Thomas Wickenden (1691 - 1742)

Born 1691 in Tonbridge, Kent

Ancestors

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Biography

No biography yet.^[1] Can you add information or sources?

• Fact: Christening (01 OCT 1691) Tonbridge,Kent,England

Parents listed as Thomas and Mary Martin. They had two other children in Tonbridge.

Situated only 12 miles from Cowden, Tonbridge was a nearby village with a substantial population. It is perhaps not surprising that Wickendens found spouses and raised children there starting at the end of the 16th century. The first 5 parish records for Tonbridge are for marriages of Wickenden women to the men of Tonbridge. There are a total of eleven marriages, 9 of which are of Wickenden women. Since women typically would marry in their home parish church, it is possible that their families had already moved to Tonbridge and that since they were raised there, they were married there. There is also only one church mentioned for one christening, but the date is 1790, so perhaps this is the one church in the parish – Mount Ephraim-Lady Huntingdons or a mistake?

One of the marriages is to John Martin and another may be to Mary Martin (she is listed as spouse although the event is listed as a birth) suggesting that a Martin family may have been close friends of the Wickendens. Twenty-eight years later a Mary Martin christens the first of four children: this Thomas in 1691, Mary in 1694, Frances in 1701, and another Mary in 1704. It is possible that she is related to John Martin and to the same person who was born, married or gave birth a generation earlier.

Surprisingly, although the first of the Wickenden events in Tonbridge were in the 1590’s, it is not until the middle of the next century that christenings are recorded. Over the next 100 years, there are a total of 38 christenings and 32 families mentioned in Tonbridge parish records. 22 of these families are Wickendens and the other 10 are in-laws by marriage. In total, there are a total of 65 children christened by 21 Wickenden families. 11 marriages are also recorded.

Clearly the Wickendens living in Tonbridge are an early, substantial branch of the family.

Sources

1. ↑ Profile created by Thomas Wickenden through the import of NIGEL WICKENDEN [2240].ged on Jan 25, 2020. This comment and citation should be deleted after a short biography has been added and primary sources have been cited.

• "Family Tree," database, FamilySearch (http://familysearch.org : modified 20 April 2020, 06:59), entry for Thomas Wickenden(PID https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/4:1:L8YZ-Y4Y); contributed by various users.
• International Genealogical Index (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) 1993 Edition - Version 3.02