Frances (Acworth) Giffard (1567 - 1644)

Born Mar 1567 in Winchester, Hampshire, England

Ancestors

Wife of Achilles Giffard — married before 1588 in Kent

Died 1644 at about age 76 in Atherington, Devon, England

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Biography

Frances (Acworth) Giffard was born in Hampshire, England.

Early Years

Frances Acworth was born in 1567 at Winchester, Hampshire, England where her father George Acworth was working for the Bisphop of Winchester Robert Horne. Frances is the daughter of George Acworth and Elizabeth Horne. She was baptised^[1] at Winchester: St Swithin's, Winchester, Hampshire, England on 25 March 1567.

Interior of St Swithin over Kingsgate. Baptismal Font in middle ground

Marriage

Frances Acworth married Achilles Giffard in 1587^[2]. This marriage is also acknowledged^[3] in the will of John Giffard - brother of Achilles, where Frances is said to be 'of Kent'. She would have moved to Canterbury, Kent as a 3 year old when her father started work with Archbishop Mathew Parker about 1570. They moved into the household of the Archbishop in Canterbury and presumably stayed until the death of the Archbishop in 1575.

Frances (Acworth) Giffard and Achilles Giffard had three children^[2]: John (born 1588), Achilles (born 1593) and Elizabeth (born 1595).

Family Relationships

Frances Acworth was born in Winchester, the daughter of a prominent Protestant Theologian (George Acworth) and moved to Kent as a child and lived in the household of Archbishop Mathew Parker, who was also the religeous guide to Elizabeth, daughter of Ann Boleyn and the future Queen of England. It is of interest to note that at some time later she met and married Achilles Giffard who was from a prominent Roman Catholic family in Devon and then went to live in Devon - closely associated with John Giffard and Honor and their children. Her son John married Jane (his cousin) a daughter of John Giffard and Honor, thus confirming the close relationship between the two Giffard brothers Achilles Giffard and John Giffard. It would appear that Frances Acworth had accepted the Roman Catholic religeon and rejected the Protestant values of her father.

Achilles Giffard died in 1620 and John Giffard remembers Frances (Acworth) and her son John Giffard in his will.

Death

Frances (Acworth) Gifford died in 1644 and was buried^[4] in Atherington: St Marys, Atherington, Devon in 1644. Atherington is close^[5] to the Giffard Family home at Chittlehampton. Links between Atherington and Chittlehampton are also referred to in the Wikipedia article for Atherington^[6] on St. Marys Church.

Her eldest son John was also baptised in Atherington on 24 July 1588, reaffirming the link with Atherington.

Research Notes

The Acworth Pedigree^[2] gives four children to George Acworth. These were Richard (born 1565), an un-named daughter who married Achilles Gifford, Catherine who married Robert Barker and Fraunce who was baptised at St Swithin's in Winchester on 25 March 1567. It seems highly probable that the Fraunce identified in the Acworth Pedigree and the Frances identified in the Giffard documents are one and the same. They have been merged into the new Frances Acworth.

It may also be that Marye Barker died the next year in Marwood, Devon - just north of Barnstable. Marye was a neice of Frances. She may have moved close after the death of her husband (Pure speculation - but...) and as Frances was a Catholic, it is possible that Marye shared her beliefs.

Sources

1. ↑ "England, Select Births and Christenings, 1538-1975" Ancestry Record 9841 #3584542
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1 2.2} Acworth Family Pedigree:
   Green, W.A. and G. Brindley Acworth. Pedigree of Acworth of Bedfordshire, Etc.: Together with some notes on the genealogy. London: Mitchell Hughes and Clarke, 1905. FamilySearch. See also this space page: Acworth Pedigree
3. ↑ "Giffard Family Bloodline" https://www.sercombebloodline.co.uk/section835020_369285.html
4. ↑ "Atherington : St Mary : Parish Register", FreeReg on-line database accessed 14 June 2021 for Frances Giffard. https://www.freereg.org.uk/search_records/5817d4d3e93790ec7571f3b1/frances-gifford-burial-devon-atherington-1645-03-15?locale=en
5. ↑ "Google Map for Atherington" https://www.google.com.au/maps/place/Atherington,+Umberleigh,+UK/@51.0318385,-4.0079417,12.5z/data=!4m5!3m4!1s0x486c37783693fc25:0x5bb5fd699e3d6a3b!8m2!3d50.9906914!4d-4.0091515?hl=en
6. ↑ Wikipedia contributors, "Atherington, Devon," Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Atherington,_Devon&oldid=946740545 (accessed July 12, 2021).