Bignell, Butcher, and Winter, and associated families of various parishes within the Alresford Civil Registration District (CRD) and Petersfield CRD
Why these three surnames?
Follow the link to read about;-
William Bignell b.1816.
Isaac Butcher b. 1791
William Winter 22 JUL 1787
There is a lot there, but it explains the why.
This part is more about the surnames and where they fit into the puzzle, rather than individual people.
To Give Some Idea of Proportion
The extents below indicate the number of records found for each search, but how does that compare to the whole?
The table below allows you to see both the total number of records in the period and that of the Initial of the Parent's Surname.
Table of Baptism records 1660 - 1751 by Initial of Parent Surname
Sorry, I have left the maths to you.
The 'Mapping' section below is of particular interest as it has two 'Story Maps' with lots of data populating interactive maps.
Surname background
Ancestry Surname Meaning and Records Count
Ancestry has a free service where you input a surname and it provides you with information about the surname meaning and derivation, together with some statistics about the number of records.
The number of records for a surname is useful, but might be more useful with some sense of scale.
I searched for Mountbatten, a relatively new name probably restricted to one family group. I got a 'Computer does not know' type response.
Then, Huetson, to represent the small, but not zero end of the scale.
Hurst, as it is my surname, perhaps about normal.
Smith, as an example of a known large group.
The Scale
For this purpose, it is the number of records in the 'Birth, Marriage, and Deaths' section that is of interest.
Perhaps I can get an estimate of the population for a One Name Study form this data.
Everyone has to be born, but not everyone throughtout time has a birth record. However, in the context of this number of records, I will assume that everyone has a birth and or baptism record. There are a number of variations to that but that would make creating an estimate impossible.
Not everyone gets married. Some die in infancy, and others just remain bachelors or spinsters throughout their lives. Some marry multiple times, generally sequentially, but more frequently than one might like, concurrently.
Everyone born eventually dies. In this record count, some people are still living and therefore do not yet count in the death records.
So, taking all that into account, and without and statistics or analysis to back it up, I will adopt the following breakdown of the 'Birth, Marriage, and Birth 40%, Marriage, 30%, and Death 30%.
| Name | Indicative type | BMD total 2025 | Est Birth | Est Marriage | Est Death | Est post record population | Notes |
| Huetson | Small | 2,000 | 800 | 600 | 600 | 800 | |
| Hurst | Mean | 581,000 | 232,400 | 174,300 | 174,300 | 232,400 | |
| Smith | Large | 25,000,000 | 10,000,000 | 7,500,000 | 7,500,000 | 10,000,000 |
I once spoke to the Guild of One name studies about registering Hurst as my One Name Study. At about 230K people to find in the records, it is a very large project, best undertaken by a group of people. I accepted the advice and did not register the project.
These are only estimates.
They may help put in context the numbers from particular names within my articles.
Bignell
From Ancestry;
Bignell Family History
Bignell Surname Meaning
Distribution
England and Wales
Scotland
Canada
USA
Occupations
Butcher
From Ancestry;
Butcher Family History
Butcher Surname Meaning
Distribution
England and Wales
Scotland
Canada
USA
Occupations
Winter
From Ancestry;
Winter Family History
Winter Surname Meaning
Distribution
England and Wales
Scotland
Canada
USA
Occupations
From the above information Bignell is the smallest record group and Winter is the largest, by a significant margin.
The Winter surname has a high concentration in Hampshire, in England, among other counties.
England has the highest distribution.
The Butcher surname has a high concentration in Hampshire, in England, among other counties.
England has the highest distribution. The concentration appears to be higher than the Winter surname.
Unsurprisingly, the Bignell surname has a much lower concentration than either Winter or Butcher. England has the highest distribution. The South of England has the highest concentration. In this instance Hampshire is in the middle scale of distribution.
Just a reminder, the total number of records and distribution is not a definitive statement of population. The comparative numbers can be used as indicative, albeit from a different period.
Extent of Bignell Surname
Extent of Bignell Surname, and variations.
This is part of the process of trying to establish if there are other Bignell families in the area, which could confuse matters, and their number and distribution. By seeing families in the Baptism Register can help eliminate alternative options for residents in Hampshire, of the Church of England. Obliviously this method excludes families without children. It also does not take into account other variables such as change of location. Similar for Marriage Register, except, if I understand correctly, even non-Conformists had to be married in Church of England churches.
It is just indicative, but helpful.
Filtered to Bign to include Bignell and some variations.
The intent of this section has largely been fulfilled within the Mapping Section below in the tab Bignell Butcher and Winter families of Alresford and Petersfield CRD.
It takes you to a StoryMap where the data is displayed in map form, which I consider to be more visually impactful, and useful.
The only tab below with data is the Baptism Index 1660-1751,
Baptism Index 1537-1659
No data displayed here, yet.
Baptism Index 1660-1751
Extract of HGS Baptism Index 1660 - 1751 - Bign for the County of Hampshire aka Southampton or Southamptonshire
To include Bignell, Bignall, Bignaill, Bignel, Bignal, Bignail, and other variations.
HGS Baptisms 1660 - 1751
Hampshire Genealogical Society (HGS) Baptism Index 1660 - 1751
Filtered for the Parish of, All
Filtered for Surname, Bign???
These settings produced a list of 146 baptisms, across the county, in the list below, on 4 pages.
The dates of baptisms are throughout the Index period.
vvvv
Extract of HGS Baptism Index 1660 - 1751 - Bign for the County of Hampshire aka Southampton or Southamptonshire
To include Bignell, Bignall, Bignaill, Bignel, Bignal, Bignail, and other variations.
Analysis
Surnames found
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Parishes found to have Bign??? baptisms within Hampshire, by count |
Parishes found to have Bign??? baptisms within Hampshire, by percentage. |
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Families by Parish
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Looking at Itchen Abbas as an example, and in particular Bignell I have not second guessed the raw data from the index, However, in practice, I would presume that the five variations
There are similar instances elsewhere in the data. |
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Analysis by Century and Decade
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A list of child names found in this selection, in order of popularity.Mary and John at the top of the list, with 19 and 17 respectively. Elizabeth is the second girl's name with 9 plus 3 variations / abbreviations, total 12 Second place for the boy's name is Thomas 12, with George 10+1 close behind. |
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Unfortunately, currently Microsoft has a problem with One Drive and embedded Excel extracts, resulting in the above not showing and the error message, 'This item won't load right now'. If this situation persists, I may have to place screen shots adjacent to the embedded extracts. Now done.
In the 1660 to 1751 Register their appear to be no Bignell Baptisms in the Parish of Bishop's Sutton.
Baptism Index 1752-1812
No data displayed here, yet.
Marriage Index 1538-1659
No data displayed here, yet.
Marriage Index 1660-1753
No data displayed here, yet.
Marriage Index 1754-1837
No data displayed here, yet.
Extent of Butcher Surname
Extent of Butcher Surname, and variations.
This is part of the process of trying to establish if there are other Butcher families in the area, which could confuse matters, and their number and distribution. By seeing families in the Baptism Register can help eliminate alternative options for residents in Hampshire, of the Church of England. Obliviously this method excludes families without children. It also does not take into account other variables such as change of location. Similar for Marriage Register, except, if I understand correctly, even non-Conformists had to be married in Church of England churches.
It is just indicative, but helpful.
Filtered to Butch to include Butcher and some variations.
The intent of this section has largely been fulfilled within the Mapping Section below in the tab Bignell Butcher and Winter families of Alresford and Petersfield CRD.
It takes you to a StoryMap where the data is displayed in map form, which I consider to be more visually impactful, and useful.
The only tab below with data is the Baptism Index 1660-1751,
Baptism Index 1537-1659
No data displayed here, yet.
Baptism Index 1660-1751
Extract of HGS Baptism Index 1660 - 1751 - Butc for the County of Hampshire aka Southampton or Southamptonshire
To include Butcher, Butcder, Butchar, and other variations.
HGS Baptisms 1660 - 1751
Hampshire Genealogical Society (HGS) Baptism Index 1660 - 1751
Filtered for the Parish of, All
Filtered for Surname, Butc???
These settings produced a list of 117 baptisms, across the county, in the list below, on 5 pages, 3 images.
The dates of baptisms are throughout the Index period.
Extract of HGS Baptism Index 1660 - 1751 - Butc for the County of Hampshire aka Southampton or Southamptonshire
To include Butcher, Butcber, Butchar, and other variations.
Analysis
Surnames found
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Surprisingly, all 117 records, found with a search criteria of 'Butc' Perhaps because it is also the name of a trade, |
Parishes found to have Bign??? baptisms within Hampshire, by count |
Parishes found to have Bign??? baptisms within Hampshire, by percentage. |
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| Andover is a clear centre of population for the surname Butcher in Hampshire |
Families by Parish
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Analysis by Century and Decade
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A list of child names found in this selection, in order of popularity.Mary and John at the top of the list, with 15 and 11 respectively. Elizabeth is the second girl's name with 11 plus 1 variations / abbreviations, total 12 Second place for the boy's name is Thomas 9, plus 1. |
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Unfortunately, currently Microsoft has a problem with One Drive and embedded Excel extracts, resulting in the above not showing and the error message, 'This item won't load right now'. If this situation persists, I may have to place screen shots adjacent to the embedded extracts. Now done.
Baptism Index 1752-1812
No data displayed here, yet.
Marriage Index 1538-1659
No data displayed here, yet.
Marriage Index 1660-1753
No data displayed here, yet.
Marriage Index 1754-1837
No data displayed here, yet.
Extent of Winter Surname
Extent of Winter Surname, and variations.
This is part of the process of trying to establish if there are other Winter families in the area, which could confuse matters, and their number and distribution. By seeing families in the Baptism Register can help eliminate alternative options for residents in Hampshire, of the Church of England. Obliviously this method excludes families without children. It also does not take into account other variables such as change of location. Similar for Marriage Register, except, if I understand correctly, even non-Conformists had to be married in Church of England churches.
It is just indicative, but helpful.
Filtered to Wint to include Winter and some variations.
The intent of this section has largely been fulfilled within the Mapping Section below in the tab Bignell Butcher and Winter families of Alresford and Petersfield CRD.
It takes you to a StoryMap where the data is displayed in map form, which I consider to be more visually impactful, and useful.
The only tab below with data is the Baptism Index 1660-1751,
Baptism Index 1537-1659
No data displayed here, yet.
Baptism Index 1660-1751
Extract of HGS Baptism Index 1660 - 1751 - Wint for the County of Hampshire aka Southampton or Southamptonshire
To include Butcher, Butcder, Butchar, and other variations.
HGS Baptisms 1660 - 1751
Hampshire Genealogical Society (HGS) Baptism Index 1660 - 1751
Filtered for the Parish of, All
Filtered for Surname, Wint???
These settings produced a list of 355 baptisms, across the county, in the list below, on 13 pages, 8 images.
The dates of baptisms are throughout the Index period.
x
Baptism Index 1752-1812
No data displayed here, yet.
Marriage Index 1538-1659
No data displayed here, yet.
Marriage Index 1660-1753
No data displayed here, yet.
Marriage Index 1754-1837
No data displayed here, yet.
Mapping
Mapping of Records found
The beginnings of a Baptism Map of Hampshire
Not all surnames or dates. Restricted to names of interest and to specific Parish Registers, i.e. dates.
The maps are an integral part of revieing the extent of a family, in a visual manor. Not by just searching for a record by name, and concluding that is the right person. Perhaps the right sort of date, as well.
The probability of it being the person you are researching, if the family names match up as well. The correct location helps as well.
However, what if there is a similar family around the same date, in a similar location. With similar, perhaps very common, for the period, children's names. Using extent can help. Are there more than one family of John and Mary in the village, in the parish? When and where were their children baptised? Having records both as data and visual mapping can help determine some of this and increase the probability of researching the correct group of people.
The ESRI StoryMaps display the record data on zoomable maps together with the data supporting it. The associated text is there to support the maps.
Baptisms in Hampshire 1660 - 1751
Baptisms in Hampshire 1660 - 1751
The embedded StoryMap is below. To read it full size go to the StoryMap page. Same subject, just bigger.
Baptism records in Alresford and Petersfield areas 1660 - 1812
Baptism records in Alresford and Petersfield areas 1660 - 1812
The embedded StoryMap is below. To read it full size go to the StoryMap page. Same subject, just bigger.
Parish List from HGS Baptisms 1660 - 1751
This list is compiled from the HGS Baptisms 1660 - 1751 index. At this time I do not know if it is a full list of all the parishes in Hampshire or is restricted to those parishes which have a record of a baptism in the period 1600 to 1751. Even if it is the latter, I suspect there will not be many parishes that do not have a baptism in a period of nearly 100 years, unless the register for that parish is completely lost. For instance if the Parish Church burnt down, or was bombed. Although, in either case, the Bishop's Transcripts should have filled the void.
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Approximately 275 parishes, on initial count. Three pages x 46, and three pages x 45, plus 2.
From the spreadsheet build from the above list, the total is 277 parishes when the missing Wymering with Widley is included.
