Publications
Benjamin Jeffery & His Letters, by Geoffrey Glen Barber, published June 1988 in Sussex Family Historian (vol. 8 no. 2, article, pp.86-91) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 10736] & The Keep [LIB/501260] & CD SFH40 from S.F.H.G.
Preview:Benjamin Jeffrey was born at Little Hosted on 22 September 1844, the youngest of the four children of William and Harriet Jefferey. He emigrated to New Zealand and died there 1912, unmarried. The article documents his life and provides extracts from letters he wrote home. Article covers the years 1811 - 1987.
The Barbers Alias Nynnes of Rotherfield, by Geoffrey Barber, published September 2012 in Sussex Family Historian (vol. 20 no. 3, article, pp.101-106) accessible at: The Keep [LIB/508852] & CD SFH40 from S.F.H.G.
Preview:The BARBER alias NYNNEs lived in Rotherfield between the early 1500's to c1670. They owned a property there called "Drapers", and provided four generations of churchwardens to the parish. One of these, George BARBER, has his name inscribed on one of the church bells as "George BARBER, Edmund KNELL, Wardens 1603" providing a tangible link to my ancestors from Rotherfield.
Barber alias Nynne: Five Hundred Years of Family History in Rotherfield, Tonbridge and Brighton, by Geoffrey Barber, published 2014 (287 pp., published by the author, ISBN-13: 9780994211217) accessible at: The Keep [LIB/508475]
George Meek's Grandfather, by Geoffrey Barber, published December 2015 in Sussex Family Historian (vol. 21 no. 8, article, pp.350-358) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 15860] & The Keep [LIB/509026]
Preview:George MEEK (1868-1921) is well known in Eastbourne where he worked as a lowly bath chair-man and lived in poverty for most of his life. He is remembered because he did one amazing thing - he wrote a book about his life for which the well-known author H.G. WELLS wrote an introduction. This guaranteed that it would be a success, which it was in both England and the USA. You are probably thinking "Why H.G. WELLS?" and the answer is that they had met through their common interest in socialism. George had sought H.G. WELLS' advice on writing a book and as there was so little actually written by the working man, H.G. suggested he write about himself, and supported George in his efforts. George's book, published in 1910, is titled "George Meek, Bath Chair-Man, By Himself". His memory was kept alive by Bill COXALL and Clive GRIGGS when they published "George Meek Labouring Man: Protégé of H.G. Wells" in 1996. George has well and truly earned a place in the history of Eastbourne and the fledgling socialist movement.
Great Grandmother's Secrets Revealed!, by Geoffrey Barber, published March 2016 in Sussex Family Historian (vol. 22 no. 1, article, pp.17-19) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 15860] & The Keep [LIB/509161]
Preview:I have realised for some time now that the most personal and therefore most valuable family history material has come not from looking back but from looking forward to find living descendants. It is the information and artefacts that they inherited (and which you didn't!) which can greatly expand your understanding of the family. It may simply be photographs (I had none of my great-grandmother) or it may be some very valuable information.
One of the most useful tools for finding living descendants is the huge number of personal family trees on sites such as www.ancestry.co.uk. For those who participate in DNA genealogy research the database of your DNA matches on sites such as www.familytreeDNA.com is another. I also choose to publicise my family tree on my own website www.nynne.org which serves to draw in previously unknown relatives. It was via my own website that I was contacted in 2013 with a rather unusual request. A person emailed me saying that he was looking to take over the 100 year lease on his great-grandfather Harry FINLEY's grave in Portslade as it had about 20 years left on it and could therefore still be used. The only problem was that my great-grandmother Annie Mary TAYLOR (1872-1953) was the registered owner and he had no idea who she was - she certainly wasn't part of his family! He had tracked me down by searching on her name and finding my web site.
One of the most useful tools for finding living descendants is the huge number of personal family trees on sites such as www.ancestry.co.uk. For those who participate in DNA genealogy research the database of your DNA matches on sites such as www.familytreeDNA.com is another. I also choose to publicise my family tree on my own website www.nynne.org which serves to draw in previously unknown relatives. It was via my own website that I was contacted in 2013 with a rather unusual request. A person emailed me saying that he was looking to take over the 100 year lease on his great-grandfather Harry FINLEY's grave in Portslade as it had about 20 years left on it and could therefore still be used. The only problem was that my great-grandmother Annie Mary TAYLOR (1872-1953) was the registered owner and he had no idea who she was - she certainly wasn't part of his family! He had tracked me down by searching on her name and finding my web site.
Oral Wills and the Death Bed Transfer in Manorial Records, by Geoffrey Barber, published September 2017 in Sussex Family Historian (vol. 22 no. 7, article, pp.295-296) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 15860]
Harriet Gladman Embroidery, by Geoffrey Barber, published December 2017 in Sussex Past & Present (no. 143, article, pp.10-11, ISSN: 1357-7417) accessible at: The Keep [LIB/507923] & S.A.S. library
Child's bed cover tells the poignant story of a yuong woman's life