Archive for the 'Genealogy' Category

Tree status as at 14 Jan 2013: Individuals=4066 Families=1091
Latest tree updates:
Blog=27 Jan 2011, GenesReunited=27 Jan 2011
AncestralAtlas=23 Jan 2010, Ancestry=28 Jan 2011

A family affair

Whilst perusing through the parish registers for Stalisfield this weekend, I came across an unusual entry:

William's father was also his step-grandfather!

William’s father was also his step-grandfather!

It says ‘William the Son of Thomas BOLDUC by Esther KINGSLAND his wifes daughter, his wife being then alive‘. William was baptised 23 Dec 1753 in Stalisfield, Kent.

A quick check through my records would indicate that I probably don’t have this Thomas (although his birthdate needs further research). The wife mentioned was Mary ELLETT who married John KINGSLAND on 6 Oct 1710 in Throwley, three and a half miles away. Esther (Hester) was baptised 21 Jun 1719 in Throwley. Mary married Thomas on 30 Sep 1747 in Throwley.

Therefore, Esther was probably around thirty-four when she gave birth to William, whose father was her own step-father.

I will probably never find out whether this family affair was desired by both parties, or indeed accepted by the family. I have not yet determined what happened to Thomas’s marriage thereafter. The fact that the parentage is mentioned in parish registers, even that of one over three miles away, would hint that they did not feel shame in admitting it, or that the knowledge was known outside the family.

Social historians would no doubt be able to indicate the commonality of such a union. I guess today we would judge by their appearance on the Jeremy Kyle or Jerry Springer shows!

 

References:

  1. STALISFIELD St. Mary, composite parish register 1699-1812, CCA-U3-264/1/1, Canterbury Cathedral Archives.

 

Published in: Genealogy | on December 2nd, 2013 | No Comments »

Arthur Edward FAGG – cricketer

Quite a while ago now I came across the name of Arthur Edward FAGG who played cricket for Kent and England.

One always wonders, of course, if and how such namesakes may be related.

Arthur Edward FAGG (1915-1977)

Arthur Edward FAGG (1915-1977) – Kent & England cricketer

This week, I came back to this research, and did indeed determine a link to my tree. Arthur is my 4th cousin once removed, our common ancestors being my 4xgreat grandparents, Thomas BALDOCK and Ann DAWKINS.

The highlight of Arthur’s career is surely his achieving two double-centuries in a single first class cricket match, a record I believe stands to this day.
On 15 July 1938, whilst playing for Kent against Essex at Colchester, Arthur achieved 202 not out in his second innings, adding to his first innings total of 244.
During the 1936-7 Ashes series, he had contracted a serious bout of rheumatic fever, from which he never fully recovered. Despite a short Test Match career, he continued playing County cricket until the mid-1950s. He then became an umpire, and hit the headlines again in 1973 at Edgbaston by refusing to rejoin the field after the West Indies disputed one of his decisions!

Sources:

1. http://www.cricketcountry.com/cricket-articles/Arthur-Fagg-scores-double-hundred-in-each-innings/28961

2. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_Fagg

Published in: Genealogy | on August 10th, 2013 | No Comments »

CASTLE corrections and collections

This last week has been filled with the distractions of another CASTLE line, the result of an accident …

Whilst browsing the Chartham parish registers on FindMyPast, I came across the marriage of my great-great-uncle, Stephen Leonard CASTLE, to a Minnie Harriet CASTLE (daughter of Francis CASTLE). The latter two individuals were new to me, and the marriage was ‘off-parish’ from where I expected. So, I started tracing Minnie’s line, suspecting a cousin relationship.

A can of worms started to open, resulting in multiple marriages, multiple occurrences of the name Francis, a major correction to my direct ancestry, and discovered errors in others’ online Ancestry trees!

You see, I have a death certificate for a Daniel CASTLE, who I believed to be my great-great-great grandfather. The certificate had margin corrections informed by Mary Ann CROUCHER, daughter. So naturally, I added her into the tree. What I had not taken care to notice is that she was born around 1835 (from 1861 Census), 15 years before my Daniel’s marriage to Eliza PAY, who would only have been 8 years old!

A search for ‘Daniel Castle’ between 1810 and 1820 on FamilySearch reveals FOUR births, none of them mine, and all in close vicinity within the Elham or Bridge registration districts!

As such, I have now traced Minnie’s line back to Richard CASTLE and Thomasin NEAMES, but got no further back on my direct line. I have not yet linked the two. Although, rather than my Daniel having died in 1898 (as believed from the certificate), I think he may have died in 1891. I need to get this certificate to confirm.

So, I now have three CASTLE lines on the go. A careful and messy spell of research awaits, and it probably involves good old pen and paper!

Take heed all those who are using CASTLE trees from Ancestry around the Stelling, Lower/Upper Hardres and Petham parishes. They probably contain mistakes!

Published in: Genealogy | on June 27th, 2013 | No Comments »