Summary – The Linton Family of Longstanton, Oakington and Westwick
General Introduction
In the Victorian era there were many families with the surname of ‘Linton’ living in Longstanton, Oakington and Westwick. These families were related to each other to a greater or lesser degree and could divided into three branches, as reflected by the three separate burial groupings of Lintons in Oakington’s churchyard.
Research showed that it was likely that these Lintons all descended from a common ancestor, John Linton, who lived in Longstanton All Saints at the start of the 17th century.
By the end of the 17th century most Linton descendents had moved to nearby Oakington, only renewing their association with Longstanton when a Salmon Linton married in Longstanton All Saints in the late 18thcentury. Salmon’s descendents continued to live in Longstanton All Saints and St Michael and Westwick.
The Lintons were farmers, in the main, and Salmon became very wealthy, possibly from selling grain to parish officers for poor relief when prices were very high during the Napoleonic wars. His descendents were also wealthy, buying manors, and the family slowly became gentrified. However this wealth was largely lost during the life of John Linton, his great grandson, towards the end of the 19th century.
(Note: as Westwick does not have a church any baptisms for its villagers took place at Oakington church.)
Linton Family Tree – Summary
Salmon Linton married Elizabeth Markham of Longstanton All Saints. His first son, William, was baptised in Longstanton in 1779, and his second son, Salmon, in Oakington in 1785.
Salmon’s first son, William, married Rebecca and had three daughters and a son, Salmon, in Longstanton All Saints (born 1813). William eventually moved to Westwick and his son, Salmon, remained in Longstanton All Saints. This son married Sarah Wayman and had 3 sons, including a John Linton (born 1840) who came to inherit his grandfather’s wealth. John Linton married his first cousin, Elizabeth Parsons and had several children, including a son named John Headley Linton (born 1868)
Salmon’s second son, Salmon (the elder – born 1785), firstly married Fanny and had a son, Salmon (the younger – born 1814), and 2 daughters. He later married Mary Ann and had another son, William (born 1823), amongst other children. Salmon (the younger) only married later in life to Ann and did not have any children, so his nephews and nieces inherited his wealth.
Details about the more important family members
Salmon Linton (born 1744)
Salmon was the son of William Linton. He was baptised in Oakington in 1744 (NB: Salmon may be a corruption of the name ‘Solomon’). He was related to the Seymour family who rented property in Westwick for many years (at 18s per annum) and may gone to live in that hamlet after his father died.in 1852. He married in Longstanton All Saints, and must have lived there for a while as his first son, William, was baptised there. However the family moved back to Oakington (or more likely Westwick) as Salmon’s other children were baptised there and he was churchwarden of Oakington church for many years. Salmon became very wealthy, and at his death in 1803 was described as the ‘opulent’ farmer of Westwick. His will shows that he retained links with Longstanton All Saints as he was renting a house there from the Hattons, as well as occupying a house at Westwick. The house at Longstanton was likely to have been the house known as ‘The Manor’, Woodside, today. Salmon’s will instructed that his eldest son, William, should move to Longstanton, whilst his younger son, Salmon, was to live in Westwick with his mother.
William Linton (born 1779)
Salmon’s eldest son, William, inherited the major part of his father’s wealth. He lived in ‘The Manor’ as tenant of the Hattons and became their principal farmer. He must have been responsible for the construction of the large Georgian extension on the front of this house. His children were baptised in Longstanton All Saints and he was churchwarden there for many years. William continued to pay 18s rent for the family’s property at Westwick and in 1809 purchased Lisles manor in the hamlet. In the early 1830s he moved back to Westwick and was most likely responsible for the re-building of Westwick Hall that one sees today. He probably moved to Westwick for at least 2 reasons: his son, Salmon, could then take over as principal farmer to the Hattons in Longstanton; in addition his brother, Salmon, purchased a manor from Lord Willoughby of Broke in Longstanton St Michael in 1828 and moved from Westwick to that village. Sadly William’s son, Salmon, died early in 1848 from typhus as did his two of the latter’s sons, so William’s grandson, John, inherited the family’s wealth, when William died in 1866.
Salmon Linton (the elder) (born 1785)
As noted above, William’s younger son, Salmon (denoted here as ‘the elder’ for clarity) and his family lived in Westwick until they moved to what was previously known as ‘French Ladies’ manor in Longstanton which he purchased for £11,600 in 1828. He died in 1855 and his son, Salmon (the younger) inherited his property.
Salmon Linton (the younger) born 1814)
This son married late in life to Ann and did not have children. He lived at the house known as ‘The Grange’ in Longstanton St Michael and was also a farmer. He purchased much of the Hattons’ estate in Longstanton All Saints, when it came up for sale in 1874, including ‘The Manor’ at Woodside. His sister, Frances, married William Swann, a carrier and farmer in Cambridge and had children included a son named Salmon Linton Swann. Salmon Linton Swann inherited the bulk of his uncle’s estate in Longstanton St Michael when the latter died in 1882, and moved to live there.
John Linton born 1840
John Linton gained great inherited wealth, continued the family’s traditional occupation of farming, and lived at Westwick Hall with his wife, Elizabeth, and his children. John was a member of the local militia, enjoyed hunting, breeding horses, and life in general! He was a Conservative and dealt kindly with his workers. However, he seemed to have been rather a weak character who was poor at dealing with his financial affairs, and lost the majority of the family’s fortune in the 1880s. There were several reasons for this. John was poor at managing his finances. Incomes from farming greatly decreased towards the end of the Victorian era. His uncle, Ephraim Wayman (his mother’s brother) was a fraudulent solicitor who absconded with large amounts of his clients’ money, including that of John Linton, which rendered John bankrupt. Finally, if that was not enough, John was taken to court several times by his relations, including Salmon Linton Swann and Ann Linton, and later by solicitors, regarding a disputed £4,000 mortgage on Salmon Linton’s estate in Longstanton St Michael, which was linked to his grandfather’s will. The eventual outcome of the court cases was that the solicitors gained the estate in lieu of payment of the £4,000, and it was put up for sale, and purchased by Queens’ College, Cambridge. John Linton moved to Cambridge and Westwick Hall was rented out until it was sold in the early 20thcentury. Meanwhile Salmon Linton Swann managed to purchase ‘The Manor’ and its farm at Woodside and moved to Longstanton All Saints, living there until he died in the 1930s. His death ended this family’s association with Longstanton.
References
* Victoria County Histories – A History of Cambridgeshire, Vol IX, section on Longstanton, Cambridgeshire Public Libraries
* The Rise & Fall of the Linton’s of Westwick Hall, by J Lane, Cambridgeshire County Record Office
* The Ancestors of Salmon Linton of Longstanton and Westwick (died 1803) by J Lane, Cambridgeshire County Record Office
* The Three Branches of the Linton Family in and around Oakington, Longstanton and Westwick, by J Lane, Cambridgeshire County Record Office
