Richard Denchfield, labourer of Whitchurch, wrote a will in 1749, probably from his death bed a day or two before he died in early October. His estate, probated on the 28th of that same month, consisted of no inventory (Note 1). He was survived by his widow, Mary Cheshire, and their only son, 11 year old Thomas. It’s not clear what happened to the widow Mary, although there is a record of a Mary Denchfield marrying Thomas Rickart in Whitchurch in 1752 (Note 2). Richard’s son Thomas grew up to marry Mary Henley on 15 July 1762 and fathered 10 children. Who was this Richard, labourer of Whitchurch? I suspect he was the son of Richard Denchfield and his first wife Elizabeth, baptized in North Marston on 12 June 1709. That Richard was a farmer in North Marston, likely the son of ironmonger John and Parnell Denchfield. The elder Richard had inherited his father John’s house (…more)
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