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Edward Gynn from West Ham - to Australia

Edward Gynn from West Ham - to Australia

Posted: 27 Aug 2009 7:25PM GMT
Classification: Query
Surnames: Gynn
I have an Edward Gynn born 1854 in West Ham, England (a Baker) who went out to New South Wales in 1876 on the "Star of India". His brothers William and Joseph were in the Merchant Navy and were cooks on the ships on the London to Sydney route. Both of them also died in Australia.

I would like to know what happened to Edward - I have details of his ancestry

Re: Edward Gynn from West Ham - to Australia

Posted: 19 Mar 2010 3:05PM GMT
Classification: Query
I have now answered my own question. Edward returned to England and, deducting ten or so years from his age joined the Royal Artillery in 1886 for 12 years. It is definitely the same man. He married Sarah Jones at Mile End in 1890. They spent several years in India and were back in 1901 with a couple of children, Edward still maintaining the story as to his age that he told in 1886. I have a full family history if anybody links

Re: Edward Gynn from West Ham - to Australia

Posted: 14 May 2010 2:58PM GMT
Classification: Query
Surnames: GYNN
Just happened to see your request re Edward Gynn.

For the past twenty years I have been researching the Gynn family of North Cornwall and go back in a direct line to the 1600's with bits of info further back into the 1400's.
However I have been unable to put any connection between the Gynns of Hertfordshire/London to the Gynns of Cornwall and just wonder how far back you have got with your family tree.

David Gynn
West Devon.

Re: Edward Gynn from West Ham - to Australia

Posted: 15 May 2010 11:32AM GMT
Classification: Query
Hi

Nice to hear from another "One Namer". I too have been researching since 1989.

There are four GYNN families that I know of. Three derive from Hertfordshire and were originally GINN. The other is your Cornwall family.

Dealing with the Herts families first.

1. Richard Ginn from Enfield (died Tottenham) connects to Great Hormead in Herts via Essex. His son William took the spelling Gynn and most Gynns in Hackney and so on derive from him

2. David Ginn/Gynn born Thorley Herts was a Ginn for most of his life but eventually took the name Gynn. His offspring mostly populated West Ham - some went to Australia as they were largely in the Merchant Navy

3. James Ginn from Bishops Stortford Herts (broadly linked to David above (same extended branch of Herts family) joined the army. He met his future wife (in Cornwall) deserted, was caught, and eventually married her, spent several years in army in India and took the name Gynn. He settled in Maker in Cornwall. There were three GYNN sons that I know of -- all were in the Royal Navy

The first GINN known in Hertfordshire was a Richard Ginn mentioned in the 1307 Lay Subsidy/Poll Tax. This is just about the earliest written record for commoners in Herts. I therefore think the Herts Ginn family are distinct, but branches were established before 1700 in Huntingdonshire, Cambridgeshire, Essex and London, before 1800 they were in Bedfordshire. Branches overlap with non related families in these counties.

The Cornwall family (names Ginn, Gynn, Genn and Jenn) I believe are also distinct and come from a corruption of the old welsh version of the name John, wheras I think the eastern Ginn families come from the word "Gynn or Ginn" (as in Gin trap) which was likely an occupational name for a maker of traps.

There are Cornwall Ginns in the California Gold Rush if I remember (the name Alfred springs to mind) Robert Ginn from Cornwall was the only Ginn I know who fought with Nelson and was at the Battle of the Nile, I believe that several Cornwall Ginns emigrated to the wilder parts of the west of America (vague memory of two brothers I found) and it is my personal view that the James Genn who established the family in the American colonies in the 1600s was likely from Cornwall, though (before everybody writes to me) I COULD NOT PROVE it.

Good to hear from you and hope this helps

Mike Taylor

Re: Edward Gynn from West Ham - to Australia

Posted: 15 May 2010 12:32PM GMT
Classification: Query
Just remembered that there was of course a fifth GYNN family, that of the late 1700s and early 1800s in Huntingdonshire (Charles, Henry etc). Matthew Gynn of that lot went to the States. I researched them in a very cold February at the Huntingdonshire Record Office some years ago and got nowhere. They do not connect to the GINN family of Eynesbury (whose origins I know back to the 1680s or so) and of whom I have a pretty complete note. This Bluntisham/Huntingdon Ginn/Gynn family are a mystery to me at the moment - I know descendants but not origins prior ot 1780 or so

Mike Taylor

Re: Edward Gynn from West Ham - to Australia

Posted: 15 May 2010 4:08PM GMT
Classification: Query
Hi Mike

Many thanks for the very comprehensive reply which ties in very well with some of my guesswork re the Gynns of Hertfordshire/London.

Yes, the Gynn's of North Cornwall also went and settled in Australia, Canada and the United States. In 1870 two brothers travelled to Canada and settled in but found they were on the wrong side of the line when the boundary was finally fixed between the US and Canada. This was a mistake by the Canadians but as all the good ground was then gone they took up the option and stayed in the US where the descendants are to this day.

Australian ones have been a little bit more difficult to tie in but certainly descendants exist from a William Henry Gynn who sailed to Austrlia in 1863.

You are of course correct in that the name has been spelt many ways over the years. Very old records from St Thomas Church in Launceston show1695 to 1700 the spelling of the surname of one family as Guinne, Guin, Ginn, Guen and Gune. Later on they becom Jynne and finally Gynn!!

I have never heard the suggestion that the name comes from an old Welsh version of John and would be interested to hear more.

Many years ago we were sent a heraldic shield for Gynn which came from the Hertforshire family but certainly had nothing to do with us.

I am in the process of writing a book on the Gynns of North Cornwall to update a very primative one I made up some twenty years ago so really appreciate any help you could give.

Many thanks and best wishes

David Gynn
(West Devon).

Re: Edward Gynn from West Ham - to Australia

Posted: 15 May 2010 9:02PM GMT
Classification: Query
Having no Cornish ancestry that I know of I hesitate to comment, but years ago (long before internet research) when I was working in the City (I am a solicitor) I had a good number of fascinating lunchtimes (when I could get them !) digging through dusty old court cases in the then Public Record Office in Chancery Lane. A number of welsh and cornwelsh Jenns, Jins and ApJenns turned up. My feeling was that the name in your part of the world was from the christian name John. I phrased what I said in my earlier post rather badly. Unfortunately I never really kept any notes on these early "welsh" Ginns as I tended to discard what I realised could have no relevance to Hertfordshire, sorry.

The Gynn Coat of Arms that you speak of was awarded to George Gynn/Ginn from Stevenage in Hertfordshire in the reign of Good Queen Bess. It is quite genuine - I visited the College of Arms many years ago to research it. George comes from what I call the "Falcon" Ginn family of Stevenage (they held the ancient "Falcon Inn" there) He was a Haberdasher and Citizen of London and had sons, William, Wilfred, George and Richard if memory serves, but none had surviving sons so the line died out. The Stevenage derived line as as a whole died out by about 1750 or so and the only Ginn lines that survive from Hertfordshire derive from neighbouring Aston (from 1450) and Ware (pre 1617)

Mike

Re: Edward Gynn from West Ham - to Australia

Posted: 19 May 2010 12:59PM GMT
Classification: Query
Thank you for the information Mike. Interestingly I worked in Theobalds Road (Cable and Wireless) for a year during 1986/7 and likewise spent many lunch hours researching the Gynns! The rest of my life was spent travelling the world with the same Company and retired back to the West Country some fifteen years ago.

Thanks again for your help

Dave.

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