Person:Margaret Mills (29)

Margaret lived in East Grinstead, a busy town with a population of around 1,500 in the early 1700s. It was on the main road from Lewes (the county town of Sussex) to London and it had many inns which served the travelers.

The first record we know for certain is for Margaret is her marriage on 12 Jan 1662 in East Grinstead to Gualter Card. The image is difficult to read but her surname has been transcribed as Mills or Hook by different sources. A Mary Mills/Milles was baptised in East Grinstead in 1633 and this is possibly her baptism, but more evidence is needed to corroborate this. Most of the records that mention Gualter's wife list her as Margaret, but they are hard to read and some people have transcribed the baptism record for Nicholas as giving her name as "Mary Margaret". Having looked at the original record it's more likely that the "Mary" is part of the date for the next entry i.e. "May". "Gualter" is another version of the English first name "Walter", and the Bishop's transcripts for their son Nicholas' baptism, and Margaret's burial both record his name as "Walter".

Gualter and Margaret had three known children, all baptised in East Grinstead, Sussex:
- Ediffe bap. 19 Oct 1663. No other record has yet been gound for Ediffe
- Thomas bap. 25 Oct 1665. He married Elizabeth Midhurst on 23 Jun 1696 in East Grinstead but nothing else is known about him at this stage
- Nicholas bap. 30 Apr 1668. He married Ann Taylor on 13 Jan 1699 and had at least 8 children.

Margaret was buried in East Grinstead on 5 Oct 1706 having lived to see her sons marry and at least a few grandchildren born. She was listed as Gualter's wife rather than widow, so Gualter must have survived her, although his burial record hasn't yet been found.

Margaret was likely to have been born during the reign of Charles I. She lived through the tumultuous interregnum period before Charles II was restored to the throne in 1660, followed by James II, William III & Mary II, and Anne.

DNA Genealogy

If you think you may be a descendant of Margaret and would like to compare autosomal DNA results please contact Jocelyn_K_B (at) yahoo.com for kit numbers

St. Swithun's Church, East Grinstead

East Grinstead High Street

1. ↑ Church of England. Sussex, England. Parish Registers 1538-1910. (FamilySearch)
   Nicholas Card s. of Gualter & Margaret bap. 30 Apr 1668 at East Grinstead.
2. ↑ Church of England. Sussex, England. Parish Registers 1538-1910. (FamilySearch)
   Ediffe (or Edisse) Card, parents Gualter & Margret bap. 19 Oct 1663 at East Grinstead.
3. ↑ Church of England. Sussex, England. Parish Registers 1538-1910. (FamilySearch)
   Thomas Card son of Gualter & Margaret bap. 25 Oct 1665 at East Grinstead.
4. ↑ ^4.0 4.1 Church of England. Sussex, England. Parish Registers 1538-1910. (FamilySearch)
   Gualter Card m. Margt Mills (or Hook - the image is difficult to read), 12 Jan 1662 at East Grinstead.
5. ↑ England. Births and Christenings, 1538-1975. (FamilySearch, Ancestry.com, Findmypast)
   Nicolas Card s. of Walter & Margerett bap. 30 Apr 1668 at East Grinstead, Sussex, Bishop's Transcript.
6. ↑ ^6.0 6.1 England. Deaths and Burials, 1538-1991. (FamilySearch, Ancestry.com)
   Margt wife of Walter Card bur. 5 Oct 1706 at East Grinstead, Sussex.