Finding Godfrey

Godfrey & Henry Nims Recent Research

As published in recent association newsletters, Rob Brun del Re’s research into Henry Nims, and his son Godfrey, has taken a dramatic leap forward in the last two years - thanks in large part to research funds provided by the Nims Family Association. Rob’s research articles will be published on this site, free to the public, on an on-going basis.

New data Rob has recently uncovered, and verified with a high degree of certainty, includes:

1) The “New Inn Backgate” was a city precinct in London, not a building or part of an inn

2) Henry Nims was a “houskeeper” - meaning he owned his own home

3) Henry was a gunsmith by trade, now verified by two separate documents

4) Henry sequentially married two women named Elinor / Ellen:

a. Elinor _____, Godfrey’s mother, before 1644

b. Ellinor (Denes or Davis) in August 1655 at St Clement Danes, Westminster, London

5) Henry’s first wife Elinor / Ellen (1st), Godfrey’s mother, died in December 1654

6) Henry and Elinor (1st) had two daughters named Mary in Westminster:

a. Mary Neemes born in 1651. She died in 1653 (June) at St Clement-Danes

b. Mary Nimmes born in 1653 (November). Nothing further has been found about her

7) Henry paid rates (taxes) to St Clement-Danes from 1657 through 1675, providing his location and a better appreciation of his financial status for those three decades

8) Henry was recorded twice in later life as “Hendrick” (Nymms & Nimms). This strongly suggests a Dutch origin (or heritage, at the very least)

9) Henry and Elinor (1st) were likely immigrants to England from either the Netherlands or what is now Belgium based on: (i) his name; (ii) the fact that he’s listed as a “stranger” in his first English residence (Bristol); and (iii) knowing the state of gunmaking in England during the Civil War and the role of gunsmiths in Bristol, specifically in 1644 where we first spot Henry in England

10) “Maria Nimes” baptised a child Anna in 1634 in Breda, Netherlands. No link to Henry as yet

11) “Jane van Nims” (sic) a Dutchman who died in Harwich, Essex in 1654. No link to Henry as yet.

Mapping out Henry’s life is vitally important for unravelling Godfrey’s emigration to America, assuming Godfrey was sent to someone in Northampton that Henry or one of his wives knew. The circle of Nims’ friends, associates and neighbours (FANS) now includes gunsmiths and gunmakers, related trades such as armourers and blacksmiths, and the Dutch/Flemish community in England.

Additionally, based on the rates (taxes) Henry was paying in the late 1650’s and 1660’s, he probably had the financial means to send Godfrey abroad.

Armed with this new data, a more detailed picture of Henry’s life is starting to emerge. We can conjecture – based on where he was, when, and his gunsmithing trade – that Henry and Elinor (1st) may well have been imported into England by Prince Rupert from the Netherlands and brought to Bristol at about the time Rupert and his Royalist forces stormed Bristol in 1643. He remained there until just after the death of little Henry in October 1647, relocating to Westminster before Godfrey’s birth in October 1648.

The focus of the research now is to validate or prove this conjecture. Ideally, this would help determine where Henry and Elinor came from; who Godfrey’s mother was; and then to do a deep dive on possible connections to Northampton, Mass.

The highest priority is finding emigration or work records in England in the hopes that they provide a location on the European continent that we can explore further (just this past year Rob has engaged researchers in Holland, Belgium, Germany and Denmark with negligible results – save finding a contemporary “Maria Nimes” in Breda). The lack of results on the continent is likely due to the absence of the digitized and transcribed documents that are available in the UK. English immigration or work records identifying Henry’s place of origin outside of the UK would focus further research on the continent. However, this work would almost certainly entail manually trawling through source documents at various archives.

Current leads requiring additional research:

1. gunmakers and gunsmithing in England (specifically Bristol, Oxford, London and Westminster) between 1640 and 1670

2. Chronology of Prince Rupert and his Royalist forces and their locations over time answering the question: did they leave documentary evidence of his armaments suppliers?

3. Dutch gunmakers on the continent who are known to have moved to England in this period, including Henri LeMaire, Harman Barnes, Henry Rowland et al.

4. Several series of outstanding Nimes, Nyms, Nymm, etc., leads in England

5. Continued investigation of the 100+ Northampton, Mass. families possible connections to Henry’s or Elinor’s London family and/or associates