MANN MAN genealogy	26 January 2017
MANN family tree MANN family summary MANN ancestor chart		Dr Geoffrey Mann geoff.mann@btinternet.com home page
6 William MAN	7. William MAN 1712 - ?	8 Robert MAN
	m Mary HARVEY 1732

William was born about 1712, son of Robert a weaver of Colchester. He was apprenticed in 1726 to Isaac Bayley a Quaker of Brightlingsea, but after five years transferred to a mariner, Henry Townsend, probably on ships sailing from Brightlingsea. Even before that apprenticeship finished, he married Mary HARVEY in Colchester in 1732 and two sons were baptised there in 1738 and 1740. Before his second child was even born however, William enlisted as a soldier and no further certain records are known. Possibly he was the William Mann serving in Menorca in the 3rd regiment of foot during the seven year war in the 1760s. His wife Mary probably died in 1745 and his children were brought up by Elizabeth Mann, possibly a second wife of William or perhaps a grandmother.

age    Date   WM MH

EVENT

?    1712 16Jul1726 14  5Apr1731 19 24Dec1732 20 16Jul1733 21  4Jun1738 26  7Apr1740 28      1740 28 10Apr1745 33 27Jan1746 34 14Mar1753 41 27Apr1754 42

William born, son of Robert, weaver of Colchester? apprenticed to Isaac BAYLEY of Brightlingsea apprenticeship transferred to Henry TOWNSEND, mariner of London married Mary HARVEY at Colchester St Nicholas date for completion of apprenticeship son William C at Colchester St James son Harvey C at Colchester Holy Trinity enlisted in the army; ?3rd regiment of foot? ? Mary buried at Colchester St Giles Elizabeth MANN widow with children William & Harvey at Colchester St James obtains settlement certificate son William apprenticed as a blacksmith at Abberton son Harvey apprenticed as a bay weaver at Colchester

PRINCIPAL RECORDS

b=born m=married d=died
C=Christened    B=Buried

BIRTH

William was married in 1738 in Colchester. A birth date of 1718 or earlier is therefore expected. The only baptism in the Essex index in Colchester at this time is at St Giles 4Oct1696 son of Robt and Sarah. This is probably too early as he would have been aged 42 at marriage.  (Unless this was a second marriage; there is an earlier marriage at Coggeshall, 9 miles from Colchester, 26Dec1717 William Man to Mary Rose. Many Mann's at Coggeshall including William bap 1724 son of Thomas and Mary but no evidence to link these with Colchester).

There is however an indenture showing that a William Mann, son of Robert a weaver of Colchester, was apprenticed to Isaac BAYLEY of Brightlingsea, on 16Jul1726 and the apprenticeship was transferred on 5Apr1731 to Henry TOWNSEND a mariner of London. There are reasons to believe that this indenture refers to William-7:

1. Apprenticeships started at age 14, implying a birth date of 1712 which is a suitable date for William-7
2. The settlement examination of Harvey Mann, son of William-7, shows that he had legal settlement in Brightlingsea. An apprenticeship served by his father in Brightlingsea would be sufficient reason for such legal settlement.
3. Witnesses to the indenture include Christopher Harvey, possibly a relation of William-7’s mother Mary Harvey

The 7 year apprenticeship was due to end in July 1733, but William-7 was married in December 1732, so if this is the right William, he did not quite finish his mariner’s apprenticeship. Perhaps this is in character with William-7, as he had already transferred his apprenticeship after 5 years, and according to his son Harvey’s settlement examination, he enlisted as a soldier before Harvey was born in 1740.

It is likely therefore that William was born within a year of 1712, son of Robert of Colchester. There is no such baptism in the All-Essex parish register index.

MARRIAGE

William MANN-6 was baptised at Colchester St James in 1738, son of William & Mary. The only other child baptised by these parents in Colchester was at Holy Trinity in 1740 and named Harvey. These baptisms are preceded by the following marriages:

m 24Dec1732 William MANN & Mary HARVEY at Colchester St Nicholas, about ¼ mile from St James.
m 19Jul1737 William MANN hostler of Colchester & Mary; clandestine marriage in London

The use of Harvey as a forename seems to confirm that Mary Harvey was the mother of the two boys. But the gap of 6 years between her marriage and the first baptism is unusual. So the possibity remains that Mary Harvey died and the boys were born to the second Mary of unknown surname, although no burial of Mary Mann is known at Colchester between Dec1732 and Jul1737

DESCENDANTS

from Colchester St James register:
C 4Jun1738 William s William & Mary MAN
from Colchester Holy Trinity register
C 7Apr1740 Harvey s William & Mary MAN

In January 1746, a settlement certificate shows that William & Harvey [aged 8 and 6] were in the care, and said to be the children of, Elizabeth MANN widow and had legal settlement in Brightlingsea [an indenture shows that a William Mann was apprenticed at Brightlingsea in 1726; he is likely to be the father of the boys since this would account for their settlement in the parish] They were probably removed from Colchester to Brightlingsea at this time, since Harvey was apprenticed by the parish officers of Brightlingsea at the age of 15, about 1755. It seems therefore that neither William nor Mary were able to take care of their children at this time. William had enlisted in the army before Harvey was born and Mary may have died. There is a burial of Mary Mann on 10 Apr 1745 at St Giles, Colchester just 9 months before the settlement certificate. So who was Elizabeth?  There is no known record of a marriage of William and Elizabeth between 1740 and 1746. (The only m in various indices is at White Notley in 1744; the register entry however states William was a bachelor of Witham), Perhaps Elizabeth was grandmother to the boys, in which case she was the mother of William or Mary Harvey.

DEATH

from original Colchester parish registers

B 10Apr1745 Mary Mann at St Giles
B  8Oct1749 Mary Mann at St Botolph (not in Ancestry index)
B 21Dec1753 Mary Mann at St James
[burials of Mary in 1732 at St Giles were wife and dau of Richard Mann; burial in 1746 at St James was an infant]

B  1Sep1739 William Man at St Botolph
B 21Jun1799 William Man at St Botolph
[burials of William in 1736 and 1737 at St James were infants]

No confirmation as to which William and which Mary these burials refer, but it is assumed that the 1745 burial refers to Mary Harvey as this accounts for her children being in the care of Elizabeth in 1746. The 1739 burial seems unlikely to refer to William-7, as his son was born in 1740, before which he enlisted in the army. The 1799 burial could refer to William-7 if he returned from the army and lived to the age of 87; it seems perhaps more likely that he died elsewhere while in the army.

OTHER

Army records

The settlement examination of William’s son Harvey, states that William enlisted in the army before Harvey was born, ie around 1740. County militias were not formed until the Militia Act of 1757, so it appears that William was in the regular army. A number of regiments were in the vicinity of Colchester at this time, but muster lists of the regiments are not available until 1760. Lists of those regiments known to have been near Colchester about 1740 have been searched, and just one William Mann was found. He served in the 3rd regiment of foot (the Buffs) between 1763 and 1767 when he was with the regiment in Menorca at the end of the 7 year war. No subsequent records have been found. There is no confirmation that he is William-7

Indenture of William MANN April 1731

This Indenture witnesseth that Wm Mann son of Robert Mann late of Colchester in the County of Essex weaver --- of his own free will and with consent of his Master Isaac Bayley of Brightlingsea, doth put himself apprentice to Henry Townsend of London Marriner, to learn his art after the manner of an apprentice to serve from the fifth day of April unto the full end and term of seven years, from the sixteenth day of July 1726 being the date of a – of Indentures made between the said Wm Mann and Isaac Bayley aforesaid, that is to say the said Wm Mann shall and will well and truly serve as a faithfull an apprentice as if all the Methodicall forme was here inserted, being fully expressed in the former indentures bearing date as aforesaid, to the said Henry Townsend from the fifth day of April now instant, until the sixteenth day of July 1733 and the said Henry Townsend shall find him the said Wm Mann sufficient meat drink washing and lodging and all other necessaries during the said term and at the expiration thereof shall give unto him double apparill that is one sute for holy days and another for working cloaths. Furthermore the said Henry Townsend doth hereby promise and agree to and with the said Isaac Bayley to give him six pounds of good and lawful money for the servitude, that is three pounds in one year after the date of these presents, and the other three pounds at the expiration of the said limited time, but if the said Wm Mann should make his escape from the said Henry Townsend then he shall pay to the said Isaac Bayley proportionally for the time he has been with him and no otherwise, unless the said Wm Mann should be pressed from on board of the said Henry Townsend so that he knows on which of his Majesties ships he is on board of[?] then the said Isaac Bayley to have the said six pounds as aforesaid, And for the true performance of all and every the covenants and agreements aforesaid either of the said parties bindeth himself unto the other firming --- these presents. In witness whereof the parties above said ------- Indenturs interchangeably have set their hands and seal--------- April in the fourth year of the reign of our Sovereign --[George the]--- Second by the grace of God of Great Britain France and [Ireland] King Defender of the Faith etc. anno dom 1731
sealed and delivered being treble stampt in the presence of us Hayd[?] Rush, Chris Harvey, Hen Townsend, x Wm Manns mark
Summary: William Mann, son of Robert Mann late of Colchester weaver, apprenticed to Isaac Bayley of Brightlingsea for 7 years from 16Jul1726 to 16Jul1733. But in April 1731, this indenture transferred the apprenticeship to Henry Townsend, mariner of London, for the remaining two years, presumably to become a mariner.

Settlement certificate

from churchwardens of Brightlingsea to church wardens of St James Colchester
Elizabeth MANN, widow, and William and Harvey MANN, her children, are legally settled in the parish of Brightlingsea
signed 27Jan1745/6, Thomas LIST, Thomas WHITING, John TODD

Settlement examination

The examination of Harvey MANN now residing in the parish of St Leonard, Colchester, labourer 14mar1799 Who on oath hath said that he was born in Colchester but doth not know in what parish; at about the age of 15 he was bound apprentice by the parish officers of Brightlingsea to Thomas HILLS of St James Colchester, woollen manufacturer, for seven years; he served the whole of the said term in St James but he hath heard that before he was born, his father came from Brightlingsea into St James by virtue of a certificate and had left St James and enlisted as a soldier before he [Harvey MANN] was born. And he hath now a wife named Ann and three children named Elizabeth about 6, Harvey about 3, and Sarah about 8 weeks.
Signed Harvey x MANN orders of rem-- to Brightlingsea