Baldock/Fagg/Small Family History

There are probably few of you reading this who remember watching British Pathé newsreels at the cinema (no, I don’t either!). In an age before television, they fed people news from around the country, and the world. This means became very important during World War II.

Well, why not see for yourself at the British Pathe website. It’s full of newsreels you can watch for free.

I searched for “Kent”, and found quite a few. Some showed families harvesting hops, another showed a ploughing match. A third showed the first electric train to Margate, the  Kent Coast Special Southern Electric, which has this wonderful closing line…

“It’s so quick, harassed mothers in London will soon be telling their children after tea, ‘Go down to Margate and play on the sands till bedtime!’ “

There are considered to be four main categories of surname origin:

• Locational, whereby the name may be linked to a place, eg. Baldock (Hertfordshire), Wood, Bank
• Occupational, whereby the name is related to an occupation, eg. Butcher, Baker, Cook
• Patronymic, whereby the name is taken from the father’s name, eg. Jameson (son of James), O’Grady (son of Grady), MacDonald (son of Donald)
• Characteristic, whereby the name often describes a physical feature, eg. Small, Brown

A fifth category, metonymic, refers to the use of metaphors or nicknames, but can generally be associated with one of the other categories, particularly occupational or characteristic surnames, eg. Fagg (possible nickname for fishmonger or baker).

My research has so far encountered the following surnames. Some may not have ancestor/descendant developments (more will be added if/when appropriate):

BALDOCK, BLACKBURN, BUSHELL, CAPELING, CASTLE, DANIELS, DATLEN, DAWKINS, DIXON, DRAY, EVENDEN, FAGG, FOSTER, FRIEND, FULLER, GAMBRIL, GARLINGE, GOLDSACK, GROOMBRIDGE, GUESS, HAGESTADT, HARVEY, HATTON, HAUGHTON, HAWKINS, HEWETT, HOLLANDS, HOUGHAM, INGLETON, KINGSLAND, KNIGHT, MARSHALL, MAYTUM, MOXON, NEWING, NORMAN, NOWILL, PALMER, PAY, ROYCE, SAWKINS, SMALL, SPAIN, TERRY, WANSTALL …

Please note:

My direct line does now does appear to be valid back to c1600, having checked out records at Canterbury Archives. However, further research needs to be undertaken to uncover siblings etc. and the tree does not yet reflect this recent information.

The earliest WANSTALL connection is undergoing further research, since the name Benjamin Wanstall has proved very popular and has reason to cause data confusion.

You will find a Chartham line of BALDOCKs, to which I have (as yet) found no link, but a member of their family often recalled an anecdote that we were! It would appear I need to traverse at least the 1700′s to confirm this…

The tree pages are here …