Baldock/Fagg/Small Family

After trying so desperately to locate the family of my dad’s uncle Walter BALDOCK, I may have hit on something …

I had been searching Kent records (particularly Thanet, where they had lived) for marriage records, with no luck. I knew his wife was known as Jessie, but this could have come from anywhere. Nevertheless, I finally gained the patience to search systematically through Ancestry and FindMyPast.

And there I found it! Uncle Wally and Aunt Jessie were married in Norfolk  - Erpingham district, to be precise! Walter A BALDOCK married Jessie I ABRAM !

Now armed with a maiden name, I also found six daughters; we already knew the names of some, but this confirmed things, along with birth quarter-dates, a marriage and two grandsons. Of course, all this has yet to be verified.

I now hope to get the marriage certificate, and plan to further investigate the children to seek out possible marriages, further grandchildren, and maybe locate a family member living somewhere.

The Norfolk marriage is spooky, given my belief that the BALDOCK family may have some ancestry there. Maybe Jessie was from Norfolk? Or perhaps she was a Cromer seaside holiday romance?  The certificate will help …

Following the discovery of a BALDOCK pedigree back to c1600 on the International Genealogical Index (IGI), I believe I have now confirmed the authenticity of the data. This was achieved on my visit to Canterbury Cathedral Archives last Thursday to inspect copies of parish records and bishop transcripts. It has also filled in the names of some spouses.

This now takes the tree back eleven generations!!

In researching the data, it also brought to light a few surname variations – BOLDOCK, BOLDUCKE, BALDOCKE, BALDUCKE … Entering some of these in ancestry.co.uk has already raised some new avenues for investigation.

The next step will probably be to focus on these parishes to determine children & siblings.

A tree update with data additions determined from this visit will be announced soon …

I visited St.Dunstan’s church at Canterbury today, seeking CASTLE ancestry of my mother. Although I was unable to locate the relevant graves, I am confident of their existence from my sources. I believe that they are marked by some of the many weathered headstones.

Following this search, I moved on to nearby Blean and the churchyard at St. Cosmos & St. Damian. This was merely investigatory, with the possibility of locating a HATTON grave. Although I was unsuccessful in this goal, I surprisingly found a BALDOCK grave, for a couple I do not have, buried in the late 20th century. I now hope to trace these back for any possible links.