Research by Richard Pink

The Sunderland connection

It is probably best to start this account with a bit of background information on Middlesbrough, the town where I was born and have lived all my life. Middlesbrough is a fairly large town in the north east of England, at the mouth of the river Tees. Although it is surrounded by, and, as it expanded, has swallowed up several ancient villages, ones that are mentioned in the Domesday Book and whose histories stretch back to the Saxons and beyond, Middlesbrough itself has an elusive, history. There is a theory that the high ground where the old part of the town started was once the site of a Roman signal station, safeguarding a crossing of the Tees that linked York to Hadrian’s Wall. Another theory is that a Saxon church stood on the site from the seventh century. However there is no concrete evidence for either theory. A monks’ cell was established here in the twelfth century whose ownership was disputed by the Augustinian Priory at Guisborough and the Benedictine Abbey at Whitby. Unlike its near neighbour and rival on the other side of the Tees, Stockton, the population of Middlesbrough remained small and static, up until the nineteenth century. In 1801, Middlesbrough was a hamlet with a population of just 25, living in four farmhouses. In 1829, the population was still only 40 and yet by the end of the century, it had grown rapidly to become a large industrial town of 91,000 inhabitants. The period of growth started in the 1840s, first as a port for exporting coal from the Durham collieries and then the iron and steel industry dominated the town’s economy. Therefore the family history of most people in Middlesbrough reflects this rapid influx of migrant workers who arrived in the town from the mid to late nineteenth century. I have Scottish and Irish ancestors, as well as Yorkshire and Hampshire ancestors, via Sunderland.

The name Pink is an unusual one in the north east. One family theory was that we were descended from Cornish tin miners, who had come to the area to cash in on the boom in the iron industry. It was a fact that miners did travel from all over Britain, Europe and further afield, to work on Teesside. There were certainly people from Cornwall living and working in Middlesbrough and some of them can be found recorded on the 1881 census, which was about the time the Pinks moved to Middlesbrough. However I have not, as yet, found any Cornish miners working in the Teesside iron industry. It was not until later that I found out that Cornwall is one of the top three counties in England for having the highest concentration of inhabitants named Pink. The other two are Kent and Hampshire.

I was fortunate when I started to do my family history that someone had already made a start on it and had made their research available on the internet. Therefore in tracing my family name of Pink, it was largely a case of verifying what had already been done.

From this I soon found out that I was related to a James Pink of Hampshire, who was married to Margaret Charlton at St Peter’s Church, Monkwearmouth (Sunderland) on 5th January 1836. Although I live in Middlesbrough, I had visited this church prior to finding out any family connection. It is the site of a famous Saxon monastery founded in 674, the one where the Venerable Bede grew up and is twinned with the more famous St Paul’s Monastery in Jarrow, where Bede spent his adulthood and wrote his famous historical and theological works. St Peter’s still retains a lot of Saxon stonework, particularly in the Church tower, and recently put in a joint bid with St Paul’s for World Heritage status. However, in the 1830’s a lot of the churchyard had been covered by a huge mound of ships’ ballast that was dumped there by passing traffic on the River Wear. This had been going on since the Middle Ages and St Peter’s, which once stood on a hillock, became surrounded by sand hills and the west end of the church and the lower part of the tower were hidden from view. It was not until the 1860s, when the church was restored, that the sand was removed and the Saxon features were revealed. The ballast hills were sometimes built upon and James Pink’s brother William lived on one, Lookout Hill, in 1851.

It was interesting to read on the East Meon History Group website the essay by the Vicar of All Saints, East Meon, Rev. Terry Louden, on the history of Christianity in East Meon. This looks at the role of Wilfrid of Northumbria in spreading Christianity to southern England in the seventh century. Wilfrid was Bishop of Northumbria from 668 to 677, the time when St Peter’s Monastery was founded at Monkwearmouth. Then from about 678-686, he was based at Selsey, spreading the Christian message to Southern England, including Hampshire.

James Pink’s occupation is variously given as: mariner, shipwright and carpenter. On the 1841 census he was living at Wreath Quay on Monkwearmouth Shore. At this time, Sunderland was one of the biggest shipbuilding centres in Britain and it attracted workers from far and wide. He was living with is wife Margaret and young son, also James, and a William Pink, probably James’ brother, aged 15 (this is an approximate age, as ages on the 1841 census were rounded to the nearest 5) and his occupation was a ship’s blacksmith (“ship smith ap”).

James and Margaret had 8 children, before James died in 1859. These mainly lived and worked in the north east, although the eldest son, Edward Pink, born in 1838 (who is not listed with his family in Sunderland on the 1841 census and who appears to be missing altogether from this census), was a shoemaker, who worked in Sunderland, Newcastle and Hartlepool. This was apart from a period around 1881, where he appears on the census with his wife and 3 of his children, plying his trade in Alton, Hampshire. Also on the 1881 census, Edward’s eldest son, James William Pink is recorded as a Royal Marine, who was in the Royal Naval Hospital, Haslar, Alverstoke, Hampshire.

It was the fourth child of James and Margaret, Samuel George Pink, who moved to Middlesbrough, around 1878, with his wife and 5 children, where they had a further 7 children. Samuel George Pink was my great great grandfather. His occupation was carpenter and shipwright. He married Dorothy Ann Sanderson of Southwick (“Suddick”), Sunderland at the Independent Chapel in Dundas Street, Sunderland in 1866. Dorothy eventually became a midwife in Middlesbrough. Samuel’s mother Margaret also ended up in Middlesbrough, first living with her daughter in North Ormesby and ending her days in the workhouse.

The Hampshire Connection

One problem I have had is in making the leap from the era of birth registration and the census, to the early part of the nineteenth century and from the north east of England to Hampshire. This is because the person who did my family tree linked the James Pink who was married in Monkwearmouth to a James and Elizabeth Pink who were married in Hinton Ampner in Hampshire in 1817. James Pink of Bramdean married Elizabeth Brier of Hinton Ampner at All Saints Church, Hinton Ampner on 18th June 1817. They had several children, the first being Francis Pink, baptised at St Simon & St Jude Church, Bramdean on 11th August 1817. Their second child was James Pink, baptised at Hinton Ampner on 11th July 1819. Two more sons, George and John Pink were baptised at Hinton Ampner on 18th March 1824 and William Pink was baptised at All Saints, East Meon on 6th March 1825.

I have not been able to contact the person who did my family tree in order to ask him what evidence he has for claiming that the James Pink of Monkwearmouth was born in Hinton Ampner. From the CD ROM produced by the Hampshire Genealogical Society (HGS) of Church of England baptisms, the Hinton Ampner James Pink is the only one returned when searching on that name that could fit with being married in 1836. However, this would make him either 15 or 16 when he got married, which, although not impossible, would seem unlikely. It is possible that he was born before 1819 and then baptised later, which was common practise at the time. However, the fact that Francis Pink was baptised in 1817 would make this unlikely.

From the census records of 1841 for Monkwearmouth, James Pink gives his age as 25 and he was born out of the county of Durham. On the 1851 census, he gives his age as 35 and his place of birth as Eastmere, Hampshire. Living with James in 1841 is William Pink, presumably a younger brother. This census records his age as 15 and his birthplace as being out of the county. By 1851, William was married and making his way in the world separate from his brother. This census records his age as 27 and his birthplace as East Meon, Hampshire. On the 1861 census he records his birthplace as Petersfield and, for 1871 and 1881, he again gives East Meon as his place of birth. It may be that James Pink was confused about his birthplace. His family did appear to move around the Bramdean, Hinton Ampner and East Meon area quite a lot. Somehow though, this did not ring true with me and I always suspected there was something wrong with the Hinton Ampner connection.

The East Meon connection

It was not until fairly recently that I did a free text search on some search results I had downloaded from the baptism CD ROM and discovered a James Pink baptised in East Meon on 25th August 1816. The reason I had not found him previously was because he was illegitimate and was listed in the database under his mother’s name, Elizabeth Tull. The baptism entry for James Pink reads:

25th August 1816 James Pink son of illegitimate Elizabeth Tull of East Meon, pauper, F Dunderdale officiating minister.

It was not until the following year that his parents were married:

21st January 1817 James Pink and Elizabeth Tull married by Banns by Dunderdale Curate in presence of Robert Smith and Sarah Chace.

This couple had children: Jane, born around 1820, Samuel, born around 1826, Henry, born around 1828, Mary, born around 1832, and Eliza, born around 1835. I have not been able to find baptism records for these children and have taken their details from census records. It now also seems likely that the William Pink baptised in 1825 at East Meon was their son and not from the Pink family married in Hinton Ampner. The entry reads:

6th March 1825 William son of James & Elizabeth Pink, East Meon, Maltster. Spencer Rodney Drummond officiating Minister.

[Incidentally, Francis Pink, mentioned earlier, married Ellen Blackman from East Meon and lived there for a short time around 1850 (at “Berely Lodge” according to the 1851 census). Ellen Blackman’s mother was Hannah Tull, who was the younger sister of Elizabeth Tull and so the two Pink families were distantly related through marriage.]

Why two of the children were baptised at All Saints Church and the others were not, may have something to do with the religion of their parents. A James Pink of East Meon applied for a dissenter’s meeting house certificate on 16th February 1828 (also Robert Pink of East Meon applied for his house to be used as a dissenting meeting house in 1844). An illegitimate girl was also baptised at the East Meon Church in this year:

16th September 1828 Ellen dr of James Pink East Meon Maltster and Ann Abburrow Hambledon.

Although James Pink is referred to as a maltster in this record and on William Pink’s baptism entry in 1825 and on a surrender of land document also in 1825, on the 1841 and 1851 census, he is referred to as an agricultural labourer. By this time, the family had moved to Ramsdean.

Therefore, there were two James and Elizabeth Pink families in Hampshire at this time. Both couples were married in 1817 and both had sons named James and William. It would appear that the genealogist who looked at my family tree got these two families confused, mixing the Hinton Ampner Pinks with those in East Meon. In order to verify any findings I came up with, it was necessary to examine both families and try to trace both family histories.

The James Pink who married Elizabeth Tull was baptised at All Saints, East Meon on 25th January 1790. He was the son of William and Sarah Pink, the father’s occupation being surgeon. Making things harder from a research point of view, there was another William and Sarah Pink who lived in East Meon in the latter part of the eighteenth century. This William Pink was a farmer and his marriage produced at least ten children, the last one, also a James Pink, died only a few months old in 1784. William Pink the surgeon had his second child, Sarah, baptised in East Meon on 26th September 1785. It is at this point in the register that William Pink is noted as a surgeon, to distinguish him from the other William Pink in East Meon.

There is a reference in the Hampshire Directory of 1784, to a William Pink in Alresford recorded as a “Surgeon and Man-midwife”. According to the HGS cd rom of Hampshire baptisms, William son of William and Sarah Pink was baptised on 25th July 1783, at New Alresford. From the East Meon Memorial transcriptions online:

To the memory of William Pink who departed this life 15 Sept 1819 age 59, also Sarah his Wife who departed this life 23 Oct 1830 age 74, also 3 of their children, Sarah, eldest daughter, Jane 2nd daughter & William their infant son.

The burial records for East Meon, show that “William Pink inf.” was buried on 27th Feb 1785. The only William Pink in the East Meon records prior to this was baptised in 1774. Therefore, it seems likely that William Pink practised as a surgeon in Alresford and had his first child there, before moving to East Meon.

There is a possible reference to William in the late eighteenth century from the Star, from Wednesday 24th October 1798:

Finchdean Volunteers.
William Pink, Gent. to be surgeon.

William Pink’s will from 11th May 1813 names three executors:

…my Brother in law James Andrews Minchin of Petersfield in the said County of Southampton Gentleman my Son James Pink and my friend William Weeks junior of Oxenbourne in the said Parish of Eastmeon yeoman…

It was not until I contacted the East Meon History Group that I found out that William Pink had married Sarah Minchin in Portsea on 24th April 1781. I was also informed that the witnesses to the will were cousins of Sarah’s, Thomas Andrews Minchin, an Attorney and Banker, and Thomas Minchin, who had a successful career in the Navy. From the information I was provided with, it became clear that James Andrews Minchin was a notable figure in the area. The Minchins were ‘returnees’ from Ireland, where they had acquired land as a result of service in Cromwell’s Army. Their main occupation was carpentry, James Minchin was a Master Carpenter, involved in the furniture and carriage making trades and as a timber merchant, who employed apprentices throughout his career. He was also very politically active, campaigning for political reform in the area, prior to the 1832 Reform Act. The Minchins provide an opportunity for work in carpentry and the Navy, which may have benefited James Pink’s sons, James and William.

William Pink’s death was reported in the Hampshire Telegraph and Sussex Chronicle on 20th September 1819:

Died, on Wednesday, suddenly, Mr Pink, Surgeon, of East Meon.

At this time, the Pink family appear to have suffered financial difficulties, land was sold and surrendered, as the following newspaper extracts show:

Hampshire Telegraph and Sussex Chronicle, 31st May 1824.
To be SOLD by AUCTION…
Lot 5.-Six Acres (more or less) of capital ARABLE LAND, and one acre (more or less) of PASTURE, situate near the village of Eastmeon, in the occupation of Messrs. Barnard and Pink.

Hampshire Telegraph and Sussex Chronicle, 14th February 1825.
EAST MEON,-HANTS.
FOR SALE by PRIVATE CONTRACT…
Lot 3.- Two Closes of Arable and Pasture LAND, containing about seven Acres, situate near the Village of Eastmeon, in the occupation of Messrs. Barnard and Pink, Copyhold of Inheritance of the same Manor.
For particulars apply to Messrs. T. A. and W. Minchin, Portsea and Gosport.

James Pink’s partner in these transactions is probably one of the Barnard family that was linked to the Barnards Cottages on East Meon High Street.

I also found this reference to a land transaction in the Hampshire Records Office, which shows the surrender of land in East Meon by all three executors of the will of William Pink:

New Alresford, Bishops Sutton etc deeds – Date 21st April 1825.
Record: 583 of 1199
Finding No 26M77/E/T25
Title Admission and surrenders, with regards to land in East Meon
Description A toft and 10a in Meon Manor called Mould’s, a toft and 10a in Meon Manor called Gentleman’s and a close of bondland in Oxenborne Field, 1a called Harbords parcel of Potters now or late called Bonham Paddock. Admission of Thomas Andrews Minchin, gent and John Small the younger, devisees of James Andrews Minchin, gent, deceased on the surrender of William Pink, gent, deceased by forfeit on non payment of mortgage of £450. Surrender to James Pink of East Meon, maltster and William Weeks the younger, yeoman, survivors of James Andrew Minchin and surrender by all 4 parties ie Thomas Andrews Minchin, John Small the younger, James Pink and William Weeks the younger to Samuel Newton Humphreys of Petersfield, gent.

William Pink died in 1819 and his wife Sarah died in 1830, aged about 70. I believe that William Pink owned Duncomb Farm in East Meon because of a reference to Sarah Pink in the Hampshire Telegraph from 1825:

Hampshire Telegraph and Sussex Chronicle, 12th September 1825.
Farm to let – Eastmeon
To be LET by AUCTION, at the George Inn, Eastmeon, on Thursday the 22d day of September inst. At twelve at noon, upon a Lease for Fourteen Years, determinable on the life of Mrs. Sarah Pink, widow, of the age of 67, subject to such conditions as will be then produced, All that FARM called DUNCOMB, containing 60 Customary Acres (more or less), with the Barn, Carthouse, Stable, and Gateroom thereto belonging, situate in the Parish of Eastmeon._ For particulars, apply to Messrs. Minchin, Solicitors, Gosport and Portsea.

This perhaps shows that the sudden death of William Pink could have been the trigger for financial troubles. William Pink owned Duncomb Farm, but after his death, this, along with other plots of land, had to be sold. Perhaps James Pink was unsuccessful as a maltster and this meant that he had to sell off the land he had inherited. It is also around this time that James and his family moved from East Meon to Ramsdean, and James’ occupation changed to agricultural labourer.

William Pink’s second surviving son, George Pink (1794-1886) was a surgeon at East Meon from at least 1841 until the 1870s. From the History Group’s website, there is an old Freddie Standfield article from Meon Matters which has details of White’s History, Gazetteer and Directory of Hampshire 1878. This includes George Pink who was still active as the “surgeon and medical officer” for East Meon. However, he was recorded on the 1881 census as a retired surgeon. The census records also show that he was a member of the Royal College of Surgeons, a licensed apothecary and a GP.

George Pink had married Ann Guy at All Saints, East Meon on 4th August 1832. The Guys were a prominent and well-to-do East Meon family. George and Ann had six children, three of whom died in infancy. Ann died young, at the age of 38, and her passing was recorded in the Hampshire Telegraph and Sussex Chronicle on 23rd February 1850:

DIED.
Pink – On Tuesday last, Ann, wife of George Pink, Esq., Surgeon, of Eastmeon, much regretted by her family and a large circle of friends.

George Pink’s brother-in-law, George Guy, was also a surgeon at East Meon, but he died in 1846 at the age of 29. Since George Pink had only one son who died in infancy, it may be that George Guy was apprenticed to him.

I knew that George Pink owned land in East Meon because of a list of property owners in the Petersfield area from the Hampshire Telegraph of 1876. This also lists all the landowners in East Meon, including a Richard Pink. Presumably this is the same Richard Pink I found mentioned in Standfield’s notes:

Documents in the possession of George Kille of East Meon:
24/10/1888 – Surrender by Richard Pink of East Meon Miller of a cottage late in the occupation of Arthur Prouting but now of Nun Kille consideration £15.

Details of the tithe apportionment map for East Meon of 1852/53, supplied by the East Meon History Group, show that George Pink owned land and property in East Meon and Frogmore, including the house that became known as “Brooklyn”, next to Glenthorne House on East Meon High Street. Since I was informed by the History Group that the current owners lived in America, I had assumed that this was why the house had its present name. However, I noticed that it is referred to as “Brooklyn” on the 1901 census, so it would be interesting to find out when and how it acquired this name.

Further information from the tithe apportionment map shows that George Pink rented a cottage in Frogmore to William Weeks Jr, who was an executor of William Pink’s will in 1813. A Bridge House was rented to William Kille. From the 1841 census, William Kill (or Kille) was a miller and close neighbour of George Pink. William’s brother Samuel Kille was a butcher and another neighbour of George Pink. The tithe apportionment map shows that Samuel was renting a cottage to Henry Pink and others in 1853. This Henry Pink was from a different Pink family to the one I am related to and not to be confused with James Pink’s son, Henry, who was working as a servant in George Pink’s household at around this time.

George Pink appears to have had a close association with the Kille family of East Meon. From the census records, Allan G Kille was his groom in 1861 and Walter Kille (aged 5) is recorded as a visitor on the 1871 census. He also must have had close links with the Strugnell family of Cheriton. Mary Strugnell was his servant in 1851, Hephzibah Strugnell in 1861 and Alice Strugnell in 1871. Hephzibah Strugnell married Caleb Kille, the father of Walter Kille and cousin of Allan G Kille, and George Pink was recorded as lodging with this family on the 1881 census:

Village Caleb Kille 42 Carpenter East Meon
Hephzibah Kille 39 East Meon
Walter Kille 15 Carpenter East Meon
Nun Kille 11 Scholar East Meon
Ernest Kille 9 Scholar East Meon
Clement Kille 7 Scholar East Meon
George Kille 5 Scholar East Meon
Arthur Kille 13 Carpenter East Meon
George Pink 86 Retired Surgeon East Meon

It is difficult from the census to tell exactly where in East Meon they were living, but it does not appear to be at Brooklyn. From a comparison with the residents on the 1871 census and using proximity to the New Inn (now the Isaac Walton) as a guide, George Pink’s successor as GP, Edward Noott, and his younger brother, Frank Noott, a student of medicine, from Dudley, Worcestershire, were living at Brooklyn. Doing a similar comparison on the 1891 census, it would appear that, after Dr Noott, this house was owned by Luke Merritt, a cattle dealer, who had married Lucy Pink of East Meon in 1876. Lucy was the daughter of Robert Pink, who was born on the Isle of Wight around 1796 and married Sarah Ratty of East Meon in 1823. It is only on the 1901 census that the building is named as “Brooklyn” and Lucy Merritt, now widowed, was still living there. It is tempting to think that Lucy Pink’s family must have had some connection to George Pink, but it is probably just a coincidence.

Despite the early death of his wife, George Pink lived a long life and had a long career as a GP. His older brother, James, did not fare as well and his fortunes appear to go into decline in the 1820’s, shortly after the death of his father. Although land and property are not included in the will of William Pink the surgeon, it would appear that his two surviving sons inherited various plots of land in and around East Meon. George Pink married into a well-to-do family and had a long and stable career. However, James Pink appears to have failed as a maltster and Duncomb Farm and other land he had a share in had to be sold. He then moved from East Meon to Ramsdean, becoming an agricultural labourer.

The fact that William and George Pink were surgeons and James Pink was a maltster and that they owned land, implies that they were from the middle class. It took about seven years to qualify as a surgeon and only wealthy families would have been able to afford the apprenticeship. The Pink family did have a certain amount of property, but the different branches of the family had mixed fortunes. It could be that William and his son George learnt their trade in the Navy, although so far I have not been able to find any details from naval Records or the Royal College of Surgeons. (The close proximity of Portsmouth may also explain the later James and William Pinks’ involvement in shipbuilding.) What is intriguing is the apparent difference in character between the two brothers, James and George, and the resulting difference in their fortunes.

I have not yet been able to determine whether there were any family connections between George Pink and the other Pinks of East Meon, such as Richard Pink the miller, Robert Pink from the Isle of Wight, or Henry Pink and his family in Frogmore. I know from Standfield’s History of East Meon that there have been Pinks living in East Meon for several hundred years. For example, he mentions Nicholas Pynke, “yeoman of Oxenbourne”, who died in 1570, amongst others. From information supplied by the History Group, it seems that in the mid-eighteenth century, Glenthorne House, next to Brooklyn on the High Street was owned by Pinks.

(From the list of owners of Glenthorne House: “1729 Robert Pink, 1757, his son Thomas Pink, then in 1779, his son Thomas Pink, who surrendered it that year to
1779 John Hawkins …”

There are also various records kept at Hampshire Records Office, which detail the Pinks activities in East Meon, going back several hundred years. One of the most useful of these is:

23M76/11: Volume containing manuscript extracts from court rolls of the manors of Hambledon (1648-1814) and East Meon (1647-1805) relating to the Pink family.

This contains an enormous amount of information on property ownership and transactions relating to the Pink family going back to the mid-seventeenth century. Here are a few examples, the first documents a gift by the Pink family of “le Malthouse” for the use of the poor:

Tourn of Hock, 1 Geo II
AD 1728
Admission of Robert Pincke, Stephen Steele Stephen Woodman, William Baker, Robert Stale, John Silvester, Joseph Terrell and Stephen Tulett to a close containing an acre now or late an orchard called Backclose with a cottage built thereon lying on the east of Duncombe Lane and also a house called le Malthouse, for the use of the poor of the parish of East Meon in the tithing of Meon Manor/ except and reserved to Thomas Pinke his heirs and assigns a tenement lying on the west of le Malthouse now in the occupation of John Long, and the use of a well pertaining to a cottage and house called le Malthouse by surrender of Thomas Pinke.

The second documents the transaction of a piece of land called “Bunney”, which appears to have been in the possession of various members of the Pink family for many years:

Tourn of St Martin, 11 Geo. II
AD 1737 [in margin: widow of John formerly Jane Locke]
Admission of Chadwick Parsons the younger and Jane his wife late Jane Pink widow, of an “acremen” of land called Bunney in the tithing of Meon Manor by surrender of the said Jane when sole. To hold to the said Chadwick and Jane with remainder to the heirs of the said Jane.

From another Freddie Standfield article available on the History Group’s website on Tithes, it notes that the small meadow fronting Clanfield Road and adjoining “Pastures” was called “Bunny Meadow”. This information is taken from the terrier (the schedule or inventory of land) that accompanied the tithe apportionment map.

The book of court rolls extracts shows that the Bottle Ale House in East Meon was in the possession of Richard Pink in 1764. Since this house was owned by George Pink in 1852, it may show a connection between my branch of the Pink family and the Pinks of East Meon that dates to before William Pink the surgeon.

It would appear that the only way to sort out the confusion of surrounding the various Pink families with any certainty is to map all the Pinks who were either born in East Meon or lived there. I am only in the early stages of this task, starting with the nineteenth century and the information that is available from census and registration records. The next step will be to move back in time through the parish records and the court rolls information. (Click here for slides showing Richard’s geneaological charts of the different branches of the Pink family)

So far one interesting fact that has emerged is that Sir William Pink of Shrover Hall, Cosham, who was Mayor of Portsmouth five times between 1875 and 1891, had a connection to East Meon. He was born on 15th December 1829 at Durley, near Botley, in Hampshire, the son of a farmer, Thomas Pink. Thomas Pink was born in East Meon in 1785 and, although he lived at Durley from about 1812 to 1841, producing thirteen children with his wife Sarah, the 1851 census shows that he lived at Oakshott, Froxfield, farming 120 acres and employing two men. One of his other sons, Richard Pink, was a miller at East Meon, appearing on the census records at Upper (or South) Mill in 1881 and 1891. In the biography of Sir William Pink on the History in Portsmouth website, it is noted that: “The Pinks were a notable Hampshire family having their family seat, for over 300 years, at Kempshott Park near Basingstoke.”

As for the James and Elizabeth Pink who married at Hinton Ampner in 1817, they eventually moved to Froxfield, where they appear on the 1841 and 1851 census. By 1861, Elizabeth, now widowed, was still living at Froxfield, with her grandson John Pink. Two of their sons, James and William, appear to have married sisters, Naomi and Mary Jane Hunt respectively. William and Mary Jane married in Portsea in 1856 and James and Naomi were married there in 1860. On the 1871 census, the two couples and their families were living a few doors away from each other on Sinah Lane, South Hayling. The occupation of the two brothers is given as agricultural labourer.