Excerpts from "John Parkin of Baakens River Farm and his Family" by NP Sellick, Publishes by Human Science Research Council, 1978
The Parkins From Overseas
"The name Parkin is derived from Peterkin or Perkin - old English diminutives for the Christian name, Peter. Like other names that developed from Christian names it was adopted by different persons in different parts of England from about 1 100 onwards. Early examples of the name occur in the Subsidy Rolls of Suffolk and Stafford which in 1327 list the name of Parkyn.
In Yorkshire and elsewhere there are Parkin families with Armorial Bearings and the earliest of these dates from I589 in London and has earlier provenance. No Devonshire Parkin was entitled to Armorial Bearings. In that county, the Parkins were fairly numerous when the name first appears in the indices of wills proved in the Courts of Exeter which begin in the early 16th century. The earliest entry is that of Joan Parkyn in 1539 and the name is spelt in eight different ways but by 1800 the commonest spelling is Parkin or Parkyn. Forty three Parkin wills are listed from 1550 to 1 800 but unfortunately the destruction by bombing of the Exeter records in 1942 makes it difficult to obtain further information of these Devonshire Parkins; all that can be said definitely is that the name Parkin was established in the Exeter and South Devon region from the second half of the 16th century and that the persons who bore it were yeomen farmers, craftsmen and traders of sufficient means to enable them to bequeath property by testament. Starting with the information that John Parkin was born in Topsham on 2 August 1787, search was made for his baptism in the Topsham Parish Register without success and extensive examination of all available records of wills, births and marriages in which relevant entries might be expected has thrown no definite light on the family of Parkins which left Devonshire for the Cape in 1820.”
A dedication to the Descendants of John Parkin the 1820 Settler to South Africa.
Hi to all Parkin family and other vistors
This site is dedicated to those wanting to know more about the Parkin family in South Africa and also provide a forum for all descendants of John Parkin to share information about the family.
John Parkin, an 1820 settlers, was the first Parkin to set foot in South Africa, in Algoa Bay on 20th May 1820. He was accompanied by his wife Elizabeth Abraham (nee Howard) and his first four children, William, John, Jane and Robert. Initially settling on the farm designated by the British Government to the Parkin party, some 14km south west of Bathurst in the Eastern Cape, he moved into Port Elizabeth soon after and during the early years of the cities existence, quickly acquired a large portfolio of the Port Elizabeth real estate.
Today, not much (if any) of his original land remains in the Parkin name, with only a few items in the city remaining as an acknowledgement of his input into the beginnings of Port Elizabeth, namely Parkin Street in North End and a memorial plaque in a park in Stella ave Fernglen, close to where his original homestead was.
Marrying a second time, John Parkin's offspring could have made up a rugby team, all of 15 kids. Upon his death in 1856, his estate was never settled as a number of his children had moved on from Port Elizabeth and some thought to be dead. In the years that followed, some of his property was purchased from the estate by the government of the day for in order to build the Port Elizabeth Railway Station, where it still stands today. In the 1960's, a descendant of John Parkin, (N.P. Sellick) interested in determining who still had a claim to the estate, researched the Parkin genealogy in conjunction with the HSRC and wrote a book "John Parkin of Baakens River farm and his family, 1820 to 1970", which gave the basis for the family tree that can be found on another site.
The editor of this blog also manages this comprehensive Parkin family tree starting with John Parkin's parents in Exeter, Devon England which links to some of John's sibling's descendants still living in Exeter. It contains the names of over 3700 of William's descendants and their spouses. If you are a descendant of William Parkin born 1745 in Exeter, Devon England and would like to see how you fit into the tree and/or willing to share some details about your close family to add to the tree, please make contact through the details on this blog page.
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