Thomas Curnow

Abt 1570 - 1643  (~ 73 years)

• Name	Thomas Curnow  [1, 2]
  Birth	Abt 1570  [3]
  Gender	Male
  Death	Between 30 Oct 1643 and 28 Nov 1643	Towednack, Cornwall, England   [4, 5, 6]
  Alternate death	Aft 30 Oct 1643  [7]
  Person ID	I12442	Ancestry of PNH, TNH, and others | Ancestor of PNH
  Last Modified	11 May 2021

  
  

  Family	Catherine   d. Bef 7 May 1635, Towednack, Cornwall, England
  Children	+ 1. Robert Curnow   d. 27 Jun 1685, Towednack, Cornwall, England
  Family ID	F7200	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
  Last Modified	18 Dec 2016

  
  

• Notes

  Described in his will as "husbandman." From user Zenobia, post to Penwith Genealogy, 18 May 2007, citation details below: Many online sources show the original Thomas Curnow of Towednack being born in 1588. This is based on a christening of a Thomas Curnow in St. Keverne in that year. Unfortunately, this seems to be a case of "The Name's the Same" Game. An analysis of Thomas' known children show that this cannot be possible: 1. Firstly, the Lelant Protestation Return of 1641 shows two persons called Henry Curnow. One of these would be Thomas' son Henry, named in his will. The other would have to be a grandson, presumably a son of the other Henry. Since no one under 16 could sign the ProtRet, the second Henry had to be born by 1625 or earlier. This means that the elder Henry must be born ca. 1600-1603, so Thomas could not possibly be born as late as 1588. 2. Secondly, the Will of William Painter (1635) of Towednack, names wife Margaret and father-in-law Thomas Curnow. Thomas names six daughters in his will, and Margaret is named third. A son, Thomas Painter, was born to William in 1630/1, so his wife must have been born no earlier than about 1608. Another son, David is named in the will; he is underage, and Thomas Curnow is given as the overseer, so it is likely that David was older than Thomas (William Painter's father was named David). This would move Margaret back still another year or two, to about 1605 at the latest and she still had to have two older sisters (not to mention perhaps brothers); again, making Thomas' oldest child born no later than perhaps 1600-1604. So again, a 1588 year of birth for Thomas will not work. 3. Thomas Curnow in his will names a son "John the elder" and another "John the younger". For quite some time John the Elder was presumed to be the John Curnow who settled in Gulval and married Johanna Vibert, while John the Younger was believed to be the husband of John Baragwanath's daughter Mary (J Bara's. will names "Mary C John Curnow's children, my grandchildren"). However, a will of Bawlden James of Zennor, dated 1610, named John Bara. and his wife and two children Mary and Joane, so we now know that John Bara's. children were born much earlier than we formerly thought. This makes "John Curnow the Elder" the husband of Mary Baragwanath, while John Curnow the Younger must have married Johanna Vibert. Since Mary Bara. was born prior to 1610, and her husband is probably a bit older, this too pushes the age of yet another of Thomas Curnow's children back to the first few years of the 1600s. So all in all, it is quite impossible for Thomas Curnow to have been born in 1588, his true year of birth is probably closer to about 1570.

  
  

• Sources

  [S1422] Post to Penwith Genealogy, 22 Apr 2009. [S1424] Post to Penwith Genealogy, 24 Jul 2014. [S3518] Post to Penwith Genealogy, 18 May 2007. [S2326] Misc. Cornish Will and Administration Abstracts, 1602 through 1816 by Kathie Weigel. [S5699] UK, Extracted Probate Records, 1269-1975, on ancestry.com., year and place only. [S5700] Calendar of Wills, Administrations and Accounts Relating to the Counties of Cornwall and Devon in the Connotorial Archidiaconal Court of Cornwall. London: British Record Society, 1929., year and place only. [S1419] Post to Penwith Genealogy, 9 Jan 2010.