Keith Wilson (2009)
Mathew Wilson 1726-1802
George Wilson 1758-1830
Mathew Wilson 1790-1873
George Wilson 1818-1903
William Wilson 1855-1941

SECTION 3
Title 1
Title 2
Title 3
Title 4
Title 5

The name Whincup, according to the book, ‘Vikings and Surnames’, by K.H.Rogers, means something like ‘a gorse covered hill’, from the words cu and whin (gorse or furze). It would seem that we could have Viking ancestors through this line as well as through the Wilson line!

Ann Whincup, married to George Wilson in 1843, remained a mystery for quite some time, mainly because her place of birth appeared, on the 1861 census, as Marton. Eventually, after searchingthrough the records of various different Martons to be found in Yorkshire, perusal of the badly written word with a magnifying glass solved the mystery. Ann was, in fact, born in Marston (i.e.Long Marston) in May 1822. Her parents were Richard Whincup, born in about 1783 in Kirk Deighton, and MaryFalkingham, born about 1779 in Spofforth. One of Ann’s sisters, Sarah, born about 1816,who married Hugh Sherwin in 1841 (Ann was a witness at the wedding) emigrated to America. Their other siblings were William, b. 1806, Joseph, b. 1808, David, b. 1810, Mary, b. 1812, Richard, b. 1814, Elizabeth, b. 1816, and George, b. 1818. Ann was the youngest child. William, the eldest, was born in Spofforth, his mother’s home parish, and the next three children were born in Kirk Deighton, so the family must have moved to Marston some time after 1812.

Tracing the family back from Ann Whincup takes us to our earliest known ancestor, Richard Hopwood. Richard’s birth date is not known, but his daughter, ‘Janeta’ (latin form of Janet in the parish register) was christened on 11^th October 1583 in Collingham. So we can suppose that Richard must have been born in about 1560. This was during the reign of Queen Elizabeth  I .

Janeta’ married ‘Nicholaus Whincoppe’ on 20^th November 1597 in Collingham. Nicholas is the earliest known Whincup ancestor.

Nicholas and Janet had three children, the eldest of whom was Richard, our direct ancestor, born in 1600 in Hunsingore. From then on the family became well established in the village and it is worth a visit to Hunsingore churchyard where various Whincup tombstones can be found. It is quite well documented that the Whincups originated in the Hunsingore /Spofforth / Whixley area, apart from some who lived in Suffolk. It is an unusual surname, and a lot of research has been done by Ray Whincup, Ken Whincup, and Paul Smith, who established the Whincup One-Name Study. It is generally agreed that everyone who has the surname, Whincup, is related. The transcript of entry of professions for Copmanthorpe in Baines’s Directory of 1823 mentions Wm. Whincup, ‘Carrier, to York every Saturday’, and a Wm. Whincup is recorded as a spirit merchant in Walmgate. These would almost certainly be relations.

Ann’s direct ancestors were: Richard, her father, then his father, Joseph, b. 1755, Joseph’s father, John, b. 1708, John’s father, Richard, b. 1671, Richard’s father, John, b. 1639 and his father, Richard, b.1600, son of Nicholas and Janet. Richard Whincup, b. 1671, and his wife, Ann Clarke, were born in Hunsingore, but must have moved to Kirk Deighton by 1704, when their first child, Mary, was born. The family then stayed in that area until Richard, b. 1783, moved to Long Marston.

A Whincup will, that of William, brother of our ancestor Richard, born in 1600, mentions John Goodricke, whose family owned estates in the district, including the Manor of Hunsingore. He was very active during the Civil War, as a captain of a Company of Foot in Lord Fairfax’s regiment. The stone marking the Goodricke vault is still to be seen in Hunsingore churchyard.

Hunsingore Church
Photograph by S Linton