Thomas Finch (1686-1755). My 7th great-grand uncle. Thomas got off to a rough start in life but married into a prosperous Sussex family, at least for a while… He was born in the village of Slinfold to carpenter John Finch and his wife Sarah Richardson. But he was clearly very ill as a baby because […]
Finch
Maria Finch (1829–1868)
Maria Finch (1829–1868) and Edward Duffell (1826-1895).My 2nd great-grand aunt and uncle. Maria Finch (or Mary as she was sometimes recorded) was baptised on 18 January 1829 at St Mary Magdelene Church in Reigate, Surrey, the daughter of Henry Finch and Jane Bashford. She grew up in the town with her parents and siblings and was […]
Mary Bilcliffe and my other Bilcliffe ancestors
Mary Bilcliffe (1735-1783).My 5th great-grandmother. The Bilcliffe surname is a rare one in the UK and appears in several forms in the records (like many other surnames of the time), for example as Billcliff, Billcliffe, Bentley and even Bentlet. The first to marry into my Surrey-based Finch family was Mary Bilcliffe – but who was […]
Thomas Finch (1795–1852) and the Reigate workhouse
Thomas Finch (1795-1852) and Sarah Chisley (1803-1848). My 3rd great grand-uncle and aunt. Baptised at St Mary’s Church in Reigate, Surrey, on 4 April 1795, Thomas was the oldest son of Thomas Finch and his wife Ann Burley. Young Thomas married Sarah Chisley by license in Reigate on 27 July 1820. She was from the […]
George Finch (1845-1879) and his cycle-maker son Bertram
George Finch (1845-1879) and Eliza Deadman (1838-1910). My 2nd great-grand uncle and aunt. George was probably a twin as he was baptised on the same day as his brother Peter, on 15 June 1845, at St Mary’s Church in Reigate, Surrey. His parents were Henry Finch and his wife Jane. At the 1861 census he […]
Phoebe Ann Ward (1836-1921)
Phoebe Ann Ward (1836-1921). My 2nd great-grandmother. Phoebe Ann Ward was born in Tottenham, Middlesex, on 28 November 1836 and was baptised there on 26 February 1837 at All Hallows Church. Her parents were gardener William Ward and Mary Ann Downer. As a teenager, Phoebe worked as a domestic servant. The 1851 census shows her living at […]
Sarah Finch (1714-1766)
Sarah Finch (1714-1766) and John Moore (????-1788). My 6th great-grand aunt and uncle. Sarah Finch was born in 1714 and baptised on 20 August that year at St Peter’s Church, Slinfold, Sussex, the daughter of carpenter William Finch and Elizabeth Puttock. It’s likely – by process of elimination – that it was our Sarah who […]
Agnes Louisa Finch (1869-1952) – shopkeeper in Scotland
Agnes Louisa Finch (1869-1952) and Robert Hardie (1866-1920).My great-grand aunt and uncle. Agnes spent much of her life in Scotland but was born in 1869 and baptised on 21 November of that year in St Matthew’s Church, Redhill, Surrey, the daughter of Isaac Finch and Phoebe Ann Ward. The family lived in Chart Road and […]
Joseph Finch (1800-1821) – transported to Australia
Joseph Finch. My 4th great-grand uncle. Joseph was born in England but died young in Australia, one of several convicts from my family tree who ended up being transported as punishment. He was likely born towards the end of 1800 and baptised on 3 January 1801 at St Mary’s Church in Reigate, Surrey. He was […]
Isabella Finch (1848-1934)
Isabella Finch (1848-1934).My 3rd great aunt. Born in 1848, Isabella Finch was christened on 27 August at St Mary Magdalene in Reigate, Surrey, the daughter of Henry Finch and Jane Bashford. She grew up in the town while her father worked as an agricultural labourer. On 4 September 1870 she married Jesse Freeman, a gardener and […]
Peter Finch (1845-1891) and his well-travelled son Henry
Peter Finch (1845-1891) and Eliza Esther Turner (1841-1895). My 2nd great-grand uncle and aunt. Born in 1845 to parents Henry Finch and Jane Bashford, Peter could well have been the twin of his brother George as they were both baptised on 15 June that year at St Mary’s Church in Reigate, Surrey. And he ended […]
Alfred Finch (1842-1911) – baker and builder
Alfred Finch (1842-1911) and Ellen Young (1841-1909)My 2nd great-grand uncle and aunt. Born in 1842, Alfred Finch was baptised on 1 May that year at St Mary Magdalene Church in Reigate, Surrey. He was one of Henry Finch and Jane Bashford’s many children and was brought up in the town. By the time of the 1861 […]
Henry Finch (1834-1919) – gardener and property owner
Henry Finch (1834-1919), Lydia Lambourn (1822-1891) and Eleanor Streeter (1845-1927). My 2nd great-grand uncle and aunts. Henry Finch was baptised in St Mary’s Church in Reigate, Surrey, on 9 March 1834, the son of Henry Finch and Jane Bashford. His father was an agricultural labourer and he grew up with the family in and around […]
James Finch (1831-1900) and his adventurous son Jacob
James Finch (1831-1900) and Mary Wicks (1831-1881). My 2nd great grand-uncle and aunt. James Finch was baptised on 13 November 1831 at St Mary’s Church in Reigate, Surrey, one of the sons of Henry Finch and Jane Bashford. After growing up in the town with his siblings, he following his father in working as an […]
Henry Finch (1801-1885)
Henry Finch (1801-1885).My 3rd great-grandfather. Henry Finch was born on 6 February 1801, the son of Thomas Finch and Ann Burley. And he was one of the first of my ancestors I ‘discovered’, while roaming the graveyard at St Mary’s Church in Reigate one sunny but wintry Sunday morning. Henry may have been buried in Reigate […]
William Henry Finch (1874-1949)
William Henry Finch (1874-1949).My 2nd great-uncle. William Henry Finch was the son of Isaac Finch and Phoebe Ann Ward, born in 1874 in Reigate, Surrey. He was baptised on 12 July that year at St Mary’s parish church. He grew up in the town with his siblings and by the 1891 census was working as […]
Mary Ann Finch (1867-1954) and her ill-fated soldier son
Mary Ann Finch (1867-1954).My 2nd great aunt. Born to Isaac Finch and Phoebe Ann Ward in 1867 in Reigate, Mary Ann Finch was baptised at St Matthew’s Church in Redhill, Surrey, on 19 January 1868. She grew up in the area with her family and in 1881 was living at home but working as a domestic […]
Jacob Finch (1866-1935) – death in a sandpit
Jacob Finch (1866-1935), Mary Ann Dodd (1870-1901) and Annie Elizabeth Lacey (1872-1955). My great-grand uncle and aunts. Jacob Finch was born in 1866 in Reigate, Surrey, the son of Isaac Finch and Phoebe Ann Ward, and was baptised on 19 August that year at St Matthew’s Church in Redhill. The 1881 census reported him working […]
Jacob Finch (1837-?)
Jacob Finch – my 3rd great-uncle. Henry and Jane Finch‘s son Jacob was born on 29 June 1837, according to his Royal Navy records, and was a triplet with Abraham and Isaac. They were baptised on the same day – 20 August – at St Mary Magdelene Church in Reigate, Surrey, and the record says that […]
Abraham Finch (1837-?)
Abraham Finch – my 3rd great-uncle. Born in 1837, Abraham Finch was a triplet along with Isaac and Jacob, born to parents Henry Finch and Jane Bashford. His Royal Navy record puts his date of birth as 29 June and a note alongside his baptism in the parish register, dated 20 August at St Mary Magdelene Church […]