SOME SIXTEENTH CENTURY BICKNELLS
We have seen that the Bicknell family is descended from the
ancient Pavilly family of France and is of
Teutonic Norman
stock, clearly traceable to Sir Amalbert de Pavilly, founder of a
monastery at Pavilly, in Normandy in 664, A. D. We have
traced the family line to the marriage of Robert de Pavilly and
Johanne de 1'Estra in Sumersetshire, England.
An interesting bit of romance is gleaned from the ancient
records concerning the Paveley-de l'Estra marriage. It was law
and custom in the thirteenth century that a maid with an estate,
without parents, could not marry without the consent of the king.
Henry III was as jealous of his marital rights as was his notorious
descendant, Henry VIII, and on learning that Joan dc 1'Estra, an
heiress, had made bold to marry a Paveley without his consent,
he ordered the groom put in prison for his high crime and
marital misdemeanor. How long the bride and groom were
separated by prison walls is not known, but fortunately we have
the order of the release from prison, on payment of a certain
graft of 20 marks, or sixty-five dollars.
The King to the Barons of the Exchequer sends Greeting:
Know ye that Philip de Pavilly, brother of Robert de Pavilly,
paid to Goeffrey, keeper of our wardrobe, by our order a
Waltham, the Thursday next after the feast of Saint Lucy, the
24th year of our reign, 20 marks, by which the same Robert
made a tire with us that he should be liberated from our prison,
to which Robert was taken and detained in our prison on account
of the trespass which he made against us by marrying the heiress
of William de 1'Estra. And behold, we order you that you cause
the same Robert to be guit of those 20 marke.
Witness the King at Waltham, December 15, 1239.
We have seen that John de Pavilly (English Pavely) the son
of Robert became the owner of the Manor of Bykenhulle in
Somersetshire and later adopted the name of the manor for his
own surname as John de Bykenhulle. The changes of the name
from Bykenhulle to B-i-c-k-n-e-l-l, have been noted. In some
instances the same person is known under several spellings, as
Sir John, whose name appears as Biconyll ( 1470), Byconill,
Bickenyle, Biconell, Byconnel, Biconel, Bicconell, Bickenell
(1497)
While there can be no doubt that that our ancestor, Zachary
Bicknell, of Somersetshire, is in direct decent from
John de
(Paveley) Bicknell, we cannot at this time establish the lineage.
Mr A. Sidney Bicknell, of Barcombe House, near Lewes, Sussex,
England, writes under date of May 28, 1911: "During 33 years I
have examined every source whence information concerning the
English Bicknells could be traced. I have read all the Bicknell
wills from King John's time, preserved in the Archbishop's Pal-
ce, London, and in Bishop's registry office and over one thous-
and Bicknell's have been classified alphabetically, with their ad-
iresses, and between fifteen and seventeen hundred for reference,
so that I can instantly tell how many Johns or Marys or other
names have been used. I think highly of my descent and his-
tory, and I am at last beginning to hope some one, hearing my
name, will appreciate the greatest labor, or rather I should say
one of the chief labors of my long and strenuous life."
Mr. Bicknell died a few months after writing the above letter,
in 1911. His widow, Mrs. Rose L. Bicknell, wrote under date
of February 3, 1912, that her late husband had left a large amount
of family history and biography, seven volumes in all; that he
had left them to his son, who was then in India.
Mrs. Bicknell died at Bareombe House, January 8, 1913.
It is our sincere desire that the Bicknell papers, collected by
Mr. A. Sidney Bicknell, may, at no distant day, be published
and made a part of our English connections with the distant and
honorable past of the Bicknell family.
William Bicknell built the splendid chantry and porch of,
Northleach Church, Gloucestershire, England. He died in the
year 1500.
William Bicknell was a Catholic priest at Bathampton, 1487,
and resigned 1493.
William de Bickenhull was a tenant of the Dean and Chapter
of Wells, in 1314,
Nicholas Bicknell, Lay subsidy tax rolls, London, £6, 16s
Vd., 1596.
Zacharie Bicknell, Lay subsidy tax rolls, London, £2, 7s, 1d.,
1596·
Robert Bickenell, Lay subsidy, 1524.
William Bicknell, Lay subsidy, 1524.
John Bicknell, Lay subsidy, 1524.
All in the tything of Elsewode.
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Zacharias Bicknell and Maria Rowsell were married in Shep-
ton a parish near Barrington, April 18, 1626.
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Edward Bicknell, North Braddon, 1597.
John Bicknell, Winsham, 1597.
Richard Bicknell, Pixton, 1597.
George Bicknell, Barrington, 1597.
Zachary Bicknell, Barrington, 1597.
John Bicknell, Milverton, 1597.
From tax roll in Record Office, London.
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Nicholas Bykenell, of North Petherton; will dated May 3,
1547; probated May 15, 1547. Children: John, Richard, Alex-
ander. Wife, Margaret, made executrix.
__________________
Nicholas Bicknell, of Nynehead; will dated October 13, 1558;
probated December 5, 1558. Gave to John, son of John Bick-
nell, a platter dish and a latten candle stick; to Margaret, dau.
of John, the same; to Elizabeth, a brass pan ; to son John, a bacon
hog; balance to son Richard, executrix.
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Nicholas Bicknell, of Barrington; will dated June 26, 1611;
probated London, October 31, 16II. Legacies to son William,
u. Mary, dau. Hester, dau. Dorothie, dau. Jane, son William,
the younger; son Henry, son Ralph, dau. Katharine; dau· Elianor,
son Nicholas; dau, Sarah. William, the younger, and Henry
were made supervisors, and wife Katharine, executrix, with all
property in excess of legacies.
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Bridget Bicknell, Barrington; will dated March 9, 1674; pro-
bated March 25, 1674; widow; all goods and chattels given to
her only daughter, Joan, whom she made executrix. Bro. John
Pierce and sister Flower Bicknell, guardians to Joan during her
minority.
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Grace B. Bicknell, Barrington; will dated March 19, 1674;
probated June, 1676. Gave all to Frances Micham, a kinswoman
William Bicknell, Barrington, yeoman, 1639.
Arthur Bicknell, Barrington, yeoman, 1639.
John Bicknell, Barrington, 1639.
Zacharias Bicknell, Barrington, husbandman, 1639.
__________________
THE WILL OF ZACHARIE BICKNELL.
Barrington In the name of God Amen the XVth day of Noue-
T ber
in the yeare of our Lorde God 1620 I Zacharie
Zacarie Bicknell of Barrington in the Countie of
Somerset
Bicknel within the Dioces of Bathe and Welles yeoma beinge
(God be thanked) of good remebrance Doe make
this my Testamente cotayninge therein my laste wille in manner &
forme ffollowinge ffirst I commende my soule into hands of god
my Creator & Redeemer and my bodie to be buried in Barrington
Church-yard neere to my ffathers grave Item I give to Thomas
Bicknell my sonne Xs Item I give to Zacharie my sonne my best
brasse potte & tweetie pounds in monie to be payed unto him with-
in one yeare next after my Decease. Item I give to Redeccha
Clarke my Daughter Xs Item I give to Jonn Clarke my nephewe
XXs to be payed when he hath served out his apprenticeshippe
Item I give to Margerie Clarke my necce iiis iiiid Item I giue to
eurie one of all my childrens children that shal be lyviinge at the
tyme of my Death xiid a peece Item I give to John Bicknell my
sonne my Cupborde in the parler my furnace pane & table bord to
be used by his mother duringe her life Item I give to the sayde
John my wenuinge tubs with all instrumcnts and furniture belong-
ing unto them Item I give to the sayde John Bicknell and Zach-
arie Bicknell my sonnes all my ploughshe stuffs to be equallie
parted betweene them But my svill is that my wifc shall use
yt all as longe as she shall lyve If either of them shall happen
to die his parte shall remaine to the survivors If they Die both
before their mother she is to dispose of it Item I give to my
daughter Mellone Xs my best brasse pane I give to my brother
Richarde Bicknell my hand mille now in his owne possession
Item I give to euerie one of my godchilde xiid a peece and the
residue of all my goods & chattels (my debts and legacies being
first payed) I give and bequeathe to Johan Bicknell my wife
whom I doe make my whole executrix
The marke of Witness hereof
are
X
Wilton Owsley and
Zacharie
Bicknell
John Owsley.
(W.O.)
Then follows a Latin dictum relating to probating the will,
dated the 8th of June, 1621.
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It will be noted that the will was made on the 15th day of
November, 1620, the very day on which the first exploring party
of the Mayflower, under Myles Standish, left the ship and ex-
plored the sand dunes of Cape Cod. It was probated on the
8th day of June, 1621, so that it as probable that our English
great-grand ancestor died in the early part of that year.
His wife Johan ( Joanna) is made his "whole executrix." It
may be said that the names, Joan, Joanna, Johan, Johanna and
Jane are feminine of John, and are used in old Mss. indiscrimi-
nately. The names John and Joan were common in England
in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, and William and John
lead in the fourteenth and fifteenth. Old English names dis-
appeared with the Conquest and William's advent brought Bible
names, Saint names and his own Teutonic names.
Barrington is a parish in Somerset County, England, near
to the Bicknell Manor, where many of the Bicknell line have
lived and died. On the opposite page is a picture of the parish
Church of the village and the church yard surrounding it con-
tains the graves of Bicknells of the earlier as well as later gen-
erations. Zachary Bicknell, son of Zacharie and Johan, his wife,
was born in this parish and here were probably buried our an-
cestors for several generations. Both Zacharie and Johan provide
for their burial in the Barrington church yard "neere to my
ffathers’s grave." This parish name was transferred from Som-
ersetshire parish to a part of Old Swansea, Mass., settled by
Bicknells, and now became the Barrington, R. I. Thus old world
peoples and towns became the possession of the new. A corre-
spondent writes "there is a village and parish about six miles from
Taunton, called Bickenhall. This is a charming part of Eng-
land, and you ought to be proud that your people came from the
"Vale of Taunton Dean.' "
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THE WILL OF JOHAN BICKNELL.
In thc name of God Amen, the XXVIIIth day of
Bicknell December, in the year of our Lord God, 1621, I
Testum Johan Bicknell, of Barrington, in
ye Countie of
Joanne Somst and within ye Diocs of Bath and Wells,
Bicknell widowe, beinge of good and pfit remembrance (God
be thanked for it), Do make this my Testament
containinge therein my laste Will in maner and forme as fol-
loweth ffirst, I give and bequeth my soule into the hands of Al-
mighty God, my maker and redeemer, and my body to be buried
in the church yard at Barrington as neer my husband's grave
as conveniently may be. Item I give to the parish church of
Barrington 11s. Item I give to my sone Thomas Bicknell 11s.
Item I give to Rebecca Dilleings, my daughter, one duste bed
which is in the trokell bedsteed and one paires of blankets be-
longing to the same bed and my leaste winsheete {winnowing
sheet-Ed.}. Item I give to the same Rebecca all my wearinge
apparrell except my whittell and my best kerchiefe. Item I give
to my daughter Mellonie Warde my newest paire of sheets and
my best carcheife. Item I give to Marie Ward, my daughter
Mellonie's childre VId a peece. Item I give to Zacharie Ward
one silver spoon. Item I give to my sone John Bicknell my
greatest brasse pot saue one. Item I give to Zacharie Bicknell,
the sone of John Bicknell, my nephew, one weather sheepe, one
silver spoon. Item, I give to Ellen Bicknell and Elizabeth, the
childre of John Bicknell, my sone, VId a piece. Item I give to
Marmaduke Bicknell one silver spoone. I give to Elizabeth Bick-
nell, the dau. of William Bicknell, VId. To all my god children
VId a peece. The rest of my goods and chattailes, my depts and
legacies being paid, I give to Zacharie Bicknell, my sone, whome
l makc my whole executor.
Witnesse hereunto are
Johan
William Owsley,
X her
marke
John Owsley.
Bicknell.
This will was probated in 1624.
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ANCESTRY OF ZACHARY,1 OF
WEYMOUTH, MASS.
From the two wills given above we can construct a genera-
tion in Barrington, England.
Zachary and Johan Bicknell. Residence, Barrington, Som-
erset Co., England.
Children:
Thomas.
Rebecca, m. 1st Clarke; m.2nd Dilliengs.
John.
Mellonie, m. Warde.
Zacharie, b. about 1690; emigrated to New England witlt wife
Agnes or Anne and son John, in 1635.
Zachary names a brother Richard, and a nephew John Clarke,
and a niece Margerie Clarke, and leaves legacies to children's
children.
Johan, the widow, leaves legacies to all the children named
above, and also names a grand-child, Mary Ward, daughter of
Mellonie and Zacharie Ward. Probably a
grand-child. She
names also Zacharie, thc son of John, probably her grandson, and
Ellen and Elizabeth, her grand-daughters, of John, her son.
She also names Marmaduke Bicknell and
Elizabeth, the
daughter of William, whose relationship is not
determinable.
She makes Zachary, her son, our ancestor in America, her "whole
executor." Both Zacharie and Johan were buried in the
Bar-
rington church yard. As they had several grand-children, they
were probably born before 1570, during the reign of Queen Eliza-
beth.