Our Family History

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First of all, the photos above. They show three generations of MY Smith tree. Terry (me), Harry William (dad) and Harry Valentine (Granddad), then Alice Hannah Louise Edwards, illegitimate daughter of my Grandmother Jane Edwards, Jane Smith (nee Edwards) and my dad, Harry William.

On the left, me and sister Ann and another chap who I believe we met in Bentall's, Kingston, Surrey and , on the right, Edna in her VERY early days.

Many years ago my wife Edna (nee Killick) decided to research her family tree. In those days this meant visits to Somerset House in London and various other places throughout the Country (no internet then!). She did pay for some professional research (not a lot, we weren't rich) but the big breakthrough came when she was looking up some Killicks at Somerset House, someone noticed and said "You do realise that name is being researched by someone in the Guild of One Name Studies?". What's that all about? Edna then found the Killick Society and never looked back. When the days of the home computer arrived it was my turn to take over. Having said that, we sorted out our midweek breaks to several of our ancestors' home locations. These included Cheshire (me), Wiltshire (both), Somerset (me), Cambridgeshire (both), Oxfordshire (me), Essex (both), Gloucestershire (me), Kent (me), Northamptonshire (me), Warwickshire (me). Lots of me there but, of course, many of Edna's ancestors came from Surrey (near where we live and I spent MANY hours at the Surrey History Centre) and Berkshire (where we live now and I've spent a lot of time at the Berkshire Records Office). Also included are the tree of my brother in law (who has a direct link back to a King of England, I have a direct link back to a shepherd!) and Edna's nephew.

The Smith line: Sadly, I'm not really a Smith (because my Grandfather was illegitimate) but I'm happy to be so named. The earliest Smith ancestor I've traced is Maximillian (born about 1736, died 1805 in South Weston, Oxfordshire). His Great Grandson Joseph moved to Ealing, Middlesex between 1861 and 1867. Joseph had a daughter (Eleanor) who had an illegitimate son, my Granddad, Harry Valentine Smith.

The Killick line: Sadly, Edna is not really a Killick because her father was illegitimate! Still, she's happy to be called a Killick. The earliest Killick that can be connected to Edna (but this is not proved) is John Killick, born about 1490.

The Lean line: My brother in law. His direct Lean line goes back to John Lean, born about 1633 in Gwennap, Cornwall. This line remained in Gwennap until the burial of Samuel Lean in 1872, They must have been well known in the village! More interesting, though, is the fact that Samuel's wife, Mary Elizabeth Nickell, was a direct descendant of Edward I, King of England. There is also a distant link, through the marriage of a cousin on his grandmother's side, to Edward III, King of England.

The Bartholomew Line: Edna's nephew. I take an interest in this line because many of them lived in my local area. The earliest direct Bartholomew we have is John, born about 1772 (who knows where?) and died 1840 in Winkfield, Berkshire.

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