Frances Ann Witchingham (1773-1847). My 5th great-grandmother. Witchingham is a reasonably common surname in Norfolk and probably derives from the village of Witchingham, north-west of Norwich. Over time the name has been spelled in a variety of ways including Wychingham, Wichinham, Withingham and even Wichengim. I do have concerns about the Witchingham tree below. Some […]
Surrey
Ann Burley and my other Burley ancestors
Ann Burley (1775-1850).My 4th great-grandmother. She married into the Finch family. Ann Burley was the daughter of John Burley of Limpsfield and Sarah Goodman of Kingston, both in Surrey (see below). She was born on the 27 April 1775 and baptised on 3 June that year at St Peter’s Church in Limpsfield, where her carpenter […]
Sarah Rice and my other Rice ancestors
Sarah Rice (1791-1871). My 4th great-grandmother. Sarah was the first of the Rice family to join my family tree. She was baptised on 3 July 1791 at St Mary’s Church in Balcombe, Sussex, to parents George Rice and Mary Harman. She married William Budgen at St Nicholas’s Church in Worth, Sussex, on 2 November 1808. […]
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 […]
Henry Stoliday (1841-????)
Henry Stoliday/Stolliday (1841-????).My 3rd great uncle. Henry was born in 1841 and baptised on 5 December that year at All Saints Church in Salhouse, Norfolk, to parents William Stoliday and Sarah Rose. He grew up in the village with his family but as a boy got into trouble with the law. A report on the Norwich […]
Jane Bashford and my other Bashford ancestors
Jane Bashford (1806-1885).My 3rd great-grandmother. The first Bashford to marry into my Finch family was Jane Bashford, who was born on 13 May 1806 in the village of Chipstead, Surrey. She was baptised at St Margaret’s Church on 15 June that year. Her parents were James Bashford and James Harman (see below). She married Henry […]
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 […]
William Butchin’s newsworthy descendants
William Butchin was born in 1603 and baptised on 20 November that year at St Peter & St Paul’s Church in Nutfield, Surrey. I know little about by first cousin 11 times removed – the oldest son of another William Butching – but his wife and descendants were an interesting bunch… William’s father inherited the […]
Emmeline Louisa Wetherall (1872-1932) – widowed by a mill accident
Emmeline Louisa Wetherall (1872-1932) and Albert Robert Woods (1872-1917). My great-grand aunt and uncle. Emmeline was born on 2 June 1872 in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, and baptised in the town on 14 July at St Nicholas’ Church. Her parents were Benjamin Thomas Wetherall and Sarah Ann Elizabeth Green. Emmeline (pictured top with her children Leslie […]
Helen Daisy Wetherall (1885-?) – married in South Africa
Helen Daisy Wetherall (1885-?) and Frederick Davis.My great-grand aunt and uncle. Helen, or Daisy as she was usually known, was born on 8 April 1885 in Great Yarmouth and baptised in the town’s St Nicholas parish church on 23 June. Her parents were shipwright Benjamin Wetherall and Sarah Green. She grew up surrounded by her siblings […]
William Budgen (1873-1916)
William Budgen (1873-1916). My great-grand uncle. Born on 24 January 1873 in Merstham, Surrey, William Budgen was baptised in the village church of St Katharine on 9 March that year to parents Thomas Budgen and Maria Dolamore. He was listed as a clerk in the 1891 census, living with his family in Bell Street, Reigate, […]
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 […]
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 […]
Harry Budgen (1879-1944) – award-winning public servant
Harry Budgen (1879-1944).My 2nd great-uncle. Harry was born on 1 April 1879 in Reigate, to Thomas Budgen and Maria Dolamore. He was baptised on 25 May that year at St Mary’s parish church. Harry never married and for many years lived with members of his family. In 1901 he was working as a water works […]
Emma Budgen (1861-1925) – Mayoress of Reigate
Emma Budgen (1861-1925) and George Alfred Reynolds Ince (1863-1951).My great-grand aunt and uncle. Emma Budgen was the oldest of Thomas Budgen and Maria Dolamore‘s children. She was born in 1861 in Worth, Sussex, and baptised in the village on 1 September that year, but went from humble beginnings to become the Mayoress of Reigate. As […]
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 […]
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 […]