Genealogy Intersections: Revisiting the 1719 Deed of Little Packington in Warwickshire
Posted on August 7, 2022 Leave a Comment
You can’t do genealogy for long before you realize what a small world we live in and how everything and everyone seems to have some sort of relationship. I call these genealogical intersections and they often crop up when doing gophering. I wrote about a very important one in my story of A Tale of Two Soldiers. Quite a few blog posts ago I wrote Who Should own Historical Documents about an Indenture I purchased between George SHAKESPEARE of Coleshill and Waldive WILLINGTON of Kingsbury (both in Warwickshire). This involves a Messuage or tenement and lands, meadows etc in Cliffe in Kingsbury Parish and a Messauge & lands known as Fisher’s Farm and Bromefields in the parish of Little Packington. So I thought I would take a little closer look at some of those names and some interesting intersections.
I find this kind of research quite rewarding and I highly recommend it even if it appears to have no connection to any of your own families, you just never know what might turn up. I know I have many families in Warwickshire. And I know of many families that intermarried with the SHELDONS of Warwickshire. To date I cannot connect my SHELDONs to those of Warwickshire but I suspect they do connect. Let’s do a little Kevin BACON 6 degrees of separation. The document I purchased:

For those who might be interested here is the transcription. Feel free to scroll through. (the hastags are in the original):
This Indenture made the ffirst ####### day of April### in the ffifth year of the Reigne of our Soveraigne Lord Georg of Great Brittain ffranc & Ireland King # defender of the faith & Anno Dui One Thousand Seaven hundred and Nineteen. Between George Shakepeare of Coleshill in the County of Warwickshire of the one part & Waldeve Willington of Kingsbury in the said County ow Warwick Gent of the other part Whereas in and by one indenture triparte bearing date the sixth day of September in the one and twenty of year of the Reign of our late sovevainge Lord King Charles the second and made between John fflamstead of Little Hallam in the County of Derby Gent Robert Dix[ie] also Repington of Cliffe in the sd County of Warwick Yeoman of the first part Thomas Coton of Coton Bridge in the County of Warwick Gent Samuell ffrankland of the Citty of Coventry Gent and John Ensor of Whateley in the said County of Warwick Yeoman of the second part and Alice Ensor of Whateley aforesaid widow of the third part the said John Fflamstead for the consideration of the sum of one hundred fforty six pounds therin mentioned did grant bargain & sell release infeoffe and confirme unto the said Thomas Coton Samuell ffrankland and John Ensor their heires All that messauge or tenenment with the appteuments scituate standing and being in Cliffe in the parish of Kingsbury in the said County of Warwick with the barnes & buildings gardens orchyards abd backfields there unto belonging to have and to hold the same unto the said Thomas Coton Samuel ffrankland and John Ensor their heirs & assignes forever And afterward & by Ind. Bearing the date the sixth day of october in the said one & twentieth year of King Charles the Second Renteing the said indenture of ffeoffement the sd Thomas Coton Samuell ffrankland John Ensor & Alice Ensor did declare that the said dum of one hundred fforty six pounds in the siad indenture of ffeoffement mentioned to be paid by said Alice Ensor to the said John fflaumstead was not all the said Alice Ensors proper money only part there of viz of Ninety pounds & that twenty pounds other part thereof was the money of George Repington son of the Robert Dix[ie] & als Repington & grandSon of the said Alice Ensor ## and thirty pounds residue of the said One hundred fforty six pounds was the proper money of Isabella Repington daughter of said Robert Repington and grandDaughter of the sd. Alice Ensor therefore ##the said Thomas Coton Samuell ffrankland & John Ensor declare their names to be used in trust for the said George Repington Isabella Repington & John Ensor for the raising Severall sums of money out of the rents & profits of the premises and offer uses there in mentioned And it is by the same Indenture declared that the said trustees and heir heires shall stand seized of the premises to the use of the said George Repington and the heirs of his body Lawfully to be begotten and for want of his issue to the use of Isabella the daughter & the heirs of her body Lawfully to be begotten And it is by the Same Ind. # further declared that if the sd. George & Isabella both dye without issue then if Robert Repington his heirs or assignes pay Alice Ensor Ninety pounds then the trustees shall be seized of the premises to the use of Robert Repington his heirs and assigns forever. And Whereas the sd. George Repington son of the said Robert Repington Long since dyed without issue and the said Isabella survived ## and marryed to Thomas Knight of Nether Whitacre in the County of Warwick Gent while Isabella is since dead Leaving issue two daughters Jane the now wife of the said George Shakespeare party to ## kepe Payents and Mary now the wife of Thomas Swift of Hinckley in the County of Leicester Yeoman The said Thomas Swift & Mary his wife by lease & Release bearing the date the ninth and tenth dayes of October in ## the year of our Lord One Thousand Seven Hundred & Nineteen made or eclipsed to be made between the said George Shakespeare and Jane his wife of the one part and Waldive Willington of the other part for the consideration in that Release mentioned Did convay all the said mesuage or tenement with the closes lands meadows pastures grounds & premises with the apptentues there unto mentioned to the said Waldive Willington and his heires. Now The Indenture Witnesseth that the sd. George Shakespeare for the consideration in the said in part impart rented Indenture of Release mentioned and for the better ## securing the said mesuage or tenement closes lands meadows, pasture grounds & premises with their apptennmens therein mentioned to the said Waldive Willington & his heirs free & cleare from the clayme Of any person whoever by vertue of the said in part willed Deed of trust Hath demised rented bargained & sold lett & to farme lett and by those presents doth demise grant bargan lease lett and to farme lett into the said Waldive Willington his { Etes Adm. Es and assigns Ass those two closes of pastures pacells or enclosures of Land with their ap#purtements lyeing and being in Little Packington in the sd. County of Warwick comonly called and knowne by the names of the Broomefields contayning by estimation thirteen acres of land (be the same more or less) and are parcell of a farme of his the said George # Shakepeare there commonly called or knowne by the name of ffishers farme are now in the tenure or outbarow of Richard ffalkesbridge and # his assignes or undertenants togeather with all woods underwoods wayes waters watercourses commons here ditam ts & apptenueumens whatsoever to be the said two closes of pasture grounds & premises belonging or in any wise appurtaining or there witnsesed or injoyed # To have and to hold the said two closes of pasture grounds & premises with their appt#en#es unto the said Waldive Willington his { and et es Adm.es & assigns from the day before the date of these p’ymentsfor & during and unto the full end & terme of ffive hundred years from hence eo & Feusueing fully to be compleate and ended Yielding and paying herefore yearly & eny year dureing the said terme ## unto the said George Shakespeare his heirs or assigns the yearly rent of one peper due att the ffeast of St Michaell the arc Angell (if the same be lawfully demanded &) Provided always Nevertheless ## and upon this p’ys conditon abd ut is the true intent and meaning of those pYents & of all parrtyes here unto thay is the said mesuage or teneme. And ffarme with the Closes Lands meadows pastures & apptenuences there unto belonging and only part there if the said in part writed Indentures of Lease & Release men’oned & are lyeing and being in Cliffe in the parish of Kingsbury aforesaid and granted bargained & sold # to the said Waldive Willington and his hers doe & shall from time to time & att all times hereafter be remaine & routine unto said Waldive Willington or his heirs and assignes forever free and clear and freely and # nearly acquitted & disaryed or herewise we & huely lar’d harmless and kept indemmifyed by the said George Shakespeare his heirs assignes of & from the Lawfull entry clayme & demand wilsoever of # the heirs or assignes of the said Alice Ensor Robert Repington George Repington Isabella Repington or any person claiming or to clayme from by or mq or them or any of them by vertue of the said in part # writed deed of trust and from all costs or damages that may arise or happen in here upon that thou his pYent indenture of Lease & every Coven clause & ayreemt herin contayned shall lease end determine and be # uttelry bound frustrate & of none effort in the Law Any thing herin contayned to be contrary there of in any wise not withstanding AND the said George Shakespeare for himself his heirs & et es and Admin es. Doth # herby covenant ? Puise and grant to & with the said Waldive Willington his E er es. Admin es & assigns that he the said Waldive Willington his er es. Admin es & assigns shall & may imediately after breach of # the said proviso peaceably & quietlly have hold possess & injoy the said two closes called the Broomfields with their ap#ptu#mes hereby demised & for the said terme of ffive hundred years without the lawfull lett suits trouble hinderance molestaton or disturbance of the said George Shakepseare his heirs and assignes quietlly and peaceably to have hold & injoy he herby demised pLinjes with the said George Shakespeare his heirs and # assignes that it shall & may be lawfull to & for the said George Shakespeare his heirs and assignes quietlly and peaceably to have hold injoy the herby demised pLinjes with their ap#ptu#mes until the Premisses in the # said in part rited & Indentureds of Lease & Release mentioned or any part thereof shall be legally entered & upon claymed & demanded by the heirs of Assignes of the Said Alice Ensor Robert Repington George ## Repington or Isabella or and of them by vertus of the said Deed of Trust without the Lawfull lett suite trouble hindrance molestation or disturbancce of the Said Waldive Willington his E er es. Admin es & assigns or # any other person by his or their Act Deed means title covnent or purement those Pyents or anything here in contayned to the contrary here of in anywise notwithstanding In WITNESS where if the parties above named to these pYent [present] indentures interchangebly have putt their hands & seales the day and year first above written #

One of my Warwickshire ancestors is Nicholas BROME (1450-1517) my 13th great-grandfather. In an obscure thesis I find reference to the Manor of Little Packington which originally belonged to the cathedral Priory but was then at the dissolution granted to William WILLINGTON and William SHELDON. This is William WILLINGTON father of Mary WILLINGTON (1502-1553) who married William SHELDON (c1495-1570) of Beoley son of Ralph SHELDON of Sheldon tapestry fame. And just a few years later it is in the possession of Thomas BROME and his wife of Woodloes. Thomas BROME is the great grandson of Nicholas BROME [my 13th great grandfather] of Baddesley Clinton and Woodloes. In 1653 the manor was sold to Thomas Fisher and it has since generally followed the descent of Great Packington. What is interesting is that the Indenture contains both a Brome fields and a Fisher’s farm. The parish church of St. Bartholomew Little Packington is no longer a church but has been turned into a residence. George SHAKEPSEARE in his will dated 30 May 1719 gave to the churchwardens and overseers £10 to be laid out in land or secured, in order to lay out 10s. in bread yearly to the poor of Little Packington. (on map below it is shown as Pakington parva. Also Bermingham=Birmingham; Colshill=Coleshill)

At this point I do not know of any SHAKESPEARE’s in my family tree—although my cousin Dale SHELDON has some. The George SHAKESPEARE of Coleshill and of the indenture, was born to Thomas and Grace (HARBERT) SHAKESPEARE and baptised 9 January 1657 at Little Packington, Warwickshire. Thomas was born 26 April 1610 at Little Packington and married about 1645 to Grace HARBERT who was born about 1624, making his mother about 33 when George was born but his father 47.
How these SHAKESPEARE’S relate to the famous William is yet to be discovered. But the deed is connected to my BROME family and perhaps to my SHELDON family. And whether the deed’s George SHAKESPEARE shares an ancestor with the scribe William SHAKESPEARE, who knows. And there are the surnames COTON, FRANKLAND REPINGTON and ENSOR which could lead in many directions. All good fun following the gopher holes.
Kelly Wheaton © 2022 All Rights Reserved,
ANCESTRY DNA’s Beta Chromosome Painting
Posted on August 4, 2022 Leave a Comment
This one sneaked up on me—I didn’t know it was there! It’s a new feature at ANCESTRY DNA currently in BETA. If you have tested there you should check it out. My favorite part was probably the questionnaire where it asked whether I would want to see the segments of my matches? HELL, YES! We dedicated genetic genealogists have been begging for this for many years. So PLEASE do me a favor and tell them you want this feature.
A CLOSER LOOK
If you followed my earlier posts on Ethnicity/Ancestral breakdowns at Ancestry you have heard my complaints about the assignments. The assignments have not changed but the painting of the assignments onto your chromosomes is new. So first off the Finnish on Ch 19 is actually Norwegian at least back to the earlier 1600’s. I know this from Chromosome painting at DNA Painter which shows that all of the segments on my mother’s side of chromosome 19 are Norwegian matches. And since I have this family well documented back to the 1500-early 1600’s I am confident this isn’t Finnish, at least not in the last 500 years. The next thing I looked at was the Germanic Europe segment on Chromosome 8. This one is a bit more intriguing. So at Ancestry it shows one half of chromosome 8 as Germanic Europe. The other half as Scotland with a bit of English Unassigned on the right most tip.

There’s many things I want to draw your attention to and scrutinize. First the 2 gray segments on Chromosome 8 & 10 are actually assigned at 23andMe. These are my African segments and neither of these chromosome paintings show them correctly! They are actually on my PATERNAL side.

The PATERNAL side of Chromosome 8 includes mostly matches on my German lines of HENAGER and REMSBURG (RAMSBURG, RIEMSBERGER) and on my English SPARKS/BARNES lines. The segment shown as Ghanaian at 23andMe and Unassigned at Ancestry is from matches on the SPARKS/BARNES line which is from my father’s side so the painting is showing part from my Mom and part from my Dad on the same side of the Chromosome. Known of my MATERNAL matches on the Scandinavian (23andMe) or Scottish (Ancestry) has any African DNA. Furthermore the part of my tree in question had ancestors who were enslavers so my guess is somewhere a child was born between the Master or male relative of a plantation who later passed as white. (Another mystery yet to be resolved). One of the people in the tree below is likely responsible for my African segments.

The second African segment on Chromosome 10, I have no segment matches for. However the segments on either side of the African segment are both related to matches on the SPARKS/BARNES lines.
FOR A DEEPER COMPARISON
Let’s take a look a closer look at Chromosome 1 from Ancestry. Basically it shows MATERNAL side on top with mostly Swedish/Danish and a bit of Norwegian on Right Tail. On my father’s side it shows England and Northwestern Europe.

Let’s compare with the 23andme version:

In this matchup Ancestry wins. My maternal side shows matches just as shown with the bulk Swedish and some Norwegian on the right end. On Paternal side it is similar to the bottom half of what 23andME shows. SHould read Scottish/English/German/English which the broad Ancestry tag encompasses.
So what does this all mean? It means that all of these tools must be taken with a teaspoon of salt and yet there is important data to be mined here. To date none of these tools gets things precisely right—but as you can see they are useful. Particularly in trying to sort out where segments come from. Here is the major CAVEAT: Anything Northwest European can be mistaken ie Scottish might be Swedish, Swedish might be British and Finnish may be Swedish. If you are lucky enough to have some more DNA outside the NW European Bucket the accuracy of these predictions can go up.
If you are not already doing so keeping track of matches on DNAPainter is what allows me to know where individual segments come from. I highly recommend this tool.
Check it out and feel free to share your Opinions here or on The All Genetic Genealogy Facebook page.
Kelly Wheaton © 2022 All Rights Reserved.
Serendipity Strikes Again!
Posted on August 2, 2022 1 Comment
Most every Sunday, SheldonGenealogy.org sponsors a free Zoom chat, where anyone with SHELDON ancestry around the globe can join in to exchange information or get help on their SHELDON genealogy. Well this weekend we were joined by Steven SHELDEN who told a story about his grandfather and great uncle being surrendered to a VFW home in Eaton Rapids, Michigan, after their mother died and their father was unable to care for them. Steven belongs to the Godfrey line of SHELDONs which traces back to Derbyshire, England and I to the unrelated John SHELDON of Kingstown, Rhode Island, speculatively from Warwickshire. I have never been to Eaton Rapids, but knew the place immediately. The VFW home is located on a farm previously known as the Grand River Stock Farm. I found this plaque (sold) on Ebay—another touch of serendipity.
The 472 acres was originally acquired from the government by Matthew La “Rue” Perrine in 1838. At Perrine’s death in 1894 it was purchased by my great grandfather, Justus Warren SHELDON. Where according to the book The Only Eaton Rapids on Earth by W Scott Munn c 1952 Uncopyrighted: ” J Warren Sheldon, [who] erected a commodious farm house, a mammoth barn and outbuildings and it became known as the Grand River Stock Farm.” (p352). It was later purchased by Corey J Spencer who was instrumental in making the VFW Home a reality.
The farm which was originally timbered was the source of the oak that was used to build Justus Warren Sheldon’s Home in Eaton Rapids. More on that in a later post. Here is a colorized photo of my great aunt and great grandmother on the farm.
There are 2.43 BILLION acres of land in the US. What are the odds that two people would have knowledge of a 472 acre plot of land with connections to two different SHELDON families? Things like this happen everyday in the genealogy world. I guess that’s what I love about genealogy.
And a further bit of serendipity was shared by Steve SHELDEN. He had posted in a local Facebook Group in England where the Derbyshire SHELDONs hark from and lo and behold there are still SHELDONs living there! The first ones were in the 13th century!
Kelly Wheaton © 2022 All Rights Reserved. Also published on SheldonGenealogy.org
Can Ancestry’s Ethnicity Breakdown get any Worse?
Posted on May 20, 2022 3 Comments
Sadly the answer is yes, for me. You may wish to look at this blog post first, that I did back in April 2022. First off let’s look at April’s version versus the new one.
Compare that with the newest one two month later

First off they have changed the colors so that may make it tough to follow. I have ascribed the maternal side as the green (Sweden Denmark) Teal (Norway). Now the purples are showing as German and Finnish. Okay on paper this is my paper ancestry:
55% British, Scottish, Irish
18% German, French, Swiss
19% Swedish
6% Norwegian
2% Other
I, as I have often explained have one 100% Scandinavian grandparent who is 3/4 Swedish and 1/4 Norwegian. And yet my Ancestry DNA “estimate” shows my total Scandinavian as 48% of my DNA. Which means I only got 2% of my DNA from my maternal grandmother which I know via matches and segment painting is false. So I am here to remind you again to take these estimates with a pound of salt.
Furthermore, My Maternal side is not where my German comes in, that’s heavily from my father’s side and I have the matches to prove it. In actuality the first iteration is closer to the truth than the second. And neither of them give me any confidence at all in these new “estimates” which are at best parlor game material. My guess is they are highly influence by most recent ancestry from an area. My Scandinavian ancestors immigrated to the US in 1850-1870’s. My English as far back as 1620. Most of my German ancestry is from the early 1700’s. It just isn’t possible for these wide swings in ancestry to be real. There is something seriously wrong with the algorithms. If we have had some swings and misses Ancestry struck out here. Below is my breakdown from 23andme which is much closer to reality.
Remember you mileage may vary. Often these estimates get better over time but for me Ancestry just gets worse and worse. I really couldn’t believe how bad this was….
Kelly Wheaton ©2022 All Rights Reserved.
Heirlooms: The Family Bible & a Lundberg Coincidence
Posted on May 17, 2022 3 Comments
Early on in my genealogy career I sought after the family bibles of various members of my family and my husband’s as well. I was able to photograph a couple and there were a few more whose existence was talked about, but they had mysteriously disappeared. The ones I did photograph– were over 50 years ago– before I had much idea what I was doing. I am glad to have what I have although where those bibles ended up, I am not sure.
I only have one Bible that previously belonged to a family member [photo above] and it was pictured in my last blog post. That’s what got me thinking about bibles and the treasure that they are. The one I have belonged to my grandfather Roy Sidney Lundberg and as it turns out it was given to him by his paternal grandparents Johan Solomon Lundberg and his wife Anna Olofsdotter who immigrated to America in April of 1880 with their five children. This family is my most recent immigrant family.
The following is a photo of the inscription of Roy’s confirmation Bible. The date of publishing is 1903 in Orebo, Sweden and as you can see given in 1905.
Transcription: Ett minure från farfar och farmor till Roys Sidney Lundberg På hans confirmation day 11 Juni 1905 i Bethania Kyrken af 22nd gatan & 36th ave söder Minneapolis Minn. Lâs flitigt i desna bok. Sôk först efter Guds rike och hans rättfärdighet så faller diy allt annat till.
Translation: “A token from [paternal] grandfather and grandmother Lundburg to Roy Sidney Lundberg on his confirmation day 11 June 1905 in Bethania Church corner of 22nd street & 36th ave south Minneapolis Minn. Read this book frequently. Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness. Everything else will fall into place when the timing is right.”
Well just after I started this blog post i got an invitation from a distant cousin in Sweden Casja Lundburg to a new group for our Lundberg family on Facebook. Whereupon another cousin posted this lovely painting that was likely done in remembrance of Johan Soloman Lundberg’s Parents Johan Petter Lundberg and Catharina Jacobsdotter’s marriage. They the great-grandparents of Roy Sidney Lundberg and parents of his grandparents who gave him the bible!

A heartfelt thank you to Erik Feldt who not only gave permission to use the photo but also provided the following transcription and translation:
The text in archaic Swedish:
Jag eder ständig wälgång önskar
O må ni allltid lycklig bli
Må eder framtidsbana grönska
Och gledje blomsterstrå er stiga
Må ni många sälla dagar levfa
Med lugn och gledje intill varandras bröst
Och älskade barn er ömt omgifva
Med gledje uppå åldrens höst
In English it should be something like this:
I wish you constant prosperity
And may you always be happy
May your future path flourish
And joy like flowers rise
May you live many cheerful days
With calm and joy next to each other’s chest
And surrounded by beloved children
With happiness in the autumn of your age.
Rebuilding a Family History
It drives home the point that we all have bits and pieces of the family puzzle that get passed down through various branches of a family. Sometimes when we are lucky those pieces are shared and we all become the richer for that sharing. In that regard my earlier piece on the Misattributed Heirloom is another part of the story.
Kelly Wheaton © 2022 All Rights Reserved