The Furnivalls of Sandbach

Introduction

I started researching the Furnivall family in Cheshire because I believe that my great-great-great-grandmother was Martha Furnival, born in Moreton, Cheshire, in 1797. This designation is in itself contentious: according to a genealogy in [PedigreeResource], the mother of my great-great-grandmother, Mary Ann Bennion, born in Winsford in 1830, was reputed to be Elizabeth Platt, and Mary Ann later had a stepmother named Mary.

I'm sure that this is an error, which arose because the 1851 Census shows Mary Ann's mother as Mary Benions. I now believe that this was a transcription error for Martha Bennion, whose maiden name was Martha Furnival, and that Elizabeth Platt was the mother of a completely different Mary Ann Bennion, also born in Winsford, but in 1831.

Whether or not my own interpretation or the Pedigree Resource File is true, I have nevertheless researched a great deal into the Furnivall family, which is variously spelled as ffurnevall, ffurnevalle, ffurnivall, Furnival, and Furnivall. (The ff is just an ancient way of writing a capital F.)

A Furnival genealogy website formerly existed on the now defunct Geocities. This has been restored at Reocities. It suggests that the Furnivall name is derived from the French town of Fournival.

This site normally uses Javascript for dynamic effects, but you currently have scripting disabled.

Furnivalls from the Conquest to the Crusades

Furnival arms, from Wikimedia Commons

It is likely that the first Furnivalls in England arrived from France with William the Conqueror [BattleAbbey]. The Ancestral File [AncestralFile] records the marriage of Amabel (Annabel) Furnival (b. about 1094), daughter of Osbert Furnival (b. about 1068), to Edmund Knyvett in Southwick, Northamptonshire in 1113, and the marriage of Alice de Furnival (b. about 1262), daughter of Gerald de Furnival (b. about 1243) to Thomas Foljambe in Tideswell, Yorkshire.

The Pedigree Resource File records the marriage of Gerard de Furnival to Maud de Luvetot about 1204 in Sheffield, Yorkshire. According to Sheffield's history of de Furnival, Richard the Lionheart himself gave permission for this marriage. By it, Gerard became Lord of the Manor of Sheffield. Gerard died in Jerusalem in 1219 while taking part in the Fifth Crusade. The male line of the de Furnivals continued for several generations, but died out in 1383. More at Furnival of Lincolnshire and Worksop, The Dukery and Sherwood Forest.

The Barony of Furnivall was granted to Thomas de Furnivall, son of Sir Thomas de Furnivall of Sheffield, on 24 June 1295. The Barony has continued until modern times, but has been in abeyance (unoccupied) since 1968. The continuance of the Barony is still being discussed.

I do not know of any connection between the Furnivalls of Cheshire and the Furnivals of Sheffield and Worksop, or the Barony.

A map of Sandbach and its surroundings

Early Furnivalls in Sandbach

The Furnivalls of Sandbach maintained the forenames of Randle, William, and Ellen through many generations, which can be confusing for genealogists.

Much of the following information was derived from parish records and wills preserved at the Cheshire Record Office.

Ralph Furnivall, about 1479

On 28 Apr 1479, Ralph Penketh, vicar of Sandebach, and William Berynton of Bradwell, gave a gift of land to Ralph Furnevall, son and heir of John Furnevall of Bradwell (Document D.VIII.7 at [Janus]). Randle Penketh was the vicar from 1465 to 1481 [Minshull].

Burials from 1563-1614

Burial records occur in the early Sandbach parish register for the following:

Randle Furnivall, died 1585

The earliest Furnivall in Sandbach for whom I have discovered a will was Ralph or Randle Furnivall, whose will was proved in Chester in 1585. The top of this will is very decayed, so the date and Randle's residence and occupation are not readable. His burial does not seem to appear in the Sandbach parish records for that year, but it is found in England Deaths and Burials, 1538-1991 at [FS-pilot], where it is recorded as Ranulphus Furnevall, buried 7 Aug 1585.

Randle made bequests to his wife Marie and to their two sons William ffurnevalle and Thomas ffurnevall. His widow Marie's will was made on 28 Jan 1600, and proved in Chester in 1604. This shows that Randle and Marie had further children: a son also named Randle ffurnevall, another son named Roger, and a daughter named Margrett. Also by 1600 William ffurnevall had two sons (who are mentioned, but not named, in Marie's will), and a daughter named Elline. Marie also left a small bequest to her servant Anne furnevall, but the will does not record whether the servant was also a relative. Marie was buried at Sandbach on 3 Sep 1603.

William Furnivall, died 1627

So far as I can ascertain, William, son of the previous Randle, possibly married Ellen Kent on 12 Jun 1585, and they had the following children, mentioned in his mother's will:

• Ellen, baptised 9 Oct 1586
• Randle, baptised 14 Apr 1589
• William, baptised 6 Oct 1594.

They possibly also had the following children, mentioned later as siblings in the younger William's will of 1666, but they were not mentioned in Marie's will, although Mary and John would have been living when that was written:

• Mary, baptised 12 Nov 1593
• John, baptised 9 Nov 1596
• Jane, baptised 6 Jun 1600

William's will was made on 7 August 1627 and proved in Chester in 1627. In it, he describes himself as of the Oke in the parish of Sandbach in the countie of Chester yeoman, meaning that his home is known as The Oak. This may be the farm now known as Oak Farm, now adjacent to St John's Church, Sandbach Heath, (although that church was not built until long afterwards [1861]).

The will directs that William's son Randle ffurnivall shall pay his mother (William's widow, Isabell ffurnivall) the sum of six pounds a year. Randle is bequeathed all of William's husbandry ware.

William's other son, William, received one third of William's estate, and is named executor. His sister Ellen received the remaining two thirds. There is no mention of Mary, John, or Jane.

I cannot reconcile Isabell, mentioned as William's wife in his will, with the marriages recorded in the Sandbach parish records. It appears that, in fact, Isabell died just before her husband. Isabell was buried on 20 Sep 1627, and William (senior) on 29 Sep 1627, both in Sandbach.

Randle Furnival, 1589-1662

On 23 Jun 1627 a marriage License was granted to Randle Furnival and Joan Shaw, widow, in the parish of Sandbach [Irvine-III].

On 27 Nov 1645, Randle Furnival and William Shaw of the Lake granted a 21 year lease of pastures to William Raven of Elworth. (Document D.VIII.34.i at [Janus].) The Raven family of Elworth had a long pedigree dating back to 1314 [Earwaker], but their estate passed to Thomas Hulse in 1691.

Randle Furnival, husbandman, £15 per annum, was taxed at 6s 0d in Sandbach in the 1660 Northwich Poll Tax [Lawton].

Randle's will was made on 15 May 1662, and he was buried on 19 May 1662 at Sandbach. The will was proved later the same year. In it, Randle also describes himself as of the Oke in Sandbach in the County of Chester yeoman, confirming that he is William's son. Working backwards from the marriage date and the date of the will, one might expect Randle to have been born about 1600, but the only baptism I can find (in [FS-pilot]) is on 14 Apr 1589 in Sandbach. This would mean he was 38 when he married Joan, and 73 when he died.

After a bequest of a black mare, a cow and six timbertrees to William Shaw, Randle's will leaves most of the estate to his wife Joan. But she must pay unto William ffurnivall sonne of William ffurnivall deceased the yearly summe of ffive pounds. (I think this means Randle's brother, William.) The will also bequeaths to Elinor Twemlowe wife of the said Roberte Twemlowe One potte and foure Timbertrees. This Elinor could be Randle's sister (earlier called Elline and Ellen), but in view of details in Joan's will, below, it seems more likely that she is his daughter (or step-daughter, if she was Joan's daughter by her earlier marriage). Robert Twemlowe was joint executor with Joan, and I presume he is Randle's son-in-law. William Shaw was one of the witnesses.

Randle's widow Joan lived until 1672, and was buried on 18 Dec 1672 at Sandbach. She made a will on 11 Nov 1669, which was proved in 1673. In it she leaves £12 to William Shaw of the Lake, and the same amount to John Shaw and Ann Presbury, his brother and sister. Presumably these Shaws were Joan's former in-laws by her previous marriage, before she had married Randle.

Most of her estate is left to her daughter Eleanor, the wife of Henry Proudlove, but she also leaves £3 to Eleanor's eldest son Robert Twemlowe, £10 to his brother George Twemlowe, and forty shillings (£2) to Eleanor's youngest son, John Proudlove. Henry Proudlove is the executor of the will.

These legacies imply that Eleanor had been previously married into the Twemlowe family, presumably to Robert Twemlowe, before she had married Henry Proudlove.

William Furnivall, 1594-1666

William Furnival husbandman and Ellin his wife were taxed at 1s 0d in Sandbach in the 1660 Northwich Poll Tax, and William Furnevall was taxed on two hearths in Sandbach in the 1664 Northwich Hearth Tax [Lawton].

It is possible that this William Furnivall is the one whose name appears in the list of benefactors carved into the wall of the parish church. The list is headed Original Donors to the Charity Trust, and records a donation by William Furnivall of £1.0.0. Although this list was carved in 1848, it corresponds to a list from two hundred years earlier in [Harl] MS 2176, headed Memoria Sacrum. A Catalogue of the names of all such persons as have given Legacies to the poore of the parish of Sandbach [Earwaker]. A photograph of a detail from the list appears in [Minshull].

William's will was made on 28 Jan 1661 and proved in 1666. He describes himself as of Sandbach in the County of Cheshire yeoman, but does not mention The Oak (as presumably his sister-in-law Joan was still living there). William leaves bequests to the children of his three sisters, Ellen, Mary, and Jane. He leaves some of his furniture to his brother John, and the rest of his estate to his wife Ellen. He appoints as executors of the will his wife Ellen and his loveing kinsman Randle ffurnivall of Bradwall. It is not clear whether this is his son or brother, or yet another Randle. As he specifically describes John as his brother, but doesn't so describe Randle, it may be the latter, but the will was written in 1661, before his brother Randle had died. However, he is most likely the Randle of Bradwall who is described in the next section.

William's wife Ellen made a will on 9 Mar 1674 that was proved in 1679. She left bequests to Mary, the wife of John Harrison of the City of Chester, and their son Charles; and to Ellen's brother-in-law John ffurnivall, his son Jonathan, and Jonathan's four children. The latter half of the will is extremely decayed and partly missing, but it seems to contain references to [missing] Wood, Sarah Shrigley, William Blackeamor, George Shaw and Ellen his wife, Catherine Twemlowe, Mistress Lowndes widow, Randle ffurnivall, [missing] Lowndes, and Thomas Shaw. The will was witnessed by Ra: Shrigley and S: Shawe.

Randle Furnivall of Bradwall

Randle Furnivall yeoman, £31 per annum, was taxed at 12s 5d in Bradwall in the 1660 Northwich Poll Tax, and Randell Furnivall was taxed on four hearths in the 1664 Northwich Hearth Tax [Lawton]. As he was still living in 1664, this cannot be the Randle Furnivall of the Oak.

[Earwaker] includes Randle ffurnivall gent in a list of freeholders of Bradwall township dated 1671 ([Harl] MS 2010). In a footnote, he also says: In the list of the knights, esquires, and freeholders in Cheshire in 1579, the name of William ffurnivall of Bradwall occurs. This is probably the same list that appears in [Rylands], which is a partial transcription of [Harl] MS 1424 and MS 1505.

William Furnivall, died 1673

William Furnivall was buried on 26 Aug 1673 at Sandbach [FS-pilot].

An admon will with inventory is recorded for William Furnivall of Oak in 1674 in Earwaker's Index of Wills 1660-1680, but this is no longer at Chester.

Randle Furnivall, died 1687

This Randle was married to Katherine. This may have been to Catherine Barrowe on 20 Aug 1663 at Holy Trinity, Chester. They had three children:

• Elizabeth, baptised 9 Nov 1669 at Sandbach
• Mary, baptised 28 Sep 1686 at Sandbach
• John, baptised 4 Jun 1675 at Sandbach

They may also have had a son Randle, baptised on 24 Dec 1664, but he is not mentioned in Randle's will, nor can I find a burial record, so this is uncertain.

This will was made on 30 Aug 1687 and proved in 1688. He leaves his dwelling house in Sandbach to his wife Katherine, and after her decease to his son John. He also mentions his daughters, who will inherit if his son has no heirs. His brother John ffurnivall was one of the executors.

Randle was buried at Sandbach on 3 Oct 1687.

Katherine's will was made on 9 Aug 1690 and proved in 1691. She leaves bequests to her son John and to her two daughters Elizabeth and Mary. The will is witnessed by John ffurnivall, John Bowyer, and Henry Proudlove. I presume that John ffurnivall was her late husband's brother. It seems that the will was administered by John Proudlove on 12 May 1691, who had since married Elizabeth, and was acting during the minority of John and Mary ffurnivall.

Katherine was buried at Sandbach on 6 Sep 1690.

Randle Furnivall, died 1708

The next Randle Furnivall, the son of the previous William, married Sarah Twemlowe on 28 Jun 1684 at Sandbach, Sarah was the daughter of George Twemlowe, and was baptised on 12 Dec 1656 at Sandbach. The Twemlow family is well documented in [Twemlow], and there appear to be several connections betweens the Twemlows and the Furnivalls.

St Mary's Parish Church, Sandbach

Randle and Sarah had the following children:

• William, baptised 28 Apr 1685 at Sandbach
• Mary, baptised 28 Sep 1686 at Sandbach
• Randle, baptised 11 Jan 1688 at Sandbach
• George, baptised 1 Apr 1691 at Sandbach
• Joseph, baptised 3 Oct 1693 at Sandbach.

The will of this Randle Furnivall was made on 2 May 1707 and proved on 5 May 1708. Randle describes himself as Randle ffurnival de Tax-Mere in the County of Chester Yeoman. But Randle's will also describes financial settlements on his other property, The Oak in Sandbach. Effectively, Taxmere is bequeathed to Randle's oldest son William ffurnivall, and The Oak is bequeathed to his second son Randle ffurnival, with financial provisions made for his other children George, Joseph, and Mary. (Taxmere farm still exists, and lies in the village of Arclid, just three miles north-east of Sandbach. The mere after which it was named supplied water to Sandbach from 1890 to 1960, and is now a fishing pool. It is less than two miles from Oak Farm, Sandbach Heath, a possible location of The Oak.)

The will is witnessed by William Twemlow, William Walton, and Nathan Twemlow and the executors are Sarah ffurnival, John Twemlow and Peter Summerfield.

A burial is recorded for Randle Furnivall on 6 May 1707 at Sandbach, which is extremely soon after the will was written, but I can find no other between this date and the proving of the will.

Randle's widow Sarah later married William Repton on 14 May 1711 at St John The Baptist, Chester [IGI].

William Furnival, died 1731

The will of this William Furnival was made on 11 Jun 1725 and proved 19 May 1731. He describes himself as William ffurnivall of Bradwell in the County of Chester yeom. (Bradwell is surely the same as Bradwall.) He mentions no children in the will and leaves his entire estate to his wife Mary ffurnivall.

William Furnivall, approx 1682-1728

This William Furnival appears in [IGI], but his birth date of 1682 is only estimated. He was father of the following children, all baptised in Warmingham:

• William Furnival, baptised 9 May 1708 at Warmingham, Cheshire.
• Richard Furnival, baptised 21 Jun 1709 at Warmingham, Cheshire.
• Martha Furnival, baptised 4 June 1710 at Warmingham, Cheshire.
• Randle Furnival, baptised 15 Jan 1713 at Warmingham, Cheshire.
• John Furnival, baptised 16 Jan 1717 at Warmingham, Cheshire.
• Thomas Furnival, baptised 28 May 1720 at Warmingham, Cheshire.

In the baptism record for Thomas in 1720, William's wife's name is recorded as Mary.

William was buried on 16 Jan 1728 at Warmingham, Cheshire.

Warmingham is seven miles from Arclid, so it is possible that this William was connected with the Taxmere family, but it seems unlikely as William from that family should have been living in Taxmere. But the question then arises of where William of Warmingham originates from. There is also a slight possibility that the William who died in 1728 is the same one whose will was proved in 1731, but the latter says that he is from Bradwall, not Warmingham. But Bradwall is only five miles from Warmingham Parish Church, so the family could easily have lived in Bradwall and worshipped at Warmingham. However, an explanation would be needed of why the proof of the will was delayed by two years and contained no bequests to the children.

On 29 Jan 1729 a mortgage on certain meadows in Sandbach was assigned to William Furnivall (Document D.VIII.149 at [Janus]). However, this was after this William had been buried at Warmingham. The assignment may have been to his son, but he would only have been 21 on that date.

Randle Furnivall approx 1690-1730

It seems that Randle Furnival, the son of the Randle who died in 1708, may have inherited both The Oak in Sandbach and Taxmere in Arclid. He was married to Mary, but I do not have a marriage date or her maiden name. (More than eight family trees on Ancestry show a marriage of Randle Furnival born in 1687 to Mary Cummerbatch, but I have been unable to find this marriage in any register. At least one of these trees conflates this marriage with the much later one of 22 August 1741, described later.) However, Randle and Mary had the following children:

• Edmund, son of Randle Furnival of Taxmere, baptised 12 Nov 1714 at Sandbach
• Mary, daughter of Randle Furnivall of Taxmere, baptised Sep 1716 at Sandbach
• George, son of Randle Furnival Husbandman & Mary his wife of the Oak, baptised 18 May 1722 at Sandbach
• Joseph, son of Randle Furnivall of the Oak Husbandman & Mary his wife, baptised 27 Nov 1724 at Sandbach (buried 28 May 1725)
• Elizabeth, daughter of Randle Furnivall Husbandman & Mary his wife, baptised 26 Jan 1725/26 at Sandbach.

Edmund Furnivall, 1714-1755

Edmund, the oldest son of the previous Randle, was born at Taxmere, and inherited The Oak. Edmund married Mary Walley at Warmingham on 30 Dec 1734, and they had three children:

• Edmund Furnivall, baptised 22 Jul 1737 at Sandbach
• Mary Furnivall, baptised 1 Sep 1740 at Sandbach.
• Randle Furnivall, baptised 20 Mar 1747/48 at Sandbach.

In Mary's baptism record, she is described as daughter of Edmund and Mary Furnivall of ye Oak.

The following enigmatic entry appears in the Sandbach baptism register for 15 Mar 1744/45:

Robert illegit: Son of a woman unknown being deliver'd at Furnival's of ye Oak.

Edmund (senior) was buried at Sandbach on 7 Mar 1755. An admon will was issued for him, but it adds little except to confirm that Mary was Edmund's widow. The dispositions of Taxmere and The Oak are not described.

Randle Furnival, born 1713

Randle Furnival married Mary Cumberbach at St Mary's, Alderley, on 22 August 1741, and they had three daughters:

• Sarah Furnival, baptised 19 December 1741 at Congleton Chapel.
• Mary Furnival, baptised 26 June 1743 at Congleton Chapel.
• Ellen Furnival, baptised 21 May 1746 at Congleton Chapel.

As Sarah was born only four months after the wedding, it might have been held at the remote parish of Alderley to conceal the pregnancy. In the baptism records, Randle's occupation is given as taylor (tailor).

This Randle may or may not have been the son of William who was baptised on 15 Jan 1713 at Warmingham, but it is feasible.

The website Of The Family of Comberbach, which is a partial transcript of [Marshall], suggests that the Mary Cumberbatch who married Randle was the daughter of Joseph and Mary Comberbach of Sandbach, but does not record a birth or baptism date for her. Therefore, I am more inclined to think that Mary Cumberbatch was actually the daughter of Richard and Martha Comberbach of Congleton, who was baptised at Astbury on 9 Oct 1708 [IGI].

John Furnival, died 1762

John Furnival's will was made on 3 May 1759 and proved on 19 May 1762. He describes himself as John Furnivall of Sandbach in the County of Chester Yeoman. He leaves bequests to his wife Sarah, his son Randle, his daughters Catherine Edwards and Mary Johnson, and to his grandchildren: William ffurnivall, John and Elizabeth Lawton. Mary Furnivall had married John Lawton on 11 Nov 1741 in Warmingham, so she must have married again to become Mary Johnson (possibly to Thomas Johnson on 4 Feb 1746 in Church Minshull).

The Furnivalls of Betchton

There appears to be a completely different branch of the Furnivall family in Betchton, which is only a mile from the centre of Sandbach, but to the south east. This branch is well described in [Earwaker], so I have not yet investigated it fully myself.

John Furnivall, died 1637

[Earwaker] says:

John Furnivall of Betchton, yeoman, who died 17th Nov. 1637, was brother of Anthony Furnivall of Milne House (now Astle Hall), Chelford (see East Cheshire, vol. ii. p. 362), and of Hugh Furnivall of Withington. His Inquisition post mortem, taken on the 16th Jan. 1637-8, states that he died seised of certain messuages and lands in Haslington, and that John Furnivall was his son and heir. His will, made 10th Nov. 1637, was proved at Chester 13th Jan. 1637-8. To Hester, his wife, he left the manor house wherein I now dwell, for her life, but if she marry she is to have the tenement called Capper House instead. There are many bequests to relations and friends, but John Furnivall, the son, is the only child of the testator named. No other references to this family have been met with in the seventeenth century, and the pedigree is consequently defective, but it is most probable that the JOHN FURNIVALL of Betchton, gent., who was buried at Sandbach, 8th Oct. 1717, was the son of the John Furnivall, found heir to his father in 1637.

John Wilson of the Commons House

The arms used by the Betchton Furnivals were Or, a bend gules between six martlets of the second [Earwaker]. These reflect the arms of the Yorkshire Furnivals, Argent, a bend gules between six martlets of the second [Turner] with just the field (background) changed from Argent to Or (that is, silver to gold). (See [Parker] for a glossary of heraldic terms.) The Betchton arms were later incorporated into those of the Wilson family: John Wilson of the Commons House, Sandbach, whose arms were Sable, a wolf rampant or, in chief three estoiles of the second; impaling, or, a bend gules between six martlets of the second.

John Wilson had married Rebecca Furnivall, daughter and coheiress of Peter Furnivall of Liverpool, before 1770 [Howard]. This family had later descendants in Bitterne, Hampshire, and in London, who used Furnivall as a middle name.

Furnivalls in Sandbach in Victorian times

By the time of the 1841 Census, it seems that the Furnivalls in Sandbach were very diminished, and the prosperous yeoman farmers are no longer there. Taxmere is occupied by Phillip Boffey, and Oak Farm by Alice Walker. There appear to be no Furnivals in Betchton.

There are three Furnival families, all related, remaining in the town:

• George Furnival, a glazier aged 60, is living in Crown Bank with his wife Mary, and their children Ann, William, and Ellen.
• Charles Furnival, a glazier aged 30, is living in Red Hill with his wife Elizabeth, and their children John, Harriet, and Sarah.
• George Furnival, a painter aged 25, is living in High Street with his wife Ann, and their children George, Mary Ann, and William.

Also, Mary Furnival, aged 20, is boarding at Wade's Hill House as a servant.

Jottings from the Minute Books in [Minshull] refers to the elder George Furnivall, who leased his portable organ to St Mary's Church in 1824, donated it in 1831, and then asked to remove it in 1833.

This branch of the Sandbach Furnivalls contains several generations of plumbers and glaziers, and can be traced back to Joseph Furnivall, baptised on 7 Dec 1679, the son of John Furnivall. Much of the family moved to Liverpool by the end of the nineteenth century.

George Furnivall, 1813-1891

The younger George Furnivall, the painter in 1841, later built up the plumbing and glazing business, and by 1851 was employing six men. He must then have tried his hand at farming, as by 1861 he and his large family were occupying Roughwood Farm in Betchton (which had once been occupied by the Twemlow family [Twemlow]). This was apparently not a successful venture: in 1871 George was working as a plumber again in Kirkdale, Liverpool, and in 1881, now widowed, was living in Chester and working as a plumber and leadworker. Allegedly, his occupation was given as embosser on his daughter Emily's marriage certificate in September 1881. George was living with his son Albert in Nantwich in April 1891. His death was registered in Prescot in October 1891. Possibly he was living with his daughter Mary Ann Wallbridge in Windle, St Helens, just before he died.

(HO107/122/10/43/P12, HO107/2168/295/P18, RG9/2613/143/P25, RG10/3824/90/P32, RG11/3561/36/P2, RG12/2856/95/P9)

Later descendants beyond Sandbach

Daniel Furnivall, died 1800

I'm fairly sure that Daniel Furnivall is my direct ancestor. He was more closely associated with nearby Congleton than with Sandbach, and it remains to be shown whether Daniel is associated in any way with the family from Taxmere. He was married in a double wedding on 9 June 1767 at St Mary's Church, Astbury, in which Daniel Furnival married Ann Booth and Ellen Furnival married John Booth. Ann and John Booth were twins, the children of Timothy and Charlotte Booth. Daniel and Ellen were witnesses to each other's marriages. In the marriage register, Daniel's profession appears to be Butcher.

It seems probable that Daniel and Ellen Furnival were close relatives, and possibly brother and sister, but I have been unable to find any baptism record for Daniel to confirm this, so his ancestry remains a mystery. Ellen might well have been the daughter of Randle Furnivall, the tailor, whose children were baptised in Congleton chapel (now St Peter's Congleton).

Daniel and Ann had the following children:

• Joseph Furnivall, baptised 30 January 1768 in Astbury.
• Hannah Furnivall, baptised 26 November 1769 in Astbury.
• Ann Furnivall, baptised 26 November 1769 in Astbury.

Hannah and Ann were twins.

Cheshire Land Tax Assessments 1778-1832 [FS-pilot] contains tax assessment records for Daniel Furnivall:

1781-1782	Moreton-cum-Alcumlow
1781-1784	Newbold Astbury
1783, 1786-1787	Alsager
1785, 1789, 1792-1795	Church Lawton

Daniel Furnivall died in Ollerton, Cheshire. His will was made on 13 Mar 1800 and proved on 7 Jun 1800 in Chester. It was witnessed by William Pedley, Thomas Booth, and Mary Crimes. In the will, Daniel describes himself as a Yeoman. At first, it seems that the occupation of yeoman in the will is inconsistent with the occupation of butcher in the marriage register, but having examined the wills of some of Daniel's in-laws in the Booth family, who also call themselves butchers, I think that a butcher may have been a farm holder who also killed livestock, and not a retailer of meat. Daniel leaves his estate to his wife, Ann Furnivall, and leaves bequests to his children Joseph Furnivall, Ann Morrey, and Hannah Guest, and to his niece Betty Morry. Betty Morry is probably the niece by marriage of Daniel's daughter Ann, and so actually Daniel's great-niece.

Hannah Guest and her husband John later emigrated to the USA.

If Daniel was indeed the son of Randle Furnival (1713) the tailor, and Mary Cumberbach, it seems improbable that Daniel would become a Yeoman farmer when his father was not. Note that although Daniel is an unusual name in the Furnivall family, it is not so in the Cumberbach family.

Daniel was not buried at St John's, Knutsford, the parish church associated with Ollerton, but was taken back to Astbury parish, where he was buried on 6 Jun 1800.

Joseph Furnivall, 1768-1846

Joseph Furnivall, born in 1768, was the son of Daniel. He married Martha Oakes by licence on 9 October 1792 at St Mary's Astbury, when he was described as a Farmer from the parish of Lawton. Joseph and Mary had the following children:

• Mary, baptised 13 December 1795 at St Mary's Astbury.
• Martha, baptised 24 December 1797 at St Mary's Astbury.
• John, baptised 21 December 1800 at St Mary's Astbury.
• Sarah, baptised 31 July 1803 at St Mary's Astbury.
• Daniel, baptised 30 November 1806 at St Mary's Astbury.
• Hannah, baptised 13 May 1809 at St Mary's Astbury.
• Ann, baptised 26 September 1813 at St Mary's Astbury.

Cheshire Land Tax Assessments 1778-1832 [FS-pilot] contains tax assessment records for Joseph Furnivall:

1797-1800, 1802-1817, 1819-1821

Moreton-cum-Alcumlow

(There are other tax records for Joseph Furnivall, mainly in Edleston, Stockton, and Oldcastle, but I think these relate to different individuals.)

Joseph was living with his son John in Rood Lane, Congleton, in 1841. He was described as a farmer aged 70 in the 1841 census. He died in 1846 aged 78, and his death was registered in Congleton (GRO 19 67).

Birthplaces of Joseph and Mary's children

Some of Joseph and Mary's children are late enough to be included in censuses where their birthplaces are recorded:

• Martha Bennion (née Furnivall): Moreton (1851 census)
• Ann Furnivall: Morton (1851 census), Marton (1861 census), Marton (1871 census), Congleton (1881 census)
• John Furnivall: Moreton (IGI), Morton (1851 census)

These confirm that the family were raised in Moreton (cum Alcumlow) as suggested by the tax assessments. Moreton is within two miles of Astbury, Congleton.

Frederick James Furnivall and the Oxford English Dictionary

Frederick James Furnivall was one of the founders and the second editor of The Oxford English Dictionary. [Munro] states that his ancestors were yeoman farmers from Sandbach, so he is presumably descended from the ancestors described above.

Thomas Furnival, approx 1730

[Munro] says:

The Furnivalls...the family with which we are immediately concerned is an old family of prosperous yeomen-farmers of Sandbach in Cheshire. The grandfather of Frederick James, having offended his parents by a marriage considered unworthy, left the parental house, and set up a straw-plaiting industry in Hemel-Hempstead.

The book does not record the grandfather's name, and neither does the IGI baptism record of FJF's father, George Frederick. But an executor of George Frederick's will, and also his partner in the medical practice in Egham, was John, who I presume is his brother. The IGI does have a baptism record for John, whose parents were Thomas and Elizabeth [IGI]. There is a similar record for John's brother, Thomas. I had expected that Thomas and Elizabeth would have been married in Sandbach, or nearby, before moving to Hemel, but I cannot find such a marriage in the IGI. However, there is a Thomas Fornival and Elizabeth Watt marriage on 13 May 1757 at St Munchin's [Church of Ireland], Limerick, Ireland [IGI]. Elizabeth was a widow, and Thomas was described as Corporal, General Pool's Regt., Cn. Vallancy's Coy. [IFHF]. I don't know if this was the unworthy marriage. I have no other reason to believe that Thomas was in the military. See [Vance] for a biography of Colonel Vallancy.

There is also a marriage of Thomas Furniwall and Elizabeth Winkfield recorded in Kings Langley in 1765. This is only a few miles from Hemel Hempstead, so is possibly more likely.

I have not found any likely dates for Thomas's birth in Sandbach, either. The Thomas mentioned above, son of William and baptised 28 May 1720 at Warmingham, would probably be too old to father George Frederick in 1781.

George Frederick Furnivall, 1781-1865

George Frederick Furnivall was born on 3 May 1781 and baptised on 6 June 1781 in Hemel Hempstead [IGI]. He received a medical education, was a house-surgeon at Bart's hospital, and became Assistant Surgeon in the 14th Foot in 1805. He later retired from the army for a civil practice in Egham. George Frederick attended Mary Shelley during her confinement at Marlow in 1817. He married Sophia Hughes Barwell on 10 February 1823. He was one of the founders of the Great Fosters Lunatic Asylum, (which is now a luxury hotel). Together with his medical practice in Egham, this allowed him to accumulate a fortune of £200,000 [Munro].

Frederick James Furnivall, 1825-1910

Frederick James Furnivall was a co-founder and the second editor of the Oxford English Dictionary. See Wikipedia, Cambridge University, and [KCL].

He was born in Egham, Surrey on 4 Feb 1825 and baptised on 1 Mar 1825 [IGI].

He lived at:

• Hanwell House, Hanwell, Cowley, Middlesex. Pupil, Age 15. (1841 Census, HO107/655/6/26/P4/L3)
  Hanwell House was also known as Hanwell College.
• 3 Queen Square, Finsbury. Barrister in actual practice, Age 26. (1851 Census, HO107/1513/37/P1)
• 21 Ely Place, Finsbury. Barrister in practice, Age 36. (1861 Census, RG9/187/106/P21)
• 3 St Georges Square, Marylebone, Barrister in practice, Age 43. (1871 Census, RG10/207/29/P49)
• 3 St Georges Square, Marylebone, Barrister, Age 56. (1881 Census, RG11/183/62/P47)
• 3 St Georges Square, St Pancras, Retired Barrister and editor of old books, Age 65. (1891 Census, RG12/118/182/P51)
• 3 St Georges Square, St Pancras, Editor of MSS - Retired Barrister, Author, Age 75. (1901 Census, RG13/133/93/P13)

Frederick James Furnivall, from [Munro]

He married Eleanor Nickel Dalziel in 1862. Eleanor was born at Lambton Castle, Chester-le-Street, where her father was a gardener. Her mother, Martha Massey, originated from High Legh in Cheshire, and had married George Dalziel at Rostherne, Cheshire, in 1829 [IGI]. Furnivall's biographer says of Eleanor: It was rumoured that she had been a maid, but family tradition suggests a more conventional middle-class background [Peterson]. In fact, the 1861 census (just before she was married) records her profession as copyist (RG9/105/118/P1).

They had children Eena (b 1863) and Percy (b 1867), but Eena died very young at the age of three. In 1867 Frederick lost his fortune in the collapse of the Overend and Gurney Bank.

In June 1883 he left his wife for his 21-year-old mistress Teena Rochfort-Smith, one of his students. But Teena accidentally burned herself to death, and died on 4 September of the same year. After her death, Frederick James published a panegyric memoir about her [Teena].

However, after the separation from his wife, Frederick James continued to live in 3 St Georges Square, and it was Eleanor and Percy who had to move out. They were living at 34 Adelaide Road, Hampstead in 1891 (1891 Census, RG12/109/83/P3).

In 1896 he founded the Hammersmith Sculling Club, originally for girls only, which is now known as the Furnivall Sculling Club. It has been suggested [Winchester] that Furnivall was the inspiration for Ratty in The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame, a friend and fellow sculling enthusiast. (Furnival Gardens, presumably named after the Sculling Club, but not its founder, are adjacent to it, and were constructed for the Festival of Britain.)

There is a full biography of Frederick James Furnivall in the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography [Peterson]. There are pictures at the National Portrait Gallery, including a family photograph, dated 1900, of Frederick with his ex-wife and other family members, which perhaps means that he was reconciled with Eleanor in his later years.

Stand-up comedian George Roper

The stand-up comedian George Roper was born as George Francis Furnival in Liverpool, but spent his later years in Sandbach, and died there in 2003. This might well have been a coincidence, and I have not yet established a convincing connection between George and the earlier Furnivalls of Sandbach. Nevertheless, George's Furnival roots did lie in Cheshire. His father Andrew Furnival was born in Runcorn in 1898, and I think his grandfather was Joseph Furnival, also from Runcorn, born in 1871.

References

[AncestralFile]

The Ancestral File is a user-contributed section of FamilySearch™ published by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

[BattleAbbey]

The Roll of Battle Abbey , by John Bernard Burke, 1848.

[Earwaker]

The history of the ancient parish of Sandbach, Co. Chester. Including the two chapelries of Holmes Chapel and Goostrey. From Original Records by John Parsons Earwaker, 1895.

[FS-pilot]

FamilySearch™ Record Search is a prototype search engine published by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It contains several collections, of which Cheshire Parish Registers, 1538-2000, Cheshire Bishop's transcripts, 1598-1900, Cheshire Land Tax Assessments, 1778-1832, are referenced here. It has now been superseded by [FS].

[FS]

The new definitive FamilySearch search engine of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

[Harl]

The Harley Manuscripts at the British Library.

[Howard]

Visitation of England and Wales Vol 6, edited by Joseph Jackson Howard and Frederick Arthur Crisp. Privately printed, 1898.

[IFHF]

Irish Family History Foundation Online Genealogy Databases for Ireland.

[IGI]

The International Genealogical Index is the major professionally researched section of FamilySearch™ published by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

[Irvine-I] [Irvine-II] [Irvine-III] [Irvine-V] [Irvine-VI] [Irvine-VII] [Irvine-VIII]

Marriage Licences Granted Within the Archdeaconry of Chester edited by William Fergusson Irvine, FSA, published by the Record Society for the Publication of Original Documents relating to Lancashire and Cheshire, 1907-1924.
There are eight volumes in this series (I 1606-1616 published 1907, II 1616-1624 published 1908, III 1624-1632 published 1909, IV 1639-44, V 1661-1667 published 1912, VI 1667-1680 published 1914, VII 1680-1691 published 1918, VIII 1691-1700 published 1924), but I have only found seven online. A subsequent series of four books, covering 1700-1719, is also available, but not online.

[Janus]

Janus is a searchable catalogue of archive documents held by the University of Cambridge.

[KCL]

FURNIVALL, Frederick James (1825-1910) archive at King's College, London.

[Lawton]

Northwich Hundred Poll Tax 1660 and Hearth Tax 1664 edited by G O Lawton. Published by the Record Society of Lancashire and Cheshire, 1979.

[Marshall]

Collections for a Genealogical Account of the Family of Comberbach by George William Marshall, LL B, 1866.

[Minshull]

A short history and description of St Mary's Church, Sandbach, Cheshire, John Minshull, 1974 (Revised 1990). From St Mary's Church, Sandbach, History & Architecture (now a dead link).

[Munro]

Frederick James Furnivall, A volume of personal record by John James Munro and others, 1911.

[Ormerod]

The history of the county palatine and city of Chester: compiled from original evidences... by George Ormerod, 1819.

[Parker]

A glossary of terms used in Heraldry by James Parker, 1894. HTML version by Jim Trigg.

[PedigreeResource]

The Pedigree Resource File is a user-contributed section of FamilySearch™ published by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

[Peterson]

William S. Peterson, Furnivall, Frederick James (1825-1910), Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, Sept 2004; online edn, May 2007 [http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/33298, accessed 31 Dec 2009]. Members of UK public libraries can logon to the DNB website using their library card number.

[Rylands]

The Visitation of Cheshire in the year 1580, Edited by John Paul Rylands, FSA, 1882.

[Teena]

Teena Rochfort-Smith. A memoir with three Woodbury-types of her by Frederick James Furnivall, 1883.

[Turner]

The Coats of Arms of the Nobility & Gentry of Yorkshire, by J Horsfall Turner, 1911.

[Twemlow]

The Twemlows, their wives and their homes, by Francis Randle Twemlow, 1910.

[Vance]

Norman Vance, Vallancey, Charles (c.1726-1812), Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, Sept 2004; online edn, Jan 2008 [http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/28051, accessed 16 Jan 2010]

[Winchester]

The Meaning of Everything: The Story of the Oxford English Dictionary, by Simon Winchester, 2003.

Additional notes

More uncategorized notes appear at Miscellaneous Notes.

---

Labelled with ICRA. Copyright © Peter Havercan 2010

The Furnivalls of Sandbach by Peter Havercan is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non-Commercial-Share Alike 2.0 UK: England & Wales License.