b. 1400

John Pakeman b. 1470

/ Kirstin Miller

John Pakeman, my 14th great grandpa on RootsMagic tree


Closeup snapshot, Wrabness is below the “L” in Suffolke

John Pakeman was born in Wrabness, Essex, England in 1470. Wrabness is about 60 miles northeast of London, a tiny village on the River Stour in southeastern England, UK. The oldest building in Wrabness is All Saints Church, built around 1100 in the ‘High Middle Ages’. The All Saints bell tower collapsed in the 1600s and the bell was moved to a “bell cage”, maybe with plans to fix, but this was never done, the bell in the cage is still there.

John Pakeman was a landlord, the tenement [rental property] he owned was called Butlers. His wife’s name is unknown, they had at least 2 sons named Cristofer and William any other children’s names aren’t recorded.

On August 18, 1524 John wrote his will and died shortly after. “In the name of God Amen I John pakemen being in good mynd & memory make my will in this manr… to be buried in the church yard of Wrabness … I bequeath to Thomas Colyn my servaunt a calf … I bequethe to Cristofer my son my howse and my lands called butlers w[i]t{h] all the land[e]s & teneme[n]t(e)s thereto betongyng my dett(e)s paide and my body honestly brought home the residue of all my good(e)s.”

John Pakeman is probably buried at the ancient All Saints cemetery. His gravestone from 1524 is long gone. His 2nd great granddaughter Susan Pakeman married Humphrey Wyeth [Wise] and they sailed to America in 1636. John’s 9th great granddaughter Delia Angell was in Iowa by 1856.

Sources

Humphrey Blake b. 1494

/ Kirstin Miller

Humphrey Blake 15th great grandpa on RootsMagic Tree

Humphrey Blake was born about 1494 and died about 1558. Humphrey was the 2nd son of William and ‘seated himself’ at Over Storey, Somerset, England. He married Ann, her last name is unknown, they had several children. Humphrey was a clothier, he turned wool yarns into textile, cloth for clothing, draperies and what not. Humphrey leased a manor Plainsfield, his son John bought the manor. The Blake family church was nearby, St Peter and Paul, there are parish records with births, marriages and burials of the Blake family. The church still stands. The manor, Plainfield in 1890 or so was rented by a tenant and probably just crumbled away. Humphrey’s will dated November 1558 was destroyed in the bombing of England 1940-41 but an abstract or summary survives. He left money to the church for repair and ornament. The will named his children and wife and gave money and/or possessions to each.

Humphrey was buried on December 28, 1558 at St Peter and Paul Church. In the middle passage of the church there is a monumental tablet for Humphrey and Ann. The inscription reads: “Here lyeth the bodye of Humfry Blake of Overstowey clothier deceased, who was buried the 20 day of March Anno Domini 1619 Also Ann, the wife of Humfry Blake, was here interred December ye 11, 1645”. A photo is on this genealogy website: Somerset – Over Stowey, Combe St. Nicholas by Mary Mettler at California Genealogical Society, CaliforniaAncestors.org

Sources