John Finch (1712-1795) and Sarah King (1713-1753).
My 6th great-grandparents.
John Finch is my 6th great-grandfather. He was baptised on 11 March 1711/2 at St Peter’s Church, Slinfold, Sussex, the son of carpenter William Finch and Elizabeth Puttock.
John married Sarah King at St Mary’s Church in Billingshurst, Sussex, a few miles down the modern A29 from his birthplace, on 25 July 1732. She was described as ‘of this parish’ but John as being from Slinfold. She must’ve been the girl baptised in Billingshurst on 4 March 1713 to parents Thomas King and Jane Burchell.
John and Sarah probably settled in Rudgwick and then his home village of Slinfold, as this was where their children were baptised.
Sussex Family History Group records show that a woman called Finch, wife of John, was buried on 22 December 1753 in Slinfold and it’s likely that this was Sarah. The only other potential candidate is a Sarah who died in the village in 1777. The record is badly faded so it’s impossible to note her age. A John Finch, widower, married spinster Ann Robinson on 1 January 1761, and it’s likely this is our man. Both were ‘of this parish’ and one of the witnesses was John Robinson but I’ve not found a baptism record for her. Ann was pregnant at the time of her marriage and gave birth to a daughter, also called Ann, in 1761.
John Finch was buried in Slinfold on 22 May 1795. I’ve yet to find proof of his occupation but it’s possible he followed his father into carpentry.
John and Sarah had eight known children:
- John Finch (1733-????), my 5th great-grand uncle. John was christened at Holy Trinity Church in Rudgwick – close to Slinfold – on 13 July 1733. John Snr was named as the father but his mother isn’t listed. I’ve not had any success tracking him down.
- Sarah Finch (1734-1736), my 5th great-grand aunt. Sarah was baptised at Holy Trinity in Rudgwick on 9 July 1734 and died aged two, buried on 2 August 1736 in Slinfold, with the record stating that she was the daughter of John and Sarah.
- Martha Finch (1736–1819), my 5th great-grand aunt. She was baptised on 25 April 1736 at St Peter’s Church in Slinfold and married Daniel Cumper on 5 January 1757 at Holy Trinity Church in nearby Rudgwick. Daniel, the son of Mary and Daniel, was from Billingshurst in Sussex and was baptised there on 27 September 1736. It’s likely that they went to live in Billingshurst as that’s where the couple had at least three children baptised. Martha was described as a widow on her daughter Sarah’s baptism record for Daniel died in March 1776 and was buried in Billingshurst on the 26th. Martha remarried on 25 November 1777, her new husband being John Lemon, Leman or Lemmon depending on the record. He was baptised in Billingshurst on 1 February 1733 to Richard and Jane Leman. But a John Lemon was buried in the village on 5 June 1778 so Martha’s life with him was short. Martha died in 1819 and was buried in Billingshurst on 24 March. Martha’s known children with Daniel were:
- William Cumper (1757-1757).
- Hannah Cumper (1759-1774).
- Sarah Cumper (1776-1853) was baptised in Billingshurst and married labourer William Gumbrell in 1802. They raised a family locally and she died in Horsham, Sussex, in 1853.
- Thomas Finch (1738-1813), my 5th great-grandfather who carried on the family trade of carpentry and passed it on in turn to his children.
- Edward Finch (1739–????), my 5th great-grand uncle. Baptised on 11 November in Slinfold, Sussex, I not found records that match him subsequently.
- William Finch (1742–????), my 5th great-grand uncle. He was baptised on 2 January in St Peter’s, Slinfold, but, again, I’m not sure what happened to him. He could be the William Finch who was buried in the village on the 14 January 1765 or the William who married Sarah Stedman on 29 September 1765 in Slaugham, Sussex. There are several candidates for both these records.
- James Finch (1745–????), my 5th great-grand uncle. James was baptised on 22 December in Slinfold, Sussex. No other information has been found yet but he might have been the James who married an Elizabeth and moved to Slaugham, Sussex, where three children were baptised in the 1770s. However, a matching marriage record has not been located.
- Charles Finch (1748–????), my 5th great-grand uncle. He was christened on 6 November in Slinfold but again he remains an enigma.
Sources. All data has been gathered from Ancestry.co.uk, FindMyPast.co.uk, and Sussex Family History Group.