Tuesday Genealogy Travels

Somerset – Over Stowey, Combe St. Nicholas

 by Mary Mettler

All of the counties we have visited have been in Southeastern England; so, for a change of pace, we headed to Somerset, a lovely county in Southwestern England. Somerset is well-known for its spiritual and mythological places—Wells Cathedral and the Tor and Abbey in Glastonbury—all of which we visited, along with Stone Henge and Avebury in Wiltshire.  But, as always, our emphasis remains on our ancestral towns.

Our first stop was Over Stowey, home to Humphrey Blake (1494-1558), the progenitor of our Blake line and my 12^th great grandfather. Before the Norman Conquest, Over Stowey was part of the hunting estate of a succession of Anglo-Saxon kings. Although the first record of a church was in 1144, St. Peter & St. Paul Church was built at a later date. The oldest surviving part, the tower, was built in the Perpendicular period [the third phase of English Gothic during the 14th-15th centuries.] We were pleased to find William Blake, my 11^th great granduncle, and his wife Ann buried in the Church with a distinctive plaque in the floor. He was a clothier of some substance in this wool-producing area. In fact, many of the Blakes were clothiers and some had fulling mills. A clothier worked wool into cloth, most of which was done in fulling mills. 

St. Peter and St. Paul Church

Plaque of Humphrey Blake

The English managed to close at least one road each day of our trip! We thought we had survived our one daily detour through a pig farm to get to Over Stowey. That side trip was a bit frightening, as we were close to dragging the bottom of the car on the farm road. But no, today was our “lucky” day, as we had two other closures! The second closure was on our way to Combe St. Nicholas and sent us on a detour on a road so narrow that both sides of the car were brushing the bushes! We have no idea what we would have done had we met a car coming the other direction, as there were no places to pull over.

Combe St. Nicholas was home for six generations of the Torrey family, before my 8^th great grandfather James J. Torrey (ca. 1612 – 1665) emigrated to Massachusetts around 1640, along with his brothers, William, Philip, and Joseph. “Combe,” which the town was called until 1239, means valley in Celtic languages. The first church is thought to have been built in 970 AD with only the font surviving. When the Church of St. Nicholas was built in 1239, the town changed its name to Combe St. Nicholas. Yes, this St. Nicholas is our “Santa Claus!” 

Church of St. Nicholas in Combe

We finished off our Combe St. Nicholas visit with a fun lunch at the Green Dragon Pub. The old style pubs are dying out in England, but the Green Dragon remains, as I remember my favorite pubs from the past – good beer, good food, locals with their dogs, and a patron playing the piano while enjoying his beer with friends. We had a great time with these folks! 

Sadly, we return the car to Heathrow tomorrow and make our way home the next day. I will write one more blog next week, which will talk about what we did right and wrong in planning and executing our trip. We might be able to save you from making some of our mistakes.  Also, please contact me about any of the surnames, towns, and churches mentioned in these blogs, as I have much more information.

Green Dragon Pub in Combe St. Nicholas

Copyright © 2015 by California Genealogical Society and Library

DON’T MISS THE ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY (ACPL) TRIP October 4-11, 2015!

By Jane Knowles Lindsey

Curt Witcher and Jane Knowles Lindsey
Photo by Kathryn Doyle

Genealogists of all levels often don't realize the AMAZING collection of material held at ACPL. Yes, it is heavy on the mid-west, but attendees in the past have found invaluable tax lists, privately published genealogies and more. 

In addition to the one-of-a-kind books obtained from their unique publishing program, ACPL has ALL the references in PERSI. For a description of this amazing resource, take a look at the Family Search wiki.  

If the PERSI information doesn’t pique your interest, you might want to look at the ACPL website.  It will take you to many valuable links that can be used in the library, and some even at home. Be sure to look at the pathfinders tab and library catalog.

If you are lucky enough to have Indiana families, there are countless resources available to further your research. 

Jeff has reserved fantastic rooms at the Courtyard by Marriott. He also arranged to have Harold Henderson, CG, provide lectures and guidance. If you haven’t met Harold yet, you are in for a real treat!      

For more information you can also look at CGS blog postings  about past trips all the way back to 2007!    

Having lead this trip several times, I can highly recommend this research adventure.  You will not be disappointed. Register soon on Eventbrite. 

Jane 

Curt Witcher and Nancy Peterson
Photo by Kathryn Doyle 

Copyright © 2015 by California Genealogical Society and Library

Tuesday Genealogy Travels

Kent-Weald and "Dens"

by Mary Mettler

We kept hearing the words “Kent Weald” and wondered what that meant. Turns out that it refers to forested land and is meant to describe part of Kent, as well as Surrey and East Sussex in Southeast England, which was heavily forested in Saxon times. Immediately, I thought of Robin Hood and his “merry band” melting into the woods! I’ll bet his band included some of my ancestors! If you take one more step, all the towns that end in “den” refer to clearings in the “weald.” Our Kent ancestors come from Frittenden, Marden, and Tenterden, three very old towns, along with a few other non-“den” towns such as Headcorn, Selling, and Wye. Tenterden, for example, was the nearest point in the Wealden forest to Thanet and served as their “den” or pig-pasture in the early Saxon period.

We were very excited about our first stop in the lovely town of Headcorn, the ancestral home of our Borden line, which name survives in our family all the way to my 3^rd great grandmother Sybil Borden (1773-1864). For years, we American Bordens felt we had excellent documentation back to my 15^th great grandfather, Henry Borden (b. ca 1370). In fact, the American Bordens placed a plaque in the floor of our ancestral church, St. Peter and St. Paul in Headcorn in memory of my 12^th great grandfather, William Borden (1450-1531), who was a substantial landowner.

     St. Peter and St. Paul - Headcorn   

Plaque - William Borden (1450-1531)

Like so much of the early genealogy, one link has turned out to be very unlikely. William supposedly had a son named Edmund, who is my 11^th great grandfather, but careful work from some fine genealogists broke that link. [see note at the end of the blog] William is likely a relation of some kind, just not in our direct line. Nevertheless, we are happy to carry the Borden name from Edmund through nine proven generations!

We were in Headcorn on a Saturday with the six bells of the church working overtime with June weddings. The town itself is a favorite destination for Londoners on weekends, as it is filled with shops, restaurants, and old half-timber buildings. We wish we had had more time to investigate the town further.

        Headcorn-half timber building

To complete our Borden line, we visited Frittenden and Marden, home to five generations of Fowles, dating back to the 15^th century. Joan Fowle (ca. 1604-1688) married Richard Borden (ca. 1595-1671). They were the Bordens who settled in New England by 1638 and were my 7^th great grandparents.   

The massive traffic jam discussed in a previous blog ended thoughts of visiting the ancestral towns in northern Kent, including Selling, where our Hatch line has been documented as far back as the early 15^th century. Fortunately, Thomas Hatch, my 11^th great grandfather, must have foreseen the traffic jam, as he removed to Tenterden by 1563, when the first of his children born in Tenterden was baptized in St. Mildred’s Church. Although Tenterden historians believe a church might have existed as early as 730, shortly after Mildred’s death, the present church dates from about 1180, again built in the Norman style. The lancet window, but not the stained glass, pictured below is part of the original church. 

Lancet window - St. Mildred's

St. Mildred's Church - Tenterden

With sincere apologies to the many fine genealogists who include sources in their blogs, I am writing this at a very superficial level. I really hope that any of you who have one or more of the surnames in my blogs will please contact me.  I have compiled these ancestries and have excellent sources for you, plus much more information on the ancestral churches and towns. There is just no way I could do justice in my blogs to this wealth of information!

Copyright © 2015 by California Genealogical Society and Library

Japanese Genealogy

Shichi Go San

Are you a Nikkei who is ready to document your family history? Do you want to find those WRA camp files, Enemy Alien files or other records from WWII? Do you wonder if Obāchan was a picture bride? Or if Ojīchan was arrested and sent to a Department of Justice camp? Are you a genealogist who wants to know about different record groups? Or are you helping a Japanese American friend with their genealogy? Come learn how to find your Japanese roots.

Come join California Genealogical Society president, Linda Harms Okazaki, as she presents: 

Finding Your Japanese Roots in the U.S. and in Japan

When?
Saturday, August 29, 2015
12:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.

Where?
California Genealogical Society and Library
2201 Broadway, Suite LL2
Oakland, California 94612

Cost?
$30 for non-members (non-refundable)
Free for CGS members

How?
Register on Eventbrite

Manzanar Cemetery

Lordsburg, New Mexico

Part I of the three-hour seminar will be a brief overview of Japanese culture, history and language as it pertains to family history. Records available through the National Archives, USCIS, Ancestry.com, and FamilySearch.org will be covered. 

Topics will include: 

• the early political climate in the U.S. and laws of the time
• internment camps
• post WWII experiences, repatriation, resettlement, and redress

The second half of the seminar will focus on documenting your ancestors in Japan, from using the information in the American records to finding your koseki, understanding ohaka and kakocho, plus visiting relatives, cemeteries and temples.

This seminar is suitable for all levels of research experience.

Limited to thirty participants; the fee may be applied towards membership on the day of the class.

Traditional Wedding

Please visit our Eventbrite page to register for this seminar. Preregistration is required. Confirmations and a parking permit will be sent to the first thirty registrants.

Participants are invited to come early and meet others who share an interest in Japanese research. Use our computers, browse in our library, or bring a bagged lunch and meet at the library before the session. The library is open from 10:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m.

             Copyright © 2015 by California Genealogical Society and Library

Find Your Family at the Allen County Public Library

by Jeffrey Vaillant

The California Genealogical Society and Jeffrey Vaillant will guide you on the trip of a lifetime at the Allen County Public Library in Fort Wayne Indiana from October 4-11, 2015.