Bibliography - Family Historian - 2008
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Sussex Family Historian, vol. 18 no. 1, edited by Trevor Hanson, published March 2008 (pp.2-56, Sussex Family History Group, ISSN: 0260-4175) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 15860] & The Keep [LIB/508968] & CD SFH40 from S.F.H.G.

From poorhouse to paradise, by John Charman, published March 2008 in Sussex Family Historian (vol. 18 no. 1, article, pp.3-5) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 15860] & The Keep [LIB/508968] & CD SFH40 from S.F.H.G.

As family historians will know, most of our ancestors will have led humdrum but hard working lives with the occasional one escaping by joining the Armed ones to find adventure, or being caught for what we would now regard as a misdemeanour and sent to some distant land and eventually dying there, but, sometimes we come across somebody whose life turned out to be quite different.
This is the story of George, the son of John and Lydia CHARMAN, born in Sullington in 1814. The family came from a long line of CHARMANs dating hack to the 16th century at Thakeham. John was a labourer, but was recorded as a pauper at various periods during his life. In 1814 all of his six children are recorded as being either in the workhouse or boarded out to other villagers.

Harry Tate, "my adopted son", by Ray George, published March 2008 in Sussex Family Historian (vol. 18 no. 1, article, pp.8-11) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 15860] & The Keep [LIB/508968] & CD SFH40 from S.F.H.G.

Just after every Christmas, we went to tea at Grandpa George's. In the front room which was only used for occasions such as this, was a big wind-up gramophone which used a scratchy needle. We listen to such favourites as 'The lost chord' and 'Come into the garden Maud'. After tea, I was enthralled by his tales of life in Bethnal Green in the east end of London before he came to Worthing in 1921. So began my interest in family history. But it wasn't until much later, when he was about 90, that one afternoon I jotted down a tree of his family from what he told me. These jottings have been very useful and even today, over 30 years later. contain things I have yet to explore. There was a distant and unknown relationship with VANDERSTEEN. If you want to know what I made of it, then see www.vandersteen.org.uk because hem I am concerned with the Worthing connection, for my mother was Worthing born and bred.

A homeless cleric in 1670, by Michael J. Burchall, published March 2008 in Sussex Family Historian (vol. 18 no. 1, article, pp.12-15) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 15860] & The Keep [LIB/508968] & CD SFH40 from S.F.H.G.

In a recent issue of Sussex Family Historian (Vol 17, No 4, December 2006, pp171-175) it was noted that in 1777 an East Sussex parson was brought before the Quarter Sessions justices and that a removal order was confirmed for him and his family under the Old Poor Laws. It was stated that this may have been a unique case, but recently a further case brought under similar legislation over a hundred years earlier has been found. At the Chichester Sessions held 11 and 12 April 1670, a complaint was made to the justices as follows: "On the complaint of Abel STEPNEY of [West] Chiltington, clerk, late curate, that he wants a present habitation for himself and his family, the overseers and churchwarden are ordered to provide the same until further order to the contrary."

Charleston Farm, by Annette Rose, published March 2008 in Sussex Family Historian (vol. 18 no. 1, article, pp.18-21) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 15860] & The Keep [LIB/508968] & CD SFH40 from S.F.H.G.

Nowadays Charleston Farm at West Firle is run by the Charleston Trust, part of the Bloomsbury Group and is open to the public. The artists Vanessa BELL and Duncan GRANT became tenants here in 1916 and it was also a gathering place for such writers as Leonard and Virginia WOOLF. Many years before this, however, my MARTEN ancestors were in residence.

Who is Priscilla?, by Alec Potter, published March 2008 in Sussex Family Historian (vol. 18 no. 1, article, pp.21-23) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 15860] & The Keep [LIB/508968] & CD SFH40 from S.F.H.G.

I first met up with Priscilla POTTER at the beginning of my family tree research. My great-great-grandfather James POTTER (1823-1881) married Ann MERCER (1830-) in the parish church of St Nicholas, Brighton on 30 April 1853. Priscilla had signed the register as one of the two witnesses. At the time I had come across no other incidence of a family member of that name, nor has the name appeared during my researches into the family since. Was Priscilla one of 'my' family and, if she was, where did she fit into the story? Or was this just a coincidence? Further thought would have to wait until a later date, while I continued to follow up more direct family leads.

Do I really want to know?, by Ian Beaty, published March 2008 in Sussex Family Historian (vol. 18 no. 1, article, pp.26-27) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 15860] & The Keep [LIB/508968] & CD SFH40 from S.F.H.G.

That's a question that over the past 30 years I have often pondered on, and by answering yes to myself I was certainly not prepared for the ensuing addiction that the search for unknown ancestors could become. I dread to think of the miles travelled and money spent in the pre-computer age, still at least I accrued a large number of Esso coupons, all exchanged for some rather tacky gifts. The carriage clock is still going strong and will probably outlive me. Anyway to get back to the point: am I glad I said yes to myself? Without a doubt. for what would life have been like without the joy of hitting the proverbial brickwall and going off on wild goose chases, became eventually such problems would he solved, usually providing not only another link but some totally unexpected information never dreamt of. The joy of finding a relative who was a street organ grinder complete with monkey and tin cup was tinged with sadness when finding his brother had been killed in a train crash.
When asked if I am still carrying on researching, the answer is a definite yes. For I consider myself lucky over the years either to have met or communicated with some rather fine people, and as for the work done by the many family history societies then all I can say is a heartfelt thanks to you all. So, I can hear you all ask, what have these ramblings got to do with Sussex?

Sam Mitchell, 1852-1940, by Julie Mitchell, published March 2008 in Sussex Family Historian (vol. 18 no. 1, article, pp.30-37) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 15860] & The Keep [LIB/508968] & CD SFH40 from S.F.H.G.

Sam MITCHELL was for 20 years from 1875 assistant to Horsham's first Town Clerk, and as Clerk he served the town for a further 24 years. The extensive reports in the local paper of his resignation and obituary give a unique insight into his life in Horsham at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th century.
Sam was born in Horsham in August 1852, the son of Isaac and Emily MITCHELL. Isaac was a brewer. Emily was Isaac's second wife (his first wife Harriet HULL had died in childbirth) and the mother of his three children Sam, Walter Edward, who became a drapers assistant, and Lewis Murray, who was a carpenter like his grandfather William WADEY.

A verdict of accidental death, by Eleanor Dilley, published March 2008 in Sussex Family Historian (vol. 18 no. 1, article, pp.38-39) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 15860] & The Keep [LIB/508968] & CD SFH40 from S.F.H.G.

An envelope from the GRO is always cause for excitement. What new information will I find about my family in it? I have learned so much about my father's family in this past year, at least some of which I am sure he never knew.
My father's cousin, Thomas BUSS, died at the age of 11 in May 1905. I had assumed that his death was caused by an illness and had applied for a copy of his death certificate. I opened the envelope and read, almost with disbelief:
Cause of death: Injuries accidentally sustained by coming into contact with a Motor Car. Signature, description and residence of informant: Certificate received from Charles SHEPPARD, Coroner for the Rape of Hastings. Inquest held 19 May 1905.
How extraordinary for this 11-year-old boy to die in this way in the little village of Brightling in East Sussex in 1905. I had to find out more about it.

Battling with Bottings, by Elizabeth Noyes, published March 2008 in Sussex Family Historian (vol. 18 no. 1, article, pp.40-42) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 15860] & The Keep [LIB/508968] & CD SFH40 from S.F.H.G.

I thought the surname BOTTING to be a fairly unusual surname, so I anticipated that tracing the ancestors of my paternal great-grandmother would not be too difficult. How wrong I was! She was the second of seven children born to Henry and Mary BOTTING in George Street, Marylebone, London on 18 August 1845. Henry was a dairyman born in Storrington on 18 May 1814, who seemed to have quite a successful business. Before the days of the railway cows were kept in stalls, usually in mews, whilst later milk was brought in from the country. I guess Henry then imported milk from his many farming relatives in Sussex.

Coombes family saga, by Avril Boss, published March 2008 in Sussex Family Historian (vol. 18 no. 1, article, pp.43-47) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 15860] & The Keep [LIB/508968] & CD SFH40 from S.F.H.G.

When I got interested in our family history, I started asking questions of my mother. My mother was born in Lewes on 1 June 1922. The general response to my questions was "our family didn't talk a lot about the past, there was some sort of scandal, I'm not sure but I think it was on my mother's side of the family."
My mother talked about 'Auntie This' and 'Uncle That' but because them was no last name we had no idea what branch of the family they belonged to. But, what excitement when something comes along and you find some long lost relative or connection to the line you are researching. I kept looking and information began to come together. I was looking initially at the RICHARDSON and WATERMAN lines and received wonderful help from Valerie Mellor, Tim Richardson and Rosemary Bridgemen; with their help and the help of many others these lines are almost completed. However the line giving me the most difficulty was/is the COOMBES family.

You can't count on ancestors being who you think they were!, by Sue Randall, published March 2008 in Sussex Family Historian (vol. 18 no. 1, article, pp.48-51) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 15860] & The Keep [LIB/508968] & CD SFH40 from S.F.H.G.

l had always believed that my family roots were firmly ensconced in Hertfordshire. My grandmother Dorothy Elizabeth MALES born 1906, known as Dolly, came from generations of agricultural labourers in Codicote. Mothers, wives and daughters were straw plaiters for the nearby Luton hat trade. Dolly married Mark Simeon HICKMAN in 1929. He was born in Portsmouth where his father Alfred Arthur HICKMAN served as Naval Diving and Gunnery instructor.

Sussex Family Historian, vol. 18 no. 2, edited by Trevor Hanson, published June 2008 (pp.58-112, Sussex Family History Group, ISSN: 0260-4175) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 15860] & The Keep [LIB/508969] & CD SFH40 from S.F.H.G.

Obituary: Barbara Mottershead, by Martyn Webster, published June 2008 in Sussex Family Historian (vol. 18 no. 2, article, p.59) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 15860] & The Keep [LIB/508969] & CD SFH40 from S.F.H.G.

Where are you, Matilda?, by Vic Deacon, published June 2008 in Sussex Family Historian (vol. 18 no. 2, article, pp.68-69) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 15860] & The Keep [LIB/508969] & CD SFH40 from S.F.H.G.

My quest for my father's line started back in 1997 with a letter from my sister to the Thomas Comm Foundation in London. Dad was there as a child and had never really talked of his past other than the foster mother Elizabeth COLEGATE with whom he had been placed.
Following correspondence, we got mum's authority to allow disclosure of dad's file. He had died on 14 February 1975. The Foundation sent a wonderful letter giving details of dad's mum (our gran) Matilda Annie LILLYWHITE (born 20 June 1882 at Pounds, Billingshurst) and her circumstances.

Joseph Robinson, master mariner, by Roy Boydell, published June 2008 in Sussex Family Historian (vol. 18 no. 2, article, pp.70-73) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 15860] & The Keep [LIB/508969] & CD SFH40 from S.F.H.G.

My maternal grandparents, George John BROOKER and Mary Mabel ROBINSON. were married on 17 February 1908 at St Paul's, Rusthall, near Tonbridge, Kent. Their marriage certificate gives Mary Mabel's father as Joseph ROBINSON (deceased), Master Mariner. Mary Mabel's birth certificate gives her parents' names as Mary ROBINSON formerly MOCKETT and Joseph ROBINSON, Master Mariner Merchant Marine.
Joseph ROBINSON was christened at Lyminster on 16 December 1849. He was the sixth of ten children of James and Eliza (LEGGATT) ROBINSON. I have been unable to trace his birth certificate and I suspect that his birth was not registered. Joseph ROBINSON married Mary MOCKETT on 24 April 1880 at the Trinity Chapel, Grove Street, Liverpool Mary was the fourth of six children of Henry and Fanny (STEVENS) MOCKETT and was born in Newhaven, where her father, Henry, was a harbour pilot.

The Sussex People Index, by Jenney Sealey, published June 2008 in Sussex Family Historian (vol. 18 no. 2, article, pp.74-75) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 15860] & The Keep [LIB/508969] & CD SFH40 from S.F.H.G.

For some years I have been involved in inputting entries into the Sussex People Index; readers may be interested to know my experiences of this wonderful database. My interest in family history started when I studied Family & Community History leading to an Open University Degree. Answering a call from the SFHG for volunteers seemed a natural progression and a way of filling retirement. Little did I know what I was letting myself in for! Since July 2001 I have completed ten and a half boxes comprising about 14,000 slips and I think it was at some point during the second box that I started jotting down a few notes on difficulties, strange names, and things that amused or saddened me.

The plight of the 'ag lab', by Stanley Chandler, published June 2008 in Sussex Family Historian (vol. 18 no. 2, article, pp.76-80) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 15860] & The Keep [LIB/508969] & CD SFH40 from S.F.H.G.

Genealogy informs us who our family ancestors are and we become obsessed to find more and more. We fill out all these little boxes with names from the past but to what avail? "I have nine hundred names in my tree so far," I have heard people say, and I am one of them. Do we do this as a conscious or unconscious desire to find our roots because we are frightened of losing our identity? Who we are and why?
We are being threatened as never before by forces beyond our control. We know we are migrants to this country. My family probably came with Willy the Conk. How many people were here then, probably two million, and now sixty-three million is nearer the mark. So it all set or thinking how did these folk live in the past, in the 17th century and later? Did they have a miserable life of drudgery and toil with the bate necessities to enable them to live? And so I became more interested in this than in my extended family research.

Rose family mystery, by Bob Rose, published June 2008 in Sussex Family Historian (vol. 18 no. 2, article, pp.81-83) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 15860] & The Keep [LIB/508969] & CD SFH40 from S.F.H.G.

On 6 August 1807 James ROSE of West Hoathly, a fanner and bachelor aged 21, married by licence in West Hoathly Church, Elizabeth ARNOLD, spinster aged 17 (born in Horsted Keynes, but also of West Hoathly) with the consent of her father Thomas ARNOLD, a yeoman farmer of Horsted Keynes.

Roots of iron, by Malcolm Rickson, published June 2008 in Sussex Family Historian (vol. 18 no. 2, article, pp.85-89) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 15860] & The Keep [LIB/508969] & CD SFH40 from S.F.H.G.

My interest in family history was sparked by two framed scrolls which hung either side of the barometer on the walls of my grandmother's house where I grew up. The scrolls and the medals below them have long gone; sold when toy grandmother died in 1966 and her tied house reverted to the Ashburnham Estate in East Sussex. But I carried the picture of those scrolls in any mind for 40 years until a change in personal circumstances allowed me the time to delve into the lives of the people they commemorated and the family from which they came.
The scroll commemorated the deaths in action of Lieutenant Stephen George HOBDAY DCM and Corporal Walter James HOBDAY; Stephen in October 1916 in the last stages of the Battle of the Somme and Walter in June 1916 defending the city of Ypres in Flanders. 'Uncle Stibby' and 'Uncle Walt' were often mentioned by my grandmother as examples of selflessness and courage. They had emigrated to Canada and in the early 1900s had found good jobs in the Montreal area but when war came in 1914 they volunteered for the Canadian Expeditionary Forces and served with great bravery on the Western Front. Why did they go to Canada? What family roots gave them the strength of character to venture overseas to a new life, to face adversity and then to give their lives for a cause they believed in?

Tenants of Laughton Manor, by Jane Biggs, published June 2008 in Sussex Family Historian (vol. 18 no. 2, article, p.93) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 15860] & The Keep [LIB/508969] & CD SFH40 from S.F.H.G.

On 10 June 1543, Nicholas PELHAM, Lord of the Manor of Laughton signed an agreement between himself and Sir John GAGE, chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and the tenants of the Manor, regarding their Right and Title to Column of Pasture in the Vertwood alias Old Broyle.
Common of Pasture gave the tenants the right to graze their animals on the Common, to gather firewood from the woods (they were not allowed to chop the trees down or cut branches off, but could take any dead wood they could gather "by hook or by crook"), and to let their pigs into the wood in the Autumn to eat the fallen acorns, on payment of fees known as Pannage.
Part of the Vertwood had been enclosed by Sir William PELHAM, father of Nicholas, causing riots. (See my article 'At the Court of Star Chamber in Sussex Family Historian, June 2005). He had made a verbal agreement wills the tenants which was now formalised by a written agreement.

Samuel Deere or Waller of Brighton, 1809-1869, by Jeremy Geere, published June 2008 in Sussex Family Historian (vol. 18 no. 2, article, pp.94-96) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 15860] & The Keep [LIB/508969] & CD SFH40 from S.F.H.G.

Hindsight is a wonderful thing. Often, when I have resolved a difficult family history question, I wonder why it had taken me so long to pursue the particular enquiry that revealed the answer. In reality, it is often like looking for a needle in a haystack but very satisfying when you find it.
This story really starts back in 1958 when my father, Geoffrey, announced my sister's birth in the Daily Telegraph. Mr Clement M Gear (a former member of the SFHG, now deceased) saw the notice and wrote to my father thus awakening my father's interest in family history. He got as far as his great-grandfather, Samuel GEERE (SG1), who married in Islington, London in 1876, son of Samuel GEERE (SG2), bricklayer. At that time, census returns for 1861 onwards were unavailable for research. There was a belief that the family came from Brighton but no proof. Samuel GEERE (SG1) died in 1923 aged 74 so was born in about 1849. No birth was found for him and my father gave up and no further research was attempted until I became interested at the age of ten in 1972.

A letter of complaint in 1787, by Annette Rose, published June 2008 in Sussex Family Historian (vol. 18 no. 2, article, pp.98-100) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 15860] & The Keep [LIB/508969] & CD SFH40 from S.F.H.G.

I mentioned in my article 'Charleston Farm' in the last issue that eight of my MARTEN ancestors are buried in the Marten Vault, under the floor of the Old Meeting House, Ditchling.
Between 1785 and 1790, John BURGESS, the part-time gravedigger was in charge of the cam of the Vault. During the summer of 1786 my great-great-great-great-uncle Peter MARTEN died and was duly buried in the Vault but this event was to cause John BURGESS a great deal of stress and a consuming anger.

The gravedigger and his 'jernal', by Don Burgess, published June 2008 in Sussex Family Historian (vol. 18 no. 2, article, pp.100-101) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 15860] & The Keep [LIB/508969] & CD SFH40 from S.F.H.G.

The article on Charleston Farm by Annette Rose in the March Sussex Family Historian reminded me of the role that John BURGESS, my great-great-great-grandfather played as the gravedigger at Ditchling Meeting House. As you can see, he was also involved in enlarging and preparing the vault under the Meeting House for the body of Peter MARTEN in June 1786, a task for which he appears not to have been paid.

A slice through 19th century life, by Sylvia Haseltine, published June 2008 in Sussex Family Historian (vol. 18 no. 2, article, pp.102-103) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 15860] & The Keep [LIB/508969] & CD SFH40 from S.F.H.G.

It's a bit off the subject, perhaps, but we have recently been given a series of indentures relating to the land our house occupies and I thought some of the names arising might be of interest to other members.

Louisa: my feisty ancestor, by Rosie Ansell, published June 2008 in Sussex Family Historian (vol. 18 no. 2, article, pp.104-107) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 15860] & The Keep [LIB/508969] & CD SFH40 from S.F.H.G.

I have a booklet, produced by one of the family history societies I belong to, consisting of various articles on the subject of 'My favourite ancestor'. It seems to me that my favourite ancestors are all women - feisty women who lived to a great age having successfully brought up a number of children. Of these I think that Louisa is my principal! favourite.
Louisa WELLS was born towards the middle of 1800 in Slaugham, the daughter of Moses WELLS. a shoemaker, and Jane RENVILL. The various WELLs families in Slaugham and the RENVILLs all seem to have been nonconformist so her ancestry has been difficult to trace. Somehow in early 1818 she came across William ANSELL the 19-year-old son of the miller at Warnham Mill near Horsham and they were married at St Nichol., Brighton on 18 May, with her father as a witness.

Sussex Family Historian, vol. 18 no. 3, edited by Trevor Hanson, published September 2008 (pp.114-168, Sussex Family History Group, ISSN: 0260-4175) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 15860] & The Keep [LIB/508970] & CD SFH40 from S.F.H.G.

We never lived in Speldhurst!, by Jenny McKechnie, published September 2008 in Sussex Family Historian (vol. 18 no. 3, article, pp.115-119) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 15860] & The Keep [LIB/508970] & CD SFH40 from S.F.H.G.

Because I have Mormon relatives, there is an Ancestral File of my family on the International Genealogical Index (IGI). The file lists the birth or christening particulars of the children of Samuel RUSSELL and Sophia CAMPANY as follows:

The Sheppards of Plumpton Place Mill, by David Link, published September 2008 in Sussex Family Historian (vol. 18 no. 3, article, pp.120-124) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 15860] & The Keep [LIB/508970] & CD SFH40 from S.F.H.G.

The stocky white-haired old man sits with crossed hands next to his thin black-garbed wife. More than 30 children and grandchildren surround the elderly couple in the yard of a Brighton police station. The photograph of this gathering, which took place about 1895, records one of the last times that many of these members of the SHEPPARD family were together. John SHEPPARD, the patriarch of the family, was born in Plumpton in 1828, and there he wed his wife, Harriet, and raised nine children, six of whom stood beside him that day.

The hoopmaking Budgen family of West Hoathly, by John Howes, published September 2008 in Sussex Family Historian (vol. 18 no. 3, article, pp.126-128) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 15860] & The Keep [LIB/508970] & CD SFH40 from S.F.H.G.

The Crawley Observer, of 13 February 1953, carried an article about my great-grandfather, William (Bill) BUDGEN, who was one of the last of a long line of hoop makers that came from West Hoathly. The BUDGEN family can be traced to the early 15th century in Nutfield, Surrey but by the 16th century the family had spread out to adjacent areas in Sussex and Kent. By the beginning of the 18th century them were several branches of the family well established in areas of Sussex including Frant, East Grinstead and Worth as well as the branch from which I descend, living in West Hoathly.

From Piltdown to Wisconsin, by Colin Hobbs, published September 2008 in Sussex Family Historian (vol. 18 no. 3, article, pp.128-129) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 15860] & The Keep [LIB/508970] & CD SFH40 from S.F.H.G.

Edward, one of the five sons of John HOBBS, was baptised in Fletching on 12 November 1797. He married Ann MARCHANT there on 18 January 1818. They firstly lived in a cottage nearly opposite what was to become the Piltdown Golf Club House. They had 14 children of whom seven girls and five boys reached maturity and married. Here is some information on the four boys who emigrated to North America.

Early Scrases, by Tony Scrase, published September 2008 in Sussex Family Historian (vol. 18 no. 3, article, pp.132-137) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 15860] & The Keep [LIB/508970] & CD SFH40 from S.F.H.G.

The origins and meaning of the name SCRASE are obscure. This occasioned a good deal of antiquarian speculation in the 19th century. In 1835 Horsfield in his History of Sussex claimed that the earliest reference was to a sheriff of the county for the period 1282-4. Next Lower published a paper on the family in 1854. He pointed out that the sheriff's name was usually given as Nicholas de GRAS and that Horsfield gave no reasons for his identification. He also called attention to the name CRAS which appeared in Sussex records from 1280 to 1320. He continued 'it is not at all improbable, however, that the names variously written as de GRAS, le GRAS and CRAS may have been identical, and that the more modem SCRAS or SCRASE is a corruption or modification of it.' Subsequently, Lower produced another suggestion. This built on the family tradition recorded in the Heraldic Visitation of 1634 that the family came from Denmark and held land in Sussex before and at the time of the Conquest. He therefore linked the name to a Danish word Skraas.

A Noble in the family?, by Julie Mitchell, published September 2008 in Sussex Family Historian (vol. 18 no. 3, article, pp.138-139) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 15860] & The Keep [LIB/508970] & CD SFH40 from S.F.H.G.

Whilst browsing through the MITCHELL family trees on one of the subscriber websites, looking for details of my great-uncle, Alfred MITCHELL, I found details of another Alfred one generation further back, my great-grand father' s brother.
I knew that great-grandfather Frederick MITCHELL's brother Alfred married Sophia from Horsted Keynes and they had two children, Lillian and Bernard. I had not managed to find Sophia or their marriage in Horsham or Horsted Keynes.
This family tree on the website showed Alfred married to Sophia Coleman NOBLE. Their children were Lillian and Bernard, Alfred's parents and grandparents also matched my records.

Sarah: you are my only hope!, by Sue Reid, published September 2008 in Sussex Family Historian (vol. 18 no. 3, article, pp.141-143) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 15860] & The Keep [LIB/508970] & CD SFH40 from S.F.H.G.

The sisters Clara and Fanny MILLS, born Brighton in 1834 and 1837 respectively, both married my great-grandfather, George MERRIFIELD, in Victoria, Australia. Clara emigrated to Victoria in 1856 and married George in 1859. In 1873, following Clara's death in 1870, George married Fanny MILLS, who was my great-grandmother.
As my family history research progressed, these two women began to fascinate me.

Looking for granddad!, by Bernard Wilson, published September 2008 in Sussex Family Historian (vol. 18 no. 3, article, pp.144-151) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 15860] & The Keep [LIB/508970] & CD SFH40 from S.F.H.G.

My mother's father, George WADE died in 1929, just over three years before I was born, so I never knew him. He lies buried in Broadwater Cemetery, Worthing, just across the road from where we lived during the war. Most Sundays would include a twenty minute visit to tidy the grave, and perhaps change the flowers. It was a simple grave, his name inscribed on a marble open book, representing the Bible, and a quotation "Only a sinner, saved by grace." It also commemorated his son, my uncle, Frank Hayward WADE, who died during the retreat from Mons on the second day of the First World War. He was 19.

Where there's a will, by Roy Boydell, published September 2008 in Sussex Family Historian (vol. 18 no. 3, article, pp.156-160) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 15860] & The Keep [LIB/508970] & CD SFH40 from S.F.H.G.

One set of my great-great-great-grandparents were Thomas KNIGHT and Mary Ann SAXBY who were married at Maresfield on 11 April 1814. I had found it reasonably straightforward tracing my ancestry back to them. However I had problems getting any further back on either of their lines. The marriage licence granted by the Archdeaconry of Lewes on 9 April 1814 shows that Thomas was a bachelor of Maresfield aged 21 or more and Mary Ann was a spinster of the same parish, aged 18 or more who married with the consent of her mother, Ann SAXBY, a widow.

Another motor vehicle death, by Peter Cox, published September 2008 in Sussex Family Historian (vol. 18 no. 3, article, pp.160-161) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 15860] & The Keep [LIB/508970] & CD SFH40 from S.F.H.G.

l was interested to read Eleanor Dilley's article 'A verdict of accidental death' in the March 2008 Sussex Family Historian for my grandmother's second cousin suffered a similar fate.
On Sunday 13 April 1913 Ernest KNIGHT, together with his brother Harold KNIGHT and a friend William George FRANCIS, were walking abreast along the Horsham to Worthing road at Washington between the top of Washington common and the road to Storrington. A Mercedes 15-20 bhp motor car driven by 'an Italian gentleman giving his name as Enrico RAVA' struck the group from behind. Harold KNIGHT, on the nearside, was hit by the car. William George FRANCIS, in the middle, had turned round to see the car and made it to the road edge, but Ernest was hit by the car and dragged for several yards before the car ran over him.

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.

Sussex Family Historian, vol. 18 no. 4, edited by Trevor Hanson, published December 2008 (pp.169-220, Sussex Family History Group, ISSN: 0260-4175) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 15860] & The Keep [LIB/508971] & CD SFH40 from S.F.H.G.

Brothers in arms, by Barry Sims, published December 2008 in Sussex Family Historian (vol. 18 no. 4, article, pp.171-175) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 15860] & The Keep [LIB/508971] & CD SFH40 from S.F.H.G.

My grandmother, Constance EVERSHED was born in Washington on 9 February 1897, the youngest daughter of Daniel Tidy and Sarah Jane EVERSHED née GOLDS. She married George Arthur SIMS in Washington on 2 September 1919. I have many memories of my grandparents, but knew very little of their early lives and practically nothing of the lives of their siblings. About a year ago, my father mentioned that he remembered a photo of his mother's brothers in Australian Army uniform and wondered why that was. This chance remark has led me on a fascinating and sometimes frustrating journey of discovery about my ancestors. The story of three of my great-uncles is intriguing, courageous, heart-warming and ultimately tragic, and probably echoes the lives of many young Sussex men who fought for their country in the First World War.

It all started with a watch, by William Green, published December 2008 in Sussex Family Historian (vol. 18 no. 4, article, pp.178-180) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 15860] & The Keep [LIB/508971] & CD SFH40 from S.F.H.G.

Recently others have written about how they got started in genealogy, so I thought I would tell my tale from afar.
My wife's maiden name was FOWLE and she had told me that her grandfather had always been very proud of the FOWLE family's British heritage. My wife's father was deceased, and her mother knew very little, not even where her father-in-law had been born. Perhaps in the mid-western US? My wife remembered her grandfather saying that his ancestors had fought along side of William the Conqueror (don't they all!). He had been a very strict Baptist minister, who lived in another state prior to his death when my wife was fairly young.

Death on the longest day, by Jennifer Newcombe, published December 2008 in Sussex Family Historian (vol. 18 no. 4, article, p.181) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 15860] & The Keep [LIB/508971] & CD SFH40 from S.F.H.G.

Poor James DUMBRELL aged 31 years went off to work in Southerham chalk pit on 21 June 1869 and never came home alive again. He was my great-grandfather, and although I had a copy of his birth and marriage certificates, I could not trace his death.

The story of Belmont Dairy, by Annette Rose, published December 2008 in Sussex Family Historian (vol. 18 no. 4, article, pp.185-189) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 15860] & The Keep [LIB/508971] & CD SFH40 from S.F.H.G.

Belmont Dairy in Turkey Road, Sidley, Bexhill, was founded in 1899 by a Mr OTTAWAY. It then had several owners before my grandfather William Henry MARTEN bought the dairy in 1922. At this time them were numerous dairies in Bexhill.

A trip to TNA from 'down under', by Therese Schier, published December 2008 in Sussex Family Historian (vol. 18 no. 4, article, pp.190-193) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 15860] & The Keep [LIB/508971] & CD SFH40 from S.F.H.G.

About the time I discovered I had convict ancestors in my father's family tree, I read The Secret River and Searching for the Secret River by Australian novelist Kate Grenville. The books detail Kate Grenville's story about her convict ancestor, Solomon WISEMAN, who, after gaining his freedom, settled on the Hawkesbury River, becoming a wealthy man and after whom Wiseman's Ferry just north of Sydney, is named.
. . .
Spurred on to find out more, I joined the Casino and District Family History Group where experienced members helped me to find information about Edward FULLER' s life in Australia.
My early research about the male convict in dad's family, Edward FULLER, began to show close parallels to the story of Solomon WISEMAN.

Great-uncles in the Great War, by Sue Martin, published December 2008 in Sussex Family Historian (vol. 18 no. 4, article, pp.196-200) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 15860] & The Keep [LIB/508971] & CD SFH40 from S.F.H.G.

War 4 August 1914! The following day great-uncle Robert HILL reported for duty at the barracks of the Royal Sussex Regiment in Chichester. The Chichester Observer (12 August 1914) described: "It was nearly 10pm when at last they left the barracks but large crowds awaited them in North and South Streets and all the way down they were greeted with cheers. This batch numbered just 400. Another left on Thursday". Robert was a reservist so he had been mobilised immediately. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion.

The lost grandmother, by Angela Raby, published December 2008 in Sussex Family Historian (vol. 18 no. 4, article, pp.201-202) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 15860] & The Keep [LIB/508971] & CD SFH40 from S.F.H.G.

Winifred Bessie Jermain LULHAM married James William Barnes STEVENI at St Nicholas Church in Brighton on 1 August 1901. Their address is listed on the marriage certificate as being 2 Alfred Road, Brighton. Three witnesses signed the certificate: Winifred's father and Doris LULHAM and Barnes's brother-in-law the famous artist, Thomas Benjamin KENNINGTON. (J W B STEVENI never used the name James and abbreviated William to Wm, usually signing himself Barnes STEVENI.)

Now you see them, by Bob Hyslop, published December 2008 in Sussex Family Historian (vol. 18 no. 4, article, pp.202-203) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 15860] & The Keep [LIB/508971] & CD SFH40 from S.F.H.G.

Many family historians run into a brick wall in their research in the years around 1800. Usually it's because parish registers before then have disappeared. Our case is different.
On 24 October 1804 Mary BOOKER was born, and baptised on 20 November 1804 at Iping-cum-Chithurst. Neither in the baptismal record, nor in the Bishop's Transcripts of the same, are the names of any parent given. In both cases the entry follows that of Thomas BOOKER (born 18 August 1804, baptised 2 September 1804), the son of William and Elizabeth BOOKER. The Bishop's Transcript has a tantalizing line under their names, to accompany the entry for Mary BOOKER!

National Memorial Card Index, by Philip Jones, published December 2008 in Sussex Family Historian (vol. 18 no. 4, article, pp.208-210) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 15860] & The Keep [LIB/508971] & CD SFH40 from S.F.H.G.

Memorial cards were originally a product of the Victorian celebration of death. They were usually supplied by the undertaker on behalf of the bereaved. Some were sent to relatives and friends in black edged envelopes as notification of the death, as invitations to the funeral, or simply in remembrance of the deceased. The peak of memorial card 'popularity' was probably in the 1870s and 1880s.
The cards were printed in black or silver on white or beige cards. Some took the form of a single black-edged card measuring about 11.5cm by 7.5cm with a blank space left in the centre for the appropriate details to be entered by the printer. These usually included the name and age of the deceased, date of death, and date and place of burial. Sometimes other useful information was included, such as date of birth, name of spouse or parents, address of the deceased, cause of death and grave number in a municipal cemetery. Other memorial cards were double, with the details of the deceased printed inside on the right and a religious text or verse on the left.
The National Memorial Card Index was begun in 1990 and now contains over 6,000 cards, covering the period from 1842 to 1994, and most English plus some Welsh counties.

West family of the 17th and 18th centuries, by Rodney Patterson, published December 2008 in Sussex Family Historian (vol. 18 no. 4, article, p.211) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 15860] & The Keep [LIB/508971] & CD SFH40 from S.F.H.G.

l have managed to trace the WEST family back to 1610, WEST being on my mother's side of the family. Edward WEST who lived from 1610 to 1662 was born in Cowfold and held land called Drewitts in the Cowfold/Bolney area. Edward married Joan (I can't find her surname) in 1632 at Cowfold. They had three children: Ann (1633-1659), Nicholas (1636-) and Henry (1639-1656).

A tale of two Tompsetts, by Clive Gillam, published December 2008 in Sussex Family Historian (vol. 18 no. 4, article, pp.212-213) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 15860] & The Keep [LIB/508971] & CD SFH40 from S.F.H.G.

I began researching my mother's family knowing that her father was Albert Frank TOMPSETT and her grandparents were Albert and Henrietta TOMPSETT. My late mother also mentioned that the East Sussex village of Laughton was of significance to our branch of the family tree.

From bootmaker's daughter to Napoleon's mistress, by Graham Taylor-Paddick, published December 2008 in Sussex Family Historian (vol. 18 no. 4, article, pp.214-215) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 15860] & The Keep [LIB/508971] & CD SFH40 from S.F.H.G.

This article concerns a possible cousin of mine, who was a fairly distinguished lady who had grassroots origins in Brighton. I refer to Elizabeth Ann HARYETT who, under the pseudonym Harriet HOWARD, became the mistress and financial backer of Emperor Napoleon III of France.