There are various John Watts in the Hampshire area born in the second half of the 1700s and the first half of 1800s.
This is an attempt to sort out the various families associated with John Watts so as to establish the father and grandfather of Louisa Watts.
This appears to be the start of our story.
Before I begin I refer you to the Preface of "The Battle Abbey Roll" and the Introduction, an extract of which is below.
The famous Roll of Battle Abbey is believed to have been compiled in obedience to a clause in the Conqueror's foundation charter, that enjoined the monks to pray for the souls of those "who by their labour and valour had helped to win the kingdom." The great Sussex Abbey that was "the token and pledge of the Royal Crown," had been intended to be not only a memorial of his victory, but a chantry for the slain; and the names of his companions-in-arms, enshrined on this bede-roll, might thus be read out in the church on special occasions, and notably on the anniversary feast of St. Celict. It was most likely originally copied from the muster-roll of the Norman knights, that had been prepared by the Duke's orders before his embarkation, and was called over in his presence on the field of battle, the morning after it had been fought. The list, thus composed, was inscribed on a roll of parchment, and hung up in the Abbey Minster, with this superscription:
This is a primarily collection of articles about various branches or people within the Fifield Family. It is still under construction as more information is discovered.
There are various possible spellings of his family's surname, including Fyfielde, Fyfield, Fifeilde, Fiffielde, Fiffield, FFiffield, FFifeld, Fifield and presumably many others. I have adopted Fifield as the collective name for all the variations.
Fifield Name Meaning
English: habitational name from any of various places called Fifield or Fyfield, of which there are instances in Berkshire, Essex, Oxfordshire, and Wiltshire, all so named from Old English fif ‘five’ + hid ‘hide’. (A hide was a measurement of land area.)
BIRTH Abt. 1807 or 1810 • Southampton, Hampshire, England
DEATH 12 December 1879 • Southampton, Hampshire, England
He is my 3rd Great Grandfather, according to my Ancestry Tree. He is also a common ancestor with two DNA matches.
John James was baptised on 21 Oct 1810 at All Saints Church, Southampton, with his parents recorded as William Brookman and Sarah Brookman.
The Census is a good place to start building up an image of a family. Over the decades you can see it expand and then contract as the children leave home. The groups of people and the additional information about them, such as occupation and place of birth can help identify families with greater confidence than by names and ages alone. This additional information can help with changes of spelling and of location, resolving reluctance. Sometimes place of birth appears to change, but it is often in the same area, just a different granularity. It is also helpful to remember that until the 1911 Census, it is all in the hand of the enumerator. What he heard, and what he wrote down, and some were more conciencipus than others. Particularly, with addresses. Some just the area, others each household with a specific address, sometime still identifiable today. Then there is the legibility of the writing and the transcribers skill. It is still a good place to start.
Lets start our story with John Tilley born in the 1600's in the New Forest.
This is the earliest Tilley I have found in this branch of my Family Tree.
From here we can explore how his descendants have moved from a small village in Hampshire, England, around the world.
This is not just a story about one Biddlecombe family, but wider family and assumed family in the wider area, including adjacent parishes and counties. It is also not just the family tree list of names and dates, but the places are important as well. The overarching objective is to establish links between the families and follow how the families migrated and spread over time.
This will not be an easy task, and I accept right from the start that there may be no conclusion to it.
In fact, it is not just adjacent counties, the branches on Ancestry have led to Canada, New Zealand, Fiji, and Australia. I expect to go to USA as well.
Due to the number of centuries between the events being sought and today there are bound to be assumptions and errors.
However, I will try to find records which together will give a semblance of sense from all the pertinent information.
Happy to hear about any errors or corrections, together with contributions and additions.
My 2nd great-grandmother was Fanny Biddlecombe 1834–1912
BIRTH 1834 • Marchwood, Eling, Hampshire, England
DEATH NOV 1912 • Marchwood, Hampshire, England
Starting as early a date as I can find and working my way towards her. Too much confusion when going the traditional direction, too may families with the same names.
This is the equivalent to major heart surgery.
There have been a lot of behind the scene changes, some of which have impacted what you can see and how you see it.
I have been chasing down those changes since the upgrade.
Please feel free to contact me if you find one of the remaining glitches.
