Kent / Sussex Travellers

[ukk9]

My maternal ancestors are all travellers moving between Kent & Sussex. The common Names are Kemp, Jones, Ripley, Stanford or Stamford with Brazil, Stonnel & Wilson thrown in for good measure. The names Jones & Kemp seem to be very much inter-twined.

I know that there was certainly an element of inbreeding (or line breeding as we call it in the dog world) within the family as my grandfather (Samuel Kemp/Ripley/Jones) and my grandmother (Sarah Ann Stamford/Jones) had a common half sister (Annie Ripley/Jones/Boswell).

As you can see, as a genealogy project, it’s a nightmare :-)

If anyone has any information that might enlighten me, I would love to hear from you.

regards

Steve (ukk9)

[Indaloman]

Its not of much use, but the Brazil's are still a well known family in Horsham in West Sussex and I think they were from Traveller stock

[kerryb]

I might have a connection with some Stanfords from the Horsham Area Steve. They are thought to be traveller families.  A long story but to cut it short my Gr great grandmother married a Harmer in Dallington, East Sussex. 

On the IGI she is known as Helena Lorraine Lovekin Stanford Smith, she remains elusive in finding her birth, seems to live with a father John Smith, her mother I think was a Stanford from Horsham going by siblings birth certificates. 

I am wondering if Lovekins were also travellers because the girls in the families all name different fathers (Lovekin) on their marriage certificates, usually different from the fathers named on any birth certs I find.

Very confusing family.

Kerry

[Maggott]

Hi  My travelling families moved around the same area as yours.  Their names were Hedges & Davis & (very possibly) Brewer.  If you come across any of them, could you get in touch?
Thanks  Maggott

[CatOne]

Hi again, 

If you are more specific with your query, you'll probably get more responses, for example, how far back have you got with confirmed relatives? Do you have them on all the censuses, bmds etc. If people know what you've already got, they can see if they can help you with your "brickwalls".

I've seen a couple of Brazil traveller families on the 1851 census in Kent, do have your families this far back already? I personally love the challenge of finding these elusive traveller families on the censuses, under all sorts of strange misenumerations/mistranscriptions 

Regards
Catherine

[Brockers]

Hi Steve,

My great, great grandfather was Robert Wilson, born 1849 Holbrook, Suffolk but he later moved to Kent. He was the captain of a barge and my grandfather always maintained that he was a gypsy. He had 5 children (Robert, Thomas, Elizabeth, Alfred and Edward) all born in Maidstone, sadly he drowned in November 1892.

I don't suppose he has popped up in your research?

Claire

[ukk9]

I'm afraid not, but I shall certainly bear it in mind for any futire reseach

Steve

[rebekahm28]

Very interested in this post, I have Ripley's by the bucketload, also a couple of Wilsons and 1 Brazil. Primarily Im interested in Roberts.  But they were all Sussex and Kent.

[toni*]

my 7 x great aunt married a Kemp and i have info. on them right down to the early 1900's i do not think they were great travelers as they tended to stay round Heathfield in Kemps farm etc.