The First American Wigington
Some time ago I copied down this information to help in my research.I have searched and searched and tried to find the website again...but I can't.So I am posting this information here in hopes of stimulating discussion on the origins of the first American Wigingtons....as I spell it.
As far as I know most of this information was compiled by Ralph Wigginton...
ENJOY!
Where did the First American Wiggintons come from in England?
This most frequently asked question has no known answer, and in the opinion of some researchers, never likely now to have one.One reason for this view is that it is assumed that a fire in 1814 at The Custom House in London destroyed most of the records of emigration.There are some records in Bristol, the most westerly of the English seaports, in which William Wigginton, was mentioned in connection with apprentices being sent to VA and Nevis between 1669 and 1676.
It has been suggested by David Wigginton of Illinois, the possibility that this William is the same one who lived at Aquia Creek. The main purpose of this document is to explore that possibility and suggest the family that he came from.
A search of the records of the Church of St. Stephen, the parish church of Bristol and situated up against the river and docks, has records of a William Wigginton of that era.In 1666 Aug 17 William Wigginton married Elizabeth (surname unreadable)
1666 May 26 Samuel baptised buried May 28
1667 May 26 William baptised buried Aug. 28
1668 Aug 25 Jane baptised
1671 Feb. 28 William baptised buried Mar 6
1672 Jul 19 William baptised
1674 Feb 18 Elizabeth baptised buried 1674
1675 Nov 18 Roger baptised
1678 Aug 20 Elizabeth baptised
1689 May 7 Jane banns of marriage to Benjamin Osborn of Bristol, a Shipwright, to be married at St. Augustines.
If this is the same Jane Wigginton, it indicates that while she was still resident in the parish of St. Stephen at the time of her marriage, it is unlikely her parents were or she would have been married there.Traditionally the wedding took place in the bride's parish.The possibility thus exists that her parents had emigrated to America, leaving her behind.Maybe having already met her husband-to-be at the time when they left.
Bristol, in that era, was not a known centre for the Wigginton name, being some 75 miles or so from the edge of their " territory."This suggests that William had moved to Bristol from his birthplace.This theory is backed up because he was not a Burgess of Bristol.These were the elite tradesmen of the town, a privilege bestowed by right of family or marriage into a family.Had the Wiggintons been a long established Bristol trading family it could be expected that he, as a master shipbuilder, would have been a Burgess.
We know from later records that Wiggintons did become an established family in Bristol.
Burgess Book Indexes
1713 Ebenezer Wigginton, Gingerbread maker, admitted on payment
1727 Elisha Wiggington, Confectioner, because he had married Sarah, daughter of Peter Harris, Starchmaker 1743 Abraham Wiggington, Tobacconist, admitted as Burgess in right of being son of Ebenezer Wiggington
These Christian names are quite different from those of William's family and it does suggest that they were from another branch of the family.
Which part of England did William come from ?
We can only go on probabilities.We are looking for someone from a boat building family for it was a trade passed down from father to son.One such family came from Marlow, Buckinghamshire, on the River Thames.We know from the census records of 1871 that the father was a Coal Merchant and the eldest son a Barge Builder.The coal trade in that area was closely connected to sailing boats, being brought by boat from Newcastle on Tyne or Swansea and transferred to barges at London for transportation further up the Thames.
While adding data sent by Marcy Petersen of Carthage, Mo. to her " Marlow " family tree.I noticed there was a William, baptised April 29th 1640 at Little Marlow, the fourth son of Henry and Ann Wigginton.He is in the right age group, for marriage in 1665 and seems to have the correct background for the William we seek.
The Possible Family Tree:
John Wygenton married Alice Seamer May 28th 1599 at Great Marlow
Henrie baptised Dec. 28 1602 Medmenham(three miles upstream from Great Marlow) married Ann 1626 details not found
Robert 1627
William
Thomas
John 1628 bap 1640 bap 1644
Alice 1632 Little Marlow Little Marlow
James 1634 married (1)Elizabeth married (2)Anne Greenea
Henry 1635 1665 at Bristol 1671 at Richmond , Surrey
Mary 1637
Jane 1641
Henry baptized 1673 at Kingston on Thames {wife and marriage date unknown, buried 1722 at Kingston on Thames
Sophia married Robert Hume 1721 South Carolina
Samuel birth/death 1666
William
Roger
Henry
Mary
John
Ukn - (Grace?)
Ann.
William of Aquia Creek
We know William was given a land grant of 85 acres in Stafford County, adjacent to Hope Patent and Aquia Creek on November 21 1694.
We know from a report in the Overwharton Parish Register dated July 9th 1697 that upon returning home from work, William Wigginton found that his wife and three of his small children had been murdered by a band of Indians at an outlying building near their home which was on the head waters of Aquia Creek.
We know that William Wigginton of Stafford County made a will on November 27th 1732.A probate was obtained on April 11th 1733.
There is no indication, both in the research works of Frances Colyer and David Wigginton, of anything other than the three above mentioned Williams were one and the same person.
We know that William mentioned in his will six children, William (deceased), Henry, Mary ( Mrs Young), John, Unnamed daughter ( Mrs Russell, deceased ?), Ann (Mrs Butler).
We know from this that in 1697 the family must have comprised of at least, nine children.Thus William would not have been a young man at the time, and living another 35 years would have made him a very old man when he died.
If it was William, the Bristol shipbuilder, his wife Elizabeth would have had at least sixteen children.Samuel ( birth/death 1666), William (birth/death 1667), Jane (birth 1668, married ? 1689, Bristol), William (birth/death 1671), William (b.1672, married ? Mary, death? pre 1732 Stafford Co.), Elizabeth ( birth/death 1674), Roger ( birth 1675), Elizabeth (birth 1678) all recorded at Bristol, then ( from the will) Henry, Mary, John, Unnamed Mrs Russell, Ann, plus the three murdered children.Not an uncommon size of family, and with no name clashes, the looks of a single family.
Henry Wigington of South Carolina
We know from his will made May 27th 1722, proven December 17th 1722, that he had returned from South Carolina, where his daughter Sophia had married attorney at law, Robert Hume.They were married in St.Phillip Parish, South Carolina, in 1721.
We know Henry's mother was still alive in 1722 and called Ann.
We know that he was buried in the Parish Church of Kingston on Thames, where most of his family were buried.
We know from the IGI that an Henry was baptised December 28th 1673, at Kingston on Thames, father Thomas.
We know from IGI marriages that Thomas married Anne Greene, Dec.7th 1671 at Richmond, which is a little further down the River Thames and across Richmond Park from Kingston on Thames, and some three miles away.
It is a fair assumption that this is the same Henry and the same mother Ann as in the will.
There was an Anne Wigington baptised March 5th 1671 at St. Mary, Guildford, Surrey to Thomas and Anne.The date would be March 5th 1672 by the Gregorian Calendar, which we use today.Guildford is some 16 miles from Kingston on Thames, but rather significantly also a river town.The River Thames forks some 7 miles up river from Kingston, turning sharply north towards Marlow and keeping the name, while the south branch takes the name River Wey goes to Guildford.This suggests that it was the same couple and their living was associated with the river.
David Wigginton has suggested in his book " The Wiggintons of the Southeastern United States " the possibility that Thomas is the son of Henry and Ann of Little Marlow.
We know from the IGI that their son Thomas was baptised on November 12th 1644 at Little Marlow.
Thus, following this theory, William ( of Aquia Creek ) and Thomas were brothers. Which makes Henry of South Carolina the nephew of William.
Summary
While the Various assumptions may or may not be exactly correct, the overall picture that emerges is that some of the emigrants to VA and to South Carolina in the late 17th century came from this branch of the Wigginton family living in the Thames Valley.Almost exclusively the only Wigginton family to use the name Henry, generation upon generation.Significantly the name Roger appears for the first time in the family of William and Elizabeth of Bristol.
We know, from the sale of land to Francis England on September 29th 1664, that John Wigginton was one of the persons selling the land.
There are reports, accounts, legends, call them what you will, of two Wigginton brothers being in VA or Carolina in 1655 and coming from Ireland.One was reported to have stayed in the east.A separate report states that William Wigginton was a Baptist Preacher and attended church in Cople Parish, known at that time as Wycomico, between 1655 and 1706.The match for the William we are looking at, born 1640, Marlow, married 1665, Bristol, last apprentice sent 1676, last known record in Bristol 1678, land grant 1694, family of 16 by 1697, death in 1732, is a good match for the times and data available, with no clashes, and is worth pursuing.
Roger , the first one known with the name in this part of the family, is the correct age, and has the trade of Shipbuilder if he be the one of Cople Parish, Westmoreland Co.Doubt is only expressed because his kin were not mentioned in the will of William 1732, though Roger and Jane were long dead by that time.
Roger of Cople Parish had a brother William, mentioned as a trustee in his will.
There were two possible Williams who this could be.The one born in Bristol, England in 1672, the son of William and Elizabeth.The other, William of Cople Parish, who in his will of 1721 made a bequest to his brother Henry should he ever come back to VA.Henry, the son of William of Aquia Creek, had land bordering Aquia Creek in Stafford County, VA, where he was a Tobacco Planter.Judging by the thirteen children he and his wife Sarah had, he would have had little chance of leaving VA.Logic thus dictates that Roger of Cople Parish and William of Cople Parish were not brothers.
Background
We should always bear in mind that we are trying to compile family trees from these long gone days with only a fraction of the information needed.I have heard it quoted about the data available in England covers only about 25% of the population.It seems to be even less than this in the early settlement days of America.Where finite data is not available, judgement is needed to compile the family trees, hence some healthy division of opinion in some instances and the certainty that we cannot be really sure in these cases.
Having taken a fresh look, based on the information available and prompted by the work of other researchers, my opinions about the Wigginton families of England have widened.
Thoughts on my part of the family from the County of Rutland, have remained static.A farming people, butchers, farmers, shepherds, blacksmiths etc., some gradually spreading eastwards to the richer lands of Northamptonshire, Lincolnshire, Huntingdonshire and Cambridgeshire.Then with the coming of the Industrial Revolution in the 19th century, migrating to the industrial towns of the Midlands.
The other main cluster of Wigginton families some 80 miles to the south in London area and to the north and west of it, have amongst their numbers I believe, the early Wigginton settlers to America.The families of the Thames Valley. Some of whom it would seem depended on the river and possibly the sea, for their livelihood.A facet that that I had not considered before.
In the latter part of the 17th century, English roads were amongst the worst in Europe.Importantly however, the systematic construction of weirs and locks had made many important rivers navigable for the greater part of their length.It was thus possible to send goods to the coast from almost any part of England. The traffic by river and sea had become an important part of trade.
Gregory King (1648 to 1712 ) estimated that the sea 'constantly employing 40,000, precipitates the death of 2,500 per annum.'In one storm off Yarmouth, two whole fleets of colliers, 200 vessels in all were lost. These were the boats that brought the coal from Newcastle on Tyne or Swansea to ports around the coast and to London, where it was transferred to barges for transport up river.London was one of the world's greatest shipbuilding centres.As well as providing unrivaled facilities for the ships themselves, between Southwark and Blackwall there were over twenty docks and more than thirty repair yards.
Of the other ports, Bristol was by far the greatest, acting as a centre for the iron, coal and metal products of South Wales and the Midlands, as well as for the cloth industry of the West Country and for much agricultural produce.It also had the rich 'triangular ' trade of the Atlantic.Merchants sent their ships to the West African coast to buy slaves, sold these in America and brought back tobacco, sugar and other American products, a fleet reputed to be of some fifty vessels.I do not know if these fifty vessels were in addition to the thirty or so recorded as taking passengers from Bristol to America, nor if it included the vessels from Liverpool, which was growing as a port.
This trade by river and sea could explain the two smaller clusters of Wigginton families in Norwich, Norfolk and Exeter, Devon that existed there in the 17th and part of the 18th centuries.It could also explain how William came to Bristol.All three places have navigable rivers with natural harbours before the sea. Both Exeter and Bristol had direct connections to America.
One more interesting facet from the book 'Britain 1688 to 1815' by Derek Jarrett."In one workshop on the Thames near Marlow, brass kettles and pans were made with the help of great hammers driven by water power."
It is easy to imagine how these people transporting goods and produce to London by river barge and returning with coal and possibly some imported goods, would rub shoulders with the seagoing sailors in London docks.I am sure that stories of the grass being greener on the other side and the opportunities that abounded would have been brought back to Marlow and such places. No doubt fuelling the imagination of the younger element.This trade was not new in the 17th century but must have grown over several hundred years as London grew and could no longer feed itself.
Some indeed may have found wives during their visits to London and decided to make home there.Looking at the London records of Wiggintons in the IGI during the 17th century the majority were from the riverside parishes, which suggests it was by river they came. Interestingly the name Prudence only occurs twice, 1603 at Great Marlow and 1635 at Stepney, a London riverside parish, which does suggest a possible family link.
Ihave always understood that an Apprentice was bound to a Master for a number of years, working with and alongside that master to learn the trade.We see from 'The Complete Book of Emigrants 1661 to 1699' by Peter Wilson Coldham, entries such as the following.
On the 7th of June 1669: the following apprenticed in Bristol -Robert Jones to William Wigginton, 4 years VA.
I have never understood how William Wigginton of Bristol could have dispatched one of his apprentices to VA and expected him to learn the trade.With a fresh look it seems more probable that William Wigginton, possibly the one of Cople Parish, Westmoreland County, VA, would have sent a message to the Bristol Authorities, to find, sign up and send a suitable apprentice to him.Two were sent in 1669, four in 1672 and one in 1676 all to William Wigginton of VA.
In May 1674 two apprentices were sent to William Wigginton at Nevis, a Caribbean Island near St. Kits.Do we then have yet another William Wigginton running a shipyard there or the same one who moved there for three or four years and then returned to VA.This does leave the prospect open that he took with him his brother Henry, who stayed there.
Finally, if this little discourse does no more than to provoke further thoughts, it will have done it's job.
Ralph Wigginton, Solihull, England, April 1998
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Re: The First American Wigington