| Notes |
- Bur: Bradenham Parish Churchyard Will dated 1643; probated 18 Aug 1845,
Bradenham, Bucks, Eng.
** Ancestry: See Letter to EDP, July 4, 1916, from Dora L. Berney of
Beacon Nall, Norwich, England -- after the following biography. Also see
letter from Col. James P. Barney, March 17, 1921, following biography.
EDWARD BARNEY OF BUCKINGHAMSHIRE, ENGLAND: The father of Jacob Barney,
founder of the largest American Barney family, seems to have been Edward
Barney who was buried in the Bradenham Parish Churchyard, Buckinghamshire,
England, August 18, 1645. His wife, Christian, was buried there March 9,
1639.
Edward Barney of Bradenham, Bucks, Yeoman, left a will dated April 13,
1643, with a codical dated October 9, 1643; proved October 25, 1645:
"..... I give and bequeath unto my son Jacob Barney the sum of ten pounds
of lawful money of England (if he is living at the time of my decease and
do come over into England and personally demand the same)."
In researching the Barney name in England, it is apparent that the family
originated in Norfolk County where the family has been prominent since the
Norman invasion. Many pedigrees exist for this ancient fmaily, especially
for the main branch who are Baronets with their seet at Reedham, near
Berney. It seems probable that Edward Barney of Buckinghamshire was a
descendant of the Norfolk family, but my sources in England say that they
are "satisfied that the Reedham, Norfolk family, and the Bradenham, Bucks
family have no connection at least within a considerable distance in time
of 1629."
See the Barney newsletter, #43 (Sept. 1989), pp.1-11 for an in-depth
discussion of Edward Barney.
Edward Barney of Bradenham, Buckinghamshire, by William C. Barney
[published in Barney Family Newsletter #43, Sept. 1989, pp.1-11]
All researchers for the past 180 years, both professional and amateur,
have concluded that Edward BARNEY, Yeoman, of the village of Bradenham,
Buckinghamshire, England is the father of Jacob Barney of Salem,
Massachusetts, the English emigrant and founder of the largest Barney
family in America. The evidence upon which this conclusion is based is
the following item in his Will [dated Oct. 9, 1743]: "Item, I give &
bequeath unto my sonne Jacob Barney the summe of ten pounds of lawfull
money of England (if hee bee livinge at the time of my death and doe come
over into England and personally demand the same.)"
This conclusion is plausable, even probable, but it does not exhaust the
list of other possibilities -- either for the father of Jacob Barney of
Salem, or for Edward Barney's "missing" son Jacob. It would be correct
for a mid-17th century English citizen to think of a person living in
either Wales, Ireland or Scotland to be "gone from England." Certainly
Edward Barney would believe his son Jacob to be "gone from England" if he
had gone to France or Switzerland, as well as if he had indeed gone to the
Colony of Massachusetts.
Ancestry of Edward Barney: The only accurate English Barney pedigrees I
have found are those for the Baronets of Norfolk County, and for their
prominent close relatives and immediate descendants in each generation.
Several branches of this BERNEY family have been traced in exhaustive
detail, but hundreds of other branches have been totally ignored, their
members having descended from a younger son [thus not entitled under the
Law of Primogeniture to inherit his father's title or any portion of his
estate.] Thereby disinherited by Law, these descendants became a part of
the largely obscure population, with one or another of them rising to
prominence on his own merit from time to time.
At least one rexearchers [Col. James Perrine Barney, "Genealogy of the
Barney Family, Including the English Line"] has concluded that Edward
Barney of Bradenham was the son of Sir Thomas Berney, Knight, High Sheriff
of Norfolk, by his wife Juliana Gawdey. That would make our Edward the
brother of Sir Richard Berney who was created Baronet in 1620.
Unfortunately, none of the authoritative English sources [Fenn's
Manuscripts of Norfolk and Suffolk, Blomefield's History of Norfolk,
Kimber & Johnson's Baronetage of England, Visitations of Norfolk, 1563,
1589, 1613] list a son Edward to Sir Thomas, although there are five named
sons (William, John, Richard, Thomas and Henry) and two daughters. Another
researcher has theorized that our Edward might be that Edward [Edmond],
son of Henry and Alice (Appleton) Berney, thus a brother of the Sir Thomas
Berney mentioned above. Again, the available records to not support this
theory; the recorded facts about this Edmond Berney do not match in any
way the life of Edward Barney of Bradenham.
The problem can be viewed in the proper perspective if we can be made to
understand the simple truth that we are examining a needle when we should
be searching through the haystack. By the time of our Edward Barney's
birth, about 1570, approximately 450 years had passed since the earliest
"de Bernye" was recorded; in that period of time there were approximately
18 generations, the pedigrees of which only about 5% have been compiled. A
note of the thousands of Barneys who have descended from our Jacob Barney
after 13 generations will make this point clear.
I am nearly 100% confident that our Edward Barney is a direct descendant
of one of the prominent Norfolk County Berneys, and I feel with the same
confidence that all Barneys are so related. It is relevant for me to
visualize, therefore, that Roger de Bernye of Berney, Norfolk Co., England
is our most ancient known ancestor. If we were ever able to compile a
complete and accurate genealogical history of his descendants, as we have
for the descendants of our Jacob Barney of Barney of Salem, Massachusetts,
we would have the truth. Meanwhile, those who wish to trace their Barney
pedigree to "Sir Edward Barney" will get no argument from me, but the
Edward Barney of Bradenham was never entitled to the aristocratic title
"Sir."
Edward Barney, Yeoman: Edward Barney was a Yeoman, and was thus addressed
in leases he signed with Lord Windsor, and described himself as such in
his Will. From the point of view of economics, many yeomen were little
better off than the tenant-farmers (who were serfs and peasants), but
their social standing was far more enviable. Quoting from A History of
England Under the Stuarts, by George Trevelyan [1904]: "In an age when no
one even pretended to think it wrong for a man to enforce political and
religious conformity among those over whose fortunes he had control, the
yeoman reaping his own field enjoyed an independence denied to many
pursuing more lucrative and more cultivated professions. To be counted as
a yeoman a man must be able to spend 40 shillings a year derived from his
own freehold land. This was also the qualification for the Parliamentary
franchise in the counties, a privilege which the yeoman exercised with
complete freedom." A further description is quoted by Felt in his Annals
of Salem [Vol. 1, pp. 15- 16; quoted from Smith's Commonwealth of
England]: As for gentlemen, they be made good-cheap in England; for
whosoever studieth the laws of the realm, who studieth in the
universities, who professeth liberal sciences, and to be short, who can
live idly and without manual labour, and will bear the port, charge and
countenance of a gentleman, he shall be called Master, for that is the
title which men give to Esquires and other gentlemen. Yeomen are next to
the nobility, Knights and Squires. This sort of people are not gentlemen,
but for the most part farmers to gentlemen, and by grazing, frequenting
markets, etc., do come to such wealth, that they are able to buy the lands
of unthrifty gentlemen, and after setting their sons to the universities,
to the laws, etc., do make their sons gentlemen. Yeomen are not called
Masters, but to their surname, men add "Goodman," and in law, they add
"Yeoman."
Edward Barney, Life in Bradenham: Bradenham is a very small village and
parish in the Desborough Hundred, Buckinghamshire. In 1796 it contained
about 1250 acres and about 200 inhabitants.
I have two copies of two leases by which Edward Barney was granted leases
by Sir Thomas Lord Windsor; the first dated July 30, 1635 and the second
dated December 20, 1635. The fact that Edward Barney leased farmlands and
buildings from Lord Windsor does not imply that he was a tenant-farmer;
rather, he was a landowner (a fairly wealthy one) and he leased lands in
order to increase his overall agricultural holdings.
Beyond the quaint writing style and spelling, there are several important
considerations in these documents. The detail of a simple lease is
astonishing, the words having been very carefully chosen to convey precise
and exact legal meanings. A great deal of importance was attached to the
use of the forests; these woodlands were always cherished and held to be
of great value by their owners. Also, there are strong religious ties
throughout the documents; even the days that the semi-annual rents were
due were specified as two major religious holidays: "The Ffeast of St.
Michaell The Archangell, and The Annunciacion of our Blessed Lady St. Mary
the Virgin." One point of major significance is the fact that these
contracts were binding on the heirs of Lord Windsor and Edward Barney, as
well as on themselves. The documents therefore ensured that Edward
Barney's leasehold lands, which he held by the same laws governing the
manorial right of Tenancy, would be properly inherited by his designated
heirs.
The documents were written on thin leather parchment, and were originally
sealed with wax. They are each about 22 inches in width and 15 inches in
length. Here is a translation of one of the leases; I believe I have
deciphered most of the words accurately.
I have visited Bradenham twice; once in July 1974 and again in October
1981. My immediate impression with the place was that it was so beautiful
I could not understand why anyone would want to leave it. It is a very
small hamlet, even by country English standards, being mainly comprised of
about two dozen small stone, thatched-roof houses lining either side of a
lane. The church is very prominent, being so tall that it can be seen
from a great distance. The only other prominent building there -- and it
is an immense brick mansion -- is the manor house which was built by
Andrew Lord Windsor in the early 16th century. The entire village and
surrounding countryside are now part of the English National Trust because
the famous British Prime Minister Disraeli was raised at Bradenham,
residing in the manor house.
During my first visit I rented horses from a stable in a nearby town; my
wife and I and our three boys spent an immensely enjoyable afternoon
riding along the same paths and through the same fields once intimately
known to our ancestor Edward Barney. We spent several hours at the
church, and did a painstaking search for gravestones bearing the name
Barney; we found none -- the graveyard is still in use, and I am sure the
graves have been recycled at least once in the intervening 335 years. We
inquired of the current Rector about the ancient parish records, and were
told that they were at Aylesbury in the County Records Office. We found
them there, and spent one whole day marveling over them (and copying them
of course).
Edward Barney's Family: We surmise that Edward Barney was born about 1570
since the earliest record concerning him is the christening of a son
William on 23 Jan 1600. We also know that his wife's name was Christian
(_____) because the parish record of 1639 records "Christian the wife of
Edw. Barney was Buried the 9th Day of March." The Bradenham parish
records also contain the christening of Edward Barney's son Thomas on 18
July 1609 and the burial of this child in Nov. 1609. On 25 Sept. 1627 a
John Barney was married in Bradenham to Katherine Davy; this John is
likely a son of our Edward. On 20 July 1628 Anne Barney and Francis
Loveday were married in Bradenham; we know that Anne was the daughter of
Edward because she is mentioned in his will. Another daughter, Katherine,
wife of John Dorvall, is also mentioned in Edward's will; and a son Jacob
is mentioned, "if he be living and come over to England." Finally, we
find the record that "Edward Barney was Buried the Eighteenth Day of
August Ano Domini 1645."
Many Barney researchers have concluded, I think erroneously, that Edward
Barney's wife was Isbell Rooles. The basis for their (false) conclusion
is an unfortunate coincidence in a major published work, "Genealogical
Gleanings in England" by H. F. Waters, published in 1896. Waters' work
included an abstract of Edward Barney's will (followed by the comment, "I
have no doubt that the Jacob Barney referred to as 'out of England' was
our Jacob Barney the elder of Salem." On the same page is an abstract of
the will of John Rooles of Turville, Buckinghamshire, dated 13 Dec 1586.
John Rooles' will leaves a bequest to his "Daughter Isbell Barney."
Now, I believe in forming opinions as well as the next person, but to
conclude that Isbell Rooles must have been married to our Edward Barney is
ridiculous. There were, literally, thousands of Barneys in England by
1586, at which time there were several Barney families in Buckinghamshire.
Certainly Isbell Rooles was married to one of them, but not necessarily to
Edward.
Letter to EDP, July 4, 1916, from Dora L. Berney, Beacon Hall, Norwich,
England: "I am answering for my father, who has been dead some years. I
am very sorry I have been uable to trace the Edward Barney of Bradenham,
Bucks. I do not think a history of the family has been compiled & the
references to it in standard workd, such as "Blomfield's Norfolk" seem
always to confine themselves to the elder branch, so that younger sons and
their descendants in each generation are not mentioned, which makes it
difficult to trace them. I have enquired among relatives in our own, as
well as Sir Thomas Berney's, branch of the family, but have not succeeded
in placing the Edward you want. Have you applied to the clergyman at
Bradenham? I believe for a 2/6 fee you can obtain all the information
from the church registers as far back as they are kept. You speak of
spelling the name Barney, but if you are correct in thinking the
connection is with this family it ought never to have been altered from
Berney. There have been Berneys of Norfolk since the 11th century & to
the best of my knowledge the spelling has never varied -- the name was
originally Norman & like so many of the old French names that have become
English the spelling remains, though the pronunciation has broadened."
Letter from Lt. Col. James P. Barney, Office of the Quartermaster General
of the Army, Washington, D.C., March 17, 1921: "The English Barney data I
got from Kimber & Johnson, Baronatage, and our "Edward" name was checked
by a cousin of my wife's, Sir Thomas Cuningham, Bart., so that I know it
is correct."
Letter from Lt. Col. James P. Barney, Office of the Quartermaster General
of the Army, Washington, D.C., May 12, 1921: "I have received a letter
today from the Hon. Graniler Duff, Lord Mayor of Norwich, England, in
which he states that the present holder of the title is Sir Thomas Berney,
a great personal friend and relative of his, and he has asked us to come
to Norwich when he will take us all over that county where my "English
kin" lived for generations."
|
Abt 1570 - 1645 (~ 75 years)
