Nat Gould

John Gilman Greensmith 1778-1846

John Gilman Greensmith 1778-1846 was born in 1778, the son of John Greensmith 1746-1792 and his wife née Elizabeth Gilman of Longford in Derbyshire. He was baptised on 12 April 1778 at Kniveton in Derbyshire.

After the death of his father, John Gilman Greensmith continued on the family farm at Mammerton in Longford (1), tenant on the Longford Hall estate of Edward Coke 1758-1836.

He eloped with his landlord's daughter Maria Jane Coke (2) and they were married at Gretna Green in Scotland on 3 April 1816 (3). They moved to the Isle of Man, where they settled at Onchan, having married again there on 30 July 1816 (4).

They had the following children, born in the Isle of Man:

Eliza Jane Greensmith. She was born in 1818, and was unmarried. In 1865 she was living with her sister Emily Maria Greensmith at Whatlington in Sussex where her brother the Reverend John Francis Greensmith was Curate (5). She died on 26 May 1905 in Nottingham (6), and was buried at Thorpe in Derbyshire where there is a gravestone inscribed to her memory.

John Francis Greensmith. He was born on 10 August 1819. He was educated at St John's College, Cambridge, graduating Bachelor of Arts in 1845 and Master of Arts in 1852. He was ordained deacon at Lichfield in 1845 and priest in 1846. He was successively Curate of Ashmore in Dorset from 1847 to 1848, Curate of Eastington in Gloucestershire from 1849 to 1853, Curate of Charlton Kings in Gloucestershire from 1853 to 1862, Curate of Whatlington in Sussex from 1864 to 1872, Curate of Holy Trinity, Southwell in Nottinghamshire from 1872 to 1876, Curate of Norton then in Derbyshire from 1876 to 1880, Curate of Waddingham in Lincolnshire from 1880 to 1884, and Curate of Sempringham in Lincolnshire from 1884 to 1886. Later he lived at Folkingham in Lincolnshire (7). He died at Chellaston in Derbyshire on 9 November 1895 (8), and was buried at Thorpe, where there is a gravestone inscribed to his memory.

Emily Maria Greensmith. She was born 16 December 1827, and was unmarried. She died on 12 February 1865 at Whatlington in Sussex (9) where her brother the Reverend John Francis Greensmith was Curate, and was buried where there is a gravestone inscribed to her memory.

Their father John Gilman Greensmith died on 26 February 1846 in Derbyshire (10), and was buried on 7 March 1846 at Thorpe, where there is a gravestone inscribed to his memory.

(1) The inscription on the gravestone of John Greensmith 1746-1792 at Longford reads: "John Greensmith of Mammerton".
(2) Maria Jane Greensmith nee Coke was the daughter of Edward Coke 1758-1836 and his wife nee Grace Colhoun, whom he had married on 9 April 1792.
(3) The date given on the Gretna Green certificate is 30 April, but the entry in the register is dated 3 April 1816.
(4) Isle of Man Marriage Index 1606-1984 Isle of Man National Heritage Museum MS09754/3/1. The marital status of the bride and groom is not stated, nor are the names of their fathers.
(5) "GREENSMITH Emily Maria formerly of the Town of Nottingham but late of Whatlington in the County of Sussex Spinster died 26 May 1905 Probate Nottingham 16 June to Henry Arthur Goodall solicitor Effects £4495 12s 9d. Resworn June 1907 £4795 12s 9d." National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations) 1858-1966 (1905) page 276.
(6) "GREENSMITH Eliza Jane of 12 Gill-street Nottingham spinster died 26 May 1905 Probate Nottingham 16 June to Henry Arthur Goodall solicitor Effects £4495 12s 9d. Resworn June 1907 £4795 12s 9d." National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations) 1858-1966 (1905) page 276.
(7) Alumni Cantabrigienses Part II 1752-1900 Volume III J.A. Venn (1947) page 136.
(8) "GREENSMITH the reverend John Francis of Chellaston Derbyshire clerk died 9 November 1895 Probate Derby 13 December to Eliza Jane Greensmith spinster Effects £151 4s 7d." National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations) 1858-1966 (1895) page 242.
(9) "GREENSMITH Emily Maria formerly of the Town of Nottingham but late of Whatlington in the County of Sussex Spinster died 26 May 1905 Probate Nottingham 16 June to Henry Arthur Goodall solicitor Effects £4495 12s 9d. Resworn June 1907 £4795 12s 9d." National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations) 1858-1966 (1905) page 276.
(10) The district in the Burial Register is Bakewell, which covered not only that town but also several nearby Derbyshire villages, but not including Longford or Thorpe.