The
English Ancestry of the Waynes
There are many records available to
family history researchers, such as polling, tax, marriage, baptism, death and visitation
records. Each country has different types of records. England proper has a
history of being conquered and invaded over many centuries, which led to feudal
systems. Eventually the system of a King and Baronies were instituted. William
the Conquer, 1044 AD, conquered England, and immediately set out to see just
what he had under his throne. He sent men out to all known parts of his kingdom
to visit as many subjects as possible. This was a huge undertaking that took
several years to accomplish. The work was written in Latin and eventually
became known as the "Book of Doom".
Today thanks largely to Genealogist;
many of the records are becoming centralized. Rare books are being re-published
and many records and books are in electronic form for easy access. This makes
research a little more accessible and available to more people with limited
resources. It is possible to find rare books through the Internet and to make
connections with other researchers interested in the same area of research.
A great deal of my source material for
this chapter comes from Edwin Jaquett Sellers book "English Ancestry Of
The Wayne Family of Pennsylvania, 1927. I also have been indebted to the works
of Sir Bernard Burke.
The
name of Wayne, its variant spellings, i.e. Wain, Waine, Way, Wayn go back to
the Anglo-Saxon period. There were no common ways to uniformly spell names.
Often they were spelled how they sounded. Today in genealogy research names are
given a soundex code, Wayne is number 500. In my research I have seen cases
where the same family spelled Wayne different between close relatives. The most
common are Wain and Wayne, Waine.
From
Lewis' Topographical Dictionary: Waghen, or Wawn, A parish in the union of
Beverley, Middle Division of the Wapentake of Holderness, East Riding of
Yorkshire, 4 miles S. E. from Beverley. The parish, including the hamlet of
Meux, comprises 5600 acres. The river Hull is to the West. Meux is celebrated
for the remains of its once splendid abbey. The Church (St. Peter) was erected
in 1211.
The
place, Waghen or Wawn, appears to have given its name to a family originating
in that vicinity, from which the family of Wayne was derived. Probate records
at Lichfield referred to a Wayne family of Derbyshire, which have the names of
Anthony, Gabriel, Frances, Isaac and Humphrey, the same family names that
appear in the PA family. Probate records of Lichfield, Staffordshire, show that
a Wayne family settled in that county as early as 1533.
It
appears that Richard Wayne is the first of the family to whom reference has
been found in Derbyshire. Derbyshire Charters, by Isaac Herbert Jeayes, London,
1906 No 301: Grant from John Hyklyng of Lynhe, esquire, and Joan his wife, to
Richard Wayne, of Herthill, of his land, etc, in the lordship of Birchover called
Hill Place, 1431. From this record you would assume that Richard was already of
some age, 25-45 possibly, and already married. His son Roger, there is record
of a Quitclaim from Roger Waine of Alport, to Henry Vernon 14 May 1492. His
sons; John, Humphrey and Ralph.
There
is a will of John dated 4 October 1535. He was buried in the Churchyard of All
Halowes, Youlgreave. And a will of Ralph Wayne; dated 7 July 1539. To be buried
in the church of Sent Margret of Elton. He lists one of his sons as Thomas
Wayn. One son Robert was spelled Robte, Wyllm is William.
John
son of Ralph lived in Formark, Repton Parish, County of Derby. He spelled his
name John Weyne in a will dated 8 September 1558. To be buried in the
Churchyard of Repton. He had a son named John and he spelled his name as John
Wean. He had John and Gilbert Weane and Elizabeth. He was buried 15 February
1609 in Repton Parish. His will is sealed with the Family arms without a crest.
On
to Gabriel Wayne, Yeoman, who died in may 1637 in Thurvaston, county Derby.
There are numerous wills and poll records of the area for this family of
Wayne’s. There is John Wayne's , Yeoman, will dated 23 January 1659. He lived
in Newton Solney, County Derby. The second Gabriel Wayne, a Captain was also a
Mayor of the Borough of Chesterfield in 1657, Gabriel Wain. He donated 2 acres
of land for a school, the Petty School in Chesterfield. He was married twice.
nothing is known of his first wife, but his second wife Martha Saunderson,
there is found a historical account in Joseph Hunter's Hallamshire, History of
the Parish of Sheffield, Page 390, Martha, baptized at Sheffield, 9/21/1636
married first a Gilbert Morewood, second Capt. Gabriel Wayne. A note in H.
Farnham Burke, of the Heralds College, London: "According to a note here
Gabriel Wayne of Newbould in 1668 and of Dronfield 1678 was a great dealer in
Iron Mines, died at Norton Hall". One of his sons, Gabriel born 10
December 1653 has a record in the Patent Roll. Granted by King William II and
Mary, S.P. Dom Entry Book 235 pp154&155 granted 16 July 1691 for an
invention of making pitch and tar. In 28 April 1693 for an invention of a
smelter of Iron. He was buried 18 Jan. 1722, and his wife Katherine was buried
17 Aug. 1710. He was married twice; Elizabeth Sharpe and Katherine. Capt.
Anthony Wayne is the son of Gabriel Wayne and his first wife. He is said to
come from Yorkshire, and he bore the same Coat of Arms as John his grandfather.
This
is the Capt. Anthony Wayne that fought gallantly and distinguished himself at
the Battle of the Boyne. He is the grandfather of Maj. Gen. Anthony Wayne. He
settled in County Wicklow, Ireland on land granted him for service to the King.
It is said he tired of the Irish People and the social habits of Ireland. He
made a resolve to move to the New World. The Wayne clan did originate in
Yorkshire, and a branch in Derbyshire.
I
have copies of the wills of Capt. Anthony Wayne, and of Gen. Anthony Wayne. I
have largely concentrated on the Wayne lineage that settled in Chester County,
PA. That has been my interest. There are other Wayne’s still living in England
today as well as in New Zealand. The New Zealand branch came from Derbyshire.
It appears that either a Wayne moved to Augusta, GA. or he was a direct
descendant of the same Wayne’s of Derbyshire, as an account quotes a witness as
saying he had the same Coat of Arms. As yet I do not know how this Wayne is
related. From a letter from Miss Elizabeth Clifford Neff, Cleveland, OH to
Capt. William Wayne (of Waynesborough), she mentions that Richard Wayne, Jr.,
of Augusta, GA married Juliana Smyth of Wilmington, Del. Her Father is Gresham
Wayne Smyth. This does check out with the Savannah Historical Society. You can
find more on this on the "Savannah Wayne’s" page.
There
is a Rev. Henry H. Wayne of New Britain, Conn., who had a genealogy of the
Georgia Wayne’s. Source from a letter to Capt. Wm. Wayne in Waynesborough, PA.
I have tried in vain by letters to find his living relatives.
Capt.
Anthony Wayne, settler in Easttown, Chester County, PA, is apparent by all
accounts that I can find to date, our ancestor. His Children were born in
Rathdrum, County Wicklow, Ireland, but the Wayne’s are definitively of English
origin. He lived in Ireland with his wife, Hannah Faulkner and 10 children until
1723. I have not found the reason Capt. Anthony Wayne decided to move to
America. I have read accounts that he raised sheep in Ireland and that the
market fell through. His lifelong companion and friend, John Hunter apparently
moved to America first and he perhaps encouraged Anthony to move to America.
History does tell us that the political climate in Ireland at this time was in
turmoil as it has been for centuries. There were still small battles and
skirmishes being fought in Ireland and perhaps Anthony was concerned for the
safety of his family. He did board a ship and sailed to America, landing in
Boston harbor in 1723 is a fact.
He
moved to Chester County Pa. in a climate that was suited to freedom of
religion. He purchased his land from William Penn and immediately built a
temporary shelter to house his family. Later he built a stone structure that
became Waynesborough. The land and home was passed to his son Isaac Wayne,
Esq., who added to the stone structure.
Capt.
Anthony Wayne died 12/2/1739. Isaac had four children, two girls and two sons.
Ann, Hannah, William and Anthony. Anthony became a Maj. Gen. under George
Washington and died in the service to his country. The next page is dedicated
to Maj. Gen. Anthony Wayne. Maj. Gen. Anthony Wayne
[Note:
I have written to a lot of Wayne’s in Conn. to find any ancestor of Rev. Henry
H. Wayne. I did not receive one positive reply, but I found that many of them
are not Wayne’s at all, but have taken the Wayne name when they emigrated.]