"..... for the growing good of the world is partly dependent on unhistoric acts; and that things are not so ill with you and me as they might have been, is half owing to the number who lived faithfully a hidden life, and rest in unvisited tombs."  George Eliot, Middlemarch

It can't be said that many, if any, of my ancestors lived remarkable lives or  changed the world in any noticeable way.  But if George Eliot is right then  perhaps their tombs should be visited even if only in a metaphorical sense  through discovering when, where and how they lived.  Maybe that is why, with  time on my hands following retirement, I have sought to learn more about my  forebears.

Most recently I have added something on my Uncle Jack (John King) who served on board HMS Zest during the Second World War.  I have some photos of Zest and one of her sister ships, and a description of their rescue of Norwegian civilians towards the end of the war.

WELCOME .....

If you're a family member or just visiting out of curiosity welcome to this  site.

..... AND THANK YOU

I must acknowledge the help I have had from Tim Bailey, Alan Baldwin (for the  photo of the Crown and Anchor amongst other things), Pamela Blake, Marylin  and Sandy Bryce, Wendy Burgess, Elsie Cassin, Bob Doran (for a lot of  information on the Garwoods plus photos of the Barkshires), Robert Fever, Kevin Gilman, Kathy Grant, Jennifer Green, Kate Holloman, Myra Howie, Trevor King, Bill  Lonie, Jim Low (whose website at http://jimlow.homeip.net/ contains a wealth  of useful information), Daphne McLean, Andrew Main (for the pictures of George Main  amongst other things), Jason Manson, Colin Mills, Karen Petts, Malcolm Petts, Russell  Thorne and Melissa Zimmerman.  Melissa has an interesting web site at  www.tribalpages.com/tribes/tiddly which shows just how much can be done in this  field.

Wendy Burgess has recently made me aware of a book written by my Great Grandfather's brother, Alfred Garwood, entitled "Forty Year's of an Engineer's Life at Home and Abroad".  It is not the most inspiring title and unfortunately the book doesn't give much detail about his father (my Great Great Grandfather, Robert Garwood) but does throw light on Alfred's interesting time working in Russia and Egypt.  It also has a photo of Robert Garwood which I have copied onto this site.  The book can be read at http://www.archive.org/stream/fortyyearsofengi00garwiala.

Rwth Kidson has been very helpful to me in tracing some of my sister-in-law  Diana's ancestors.  We think there is a possible link to some of Rwth's  ancestors and I have shown them here.  It may of course turn out to be an  incorrect assumption and I may have to lose the seventy odd-names I have added  going back to Alexander Kidson b1540 but I decided to take a chance and put  them in the tree whilst I had the enthusiasm for the task.

There is a similar situation with potential ancestors of sister-in-law  Shirley where there is a dependence on one link being proved.  I haven't yet  attempted to research this link more closely.  Again I may have to lose 200- 300 names.

I hope you enjoy this site and please don't forget to let me have any  information and photographs you think relevant.

THIS IS WHAT I'M DOING OR HOPE TO DO

My first aim has been to record all ancestors back to my Great Great  Grandparents.  This is now complete.  
  
 I am now trying to close off marriage and death information and actual birth  dates for everyone in the tree going back to all great great grandparents.   That process should help in confirming or otherwise many of the details I have  gleaned from census information.

Another step will be to go back to the same generation for the families of my  two wives.  I have been able to trace aspects of both their family lines back  to the 18th century, in Heather's case they can be found in the Shetlands  whilst the Petts' family location at that time, if correct, came as a real  surprise to me - see below.

A final aspect of all this will be to bring in fully those of the next and  future generations i.e. my children, nieces and nephews and their children.   Of course that will also bring in their spouses and probably lead me to see  their family histories as potential areas of research.  But time may be  against me on that even if the people concerned wanted me to pursue the  research.  I must remember to walk before I run but I have made a start by  researching the families of my sisters-in-law Diana and Shirley.  Some results  of this line of research are already available, especially in Diana's case as I have managed to show her line back to 1280 thanks to the work of Robert Fever to whom I owe thanks.

THE IDEAL OUTCOME

Meanwhile I should still remember that this is more than a mere exercise  in ancestor spotting.  There is undoubtedly a sense of achievement in  identifying a new relative but it shouldn't end once they've been put in the  tree.  It would be good to get some idea of the lives these people lived.  A  difficult task but surely the most rewarding achievement of all if it can be  completed successfully.

As an example, tantalising glimpses can be had from my paternal Grandfather's  history.  He was 11 at the time of the 1891 census and a "scholar".  His  brother Robert was only one year older but already beyond the status of  school boy.  The census shows him as a "farm labourer".

They seemed to be hard pressed as a family with birth records showing that  they moved from one village to another on the Essex/Suffolk border over a  relatively short period before a move to Cheveley in Cambridgeshire.  How did  they make these moves?  What possessions did they carry with them?   What communication process was there to help my Great Grandfather know that  work was available in these places, especially Cheveley which was 50  kilometres (30 miles) away?  Maybe I will be able to find out.

SOME INTERESTING THINGS THROWN UP BY THIS RESEARCH ARE: 

1.  Two of my Great Great Grandfathers were born in different parts of Suffolk  in 1810.  One (Robert Garwood) and his descendants moved through London to  Hampshire, Sussex and Surrey where my mother was born.  The other (George  King) and his descendants stayed around East Anglia before Grandfather King  moved to Hampshire where my father was born and then Kent.  The two family  lines then met in Surrey when my parents married in 1934.

2.  One line of my ancestors (the Eastlands) lived in Cowden, Kent, a small  village that I have to admit I had never heard of.  They moved away in the mid- 1600s.  Strangely other lines of my ancestors (the Burgesses and the Friends)  moved to Cowden in the mid- to late-1700s and the Burgesses multiplied greatly  there.  So I now feel quite a connection with this obscure place.  I sense a  visit should be made.  In the mean time take a look at the photo album for pictures of  Cowden Church.  It's likely that it played a central role in the life of the  Burgesses and Friends.

3.  My first wife, Les, was very proud of her family's East End roots (I'm not  sure why our sons don't support West Ham rather than Everton).  She also  enjoyed ribbing me about my loyalty for Ware, my home town in Hertfordshire,  and its rivalry with the neighbouring county town.  She sometimes playfully  goaded me about how attractive the latter place was.  So it was with a wry  smile that I discovered that the Petts family came to the East End in the  1850s from no other place than Hertford!  I don't know what Les would have  made of that.

4.  A casual remark by Bob Doran that he was coming to England and was going  to see a third cousin, Colonel Barkshire, set my antennae going.  Surely that  was the name of my commanding officer back in the early 1970s.  A check of  Bob's family tree and a comparison with my records from the time confirmed  that indeed my former CO and I share the same Great Great Grandfather.  I have  added the family links to demonstrate this.

If you've read this far, thank you.  Don't forget to let me have anything  that will help add to the information available on this site.

Steve