Thomas Bocking

1708 - 1749

Thomas was born in Abney Grange around Janaury 1708, the eldest son of Dennis and Alice ⁽¹⁾. His elder sister Elizabeth had died before he was born ⁽²⁾. A brother Robert was born in 1711 ⁽³⁾, but he only survived for a few days ⁽⁴⁾. Three younger sisters followed - Maria, born in 1712 ⁽⁵⁾, Anne four years later ⁽⁶⁾, and Elizabeth three years after that in 1719 ⁽⁷⁾.

His father died in 1723 ⁽⁸⁾, leaving Thomas as the "man of the house" aged just 15. Nothing is known of him for the next eight years, but in 1731 he paid 1s 1½d land tax, and 4d headborrow tax ⁽⁹⁾.

Two years later, on 30th September 1733, he married Deborah Barber ⁽¹⁰⁾. Their first child, Matthew, was born a year later ⁽¹¹⁾, followed by Dennis in 1736 ⁽¹²⁾. Later that year he, and the other men of Abney, took part in a "beating of the bondary" of the manor ⁽¹³⁾.

His first daughter, Mary, was born in 1738 ⁽¹⁴⁾, but she only lived for a couple of days or so ⁽¹⁵⁾. Another son Thomas was born in 1739 ⁽¹⁶⁾, then daughter Deborah in 1742 ⁽¹⁷⁾. He would have no more children, as his wife died the following summer ⁽¹⁸⁾.

Thomas died in 1749, and was buried on 3rd March at St Peter's in Hope ⁽¹⁹⁾.

• Matthew has his own page.
• Dennis was born in Abney Grange in 1736. Noting more is known of him.
• Mary was born in 1738. She only survived a few days.
• Thomas was born in Abney Grange in 1739. He may have been the Thomas Bocking who married Jane Park of Castleton in 1767.
• Deborah was boen in 1742 in Abney Grange. She married John Middleton, a miner, in 1769. They had children James, one who died an infant, and Ann, before Deborah died young in 1773.

1. Parish Register of St Peter's, Hope includes the baptism entry:
   [February 1708] Thomas fil: Dionysii et Alicia Bocking de Abney grange   1
2. See his father's page.
3. Parish Register of St Peter's, Hope includes the baptism entry:
   [April 1711] Robertus fil: Dyonisyi et Aliciae Bocking de Abney: Grange   3
4. Parish Register of St Peter's, Hope includes the burial entry:
   [April 1711] Robertus fil: Dyonisyi Bocking de Abney grange   8
5. Parish Register of St Peter's, Hope includes the baptism entry:
   [May 1712] Maria fil: Den: at Alicia Bocking de Abney grange   11
6. Parish Register of St Peter's, Hope includes the baptism entry:
   [May 1716] Anna fil: Den: et Alicia Bocking de Abney grange   13
7. Parish Register of St Peter's, Hope includes the baptism entry:
   [April 1719] Elizabetha fil Diony: et Alicia Bocking de Abney grange   26
8. Parish Register of St Peter's, Hope includes the burial entry:
   [May 1723] Dennis Bocking de Abney Grange   10
9. Proceedings of the Derbyshire Archaeological and Natural History Society, 1903. "Accounts of John Bagshaw of Abney Grange", p220, contains a transcript from the accounts, which reads:
         LAND TAX AND HEADBORROW TAX IN 1731
   

   Abney Grange:	Land Tax.		Headborrow.
   	s	d	s	d
   John Bagshaw	4	3¾	2	0
   Thomas Hall	2	0		7½
   Robert Drable	1	2¾		4½
   Hugh Bagshaw	1	5¾		5½
   Barsila Barber	1	9¼		6½
   Thomas Bockin	1	1½		4

10. Parish Register of St Peter's, Hope includes the marriage entry:
    [September 1733] Tho: Bocking & Deborah Barber both of this parish   30
11. Parish Register of St Peter's, Hope includes the baptism entry:
    [September 1734] Matthew fil: Tho^s & Deborah Bocking de Abney Grange   26
12. Parish Register of St Peter's, Hope includes the baptism entry:
    [May 1736] Dennis Son Tho^s & Deborah Bocking Abney Grange   20
13. Jornal of the Derbyshire Archaeological and Natural History Society, Vol XXIX, 1907. "The manor of Abney: its Boundaries and Court Rolls" contains an extract from a note of the "beating of the boundaries" of Abney dated 30th September 1736, which lists the 33 men who took part. This includes :
    Thos. Bocking - aged 27
14. Parish Register of St Peter's, Hope includes the baptism entry:
    [September 1738] Mary Dau: Tho^s & Deborah Bocking Abney Grange   7
15. Parish Register of St Peter's, Hope includes the burial entry:
    [September 1738] Mary Dau: Tho^s Bocking Abney Grange   9
16. Parish Register of St Peter's, Hope includes the baptism entry:
    [August 1739] Tho^s fil: Tho^s & Debora Bocking Abney Grange   12
17. Parish Register of St Peter's, Hope includes the baptism entry:
    [November 1742] Deborah fil: Tho^s & Deborah Bocking Abney Grange   14
18. Parish Register of St Peter's, Hope includes the burial entry:
    [July 1743] Daborah Uxor Tho^s Bocking Abney Grange   11
19. Parish Register of St Peter's, Hope includes the burial entry:
    [March 1749] Tho^s Bocking Abney Grange   3