Starting a one-name
study - from a Little Red Book to a 7,000-name
computer database
David Wornham
What follows is an account of how I organised
a one-name study. It certainly is not the only
way, but it's a system I used and it continues to
be successful.
I was exceptionally fortunate to find that my
family had kept a 'little red book' with family
events recorded from the baptism of my Great-Great-Grandfather,
Jonathan Wornham, son of Thomas and Sarah, on 8th
December 1805 in Bishopstone in north Wiltshire.
This record was started by his sister Mary (baptised
8th November 1807) whose original photograph I
have on glass.
Mary Wornham 1807-1857
Twenty years ago I began to collect every
reference to my name I could find. My records now
include over 7,000 names with dates from 1374 (Richard
Warnham, Prior of Reigate Priory) and 1537 (a
christening of Robert Wornam in Kingston on
Thames) to the present day. They range from the
armorial Wyrdnam/Wirdnam agricultural families
from Grove, Wantage, in the 1450s to the
seventeenth century London Wornum family who
include the inventor of the upright piano
mechanism and the Keeper of the National Gallery.
Another Wernham branch includes two retired
professors of philosophy and a Canadian High
Court Judge.
My mother sparked my interest by producing a
typed family tree from the 'little red book'. I
then recorded all Wornhams from British telephone
directories and, heartened by the small number of
around 30, I wrote to them inviting them to send
their family details. I was surprised and pleased
to receive about 30% replies, especially as the
first letter was from a former colleague, Roger
Wornham, proving that he was a third cousin,
although we had earlier concluded we were not
related.
Those not replying were telephoned, and I have
received only one rebuff of 'sorry, but I don't
want to be involved'. Others I visited
personally, and despite the misgivings of my wife
and mother, I found everyone not only welcoming
but apologetic for not answering my earlier
letter.
I discovered the gravestone of my G-G-G
father, Jonathan, which also commemorates his
wife Arm and his sister Mary, located in the
cemetery in Wantage. Jonathan was a baker and the
licensee of The Kings Arms public house in
Wantage, which remains there today.
I have since broadened my search to include
similar sounding surnames and have now made
contact with, and included details of, W*R*N*Ms
in many English counties and also Scotland,
Wales, Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, Japan, New
Zealand and the United States of America. My
initial letter included the following:
'I have, since 1980, been researching all
known variations of Warnham, Wernham, Wernom,
Wirnam, Wirnham, Wirdenham, Wirdnam, Woornam,
Wornham, Wurnham, Wyrdenham, etc., whenever
or wherever occurring. Whether or not people
have an interest in family history, I believe
that everyone should record names, dates and
places of birth, marriage and death of those
members of the family we do know, together
with any family stories, traditions, and
photographs, so they are not lost to future
generations. As an amateur family historian
specialising in my family surname, I am
pleased to record, compare and analyse all
variations of the surname whenever and
wherever found and serve as a reference for
queries from others. I welcome and encourage
anyone with a W*R*N*M connection to send
their family details for inclusion, whether
or not they are interested in researching
themselves.'
All details gained were initially transferred
onto hand-drawn charts, one for each parish or
one for each family with proved connections, with
each individual having an entry on a card index.
Computer records
Gradually as my interest in computers grew I
considered that a computer application for my
records was a logical step. I first used a
standard database, laboriously using reference
numbers to link parents and siblings then, with a
printout, scissors and glue constructed a family
tree. On 'promotion' to PC compatible computers I
purchased the 'Pedigree' family records software
package which I have since used.
Our research has taken us often to the
Berkshire and Wiltshire County Record Offices to
examine parish registers, census records, wills,
land deeds, maps, the International Genealogical
Index (IGI) and other Mormon records. I currently
have an extensive database collection of over 50
branches of disconnected families.
Disclaimer
All my correspondents are warned that the
accuracy of the information I give them is not
guaranteed as much of it has not been checked
against original sources. As with all family
history research, many links have to be assumed
and often cannot be proved. On this basis,
entries are believed to be accurate, or probable,
unless a 'c.' (circa) or a '?' indicates an
estimation. Official registers should be checked
for confirmation of any details.
Direct family links
With variations in name spellings my direct
family has links with Hertfordshire, Edmonton,
Lewisham and Woolwich in London Duston in
Northamptonshire, Wantage in Berkshire and
Bishopstone (six miles East of Swindon) in
Wiltshire in the eighteenth century. There are
possibly two earlier generations in Welford and
Wickham in Berkshire, determined by the same
names disappearing from those parishes and
appearing in Bishopstone at the same time with no
trace of them to date elsewhere. By recording all
W*R*N*M connections I have traced many distant
cousins and have produced a massive record with
provable connections to my family.
Residence records
We have been fortunate to discover the
following records from the Wiltshire County
Record Office for Wiltshire for my direct
ancestors:
1. A map dated 1758 of the'family plot' [now
just a lonely copse outside the remaining village
in Bishopstone, Wiltshire], with John Wornham [my
G-G-G-G-G'father] shown as tenant on 14th June
1737, for a cottage and garden, quantity 0.0.95 [perch?],
Quit rent 0.0.6 (sixpence).
2. A lease dated 1772, Bishopstone, Wiltshire.
'John Wornham, no.120, All that Cottage or
Tenement Outhousing and Garden Ground thereunto
belonging cont. 25 perch. Yearly value £2.0.0' (signed
Thomas Wirnham)
3. A beautifully written Indenture [Lease]
'Counterpart of a cottage late Grays, to Thomas
Wirnham Labourer..... Lives: Thomas Wirnham aged
44, James Wirnham aged 6 and William Wirnham aged
l0. Fine £3.3.0, Rent £0.0.6" (signed
Thomas Wernom) dated 14th April 1782.
Origin of the family name
The origin of the surname is not known but
there are a number of interesting possibilities.
The Warni (or Varni), sister nation of the Englii
(later Angles) in Holstein continue to inhabit
the region, later called Meeklenburgh. The Warnon
River and town of Warnemunde preserve these
ancient tribal names. It is known historically
that the fertile Thames Valley was a natural
attraction for invading tribes. ('Races of
Mankind, Their Origin and Migration': Calvin
Kephart PhD) (Ref. WJW: W.J.Wernham, b.1893).
I have been sent the following (translations
are invited from our scholarly colleagues):
'Diversa terrae homasia servitia diversorum in
Horsham Wernham at alibi consess epo cisestren in
escambio pro avocations ecetiae de rustinton per
epum concess abbati de sagio et priorl prioratus
de Arundel quae est celia eiuso abbathiae' (Ref
WJW: PRO)
'Ham' means place, so Warn Ham or Warnham, etc.
may have meant the residence of a person called
Warn. There is a village in Sussex, England,
called Warnham. Whilst there currently appears to
be no member of a W*R*N*M family resident there
is a Warner and some Wenham families. Whilst
these names have not been included in the
research to date there is perhaps some
justification for their inclusion in future.
Surnames were often acquired from the place of
origin. So, if a person named Adam moved away
from Warnham, he would have been initially known
as 'Adam from Warnham', eventually becoming 'Adam
Warnham'.
Surname spelling variations
Although it may be natural to assume that a
surname spelt differently from ours infers no
relation, it should be remembered that standard
spelling is a fairly recent development. When few
people could read or write, their baptisms,
marriages and burials were recorded by local
clergy or parish clerks who wrote what they heard
and variations in the spelling of surnames have
been found in baptisms of children from the same
family. If you imagine varying accents or
pronunciations it may be understood how Warnham
can become Wernham, Woornam, Wornam, Wornham,
Wirnham, Wirdnam and Wyrdenham, which have all
been found in family research. I have found some
records with the entry spelt one way and the
signature in another.
At one time the lower case letter 'e' would be
written as an 'o' with the 'tail' going through
its centre, whereas an 'o' would have its centre
unobstructed. The letter 'e' could, therefore, be
later misread as an 'o'. One family story states
that, on emigrating to America, a Wernham family
were informed that 'we spell it as Wornham here'
so were registered with, and kept, that spelling!
Armorial bearings
The Wirdnams who were Lords of the Manor of
Charlton and Priors Hold in Grove near Wantage in
the fifteenth century held a coat of arms:
The Arms of Wyrdnam / Wirdnam of Charlton,
Wantage, Berkshire, England from before 1455 to
1555 from page 59 of the 'Heralds'Visitations Of
1566', By William Harvey
The Heralds' records state that this Wirdnam
family became extinct but, with the name and
location near Wantage we cannot dismiss the
possibility of some connection with present day
families, whether or not through marriage or, as
so quaintly put in
Wyrdnam/Wirdnam of Charlton, Wantage,
arms c1455-1555
former years 'whichever side of the blanket'.
I have on record a current Wirdnam family who,
with one tentative (unprovable) link to Thomas, b.
circa 1505, can trace their line back to them.
Trouble at the manor
Not all was well with these 'Lords of the
Manor'. William Wirdnam, born circa 1525, 'from
Farnborough'who married Maria Boswell, was made
Steward by the Dean and Cannon (sic) of Windsor
in 1558. (see 'Reflected in Wantage' pp.133.137).
He became a Governor of the Town Lands but, in
1596, a deputation indicted him for being a
'common barretor' (misuser of public funds). The
Manor Court Rolls 16og - 1624 reveal many
transactions of land and there appears to be a
vain attempt to audit the tenancies before
handing them over to new Wilmot tenants. An Act
of Parliament Of 1597, believed to have been
engendered by William Wirdnam's misuse of the
Charity lands of Wantage, named him
as'notorious', and established the Town Governors.
The Internet
With the advent of the Internet I have been
fortunate to find a friend willing to input my
details and we are now the proud owners of a web
page at www.flexibase.freeserve.co.uk/wrnm.
Although our direct line 'outside' research now
appears to have come to a natural stop in the
eighteenth century as records then are sparse, a
circular to previous correspondents requesting
email contact has produced a welcome crop of new
contacts. The most unusual of these is a large
family of Wornums in the USA who are descended
from a black slave named Ben who probably took
his surname from his master. We also expect to
spend many hours searching the 1881 Census,
American, Australian & New Zealand and
British Vital Records CD-ROMS.
Acknowledgements
I wish to thank many people who have assisted
with sending family details, certificates and
photographs. They are too numerous to mention,
but special thanks are due to Polly Lawrence, B.Sc.,
of Wantage and Elisabeth Garnish of Wantage (who
later moved to Belgium) for sharing the detailed
research they undertook when discovering the
chequered history of the Wirdnam Lords of the
Manor of Priors Hold, Charlton, near Wantage.
Finally, to my wife, Brenda, who has not only
shared my interest, but has taken an active part
in the research by delving through manuscripts in
record offices whilst I was off enjoying myself
on outings with our two sons.
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