The first appearance of a Manning in Ringstead seems to be a Henry Manning and his wife Katherine. We have no idea whether they originally were of that village or had come there from elsewhere, but we know that they resided in Ringstead in 1625 when Henry's wife Katherine died. There have been Mannings there since then.
Our branch of the Mannings end up in Woodford about 1809. Henry Manning and 2 brothers moved from Ringstead to Denford where they married and raised their families. These men were sons of Thomas Manning who had a will dated 1802.
Henry's son John Manning went to Woodford where he married Sarah Roe in 1809. Life was rather hard for him as he soon suffered various ailments. He became blind near the end of his life and was on the dole at that time.
His daughter Jane moved to Raunds where she married Joseph Bass. His daughter Mary married William Hodgkins of Yeldon. Three sons, Thomas, James, and Samuel, eventually emigrated to the United States.
In 1848, Thomas, working in New York City, wrote to his wife Nancy Emerson Manning in Douglas, Massachusetts, to tell her that he had received a letter from his brother Samuel Manning of Woodford. In it he learns that a brother James was probably on the ocean on his way to the United States.
It is interesting to learn that Samuel, too, had plans to emigrate, but only after the youngest son of the family was able to care for the parents. Samuel left Woodford in 1851. The youngest son, John Manning, remained in Woodford and took care of his parents.
|
