Murder in 1707

[ElizabethHerts]

My 7x-great-grandfather, Nicholas Andrew from Probus in Cornwall, had a daughter named Grace, who was baptised , 1680.

Grace Andrew married William Nance at Creed in 1703. She is stated as from Probus and he from Grampound. Their son James married Elizabeth Hennah and they were parents of Rev. William Nance, 1747-1818, Vicar of Boxley in Kent, England.

I have found some online trees for William Nance and they tantalizingly refer to the fact that he was murdered at Grampound in 1707. However, I haven't been able to find anything further. CROCAT gives me nothing. I've tried newspapers but I think it is too early.

[kiterunner]

Cornwall OPC has a burial for a William Nance at Probus, 19 May 1707, but there is no note to say how he died on the transcription.
Edit - and the Probus PR images on FamilySearch don't go back far enough.

[ElizabethHerts]

Cornwall OPC has a burial for a William Nance at Probus, 19 May 1707, but there is no note to say how he died on the transcription.
Edit - and the Probus PR images on FamilySearch don't go back far enough.

Sorry, Kate, should have said that I have seen that.
In fact, for one week I have been the OPC for Probus, and have photocopies of the registers. The register doesn't give any details apart from the burial date.

I suppose I could e-mail CRO and ask the best way to find out more.

[Nell]

Can't help Elizabeth, but do please let us know if you find out more.

[ElizabethHerts]

Nell, you would think that the vicar would mention his untimely demise.
I'll let you know if anything comes to light.

[Phoenix]

I wonder if it appears in a printed tree somewhere?

An extremely distant relation was killed when dragged off a cliff by a brace of greyhounds. A bit like being killed by a frozen chicken: an event so unlikely that I assume it must be true.

If he were murdered, and the assailant arrested, then there should have been a trial. Or do any coroners' records survive for Cornwall? Or there might be a diary for the period, or letters? If there is a VCH, it could be mentioned there, or in a local history.

[Shona]

Perhaps the info came from this rootsweb posting?

http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~nancegc/cornwall.htm

[ElizabethHerts]

Perhaps the info came from this rootsweb posting?

http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~nancegc/cornwall.htm

Yes, Shona, and another site somewhere too.

There is a folder at the Society of Genealogists on the Andrew family, but no-one knows what it contains. I'm due to go to see what it holds but can't get there for a couple of weeks. I'm not sure that it will contain anything about the Nances, though.

The line is:
William Nance (died 1707) m Grace Andrew in 1703 at Creed.
James Nance married Elizabeth Henna in 1735 at Creed.
William Nance born 1747 at Creed. Went to Peter College, Cambridge.
He married Lydia Catherine Andrew in 1776 at Ashford, Kent.
Lydia was the daughter of Rev. James Andrew and his wife Elizabeth (van Hattem).
The Rev. James was baptised in 1717 at Probus.
His parents were James and Constance Andrew of Probus.
James the elder was the elder brother of Grace Andrew who married William Nancee the elder.

So the granddaughter of James and Constance Andrew married the grandson of William and Grace Nance, and James and Grace were brother and sister.

[Olde Crone]

Elizabeth

I feel that this murder would have been mentioned somewhere, if only because Grampound is such a small place where nothing exciting ever happened, lol.

My daughter lives in Grampound and they have a tiny Heritage centre which is open two half days a week. I'll get her to pop in and ask if anyone has ever heard anything about this.

Do you have any idea what William's occupation was?

OC

[ElizabethHerts]

OC, that's very kind of you. I don't know what William Nance's occupation was but I would imagine he was a yeoman or something of the ilk. The family seem to have been yeomans.

http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~nancegc/cornwall.htm

Meanwhile, I'm going to contact the OPC for Creed, who was OPC for Probus too before I took over.

[anne fraser]

I wonder if he was a tenant of the duchy of Cornwall. I think they have 18th century records not sure it would help though.

[Olde Crone]

Elizabeth

My daughter popped into the Heritage centre yesterday but the lady on duty was a volunteer and didn't actually know much about the history of Grampound. However, she gave my daughter the name of a chap in the village who is apparently the fount of all knowledge, lol, so when my daughter catches up with him, he MAY know something.

All were agreed though - they felt that something as momentous as a murder in Grampound would have been remarked and would still be being talked about today! The fact that there is no obvious record is worrying.

OC

[ElizabethHerts]

Thanks, OC, and many thanks to your daughter too.
I did wonder where the information had come from and whether it had been substantiated.

I haven't got round to contacting the OPC yet. Very busy and at daughter's at present. It's on my to do list.

[Uncle John]

An extremely distant relation was killed when dragged off a cliff by a brace of greyhounds. A bit like being killed by a frozen chicken: an event so unlikely that I assume it must be true.

Pedant alert: two hounds make a couple; two (dead) game-birds make a brace.

[Janet]

It's threads like this make life interesting. :D

[Phoenix]

*growls at UJ*

The number of greyhounds is not mentioned but his fate is online: 'by a brase of Greyhounds pulled over a cliff and died'

Fiddle-faddling pedantry came in several centuries after his death :p:p:p

Of course, history does not record the fate of the greyhounds ;(