Sperinck family from Belgium to England

[jtoml3]

Hi all,

This seems to be one of the biggest pickles in my family tree, which a few people are having trouble confirming.

So far we have Cornelius Sperinck born 1517ish in Antwerp, Belgium, migrating to England and eventually died in London.

Our main problem is bridging the gap between him and his 3rd great grandson, Henry Sperinck via records. One of our family members has managed to do this with limited sources however we still aren't 100% sure its the right family line.

For one, we can't find a birth certificate for Henry Sperinck, who was apparently born around 1665 in Cirencester, Gloucestershire England. Nor can we find one saying confirming his father, also Henry, born 1623 in Cirencester. If we could find a recording linking those two together, and then one stating Henry Sr's father was Cornelius Sperinck, it should do the trick. Cornelius was apparently married to Elizabeth Spencer.
There are three generations of Cornelius Sperinck's (obviously not very creative).

I should note their surname has varied spelling, such as Speirinck/Sperinck/Spierincke.

Any help would be greatly appreciated by the family, whether it confirms its the right line or not

[Lesley Robertson]

Birth certificates didn't start in England until 1837, before that you have to rely on Baptismal registers.
Thanks to fire, war, acid ink, damp and all sorts of other problems, the survival of records from the 16/17th century is spotty. You're going to have to be lucky to find anything.
Did your relative give his/her sources?

[jtoml3]

Unfortunately they haven't been too forthcoming in sharing sources, however there are two other trees on Ancestry with the same later ancestors from Belgium. The latest one goes back to the 1400s. Both of them don't include Henry or his father in their trees. It appears, to me anyway, that both trees have been merged into one for whatever reason, hopefully not a wild assumption due to the same surnames. Due to the lack of records there is no hard evidence Henry's line goes back to Belgium. As much as I would love to just accept it, I can't because nothing backs it up. Its probably going to be impossible to prove.

[warncoort]

Cirincester batches here,https://familysearch.org/search/reco...mber%3AC027471
20 hits on earliest batch.

[Lesley Robertson]

You are being wise, the genealogy tree sites are full of people who operate on a "same surname so it must be right". basis. That's how so many of the families who had big houses with nice stone document rooms gain so many extra members they wouldn't have known about.
I should add that I've escaped from the Scottish forums, where we find it useful to check on any spellings that could produce the same sound when said by someone with one regional accent to someone accustomed to a different accent (parish Ministers/Priests were more often than not incomers at that time).
In your case, I'd also be looking for names like Sperring.

[jtoml3]

You are being wise, the genealogy tree sites are full of people who operate on a "same surname so it must be right". basis. That's how so many of the families who had big houses with nice stone document rooms gain so many extra members they wouldn't have known about.
I should add that I've escaped from the Scottish forums, where we find it useful to check on any spellings that could produce the same sound when said by someone with one regional accent to someone accustomed to a different accent (parish Ministers/Priests were more often than not incomers at that time).
In your case, I'd also be looking for names like Sperring.

Apparently Speeringe is a variation as well. One of the trees with these ancestors is actually called the Spering Tree. However on this tree apparently their descendants went on to use the Spering surname instead and migrated to America. Our supposed Henry ancestor isn't listed on their tree and if he was he'd have a brother called John Spering, who descendants went to America. I've contacted the owner of this tree and inquired about their sources however I'm still waiting for a reply. There isn't a flow of records to link people together which is frustrating. Even more so when there is no source listed for a person to confirm they are the child of someone else.

The locations listed are quite odd as well. For example, Cornelius Sperinck born 1567 in Antwerp, Belgium and died in London. His son, (also called Cornelius), was apparently born in 1595 in Kent (no source), then his son, Henry, was born in 1623 in Cirencester, Gloucestershire England. This is the same for his son, Henry born 1665. There is no record for a Henry Sperinck born in 1665 in Gloucestershire and therefore can't confirm his father was Henry.

I don't know how common it was for people to cover that distance back in that time frame. I'm under the impression they didn't move a lot.

P.S I should mention there is a record for a Henry Sperinck christened in 1706 in Gloucestershire. I don't know where and if this fits in somewhere.

[Lesley Robertson]

Also, remember that things are complicated by the fact that Belgium is a 19th century construction. Antwerp existed in the 16th/17th centuries, but the Low Countries were part of Spain then. Most of my (huguenot side) family research is at a halt at around the early 17th century, thanks to repeated invasions (eg Napoleon's army burned lots of churches), religious differences and wars. A lot of records are gone.

It sounds like this is a good name for a 1-name study!

[jtoml3]

Also, remember that things are complicated by the fact that Belgium is a 19th century construction. Antwerp existed in the 16th/17th centuries, but the Low Countries were part of Spain then. Most of my (huguenot side) family research is at a halt at around the early 17th century, thanks to repeated invasions (eg Napoleon's army burned lots of churches), religious differences and wars. A lot of records are gone.

It sounds like this is a good name for a 1-name study!

Surprisingly, Johannes Sperinck was someone of importance. "While a professor of medicine, Joannes Spierinck published a one page "Almanach pro anno 1484" combining medical and astrological information, which was likely distributed as a broadsheet for doctors at the time". He worked in Louvain, Belgium.

Were you able to easily link your ancestors back there through English records?

[Lesley Robertson]

No, I have no English ancestors. One side, Scots and the other Afrikaans (which means a read hybrid from all over mainland Europe). The Dutch East India Company kept superb records, the problem comes as one tries to trace people back to this side of the pond.

[Allan F Sparrow]

The locations listed are quite odd as well. For example, Cornelius Sperinck born 1567 in Antwerp, Belgium and died in London. His son, (also called Cornelius), was apparently born in 1595 in Kent (no source), then his son, Henry, was born in 1623 in Cirencester, Gloucestershire England. This is the same for his son, Henry born 1665. There is no record for a Henry Sperinck born in 1665 in Gloucestershire and therefore can't confirm his father was Henry.

I don't know how common it was for people to cover that distance back in that time frame. I'm under the impression they didn't move a lot.

Bear in mind that Antwerp was a very important trading centre in the 15th and 16th centuries, and indeed beyond. Trading links with England, and especially London, were part of the norm, at least until the Netherlanders started fighting against Spain in the reign of Philip II and our Queen Elizabeth I. For some people, movement between Antwerp and England could have been common. There is also the religious persecution factor.

Just a short history lesson!