John Nix (abt. 1790 - 1846)

Born about 1790 in Lincolnshire, England

Ancestors

Husband of Mary Bee — married 29 Nov 1813 in Heydour, Lincolnshire, England, United Kingdom

Descendants

Died 1846 at about age 56 in Heydour, Lincolnshire, England

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Fred Nix [send private message]

Biography

John Nix is brought up and spends is whole life in Azeby, Lincolnshire, England [1]. He may have been born in Azeby or possibly in Lenton where he was baptized on June 13, 1790, in St. Peter’s Church [2]. Lenton, sometimes known as Lavington, is about eight kilometres south of Azeby [3]. His parents are John and Catherine Nix, both of whom were born in Grantham.

It is possible that his parents, John and Catherine, had a brother or close relative living in Lenton and, indeed, may themselves have lived in Lenton for a time after leaving Grantham. A couple by the name of William and Catherine Nix had four children baptised in Lenton between 1781 and 1792. And, the only population figures found, show a population of 175 in 30 houses in the 1870s which suggests that, back in 1790, two families with the surname Nix in Lenton probably meant they were related [4].

Azeby is variously spelt as "Aisby" or "Aseby" -- the modern spelling is "Aisby." In the Doomsday book it was “Asebi [5]. It is within a few hundred meters of the village of Heydour and it lies within the parish of Heydour. These villages are about two kilometres southwest of the Sleaford Golf Club. And the town of Sleaford is about 22 kilometres northeast of Grantham. This is roughly 50-to-60 kilometres east of Nottingham and maybe about the same distance north of Peterborough.

John is an agricultural labourer. This probably means he works in gangs of other labourers who, under the supervision of someone, goes from farm to farm as and when farmers are hiring.

John marries Mary Bee (1793-1867) on November 29, 1813, in Heydour in the church of St. Michael's and All Angels. The marriage record identifies the home Parish of the groom as Lenton [6]. The record also shows that the bride and one witness sign with an “X”.

John and Mary have ten children all born in Azeby [7]:

• Mary Nix 1814-1888 + (1831) George Priestley 1811-1894

• William Nix 1816-1902 + (1849) Elizabeth Staniland 1826-1915

• John Nix 1818-1897 + (1) Mary [likely Mary Parker 1818-1868] + (2) (1870) Mary Ann Gardiner 1828-1908

• Thomas Nix 1820-1909 + (1) (1847) Sarah Clarke 1820-1853 + (2) (1854) Elizabeth Curtis 1837-1872

• George Nix 1823-1891 + (1844) Elizabeth Smalley 1821-1909

• Elizabeth Nix 1825-1902

• Sally (Sarah) Nix 1827-1891 + (1857) George Quiningborough 1835-1893

• Joseph Nix 1829-1906 + (1) Elizabeth C. Smart 1839-1882 + (2) Evaline V. Unknown c1844-?

• Charles Nix 1831>1911 + (1856) Charlotte Broughton 1835>1911

• Alice Nix 1835-1889

The family disperses. Mary Nix and George Priestly (or Priestley) sail to Australia in 1848. William Nix and Elizabeth Staniland sail to New York in 1852 and then make their way to Canada West. They are accompanied by Joseph Nix who stays in New York State and marries a woman born in America. Thomas Nix sails to Australia in 1853. His first wife dies on the voyage and he re-marries. The others stay in or near to Lincolnshire: John Nix marries Mary [likely Mary Parker] and lives as an agricultural labourer and sometime butcher in Ropsley which is five kilometres south of Azeby. After Mary dies John marries Mary Ann Gardiner and both John and Mary die in Nottinghamshire. George Nix marries Elizabeth Smalley and stays in Heydour parish. Elizabeth Nix becomes a servant and dies in 1902 in Grantham. Sally (Sarah) also becomes a servant but then in 1857 marries George Quiningborough and raises a family in Ropsley. Charles Nix and his wife, Charlotte, probably stay in Heydour parish. Alice Nix also becomes a servant and, as far as is known, she never marries. At one point she is a servant to the vicar of Ryhall parish.

John and Mary can be found in the 1841 census records living in Aisby in the parish of Haydor – “Heydour” is often spelt “Haydor” in early records [8]. The record shows him as 60 years old (he was more like 51) and it shows Mary as 45 years old (she was more like 48). They have three children living with them: Joseph (11), Charles (9) and Alice (6). In addition, there is a 20 year old Ann Beat living with the family.

John dies and is buried in the church yard of St. Michael’s and All Angels in the Parish of Heydour on November 23, 1846 [9][10]. The burial record shows his age as 58 which possibly suggests a birth year earlier than 1790. Mary lives on until 1867 and she, too, is buried in the church yard of St. Michael’s.

Sources

[1] The notes from Garnet Lansdell Nix (1920-2016), the gg grandson of John, were the start of this biography. These were prepared in 1942 and were based mainly on the memory of his great Aunt Sarah Baldock (1861-1947). They provide two clues to finding John Nix in Lincolnshire: (a) he died in his middle ages and (b) his wife's name was Mary. (The most important clue, however, was the surname “Staniland” which is the maiden name of the wife of John’s second child.)

[2] http://www.freereg.org.uk/cgi/Search.pl Baptism Record: “Name:, John Nix / Gender:, Male / Baptism/Christening Date:, 13 Jun 1790 / Baptism/Christening Place:, Lavington, Lincoln, England / Father's Name:, John Nix / Mother's Name:, Catherine / Indexing Project (Batch) Number:, C02976-4 / System Origin:, England-EASy / Source Film Number:, 1450484 / Reference Number:, item 1” The Newlin/Noakes family tree at http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com shows John Nix baptised on June 12, 1790 in Lenton. Daryl Murphy added this in 2022 as a further source: Baptism: England Select Births & Christenings 1538-1975, FHL Number: 504556, 508002 recording his parents as John Nix and Catherine.

[3] Wikipedia (Aug 2023): “Lenton is a hamlet in the district of South Kesteven, Lincolnshire, England. It is situated approximately 7 miles (11 km) south-east from Grantham, and is part of the Lenton, Keisby and Osgodby civil parish . . . . The village is sometimes known as Lavington, and the name may have come from the Old English Lâfa, and the characteristic suffix -ton.[1] The village is listed in the Domesday Book as "Lavintone".”

[4] Lenton population and #houses: John Marius Wilson’s Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales, 1870-72.

[5] Wikipedia (Aug 2023)

[6] http://www.freereg.org.uk/cgi/Search.pl Marriage Record: “ County, Lincolnshire / Place, Heydour / Church, St Michael / Register Number, 1 / Marriage Date, 29 Nov 1813 / Groom Forename, John / Groom Surname, NIX / Groom Parish, Lenton / Groom Condition, Bachelor / Bride Forename, Mary / Bride Surname, BEE / Bride Condition, Spinster / Witness One Forename, Thomas / Witness One Surname, SELBY / Witness Two Forename, John / Witness Two Surname, BRIGHT / Notes, Bride &1st wit marked X / FileNumber, 17624”

[7] Children: all children shown are based on baptismal records from Heydour parish in Lincolnshire available at www.freereg.org.uk

[8] "England and Wales Census, 1841," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MQ1R-L1R : accessed 25 February 2016), John Nix, Aisby In Haydor, Lincolnshire, England; from "1841 England, Scotland and Wales census," database and images, findmypast (http://www.findmypast.com : n.d.); citing PRO HO 107, The National Archives, Kew, Surrey. The 1841 census record shows John Nix (60) living in Aisby In Haydor, Lincolnshire, England. His wife is Mary (45). They have 3 children living with them: Joseph (11), Charles (9) & Alice (6). In addition there is a 20-yr old Ann Beat living with the family.

[9] http://www.freereg.org.uk/cgi/Search.pl Burial Record: County, Lincolnshire “Place, Heydour / Church, St Michael / Register Number, 253 / Burial Date, 23 Nov 1846 / Forename, John / Surname, NIX / Age, 58 / Abode, Azeby / File Number, 16429”

[10] Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/194688940/john-nix: accessed 04 August 2023), memorial page for John Nix (13 Jun 1790–Nov 1846), Find a Grave Memorial ID 194688940, citing St. Michael's and All Angels Churchyard, Heydour, South Kesteven District, Lincolnshire, England; Maintained by Boz (contributor 48231511).

Acknowledgments

Thanks to Fred Nix for starting this profile. Click the Changes tab for the details of contributions by Fred and others.

This biography was prepared by Fred Nix, the ggg grandson of John Nix and Mary Bee in January 2016. Some editing and revisions were made in 2019. The latest version is a re-write of the original, completed in August 2023.

Newlin/Noakes family tree: The Nix family tree being created here intersects with another, large, family tree from Australia available at http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=debbienoakes&id=I19434. This Australian tree follows the two children of John Nix and Mary Bee who went to Australia (Mary and Thomas). It has no further information on William Nix (who married Elizabeth Staniland and settled in Canada West) or his brother Joseph who sailed with William but settled in New York State near Buffalo. In terms of John Nix (1790-1846) it does show him born in 1790 in Aisby but christened in a neighbouring parish of Lenton on June 12, 1790. This Newlin/Noakes family tree allows the Nix family tree to be extended back another 5 generations. However, there is a caution: some links in these 5 generations still need confirmation (it is not possible to see source notes in the Newlin/Noakes tree). Also, while this tree shows John Nix born in 1790 (he was baptised in 1790), this information needs checking as the death record in 1846 suggests John was 58-yrs old in Nov. 1846 which seems to suggest a birth year more like 1788 or 1789.