Chapter 20 - The Mannings

The Manning Family is important to us because of Hannah Manning, who married Ebenezer King.

Historians disagree about the origins of the Manning family.  Some say that the Mannings originated in England, others say Germany.  Wherever and whenever the family originated, this chapter follows the Mannings to Massachusetts in 1721.

From Germany to England

Rudolf de Manning , or Ranulph de Mannheim, was from Mannheim, Germany.  He married Elgida , whose nephew was King Harold I  of England.   Because of his marriage, Rudolf de Manning received a grant of land in Kent, England.  Rudlof de Manning and Elgida had a son, Simon de Manning.

A Crusader

Simon de Manning, son of Rudolf de Manning and Elgida,  was a companion of King Richard the Lionhearted  and was the first English baron to accompany King Richard on the second Crusade in the 1190’s.  He was knighted on the battlefield.  Some historians say that this Simon de Manning is the same person as the Simon Manning discussed below, but this is impossible, because King Richard died in 1199, about thrity-six years before the Simon Manning discussed below was born.  It is therefore likely that this Simon Manning was the grandfather, or perhaps the father, of the Simon Manning discussed below.

Simon (or Symon) Manning (or de Manning), son or grandson of Simon de Manning,  was born about 1235, and he married Tyraphena, about 1269.  Simon, Tyraphena, and all of their children were born in Bettreds Castle, Kent, England.  Children of Simon Manning and Tyraphena were:

• Stephen Manning (below)
• Robert Manning  (born 1272)
• Eylmer Manning ((born 1274)

Stephen Manning, son of Simon Manning and Tyraphena,  was born in Kent, England, about 1270, and died in 1310.  William Manning  and Robert Manning (born 1303) were among his children.

William Manning  (or de Manning), son of Stephen Manning, was born in Codham, Kent, England, about 1301. He married Joanna de Chyrfold (or Chersholt),  born about 1301 or 1315, daughter of Richard de Chyrfold  and his wife Johanna.  Johanna was her father’s sole heiress, and brought his property to the marriage.  Among the children of William Manning  and Joanna de Chyrfold  was Simon Manning .  William Manning died in 1343, the 17^th year of King Edward III .

Simon Manning, son of William Manning and Joanna de Chryfold,  was born about 1335 or 1344 in Codham, Kent, England.  About 1364, he married Katherine Chaucer  (b. ca. 1348) in London, England, daughter of John Le Chaucer  and Agnes Copton . Katherine Chaucer ’s older brother was Geoffrey Chaucer , the famous writer.

Among the children of Simon Manning  and Katherine Chaucer  was John Manning .

John Manning, son of Simon Manning and Katherine Chaucer,  was born about 1365 in Codham, Kent, England, and he died in 1412 or 1413, the 14^th year of the reign of King Henry IV .  About 1401, he married Alice (or Alicia) Walden , born about 1369.

Among the children of John Manning and Alice Walden were:

• John Manning
• Doctor Manning
• Hugo Manning
• Catarina Manning  

John Manning, son of John Manning and Alice Walden,  was born about 1399 or 1402 in Codham, Kent, England.  He died in 1435 or 1436 in the reign of Henry VI .  About 1431, he married Juliana Brockhill , born about 1406 in Downe, Kent, England, daughter and heir of Richard Brockhill (born ca 1376 in Downe, Kent, England).   Among their children was Hugh Manning .

Hugh Manning, son of John Manning and Juliana Brockhill,  was born about 1431 or 1432 in St. Mary Cray, Kent, England.  About 1456 or 1480, he married Margaret Brandon  (born in 1440, daughter of Sir William Brandon ). Hugh Manning  died in 1502 and is buried in St. Mary Cray.

Children of Hugh Manning and Margaret Brandon were:

• John Manning
• Richard Manning  (born 1482)
• Robert Manning  (born 1485)  

John (or Johannes) Manning, son of Hugh Manning and Margaret Brandon,  was born about1480 or 1481 in Downe, Kent, England.  He married first Agnes Petley  (or Petty), (born about 1502, daughter of John Petley  of Downe), and they had three children.  John Manning married second Thomasina Tracy , and Hugh Manning  was their son.  John Manning died April 10, 1543, the 35^th year of the reign of Henry VIII .

Children of John Manning and Agnes Petley were:

• Henry Manning
• George Manning  (born 1520, married Joan Wallis )
• Johannes Manning  (born 1528).

Henry Manning, son of John Manning and Agnes Petley, was born about 1500-1510 in Downe, Kent, England, and he died there about 1582-1594.  He married Catherine Kirkener  (born 1535-1540, daughter of Erasmus Kirkener  and Agnes or Agusta Waller ) about 1548.  Erasmus Kirkener  was born in 1495 in Germany.  He went to England, where he was an armor-maker, and made armor for King Henry VIII.  Henry Manning learned armor-making in his father-in-law’s shop, but he went on to other things.  He became Keeper of the Royal Park at Greenwich, and he was also Knight-Marshall, a sort of judge of crimes in the royal palace.  Among their children was Henry Manning  II.

Henry Manning  II, son of Henry Manning and Catherine Kirkener, was born about 1560 in Greenwich, Kent, England.  He married Jacosa Day  about 1579 in Downe, Kent, England. William Manning  was their son.  Henry Manning  II died July 14, 1614.

This Manning Went to America

William Manning, son of Henry Manning II and Jacosa Day,  was born in Essex, England, about 1592.  About 1614, in England, he married Hannah, born about 1593 .  Some think Hannah died on the voyage to America in 1534.  Later, William Manning married Susannah Kirchener (ca. 1593 – October 16, 1650) , and still later (in Massachusetts) he married Elizabeth .  Among his children was a son, also named William Manning .  The elder William Manning  was Christened in Cambridge, MA, in 1635, and he died in Boston, MA, February 17, 1665.

Buried in Harvard Square

The younger William Manning, son of William Manning and his first wife, Hannah,  was born in Essex, England, about 1615.  He was Christened in the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1634, and he married Dorothy Steward  (?) in 1641 in Cambridge, MA.  He was a merchant in Cambridge, Massachusetts.  He had a warehouse, and he built a wharf on the Charles River.

William Manning  was a prominent and trusted citizen of Cambridge, and at various times he held a variety of civic posts.  In 1672, he and John Cooper  were appointed to oversee the construction of a new building for Harvard College.  That project was not finished until 1684, because funds did not become available as promised.  He was a member of Cambridge Church, where in 1688 he was appointed to go to England and persuade Mr. Uriah Oakes  to come and be the pastor of the church.  Chldren of William and Dorothy Manning included one son, Samuel Manning .   William Manning  died in Cambridge, MA on March 14, 1689 or 1690, and lies buried beside his wife Dorothy in Harvard Square.

Samuel Manning, son of William Manning and his wife Dorothy,  was born in Cambridge, MA, July 21, 1644.  On one occasion, when he was a teenager, Samuel was called before the court and scolded for firing guns at night, giving the impression that there was an Indian attack.  He had a good education, with good penmanship and good composition.  He married first Elizabeth Stearnes  (daughter of Isaac Stearnes  and Mary Barker ) on April 13, 1664 in Watertown, MA.  About 1665, Samuel and Elizabeth moved near the center of Billerica, about twenty miles away.  Later, Samuel moved to a farm west of the Concord River, but still in Billerica.  Samuel married  second Abiel (Abigail) Wight  on May 6, 1673 in Cambridge, MA.  Abiel (Abigail) Wight  was born January 1, 1653 or 1654 in Medford, MA, the daughter of John Wight  (born 1627, Isle of Witt, England) and Anne Burnappe .  Anne Burnappe married John Wight in 1653, Isaac Bullard in 1655, and David Jones in 1685. 

Samuel Manning built a house in 1696, and the house served as a garrison, a place to which people could go for their common defence against the Indians, who attacked it at least twice.  Several of Samuel’s neighbors were killed by Indians.

Samuel Manning was a member of the Billerica militia company, although there is no record of him involved in actual fighting.  There are records that show that he shot several wolves, on which there was a bounty.   

Like his father, Samuel Manning was active in civic affairs, and held a variety of posts in the Billerica town government.  He also served as a representative to the Massachusets General Court 1695-1696.  Among the children of Samuel Manning  and Abiel (Abigail) Wight  was Hannah Manning .  Samuel Manning died Sunday, February 22, 1710, at Billerica, Massachusetts.  Abiel Wight died July 3, 1713.

John Wight, above, was the son of Thomas Wight, (born December 6, 1607, Haresby, Lincolnshire, England, died March 17, 1674, Medfield, Massachusetts) and Alice Roundy or Pepper, born about 1608 in England, died July 15, 1665, Medfield, Massachusetts).  Thomas Wight was the son of Robert Wight (ca 1578-January 8, 1618) and Elizabeth Fulshaw (ca 1581-June 26, 1620).  Thomas Wight was the son of John Wight (born ca 1552) and Anna Bray (born ca 1556).

Hannah Manning, daughter of Samuel Manning and Abiel Wight,  was born March 20, 1674 or 1675 in Watertown (or Billerica), MA.  She married Ebenezer King  (See Chapter 19) December 7, 1699, and died in 1721 in Watertown, MA.

References: 250, 251, 423, 424

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