Chapter 1 - Identifying the first Tilsed in Wimborne Minster
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The earliest Tilsed “life event” - ie christening, marriage, burial - so far found in the parish registers of Wimborne Minster is the burial of Thomas Tilsed, son of James, on 28th September 1639. However, the Wimborne Registers do not survive before 1635 and they contain gaps and unreadable pages for many years after, so it is not possible to be confident that this really was the first Tilsed event in the Register. There is certainly no good reason to suppose that this was the first Tilsed event of any type in the town.
In fact, the earliest reference I have so far found to a Tilsed known to be residing in Wimborne, as opposed to merely visiting, occurs in the church year Easter 1630 to Easter 1631, when a James Tilsed appears as a Churchwarden , alongside one William Rolles.
Records originating in Wimborne - particularly wills - give us a reasonable amount of information on the life and social status of James Tilsed: he married Giles Boulton between 1621 and 1631; he had at least two sons, named James and William; he witnessed the wills of his father-in-law William Boulton, Clothier, in 1631 and of his mother-in-law Lucy Boulton in 1641; he was appointed an Overseer in the 1639 will of Nicholas Ancketill, Gentleman; he died in or before 1663. Further details of these events will be found in subsequent chapters.
Given the late start of the Wimborne Registers, it was not possible to use them to discover how far back the Tilsed name goes in Wimborne. However, coincidentally, separate research based on the village of Bere Regis about fifteen miles away had already uncovered a James Tilsed with a very good reason to move to Wimborne:
In 1623 one William Gould, Lynnen Draper of Wimborne, left “my house wherein I now dwell” and “my shopp and two roomes over head” (both leasehold) to his “cozen” James Tilsed, son of William’s sister Christian in Bere Regis and her husband, currently thought to be Roger Tilsed.
So could the 1630 Wimborne Churchwarden and the Bere Regis son of Christian Tilsed née Gould be the same man? We will compare various parameters to consider whether this is possible and likely.
(a) Social Status:
Because of the responsibilities churchwardens carried, they were generally of the solidly middle class, but because of the actual hands-on work they tended not to be higher up the social ladder than that. Wimborne James was a Churchwarden and was also of sufficient social standing to be appointed an Overseer in the will of a Gentleman.
In William Gould, Bere Regis James had an uncle who had himself been a Churchwarden in Wimborne and also a Governor’s Receiver, and who had a number of properties to bequeath. Also - unusually - William Gould’s will specified payments to the bell-ringers in no fewer than four parishes when they should ring his knell. Moreover, James’ sister Mary married a son of the Member of Parliament for Dorchester, while his brother Lewis - probably the oldest son - is known to have been the Constable for Bere Regis in 1624. Lewis Tilsed paid poor rates in Bere Regis (rather than receiving them); he paid church rates for several properties and he sat on a jury.
The two individuals therefore seem reasonably well matched in social and financial terms.
(b) Age Considerations:
We have no direct information on the age of Wimborne James nor of his wife Giles Boulton. However, we know that they were old enough to be married with two children by 1631 and so it seems reasonable to suggest that they were born by 1610 at the latest. We also know that although James had died by 1663, Giles survived until 1685. She therefore seems unlikely to have been born much before 1600.
William Gould appointed overseers in his 1623 will, but did not charge them with any responsibilities in respect of James and his property inheritance. This would seem to suggest that Bere Regis James was at the very least approaching 21 by this time. The Bere Regis registers begin in 1585 - although again there are missing and unreadable portions - and the only James Tilsed found in the register was christened in 1602 .
It is therefore entirely possible, based on the little age information we have, for the two Jameses to be the same man.
(c) Timing
Wimborne James was a Churchwarden in 1630, and had married at some point during the previous nine years, while Bere Regis James had taken ownership of his uncle’s Wimborne properties in June 1624.
(d) Family Links
In addition to the link between Christian Tilsed née Gould in Bere Regis and her brother William in Wimborne, we know from William Gould’s will that he and Christian had another sister, Luce - who was married to William Boulton, father of Giles.
Finally, it is of course possible that two entirely separate groups of Tilseds moved to Wimborne at the same time, from different villages, but overall it seems more likely that the first-known Tilsed in Wimborne is the man of the same name who we know had a good reason to be there at precisely that time.
It is therefore my contention that the first Tilsed to move to Wimborne and live out his life there - the James Tilsed who was a Churchwarden in 1630 - was the 1602-christened son of Roger Tilsed and Christian Gould of Bere Regis, that he married his first cousin Giles Boulton and moved to Wimborne at some point before 1630.
Return to the Wimborne Project contents list
Return to Home Page
Return to Home Page
Return to the Wimborne Project contents list
The earliest Tilsed “life event” - ie christening, marriage, burial - so far found in the parish registers of Wimborne Minster is the burial of Thomas Tilsed, son of James, on 28th September 1639. However, the Wimborne Registers do not survive before 1635 and they contain gaps and unreadable pages for many years after, so it is not possible to be confident that this really was the first Tilsed event in the Register. There is certainly no good reason to suppose that this was the first Tilsed event of any type in the town.
In fact, the earliest reference I have so far found to a Tilsed known to be residing in Wimborne, as opposed to merely visiting, occurs in the church year Easter 1630 to Easter 1631, when a James Tilsed appears as a Churchwarden , alongside one William Rolles.
Records originating in Wimborne - particularly wills - give us a reasonable amount of information on the life and social status of James Tilsed: he married Giles Boulton between 1621 and 1631; he had at least two sons, named James and William; he witnessed the wills of his father-in-law William Boulton, Clothier, in 1631 and of his mother-in-law Lucy Boulton in 1641; he was appointed an Overseer in the 1639 will of Nicholas Ancketill, Gentleman; he died in or before 1663. Further details of these events will be found in subsequent chapters.
Given the late start of the Wimborne Registers, it was not possible to use them to discover how far back the Tilsed name goes in Wimborne. However, coincidentally, separate research based on the village of Bere Regis about fifteen miles away had already uncovered a James Tilsed with a very good reason to move to Wimborne:
In 1623 one William Gould, Lynnen Draper of Wimborne, left “my house wherein I now dwell” and “my shopp and two roomes over head” (both leasehold) to his “cozen” James Tilsed, son of William’s sister Christian in Bere Regis and her husband, currently thought to be Roger Tilsed.
So could the 1630 Wimborne Churchwarden and the Bere Regis son of Christian Tilsed née Gould be the same man? We will compare various parameters to consider whether this is possible and likely.
(a) Social Status:
Because of the responsibilities churchwardens carried, they were generally of the solidly middle class, but because of the actual hands-on work they tended not to be higher up the social ladder than that. Wimborne James was a Churchwarden and was also of sufficient social standing to be appointed an Overseer in the will of a Gentleman.
In William Gould, Bere Regis James had an uncle who had himself been a Churchwarden in Wimborne and also a Governor’s Receiver, and who had a number of properties to bequeath. Also - unusually - William Gould’s will specified payments to the bell-ringers in no fewer than four parishes when they should ring his knell. Moreover, James’ sister Mary married a son of the Member of Parliament for Dorchester, while his brother Lewis - probably the oldest son - is known to have been the Constable for Bere Regis in 1624. Lewis Tilsed paid poor rates in Bere Regis (rather than receiving them); he paid church rates for several properties and he sat on a jury.
The two individuals therefore seem reasonably well matched in social and financial terms.
(b) Age Considerations:
We have no direct information on the age of Wimborne James nor of his wife Giles Boulton. However, we know that they were old enough to be married with two children by 1631 and so it seems reasonable to suggest that they were born by 1610 at the latest. We also know that although James had died by 1663, Giles survived until 1685. She therefore seems unlikely to have been born much before 1600.
William Gould appointed overseers in his 1623 will, but did not charge them with any responsibilities in respect of James and his property inheritance. This would seem to suggest that Bere Regis James was at the very least approaching 21 by this time. The Bere Regis registers begin in 1585 - although again there are missing and unreadable portions - and the only James Tilsed found in the register was christened in 1602 .
It is therefore entirely possible, based on the little age information we have, for the two Jameses to be the same man.
(c) Timing
Wimborne James was a Churchwarden in 1630, and had married at some point during the previous nine years, while Bere Regis James had taken ownership of his uncle’s Wimborne properties in June 1624.
(d) Family Links
In addition to the link between Christian Tilsed née Gould in Bere Regis and her brother William in Wimborne, we know from William Gould’s will that he and Christian had another sister, Luce - who was married to William Boulton, father of Giles.
Finally, it is of course possible that two entirely separate groups of Tilseds moved to Wimborne at the same time, from different villages, but overall it seems more likely that the first-known Tilsed in Wimborne is the man of the same name who we know had a good reason to be there at precisely that time.
It is therefore my contention that the first Tilsed to move to Wimborne and live out his life there - the James Tilsed who was a Churchwarden in 1630 - was the 1602-christened son of Roger Tilsed and Christian Gould of Bere Regis, that he married his first cousin Giles Boulton and moved to Wimborne at some point before 1630.
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