Ivan Hurst's Genealogy
The Tilley family migration
The Tilley's of the New Forest
Ten generations ago, John Tilley was born in or nearby the small hamlet of Sopley, Hampshire, England, and the year was 1665.
This was not the John Tilley who was baptised on 19 December 1571 at Henlow, Bedfordshire, England, the son of Robert and Elizabeth Tilley. Who latter married Joan Rogers nee Hurst, on 20 September 1596 at Henlow, Bedfordshire, England, the Daughter of William and Rose Hurst and Widow of Thomas Rogers. This John Tilley sailed on the Mayflower and died sometime during the first winter at Plymouth, likely between January and March 1621. Nor was it any of his offspring.
Tilley was a relatively common name with a wide dispersion across England as shown on this Ancestry page.
Sopley is an ancient settlement going back to before the Doomsday book and is described in this article. It is on the edge of the New Forest. The nearby area is sometimes in Hampshire and sometimes in Dorset depending on various boundary changes. Most of the employment in the area would have been engaged in either rural activities or supporting the large number of family estates in the area. Sopley Park and Winkton House being a couple of the closest.
A couple of centuries later and Sopley is still a rural community as seen on this 1872 Ordnance Survey Map. More information on Sopley can be found on Vision of Britain and British History Online. Sopley was in the Christchurch Hundred from this 1832 Boundary Map. Another useful Boundary Map updated up to 11/12/1899 is found here, zoom in to find Christchurch, and then Sopley. From the Vision of Britain Through Time analysis 70% of Sopley families are engaged in Agriculture from the 1831 Census data.
Sopley and the Domesday Book
Sopley, Hampshire
Introduction
It is the subject of my One Place Study of Sopley.
Follow this link to jump drectly to my The Next Generation (TNG) database.
Ten generations ago, John Tilley was born in or nearby the small hamlet of Sopley, Hampshire, England, and the year was 1665. John, and his place in our Family Tree, was the catalyst for the article 'The Tilley Family Migration' and subsequently this article and One Place Study of Sopley held in TNG.
Sopley is an ancient settlement going back to before the Doomsday book and is described in this article. It is on the edge of the New Forest. The nearby area is sometimes in Hampshire and sometimes in Dorset depending on various boundary changes. Most of the employment in the area would have been engaged in either rural activities or supporting the large number of family estates in the area. Sopley Park and Winkton House being a couple of the closest.
Before 1066 and all that
Battle of Hastings
The Battle of Hastings was fought on 14 October 1066 between the Norman-French army of William, the Duke of Normandy, and an English army under the Anglo-Saxon King Harold Godwinson, beginning the Norman conquest of England. It took place approximately 7 miles (11 kilometres) northwest of Hastings, close to the present-day town of Battle, East Sussex, and was a decisive Norman victory.
However, it was not just a stroppy Frenchman trying his luck on the shores of England. Not surprisingly it goes back much further and is just a little bit complicated.
Lets go back to a Viking called Rollo and latterly Gaange Rolf. He was a pagen who lived between 860 and 930, or thereabouts. His Scandinavian name Rolf was extended to Gaange Rolf because he became too heavy as an adult for a horse to carry, therefore he had to walk.
Welcome
Welcome to the genealogy part of my website.
It is currently under development and will be subject to ongoing change.
It is intended to include information about my Family Tree, stories about people and places, including histories, together with information about One Name and One Place studies.
Just to get you started is a name tool for you to investigate.