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There were Cusse families in Wiltshire in the early 16th Century and there are several listed in the 1539 Muster for Wiltshire. There is also a Cusse Pedigree given in the 1623 Heralds Visitation for Wiltshire. There are no listings for Ashton Keynes in these records but they can be seen here.
The first mention of the name Cusse in the Ashton Keynes Parish Register is for the death of Joanna Cusse in 1597, but the first births are recorded in 1615 and the family all appears to descend from Frannces Cusse and Margaret Richards who were married in 1610.
It now appears that Francis and his brother Nicholas came to Ashton Keynes from Stanton Fitzwarren.
Cuss may be a relatively unusual name but that was not so in Ashton Keynes where there were a large number throughout the 18th and 19th centuries. This has made it very difficult to accurately piece together the families without confusion caused by similar names and dates.
There are also a large number of illegitimate births which makes the production of an accurate family tree very difficult. In 1816 Ann Cuss age 37 was committed 1 year for being a lewd and disorderly woman having three children chargeable to the parish.
My own tree comes to a halt with the Marriage of Henry Cuss to Sarah Keen in 1817. This marriage took place with parent's consent and since Sarah was not under 21 it must be assumed that Henry was under 21, perhaps born about 1798. There are, however no baptisms for a Henry Cuss between 1790 and 1805 in Ashton Keynes so his identity is unknown. Henry deserted his family soon after the birth of their daughter, Maria. Henry's wife remarried in 1838 but there is also no burial for Henry before that date.
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