Tradition of Nonconformity in Essex

A basic knowledge of Protestantism, Catholicism, and the laws of England that governed religious observance before 1800 provides context and guardrails to place individuals securely into households.

According to Michael Watts in The Dissenters, Essex has always been strongly nonconformist (The Dissenters Volume 1, page 509.  Watts, Michael. Clarendon Press, 1978).

The county of Essex had the highest number of Independents in England, the second highest number of Quakers after London, and was a stronghold of Particular Baptists and General Baptists.  Essex had the 7^th largest population of Presbyterians.  Devon with 18,220 had the highest number of Presbyterians.

Anglicans versus Catholics

Prior to King Henry’s 1538 Act of Supremacy, England was a Catholic nation.  The establishment of the Church of England as the state religion created conflict between England and Catholicism.  In the sense that the Church of England rejected the Pope in Rome, the Anglican Church can be described as a Protestant church.  Perhaps a more accurate description is that the Church of England is the English version of Catholicism but modified by the Book of Common Prayer.  The Reformation culminated in a second wave of conflict in England, as Protestants dissented from both Catholicism and the Church of England. Between 1650 and 1800, the term “nonconformist” had two meanings, one broad and another narrow.  The term could mean anyone who dissented from the Church of England.   In the alternative, it could mean all dissenters except Catholics.  Catholics were called Papists, Recusants, or Nonjurors, plus described as Popish or Romish. The 1689 Act of Toleration did not extend religious freedom to Catholics and Unitarians, these religions remaining prohibited.

Persecution

Dunkeld Uprising of 1689

Persecution of Catholics began in the 16^th century and continued until the early 19^th century.  Although the Protestant movement began in the 16^th century, the Baptists, Independents (Congregationalists), and Presbyterians were not targeted with legislation in England until the mid-17^th century.  The events and conflicts of the second half of the 17^th century laid the foundations for modern British government.  A good illustration is the contrast of John Locke and Oliver Cromwell. 

 John Loke (1632-1704) was born in Somerset but resided in High Laver, Essex towards the end of his career.  His liberal political ideas and theory of a social contract continue to influence Western democracies.  Like his contemporary Oliver Cromwell, John Locke was a Puritan.  The English Civil Wars (1642-1651) and their aftermath of social unrest, however, drove these men in opposite directions.  Oliver Cromwell resolved to clean society of its errors as his saw them, leading him to support legislation to persecute Catholics.  In contract, John Locke argued that the lessons of the English Civil Wars taught the need for religious freedom and tolerance, which principles were adopted in the founding of the United States.   The Methodists were not persecuted because they did not formally organize as a church until the 19^th century.

The level of religious conflict ebbed and flowed.  The relations between Catholics and Anglicans depended on the local authorities such as the parish priest.  In important ways, Nonconformists lived peaceably with their neighbors in many parishes and most of the time.  In Essex, however, there were three periods of intensified persecution.  From the Act of Uniformity in 1559 until 1605, Catholics were martyred.  During the 15 years after 1620, Quarter Session records show that authorities were zealous to impose fines and intimidate those failing to attend the Anglican church. The two decades prior to the Act of Toleration was a period of strife for all of England.

Nonconformist Parishes

Maldon Quaker Meeting House

From 1550 until 1850 the center of Catholicism in Essex was the seat of the Lord Petre in Ingatestone and Thorndon Park.  Other important parishes for Catholicism survived under the protective influence of Lord Petre, such as Brentwood, South Weald, Colchester, Navestock, Kelvedon Hatch, Stondon Massey, Barking, and Childerdirch.

While Protestant Meeting House were scattered throughout Essex during the 18^th century, a few parishes are particularly noteworthy. The first established Baptist congregation of England was in Colchester.  John Robinson was the beloved pastor of the Leyden Baptist church.  Leyton is now part of Greater London.  William Brewster sailed for the new world in 1620 with a portion of the Leyton congregation. 

After arriving in the America, they remained in contact with their mother congregation in  Leyton (The Dissenters Volume 1, page 51.  Watts, Michael.  Clarendon Press, 1978).

“General Baptists … became fairly numerous in the clothing towns of northern Essex” with thriving congregations into 17^th and 18^th centuries (The Dissenters Volume 1, pages 14 and 355.  Watts, Michael.  Clarendon Press, 1978).

The leadership of the Independent Church movement was shouldered by the capable John Owen, who was the  vicar of Coggeshall.  “His rise to eminence had begun in 1648 when, during the siege of Colchester, he had ministered to the parliamentary army and had won the friendship of both Fairfax and Ireton.  (The Dissenters Volume 1, page 134.  Watts, Michael.  Clarendon Press, 1978).

Brentwood and Rookwood Hall near Abbess Roding became important gatherings of Presbyterians.

Marriage Act of 1753

The establishment of a state religion mandated marriages to be performed in the presence of a clergyman of the Church of England.  To avoid this requirement, nonconformists married in secret.  The Marriage Act of 1753 added an additional requirement that all legal marriages had to be performed in an Anglican parish church, except for Jews and Quakers.  Until the Marriage Act of 1836, which made it legal for Nonconformist and Papists to marry in their own place of worship, London destination weddings were popular among nonconformists, particularly among Catholics. In London, a couple could marry in a foreign embassy in secret, and then attend an Anglican ceremony to make the marriage legal.

Wood Surname of Essex

If you  are reading this, then you are interested in the Wood surname.  After twenty five years of research, our files contain thousands of documents and have built trees for several family lines that we want to share.  The collection includes transcriptions of  parish records, land records, Wills, and Quarter Sessions.  Our research is at the stage that requires more eyes on it to find the tentacles that reach beyond the dataset we have assembled.  There is a good chance we can help each other, if we start talking and exchanging information.

Invitation

You can always peruse woodsurnameofessex.com to learn more about the Wood families of Essex.  To fully join the conversation, however, you need to share information about “an anchor ancestor,” a member of a Wood family that resided in Essex before 1852.  Why 1852?  Because many researchers get stuck at the 1841 census, which has less information than the 1851 census.   What kind of information?  A name plus a birth, marriage or death year is good start.  If you can share where your ancestor lived, their trade, or their religion, the chances increase that our community can help further your research.  Today many people do not attend church, but before 1852 most people were in pews on Sundays.  Because a large percentage of Essex was nonconformist, sharing your ancestor’s religious leanings can be very useful. If your are uncertain about exact dates and places, you can always share family stories even if you are uncertain about exact facts. 

Research Challenge

During the 20^th century the surname Wood was the 26^th most common surname in England, the 53^rd most common surname in Scotland, and the 78^th most common surname in the United States.  On the 1841 census 53,347 individuals are enumerated with the surname of Wood in the counties of  England. Of the total, 6,376 resided in London and a scant 1502 resided in Essex, which about 300 households. If you are like me, researching your Wood line is like looking for one tree in a forest.  There are always more questions than answers.  Are all the Wood families in a particular parish related or is there more than one clan in the parish?  How long have these Wood families lived in the parish?  When did they arrive in the parish?  What is the research strategy when parish records are missing?  To answer these types of questions, online groups are emerging to focus on a locality, such as our effort on Essex. Large genealogical sites have loads of records but lack the leverage of many eyes on one county.

Nonconformity

Thomas Wood (1719-1783), the Abstemious Miller of Billericay

Because my ancestors in Essex were  Catholic, my research required ingenuity.  Essex has a tradition of nonconformity.  Between 1600 and 1850 about 30% of the population was nonconformists, which adds a wrinkle to the research of households in Essex, even for the research of Anglican families. 

My research progressed to include bottom-up and top-down analysis.  By bottom-up I mean tracing lines from 1841 back to 1680.  By top-down I mean tracing records from about 1550 to about 1640.  Most parishes have a gap in records between about 1640 and 1680.  To separate nonconformists and Anglicans residing in the same parish, I started building family trees for lines that are not my family, which helped to interpret marriages and burials.  By these methods of logic and evidence I have traced my family lines from 1840 back to 1620.  I sincerely hope that my research can help you.

What is a Seisin?

Seizin means “to possess a property” under the medieval Manorial or Signorial system of ownership. During the first days of feudalism, the “livery de seisin” was a medieval ceremony for “delivering possession” of property titles. The feoffer (the seller) would give the feoffee (the buyer) a handful of dirt from the land, which was a public act that constituted a contract. In later years in lieu of a handful of dirt, a rod was handed to the new owner of the property. Rod is also a term of measurement. 40 rods equal one rood, and four roods equal one acre.

Property Records

Property records are important tools to prove relationships and discover more about the lives of ancestors. Property records before 1852 were written on large pieces of parchment, often certified with seals and ribbons. These fragile parchments are difficult to digitize. Researchers who are unable to travel to archives have limited access to the trove of information available in property records. Wood Surname of Essex has a collection of property records whose transcriptions will be uploaded to the website over time. The pace at which they will come online is limited by the time it takes to curate them and prepare them for online publication. Please contact us if you have a question about the property records of your Wood ancestor.

Manorial Courts

The “livery de seisin” was supervised by the Manorial Court. The Lord of the Manor presided over this court, which regulated matters of property use, rights, and titles. Over time the exchange of titles evolved into a regularized legal process that was administered by the Lord’s Steward. The Lord of the Manor owned an estate which was called a demesne. 

If the lands of the manor were larger than what the Lord needed for his own support, the Lord could sublease a portion of his land to a subtenant, either for a perpetual or defined period.  As the authority of the Lord was derived from the land, he also settled civil matters involving contracts and torts.

A tort is a legal term for a wrongful act that causes the claimant damages. Manorial courts were not designated to handle criminal matters. Lord of the Manor, however, could receive a Crown appointment, such as Sheriff, and so in some instances, Manorial records contain proceedings of criminal matters.

The Black Horse

In 1795 Thomas Wood took perpetual possession of the Black Horse in Pilgrim Hatch (parchment deed for the Black Horse in Pilgrim Hatch, South Weald, 1758-1857, ERO, D/DCh T19). 

The Black Horse is a Pub still in use. In 1795 the Victualler of the Black Horse was Daniel Green. The Lord of the Manor was Christopher Tower and his Steward was William Bray. The recipient of the property was Thomas Wood of Romford, who was a Pawn Broker. The sellers of the property were James Hall and Lucy, his wife. For an unknown reason, the Manorial Court requested a private interview with Lucy before completing the transaction. Wasey Sterry of Romford was appointed as the “true and lawful Deputy Steward for this purpose.” We can infer that James and Lucy Halls were also residents of Romford because Wasey Sterry interviewed Lucy in Romford.  Wasey Sterry reported to the court that after speaking privately with Lucy, he completed the transaction while in Romford. 

Partial Transcription of the 1795 Black Horse deed

At this Court, it is also found and presented by the homage that on the twenty-fifth day of March now last the said James Halls and Lucy his wife (the said Lucy being first solely secretly and apart from her said husband examined by the said Deputy Steward and thereto consenting) did out of court surrender by the rod into the hands of the Lord of the said Manor by the acceptance of the said Wasey Sterry Deputy Steward as aforesaid and according to the custom of the said Manor All that customary messuage or tenement then known by the name or sign of the Black Horse with the outhouses shop yards orchards and other appurtenances thereto belonging situate lying and being at Pilgrims Hatch in the parish of South Weald. 

And now at this Court came the said Thomas Wood in his proper person and humbly prayed of the Lord of the said Manor to be admitted tenant to all that the said messuage or tenement and premises with the appurtenances so surrendered to his use as aforesaid To whom the Lord of the Manor by his Steward aforesaid in open court granted seizin thereof by the rod to hand to hold the aforesaid premises with the appurtenances unto the said Thomas Wood his heirs and assigns forever of the Lord of this Manor by the rod at the will of the Lord according to the custom of the said manor by the yearly rent heriot customs and services before due and of right accustomed and he was admitted tenant thereof and paid to the Lord for a fine etc. and did his fealty.

(Transcription by Rosamunde Bott BA (Hons) Tracing Your Ancestors in the UK by commission of Benjamin Wood.)

An Enclave

Distribution of Spellings

Soundex

Wood versus Wade

Research Guidance