I’d like to introduce…

Edward George "Ted" Turner

Edward George Turner, known affectionately to his family and friends as Ted, was a kind hearted, gregarious, right jolly English gent, loved by all who knew him. He was born on the 27th of June 1911 at Blake Cottage, Horn Street in Winslow, Buckinghamshire, where his father was employed as head groom to Mr Gosling of Blake House.

And His Lovely Wife…

phyllis

Miss Phyllis Mary Collins, daughter of William Collins, publican of the George Inn in Winslow, which is where Ted met her one fateful day in the 1930s

Following the Land, a Working Example Using the Denchfields

By Claire, on November 25th, 2011
land chart example

Recently I wrote about using land records to help sort out a confusing family here, and this week I’ve been applying that approach to try to sort out, once and for all, the kinships between the various Richard and John Denchfields of 17th and 18th century North Marston, Bucks.

Here’s what I did:

  • Created a combined timeline of all the players in an Excel spreadsheet.
  • Extracted all the references to land found in the Denchfield wills.
  • Created a Word chart showing all the Denchfield landowners and dates of any land related activity

    • Here’s a printscreen snapshot of that chart: I love color-coding!

    Laying the land transactions out chronologically made everything much more cohesive and confirmed a lot of what I believed to be true based on parish records and wills.

    The biggest problem I have with the Denchfield kinships has to do with John Denchfield, iremonger, and his wife Parnell, whose union produced  two (…more)

    Share:
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • Google Bookmarks
    • StumbleUpon
    • email
    • Print
    Leave a comment   The Process   , , , , ,  

    Following the Land, When Parish Records Aren't Enough

    By Claire, on November 21st, 2011
    map title

    The Church of England began requiring the recording of baptisms, marriages, and burials in 1538 although most parishes did not begin adhering to the rules until around 1600. Still, for a family like the Denchfields of North Marston, who stayed put for the next couple hundred years or so and were important members of their community, those early parish registers are a treasure trove of genealogical gold.

    The registers for St. Mary’s, the established church in North Marston, date back to the late 1580s, but they are in bad shape. Before the FHL had a chance to film them, the books sustained water damage, molding the paper and smearing the ink. If that weren’t bad enough, for reasons known only to the culprit, enormous chunks were torn from each of the books, leaving one to wonder what on earth someone was trying to hide. What remained was filmed and (…more)

    Share:
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • Google Bookmarks
    • StumbleUpon
    • email
    • Print
    One comment   The Process   , ,