I thought Ari’s 5x great-grandfather, Henry Tarrant, was born in about 1793 in Hurstbourne Tarrant, Hampshire. Hurstbourne Tarrant But that wasn’t quite right, as the story shows. As I start this blog post I don’t yet know who his parents were. There is a family story that perhaps his name wasn’t originally Tarrant, so there is a bit of a mystery that I’d like to solve. The first record we have for him is his marriage, to Elizabeth Liddiard, on 5 Oct 1823. Wiltshire, England,

John Goodfellow was Ari’s 8x great-grandfather. He lived in Fovant, Wiltshire, and must have been born in about 1673 (working back from the births of his children from 1695, so probable marriage in 1694). I have found a baptism at the church of St George in Fovant, on 24 July 1674, with father Richard. Otherwise all we know about John is from the baptisms of his children: William, Mary, Anne, Lucy and Jane (all from the collection of Wiltshire, England, Church of England Bapt

Ari’s 5x great-grandmother Sarah Foyle was born in 1786 in Teffont Evias, Wiltshire, and baptised in Tisbury on 26 February. She was the first child of Jonas Foyle and Eve Snook. On 13 April 1809, she married Joseph Beckett in Teffont Evias. Joseph died in 1839, and the 1841 census shows Sarah as the head of the household, with daughter Elizabeth, son William, and a baby Eliza (not sure who she belonged to!). 1841 census, Ancestry.co.uk In 1851 she was living in the hamlet of

One of Ari’s 3x great-grandfathers was Walter Penny, the son of gamekeeper Henry Penny. Walter was born on 19 September 1860 at Fonthill Bishop, in Wiltshire. Grazing ponies near Fonthill Bishop He was christened on 21 October 1860. Wiltshire, England, Church of England Births and Baptisms, 1813-1916 In 1871, the family were living at Woodbine Cottage, and Walter was attending school. By the next census in 1881, he was working as an agricultural labourer. On 23 February 1884

One of Ari’s 5x great-grandfathers was William Payne Curtis, son of Thomas Curtis and Rachael Pain. He was born in Warminster, Wiltshire, in about 1802, and baptised on  September 19th at the church of St Denys. On 14 March 1822 he married Elizabeth (Betsy) West, of the nearby village of Norton Bavant. The marriage was announced in the Bath Chronicle and Weekly Gazette: (This is the only record I have found where he has the middle name Payne.) In the 1841 census they are livi

Joseph Beckett (son of John), was Ari’s 5x great-grandfather. He was born in 1773 in Chilmark, Wiltshire. His mother was Ann Sopp. Here is the record of his baptism on 23 May 1773: Wiltshire, England, Church of England Baptisms, Marriages and Burials, 1538-1812 Joseph married Sarah Foyle on 13 April 1809 in the nearby village of Teffont Evias. Wiltshire, England, Church of England Marriages and Banns, 1754-1916 The Ley family, who were lords of the manor in Teffont Evias from

One of Ari’s 6x great-grandfathers was James Penny. He was born in 1772 in Chilmark, Wiltshire, and baptised on 26 July of that year. Wiltshire, England, Church of England Baptisms, Marriages and Burials, 1538-1812 (It looks like Parry, but there is another entry further down the page that convinced me that it says Penny.) James’s parents were Robert and Ann. The second record we have for James is his marriage, which took place on 19 March 1795 at the church in Fonthill Bisho

One of Ari’s 6x great-grandmothers was Rachael Pain. She was born in about 1758 in Warminster, Wiltshire, daughter of Thomas and Mary Pain. She was baptised on 3 May 1758. Wiltshire, England, Church of England Baptisms, Marriages and Burials, 1538–1812 On 11 Feb 1776, Rachael married Thomas Curtis. Wiltshire, England, Church of England Marriages and Banns, 1754–1916 It looks as though they had nineteen children(!) between 1776 and 1817, and by the time of the eighteenth, (dau

Mary Anne was one of Ari’s 5x great-grandmothers, the mother of Henry Penny. She was born in 1804 in Chicklade, Wiltshire, the daughter of Benjamin Ballard and Elizabeth, and baptised on 12 August. The Wiltshire, England, Church of England Baptisms, Marriages and Burials, 1538–1812 registers tell a very sad story for 1805, when Mary Anne was still a baby: On 25 Jan 1826, Mary Anne married an agricultural labourer called John Penny at the church in Fonthill Bishop. Mary Anne a

Ari’s 5x great-grandfather Andrew Mullens or Mullins was born in 1797 in West Hatch, Tisbury, Wiltshire. It is thought that there was an eighth-century abbey in Tisbury, which is west of Salisbury. “Settlement in the west part of the parish in the Middle Ages was at West Hatch and East Hatch, and in several hamlets or farmsteads. West Hatch manor possibly included c. 15 small farmsteads in the early 12th century” (see http://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/wilts/vol13/pp195-248

Ari’s 7x great-grandmother Jane Goodfellow was probably born in Fovant, Wiltshire in 1704. Fovant is on the main Salisbury–Shaftesbury A30 road, and was once known for its watercress beds. The Fovant badges, cut out of the chalk escarpment by troops in 1916. (For more information about the Fovant badges, see this story.) Again, we know very little about this ancestor of Ari’s. I think she was baptised in Fovant on 2 June 1704, and if that is the right person, then her father’

One of Ari’s 6x great-grandfathers was John Beckett. John was born in about 1729 in Chilmark, Wiltshire. Chilmark is known for its stone quarries, and stone from here was used to build Salisbury Cathedral. From John’s marriage licence on Findmypast (in the collection of Sarum Marriage Licence Bonds), I discovered that his father was also John. (His first name is given as John Junr.) John’s occupation was given as ‘butcher’. He married Ann Sopp of Durnford, which is just north

Susan Davis was Ari’s 4x great-grandmother. She was born in about 1832 in the now-deserted village of Imber on Salisbury Plain, Wiltshire. The story of the village is told on this website, which includes photos of the people who lived there. This is Susan’s baptism record from 26 Feb 1837: (Source: Wiltshire, England, Church of England Births and Baptisms, 1813–1916 [database on-line].) Her sister Charlotte, also “B.B” (base-born, or illegitimate), was baptised on the same da

Another of Ari’s ancestors (his 4x great-grandfather) was Henry Penny, who lived all his life in Fonthill Bishop, Wiltshire. British History Online tells us this about the Manor of Fonthill: “Athelwulf’s morning-gift to his wife Athelthryth was a 5-hide estate at Fonthill which in the late 9th century she sold to Oswulf. Helmstan later acquired it but, when accused of the theft of a belt, his right was disputed by Athelhelm. Helmstan proved his right but for help in doing so