Thomas 1714 & Margery 1732 Flann
Thomas the third son of John1 and Elizabeth, married a lady whose Christian name was Margery. We know little about her or when she and Thomas were married....
John Flann’s Death and Will 1733
John2 died in 1733. We know he was married and had no children. His Will left his house in Chesil to his “kinsmen” brother Thomas and John10....
The Flanns from 1660 – John & Elizabeth Flann
It is from 1660 that it is possible to trace our descent with a good degree of certainty [1. From this point the narrative concentrates on direct family members from whom our descent proceeds. You will find it useful to refer...
The Civil War 1642
The Civil War 1642 In the Civil War of 1642, Portland being a Royal Manor fought on the (losing) King’s side. In the course of it, Cromwell’s forces captured the Island in 1643 and burnt the Parsonage House to the ground....
The Records of the Court Leet and Surveys of the Manor
These records of the Court and Surveys of the Manor and its tenants, provide the names of many. Among them and between the years 1577-78, John fflon and John Flann appear several times....
Quit Rents
Quit Rents At about the time of William Rufus, (1056-1100) son of William the Conqueror, the obligation to perform military service by the Portlanders (and others) was replaced by a monetary payment known as “Quit Rent”, and meaning the tenants were...
The Court Leet
The Crown Steward formed the Court Leet. He summoned 24 tenants whom he chose (presumably those he considered worthy) as Jurors to form the Jury and Homage-an early form of a Committee or Council. A Foreman was appointed, the Reeve, a...
Royal Manor of Portland Records from 1577
The earliest record we have so far found of the Portland Flanns is in the Manorial Court Books of 1577-88 in the London Record Office. These are in Latin but the name “fflon” occurs frequently. This is the spelling current at...
Other Flanns
There are many other Flanns spread throughout the world, but none have any direct connection with our family line. We know this from the work done by Ian Flann, of Ottawa, Canada, a keen amateur genealogist, who it transpired, is a...
Flann’s Stone
Other confirmation that there were Flanns in Ireland from very early times is what is known as “Flanns Stone” on Iona in the Scottish Hebrides seen by Marjorie in 1991....