Worthington Family History Society
Worthington Family History Society
The Worthington Family History Society is a world wide society researching and publishing information on the lives and genealogies of Worthingtons throughout history.
Pedigree Brixworth
Brixworth is a large hilltop village about 5 miles north of Northampton, the county town, and it is not much further to the villages of Irthlingborough and Higham Ferrers and the town of Wellingborough. The road linking Northampton and Market Harborough, Leicestershire runs through Brixworth. It is an early settlement mentioned in the Domesday book.
The large parish church dedicated to All Saints’ had its foundations on the site of an abbey dating from the seventh century at the time of the Saxons. Roman bricks and tiles have been found and the church is an imposing building in Romanesque style.
The parish registers start in 1546, but the first record of the Worthington family is the marriage of Richard in 1578-9.
There is no record of the place and date of Richard’s birth. His son Matthew was baptised in All Saints’ Church on 25 February 1578-9, the first of four children to be baptised there. The name of his wife Ursula was given in his will dated 4 November, 1624. He described himself as a yeoman (as recorded in the Northamptonshire and rutland Probate index). Richard died soon afterwards and was buried 11 November 1624. Two further children were named in his will, Edward and Thomas. His wife, Ursula, died in 1626 and was buried on the 11th of April at Brixworth.
Matthew was baptised in Brixworth on 24 February 1578-9 and he probably married Margaret as this is the only unidentified person named in the registers. He fathered two daughters, Judith and Susannah and two sons, William and Richard. He died and was buried on 12 November 1655. Richard was baptised on 25 November 1581; he died and was buried on 11 October 1598. Nothing more is known about him. She was baptised in Brixworth on 8 June 1589 and is mentioned in her father’s will of 1624; she was by then married to a Mr Griffin. Alice was baptised in Brixworth on 14 May 1592, but she died as a baby and was buried there on 4 May 1593. The date and place of Edward’s baptism is not known but he was named as the son of Richard in his will of 1624. He was named as the father of Alice when she was baptised in May 1615; Alice was named as his wife. Unfortunately, his wife died less than a year later and was buried on 24 April 1617. The date and place of Thomas’ baptism is also unknown , but again he was mentioned as a son of Richard in his father’s will of 1624, when he was left £5. He died and was buried on 22 January 1630-1.
Judith was baptised on 17 August 1606 and was married in All Saints’ Church, Brixworth on 28 August 1628 to William Harrold. Nothing more is known about her. It is not known when or where Richard was baptised, but he was buried as a son of Matthew on 18 November 1609 in Brixworth. Susannah was baptised in Brixworth on 18 August 1611. She was married there on 26 November 1636 to Nicholas Wilkinson. William was baptised on 5 March 1614-5 as the son of Matthew and he married Ann and went on to father seven named children with her, all baptised in All Saints’ Church, Brixworth. He died in 1661 and was buried on 26 July that year.
Alice was baptised on 16 March 1615-16 in Brixworth as the daughter of Edward and Alice. She was married to John Couper on 29 October 1635.
Edward was baptised as the son of William on 10 April 1648. Nothing further is known about him. Margaret was baptised on 28 April 1650 in Brixworth as the daughter of William and Ann. Nothing more is known of her. Elizabeth was baptised on 14 July 1652 as a daughter of William and Ann. Nothing further is known. Alice was one of twin daughters of William and Ann baptised on 12 February 1655-6. Alice died and was buried on 19 June 1657 just a week after her twin Esther. Note: There is some confusion about the actual burial date as our own Registers record record Alice died 19 February 1655-6, yet a copy of the original register, now viewable on FindMyPast, shows the burial as above. We presume a transcription error by the researcher. Esther, Alice’s twin sister, only survived until the following year, 1657, when she was buried in Brixworth on 10 June. Another Esther was baptised on 9 July 1658. Matthew, presumably named after his paternal grandfather, who had recently died, was baptised in Brixworth on 8 October 1660. Nothing more is known of him.
