Hello again.
I'm still chasing the Matson family and trying to link them together.
I've come to a buffer with Robert who was born about 1741 and whose will I have located -
Will record at Archdeaconry Court 1820 163 Book 106 Robert Matson Swingfield.
Will written 19th March 1783 and proved 17th October 1820. Estate left to widow Elizabeth. KCC Reference PRC 17/106 163.
The problem I have is that different sources seem to point in different directions. Although he married in 1781 in Swingfield where he also died, he seems to have three possible places of birth. None of which have I been able to confirm.
1) Swingfield - based on Marriage and death.
2) Shepherdswell - where he could be a son of Robert Matson (1712-1746 at Swingfield) and Matilda Western who married in 1733 at Lydden.
3) Wingham - which one record states in a reference to his grandson and to the farm which Robert's, son, also a Robert (1785-1765) had-
" Matson, Henry (1814-85) was a son of Robert Matson of Delce Farm, Wingham, Kent " - MACDONALD DICTIONARY OF CANTERBURY BIOGRAPHIES, CANTERBURY MUSEUM CHRISTCHURCH N.Z.
Could the Delce Farm referred to in this New Zealand record be the same as the one in Rochester "Upper Delce Maidstone Road Rochester Kent" which was run by the son Robert and not Wingham at all but simply and error made years afterwards in a place far away?
My own 'gut' feel is with 2) above and that Robert was the son of Robert Matson (b.1712 at Shepherdswell - d.1746 at Swingfield) and Matilda Western.
However I can't find any record of birth to confirm it. There is a record of a daughter for Robert and Matilda (Matilda b.1746 in Swingfield), and the naming of son after father ties in down the line an also the dates fit.
All thoughts and any help with finding a record of birth for Robert would be really appreciated.
