Bibliography - Family Historian - 2010
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Sussex Family Historian, vol. 19 no. 1, edited by Trevor Hanson, published March 2010 (pp.2-52, Sussex Family History Group, ISSN: 0260-4175) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 15860] & The Keep [LIB/508842] & CD SFH40 from S.F.H.G.

The Chatfields of Ditchling, by John Howes, published March 2010 in Sussex Family Historian (vol. 19 no. 1, article, pp.3-7) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 15860] & The Keep [LIB/508842] & CD SFH40 from S.F.H.G.

The CHATFIELDs of Sussex are a large family and many SFHG members can probably count a CHATFIELD in their family tree. Like many Sussex families, over the centuries the CHATFIELDs were at every level of society from the lowest agricultural labourer to gentlemen as well as a baronetcy. While most of the family branches were members of the established church, some preferred to adopt the Baptist faith. This leads to problems for the family historian. Baptists were suppressed by the established church especially its the 17th and 18th centuries and so vital records, especially births, christenings and burials were either not recorded in formal registers or inconsistently at best. A greater number of marriages were recorded. presumably to assure their legality but even here records are not consistent. To develop family trees it is therefore necessary to turn to other documents. Frequently adherence to a non-conformist religion was not stated specifically but certain patterns emerge that may suggest that a family was non-conformist. Such was the case with my own CHATFIELD ancestors and particularly my seven-times great-grandfather John CHATFIELD and his children, one of whom, Jane is also my ancestor.

Just a posy with love and respect, by Diane Bulley, published March 2010 in Sussex Family Historian (vol. 19 no. 1, article, pp.10-11) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 15860] & The Keep [LIB/508842] & CD SFH40 from S.F.H.G.

Ragless family of Sussex, by Zoe Roberts, published March 2010 in Sussex Family Historian (vol. 19 no. 1, article, pp.11-12) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 15860] & The Keep [LIB/508842] & CD SFH40 from S.F.H.G.

I have been researching my father's mother's side of our family. My greatgrandfather was Alfred RAGLESS of Horsham and his story along with my great-grandmother Emily RATTUE has been one of fascination to me. Their story is as follows and I am hoping that there may be some other members who can help to draw a final conclusion.
Alfred RAGLESS was born in Horsham in 1874 to Frederick RAGLESS and Sarah SHORT. He joined the Royal Engineers as a 20 year old Sapper in 1894.
He married 21 year old Julia Mary Ann CLEMENTS on 8 January 1896 at the Registry Office in Horsham; their witnesses were William and Caroline Harriet KNIGHT.

William Pike and the Blue Book, by Peter Foreman, published March 2010 in Sussex Family Historian (vol. 19 no. 1, article, pp.13-15) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 15860] & The Keep [LIB/508842] & CD SFH40 from S.F.H.G.

I can recall as a child being aware of a large blue reference book called Pike's Directory at my parents' home in Brighton. It was out of date but I understood that it had some relevance to my mother's family. I do not know what became of the book but the name and fact of its existence stuck in my memory. Recently I began to research my family history and, after the inevitable trawl through censuses and other records, the family tree started to take shape. Like a jigsaw puzzle, pieces slipped into place wills the help of a bit of detective work. There are some pieces missing and, just possibly, one or two pieces from a different jigsaw have caused confusion!
My grandmother Eva May DENNES was born in Hastings in 1875. Her parents were Thomas DENNES and Fanny PIKE. Fanny was the daughter of my great-great-grandfather William PIKE who was born in Earls Barton, Northamptonshire in about 1805. As far as I can discover, William PIKE appears to have had nine children; three by his first wife, Elizabeth, and six by his second wife, Sarah.

A pinch of salt with your greens?, by Reg Green, published March 2010 in Sussex Family Historian (vol. 19 no. 1, article, pp.20-22) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 15860] & The Keep [LIB/508842] & CD SFH40 from S.F.H.G.

My grandfather gave a large brass telescope to my father and told him that it was the one he had used when he was captain of a ship in the navy. My father later gave it to me with the same information as his father had given him. I have in my turn handed it on to my son, for his safekeeping. I was also told that "he had sailed the China seas".
A letter in 2005 to the Naval Historical Branch its Portsmouth brought an acknowledgement of my letter and that the best way of proceeding was to make a search of Ships Musters and pay books relating to Harry GREEN at the National Archives at Kew as their records in Portsmouth had been lost or damaged by enemy action during the war.

Who was Mrs Mugridge?, by John Mugridge, published March 2010 in Sussex Family Historian (vol. 19 no. 1, article, p.22) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 15860] & The Keep [LIB/508842] & CD SFH40 from S.F.H.G.

In 1842 my great-uncle James MUGGRIDGE was sentenced to transportation to Van Diemens Land (Tasmania) by the Sussex Quarter Sessions at Lewes Assizes and required to serve 15 years as a convict for stealing a sheep. He was the first of our line to become an Australian.
He is at that time recorded to be a widower with five children; on his departure it would appear that they were sent to workhouses in Sussex and Surrey.
James was born in Buxted in 1810, the fourth child of Edward MUGGRIDGE and Sarah WREN and the brother of my great-grandfather Samuel born in 1813.
James was supposedly married in 1830 - but to whom?

Chasing pavements, by Helen Poole, published March 2010 in Sussex Family Historian (vol. 19 no. 1, article, pp.23-25) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 15860] & The Keep [LIB/508842] & CD SFH40 from S.F.H.G.

I thought "Surely these are photos of the same person?" I had been identifying a collection of family photographs and had come to recognise Reginald George POOLE who had been photographed from about the age of 11. There were several photographs of Reginald and his pals, including one called 'George'. There were more photos where Reggie had a 'young lady' whose identity I did not know.
I thought there was so much resemblance between Reginald POOLE in the first photograph and the young man in uniform in the second photo that it was surely Reggie again, just in understandably sober and thoughtful mood. On close inspection I noticed the insignia on the shoulder and sleeve, plus there was writing across it which I read as "Your Affec. Left Hand, Stan" and I presumed that perhaps this 'Stan' was a pal who had signed Reggie's photograph.

The Pallisers in Sussex, by Teresa Simmonds, published March 2010 in Sussex Family Historian (vol. 19 no. 1, article, pp.28-31) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 15860] & The Keep [LIB/508842] & CD SFH40 from S.F.H.G.

PALLISER is not a surname associated with Sussex yet several different branches of the family made their homes here, notwithstanding their distant origins are to be found in Yorkshire.
My grandfather, Hugh Arbuthnot PALLISER was from Kensington, but he spent most of his life in Hove, playing bridge when he wasn't dancing at the Regent Ballroom and somehow managing to avoid making an appearance in any electoral registers. His first wife divorced him and he married my grandmother, Julia May CAFFREY in 1926 in Steyning. They were only together for six years when Hugh died of erysipelas in Stockwell Hospital (for contagious diseases) in 1932, three months before my mother was born in Eastboume.
But this is far too recent for genealogical imposes. What of the past?

From Horsted Keynes to Michigan, by Cheryl Kublin, published March 2010 in Sussex Family Historian (vol. 19 no. 1, article, pp.31-32) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 15860] & The Keep [LIB/508842] & CD SFH40 from S.F.H.G.

My ancestor George LANGRIDGE married Elizabeth BETCHLY on 30 April 1717 at Cuckfield. One of their nine children was a son named Henry who was christened on 20 August 1738 at Horsted Keynes. Henry married Jane ILLMAN on 5 September 1763. They had eight children, with one of them being my great-great-great-great-grandfather Henry LANGRIDGE christened on 20 January 1779. He married a young lady named Sarah BROWN, she was christened in 1787. They christened seven children at Horsted Keynes, three girls and four boys. Henry was a carpenter.

Rose Boxall: a hard life, by Sue Martin, published March 2010 in Sussex Family Historian (vol. 19 no. 1, article, pp.36-42) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 15860] & The Keep [LIB/508842] & CD SFH40 from S.F.H.G.

My interest in Rose Jane BOXALL was sparked when I discovered that she had been widowed three times before the age of 35, two of her husbands being brothers, cousins to my great-grandfather. Had I stumbled across a black widow? Wanting to find out more I looked into her life using census returns and invested in certificates. The results were surprising.

Just boys, all three, by Ron Goodhew, published March 2010 in Sussex Family Historian (vol. 19 no. 1, article, p.43) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 15860] & The Keep [LIB/508842] & CD SFH40 from S.F.H.G.

This sad tale comes from my wife's ancestry. She has LUXFORDs in her tree. Incidentally, many of their men folk worked with trees - they were bushmen or wood cutters. However, the victims in this story didn't get the chance to work, or raise offspring. They were cut down in their prime.
William Robert LUXFORD was born at Ewhurst, Sussex in 1831 and emigrated to Australia with his mother Eliza and stepfather James BOOTS. His father James LUXFORD had died early, aged 31 in August 1835. William was Enid's 3G-uncle.

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.

Sussex Family Historian, vol. 19 no. 2, edited by Trevor Hanson, published June 2010 (pp.54-104, Sussex Family History Group, ISSN: 0260-4175) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 15860] & The Keep [LIB/508843] & CD SFH40 from S.F.H.G.

William the stumbling block, by Sue Martin, published June 2010 in Sussex Family Historian (vol. 19 no. 2, article, pp.55-59) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 15860] & The Keep [LIB/508843] & CD SFH40 from S.F.H.G.

Reading 'William the Invisible' by Michael Ewens in the December 2009 Sussex Family Historian brought to mind the problem I have with an ancestor of mine also called William.
Being Sussex born and bred I am fortunate in being able to trace most of the family to the 18th and in some cases the 17th and even 16th centuries. How frustrating then to find that the biggest 'stumbling block' I've come across is as recent as a great-grandfather. Not so surprising perhaps as my grandmother Nellie HILL (née BLUNDEN) always hinted that there was a mystery around the birth of her father William BLUNDEN, possibly a birth on the 'wrong side of the blanket' which seemed to be associated with his mother working in a 'big house'. She also said he was ill-treated as a child by his father because his father had been made to marry his mother.
William BLUNDEN was certainly illegitimate.

The resident nephew, and the pitfalls of family bible records, by Karen Hayward, published June 2010 in Sussex Family Historian (vol. 19 no. 2, article, pp.67-69) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 15860] & The Keep [LIB/508843] & CD SFH40 from S.F.H.G.

My search for ancestors of my husband Peter originated with a nice family bible inscription stating that his great-grandfather "Samuel HAYWARD was born 24th July 1845, married 4th August 1867, and presented said bible to his beloved wife Mary HAYWARD born 11th September 1838". The inscription named "one child Samuel HAYWARD" (Peter's grandfather) born 14 August 1876, and married 24 April 1905. Although the birth and marriage places were not named the information was comprehensive enough to inspire enthusiasm and as the young Samuel lived latterly in Sussex and Surrey, things looked hopeful with regard to record searching.

An unusual survival, by Don Burgess, published June 2010 in Sussex Family Historian (vol. 19 no. 2, article, p.70) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 15860] & The Keep [LIB/508843] & CD SFH40 from S.F.H.G.

Whilst transcribing an early register from Beckley (PAR 237/1/1/1),I came to he point where it met some data we already had in our Burials Index from 1721 on. As I had the register out, I decided to continue for a few entries to compare them with what we already had, the latter coming from a shelf transcript at the record office. I soon noticed that there were a number of anomalies, which caused me to suspect that the shelf transcript was faulty. I thought 'this chap was rather careless in his transcribing'. However, when I checked the master data on parish registers on the shelf, I found that there was another original register available, PAR 237/1/1/2. So, ordering it up I found myself looking at an unusual survival - what was probably the incumbent's draft register book, written in the same hand in a soft-cover book (registers are usually hardback). It was from this book that the shelf transcript had been made. It contained a number of different, variant spellings of surnames, additional information regarding the deceased's parish of origin, and sometimes omitted entries that were in the 'proper' register.

The Zinzan connection, by Roger Chadwick, published June 2010 in Sussex Family Historian (vol. 19 no. 2, article, pp.72-75) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 15860] & The Keep [LIB/508843] & CD SFH40 from S.F.H.G.

When I first started researching my family history I did what is recommended to the beginner, I talked to my living relatives. My mother, who at that time was in her late eighties and my only living relative of that era, was a huge help. She had a collection of family photos and birth. marriage and death certificates which got me off to a flying start, particularly as she had the unusual maiden name of FURR. However, she could not remember the maiden name of her only brother Bill's wife, who I had only ever known as Auntie Winnie. My Uncle Bill and Auntie Winnie had lived in Eastbourne and both had been dead for a number of years so it was impossible to ask them.
A fairly intensive search of the marriage indexes for England & Wales eventually produced a result. William Howard James FURR had been married in 1950 at Hendon, Middlesex. Unusually the index gave the name of the spouse as Winifred Rosemary HAMMERSLEY, or ZINZAN. This jogged my mother's memory and it transpired that Winnie had been born a ZINZAN and had had a short wartime marriage to John R HAMMERSLEY.

A satisfactory piece of research, by Valerie Symes, published June 2010 in Sussex Family Historian (vol. 19 no. 2, article, pp.76-77) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 15860] & The Keep [LIB/508843] & CD SFH40 from S.F.H.G.

In 1860 Mary PINK married her cousin John MANT. Mary's mother and John's father were sister and brother. These were Betsey MANT who married Henry Peachey PINK in 1821, my great-great-grandparents, and William Hardham MANT who married Sarah BLUNDEN in 1827. William and Betsey's parents were Daniel MANT and Mary (nee HARDHAM). All these families were from Birdham in West Sussex. When John MANT married Mary PINK he was described as a widower but I found no suitable previous marriage in parish registers or on the Sussex Marriage Index CD published by SFHG and thus, finding this intriguing. I started researching the couple.

Further information on Scrases and the drinks industry, by Tony Scrase, published June 2010 in Sussex Family Historian (vol. 19 no. 2, article, pp.80-81) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 15860] & The Keep [LIB/508843] & CD SFH40 from S.F.H.G.

Since my last piece on this topic appeared in the Sussex Family Historian in June 2009, additional information has come to light. This has been due to a helpful response I received from a reader of the piece; my son's further sites for bottles and related memorabilia particularly on eBay; and my own realisation that one had to try a wide variety of spellings or misspellings of SCRASE in searching electronic databases, thus while I had used familiar misreadings such as SERASE I had not previous attempted such an apparently unrelated form as SOROSE.

Missing!, by Linda Hall, published June 2010 in Sussex Family Historian (vol. 19 no. 2, article, pp.82-85) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 15860] & The Keep [LIB/508843] & CD SFH40 from S.F.H.G.

Family history research began with a six-foot long roll of paper on which a cousin had produced a DAVIS family tree some 30 years ago, long before internet access made the process easier. At the very top of the paper are the names Richard OSWIN and Ann BONGARD, whose daughter Louisa Ann OSWIN married Thomas Henry DAVIS - my mother's granny and grandpa DAVIS.

A few Fullers of Waldron and East Dean, by Janet Pennington, published June 2010 in Sussex Family Historian (vol. 19 no. 2, article, pp.88-93) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 15860] & The Keep [LIB/508843] & CD SFH40 from S.F.H.G.

The photograph below is displayed in On Foot in Sussex, (A A Evans, Methuen. 1933), opposite page 154, captioned 'Old Mark Fuller: A Rural Worker, of East Dean, in his 85th year'.
The photograph is acknowledged by Evans to a Miss May BAXTER, though I have not been able to discover anything about her. She must have taken the photograph some 11 years before publication as FULLER died from bronchitis on 21 April 1925, aged 88, at The Green, East Dean. Evans uses the photograph to illustrate his chapter on 'The Rural Worker', though he makes no mention of him in the text.
Mark FULLER (c1837-1925), born at Little London, Waldron, was my great-great-uncle.

Family history connections, by Kathy Brooking, published June 2010 in Sussex Family Historian (vol. 19 no. 2, article, pp.98-99) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 15860] & The Keep [LIB/508843] & CD SFH40 from S.F.H.G.

I began my research into my own family history in 1995, there are no Sussex connections, totally Irish on the paternal line and the Bedfordshire/Hertfordshire borders and the Midlands with my maternal line, but I also decided to take a look into my husband's family, his maternal line has been very gratifying as his mother's family are the only connections I have found in Berkshire where we live. His paternal line was slightly complicated by the fact that his cousin has been researching the BROOKING family, from Devon for the last 20 years and is a founder member of The Brooking Society one of the first one-name research societies to be set up, so I do not research the BROOKINGs but I do research the women they married and this is where I discovered a Sussex link.

Sussex Family Historian, vol. 19 no. 3, edited by Trevor Hanson, published September 2010 (pp.106-152, Sussex Family History Group, ISSN: 0260-4175) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 15860] & The Keep [LIB/508844] & CD SFH40 from S.F.H.G.

Visiting my ancestors . . . by chance, by Janice Broadbridge, published September 2010 in Sussex Family Historian (vol. 19 no. 3, article, pp.107-109) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 15860] & The Keep [LIB/508844] & CD SFH40 from S.F.H.G.

l knew from an early age that my father's BROADBRIDGE family came from Washington in West Sussex and that my great-grandfather, Henry BROADBRIDGE, was a cowman. As a child growing up in the urban surroundings of Richmond and Twickenham. this did not mean much to me.
When I retired in 2004, I started researching the BROADBRIDGE family. By then, I had moved to the Hampshire/West Sussex border which made it easier to visit the West Sussex Record Office and the Washington area itself.

Obituary: Pat Stevenage, by Michael Burchall, published September 2010 in Sussex Family Historian (vol. 19 no. 3, article, p.110) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 15860] & The Keep [LIB/508844] & CD SFH40 from S.F.H.G.

Barking up the wrong family tree, by Teresa Simmonds, published September 2010 in Sussex Family Historian (vol. 19 no. 3, article, pp.112-115) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 15860] & The Keep [LIB/508844] & CD SFH40 from S.F.H.G.

Because of a fundamental error, I had spent eighteen months barking up the wrong family tree. That was way back in the pre-interne days. My father-in-law had told me his grandfather was George SIMMONDS who was about 80 when he died in about 1944. I trusted father-in-law, a wonderful and honest man. I had taken his information at face-value but never thought to talk to his sister.
When my father-in-law's sister, Agnes COBBY nee SIMMONDS sent us some family documents, I knew I had to abandon the current research and start all over again. The marriage certificate of her father, George Henry SIMMONDS to Agnes MOORE on 22 August 1914 at Brighton Register Office showed the groom's father was William SIMMONDS, a boiler tuber at the railway works, not George SIMMONDS at all. The bride's father was James MOORE, a fish hawker and the witnesses were William SIMMONDS and Beatrice MOORE.

Making sense of Standens, by Brenda Crowcraft, published September 2010 in Sussex Family Historian (vol. 19 no. 3, article, pp.119-121) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 15860] & The Keep [LIB/508844] & CD SFH40 from S.F.H.G.

In a recent issue of this magazine I saw the question 'Why do we join the SFHG?'. Well my reason is the STANDEN family of Warbleton, Herstmonceux and Hailsham.
Like all genealogical research this is an ongoing investigation. My interest in the STANDEN family began when I discovered that my grandfather's mother was born Frances STANDEN on 18 October 1840. She was the daughter of Samuel Henry STANDEN, an organ pipe maker and Charlotte ANDREWS of Bristol.

Such pain!, by Georgina Clark, published September 2010 in Sussex Family Historian (vol. 19 no. 3, article, pp.122-124) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 15860] & The Keep [LIB/508844] & CD SFH40 from S.F.H.G.

When I began researching my family about ten years ago I was particularly interested to find out about my maternal grandfather's sister who emigrated to Australia. Emily CHEVIS b.1883 at Easebourne, near Midhurst, had married Joseph William DUNSTAN and we had a photo of their wedding, believed to be in Midhurst. We also had a photo of their grave in Australia. The names on the grave were Emily DUNSTAN, William DUNSTAN, and Gladys Ruth DUNSTAN, aged 13. I was not sure whether William was husband or son and whether Emily was my great-aunt or her husband's mother perhaps, but the family story was that Emily had two children and her husband had died. She was to return to England leaving a teenage son with a carer. This son was apparently cruel to his mother.

Brandy for the parson?, by Lesley Dyer, published September 2010 in Sussex Family Historian (vol. 19 no. 3, article, pp.124-125) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 15860] & The Keep [LIB/508844] & CD SFH40 from S.F.H.G.

The most interesting ancestor I have come across so far is the notorious James BLACKMAN who was a smuggler as well as being an innkeeper at Hooe.
James was baptised at Hooe on 8 March 1707. He was the second son of the third marriage of John BLACKMAN, my five times great-grandfather. So, whilst not being my direct ancestor, he is still a member of my mother's BLACKMAN fatuity. Anyway, he grew up and became landlord of the Red Lion at Hooe and appears in the Land Tax Assessments there in 1733. The neamess of Hooe to the sea, together with its remoteness, made the area perfect for smuggling.

Did the family benefit?, by Jocelyn Bailey, published September 2010 in Sussex Family Historian (vol. 19 no. 3, article, pp.126-127) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 15860] & The Keep [LIB/508844] & CD SFH40 from S.F.H.G.

My great-grandmother, Anne BUDD was christened at Felpham on 9 May 1802. Her parents, John ("of Felpham") and Jane, née TUFFEN (or TUFFING or any of several variants), were married in South Bersted in 1800, and their other children included George and Daniel, both christened its Felpham, and perhaps all or any of the following; Grace, Robert and John. At some stage after 1806, before 1832 and probably by 1825, the family moved north of the Downs to Treyford and in 1841 John is a labourer, not born in Sussex, aged 68, living with wife Jane 59, son George, a widower, 41 (his wife was Mary CLAYTON), and his son Daniel, aged seven.

Was it murder by poisoning?, by Sue Randall, published September 2010 in Sussex Family Historian (vol. 19 no. 3, article, pp.130-133) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 15860] & The Keep [LIB/508844] & CD SFH40 from S.F.H.G.

John DAY, son of James and Mary, was christened 18 October 1807 at Saint Mary's, Portsea, Hampshire and married Sarah FRAMPTON on 17 February 1828 in Alverstoke; witnessed by Hannah FRAMPTON. Their child Sarah Jane was christened in Portsea seven months later. My great-great-grandfather John Charles (1832) was born in Brighton. He was christened at St Nicholas Church, as were his sisters Mary Ann (1834) and Charlotte Henry (1836). Their mother appears to have died when the children were very young. No record of her burial has been found. There could be a clue from the Coroners inquest held on Sunday 15 January 1837 at the Norfolk Arms: "Sarah DAY unfortunately met her death by falling down a well at 4 Surrey Street. Verdict accidental death".

A photograph from my album, by Lesley Yates, published September 2010 in Sussex Family Historian (vol. 19 no. 3, article, pp.134-135) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 15860] & The Keep [LIB/508844] & CD SFH40 from S.F.H.G.

The photograph is old, sepia toned. The man in the picture wears a military uniform: smart battle-dress and trousers neatly tucked into polished, knee length boots. He wears a stiff military cap upon his head and tucked under his arm, a military staff, which gives him an air of authority. He looks nervous, as he stands in front of a white army tent, though there is a faint smile and hint of pride on his face. Closer inspection of the photograph reveals that it is a studio shot and not taken in front of a real military tent - the plume of smoke rising from an explosion in the background gives the game away. I don't know the exact date of the photograph, but I do know that it was taken in 1916 or 1917. The photograph is precious to me: it is the only picture I have, and as far as I am aware, it is the only image that exists, of my great-grandfather, my dad's grandfather - Arthur George SMITH.

Sidetracked!, by Tony Holkham, published September 2010 in Sussex Family Historian (vol. 19 no. 3, article, pp.138-139) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 15860] & The Keep [LIB/508844] & CD SFH40 from S.F.H.G.

Becoming side-tracked when researching ancestors is inevitable, and sometime, can be very interesting.
Investigating my HOLKHAM, HOLCOMBE, HALCOMBE, HOCKHAM or HAWKHAM ancestors in West Sussex during the 19th century, I was interested in the origin of shepherd Richard HALCOMBE who appears in the 1841 census of Eartham. He is 60, and lives with his wife Hannah, also 60, and 25-year-old Charles HORN.

The Orleans Shepherd, by Marlene Greiner, published September 2010 in Sussex Family Historian (vol. 19 no. 3, article, pp.139-142) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 15860] & The Keep [LIB/508844] & CD SFH40 from S.F.H.G.

A story told to a boy by his grandfather, a tale told by a mother to her daughter. An adventure beset with danger and fear, but eventually, like every good story, one in which the hero prevails. For the children who listened to this story there was an extra thrill contained within it. For this was no fairy-tale but the actual life of their mutual great-grandfather, James BEST. Embedded so well in their minds was it that they both, as they neared the end of their lives, committed it to paper so it would not be lost to future generations. This is how I know the story some 200 years after it took place.

From Hastings to Peking . . . with Old King Cole!, by James Gilman, published September 2010 in Sussex Family Historian (vol. 19 no. 3, article, pp.143-145) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 15860] & The Keep [LIB/508844] & CD SFH40 from S.F.H.G.

It was a GILMAN who removed the arrow from King Harold's eye at the Battle of Hastings! This was the proud claim made by my father to me many years ago which more than made up, in its imaginative scope, for its sad lack of any historical evidence. But then, my dad was a Hastings man.
James GILMAN was born in the Old Kent Road in London in 1901, the son of another James GILMAN who owned and managed a military tailor's shop. Around 1905 they moved away, firstly to Southall and then to Hastings where, my dad's mother having died when he was five, James GILMAN senior remarried and settled eventually in a house in Waldegave Street, right in the centre of town. My dad was brought up there and attended the St Andrews School before beginning work at a retail shop for the well-known J B WARD. His feet may have been planted firmly on a Hastings shop floor, but his eyes were fixed upon a place much further afield and considerably more exotic: Peking, China.

An interesting souvenir, by Don Burgess, published September 2010 in Sussex Family Historian (vol. 19 no. 3, article, pp.146-147) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 15860] & The Keep [LIB/508844] & CD SFH40 from S.F.H.G.

When my maternal grandmother died in 1938 I was 15 years old. My grandfather asked me if there was any souvenir on their mantelpiece I would like to remember her by. Amongst all the Goss china which they had brought home from sundry seaside holidays there was a small old fashioned boot/shoe carved out of wood which I fancied and, now I'm into family history, I'm very glad I chose it. The shoe is 8cm long and is hollowed out with a sliding lid. Inside one can just make out a trace of a brown substance which I take to be snuff. It is decorated with tiny brass pins and on the sides they outline the letters 'T' on one side and 'S' on the other.

Sussex Family Historian, vol. 19 no. 4, edited by Trevor Hanson, published December 2010 (pp.154-200, Sussex Family History Group, ISSN: 0260-4175) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 15860] & The Keep [LIB/508845] & CD SFH40 from S.F.H.G.

The Baigents and Lurgashall Mill, by Peter Baigent, published December 2010 in Sussex Family Historian (vol. 19 no. 4, article, pp.155-157) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 15860] & The Keep [LIB/508845] & CD SFH40 from S.F.H.G.

The talk by Derek Stidder on 'Mills and millers of Sussex" at the SFHG Conference in March reminded me that some of my ancestors had been employed at Lurgashall Mill in the 18th century. Thanks to a recent visit to the Weald & Downland Open Air Museum at Singleton and help from museum staff I have been able to elucidate my family's involvement with the mill.
The mill, now to be found in the museum, was originally situated on the Western Rother, in the parish of Lurgashall, part of the Cowdray Estate. This is an area in the high weald of Sussex, where the soil is composed of thick and impermeable clay and in late summer the streams and ponds tend to dry up. However in Lurgashall and other nearby villages there is group of sandstone beds that provide shallow wells for farms and cottages. Lurgashall Mill was situated beside a substantial pond that had existed for many years before the mill was built for Viscount Montague. The structure of the mill suggests it was built around the middle of the 17th century.
My family's involvement with milling appears to have started when one of my very distant uncles, Michael BAIGENT, baptised December 1719 in Easebourne, decided to go and work at Lurgashall Mill.

More on the Angmering Bongards, by Linda Hall, published December 2010 in Sussex Family Historian (vol. 19 no. 4, article, pp.161-163) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 15860] & The Keep [LIB/508845] & CD SFH40 from S.F.H.G.

In June's SFH, I wrote about my missing George BONGARD and other members of the BONGARD and OSWIN families. Although I have still not found any record of the death of George BONGARD, a bricklayer and builder born in Heene in 1806, I have found more information on other aspects of the story. George was one of nine children of James BONGARD/BUNGUARD and Lucy TALMEDGE. The first five were born in Angmering: Ann c1793, Margaret 1794, John 1796, James c1799, and Daniel 1801. The other four were born in Heene: Frances who was born and died in 1804 and was buried in Angmering with her grandparents John and Deborah BONGARD, George 1806, Thomas 1809 and Jane 1812. Most of the family are proving as elusive as George but I have tracked down Daniel and Thomas as well as Daniel's son George Henry BONGARD. Their stories are in marked contrast, the one being a story of success, the other of tragedy.

Was Thomas a soldier from Sussex, by Tony Parker, published December 2010 in Sussex Family Historian (vol. 19 no. 4, article, pp.164-166) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 15860] & The Keep [LIB/508845] & CD SFH40 from S.F.H.G.

In 1950 I was given some Tunbridge Ware by my father's sister which she wanted to be kept in the family. It had been made by Thomas Amos BOYCE my great-grandfather who was a well known manufacturer. It included one small box which she said was made by his wife's father James BROWN, senior. Thomas Amos had married Harriett Emma BROWN (16 May 1848-13 March 1906) and had gone into partnership with her brother James BROWN to start the firm of Boyce, Brown and Kemp in Tunbridge Wells. They had also merged with the business of her father James BROWN, senior (3 November 1813-30 December 1893) who was already a well known manufacturer. It was this that prompted me to start research on the family. Alas, most of the items were stolen by burglars some years ago but the interest in the family history continues to the present.

Aunt Ede, by Elizabeth Gardiner, published December 2010 in Sussex Family Historian (vol. 19 no. 4, article, pp.168-170) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 15860] & The Keep [LIB/508845] & CD SFH40 from S.F.H.G.

We have a cup commemorating Queen Victoria's diamond jubilee. Its a bit tatty and certainly would not attract the interest of the specialists on the Antiques Roadshow. The cup came from Aunt Ede, known by the family to have "married a blind man from St Dunstan's and being bombed out during the war". With other research having come to a grinding halt, I now had time to try and verify the family story.
From a priceless resource (a photocopy of two pages from my granddad's diary, listing his parents and all his siblings with dates of birth, and death of those who predeceased him) I knew that Aunt Ede was my dad's aunt and the fourth of 12 children born to Arthur James MILES and his wife Mary Ann (HUNTLEY). The diary told me that Edith Harriett MILES was born 11 March 1872.

Poynings to Petworth . . . with muddy feet, by Adrian Slaughter, published December 2010 in Sussex Family Historian (vol. 19 no. 4, article, pp.170-172) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 15860] & The Keep [LIB/508845] & CD SFH40 from S.F.H.G.

Two years of helping a close friend to research her ancestors on the internet instilled in my little brain an interest in my own surname, SLAUGHTER.
Having discovered that my own tree had been uncovered two decades ago in 1982 by a cousin of whom I was unaware until the death of one of my brothers a few years ago, I considered the vast acres of unrelated SLAUGHTERs on the various internet sites.

The Lelliotts of West Sussex, by John Lelliott, published December 2010 in Sussex Family Historian (vol. 19 no. 4, article, pp.173-175) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 15860] & The Keep [LIB/508845] & CD SFH40 from S.F.H.G.

There is evidence that from at least the 15th century, there had been a concentration of people of the name of LELLIOTT in West Sussex, near to Chichester.
One strand of evidence can be found in the origin of names: LILIOT (probably from a diminutive of Elizabeth) which was present in the southern part of West Sussex, again probably as the surname of one family. All of these surnames may have been in Sussex for a long period before the 16th century.

Filling in the blanks, by Kathleen McGurl, published December 2010 in Sussex Family Historian (vol. 19 no. 4, article, pp.178-180) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 15860] & The Keep [LIB/508845] & CD SFH40 from S.F.H.G.

What do you do when you've exhausted all lines of enquiry and still can't find all the answers you are looking for? You make them up. I expect half the readers of this article have now thrown the magazine in disgust across the room and are already penning angry letters to the editor, but for the remaining half, let me explain.
I've been researching the METHOLD family of Worthing and I've written about them in earlier issues. Briefly my great-great-great-grandfather Henry METHOLD married Caroline CLARK in 1829, left her within a few years of the wedding, and set up home on Marine Parade with a servant, Jemima TWINE, with whom he had 13 children. I've found out a lot about the family since my previous articles - and have had substantial help from my new-found second-cousin-twice-removed Rosemary Pearson who is also descended from Henry and Jemima. I've also found out a lot about Henry's roots.

Obstinate ancestors, by Rodney Carter, published December 2010 in Sussex Family Historian (vol. 19 no. 4, article, pp.180-182) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 15860] & The Keep [LIB/508845] & CD SFH40 from S.F.H.G.

I am sure that I am not alone in having one or more very perverse ancestors who, for some unknown reason, persist in hiding their tracks to the frustration of the researcher. One miscreant in my wife's family was a case in point.
My wife's father had a line which followed back through various towns and villages in Sussex and all these ancestors were well behaved in that they were relatively easy to identify. I was, therefore, lulled into some complacency when I started looking for her maternal line.
So with some confidence I embarked on a search for my mother-in-law's father. I encountered him in my very early days of family history research and, when I got round to search for him, he proved a thorn in my side for many years. My wife's maternal grandfather was one William HARRIS.

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 note from the past, by Dennis Plank, published December 2010 in Sussex Family Historian (vol. 19 no. 4, article, pp.188-189) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 15860] & The Keep [LIB/508845] & CD SFH40 from S.F.H.G.

When going through my father's effects after his death in 1982 1 came across a handwritten note from 1875. Whilst it did mention someone with my Surname it concerned a lady I had not come across who had a very common name. As this was during my genealogical 'youth' I put it to one side. Twenty-five years later I looked at the note again.
Here is the text, as written:
"I Mary Ann BROWN who is about leaving England for Canada Wishes to leave in care of my Mother Mary PESCODD any Furniture and Effects and every thing belonging to me that I leave behind me in England and at her decease to be left in the care of my Niece Mary Ann PLANK until I returned back to England. Witness my hand this 23rd day of August One Thousand Eight Hundred And Seventy Five.
Signed Mary Ann BROWN x her cross
Witnesses William Owen WILLSON, George ANDERSON"
This proved to be an interesting (yet frustrating) piece of research. Mary Ann PLANK (nee CLARK) was my great-grandmother who had married John PLANK just five months earlier on 22 March 1875 at St Peter's Church in Brighton.

A lost parish, by Michael Burchall, published December 2010 in Sussex Family Historian (vol. 19 no. 4, article, pp.190-195) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 15860] & The Keep [LIB/508845] & CD SFH40 from S.F.H.G.

From early in the 13th century until the first quarter of the 16th century there existed on the eastern edge of St Leonard's forest to the northeast of Horsham and a couple of miles southwest of Crawley, a parish with a church that has almost been forgotten. The former parish of Shelley extended in a narrow strip north-south and was probably that area which later became known as Crawley detached and which today is part of Crawley parish. It covered Shelley Plain, a narrow piece of land sloping down to a valley on each side - deriving its name from scylf and leah and which gave its name to both the area and a family surnamed Shelley - and extended as far north to what later became an estate called Buchan Hill near Ifield and which today is Cottesmore golf course. Its eastern boundary would seem to have been to the west of the old Brighton Road (A23) bordering an extended tongue of land belonging to Slaugham parish and what must have been the western part of the parish has now been absorbed in Lower Beeding along with the reputed manor and Shelley park. There is evidence that like Ifield and Crawley it lay within the Archdeaconry of Lewes in the 13th century but Shelley's later association and possession by the POYNINGS family of Slaugham has led to much confusion as to exactly under which jurisdiction it lay in medieval times. In 1824 Cartwright's map indicates that the eastern part of the old Shelley parish had been absorbed by Slaugham.