John Vinton - Which John Vinton emigrated to Massachusetts in 1643

Thank you for that great information, Wayne. John Vinton, the immigrant to Massachusetts who worked at the Lynn Iron Works, was my 7th great grandfather.

I'm sorry I can't help with the specifics of John Vinton's birth. My information has him born in 1620 in Taunton, Somerset, England, but I have no good source for that.

Here is an overview of the Saugus Ironworks that Winthrop hired the men for. It doesn't give specifics about people, but it's a good overview of the situation. Maybe you could send an email to them and ask if they have anything in the library about John Vinton or a list of the people brought over.

https://www.massmoments.org/moment-details/winthrop-buys-passage-fo...

I forgot I had this bookmarked (John Vinton was my 8th Great Grandfather).. It has a lot of details about what they did in the ironworks, who worked there, and lists the men who worked with John at both the Hammersmith Ironworks and later at the New Haven CT works after he moved.
http://npshistory.com/publications/sair/hist-sketch.pdf

I think the existing parents Robert and Jane should be unlinked, and the profile should have "parents unknown". There is more probability that his parents were Blasius Vyntam and Eleanor Knolles - as he named a son Blaise and a daughter Eleanor - and they fit the age and location for ironworking areas for probable parents.

I uploaded an article from the 2000 Essex Genealogist Vol 20 - “Glimpses into the English and Continental Ancestry of Certain Braintree and Saugus Ironworkers of About 1650 Vinton Leonard, Pray, Pinion, Tyler and Russell.”
See particularly the Afterward where it discusses John Vinton in more detail (along with others in more detail).

>>8 May 1598, married at St. Mary’s Handworth, near Birmingham, Warwick, Blasius Vyntam and Eleanor Knolles (Eleanor “fam. Henricus Barebon de Wynsdon green” parish of Birmingham and “Blasie Vyntam de pury forge, fyner” (forge at Perry Bar, nearby)

I also added something I found on Thomas Leonard of Taunton and his kids who were in ironworks. His son Henry Leonard (c.1681-c.1695) was mentioned in the cited works as being a coworker of John Vinton and both their wives were fined for 'smart talking'.. lol

They were thought to be from the Midlands.. specifically working at Bilston,, STaffordshire before immigration... and the residence of the Blaise and Eleanor Vinton above (possible parents of John Vinton), lived nearby in Handworth, Warwick.
see
https://www.geni.com/documents/view?doc_id=6000000187944212982

Finery forges existed in Sussex, England from the 1490's. I cannot find any evidence of a ironworks operating the Walloon Process in Taunton, Somerset, England (i.e a Finery ironworks). The only noted ironworks nearby was Mells,40 miles from Taunton, but not until late 17th/early 18th century. The Walloon process was the wrought iron-making process undertaken at the Saugus Ironworks.16th Century English documents in our National Archive show the skill of fining was definately passed father to son. For example, in the record of aliens from 1544.

It was a highly skilled role for making wrought iron so it would have likely been prized as a trade secret. Indeed, French was the language typically spoken within English finery ironworks well into the 17th Century. I think it is doubtful John Vinton could have emigrated to the US as a finer without having had these skills already. That will require him to have been working at a finery forge prior to emigration.

Finery ironworks in Staffordshire were first built on Cannock Chase about 1560;The first in Birmingham in the 1590's likely Perry Barr/Holford Mill or Handsworth. As such, both are candidates that I have not discounted.

However, I can tie Sussex Vinton's to others who ventured to the US in 1643 to specifically establish a finery ironworks. I have not managed to do this for any Staffordshire or Birmingham Vintons either through others who sailed on the Ann Cleeve from the same location or the investors in the Saugus Ironworks, many of whom were English landowners on which finery ironworks were established.

Finery ironworks had not moved further North in England beyond Staffordshire in the necessary timescale for a John Vinton to be a skilled finer from elsewhere. At least 4 of those on the Ann Cleeve were from Mayfield, Sussex so the body of evidence suggests a Sussex Vinton as they had been, according to tax records, living in that Parish since 1519.

Wayne, so are you saying that the fyner Blasie Vyntam is a more probable father?

See doc at Source tab
I uploaded an article from the 2000 Essex Genealogist Vol 20 - “Glimpses into the English and Continental Ancestry of Certain Braintree and Saugus Ironworkers of About 1650 Vinton Leonard, Pray, Pinion, Tyler and Russell.” See particularly the Afterward where it discusses John Vinton in more detail (along with others in more detail).

Dean, it would have to be a John Vinton working as a Finer in either Birmingham, Staffordshire or Sussex (Weald) or possibly Sheffield (to be confirmed there was a finery-articles from 1950's/60's suggest there was though no archeology earlier than 1650's) Thanks for uploading Saugus info-v interesting. I am trying to (i) establish a shortlist of possible John Vintons of the correct age (born 1600-1620) from these three/four locations and (ii) create a network of connections with the primary investors in Winthrop's scheme-Copley was based near Sheffield, Foley based in Dudley/Stourbridge, South West of Birmingham. Foote, a London Ironmonger. None of these appears very experienced in the iron industry at the time of forming the Investment Company so their role in recruitment is not clearly understood. For example, Copley was still in the military in 1642-43 and Foley was not yet a Master of the London Company of Ironmongers and so may have been still working for his older brother. (James) The Winthrop papers reference a letter from Joshua Foote to Winthrop regarding recruitment shortly before the Ann Cleeve sailed from England. If Foote was primarily responsible for recruitment, being based in London, he would have most likely had exclusive dealings with Sussex Weald ironmakers. England did not have a National Iron Industry at that time. I am trying to establish what merchant accounts exist for the Foote(s) at this time and establish which ironmasters in Sussex they did business with. I have a list of finery forges and so it maybe possible to tie Foote's relationships to specific finery forges and so where he is likely to have recruited from. In summary, a Finer for the correct first name/age in proximity to 3-4 locations.