I don't know how I missed your posts. We are distant cousins!
John James' elder brother, George Henry Farrow (1853-1940), was my great-great-grandfather.
Their father was the son of John Farrow (b. 19 Jan 1799, d. 15 Oct 1887) and Kezia (nee Smith) (b. c1800, d. 2 Feb 1867).
John was the son of George Farrow (bap. 18 Feb 1770, bur. 7 May 1846) and Mary (nee Farrer?) (b. c1763, d. 3 May 1846).
Tracing the family any further back becomes very difficult because all the men were called George (sign of the times I imagine).
I took my mother on a little 'ancestral tour' back in March, taking in Whepstead, Brockley, Stonecross and Melon Green (and a lovely pub lunch). We even tramped around the cemetery of St. Petronilla's, where we bumped into the church curate. She explained that most of the farm labourers' cottages were pulled down years ago as they were in such a dreadful state - virtually uninhabitable. That sadly dispelled our hopes of standing in front of the 'ancestral house'. We had to make do with looking across the gently undulating fields and imagining generations of Farrows scything the corn.
Justin
