Nicholas Hesketh / Heskin

Personal and Family Information

Nicholas was born about 1587, the son of Thurstan Hesketh / Heskin but his mother is unknown. The place is not known.

He died in 1640. The place is not known.

His wife is not known. They were married, but the date and place have not been found. Their only known child was Thurston (c1626-c1704).

Pedigree Chart (3 generations)

Events

Notes

Note 1

!Source: Full text of "The Victoria history of the county of Lancaster;"

The Victoria history of the Counties of England, EDITED BY WILLIAM PAGE, F.S.A., A HISTORY OF LANCASHIRE, VOLUME VI, THE VICTORIA HISTORY

https://archive.org/stream/cu31924088434620/cu31924088434620_djvu.txt#:~:text=k%20[Standish]%2C%20211%20Emmott%20[Whalley]%2C%20525%20Euxton,[p]%20115%2C%20[m]%20115%20Thorp%20[Croston]%2C%20104.

—

By the will of Sir Thomas Hesketh

the hall and demesne lands of Becconsall

were given to his third son Richard ; <<<< Son Richard ~1547 - 1593 of Sir Thomas, so his son probably born after 1567.

Add. MS. 32104, no. 1. Richard after-

wards suffered as a traitor, but in 1628

one Nicholas Hesketh, a convicted recu- <<<< Nicholas died 1640 was likely a grandson of Richard, born about 1587, so Nicholas had Richard’s land.

sant, was the only landowner in the

township contributing to the subsidy ;

Misc. [Rec. Soc. Lancs. and Ches.), i,

165.

—

7 Nicholas Hesketh compounded for <<<< Before the first Civil War sequestration ordinancce of 1643 this implies Nicholas was Catholic.

the sed two-thirds of his estate, <<<< Last date mentioned was 1573, so Nicholas is probably born after that.

but no sum is named, William Jump

was to pay £3 6s. 8d. a year. See Trans.

Hist. Soc. [new ser.), xxiv, 177, 179.

—

The Heskin family, though of long continuance, have

left little or no record.’ Thurstan Heskin, described <<<< Thurston, likely son of Richard ~1547 - 1593 and father of Nicholas, who later owned Richard’s land. Let’s say born Thurston 1567, died 1591.

as of Wrightington, died in 1591, leaving a son and <<<< Nicholas, son of Thurston born after 1570 to be under 21 in 1591. Let’s say born Nicholas 1587, died 1640.

heir Nicholas under age.'!' Nicholas Heskin, who

died in 1640, held lands in Heskin, Parbold and

Wrightington, to which his son Thurstan, aged <<<< Thurston, son of Nicholas born about 1626

fourteen, was heir.”

—

1 Duchy of Lance. Ing. p.m. xxix, no.

61. Nicholas Heskin of Heskin had

paid £10 in 1631 on refusing knight-

hood; Mise. , i, 214.

!Note: In the context of the English Civil War, sequestration was the legal confiscation of property from those deemed "delinquents"—primarily Royalists and Catholics who supported King Charles I.

1. Implementation: Established by Parliament in 1643, Sequestration Committees were set up in each county to seize land, money, and personal assets to fund the Parliamentarian war effort.

2. Targeting: It applied to anyone supporting the Royalist cause, whether they had actively fought or not.

3. Compounding: To recover their property, "delinquents" had to "compound" for their estates by paying a significant fine to the Committee for Compounding with Delinquents, often calculated as a proportion of their estate's value.

4. Legacy: The policy was a major source of revenue for the Parliamentarian regime, though it caused widespread financial ruin for many gentry families.

Before the war, sequestration was primarily used as a religious penalty rather than a political one:

1. Recusancy Laws: Since the late 16th century [during the reign of Elizabeth I), Catholics who refused to attend Church of England services—known as "recusants"—could have their property sequestered.

2. Forfeiture: Under these penal laws, the state could seize two-thirds of a Catholic's estate. The owner could often recover it only by paying a heavy fine