; Christening Date: 3 Dec 1597; Christening Place: Dalbury, Derbyshire, England; Father's Name: Hue Blood.
17. ↑ "Derbyshire Births And Baptisms," online database, FindMyPast.co.uk (https://www.findmypast.co.uk/transcript?id=GBPRS%2FB%2F120001802 : accessed 24 Oct 2022); data from entry -- First name: Katherine; Last name: Blood; Baptism date: 03 Dec 1597; Father's first name: Hue; Church: All Saints; Place: Dalbury & Lees; County: Derbyshire; Country: England.
18. ↑ "England Births & Baptisms 1538-1975," online database, FindMyPast.co.uk (https://www.findmypast.co.uk/transcript?id=R_932183011 : accessed 24 Oct 2022); data from entry -- First name: Anna; Last name: Bloude; Baptism date: 23 Nov 1600; Place: Dalbury; County: Derbyshire; Country: England; Father's first name: Hugh; Father's last name: Bloude.
19. ↑ "Derbyshire Births And Baptisms," online database, FindMyPast.co.uk (https://www.findmypast.co.uk/transcript?id=R_22561722724 : accessed 24 Oct 2022); data from entry -- First name: Anna; Last name: Bloude; Baptism date: 23 Nov 1600; Father's first name: Hugh; Father's last name: Bloude; Place: Dalbury; County: Derbyshire; Country: England.
20. ↑ "Derbyshire Births And Baptisms," online database, FindMyPast.co.uk (https://www.findmypast.co.uk/transcript?id=GBPRS%2FB%2F120002000 : accessed 24 Oct 2022); data from entry -- First name: Anne; Last name: Bloode; Baptism date: 23 Nov 1600; Father's first name: Hugh; Church: All Saints; Place: Dalbury & Lees; County: Derbyshire; Country: England.
21. ↑ See, for example: Galley et al, "Living same-name siblings and British historical demography," Local Populations Study Society, http://www.localpopulationstudies.org.uk/PDF/LPS86/LPS%2086%20Spring%20Galley.pdf
22. ↑ "England Births & Baptisms 1538-1975," online database, FindMyPast.co.uk (https://www.findmypast.co.uk/transcript?id=R_932182883 : accessed 24 Oct 2022); data from entry -- First name: Grace; Last name: Bloud; Baptism date: 29 Jul 1604; Place: Dalbury; County: Derbyshire; Country: England; Father's first name: Hugh; Father's last name: Bloud.
23. ↑ "Derbyshire Births And Baptisms," online database, FindMyPast.co.uk (https://www.findmypast.co.uk/transcript?id=R_22561722738 : accessed 24 Oct 2022); data from entry -- First name: Grace; Last name: Bloud; Baptism date: 29 Jul 1604; Father's first name: Hugh; Father's last name: Bloud; Place: Dalbury; County: Derbyshire; Country: England.
24. ↑ "Derbyshire Deaths And Burials," online database, FindMyPast.co.uk (https://www.findmypast.co.uk/transcript?id=R_22561722815 : accessed 25 Oct 2022); data from entry -- First name: Grace; Last name: Bloud; Age: 14; Birth year: 1604; Death year: 1618; Burial year: 1618; Burial date: 30 Mar 1618; Place: Dalbury; County: Derbyshire; Father's first name: Hugh; Father's last name: Bloud; Country: England.
25. ↑ "Derbyshire Births And Baptisms," online database, FindMyPast.co.uk (https://www.findmypast.co.uk/transcript?id=GBPRS%2FB%2F120002293 : accessed 24 Oct 2022); data from entry -- First name: Hugh; Last name: Bloud; Baptism date: 29 Jul 1604; Father's first name: [blank]; Mother's first name: Grace; Church: All Saints; Place: Dalbury & Lees; County: Derbyshire; Country: England.
26. ↑ Derbyshire, England, Church of England Baptisms, Marriages and Burials, 1538-1812, image database (digital image of parish record book), Ancestry.co.uk (https://www.ancestry.co.uk/imageviewer/collections/61407/images/RS00013361_4452621-00621)