RootsChat.Com

Tompion:

Yes, I realised the other day (unfortunately) after I had sent my last message, that the Mary who was christened in 1610 in Ash, as a daughter of Henry, was a much better candidate to be the wife of Wm. Spratt in 1634. Your latest information only confirms that my suspicion was correct. I have the Harfletes pretty well documented back to Thomas At Chequer alias Harflete (d.1559), who married as his second wife Marian Brockhull, daughter of Edward, and then have the Brockhulls fairly reliably documented (so it seems) back to Sir John de Brockhull, Knt., of Saltwood, Kent (d.1378), and his wife Ida de Criol. About the Criols there is still some speculation amongst genealogists, but it seems very likely that Ida was a descendant of the Anglo-Norman nobililty, through at least the Pecche, Peverel, St. Liz, and perhaps most importantly, the de Clare family, of which the most significant scions were the Earls of Clare and Suffolk. My work now consists of firming up all of the above with as much reliably solid documentation as I can find.

As to the respective wills, kindly contact me at tjwhite1963 "at" gmail.com, and we can exchange JPEG copies of the Wm. Spratt of Eastwell and Henry Harflete of Ash wills. (I don't at all mind publicising my actual email address or photo on this site, because both are freely and publicly available elsewhere in many places.)

Oh, and I did find the other day the parish baptismal record from St. Nicholas, Ash, of "Henrie sonne of Henrye Harflete, gt." dated the 22nd day of January, 1580/1. This record also (miraculously) lists his actual birth date, the previous day, 21 January, of the same year. I will be happy to include this scan, should you not already have it.

Perhaps one day, with all of this solid documentation, I may consider pulling together a written, thoroughly-documented family history of these Spratts and their antecedents and some of their descendants, as I already have elsewhere for my ancestral White and Lovelace families.

I look forward to hearing from you, and many thanks for your very kind offer.

Sincerely,

T.J. White

Dear "Tompion"

You and I would seem to be distant cousins, then, since my ancestor was the Mary Spratt you mentioned as a daughter of William Spratt, Chirurgeon, of Wingham, and his wife Mary. Daughter Mary (my ancestor) was christened in Wingham on 22 Jan. 1672, and married in St. Mary Magdalene, Canterbury, to a Thomas Ladd, on 18 March 1691. The parish register entry for this marriage says, immediately after Mary's name, "b. Wingham," and, indeed, we immediately afterward find record in the Wingham parish registers of the births of Thomas and Mary's eleven (!!) children, some of whom died in infancy. Their child John Ladd, cordwainer, of Wingham (chr. 1695--bur. 1788) was my ancestor. From him to myself, the line runs down (all born or resident in Wingham) as follows: Mary Ladd (daughter of John), christened in Wingham in 1740; married in Wingham on 29 December 1771 to a William Johnson; their son William Johnson Jr. (1774-1837) was also my ancestor. He married Frances Gibbs also in Wingham, on 28 May, 1803. Their youngest child Sarah Johnson was christened in Wingham on 26 January 1817, married a John Knight in Wingham on 12 October 1832. Sarah (Johnson) Knight showed up in Canterbury in the 1851 census with her husband (a "Labourer"), and as a widow in the 1861 census (her husband having apparently having died in Canterbury circa the date of his burial, 16 June, 1859. One of Sarah and John Knight's children was my ancestor, Harriet Knight Myers Jauncey, who was christened in Canterbury on 19 February 1837. She married my ancestor Sgt. Henry Myers (1818-1877) as her first husband, at the church of St. Mary Northgate, Canterbury, on 20 January 1862. Her youngest child by Sgt. Myers (who saw service with the 40th Regiment of Foot at Kandahar and Karachi in 1842, and at Maharajpore, India, in 1843) was my great-grandfather, Albert Edward Myers (1871 Canterury--1942 Edmonton, London). Albert's daughter Beatrice Myers Rumble (1900-1972) was my maternal grandmother, whom I knew personally. Beatrice emigrated to Alberta Canada, Utah and later California in 1919.

Thanks for your kind offer of help. Since I have the later generations basically proven, what I am most interested in are the connections of the earliest generations--the ones hardest to prove. I would also be interested to see how you descend from Solomon (my ancestral uncle).

Kind regards from your cousin in the States,

T.J. White

Addendum:

Just discovered this, from "A Directory of Medical Personnel Qualified and Practising
in the Diocese of Canterbury, circa 1560-1730," by Ian Mortimer, BA MA PhD FRHistS RMSA (online):

Unless I am greatly mistaken, it would appear that my ancestor Mary Spratt who married Thomas Ladd (at St. Mary Magdalen, Canterbury, as I now know) was a daughter of Dr. William Spratt, Sr., Surgeon of Wingham, by Mary his wife, and a sister to Dr. William Spratt Jr., Physician and Surgeon of Ash.

Does anyone know anything about these people?

Thanks,

T.J. White

Yes! I'm very interested in this family! I am descended from a William Spratt and wife Mary of Wingham who were the parents of Mary Spratt, christened at Wingham on 22 January, 1672. She evidently later married to Thomas Ladd Sr., on 18 March 1691. The source for this marriage (Tyler Index to Parish Records) only lists the venue as "St. Mary Magdalene" without specifying which town or village. ... However, this source also says, immediately following the bride's name, "b. Wingham". Thomas and Mary (Spratt) Ladd were the parents of several children in the Wingham parish register, of whom their eldest son John, christened in 1695 (a "Cordwainer" by trade), was my ancestor. This John Ladd later relocated to East Langdon, Kent, where he died and was buried on 22 June 1788. By his wife Mary, this John Ladd was the father of my ancestor Mary Ladd, who was christened at East Langdon on 21 September, 1740. She later married William Johnson Sr. shortly after the last of the banns were read, on 29 December, 1771, and died and was buried in Wingham on 10 May 1806. My ancestors descend from these Johnsons.

I am particularly interested in corresponding with anyone having knowledge of the earliest generations of this Spratt/Ladd family in Wingham.

Thanks sincerely,

T.J. White