Hunnisett Family History

William Honisett (1772 - 1863) of Charing, Kent

William, the son of William and Lydia, was baptised in Headcorn on 5 April 1772. He married Frances Knock (1773-1817) by licence in Charing on 25 November 1797; both were said to be 'of this parish' and neither had been married before. William and Frances appear to have had 10 children, mostly baptised in Charing:

The strain of giving birth to twins must have been too much for Frances as she was buried in Charing on 8 February 1817, aged 43. One of the twins died 2 months later and the other a year after that.

In 1813 Frances had been granted the administration of her brother George's estate, which was contested by their four half-sisters. George Knock had been a seaman in the Royal Navy and had amassed a significant sum in prize money (see below).

William's uncle Edward died in 1840 leaving him a bequest.

In 1841 William was in Charing with his daughter Jane and her illigitimate daughter Emma.

In 1851 he was a pauper in Charing lodging with his son-in-law, George Croucher, and daughter Jane.

In 1861 William was an almsman living with his grand-daughter, Emma, Jane's daughter, in Charing.

William died in 1863.

Of their children:

• William married Mary Chapman and lived in Charing.
• John married Ann Mackley and lived in Charing.
• Ann died in Canterbury, aged 24, and was buried in Charing on 27 March 1835.
• Jane had an illegitimate daughter, Emma, baptised in Charing on 13 January 1839. She later married George Croucher in Charing on 9 September 1848. George and Jane were at Stockers Head, Charing in 1871 and Emma was still living with them. Jane died in 1874. Emma, still unmarried, was staying with her widowed step-father, George Croucher, at Stockers Head, Charing, in 1881. In 1901 she was living in Ashford. She died in 1913

A note concerning George Knock, seaman

From the inventory of George Knock's estate it is clear that he was Frances' brother and that they had four half-sisters including Catherine Westover. The Charing PRs show that Catherine Knock married William Westover on 21 January 1789, from which we may assume that they shared the same father who was married at least twice and that George and Frances may have been from the later marriage, as Frances didn't marry until 1797. However, none of the three named children appear to have been baptised in Charing (although many pages for the period are unreadable on microfilm) so the identity of their parents remains a mystery for the time being. The accounts also mention a Richard Knock who was also serving in the Navy (on the Ardent) in 1813, so may have been a brother, and a Henry Knock, possibly another brother.

George Knock had served on the Scourge and the Harrier. He was owed over £730 prize money from the Harrier, over £78 in wages, and £11 as his share of Prize money from the capture of the Souffler. After expenses and commissions it would appear that there was about £730 to share between the beneficiaries.