3. The English Ancestors

The beginning of the 17th century marked the beginning of the Early Modern period of European history; a time characterised by the Baroque cultural movement and scientific discovery. It was also a period of turmoil and upheaval, termed “The General Crisis”. The period encompassed the Thirty Years War, the Great Turkish War and the English Civil War, and witnessed the collapse of the Ming Dynasty in China, and early European colonisation of the Americas.

European explorers were voyaging far and wide, discovering new lands disclosing their untapped wealth, and the exploitation of these now began in earnest, generating great bouts of inflation through England and the rest of Europe. It was also a period rich in discovery in the Arts and Science, with such great achievers as Sir Isaac Newton, Galileo, Descartes, Rubens and Rembrandt establishing their credentials.

It is in this great period of cultural revolution, although in far more humble circumstances, that the first traces of what was to become the Frederick & Lavinia COOKSEY Family, are discovered. As has been established, COOKSEY clans, had their genesis around the Manor Cooksey in Worcestershire when, after the 15th Century, individual clans began their outward migration; they were COOKSEYs by association with their place of origin. Unfortunately, the initial spread of families was not well documented until after King Henry VIII’s edict, in 1559, began to take effect, so that the systematic keeping of family records in Parish Registers became universal.

A record of the first COOKSEY, whose lineage can be reliably connected to the Frederick & Lavinia Family, was discovered in ancient Parish Records at the church in the hamlet of Claverley, one of many small rural communities, which operated

in virtual isolation, in the English countryside. Claverley, is close to the eastern boundary of the county of Shropshire, adjoining Worcestershire. It is approximately 230 kilometres north-west of London, a considerable distance in those times. A single line in a dusty register, in an small village, became of infinite importance.

26 Nov 1635, Nicholas COOKSEY, m Anne HAWKES

This marriage record, discovered at the Claverley Church is, as far is known, the first record of his life; there is apparently no formal registration of his birth or baptism. Indeed, apart from church records of the baptism of his children, there are no other clues to his life. His date of birth is therefore speculative but a reasoned assumption can be made through other records which indicate the average for marriage, at the time, was in a person’s early twenties, so it might be deduced that perhaps Nicholas was born around 1613, and this has been adopted. Even by

The old church in the village of Claverley, dates from about 11th C.

Even by Nicholas’s time the hamlet of Claverley had acquired a rich and very ancient history. Roman army legions camped there in the 5th and 6th centuries and later the Saxons occupied much of England, including this corner of Shropshire. After the invasion in 1066, by William the Conqueror, the Norman King, he sought to put his own stamp on the country by building new churches or rebuilding the existing Saxon churches. Claverley All Saints church dates from that period.

It is most likely that Nicholas spent his entire life in Claverley. Travel over any distance was not common and people typically stayed within the district of their birth. Probably, his wife Anne and their children were also born and raised there.

It is hard to contemplate the character of Nicholas’s life. His birth coincided with the end of the Elizabethan era, the transition to the Jacobean period and the arrival of the new King James I, known also as Scottish King James VI. However the influences of such historical periods generally left non-urban areas largely unaffected so Shropshire’s rural nature would have dictated his life. Whether trade or labour, his work was almost certainly a rural pursuit as the industrial revolution was still more than 100 years hence. Residents of such hamlets might be farmers, gamekeepers, carpenters, brush-makers, or if having some education, school teachers and clerks. Wages averaged ten pence a day, about fifteen pound a year.

It is known that Nicholas and Anne HAWES had five children, as each of these is also recorded in the Parish Records. Unfortunately the dates of record is of the baptisms, not the actual birth dates, so ages can only be estimates

1. Elizabeth COOKSEY, baptised 30 October 1636, Claverley.

2. John COOKSEY, baptised 26 August 1638, Claverley.

3. Nicholas COOKSEY, baptised 6 December 1640, Claverley.

4. William COOKSEY, baptised 17 September 1643, Claverley.

5. Jane COOKSEY, baptised 29 September 1645, Claverley.

Anne is known to have died, at Claverley, in 1647, buried there on 11 March. Nicholas then fathered a further eight children although there is no record that he married again. It was usual practice, 17th Century, for the father’s name only to be recorded so the mother (or mothers) of Nicholas’s later children remains a mystery. Those children were;

6. Henry COOKSEY, baptised 30 March 1651, Claverley, buried 19 April 1651, Claverley.

7. Richard COOKSEY, baptised 7 March 1652/53, Claverley.

8. Margaret COOKSEY, born 1 May 1653, baptised 7 May 1654, Claverley.

9. Henry COOKESEY, baptised 30 November 1656, Claverley.

10. Roger COOXEY, born 18 November 1659, buried 13 May 1747, Claverley.

11. Daniel A COOKSAY, baptised 1 March 1662/63, Claverley.

12. Elenor COOXEY, baptised 23 September 1666, Claverley.

14. Thomas COOXEY baptised 12 July 1670, buried 29 May 1701, Claverley.

The alternate spellings of the surname are curious but, as noted earlier, surnames were not standardised until the eighteen century. Traditionally, entries in the church registers were made on the verbal depositions of a father and correctness depended on what was heard or interpreted by the clerk. In many cases the person providing the information on a birth or death could not read or write, so they had no ability to verify the entry and inconsistencies were common.

Some caution is also required with dates. The Julian Calendar operated in England between 1190 and 1752, whereby the new year on 25 March. Dates falling between 1 January and 24 March were recorded as part of the previous year. Thus, “1 March 1663”, was recorded as, “1 March 1662”, suggesting an event was a year earlier than in fact. In this book affected dates are written in the form “1662/1623”. In the list of Daniels’s children, “11. DanielA, baptised 1 March 1662/63, Claverley”, his birth was recorded as “1662” but occurred in the year “1663”.

Incidentally, this Daniel , Nicholas’s sixth child from his second marriage was the first recorded use of the name, “Daniel”. This was a name which was to develop some currency through later generations of the Frederick & Lavinia Family. The first born son, Henry and his wife, Elinor Fletcher, also named their first born, Daniel B. This gives rise to speculation that if Nicholas’s forebears could be traced there would likely be a Daniel, or two, among them.

It was not unusual in these times for forenames to be recycled. As well as Daniel, the names, John, Joseph, Richard and William appear in many generations of the family. After Nicholas’s time there has been a “Daniel” in every generation of the Family, except the fifth, but there were two in the sixth! The place of each successive “Daniel” is identified in the text by an alphabetical superscript.

Nicholas died on 3 March 1679, but there was no death certificate, and the cause of his death is unknown. He was buried at Claverley, as recorded in the parish record, on 9 March 1679. The record contains an interesting attestation that he was buried in a wool shroud, in place of the usual linen shroud.

Burial in a wool shroud was required by The Burial in Wool Act, 1667-1678, promulgated during the reign of King Charles II and introduced for the specific purpose of increasing consumption of English wool. From early times in England, the wool industry was a significant contributor to the national wealth and protection of this national industry was considered essential. The law decreed in part that;

No corpse should be buried in anything other than what is made of sheep’s wool only; or put into any coffin lined or faced with any material but sheep’s wool on pain of forfeiture of 50 shillings. Unless the individual had died from the plague, a body was required to be buried in wool, and an affidavit, by a magistrate or clergyman, had to be sworn accordingly within eight days of the burial.

Section of a typical entry in the original Parish Register of Claverley Church. This example, which dates from 1774, records the birth John son of John and Sarah COOKSEY.

Cooksey Manor at Upton Warren is thought to be the “birthplace” of all COOKSEY families. Early movement of the Frederick & Lavinia COOKSEY Family forebears, presumably took them from the manor at Upton Warren, through Cooksey Green and Cooksey Green Lane (which can still be found today) then on to Claverley, where the marriage of Nicholas COOKSEY, is recorded. A few generations later they had moved to Alveley.

A fine of 50 shillings was imposed where this was not done. Most burial records, of the era confirmed the swearing of an affidavit by attachment of the abbreviation, “aff”, for “Affidavit”. The Act was in force until 1814, but its enforcement and use began to decline by 1780. Some burial records were marked “pauper” but this did not necessarily imply impecunious circumstances on the deceased but that the government duty, for registration of the burial, was not paid.

he Frederick & Lavinia Family history continues through John, the second child of Nicholas and Anne. Again his date of birth is unknown but PRs confirm he was baptised at Claverley on 26 August 1638, so it can reasonably be inferred that he was born earlier that year. No other records of John’s life have been discovered but it is probable that, like his father, he lived, worked and died in Claverley.

However there are baptismal records wherein he is listed as the father, and although, sadly, no mother’s name is recorded they do at least give some substance to his existence. The convention at the time was to record only the father’s name on baptism records. John’s children were;

1. William son of John COOKSEY, baptised 28 November 1674, Claverley.

2. John son of John COOKSEY, baptised 24 March 1678, Claverley, buried 16 January 1734.

The second son, John son of John, married Ann LOWE, who is thought to have been born in Alveley. Some time during his youth John moved to Alveley, perhaps following opportunities in his carpentry trade. His occupation is known from the record of his death found in the church records, perhaps in recognition of his status as a qualified tradesman.

Like Claverley, Alveley is another small Shropshire village. It lies about fifteen kilometres to the south and is found in historical records as early as 994AD. The name is derived from the combination of a personal name (Aelfythe shortened to Alve) and the Anglo-Saxon word “ley” meaning “a clearing in the forest” or “a forest clearing owned by Aelfythe”. It is very close to the River Severn which would have a provided a convenient means of travelling to Gloucester by barge.

John and Ann had nine children all of whom were born in Alveley. Their seventh child, born in 1715, became another DanielC to be added to the record. His sister Catherine COOKSEY, the eighth child, was baptised on 5 December 1719. She was later to play an interesting but more direct role in the Frederick & Lavinia Family story.

Meanwhile the direct ancestral line continued through the eldest brother, William, son of John. While living in Claverley he married Mary in about 1693. Mary, whose surname is unknown, is thought to be from the same village but no details of her family have emerged. William, son of John and Mary raised their family there.

1. Richard of William and Mary, baptised 23 October 1694, Claverley.

2. Mary of William and Mary, baptised 6 January 1697/98, Claverley.

3. Rachel, of William and Mary, baptised 3 June 1701, Claverley.

There does not appear to be any later information on the life of the two girls, Mary and Rachel. Richard of William and Mary, married Jane (surname and origins,also unknown) at Claverley in 1717.