For over 50 years, the Richins family has searched for the christening records of Henry Richins, our first common ancestor. So far, the christening date has eluded all our researchers. Henry’s [LDS] Temple Index Card gives his birth as April 9 1769 at Rodbury. We have been unable to find a town or village with the name of Rodbury. There is a Parish called Rodborough, but there was no christening there for Henry Richins.

the search for Henry, a will was found for a John Richins of Horton who named Henry as a grandson and a son of his son Thomas. This enabled us to discover that Henry's father was Thomas and Thomas was the son of John Richins, which extended the Richins line back two generations.

John Richins died at Horton, Gloucestershire, England. The monumental inscription at Horton indicates he was born in 1697/1698 and his wife, Ann, was born in 1695/1696. We searched the area for their christenings dates, but did not find them. The first entry we found for them was their marriage at Hawkesbury, Gloucestershire, England.

The entry of marriage listed John Richins of Winterbourne and Ann King from Hawkesbury. We eagerly searched these Parishes for their christenings, but were disappointed, for John Richins was not christened at Winterbourne, nor Ann King at Hawkesbury. We will continue to search for their christenings so as to extend this line.

John and Ann were married by banns, so the announcement of their intent to marry had to be published in both the groom's and bride's Parish and both had to be present. This usually took place over a period of four weeks. If the Parishes were some distance apart, it was customary for the groom to take up residence in the bride's Parish for the reading of the banns in church. This was apparently what John did.

The Parish of Hawkesbury, Gloucestershire, England

When John arrived at Hawkesbury, the Parish contained about 150 homes and had a population of about 598-650 people. The Parish included the towns of Hiley, Trisham, Kilcot, Settlewood, Wast and Hawkesbury.

The eastern part of the Parish lies upon the hill and spreads out into open country. It is called Hawkesbury Upton. The Cotswold ridge divides Hawkesbury Upton from the vale below. The church is located in the vale below the ridge and is dedicated to the Virgin Mary. It is a large church with four aisles and a tower on the west end of the church. The church is capped with battlements and parapets as seen on many of the castles. The Reverend John Ryder was Vicar of the Parish.

A note painted on a smallboard at the church reads, "It is desired that all persons that do come to this church would be careful to leave their dogs at home and that all women would not walk in their patterns." It was customary for the sexton of the church to carry a whip along with his keys to drive dogs out of the church. It was also his responsibility to keep women from walking in patterns—wooden sandals with clogs for walking in damp and muddy places. The women secreted their patterns in some convenient hedge a short distance from the church and retrieved them on their return home.

Sir Bank Jenkinson, a baronet, was Lord of the Manor. He had holdings in other Parishes and chose not to live at the Manor House in Hawkesbury. Left unattended, the Manor House soon fell into disrepair. In his absence, the Manor was probably left under the care of an Overseer. The Duke of Beauford also held land in Hawkesbury. The clergy held some acres and the freeholders, yeomen and farmers held the remaining ground.

In most European countries, the people lived in the towns and commuted to their farms in the country. In England, the farmhouse was usually in the center of the farm and accessed by a narrow lane leading from the main road. Hedges, trees or stone walls divided the farm into fields. Birds, rodents and rabbits found refuge beneath the thorny hedges of berries or wild rose. Poor women made a practice of walking along the thorny hedges where the sheep grazed to gather wool the thorns had snagged. She used this wool to spin yarn for caps, stockings and other clothing.

The stone walls built by the Cotswollers were built without mortar. Each stone was placed so it locked into another stone. Some of the walls have stood for over 500 years. The skill of the Cotswallers has been handed down for generations. It is said they could do anything with the Cotswold stone but eat it.

Winterbourne is southwest of Hawkesbury. John took the Bristol road that went from Bristol to Cheltham. It is about 10 miles as the crow flies, but the winding, narrow roads made it much longer.

John had to leave Winterbourne in early March or late February to be in Hawkesbury for the reading of the banns. One wonders how he traveled—by horseback? By stagecoach? This would take much longer than by horseback because of the many stops. Many people who were fortunate enough to own a horse traveled by cart. Whatever way, he must have been relieved to see the homes and farms of Hawkesbury and know he would soon be in the warmth of a cottage or inn.

There is nothing in the records to indicate in what occupation John was employed. Was he an Overseer who came to supervise some gentleman’s estate? A tenant farmer, who leased land from a landowner? We do know that at his death he was listed as a yeoman.

A yeoman was a gentleman farmer who owned a small estate in the country. He was classed under the Gentry, Squires and Clergy, but above the tradesmen, shopkeepers and working class. Yeomen were required to defend their country from invasion and riots. Since most owned horses, they would form a cavalry, called yeomanry. The work yeomanry had the connotation of being true and faithful. So we see that John Richins belonged to an upper class.

Life in England changed under the explosion of the Industrial Revolution—first, water-powered mills replaced the hand looms. Weavers who had earned their living by weaving at home were put out of work and angrily marched against the mills, intent on destroying them. However, they failed to stop the progress of the emerging industrialization. Then steam engine revolutionized the mills and factories. The water-powered mills had difficulty keeping up, so industry began centering around cities rather than country streams.

As people sought work in villages by the mills and factories, housing became scarce. As a result, small cottages were divided to accommodate several families under very crowded conditions. Some found shelter in people’s attics and some even lived in cellars. The crowded situation resulted in unsanitary conditions, which fostered the rise and spread of epidemics and plagues.

Villages grew into cities as mills and factories sprung up along the streams used to power them. Stagecoaches began to run between larger cities to better facilitate the transportation of merchandise and people, but the roads were not suited for such traffic. Better roads were in dire need.

New farming methods were introduced, so agriculture began to flourish. Turnips were introduced to feed cattle during the winter months, which was a great benefit to the farmers, such as John and Ann.

George III was King of England, but he was not universally liked. Many thought he had blundered in handling the American Colonies, who were fighting for their independence. During all the changes, Hawkesbury and Horton, being farming communities rather than industrial centers, were left quite untouched.