Bibliography - Nigel Sawyer
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Tracing some Sayers, Sawyers and Sayer(s) from Cowfold to Lewes, possibly!, by Nigel Sawyer, published December 2000 in Sussex Family Historian (vol. 14 no. 4, article, p.136) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 14881] & The Keep [LIB/508823] & CD SFH40 from S.F.H.G.

Some Sussex Sa(w)yers, by Nigel Sawyer, published June 2001 in Sussex Family Historian (vol. 14 no. 6, article, pp.215-216) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 14881] & The Keep [LIB/508823] & CD SFH40 from S.F.H.G.

John Sayers of Shipley married Eleanor Marlot in 1577

From Lewes to Etchingham, by Nigel Sawyer, published June 2002 in Sussex Family Historian (vol. 15 no. 2, article, pp.88-89) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 15249] & The Keep [LIB/508827] & CD SFH40 from S.F.H.G.

Tracing some Sayers, Sawyers and Sayer(s)

Curse of the younger brother, by Nigel Sawyer, published June 2004 in Sussex Family Historian (vol. 16 no. 2, article, pp.76-77) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 15860] & The Keep [LIB/508835] & CD SFH40 from S.F.H.G.

The author's search for John Sawyer born before 1705 who lived in Etchingham and married in Battle.

Some Harmers of Salehurst, by Nigel Sawyer, published September 2008 in Sussex Family Historian (vol. 18 no. 3, article, p.162) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 15860] & The Keep [LIB/508970] & CD SFH40 from S.F.H.G.

Round about the New Year I decided the time had come to write up my family history. There was a lot of information and over the years my sister and myself had managed to get the SAWYER line back to 1705. It was only when I started to collate all the data I realised that there were several gaps especially in the mid 1800s when we had not worried too much about the 1851, 1861 or 1871 censuses. Having now looked at these online there was a lot of useful snippets of information to be had but that's another story (or perhaps article!). However one of our ancestors who intrigued us from the start was Harriat HARMER and that is because her illegitimate daughter Ann married into the SAWYERs.

The Sawyer family in Rotherfield manor up to about 1550, by Nigel Sawyer, published December 2009 in Sussex Family Historian (vol. 18 no. 8, article, pp.420-421) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 15860] & The Keep [LIB/508993] & CD SFH40 from S.F.H.G.

The Rotherfield parish records are pretty complete and go back to at least 1540. A SAWYER family tree can be constructed starting with William SAWYER, father of Thomas (1541), Margaret (1542/3), Edward (1544/5), Philip (1547) and Mary (1549). William appears to have died in 1566 and an Elizabeth buried in 1578 is likely to have been his wife. Thomas married in 1568 to a Jone (OSMARE/ HOSMER) and they had children from that date onwards and not all were christened or buried in Rotherfield for there are gaps on the parish records. The family tree therefore is not complete but a backbone can be drawn that starts before 1540.
Enter the Rotherfield manor records from archives of the DYKE family of Frant, Waldron and Kent and the PENKHERST family of Mayfield and Buxted held by the East Sussex Record Office (ESRO Catalogue reference DYK) as recorded on the Access to Archives (A2A) website. From these an even earlier SAWYER family tree can be drawn up.

Using Tudor records at TNA, by Nigel Sawyer, published March 2010 in Sussex Family Historian (vol. 19 no. 1, article, pp.44-47) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 15860] & The Keep [LIB/508842] & CD SFH40 from S.F.H.G.

On my ELPHICK line I had got back to the 1572 Archdeaconry of Lewes will of John ELPHICK of Chiddingly. Initially it seemed that this would be the end of the road for this particular family line but an intemet search brought up the Sussex Record Society website (www.sussexrecordsociety.org) and an online version of the book The Lay Subsidy Rolls for the County of Sussex 1524-25 by Julian Cornwall and listed under the Hundred of Sheplake (Shiplake) was a John ELPHYK. Unfortunately the parish in which he was living was not given. A search of the National Archives (TNA) catalogue also revealed an intriguing document that mentioned "Thomas HENDEMAN and Johane, his wife, executrix and previously the wife of Harry ELFEKE. v. Thomas PRATYE, feoffee to uses.: Messuage and land in Chitynglegh and Helynglegh.: Sussex." (TNA C 1/54/85). This information appeared to confirm what M A Lower said in 'The Parochial History of Chiddingly' (SAC, Volume 14, 1862): "Stonehill in the Northern part of the parish belonged in former times to the very ancient Sussex family of ELPHICK" but also added more than a hint that the family had a Hellingly connection.

The manor of Belhurst, by Nigel Sawyer, published December 2010 in Sussex Family Historian (vol. 19 no. 4, article, p.183) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 15860] & The Keep [LIB/508845] & CD SFH40 from S.F.H.G.

In 1741 John SAWYER the son of John who had married Ann TURLEY of Etchingham in Battle (1705) rented a farm from Benjamin CHILLEY "in Etchingham and Salehurst let to John SAWYER at £12 yearly" (WSRO SAS-RF/4/I7). This cross parish boundary sounded a promising lead although for some time I could not find any records that helped and then I discovered that the manor of Belhurst contained parts of the parishes of Etchingham, Salehurst and Ticehurst - the latter parish is where the SAWYERs moved to later in the 18th century. A search on the A2A website gave several records that needed to be checked and a visit to the East Sussex Record Office was arranged in order to do so, though one of the more promising records - at the West Sussex Record Office - still needs checking.

A Sawyer success, by Nigel Sawyer, published September 2011 in Sussex Family Historian (vol. 19 no. 7, article, pp.318-319) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 15860] & The Keep [LIB/508848] & CD SFH40 from S.F.H.G.

As you may have read in previous articles for over ten years I have been stuck at the marriage of John SAWYER to the Ann TURLEY in Battle (1705). Both were from Etchingham but neither appears to have been born there, although the incompleteness of the parish records and Bishop's Transcripts mean I cannot be 100% sure John was not. John and Ann only appear to have had three children, Mary who died as an infant, John (my ancestor 1705) and George (1712) who inherited from his father. The boys were christened in Etchingham and Mary was buried there (1708) although I have not found a christening record for her.