Robert “Roger” Hotchkiss

Personal and Family Information

Robert was born about 30 MAR 1544, the son of John Hotchkiss and Johanna. The place is not known.

He died about FEB 1573. The place is not known.

His wife is not known. They were married, but the date and place have not been found. Their two known children were Hugo (c1564-c1564) and Alys (c1568-?).

Pedigree Chart (3 generations)

Events

Multimedia

Screenshot 2...

Notes

Note 1

!Note: Probable Triplet Birth and Duplicate Baptism Entries – Barford, 1544/1545

The Barford parish registers document what appears to be the rare and tragic birth of triplets to John Hotchkiss and his first wife Johanna in late March 1544:

Joane baptized 30 March 1544, buried 1 April 1544

John baptized 30 March 1544, buried 31 March 1544

Robert baptized 6 April 1544, no burial recorded — apparently the sole survivor

Johanna buried 5 October 1544 — likely never recovered from childbirth <<<

Joane and John’s baptisms, performed on the same day, were likely emergency rites due to their critical condition. Robert’s later baptism may indicate better initial health.

However, the parish register also contains duplicate entries for all three children, dated exactly one year later:

Joane and John baptized again on 31 March 1545

“Roger Hoppkins” baptized 9 April 1545 — spaced identically to Robert's original entry, and almost certainly a scribal error for “Robert”

Joane and John buried again 1 Apr 1545

Robert Eskins, son of Jo: Eskinis, buried 1 Feb 1545 — in a different hand,

The 1545 baptisms and burials are almost certainly duplicates, likely re-entered into a newer or cleaner register from memory or rough notes.

“Roger Hoppkins” is almost certainly a copy error for Robert Hopkins.

The reuse of the exact dates strongly supports the duplication theory.

The Robert Eskins burial, entered in different handwriting, may indicate Robert actually died months later — possibly during winter 1544/45 — and the burial was finally recorded once register updates resumed.

Conclusion:

This set of records reflects a single triplet birth, followed by two infant deaths and the later death of the mother, with the final child lasting another 4 months. The 1545 entries are best understood as duplicate records — not evidence of another set of children, but an attempt by a scribe to reenter past events, which inadvertently introduced naming and dating inconsistencies. This case serves as a poignant example of how early modern parish registers — often rewritten from memory — can preserve both deep family loss and the messy human processes of recordkeeping.

!Source: Warwickshire Baptisms https://www.findmypast.com/transcript?id=GBPRS%2FWARWICKSHIRE%2FBAP%2F001200654&tab=this

First name Robert

Archive Warwickshire County Record Office

Last name Hopkins

Archive reference DR0048/1

Birth year -

Document type Parish registers

Baptism year 1544

Register type Baptisms, marriages & burials

Baptism date 06 Apr 1544

Register year range 1538-1631

Father's first name -

Page 6

Mother's first name -

Record set Warwickshire Baptisms

Denomination Anglican

Category Birth, Marriage & Death

Place Barford

Subcategory Parish Baptisms

County Warwickshire

Collections from England, Great Britain

Country England

!Source: Warwickshire Baptisms https://www.findmypast.com/transcript?id=R_21906760940&tab=this

First name Robert

Place Barford

Last name Hopkins

County Warwickshire

Birth year -

Country England

Baptism year 1544

Source Warwickshire Baptism Index 1538-1900

Baptism date 06 Apr 1544

Record set Warwickshire Baptisms

Father's first name -

Category Birth, Marriage & Death

Father's last name -

Subcategory Parish Baptisms

Mother's first name -

Collections from England, Great Britain

Mother's last name -

!Source: Warwickshire Baptisms https://www.findmypast.com/transcript?id=GBPRS%2FWARWICKSHIRE%2FBAP%2F001200664&tab=this

First name Roger

Archive Warwickshire County Record Office

Last name Hoppkins

Archive reference DR0048/1

Birth year -

Document type Parish registers

Baptism year 1545

Register type Baptisms, marriages & burials

Baptism date 09 Apr 1545

Register year range 1538-1631

Father's first name -

Page 6

Mother's first name -

Record set Warwickshire Baptisms

Denomination Anglican

Category Birth, Marriage & Death

Place Barford

Subcategory Parish Baptisms

County Warwickshire

Collections from England, Great Britain

Country England

Note: Duplicate of previous year’s Robert entry.

!Source: www.thegenealogist.co.uk/ Parish Transcript Burials

Name: Roger Hotchkys

County: Shropshire... Parish: Acton Burnell... Date: 4th February 1573... Year: 1573...

Parish Records Burials

Note: this Burial could also go with Roger born 1572 in Acton Burnell. If so then other records won’t fit as there would be no apprpriate Roger to be the father of the children listed for him. As this is the only Roger that this could go with at this point, I guess we’ll assume he lived to a ripe old age.

!Source: www.findmypast.co.uk Record Transcription: Shropshire burials Transcription

First name[s] Roger

Last name Hochkys

Birth year -

Death year 1573

Death date ? ? 1573

Burial year 1573

Burial date 04 Feb 1573

Burial place Acton Burnell

Denomination Anglican

County Shropshire

Archive refererence P2/A/1/1

Page 5

Register type Composite

Register date range 1568-1667

Record set Shropshire Burials

Category Birth, Marriage, Death & Parish Records

Subcategory Parish Burials

Collections from Great Britain, England