Not quite a question, but a breakthrough in research that might help others.

Some time ago I found one of my ancestors was Isaac Biggin 1721-80, scythesmith & for a while churchwarden of Norton -I was then Rector there. I also have his male line for 6 more generations, including his grandfather, who first developed what we now call the Abbeydale Industrial Hamlet. I've recently looked at his female ancestors, starting with his mother Sarah Hartley 1689-1775. Her mother was Mary Chantrey (or 'Chauntrie') 1666-1727, and her father was Francis Chantrey -not of course the sculptor, but his uncle was a direct ancestor of Sir Francis Chantrey. This is of course even more exciting for me, as former Rector.

However, this is nothing yet. Mary's mother was Ann Stephenson c1638-1714, from a RC yeoman family who lived at Unstone, and her mother was called Agatha Eyre; she was born to Adam Eyre and Elizabeth (Barley) of Bradway Hall in 1607. The Eyres and the Barleys/Barlows were two of the leading Catholic families in N. Derbyshire, during a time of serious persecution, so this really engaged my interest.

From then on there has been revelation after revelation. The Robert and Joan Eyre who are buried in Hathersage church (which they rebuilt) are not just ancestors, but ancestors x3. Adam's gt-grandmother was an Everingham, from the family that lived at Stainborough castle; his mother, Gertrude Stafford 1544-1624 was from an important Eyam family, but if we trace her female line -through another branch of the Eyres- we eventually reach Joan of Acre 1272-1307, the daughter of Edward I and Eleanor of Castile -and her father was both a king and a saint (Ferdinand)!

Really I'm speechless. But if there are any others who have the local names I've mentioned in their family trees, they may also find their forebears were a little more illustrious than they thought!

:blush: Geoffrey.

Evening Geoffrey,

Wow & double wow.

You must be over the moon. A fantastic amount of research......

I have found the following are they in your tree??

Sarah Biggin baptised 18th Oct 1776 Norton who married into my Dungworth line.(Joshua)
Ann Eyre baptised 24th June 1792 Dronfield Parish Church
Married George Woodhouse Sheffield Parish Church 9th Dec 1810.

I need to do more research on these cousins.

Elaine in Ottawa.

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I just read an archived Guardian article which said about 5 million people must be descended from William the Conqueror, and I think that would be about right. Once you get into the mediaeval period, before proper parish records were kept, you come to a brick wall for most of the population, and most of our ancestors then were peasants; but you only have to have a few who were gentry, and the wills & manorial court records are sometimes enough to prove a line. Also, since others have generally worked with this material before, a lot of the work has been done, though you can see some have confused things with their own guesswork.

I'm sure, Elaine, that we've found we were cousins before, but sure enough, your Sarah was the dr of Joseph, who was son of Aaron, born in 1700 to Samuel (the elder, who developed the 'Industrial Hamlet' site) and Elizabeth. Aaron's will is on Findmypast, by the way. Aaron's brother, Samuel the younger, was the one who married the well-connected Sarah Hartley. I'm afraid I don't have anything on the later Eyres in Dronfield, but they all go back to the same Anglo-Norman family, who were lucky enough to have hereditary posts in the royal forest of the Peak, and quite early on got into profiting from the lead-mining. Vincent Eyre, who was the Duke of Norfolk's agent at the end of the 18th cent -hence Eyre St- was from another branch of the same family, and one that had stayed RC throughout.

I read this morning in the Guarian online: 'For the next week, people will be able to tap into the Oxford Dictionary of Family Names in Britain and Ireland for free and find out where their surnames – and thus perhaps their ancestors – came from.' I've tried to get in, but I think the site has collapsed already!

Best wishes,
Geoffrey:slightly_smiling_face:

Hi Geoffrey,

Thanks for the update.

I am going to print it off and see where I can fit your information in. Its very interesting.

I have not been able to get that far back in many of my lines but will certainly have another crack at it. With over 17,000 folks already in my tree you would think it would be a breeze. Most of the still to research lines are females who married into my main lines.

Thanks again and stay healthy.

Elaine.

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