Here is a provisional family tree for Downtons in Puddletown (Piddletown) pre-Civil War. This has been drawn up using information contained in the 1646 will of John Dounton and in the, incomplete, parish records of Puddletown. It has not been possible to work out all the relationships or how exactly these people are related to my earliest known Downton ancestors but they are of interest as they are living in the same area.
An Edmund Downton of Puddletowne appears in the Lay Subsidy Roll 1623 – 1628. He is the only Downton listed in the town (ie. the only Downton eligible to pay these taxes) given that John was wealthy enough to leave a will it seems probable that Edmund was John’s father. There are three possible dates for Edmund’s death – 1628, 1634 and 1638. The parish records show the burial of an Edmund on 16th January 1628, 21st August 1634. and 29th August 1638 (another Edmund, son of John and Sarah, was buried 27 March 1638).
There are gaps in the parish records, including during the period of the Civil War, and there is no record of John’s burial in the church or churchyard of Puddletown as specified in his will. There are no Downtons recorded in the parish when records resume after the war. Parish records from St Mary, Charminster record the baptism of five children of George and Marie Downton: a daughter 3 Aug 1595, Thomas 16 Apr 1609, John 12 Apr 1611, Joane 13 Jun 1613, Marie 21 Jul 1616. It is possible that this was the same George whose daughter Ann was baptised in Puddletown in 1618.
