Show Posts

This section allows you to view all posts made by this member. Note that you can only see posts made in areas you currently have access to.


Messages - Huron

Pages: [1] 2 3
1
Kent Lookup Requests / Re: Francis Family Mersham/Smeeth
« on: Saturday 21 January 23 10:33 GMT (UK)  »
That's great info, looks like we're descended from different children of Richard and Elizabeth. I'm not on Ancestry but my sisters are so hopefully they can find your tree and contact you on there. I felt pretty confident that Leonard and Joanne would be relatives, but just couldn't confirm it. Feeling very happy to finally have a way to break that logjam.

2
Kent Lookup Requests / Re: Francis Family Mersham/Smeeth
« on: Friday 20 January 23 21:38 GMT (UK)  »
This is a pleasant surprise to get a reply after all these years. My sister has been digging on the DNA side of things so I've passed on your message to see if she can see if we're related. I'm curious to know how you traced your family back to Leonard Francis born abt 1599 as the Parish records have a lot of gaps around there, or at least they did last time I looked which was several years ago. Are any of the names I mentioned in your tree as well?

3
Kent Completed Lookup Requests / Re: Trying to prove second marriage - Help Please
« on: Wednesday 27 September 17 20:47 BST (UK)  »
Hi Janet,

A fellow named Wallace Harvey wrote a book about Thomas Clark, a composer, who was friends of James Francis, and wrote "James Francis became a singer of some renown, was apprenticed to William Clark, Cordwainer of St. George's Street, Canterbury about 1803 and became in consequence a great friend of Thomas the musical composer, son of William Clark. James married and lived at Faversham. He raised a large family of whom three sons, Frederick, Walter and Edward were very musical."

James mentions his profession as shoe maker in the 1813 Faversham baptism records, and In 1830 he was made a Freeman of the City of Canterbury, listed as having apprenticed with William Clarke as a Cordwainer (shoemaker) from 1795 for 7 years.

I don't have a birth for Catherine Kennett. There was one born in 1724 in Boughton Aluph, which is only 6 miles from where John Francis and Catherine got married, so could well be the right one, but just a guess for now.

I'm not sure how to attach documents, or whether that's allowed here for copyright reasons?

4
Kent Completed Lookup Requests / Re: Trying to prove second marriage - Help Please
« on: Wednesday 27 September 17 11:44 BST (UK)  »
Hi,

In 1851 Amy was living at 4 John Street, Milton, Gravesend. Listed as the Head, married, 45, wife of a shoemaker, born in Hernehill, Kent. Her unmarried daughters Amy, 17, Agnes, 15 and Esther, 9, all born in Faversham, were with her. Another family shared the same house, William Eves, listed as Head, 59, a gardener born in Bexhill, Kent, his wife Ann, 57, who I think was born in Exeter (the enumerator gets the lines muddled up), and their children Matilda and Charles. The neighbour was a Henry Eves, 26. I couldn't find any other neighbours that would be likely relatives of Amy, and haven't found a connection to the Eves, so no idea what she was doing there.

In 1861 James is in Bermondsey living with his son Walter (who was away for the census but Walter's wife Elizabeth is there with him). I've seen the 1859 marriage certificate for Walter and Elizabeth and James was the witness. His signature is very, very shaky, so I always assumed the 1862 one was his. On FreeBmd the age isn't transcribed so perhaps it was very hard to read?

I found a will for Richard Francis of Mersham, born 1682, who from the property he owned, and where children lived I feel confident is the right person to be James' great grandfather, via his father John Francis married to Sarah Thurston, and his grandfather John Francis married to Catherine Kennet. I can't find my notes from the National Archives where I found the will, though, and hadn't typed them up yet, so need to have a proper look for them to confirm everything. When I do I'll put the rest of the tree back to him together. Assuming he is the right person, almost certainly his father was Leonard Francis married to Elizabeth Draper in Mersham in 1681. That's as far back as I've managed to go with the Francis line so far.


 

5
Kent Completed Lookup Requests / Re: Trying to prove second marriage - Help Please
« on: Monday 25 September 17 22:29 BST (UK)  »
Hi Janet,

Very pleased to see your information about the Francis family.

I have some more information about them which I've found over the years since my last post on here.

An Amy Francis, of the correct age to be James' wife Amy Wills, was buried in All Saints, Rotherhithe, Southwark, Surrey on 22 March 1856. She was living at Cecilia Place, Spa Road.

In 1851 she was in Milton, Gravesend with three of her children. Haven't figured out a connection for why she would have been there. She also lists her husband's profession as a shoemaker, which is what James apprenticed to be, rather than musician which is what he'd been listing his profession as for at least a couple of decades. I do wonder if perhaps there was a bit of a rift over how he was earning a living. I couldn't find her, or the other missing family members, in 1841 either.

Amy's brother William Wills was transported to Australia for his part in the Courtney Revolt, a peasants revolt in the 1830s. If you Google the Battle of Bosenden Wood, you can find an account from the time that mentions him. An extraordinary story.

Elizabeth Ford was married to the manager of the George Inn in Cranbrook (surname Mills) at the time Frederick Lester Francis was living there, so that would be where they met. Don't know why they moved to Dover, but interestingly my Grandfather visited Frederick's daughter Sarah Emily, his Aunt, in Dover during WW1. Her brother Frederick Henhurst, my Great Grandfather, emigrated to Canada. My Grandfather kept a diary during that visit and mentioned she showed him the house his father was born in. Except his father and Sarah were born in Cranbrook. Maybe he just got confused, but it suggests Sarah herself might not have known about her father's life before they moved to Dover when she was a very little girl. Possibly suggests that for some reason Frederick Lester wanted to start a new life away from Cranbrook.

I haven't found anything to suggest Sarah Dunk and Frederick Lester Francis were cousins. Can I ask where you found that?

I've been working on taking the Francis family further back from this if you're interested.

Alex



6
Kent Lookup Requests / Re: Francis Family Mersham/Smeeth
« on: Tuesday 16 October 12 14:32 BST (UK)  »
Hi Betty,

Thanks again for the information. Think it's pretty clear that 1633 isn't correct, or at least would be odd to baptise two children five months apart. Either that or there were two Richard and Ann Francis couples having children in Mersham in 1633 and a third couple of the same name having children in the 1660s there. Of course without access to the original parish records no way of knowing for sure. The Leonard who married Joan Draper named his son Richard, and it would certainly make sense if that was his father's name.

Ideally, would love to find a marriage record for Richard Francis and Ann, and see if there's more than one record in that area or if the 1633 dates should really be in the 1660s. And in particular, would love to find a birth record for Richard. Probably in that surrounding area.

7
Kent Lookup Requests / Re: Francis Family Mersham/Smeeth
« on: Sunday 23 September 12 21:18 BST (UK)  »
Hi Betty,

Thank you very much for that. It's a possibility, that's for sure.

There was a Richard Francis assessed for Hearth Tax in 1664 in Mersham, who had a daughter Mary, and son Thomas there in 1663 and 1665 with his wife Ann Stremie. That would be a long gap between children, though, and would make Leonard 48 when he married Elizabeth Draper. There were Richards buried in Mersham in 1684 and 1711.

I see you have a question mark beside 1633. Could that date be later? I don't suppose you are able to find a marriage record for Richard and An Francis?


8
Oxfordshire Lookup Requests / Re: HAWKINS Marriage Islip or Great Milton
« on: Thursday 30 August 12 13:48 BST (UK)  »
Hi Lesanne,

I've not looked at the boards for ages, so sorry I didn't see your post before now.

Yes, still been digging away at the Hawkins family. Managed to find the will of the uncle of the John Hawkins who married Mary Dewe and from that learned that John's father was also named John. His uncle's name was William Hawkins, of Mortlake, who died in 1677 apparently aged 53. I've found records of a John b.1621, William b.1624, Mary b.1622, Margaret b.1623 and Thomas b.1625 born to William Hawkins at Saint Margaret, Westminster, London, which could be them. The William who died in 1677 was buried at Mortlake, and his memorial stone has the coat of arms based on the one that was granted to Sir John Hawkins, though without the additional crest that would only have been allowed to be used by direct descendents of Sir John, rather than his family. This would suggest his father might have been the William Hawkins, son of Sir John’s brother William, as the coat of arms would match, as well as the dates. But that remains just a theory until I can figure out a way to prove who the William Hawkins who had children in Westminster in the 1620s was. Unfortunately there are several Hawkins families in that area at the time so difficult to pin the right one down.

Would be interested to learn more about the Mary Dewe/Banks line.

9
Kent Lookup Requests / Francis Family Mersham/Smeeth
« on: Wednesday 29 August 12 20:01 BST (UK)  »
Hi,

I hope someone can possibly help.

I've traced my family back to a Leonard Francis who married Elizabeth Draper in Mersham in 1681, via their son Richard born 1682.

Records on Familysearch for Mersham seem pretty patchy and I've had no luck finding out when or where Leonard was born. I suspect he's related to a Leonard Francis of Mersham, born abt 1600, who married Joan Gilbert in 1629 at Holy Cross Canterbury. Leonard and Joan appear to have moved to Brabourne and Smeeth where they had at least three children, Edward, Mary and Elizabeth between 1630-36.

It seems likely there would be a generation in-between, though it's not impossible the two Leonards could be father and son.

It seems most likely the Leonard I'm sure about was born in Smeeth or Mersham, though surrounding areas could be possible.

Any help very gratefully received!

All the best,

Alex Francis

Pages: [1] 2 3