The King's Life Guard

Summary

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Family Lore, Episode: The King's Life Guard

Podcast: Family Lore (Audacy)
Date: July 1, 2026
Host: Lloyd Lockridge
Guest: Mike Hinman
Guest Researcher: Sarah Pettifer

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Episode Overview

Main Theme:
This episode delves into a family legend tracing back 375 years: Was Mike Hinman's ancestor truly one of King Charles I’s bodyguards who fled to America after the English Civil War? Host Lloyd Lockridge guides us through Mike’s journey of discovery—from small-town Pennsylvania to 17th-century England—unraveling myth and fact, and employing expert genealogical research to trace the real story behind the legend.

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Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Family Lore’s Origin and Personal Impact

• Mike’s Upbringing and Ancestral Mystery

  • Raised in a quiet Appalachian town in Pennsylvania; family rarely spoke of ancestry ([03:06]).
  • Grew up believing his origins were German due to family assumptions—later disproved ([03:51]).
  • “Families don't really talk about the person who immigrated over because they don't want everybody to know that, oh, we're an immigrant family or something.” — Mike Hinman [03:56]

• Motivation for Genealogy

  • Mike’s love of history and desire to “touch” the past, seeking a more intimate connection to history through family ([04:58]).

2. Initial Genealogical Search

• The Search Begins

  • Early genealogy efforts: dead ends regarding connections to famous Dickersons or Salvation Army founders ([06:40]).
  • Turning to the paternal line—the Hinmans—not German, but English ([04:17]).

• Surprising Discoveries

  • Tracing ancestry back to Edward Hinman, who emigrated around 1650.
  • Discovers Royal Hinman’s 1850 genealogy book, sparking curiosity about deeper origins ([07:41]).

3. The Central Legend: The King's Lifeguard

• The Core Family Lore

  • From Royal Hinman’s book: Edward Hinman was allegedly a “bodyguard of King Charles I (sergeant at arms)” who fled Cromwell’s wrath ([09:44]).
  • The tale imbued the family legacy with themes of loyalty, honor, and valor ([10:00]).

• Skepticism and the Need for Proof

  • Mike is unable to find corroborating evidence on Ancestry.com or other resources ([11:04]).
  • Both desires to confirm and debunk the legend; acknowledges the likely embellishment of oral tradition ([11:50]).

4. Historical Context and Research Approach

• Host Sets the Scene

  • Brief review: English Civil War (1642–1651), Royalists vs. Parliamentarians, regicide, and the dangers faced by monarchy supporters ([13:43]).

• Engaging a Specialist:

  • UK genealogist Sarah Pettifer is hired to tackle the mystery, focusing on heraldry and parish records from c.1500–1700 ([15:10]).

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The Investigation: Myth vs. Fact

1. Heraldry and The Coat of Arms Lead

• Findings from Burke’s General Armory

  • The Hinman coat of arms is from the Inman family; spelling changed after immigration ([16:20]).
  • Original arms granted to Michael Inman of Yorkshire—a contemporary of Edward ([16:49]).

• Michael Inman’s Allegiances

  • Michael Inman, Mike’s possible ancestor, actually served against Charles I, supporting Oliver Cromwell ([19:17]).
  • “The same coat of arms… which celebrates the story of Edward for protecting Charles I, was given to a man who fought against Charles I.” — Lloyd Lockridge [19:41]

2. Tracing Edward: Records and Absences

• Searching for Edward in Parish Registers

  • Multiple “Edward Inmans” found in Yorkshire but no clear connection to the American immigrant; most died young ([17:21]).
  • No 17th-century records of “lifeguards” or cavalryman named Edward Hinman/Inman survive ([18:42]).

• Cavalry Regiment Clarification

  • Charles I’s “lifeguard” more accurately was a substantial cavalry unit, not a close circle of personal bodyguards ([18:14]).

3. Unlocking the Inman Family and Civil War Divides

• Nidderdale Book Unlocks Clues

  • Inman coat of arms granted to Michael, a Parliamentarian; but Michael’s uncle, John Inman (Michael’s father: Robert), fought for the Crown ([21:08]).
  • 1649: John Inman fined for “assisting forces raised against Parliament and Oliver Cromwell”—clear Royalist allegiance ([31:12], [31:25]).

• The Revelation: Handwritten Ancestral Note

  • Nidderdale book lists John Inman’s sons: Christopher, John, Henry, Peter (and possibly Tristram), but not Edward ([32:34]).
  • A handwritten note in the margin proclaims: “edward, who went to America” ([33:12]).

4. Putting the Pieces Together

• Final Host Analysis

  • John Inman (Mike’s likely ancestor) was a Royalist deeply penalized after the war.
  • Edward, John’s son, witnesses family fortunes destroyed and flees to America for a new start ([33:47]).
  • The “bodyguard” myth morphs—a direct cavalryman, not a personal royal retainer ([34:22]).

• Coat of Arms Irony

  • Family crest taken from a cousin’s side that fought on the opposite side.
  • “So it’s like a civil war in England, but also a civil war in the Inman family as well.” — Mike Hinman [35:17]

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Oral Tradition’s Mutability:

  • “We all know how stories are told, and especially orally… they get passed down and they get embellished along the way.” — Mike Hinman [12:43]

• On the Real Story’s Power:

  • “The fact that this lasted 200 years and was more or less… most likely in line and intact is just — that blows me away actually.” — Mike Hinman [36:25]

• Host’s Reflection on the Power of Remembrance:

  • “Moments before his death, maybe he felt compelled to whisper the secret to history’s survival. Just one word. Remember?” — Lloyd Lockridge [39:25]

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• [01:37] Introduction of episode theme and guest
• [04:58] Mike’s motivation for genealogy and history
• [09:44] Reading the King’s Lifeguard family lore passage
• [11:04] Mike’s search for documentary evidence
• [13:43] Historical summary: English Civil War
• [15:10] Introduction of researcher Sarah Pettifer
• [16:20] Discovery of the Inman vs. Hinman coat of arms
• [19:17] Michael Inman’s Parliamentarian allegiance
• [31:25] John Inman fined for opposing Parliament/Cromwell
• [33:12] Handwritten note: “Edward, who went to America”
• [34:22] Clarification of “lifeguard” role—Edward likely a cavalryman
• [35:17] Family divided by the Civil War
• [36:25] Mike’s realization about the endurance of oral traditions
• [39:25] Host’s final reflection on memory and history

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Conclusion: What’s True?

• The story of Edward Hinman/Inman as a “King’s bodyguard” is not entirely accurate in its details but is rooted in fact.
• Ancestor likely was Edward Inman, son of Royalist John Inman, who left England when his family lost everything after the Civil War.
• The “bodyguard” label was probably family embellishment; he more likely served as a cavalryman in Charles I’s “lifeguard.”
• The family inherited a crest from the cousin’s line that fought for the opposing side—a poignant symbol of both family and national division.
• The legend, despite embellishments, survived remarkably intact for nearly 400 years, testifying to the staying power—and malleability—of family memory.

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For Listeners Interested in Further Exploration

• Episode demonstrates the challenges of genealogical research, the murkiness of oral tradition, and the very real personal meaning of historical discovery.
• If you have your own family legend to explore or share, contact Family Lore — “because sometimes, remembering is the most important thing.”

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Transcript

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[Lloyd Lockridge]

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[Lloyd Lockridge]

In this episode, we're going to hear from a gentleman who reached out to us with an old family story. It's an intriguing tale that's been passed down on his father's side for roughly 375 years. But it's never been backed up with any proof. And for that reason, our guest has never really believed it. So first we're going to hear the story, and then we'll see if we can help him find the answers he's looking for. I'm Lloyd Lockridge, and this is family lore.

[Interviewer (Host)]

Okay, so to start, could you tell me your name and where you're from?

[Mike Hinman]

My name is Mike Hinman. I live in the Bronx. I did grow up in western Pennsylvania.

[Lloyd Lockridge]

Mike Hinman is a native of a small paper mill town in western Pennsylvania. A town with a population of about 2,000 people. His father was a railroad welder, and his mother worked different odd jobs to support the family.

[Mike Hinman]

It was just a quiet, you know, growing up in the mountains of Pennsylvania, really. I mean, it was. I mean, you're not near anything, so you're just surrounded, you know, by The Appalachian Mountains, it's kind of the Allegheny stretch there. In the fall it's so beautiful. But in the spring and summer when the leaves are all full and you're driving through these roads and I, I mean, I'm going back to visit in a couple of weeks and I just love going back. I haven't lived there in 30 something years, but, you know, but it's still home.

[Interviewer (Host)]

Did you, growing up, spend much time with your grandparents, particularly your dad's parents?

[Mike Hinman]

No. So that's. So my dad's a bit older. So my dad is in his 90s now, and so his parents died when I was pretty young. I think I was, you know, probably four or five or six years old. I wasn't very old. And they didn't really talk about stuff so much. In fact, my dad really didn't know anything about his own grandfather.

[Lloyd Lockridge]

Growing up, Mike didn't really hear any family stories. He wasn't old enough to remember any from his grandparents, and his father either didn't know any or didn't have any interest in telling them. He was given one detail about his family's background, which was that the Hinmans were German. And he made a few assumptions from there.

[Mike Hinman]

For some reason he believed that we were German. And I just assumed that they didn't really talk about, you know, beyond my grandfather because maybe like he was the person who came over. Right. Because sometimes families don't really talk about the person who immigrated over because they don't want everybody to know that, oh, we're an immigrant family or something. So I just always assumed that that's probably what happened. That's why nobody talked about him at all. But mostly it's because my grandfather died before my dad was even born.

[Interviewer (Host)]

Okay, so. But by and large, not a lot of family stories. Not a lot of origin stories of when your family. None.

[Lloyd Lockridge]

So apart from very recent history, Mike's ancestry was a big question mark. And as he got older, what little he thought he knew turned out to be false. About 20 years ago, Mike learned that Hinman is not a German name, it's an English name. And this discovery, along with Mike's pre existing interest in history, prompted a deeper search into his family's past.

[Interviewer (Host)]

Tell me about how you kind of stumble into or wander into the world of genealogy. How does that begin for you?

[Mike Hinman]

I think for me, I'm the kind of person that, you know, one of the things I love about living in New York City is that I like, I don't look for landmarks. I mean, I lived here for almost 10 years now, but I look for anything historical I like, not because I just love history, but I just love touching it, like, being a part of it, like, experiencing it firsthand. And for me, I just felt like having a familial connection to something historical, I felt kind of allows me to have a connection to it that I didn't have otherwise, that it's not just a story in a book or it's not just something that's shared on a podcast or something that's in a documentary. But, like, I am 6 degrees separated from some actual true historical. And I guess in a way, probably a lot of us who do that, we probably just feel like it provides some extra meaning, not that we need it. I mean, we create our own meaning in life, but I just find that just fascinating, just that we can find something additional, like, oh, wow. You know, it's not just history being thrown at me, but it's like being in that history.

[Interviewer (Host)]

So you have always had a desire to find connections with the past. Tell me how that takes shape. How do you actually begin finding these connections?

[Mike Hinman]

Well, I mean, like a lot of people, I. You know, ancestry.com comes around. You know, you start exploring that. But, you know, so I started with my mom's side. I just thought it would be more interesting. It really wasn't.

[Lloyd Lockridge]

Mike's early attempts to find interesting connections were pretty fruitless, and he wasn't that committed to it. He was busy, and genealogical work is time consuming. And then the pandemic arrived.

[Mike Hinman]

I was busy, you know, working and taking a empty bus, basically, to work, you know, every day. And, you know, during the pandemic, because New York was really bad, and I just felt like I needed something to reconnect.

[Lloyd Lockridge]

So Mike decided to probe another potential familial connection. He thought because he had the name Dickinson on his mother's side that he might be related to Emily Dickinson. You never know. So he looked into it, and there was no relation. Then he thought because of his maternal grandmother's last name that he might be related to the founders of the Salvation army church. So he researched that history. And another miss. No relation.

[Mike Hinman]

So I was a little bit disappointed, but I thought, you know, I'm just gonna go see where the Hinman, you know, family comes from. I'd love to figure out, you know, did we come into New York? Like, where did we first immigrate into? And such.

[Lloyd Lockridge]

He'd already discovered that the Hinmans weren't German, they were English. Maybe there were other Interesting discoveries to be had. So he started tracing his patrilineal ancestors, in other words, his father's father's father and so on.

[Mike Hinman]

And I was shocked when I kept going back and going back and, like, you know, going beyond, you know, into the 17th century. I was really surprised.

[Lloyd Lockridge]

Mike was stunned.

[Interviewer (Host)]

Even though he knew that he was

[Lloyd Lockridge]

of English descent and not German, he maintained the idea that they were recent immigrants. Now he was discovering that his ancestors immigrated at some point in the 1600s, the century in which the very first English settlers arrived in America. And I said ancestors, but it's really ancestor, singular. Mike was able to trace his line to one man. He arrived in Boston around 1650, and his name was Edward Hinman. And in Mike's research, he discovered a book published in 1850 that was written by a distant relative named Royal Hinman. The book has a long title, so buckle up. It's called A Family Record of the descendants of Sergeant Edward Hinman, who first appeared at Stratford, Connecticut, around 1650.

[Mike Hinman]

I'm like, man, you know, I really wish I could read this book. So I actually went on Amazon, and luckily for me, some publishing company, I think their name's Scholars select or something, they still publish this book.

[Lloyd Lockridge]

So Mike ordered the book, which contained more interesting surprises, not only about Edward Hinman, but Edward's children's children. To Mike's surprise, he descended from a man who fought in the Revolutionary War. The guy who thought he had no family history could, if he wanted to, become a member of the Sons of the American Revolution. In much of what Mike found in Royal Hinman's book, he was able to corroborate with other sources. But there was one story that proved more elusive, and it was a big story. It was, in fact, the origin story of Sergeant Edward Hinman. It appears on the first page of the book, and this is what it says. There has been a tradition in the family from the early settlement of New England that Sergeant Edward Hinman had belonged and constituted one of the bodyguard of King Charles I as sergeant at arms and escaped in the days of Oliver Cromwell the protector, to save his life from the halter by Cromwell as his vengeance was wreaked upon all such as favored the crown of Charles I.

[Mike Hinman]

He served King Charles I when Oliver Cromwell and Edward rose up. I don't know if he was able to escape or what happened or if he just got out of Dodge or what he did, but he left England and headed to the colonies, and for

[Lloyd Lockridge]

the family, or at least for Royal Hinman, who authored this book, Edward's service was not what we might call a fun fact. It was much more than that. It spoke volumes and set the tone for the family's sense of honor and duty. Expounding on the family lore that Edward Hinman was a bodyguard for Charles I, Royal Hinman goes on to write, this if true, proves him to have been a most trustworthy loyalist and an honest man. It would also appear from this fact that he must have been not only true and trusty, but a respectable Englishman. And as undoubted in his military powers as in his loyalty, most of his descendants have been prompted since by a military spirit and fond of military glory. Now, that's a lot of virtue hanging on the phrase if true. And right after reading this passage, Mike wanted to know if it was true.

[Interviewer (Host)]

After you learned this about your ancestor, were you able to find any documentary evidence that supported the claim that he was a bodyguard of Charles I?

[Mike Hinman]

No. And that's what really drove me nuts. I utilized Ancestry.com as much as I could to try to even go beyond him in England, but that gets a little bit more difficult. And, you know, on those types of websites, it gets a little more expensive.

[Interviewer (Host)]

Right.

[Mike Hinman]

You know, when you have to go international.

[Interviewer (Host)]

Yeah.

[Mike Hinman]

So my thought was I wouldn't even know where to begin. I'm the kind of person who's known to find whatever I'm looking for, and, you know, if it's something to be out there, I'm going to find it. But this one, I just felt like, wow, I think this is actually really beyond my ability because I wouldn't even know where to begin in England. Like, is there like a record book somewhere where they list these people? And would it have survived a revolution? Like, you know, would it. Yeah, like, would it survived an uprising?

[Interviewer (Host)]

Tell me, what's your frame of mind with respect to getting a verdict on this story?

[Mike Hinman]

I'm just laughing just because I'm a little bit evil on this, but, like, a big part of me wants it to be true. Right. I want to be able to have it be awesome to say, hey, look, you know, we discovered that this is not only the story, but it's actually true. It's a little bit more than a legend, but at the same time, I would love to be the one that helped instigate the discovery of some sort that is not true at all. And to find out that it was just all nonsense.

[Interviewer (Host)]

You want to debunk your own family lore?

[LEGO Commercial Announcer]

Yeah.

[Mike Hinman]

I mean, it was just like I want it to be true, but I'll just say that I won't be sad if it's not.

[Interviewer (Host)]

Yeah. I feel like you're kind of guarding yourself against the likely outcome.

[Mike Hinman]

Yeah. I mean, because what are the chances of it being true? It's not high, you know, I mean, Right. Because world human would have been, you know, when he wrote this book in the 1850s, that was already 200 years after all of that, you know, and what was he basing that on? I mean, it's not like he went over to, you know, it's not like he was able to pop on a line and, you know, take a look and ask for British records.

[Mike Hinman (continued or conversational)]

Right.

[Mike Hinman]

So where is he pulling that from? Except for, you know, stories that are told, and we all know how stories are told, and especially orally, they get passed down and they get embellished along the way. You know, I will say that, like, I'm leaning heavily toward that this isn't true.

[Interviewer (Host)]

Well, we'll try to find out.

[Mike Hinman]

I look forward to it.

[History That Doesn't Suck Podcast Host]

Sometimes historic events suck, but what shouldn't suck is learning about history. I do that through storytelling. History that doesn't suck is a chart topping history telling podcast chronicling the epic story of America decade by decade, from the 18th century to the 20th. Original music and immersive sound design accompany us on our storytelling journey, listen to and follow History that doesn't suck. An Odyssey podcast available now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Lloyd Lockridge]

Before we launch into our investigation, I want to do a quick recap and also provide a little historical context. The family lore is that Mike's grandfather, many times over, was a bodyguard or quote, lifeguard for Charles I and fled to America to escape the wrath of Oliver Cromwell. Now, just to quickly brush up on our English history, this all pertains to the English Civil War, which went from 1642 to 1651. The two sides were the Royalists who supported Charles I and and the parliamentarians who supported Oliver Cromwell. And they were fighting over the balance of power between the Crown and Parliament. The parliamentarians ultimately won the war, and Charles I was captured and beheaded on a scaffold in front of his own palace. Many of his supporters were either killed or persecuted. Going into this investigation to solve Mike's family mystery, I knew two things. Any existing documentation would be very old, and if the documents existed, they'd be in England. So I decided I needed to hire a researcher, and I found one who was recommended by the United Kingdom National Archives. Her name is Sarah Pettifer. She's an expert in researching family history. And her favorite era of English history is about 1500-1700, which is perfect for us. I called Sarah and told her Mike Hinman's family story. The plan was for Sarah to track down whatever information she could on Mike's ancestor, Edward Hinman, and then we'd reconvene to discuss what she'd found.

[Interviewer (Host)]

All right, Sarah, we meet again.

[Sarah Pettifer (Researcher)]

So just looking. There's thunder going on in the background now, I'm afraid.

[Interviewer (Host)]

Oh, I can't hear anything. Good, Great. So thanks for taking the time to do this. I'm scheduled to speak with.

[Lloyd Lockridge]

Going into this conversation, I appreciated the fact that Sarah didn't have a whole lot to go on. She had a name. She had the date that Edward Hinman likely immigrated to America, and she had the lore that Edward was in the lifeguard for King Charles I. But there was another clue that caught Sarah's attention. It came from Edward Hinman's Find a Grave webpage. Find a Grave is an enormous online tool that allows you to find where people are buried, and it will sometimes include some biographical information on that person. And on the webpage is the Hinman coat of arms. The coat of arms also appears in Royal Hinman's book. To Sarah, that seemed like a good place to start.

[Sarah Pettifer (Researcher)]

Well, I started with the coat of arms because heraldry is very well documented in England. So deciphering the actual coat of arms. So what's called the blazon. So that's how it's described in words. Finding out which family that belonged to and then seeing if I could link him to that family.

[Lloyd Lockridge]

The resource for finding this information is called Burke's General Armory, where you can also learn to whom the coat of arms was originally granted. Sarah searched the book, and there was the coat of arms with a slight discrepancy. The name associated with this coat of arms is not Hinman with an H, but Inman with an I. The H must have been added at some point after arriving in America. And as we'd hoped, she found the name of the man who was originally granted the coat of arms.

[Sarah Pettifer (Researcher)]

The coat of arms was originally granted to Michael Inman, who was from Bewley in Ripon in Yorkshire, and he was alive around the same time as our Edward.

[Lloyd Lockridge]

Okay, so we've linked the coat of arms to the Inman family, and we've determined that it was granted to Michael Inman, who would have been a contemporary of Edward. Sarah also found that Michael was baptized in a tiny village called Pateley Bridge. So she decided to see if there are any baptismal records for an Edward Hinman. Maybe they were brothers or perhaps cousins.

[Sarah Pettifer (Researcher)]

Sadly, I couldn't. I did find baptism records for Edward Inman, but not in Pateleybridge. They were all in Yorkshire. I found one in Burnsall who was born to a John Inman. Unfortunately, I also found a burial record for him.

[Lloyd Lockridge]

She found another baptismal record for an Edward Inman in a different town in Yorkshire, but then another burial record in 1671. And then she found yet another baptismal record for an Edward Inman who was born in London. At first she thought this London born Edward might make more sense if he was part of the King's lifeguard. But then she remembered something.

[Sarah Pettifer (Researcher)]

Now, the King's lifeguard were actually created by Charles I at Nottingham in August 1642. Nottingham is nearer to Yorkshire than it is to London.

[Lloyd Lockridge]

And she had more enlightening things to say about the King's lifeguard. First of all, the King's lifeguard was a large cavalry regiment. It was not a small detail of personal bodyguards. It was set up by Charles I as protection on and off the battlefield during the English Civil War.

[Interviewer (Host)]

So maybe there were military roles that

[Lloyd Lockridge]

would have shown Edward's name, because the King's lifeguard is still around today. If you've ever been to the Tower of London, you would have seen them in their blue and red uniforms and massive top hats.

[Sarah Pettifer (Researcher)]

Beefeaters as we regularly know them. Unfortunately, their records only start in the 1800s, so there are no records going back this far that I can search for.

[Lloyd Lockridge]

There are, however, records of lifeguards who worked at the residence of Charles I.

[Sarah Pettifer (Researcher)]

Again, sadly, there was nothing for an

[Lloyd Lockridge]

Edward, nothing on Edward at the residence of King Charles I. Sort let's turn our attention back to the Inman coat of arms. As Sarah was following that lead, she did come across an interesting, if not perplexing detail, because that was actually the

[Sarah Pettifer (Researcher)]

interesting thing about Michael Inman as well. Going back to him coat of arms, what I did find out is that he served before Oliver Cromwell's side.

[Lloyd Lockridge]

Michael Inman, the man who was granted the Inman coat of arms, was a parliamentarian. He fought for Oliver Cromwell. So the same coat of arms in Royal Hinman's book, which celebrates the story of Edward for protecting Charles I, was given to a man who fought against Charles I. That's interesting.

[Interviewer (Host)]

How were you able to find out that Michael Hinman, the one who received the coat of Arms fought for Oliver Cromwell.

[Sarah Pettifer (Researcher)]

It was actually detailed in the coat of arms history from the family history in the London Gentry that I looked at.

[Lloyd Lockridge]

So is the family's story wrong or are these the wrong Inmans? Sarah posited the theory that these were the right Inmans and that Michael and Edward might have been on opposite sides of the Civil War. She suggested that because Edward was on the losing side of the war, he is not mentioned in family documents. In general, Sarah believes that despite not being able to find clear records pertaining to Edward, that the family story rings true. She believes that the timing of Edward's arrival in America and the fact that he was a soldier is enough to assume that he at least fought for Charles I.

[Sarah Pettifer (Researcher)]

The fact that he's gone there at that time and he's been found in that place and he was later in the military, my gut instinct is to say that the folklore is probably correct. You know, the Civil War period was a horrendous time for this country and the people in it, and you were either on one side or the other, and, you know, they were persecuted. Once Charles was killed, his men were persecuted. So it wouldn't surprise me that, you know, this chap did flee to America.

[Lloyd Lockridge]

After our conversation, Sarah provided me with some resources she'd located so I could continue the investigation. One of the resources Sarah found was an old book called From Nunmuncton to Wernside. Being a record of the history, antiquities, scenery, old homes, families, etcetera, of the beautiful valley of the Nid. The book details various lineages, including some in the Inman family, and it confirms some of what Sarah just told us. It says Michael Inman was indeed a supporter of Oliver Cromwell. It refers to him as a soldier in the service of the Parliament. It also confirms, like Sarah said, that Michael has no siblings named Edward and that his father's name was Robert. But that's not all it says following the chapter on Robert's life, there's a chapter on his little brother, John. John Inman was a farmer who lived about 10 miles away from Robert in a town called Kirkby Malzard. According to the records, John was constantly mixed up in land disputes, and there's a long list of fines pertaining to these issues and various unpaid taxes. Most of the fines are pretty boring, except for the last one. The last fine mentioned in the section on John inman is for 90 pounds. The stated reason for the fine was raising forces at Kirkby Malzard. In assisting the forces raised against Parliament. John Inman was fighting for the Crown. The book goes on to say it may be remarked that his elder brother Robert was on the side of the Parliament. Sarah's instincts were correct. The English Civil War had divided the Inman family. Michael Inman, the man who was granted the coat of arms, was at odds with his uncle, John Inman. The next question, of course, is, did John have any children? And were any of those children named Edward? I think I have the answers to those questions, and I think it's best that you and our guest, Mike Hinman hear them at the same time.

[Interviewer (Host)]

Can you hear me okay?

[Mike Hinman (continued or conversational)]

Yeah, you're perfectly fine.

[Interviewer (Host)]

Okay, great. All right. This is gonna be fun.

[Mike Hinman (continued or conversational)]

I don't know if I like the sound of that.

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[Interviewer (Host)]

Okay, so we're going to take a stab at this. I've received some very valuable help from

[Lloyd Lockridge]

a researcher in England named Sarah Pettyfer.

[Interviewer (Host)]

And we've got some findings and then we've got some additional findings stemming from

[Lloyd Lockridge]

her research which would have never happened without her.

[Interviewer (Host)]

Here's where she started. She started with your coat of arms, which is on the Find a grave

[Lloyd Lockridge]

website for your family. For Edward Hinman.

[Mike Hinman (continued or conversational)]

Yes, yes.

[Lloyd Lockridge]

But it's a real coat of arms.

[Mike Hinman (continued or conversational)]

Oh, okay. Because I've seen this coat of arms before. I Think it's even in Royal Hinman's book, or at least a version of it. And I always thought those coat of arms were just made up, to be honest.

[Interviewer (Host)]

So I think they can be, but this one's not, as it turns out.

[Mike Hinman (continued or conversational)]

Oh, interesting.

[Interviewer (Host)]

So Sarah, who knows, you know, all

[Lloyd Lockridge]

the history behind coat of arms and why they exist and how they're issued,

[Interviewer (Host)]

she is familiar with the databases that

[Lloyd Lockridge]

contain the information pertaining to all these various coat of arms.

[Interviewer (Host)]

So Sarah looked up the coat of

[Lloyd Lockridge]

arms in something called Burke's Landed Gentry.

[Interviewer (Host)]

It's a genealogical reference work that details

[Lloyd Lockridge]

family histories, lineages and heraldry of land owning people across Great Britain and Ireland.

[Interviewer (Host)]

Let me just tell you some of what she found. First of all, it's Inman starting with an I, not Hinman starting with an H. I think that you were familiar with that possibility.

[Mike Hinman (continued or conversational)]

Yeah, I had read somewhere that in England that it actually did not have the H in it, so that it was actually Inman. So.

[Interviewer (Host)]

So I guess the H got tacked on in America. So are you ready to hear the

[Lloyd Lockridge]

name of the Inman who was originally

[Interviewer (Host)]

granted this coat of arms?

[Mike Hinman (continued or conversational)]

Oh, I would love to hear it.

[Interviewer (Host)]

His name was Michael Inman.

[Mike Hinman (continued or conversational)]

Oh, obviously I was named after him, so. Oh, that's pretty funny actually. I didn't think Michael was that common of a name, you know, in 17th century England.

[Interviewer (Host)]

I wonder if he went by Mike. All right, so his name was Michael Inman, and she was able to figure out where this guy lived. Michael Inman lived in Bewerley, which is

[Lloyd Lockridge]

in Ripon, which is in Yorkshire.

[Mike Hinman (continued or conversational)]

Oh, okay.

[Interviewer (Host)]

So obviously the goal here, the overarching

[Lloyd Lockridge]

goal, is to figure out where Edward comes into play or if Edward comes into play here, because so far we just got Michael.

[Interviewer (Host)]

So she started digging more into Michael

[Lloyd Lockridge]

and trying to figure out, figure out, you know, who Michael was related to.

[Interviewer (Host)]

She was able to find baptismal records for Michael. He was born in 1630. So that's around the same time your

[Lloyd Lockridge]

Edward Hinman was born. I think Edward was more in the

[Interviewer (Host)]

20s, 23, 27, somewhere in there. So now she's trying to figure out, okay, are there any baptismal records for

[Lloyd Lockridge]

any Edward Inman's born around this time in this area?

[Interviewer (Host)]

And she is able to find a few, but they're not in this exact area. There actually is one in this exact area, but there's also a burial record five days later.

[Lloyd Lockridge]

So the baby died as an infant.

[Interviewer (Host)]

Okay, here's the first twist. When Sarah was looking up your lineage

[Lloyd Lockridge]

in this archive for landed gentry in

[Interviewer (Host)]

England, Burke's landed gentry, she came across a resource.

[Lloyd Lockridge]

It's a book called Nidderdale From Nunmunkton to Wernside.

[Interviewer (Host)]

Sounds like something out of Lord of the Rings, but it's a real book,

[Lloyd Lockridge]

and it details lineage and history from this area.

[Interviewer (Host)]

And she found something a little surprising. You want to hear what it is?

[Mike Hinman (continued or conversational)]

Oh, yeah. I'm all ears.

[Interviewer (Host)]

Michael Inman, the one who was granted this family crest, was a avowed supporter of Oliver Cromwell.

[Mike Hinman (continued or conversational)]

All right, now, that's not what I was expecting to hear at all, but I love it. I'm really hoping this is looping back, there is a connection between these two, because if so, that is absolutely hilarious. I love it.

[Interviewer (Host)]

Yeah.

[LEGO Commercial Announcer]

Right.

[Interviewer (Host)]

So I'm just gonna read you a passage from this book, Nidderdale. This is describing Michael Inman. He is referred to as a soldier in the service of the Parliament and under the Lord Protector, which, of course, is Oliver Cromwell, because here I'm thinking

[Mike Hinman (continued or conversational)]

that was it all an escape from Oliver Cromwell. But actually, at. In terms of Michael, that's not the case at all.

[Interviewer (Host)]

That's not the case at all with Michael Inman.

[Mike Hinman (continued or conversational)]

Yeah.

[Interviewer (Host)]

All right, so here's. Here's what happens next. In this book, we confirm the name of Michael's father. I've already told you this. His name was Robert, right?

[Mike Hinman]

Yes.

[Interviewer (Host)]

And we learned the name of his siblings. Okay. Of Michael's siblings, which I'm like, oh, good.

[Lloyd Lockridge]

Is there going to be an Edward?

[Interviewer (Host)]

Right.

[Mike Hinman]

Yes.

[Interviewer (Host)]

There's not. So, you know, at first I was wondering, was there an Edward that the family disowned because of his allegiance to the crown? Like, was this family split? But that just didn't seem plausible, because even if that were true, I think

[Lloyd Lockridge]

this book would have mentioned it.

[Mike Hinman (continued or conversational)]

Yeah. It seems like a good story to tell.

[Interviewer (Host)]

Yeah, it would be cool. But it just doesn't seem to bear out in this account the idea that

[Lloyd Lockridge]

Robert had another son named Edward who was disowned by the family, just doesn't seem plausible.

[Interviewer (Host)]

This book details how wills were executed

[Lloyd Lockridge]

and the various heirs and depositions about

[Interviewer (Host)]

the family's estate, and there is never

[Lloyd Lockridge]

any mention of an Edward.

[Interviewer (Host)]

I don't think they could have scrubbed

[Lloyd Lockridge]

Edward's name from the records like that.

[Mike Hinman (continued or conversational)]

I agree. I agree.

[Interviewer (Host)]

So I started flipping back through the book, because this is a lineage, it's

[Lloyd Lockridge]

going in chronological order.

[Interviewer (Host)]

So I wanted to go back to Robert and see who Robert's family was. Right.

[Mike Hinman (continued or conversational)]

Yeah.

[Lloyd Lockridge]

What does that look like?

[Interviewer (Host)]

So as I Was doing that, I

[Lloyd Lockridge]

came across another Inman.

[Interviewer (Host)]

And this is Robert's younger brother. So just keeping it clear here, Michael's father is Robert. This is Robert's younger brother.

[Lloyd Lockridge]

This is Michael's uncle.

[Mike Hinman (continued or conversational)]

Uncle?

[Interviewer (Host)]

Yeah, his name is John. All right, John Inman, let me just

[Lloyd Lockridge]

tell you a little bit about John.

[Interviewer (Host)]

John's life starts off pretty well.

[Lloyd Lockridge]

He has land.

[Interviewer (Host)]

It seems like he's actually on his way to becoming a knight.

[Lloyd Lockridge]

But for some reason that doesn't happen.

[Interviewer (Host)]

And then through a bunch of complicated land transfers and maybe even misrepresenting the

[Lloyd Lockridge]

land that he owned, or there being

[Interviewer (Host)]

disputes about the land that he owned, more fines start piling up and John's estate is really in trouble.

[Mike Hinman (continued or conversational)]

Yeah, yeah, I bet.

[Interviewer (Host)]

And then in 1649, John is fined again, £90. Do you want to know why he was fined £90 in 1649?

[Mike Hinman (continued or conversational)]

I mean, it could be debt probably, but I bet you something funny. It has to be something funny.

[Interviewer (Host)]

He was fined for assisting forces raised

[Lloyd Lockridge]

against Parliament and Oliver Cromwell.

[Mike Hinman (continued or conversational)]

Oh, okay. So it's not funny. So it actually kind of ties us back a little bit to the original story.

[Interviewer (Host)]

Yes. So Robert and his little brother John

[Lloyd Lockridge]

were on opposite sides of the Civil War.

[Mike Hinman (continued or conversational)]

Wow, that's interesting. So there we go. So you're looking for brothers kind of at odds. And we just had to look up, you know, go back one generation.

[Interviewer (Host)]

The passage goes on to say it may be remarked that John's elder brother

[Lloyd Lockridge]

Robert was on the side of the Parliament. And this is in talking about how John is being fined for raising forces against Parliament. So John was supporting Charles I.

[History That Doesn't Suck Podcast Host]

Okay.

[Lloyd Lockridge]

And at this point, John is being fined into oblivion.

[Interviewer (Host)]

You know, he's just.

[Lloyd Lockridge]

It's retribution for his support of Charles I after Oliver Cromwell takes over. I mean, he's drowning in debt, his goods have been seized, he can't pay the fines. Supporting Charles I is costing him dearly.

[Interviewer (Host)]

He picked the wrong horse. But still no Edward. We have these Inmans, they're at odds.

[Lloyd Lockridge]

So I continue reading about John in this book, and sure enough, the book

[Interviewer (Host)]

goes on to list John's children.

[Mike Hinman (continued or conversational)]

Okay.

[Interviewer (Host)]

He has at least, it says at least four sons. The boys names are Christopher, John, Henry and Peter.

[Mike Hinman (continued or conversational)]

Well, he did say at least, though. So does that mean. Well, there's some other ones floating around? Some.

[Interviewer (Host)]

Yeah.

[Lloyd Lockridge]

So it lists the four children and then it says possibly Tristram and perchance another Christopher. So this book is suggesting that this guy has two different sons named Christopher, which I find unlikely. And then there is a handwritten Note in the book.

[Mike Hinman (continued or conversational)]

Oh, okay.

[Interviewer (Host)]

The name Christopher is crossed out, and from the strikethrough, there is an arrow guiding you to a note in the margin.

[Lloyd Lockridge]

And the handwritten note in the margin

[Interviewer (Host)]

says, edward, who went to America.

[Mike Hinman (continued or conversational)]

Oh, wow. But we don't know who wrote that. We don't know who wrote that, but that's actually interesting.

[Interviewer (Host)]

I think that your ancestor, Edward Inman absolutely fought for Charles I, and because he saw how his father was being treated, he saw how his estate that he would one day inherit was being drained and confiscated, and he decided that he was out of there. So he got out of Dodge.

[Mike Hinman (continued or conversational)]

He just got out of Dodge.

[Interviewer (Host)]

Maybe he wasn't going to be executed, or maybe he was, but either way, it was going to be tough going for him in England, and so I think he'd left to start a new life in America. That's your ancestor Edward Inman.

[Mike Hinman (continued or conversational)]

Do we know what happened? Did John make it okay or did we not know?

[Interviewer (Host)]

John died penniless.

[Mike Hinman (continued or conversational)]

Oh, yeah. Well, at least he died penniless and wasn't executed.

[Interviewer (Host)]

I guess he was not executed, but he didn't actually fight. He helped raise forces. He was probably too old. His sons, however, were perfect fighting age,

[Lloyd Lockridge]

and they're landed gentry, they've got horses.

[Interviewer (Host)]

Charles I is going around the countryside recruiting people to be in his lifeguard, a cavalry unit, and I think that your ancestor Edward Inman joined that unit. Now, it wasn't 10 people encircling Charles I.

[Mike Hinman (continued or conversational)]

Like, that's how I imagined it. I imagined it'd just be like, you know, like Game of Thrones kind of thing with Jamie Lannister in the front.

[Interviewer (Host)]

Exactly. It wasn't that it was hundreds of cavalry, but I think that your ancestor was one of them.

[Mike Hinman (continued or conversational)]

Wow, that is just. I mean, you know, I just find that, like, so fascinating, and that story makes so much more sense, but when you hear, like, the whole family dynamic aspect of it. So if Michael was a cousin, would the CO of Arms still be part of my particular family?

[Interviewer (Host)]

Well, that's where it gets interesting, because, yes, I mean, it is your family, but it was issued at a time when your family was broken down the middle. The ancestor who was granted this coat

[Lloyd Lockridge]

of arms would have been bitter enemies with your direct ancestor.

[Mike Hinman (continued or conversational)]

So it's like a civil war. So you had the civil war in England, but you also had the Civil war in the Inman family as well.

[Lloyd Lockridge]

Exactly.

[Interviewer (Host)]

And the crest that currently represents your family, that currently represents Edward Inman, was actually attributed to his cousin, with whom

[Lloyd Lockridge]

he would have been bitter enemies.

[Mike Hinman (continued or conversational)]

I mean, that makes a lot of sense. I just love that this story survived. By the time Ro wrote that story, that story was 200 years old. And I am just amazed, you know, because I've always wondered, like, when we talk about, say, like, even, like, history of, like, the Bible, for instance, right. That a lot of, like, the Old Testament, you know, was oral history for, like, generations before it was finally written down. And it makes me wonder. It's like, well, you know, how do we know how much telephone was being played at that point? Right? Because stories change. People, you know, kind of add their own a little bit to it, and what was probably once true in one way becomes an entirely different story, say, like five generations later, maybe. But the fact that this lasted 200 years and was more or less. I mean, it was missing a lot of detail, but was more or less most likely in line and intact is just. That blows me away, actually. I really thought that there's no way the story is true.

[Interviewer (Host)]

Yeah. It reminds me of what you said in our first conversation where, you know,

[Lloyd Lockridge]

you love history, and one of the

[Interviewer (Host)]

things you love about it is that it makes you kind of feel connected to the past. Like, you live in New York and you like to be able to touch history and you like to feel like you're a part of it. Does this story make you feel closer to history?

[Mike Hinman (continued or conversational)]

You know, I love this, Lloyd, because I'll tell you, you know, when. When you kind of grow up in a family that doesn't really, you know, talk about the history because they don't really know it, at least in my particular, you know, family, you know, the last couple generations, it just either got lost or it just wasn't really talked about. You know, I just turned 50 a few weeks ago and I spent a good portion of my life thinking, like, yeah, you know, my family didn't really do much of anything. There wasn't much an interesting story there. And just to kind of go and find out, oh, my goodness. That if you just look and if you know the right places to look or the right people to ask, you know, that you can find out all kinds of stuff and just go from, yeah, there's nothing to see here to like, oh, my goodness. Let me tell you a story.

[Lloyd Lockridge]

The story that Mike has to tell is the oldest family lore we've explored on this show. The thing that Edward Inman is remembered for happened in the 1640s, 380 years ago. It's remarkable that a family story written down just once in the opening pages of an obscure genealogical text from 1850 has survived this long from the shockingly tumultuous reign of King Charles I to the largely ceremonial reign of King Charles iii. While attempting to understand the English Civil War and the king's lifeguard, I found myself reading about Charles I's final moments. As I mentioned earlier, in the episode, King Charles I was beheaded publicly on a scaffold outside his palace, the palace of Whitehall, and there's a detailed record of what was done and said at the execution. First, Charles gives a speech declaring his innocence, admonishing his adversaries and expressing his devotion to God and the Church of England. Then, prior to kneeling down and placing his neck on the block, he turns to his chaplain and close advisor, William Juxon. Charles removes his cloak and his Order of the Garter, a badge depicting St. George slaying a dragon, and hands it to Bishop Juxon. He then leans in and whispers one single word. Remember? That final word to his chaplain has been scrutinized by historians for centuries. What did he mean exactly? Remember what? But maybe there's nothing more to it. Maybe it's not cryptic but simple. Moments before his death, maybe he felt compelled to whisper the secret to history's survival. Just one word. Remember?

[Interviewer (Host)]

If you have stories you'd like to share about your family, please email [e-mail]

[Lloyd Lockridge]

that's familylorepodmail.com family lore is an Odyssey Original podcast. It is written and narrated by me, Lloyd Lockridge. Our Executive producers are Leah Reese, Dennis and I. Our lead producer and Sound Editor is Zach Clark. Our Story Editor is Katie Mingle. Additional sound editing, mixing and mastering by Chris Baseline and production support by Sean Cherry. Special thanks to Maura Curran, Josephina Francis, Kurt Courtney, Hilary Schuff and Laura Berman. Thanks again for listening to Family Lore and if you have time, we'd love for you to rate and review the show.

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