The curious case of the disappearing Lamorran Wennens

[spikeharwood]

Episode One: The first ever question about Lamorran

Parish: Lamorran
Timeline: 1611

It was a dark and stormy night.
Parish registers appear to have survived from that date.
There lived an Oliver Wennen in the parish at that time.
The first entry in any registry for the family is on 25 July 1613 when Oliver marries Tamzen Davy.

They have the following children. Each birth was a significant event, in all probability increasing the population of the tiny parish by as much as 5%.
Elizabeth WENNEN 1613 to Olyver ; note (1)
Jane WYHAM 1615 to Olyver and Thomysin; Jana bur 1637 dau of Oliveri
Sybbell WINNAN 1618 to Oliver; Sibilla bur 1619 dau of Oliveri
Wilmus WENNAN 1620 to Oliveri and Thomasinae; note (2)
Johes WENAN 1623 to Oliveri; note (2)
Charitae WENNAN 1626 to Oliveri and Thomasinae; possibly Cherathie bur 1630
Petrus WENNAN 1633 to Oliveri and Thomasinae; possibly Peter bur 1674

(1) there is an Elizabeth bur 1630; OPC says "dau of William". I cannot read the entry on Family Search as it is too faded. If that's the entry transcribed by the OPC then it could equally be read as dau of Oliver.
(2) cannot find deaths for Wilmus or Johes, although there is a marriage of Johines WENMAN/WENMON to Katherina Best in 1652 (she is bur 1683 - no children?)

Tamsen is bur 1671 and there is an unknown John bur 1628.

There is an inconvenient gap between the 1626 and 1633 baptisms. There are also no children named after the parents. There are several members of a VERMAN family living in the parish at the same time. The OPC has transcribed a double baptism in April 1629 as Oliver and Robert, sons of Oliver VERMAN. The actual entry can be seen here
tinyurl.com/jdnwykf
and it looks a little more like Wennan to me. Also a bit later these two boys are having Wennan children of their own.

I will await any comments before I continue with the second exciting instalment.

[Cornish Terrier]

Spike - the first entry you query regarding the burial of Elizabeth is rather difficult but I would suggest that the OPC is reading the surname and deciphering it as 'William'. It is compromised a little by the double 'f' from ffebruary on the line above which I think gives the impression of a 'll' entry but I do think that particular word is the surname which could easily be interpreted as 'Winnen'. Prior to that there is something else that might be the father's forename but it is even more difficult to read.

The double baptism in April 1629 - I read the surname as being probably Winnan. It certainly appears to begin with 'Wi' and ends with 'nan' but a dark mark compromises the middle section.

As you said, Lamorran is a very small and quiet Parish so if you suspect there may have been more children in the period 1626-1633 then I would suggest looking at some of the nearby Parishes. St Michael Penkivel, Philleigh, Merther, Ruan Lanihorne, Cornelly and Probus surround Lamorran with only Probus being of any size.

CT

[spikeharwood]

Thanks, as always, for your thoughts CT. I had checked the surrounding parishes but had another look but found nothing. I did find John and Richard Winnon at Merther in the Hearth Tax returns (1664?).
I'm curious as to what this lot is doing in Lamorran. At least Oliver is not on his own with the other two thereabouts. There is a thriving Winnen family at Breage. Maybe this is an offshoot from them, but travelling to settle in another parish would not seem to be all that convenient.
The Breage family Winnan, Wynan, Wynning are direct ancestors of mine. Edward Wenan bpt April 1678 is my 7th ggrandfather (mind you, for some reason he is not on OPC although his entry in the register is quite clear.) His parents were John/Johes W and Catern Clise. John's parents (he bpt 1635) were Petrus W and Maria Harry. No bpt record for Petrus but if he was the brother of Jana Wynning (bpt 1605), then Jana's parents Johannes Wynning and Margeria Johannis were my 10th great grandparents.
Of course, I'm very keen for these families to be closely related!

[Cornish Terrier]

Not much more I can offer at the moment. I did check the CRO Catalogue for Wills but there are none for Winnen (var.) at Lamorran. I also began a search for Wills for anyone named Oliver Winnen but the possible variations of the surname make it awkward and my brain just can't cope with that one at right now! It would be much easier if the catalogue search was based on the soundex system.

CT