Brunning ancestors in the 18th century

James is a name which occurs frequently in the Brunning family in the 18th & 19th centuries. I have discovered this since we named our son James in 1980! It makes definite tracing of the family tree somewhat difficult.

I know for certain that my great grandfather William Thomas Brunning was born in Sudbury in 1844. His father Edward (1791-1859) was married to Harriet Death in 1839, which is just after the civil registration records began. (He had previously been married to Elizabeth Bacon: they had children, at least one of whom had died.) The marriage certificate gives the father's name as James and his occupation as carpenter. Other records show that the Brunnings were village carpenters in the Waldingfields near Sudbury. There are several James Brunnings around this time but the most likely ancestry is shown below.

James Brunning (1755-1809) & Mary Serjeant (1754-1817)

The parish records (also in the IGI) show that this James was almost certainly the one who who married Mary Serjeant in 1777. The dates for Edward match perfectly. Mrs. E Milton found some records in Bury St. Edmunds record office, notably an apprenticeship dated 21 May 1770 until age of 24, for James Brunning of Melford to Isaac Brunning of Great Waldingfield. Isaac was James' uncle and a carpenter.

William Brunning (1720-1762) & Martha Nevil (1721-1761)

James' father William lived in Long Melford and died in 1762. His will reveals that his mother-in-law was Susan Nevil, his young sons James and William, his father William Brunning and his brother Isaac. William was born in 1720 in Waldingfield and moved to Long Melford before 1740, when he married Mary Good at Acton. He had a son William and a son James (baptised 26 Apr. 1750). James and his mother both died in Jan 1752. William then married Martha Nevil in Stanstead in 1752. Their son James was baptised on 20 May 1755 and is almost certainly the James who married Mary Serjeant. Martha was buried on 7 July 1761 and William (the father) on 27 Feb 1762, leaving the young William and James orphaned with their uncle Isaac as their guardian.

It seems likely that the young William is the one who married Mary Gue at Long Melford on 6 June 1769.

William Brunning (c.1700-1763) & Rebecca Carter (1694-1775)

The father of William and Isaac was also called William: he married Rebecca Carter on 26 July 1719. He died in 1763 and she died in 1775. There is a settlement allowing William Brunning & Rebecca to live in Little Waldingfield. In addition to William and Isaac, they also had a son James.

This James, son of William, married Elizabeth Wilbey and had a son James who married Dorothy Farrow and moved from Little Waldingfield to Great Cornard in late C18.

Isaac married twice: to Martha Creek and to Frances Porter.

Further information is given on my main Brunning page.

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