Grtx5 grandparents: John and Ann (nee Tingy) Ray
Site Map
The following entry in the Bramfield, Herts Parish Marriage Record is the first mention of my Wray
ancestors found so far:
John Ray (sic; a resident of nearby Bengeo) and Ann Tingy (aged eighteen) married in Ann’s parish
church at Bramfield, Hertfordshire (shown below in 1832) on 12 October 1715.
John was probably born in around 1690 but his origins are not definitely known. There are only two
baptisms of a John Ray in the county around this time - in 1673 and 1674 at Datchworth, which would
mean that if one was my ancestor he would have been aged around forty-two when he married Ann -
not impossible but fairly unlikely. Another factor is that, as the marriage records of Datchworth are
patchy around this time, it is even impossible pin down the parents of these Johns. There also is no
helpful naming pattern from their children. I believe that John is at the end of my discoverable Wray
family line.
John and Ann had eight known children, all of whom were baptised at St Leonard, Bengeo - an
indication that the family settled in this village. Bengeo is a neighbour of Hertford All Saints, to the
north.
When John was buried at Bengeo in 1756, the parish clerk included the welcome information that he
was a carpenter (see below), as hurdle-makers are often described. He was the first known hurdle-
maker in my family.
I am not certain that the record of Ann’s death shown below is of my ancestor, because she was
buried at Hertford All Saints - although Bengeo is but a mile north of Hertford. If she is John’s widow,
she died (aged around sixty) only a year or so after her husband’s demise. Perhaps she was being
cared for by a relative at Hertford - maybe one of her children.
Selected children of John and Ann Ray
Thomas Ray was born at Bengeo in 1716 and buried in the parish on 3 March 1762, aged forty:
Robert Ray was born at Bengeo in 1721 and buried in the parish on 4 April 1749. He was a labourer:
Ann Ray was born at Bengeo in 1722. She maried Joseph Peck on 22 September 1740 at Bramfield
and was buried at Bengeo (81) on 28 August 1803:
