Robert FENN [9449]

   Another name for Robert was FFENNE OR FYNNE.

  General Notes:

Robert may have been born in Somersham SFK

SRO Baylham Film Transcripts (J426/6)
Burials
169214 February Robert Fynne

  Research Notes:

2017
Mike Fenn's notes for Robert Ffynne:
The lineage of Robert Fynne has been gleaned from the deaths of a Robert and Mary Fynne in Baylham, known Fynne marriages extracted from post Protectorate Baylham parish records, the 1638 list of 'The Able Men of Suffolk' (civilian men of Suffolk between the ages of 16 and 60 judged "Able" to defend the realm), and circumstantial evidence found in the parishes of Akenham, Coddenham, Flowton, Wherstead and St Matthew, Ipswich. A starting point is that we know from the parish records that a Robert Fynne was buried in Baylham in 1692 and Mary Fynne wife of Robert in 1671. We also know that there are no Fynnes recorded in Baylham in the 1638 list of Able Men of Suffolk. There are several Fynne marriages and burials recorded there post 1660 and it seems reasonable to suppose that they were born in the village during the Interregnum and probably of the same family. It is recognised that all the children may not have been sired by Robert and the dispirit spellings of the surname adds to the confusion. Accepting that they are of the same family then Robert and Mary would have been born c1615supporting a marriage date c1640. The Able Men of Suffolk lists some 20 Fenn/Fynnes including possible siblings Roberte Fenn of Flowton, William Fenn of Somersham and John Fenn of Nettlestead (less than a mile from Somersham). This is reflected in the findings extracted from the Akenham Parish Register. Robert Ffynne of Somersham=Mary Snelling of Flowton in Akenham11th November 1639 in a double ceremony as married on the same day are likely siblings Simon Snelling of Flowton and Ann Ffynne of Somersham. Less than a month later on 7th December a John Haile, of Akenham=Margarett Ffynne of Nettlestead indicating yet another possible Ffynne sibling. The marriage licence is recorded in the Notebooks of the Archdeaconry of Suffolk naming Robert Fynn as Surety. In addition a William Fynne= Martha Goymer of Blakenham in Akenham th October 1641. Thamar Fynne (Martha ?) wife of William Fynne was buried in Akenham 20th September 1652. No sign of a burial for William. Blakenham is the next village to Somersham so this may be the same William of Somersham recorded in the Able Men of Suffolk, moving to Akenham two years after Robert, Ann and Margarett Ffynne. A lack of Fynnes in the Akenham listing of 'Able Men of Suffolk' suggests that the family arrived in the village post 1638 and with none listed in Baylham prior to 1638 indicates Fynnes arrived there from elsewhere. After the Ffynne marriages in Akenham between 1639 and 1641 there are no baptisms recorded in the parish register supporting a move away from the village. So where did the Akenham Ffynns go and from whence did the Baylham Fynnes arrive. The answer appears to lie with Robert and Mary. It is reasonable to suppose that Robert and Mary who married in Akenham are the same couple who had their first child Mary in Flowton in 1641, probably at Mary's parents house, before moving to Baylham some 3 miles from Akenham. It is likely that Robert's brother-in-law Simon Snelling, then of Burstall, married for a second time in Akenham in 1652 to Mary Ffuller of that parish. He and Ann may well have moved to Baylham with the Ffynn family where Ann probably died before 1652 during the Commonwealth period and is the reason why no record of her burial has been found. Simon and Mary were to raise a family of three children in Burstall where Simon (1653), Mary (1655) and Elizabeth (1657) were baptised. It is possible that they then moved with the children to Baylham to be close to other family members. Their deaths have not been found in Burstall nor in Baylham but they may have moved and died in Baylham before 1661 shortly after their move and so their burial is not recorded. Son Simon was to marry Mary ? in ? parish [unknown] and to settle in Baylham. A daughter Ann was buried there in 1696 and Simon and Mary in 1711 and 1732 respectively. I have examined all the extant parish registers and bishop's transcripts for Akenham from 1538, Baylham 1661, Coddenham 1539, Somersham 1675, Flowton 1572, Nettlestead 1615, Great Blakenham 1545, Little Blakenham 1728, Wherstead 1590, St Matthew Ipswich 1559 and Blakenham 1545, Little Blakenham 1728, Wherstead 1590, St Matthew Ipswich 1559 and surrounding parishes as well as the national burial records and burials recorded by the Suffolk Family History Society. Nothing has been found to negate my findings and more importantly no other Robert and Mary couple who could be the Robert and Mary that raised a family in Baylham. The Hearth Tax Return for 1674 lists no Fynnes in Baylham at a time when there were several Fynnes living in the village. From 1664, everybody with more than two hearths was liable, even if otherwise exempt. Exemption certificates had to be signed by a minister, churchwarden or an overseer of the poor and two Justices of the Peace. It was clearly not targeting the wealthier people with multiple or larger properties, as originally intended. Wealthy landowners and landlords, who could best afford the tax, were exempt as the tax was now being paid by their tenants. It seems that Robert and the other Baylham Fynnes were exempt from the tax having less than two hearths. Possibly he was in service eg Baylham Manor. Conclusion: The marriage of Robert and Mary Snelling, the known birth, marriages and deaths of Fynnes in Akenham and Baylham and my findings of a Mary and Robert living in Baylham raising a family and dying there fit like a glove. It is a scenario that I considered and rejected a few years ago but the finding of the 1638 Able Men of Suffolk changed my thinking. Finding Roberte Fenn in the list of Flowton for that year provides reasonable evidence that he is the Robert Fynne of Somersham who married Mary Snelling of Flowton in Akenham in 1639. This is strengthened by a William Fenn of Somersham also listed in 1638 indicating that Robert and William are of the same family and possibly siblings. I suspect that John Fenn of nearby Nettlestead is also a sibling as well as Ann Ffynne of Somersham and Margarett Ffynne of Nettlestead. There is no burial of a Mary in Akenham and I have accounted for all the Akenham Roberts listed in the parish register. There are no Fenns listed in Baylham in 1638 implying there were no able Fenns living in the village at that time and yet we know after the Interregnum several Fenn marriages took place in the village with some evidence that their parents were a Robert and Mary who were buried there. Akenham to Baylham is a distance of 3 miles. I have now visited Ipswich SRO over 50 times in the past 5 years and have thoroughly researched all our known Fenn family parishes including those in Ipswich and have been unable to find another Robert and Mary marriage or family to negate my reasoned arguements. Deciding that Robert and Mary were the parents of Abraham Fynne and Thomas Fynne is another story but there is circumstantial findings to link them to Baylham and the Baylham Fenns. Marriage Notes: (Mary) Described in the Parish Register as Robert Fynne of Somersham and Mary Snelling of Flowton. A marriage of siblings as Simon Snelling of Flowton=Ann Ffynne of Somersham on the same day

Robert married Mary SNELLING [8436] [MRIN: 3268], daughter of John SNELLING [26465] and Elizabeth [26466], on 11 Nov 1639 in Akenham SFK. (Mary SNELLING [8436] was born about 1615 and was buried on 11 Apr 1671 in Baylham SFK.)

Robert next married Joan FRENCH [19107] [MRIN: 6871] in 1675 in Baylham SFK.