Hugh Buckner (abt. 1559 - abt. 1629)

Born about 1559 in Cumnor, Berkshire, England

Ancestors

Descendants

Died about May 1629 at about age 70 in Fisher, North Mundham, Sussex, England

Biography

The Cumnor parish registers record Hugh's marriage to Anne Graye or Scaye (readings vary) on 13 Nov 1585. Their daughter Elline was christened in St. Martin's Parish Oxford in 1587. Several old sources claim that he had several children christened in St. Aldates Parish Oxford in 1575, 1581, and 1590, but christening registers for that parish prior to 1678 have been lost except for excerpts in Wood's Survey of the Antiquities of the City of Oxford, which does not list them.^[1] The first supposed christening in 1575 is prior to Hugh's marriage, as well as 10 years prior to the end of his apprenticeship, so they are likely to be part of an identified set of forged data.

Hugh was admitted to the freedom of Oxford as a haberdasher on 20 Sep 1585 (note, just a few months before his marriage), elected to the Common Council of Oxford in 1588, chamberlain in 1589, 90, and 91, and bailiff and other assorted offices every year from 1592 to 1600.^[2] In July 1601, his uncle, 3-time mayor Thomas Smith died, and Hugh apparently never held a city office afterward.

Hugh was listed as a son in the 1609 will of John Buckner of Botley, which establishes his father's identity.^[3]

There is an administration of Hugh Buckner, d. 1629, of Northmundham, Sussex, England who had a widow named Anne Buckner.^[4] Since Hugh is known to have married an Ann, it's fairly likely that this is the administration of the estate of the present Hugh Buckner, but the existence of his cousin Hugh, son of his uncle Richard, allows for some uncertainty. Nevertheless, the expected age and disappearance from Oxford fits well with the idea that Hugh left Oxford, moved south, and died at around the age of 70 in Sussex. This Hugh appears to be the ancestor of many of the later Sussex Buckners.

A North Mundham burial of an unnamed "Bucknar of Fisher" at St Stephen on 8 May 1629 is probably Hugh's burial ("of Fisher", probably referring to the hamlet of Fisher in North Mundham). This is followed by a 3 Oct 1629 burial at the same church, of an again unnamed "widdow Bucknar of Fisher", probably Ann Buckner.^[5]

On 30 May 1613, a John Buckner married Alice Coulden in West Wittering, Sussex. They apparently lived in Heyshott, Sussex, as their son Nicholas was christened there on 1 Mar 1613. An Alice Buckner married John Simson in Heyshott in 1612 as well. These could be Hugh's children. John perhaps moved to Kirdford, Sussex by 1618 when a daughter Ane or Annes was christened. A North Mundham burial of a "Joseph Bucknar", son of John, on 30 May 1630 suggests that Hugh probably had a son named John who lived in at parish around the time of Hugh's death. Several other burials of John Bucknar's children follow, William (1633), Francis (1638), unnamed (1638), and finally on 12 Apr 1640 burial of an unnamed wife of John.^[6] He seems likely to have been the same John Buckner who witnessed the wills of Henry Chatfield of North Mundham in 1636 and Henry's widow Jane Chatfield in 1638,^[7] less than a decade after Hugh's death in the same parish.

A possible reference to this Hugh Buckner is in the will of Richard Ashmore of Lambeth, victualler (8 Oct 1616) who left to "my late servant Hugh Buckner the 'caliver' with the bandoliers". A Hugh Buckner witnessed this will as well.^[8] However, this was more likely his younger cousin Hugh Buckner, who lived in Lambeth in 1621.

Research Notes

Hugh is listed in various internet trees, cf. http://trees.ancestry.com/rd?f=document&guid=a97e4f14-cee2-4a34-8de4-4d782ad42c6d&tid=23363295&pid=1689292818 and http://trees.ancestry.com/rd?f=image&guid=781da1a6-73c5-4799-a7cc-cfb24c64a1b5&tid=23363295&pid=1689292818

Most of these however are tainted so heavily by fraudulent information in Crozier^[9] that they are generally useless unless they directly cite primary sources. In particular it should be noted that the three "St. Aldates" christenings attributed to children of Hugh Buckner on p. 6 of Crozier do not exist. Similarly, none of the "St. Mary's Parish" register entries cited in p. 6 can be found in any known parish registers, and should be considered to be probable forgeries. Note that this is probably not simply an honest mistake, but rather someone seems to have fabricated this information and more and sold it to one of the coauthors of Buckners of Virginia under the pretense that it had been researched in England.

This profile was originally attached to William Buckner of Botley as the father but since Hugh isn't mentioned in either William's will or William's wife's will, this connection was clearly erroneous (this idea probably was popularized by Encyclopedia of Virginia Biography v. 5,, L.G. Tyler, ed., Lewis Historical Publishing Company, 1915, p. 1060, which derives from Crozier's tainted data). William's sons John Buckner of Botley and Richard Buckner both had sons named Hugh though. Since John's son is far more noteworthy and was clearly the bailiff of Oxford mentioned in Tyler, I am treating this profile as if it was John's son Hugh.

The other Hugh Buckner was christened in Cumnor parish in 1589, the son of Richard Buckner. There is a license granted to a Hugh Buckner aged 30 residing in Lambeth and his daughter Mary Buckner aged 2 to go "beyond the seas" to Haarlem with his wife "a dutchwoman".^[10] Given the 1589 christening, this would appear to be a fairly close match (within 2 years), so the second Hugh Buckner moved to Lambeth and was alive as of 1621.

Sources

1. ↑ Anthony à Wood, Survey of the Antiquities of the City of Oxford: Composed in 1661-6, Volume 3, Oxford Historical Society at the Clarendon Press, 1899, p. 199-200 Google Books
2. ↑ H.E. Salter, Oxford Council Acts: 1583–1626, Oxford, England, UK: Oxford University Press, 1928
3. ↑ Will of John Buckner, prob. 1609, Berkshire Record Office, Archdeacon Berks. wills reg. K 496, see Cumnor Will Summaries
4. ↑ West Sussex Record Office, Wills and Admins., Register 3, G 107 1629
5. ↑ "England, Sussex, Parish Registers, 1538-1910", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:Q2QQ-ZDC3 : 12 August 2016), Bucknar, 1629.
6. ↑ See Sussex Burials, www.findmypast.com
7. ↑ Elizabeth French, "Genealogical Research in England," The New England Historical and Genealogical Register Vol. LXX, The Society, 1916, p. 58-9 Google Books
8. ↑ Origins.com, Surrey & South London Will Abstracts 1470-1858, Accessed 2 Oct 2010 (now FindMyPast.com), from the volumes published by the West Surrey Family History Society, V. 9, p. 341, London Metropolitan Archives Catalog Nos. DW/PA/7/9 ff.195v-196r; DW/PA/5/1616/4
9. ↑ W.A. Crozier, W.D. Buckner, and H.R. Bayne, The Buckners of Virginia and the Allied Families of Strother and Ashby, Genealogical Association, 1907, p. 5 ff Google Books
10. ↑ UK National Archives , Registers of Licences to pass beyond the seas, E 157/27 folio 43 (1621), findmypast.com

Acknowledgements

• WikiTree profile Buckner-128 created through the import of Paula's family 5-28-2011.GED on May 29, 2011 by Paula Marksman.