FAMILY GROUP RECORD OF
JUSTINYAN AND ELIZABETH HUNT
Justinyan Hunt was christened 10 April 1548 in Cropredy, the son of John and Jone Hunt. He married Elizabeth Garner 20 October 1585 in Wardington, Oxfordshire.
Justinian
is a husbandman, like his father, with 3 1/2 yardlands of property. He
and his wife, Elizabeth, had nine children. Six of their children survived.
Elizabeth passed away after the birth of their last son in 1599. “The youngest
died and was buried with his mother Elizabeth in March 1599, leaving the
father to cope with two boys and four girls. Staff had always been needed
and he continued to manage in this way until his sudden death ten years
later. Justinian had attended the sick widow Toms next door, and shortly
after he had to ask the vicar, Thomas Wyatt the blacksmith, and the miller
Cross to come and witness his own will.” The Town of Cropedy;
Pamela Keegan Elizabeth was buried 31 March 1599 in Cropredy.
Justinyan
died of the plague in 1609, leaving a will and inventory of his property.
He had increased the house to include a chamber beneath the entry, an upper
chamber over the entry, a hall with chimney, a kitchen, a chamber over
the hall with a joyned bedstead, a chamber over the butterie, a kilne house
with a loft over it, and a dea house. This was one of the top farms for
the village in the turn of the 1600s. His property was worth 272 pounds.
He grew barley and "pease", and had seven cows, four horses, 63 sheep,
and swine. "The farmer Hunts lived on the Green.
They had smaller yards behind, which was amazing how Hunts fitted in their
Cowpen, grass yard and courtyard in which they had wooden buildings called
hovells with standings, lofts, they built themselves and being moveable
belonged to the tenant not the landlord. They put on the scaffold their
peese haulm, wood or straw and renewed the roof the following autumn for
by then the wood may have been used and the haulm fed to cattle and also
the straw. They had a rare bullock yard. Because the farmers could only
keep four cows per yardland they mostly kept milch cows, the calf going
to market and the milk made into cheese or butter. The few calves left
to replace the cows were kept to a minimum. They had not the land in the
Open Field to accommodate beef cattle, so it is surprising that they did
here. I can only think they had land elsewhere as well for rearing the
beef, not mentioned in Inventorys as not moveable. They could of course
have been butchers as well as farmers. No butcher has surfaced for late
16c or early 17c. Notice the rooms expanded between John and Justinian.
The latter died when a plague of some sort carried off several of the villagers.
As they went from one house to the other making wills and then inventories
they seem to have caught the "bug". It will be noticed that they came straight
in to do Justinian's Inventory. No doubt with so many dying, while they
took their leave of him they dealt with his affairs. This was "not done"
but I expect they had no alternative." Pamela Keegan
Will of Justinian Hunt Husbandman of Cropredy
Made 4 April 1609
Extracts:
My
body to be buried in the Cropredy Churchyard
Money left:
To the poorest in Cropredy
To the repaire of the Church
To the repaire of the causeway goeing towards the Town fence crosse (The "cup and saucer" town cross on the west bank of the Green. Here the people gathered to drink after cutting the meadows.)
To Alice Hunt my daughter £10 to be paid within 5 years after my decease or at her marriage
To Jane my daughter £10 to be paid 6 years after my decease or at her marriage
To Mary my daughter £10 to be paid 7 years after my decease or at her marriage
To Joyce my daughter £10 to be paid 8 years after my decease or at her marriage
Also to my daughters the one half of all my linnen divided by my overseers
To every of my daughters a coffer
That the daughters be kept in meat, drink, and apparell until honestly provided for in decent and orderly service at the charge of my Executors.
To my son William £10 at 22 years
To
my son John Hunt the Rest and Residue. He to be sole Executor
Overseers: Thomas Hollowaye (Vicar)
Edward Lumbert (Neighbor farmer)
Thomas
Wyatt (Neighbor blacksmith)
Witnessed by:
Thomas Holloway
Inventory
Taken 6 April 1609 by Thomas Holwaye vicar, William Hall, Henry Broughton,
Edward Lumbert, and Thomas Wyatt
Imprimis his wearinge Apparell
One
cloke
In
the chamber beneth the Entrye
One Presse
In the upper chamber above the same roome
one cheste one coffer one Boxe one corne trye
In the hall house
A table with a fframe two fformes one
In the kicsin (kitchen)
A head a mesh fat
In Chamber above the Hall
A Joynedbed a cubbert and Five coffers
Butterie
Ffive Barrels and a larme (vat) a tuning boule
In the Chamber over the butterie
three Bedsteads and furniture to two of the beds
In the Chamber over the Cutrie
the bed and furniture to the same (bedding)
A lofte over the Kilne house (Few had kilns for malting barley)
A fat (vat) a gige and Eight boards and a
In the Kilne House
A
Mault Mill and old barrell
In the deahouse
A cheese presse one chese frame a kneeding
In the Rickyard
A worke hovell with a
Justinyan
and Elizabeth had the following children:
1.
Joanne,
christened 7 November 1584 in Cropredy.
2.
John,
christened 21 November 1585 in Cropredy; married Elizabeth Gibbins 9 May
1610 in Cropredy; died 1641.
3.
Thomas,
christened 13 August 1587 in Cropredy.
4.
Alyce,
christened 27 February 1588/9 in Cropredy.
5.
Joanne,
christened 10 October 1590 in Cropredy.
6.William,
christened
16 August 1591 in Cropredy; married Ellin Pratt 30 December 1614 in Cropedy.
7.
Mary,
christened 8 February 1594/5 in Cropredy.
8.
Joyce,
christened 13 February 1596/7 in Cropredy.
9.
John,
born 31 March 1599 in Cropredy.
SOURCES:
Cropredy parish register; “The Town of Cropredy”, Pamela Keegan; Wardington
parish register.
If you have any additional information about
this family, please contact me at alice@boydhouse.com.