See also
| Husband: | Thomas HAWKES (1716-1790) | |
| Wife: | Elizabeth WOOD (1743-1813) | |
| Children: | Thomas WOOD (1781- ) | |
| Marriage | 11 Nov 1781 | Waltham, Kent |
| Name: | Thomas HAWKES | |
| Sex: | Male | |
| Father: | Thomas HAWKES ( -1771) | |
| Mother: | Mary (?) ( - ) | |
| Birth | 5 Sep 1716 | Folkestone |
| Death | 1790 (age 73-74) | |
| Name: | Elizabeth WOOD | |
| Sex: | Female | |
| Father: | Richard WOOD ( - ) | |
| Mother: | Elizabeth KENNY ( - ) | |
| Birth | 5 Jun 1743 | Folkestone |
| Death | 1813 (age 69-70) | Folkestone |
| Name: | Thomas WOOD | |
| Sex: | Male | |
| Birth | 13 Jul 1781 | |
1. The identification of Thomas Hawkes is still a bit tentative. Acknowledgements are due to Maureen Cate for undertaking all the work of trying to pin him down.
2. The most important information is a brief summary of a will which has been obtained from Jan McMaster. This is as follows :
Copy of the will dated 2 December 1790 of Thomas Hawkes proved in the Prerogative Court of Canterbury by Joseph Sladen and Robert Harvey.
(1) To Elizabeth Spearpoint daughter, copyhold messuage near The Stade occupied by the widow Godden and once a storehouse.
(2) To Mary Gittens daughter, messuage near the Apollo Room in Folkestone in the occupation of the widow Freeman.
(3) To Elizabeth Hawkes wife, messuage near The Stade lately purchased from the assignees of John Marsh a bankrupt and since rebuilt.
(4) To Thomas Wood natural son, copyhold messuage, painters shop and sailmaker's warehouse situate in Folkestone opposite the Royal George public house and in the occupation of Michael Boxer and Thomas Punnett.
3. It is useful to read this will in conjunction with that of Elizabeth Wood (d.1813), his second wife. She identifies the christian names, Baker and Thomas, of the husbands of the two daughters. She also refers to Elizabeth Spearpoint and Mary Gittens as her daughters-in-law, which I presume means step-daughters. Taken in conjunction with the record of the death of an Elizabeth, wife of Thomas Hawkes in 1770, this indicates that Thomas married twice.
4. The identification of Mary Gittens (nee Hawkes) is also important if a bit speculative. Certainly the Mary Hawkes born 1754, daughter of Thomas and Elizabeth is the only plausible candidate in Folkestone, but that is hardly proof. But if this is accepted, then it confirms that Thomas's first wife was also named Elizabeth.
5. The identification of Thomas Hawkes as the one born in Folkestone in 1716 is also very speculative. The only fragment of supporting evidence is that the father of this Thomas appears to have been a sailmaker (see his will), and part of Thomas' property was a sailmakers' warehouse. You can't get anything much weaker than that ! (But see also the notes on his second wife Elizabeth Wood. At his marriage he was described as a sailmaker.)
6. It actually looks possible that Thomas Hawkes married three times. In addition to the marriages to Elizabeth Ladd and Elizabeth Wood, there is also a marriage licence dated 8/6/1772 for "Thos. Hawkes of Folkestone widower and Eliz. Minter of the same, widow". The date obviously fits very well with the death of his first wife.
1. Elizabeth Hawkes left a will, which is extremely long and convoluted, but interesting. It makes her sound like quite a grand old lady. So who was she, and where did all that property come from ? Maureen Cate has hunted hard for her, digging out much information about the Hawkes family. The following conclusions are still quite speculative, but seem firm enough to be worth writing down.
2. Begin with the following which is a much abbreviated transcript of the will :
WILL OF ELIZABETH HAWKES Proved 23rd December 1813
Elizabeth HAWKES of Folkestone widow. To daughter in law Elizabeth SPEARPOINT widow of Baker SPEARPOINT late of Folkestone mariner £100, a mourning ring and 1 silver tablespoon marked T H. To daughter in law Mary GITTENS widow of Thomas GITTENS late of Folkestone mariner £100, a plain gold ring, a silver tablespoon marked T H. To Thomas SPEARPOINT son of the said Elizabeth SPEARPOINT £50 and my silver pint mug. To Joseph SLADEN of Folkestone esq and Joseph SLADEN esq his son my executor £300 and in 3 months to invest same, in their names, in the Consolidated Bank and to pay all interest to my nephew William MAKING of Folkstone mariner during his life and after his life to transfer to his children and then if no children survive to my niece Elizabeth HALL wife of Richard HALL of Folkestone mariner and if she should die to her children. My half part or share and all my parts and shares freehold messuage or tenement in Fenchurch Street (else Fancy Street) in the occupation of Mary BAKER widow to William MAKING and his heirs. To William MAKING aforesaid six damask napkins and tablecloth, three china bowls, feather bed and a chest. Also £300 in trust and to pay dividends to Richard HALL and Elizabeth his wife and then to their children. Also to the said Elizabeth HALL my shoemaker's shop and two tenements over the wash house in Queen Street, Folkestone in the occupation of the said Richard HALL, William JORDAN, William SPICER and John HEYDON and her heirs forever. To Ann HALL daughter of the said Elizabeth HALL my freehold property in Back Street in my own occupation and if she dies then to her mother. The residue of the plate to William MAKING and Elizabeth HALL. Witnesses; John HALL, Edward TOURNAY, Charles FAGG. Dated 19 Aug 1808. Proved 23 Dec 1813.
3. The first point to clear up is the reference to 'daughters in law' Elizabeth Spearpoint and Mary Gittens in the will above. Superficially this looks like a mistake ? Surely they must have been daughters ? But Yolande Dunn suggests that 'daughter-in-law' might be read as 'step-daughter'. This looks a far better solution. So we are looking for someone who married Thomas Hawkes after the death of his first wife in 1771 (see note 4.1 for this reasoning).
4. Right. So to identify Elizabeth Hawkes we have to be able to link her to (i) Step-daughter Elizabeth Spearpoint (nee Hawkes), (ii) Step-daughter Mary Gittens (nee Hawkes), (iii) Niece Elizabeth Hall (nee ???), and (iv) Nephew William Making.
4.1. Start with Mary Gittens. This looks fairly easy. The IGI has a Mary Hawes (sic) who married Thomas Gittens in 1774. Apart from the missing 'k' in the name we have a very obvious candidate for her, which is the Mary Hawkes, daughter of Thomas and Elizabeth, b. 1754 in Folkestone. Remember that the Elizabeth Hawkes mentioned here is her natural mother not her step-mother ! That's ok - Maureen Cate has found the burial of Elizabeth Hawkes, wife of Thomas Hawkes in December 1770. So Thomas must have re-married to a second Elizabeth some time after 1770.
4.2 Now look at William Making. The IGI has a William Making baptised in 1783 the son of William and Judith Making. The parents look like William Making and Judith Wood who were married in 1780. Note that these two also had a daughter Elizabeth (b. 1780). Just possibly she might turn out to be the one who married Richard Hall (although no such marriage can be found on-line). If so, then the Makings can account for both the nephew and the niece.
4.3 So if William Making is to be a nephew, then our Elizabeth Hawkes needs to be a sister of either William Making or Judith Wood. Good - we can find two sisters Elizabeth Wood and Judith Wood born in Folkestone. In fact there are two possible pairs: (a) Judith b. 1745 and Eliz b.1749 - both daughters of Wm + Sar Wood, or (b) Eliz b. 1743 and Judith b.1754 - both daughters of Ric + Eliz Wood. I have to prefer the second pair - this Judith is a much better age to be marrying in 1780.
4.4 All we need now is a marriage of Thomas Hawkes to Elizabeth Wood. It just happens that the IGI has one in Waltham on November 11 1781. This is a marriage by licence, and the entry in the index of 9/11/1781 says "Thom. Hawkes of Folkestone, sailmaker, widower & Elizabeth Wood of Waltham spinster at Waltham". But if the Woods were really a Folkestone family, why go to Waltham ?
5. The really interesting bit is in the will of her husband Thomas Hawkes, who refers to his 'Natural son Thomas Wood'. So this son was presumably born the wrong side of the bedclothes. There is a record of such a birth in Folkestone on July 13, 1781, with the mother given as Elizabeth Wood, but no father named. The date ties in well with the marriage in para. 4.4. This would seem to add plenty of weight to the theory that Thomas Hawkes later married Elizabeth Wood. At first sight, this slight irregularity would also give them a reason for getting away from Folkestone for a while. But if the boy was christened in Folkestone in the proper way, then it wasn't too much of a secret.