The Finney family By Nancy Morton

It seems that the Finneys always were an energetic family., as they were given great responsibilities as early as 1083, when one was Constable of Dover Castle. The name has a variety of spellings: Fynes, or Feinies, or de Fiennes or Finney.

The family flourished and our local branch descended from a John Finney who came from Staffordshire to marry the heiress of Wittingstall Green in 1608. This place, where an old house still exists, was promptly renamed Finney Green.

One of John’s grandsons called Samuel (a name used often in the family) went into trade and was the owner of a plantation in Barbados, where a settlement was named ‘Finney’.

In 1682 he returned to Cheshire and bought the Fulshaw estate, where he expensively replaced the old house with, as he said, ‘a pretty snug box’. His older brother, John M.D., still at Finney Green, was buried in St.Bart’s ‘on the north side’. The Dublin Finneys descend from him.

Samuel went abroad again, but this time he went with William Penn the Great Quaker and governor of Pennsylvania. Here Samuel gained a large estate and here he died in 1711. In America there are many Finneys and they are interested in their family history.

John, the eldest son of Samuel, was High Sheriff if Pennsylvania, but he eventually returned to Fulshaw in 1710. A Finney child was born on one of these long voyages.

Among Finney’s many grandchildren was the best known of our local Finneys, Samuel Finney, who lived from 1719 to 1798. This man is particularly worthy of remembrance here, as he took on the responsibility of making improvements to Wilmslow.

He became a J.P. and quelled disorder in the town. Then he arranged for a new turnpike road to run through Wilmslow en route to Congleton, and suitable for coaches. This is our old A34. Then, with other gentlemen of he county, he re-built all the ruinous old bridges. He found time to write a history of Wilmslow and we have a few of the letters written to him by his wife Martha in the 1760s. All this, and he had formerly been Miniature painter to Queen Charlotte in London and was well regarded there. It was unfortunate that he had no children and that all possible heirs died unusually young. He was, however, a man of great ability and energy and was buried at St.Bart’s.

Finney’s that are buried in the churchyard, but whose gravestones have not been seen since the 1980s, when it was photographed by Nancy (if you know where it is, please let us know!):

John Finney of Finny Green, who died 20 April 1728, aged 98, he was the son of to John Finney of Finney green, Gentleman by Mary daughter to Ant Higginbotham of Marple Esq.

Also his second wife Martha, daughter of John Hatfield of Addlington, died March 3, 1747 at 76years

Capt. John Finney, of Fulshaw. Born 1671, High Sheriff of Pennsylvania in William Penn’s time, 1703 and 1705. Returned to England 1707.
Buried at Wilmslow March 17th, 1727/8 as “John Finney of Fulshaw,
Captain of the militia”

Esther, daughter of Ralph Davenport of Chorley,
Buried at Wilmslow, 9 May 1747,

The wife of Samuel Finney, who died in Pennsylvania.

Finally, Sam Finney b. 1719 d. 1798. Buried at Wilmslow. His wife, Martha nee Foster who died Jan 10, 1777, Samuel then married Ann Barlow in 1793.