Welcome to the September 2002 edition of our family newsletter.

The newsletter last month showed how research had been conducted to find the connection, if any, between an individual who had Brangwin in his name and our family. While the verdict is still out on that one, this month we look at the other reference that was picked up in the same search.

Other things this month are:

• Meet Sarah Dale-Jones
• Was Benjamin wrongly accused of wrong doing?
• On the trail of Weston Brangwyn Saunders
• Some more odds and ends

I was thrilled to see the 1901 census for England and Wales finally return to a live status. Perhaps I was lucky in the early hours of Friday morning to catch it before it became widely know that it was up again. You will find a number of references to the data I found in my quick hit. I hope the service survives the high levels of hits that it is likely to recieve. As usual, the writing of some of the emunerators was less than good. I found one of my Barnett entries indexed as Bennett. Having seen the actual return I think the indexers were lucky to get that close! I'm still not sure about William Bianjuin. Had he not been in his sisters household it would have been easily missed as a Brangwin. I'm sure we will see more twigs of our tree produce leaves as we work through the 1901 census data.

I hope you enjoy learning more about your extended family.

Contributions to the Newsletter are most welcome. If you find something that you would like to share please send it to me so that it can be included. My email address is lwuth@hups.net

Lorraine Wuth

Editor

Meet Sarah Dale-Jones

Just a brief profile from Burnham-on-Crouch in Essex on the East Coast of England. I am Sarah Dale-Jones, daughter of Thomas Jeremiah Quinn and Agnes Jean Brangwyn who was always known as Jean. She was the daughter of Charles Brangwyn and Sarah Ferguson Mackie and I am, therefore, the cousin of David who contributes so much to the Newsletters as, of course, does his wife, Margaret.

I first became interested in Family History when my mother died in 1991 and I inherited a box of photos. I wanted to put a name to ‘ Great Aunt Kate ‘, etc. I started with a large piece of wallpaper and worked my way through the first two or three generations by talking to aunts and uncles. I then discovered the joys of the Family Records Centre, computers and the Internet. I met Lorraine through the Internet and the rest, as they say, is History.

I grew up in Brighton on the South Coast, with my Mum and Dad and brother, Jerry. He is now owner of a travel firm called Silverbird. He specialises in tailor-made holidays to the Far East and Australia, so if anyone is looking to travel in those areas, he’s your man!! Commercial break over!! He is married to Annette and lives in Twickenham, near London.

Mum and Dad were both teachers in Brighton having met when they taught in West Ham, East London. They were both born in the area but decided to move to Brighton soon after I was born in 1948 and we had a lovely upbringing. Dad was a very active member of the Catholic church as he came from a large Irish family and we saw a great deal of our ‘ Quinn ‘ cousins of whom there were many. Nanna Brangwyn ( Sarah Brangwyn ) lived with us until her death in 1960 and played a very important role in our lives once Mum had returned to teaching in 1953. She was a very gentle, generous person and her apple pies were to die for!

I met my husband, Graham at Portsmouth University. He was studying Mechanical Engineering and I was studying English. He graduated but I didn’t. I should have worked harder and it will always be one of my ‘ if only ‘ situations. We married in 1970 and moved up to Northampton where Graham worked for Cosworth Engineering designing racing car engines. All three of our children were born in Northampton. Kate in 1975 and Abigail and Jane in 1977. We moved to Burnham-on-Crouch, after a brief spell in Dorset, and have lived here ever since. Graham has his own firm called IES Racing and continues to design and build racing engines. His clients are from all over the world but this last year he has concentrated on sports cars in the States and has visited several times with races in California, Florida, Ohio, Wisconsin and Washington D C.

I currently work in our local doctors’ surgery, mainly on the financial side, claiming monies due from the NHS. It is very busy and I get to use the computer most of the time. My last job was as manager of our local library which I loved but having to work every Saturday became too much of a chore as we had acquired a motor boat and preferred to spend our time enjoying that.

Our children are all still at home at the moment. They leave the nest but return periodically until they’ve paid off their debts then flit again! Anyone got any suggestions on how to finally persuade them to go?!! Kate works as an account handler for an advertising agency near Tower Bridge. Jane is also in advertising, but on the graphic design side, also in London and Abby works for Norwich Union as a finance manager. They all travel up to town by train, which can be an adventure if you’ve heard of the state of our railways. They are all lovely girls and we are extremely proud of all they have achieved.

Graham and I love to travel and one of our greatest trips was to the Olympic Games in Sydney 2000. It was a wonderful experience and we loved the Australian way of life, so much so that we are saving our pennies to go again in 2004. This year we have been to Prague for a few days, to Spain for a week ( returning yesterday 26/8/02 ) and a day trip to Bruges to show Kate the Frank Brangwyn museum. She was very impressed as were other friends we were with. I remember my mother telling me of being taken to see FB in Ditchling by her father but he was rather cool towards her. I’m not sure he liked small children very much.

So that’s a short round-up of life in deepest Essex. Burnham has it’s big sailing regatta this week so the place is buzzing but usually it’s quiet and peaceful, visitors always welcome. Drop a line if you’re passing through.

I have included a photo of our girls. Left to Right, Jane, Abigail and Kate.

Weston Brangwyn Saunders

According to the Sydney Morning Herald death index, Weston Brangwyn Saunders died on June 20, 1991. A death notice was published in that paper on June 21. It read:

SAUNDERS, Weston Brangwyn (Bill Stodge) - June 20, 1991, late of Miller, doyen of the barbeque industry, late of Miller, loving husband of Judith Saunders, loved father and father-in-law and stepfather of Robyn, Lynette and Murray, Denise and James, Jennifer and Darryl, Amanda and Lyle, Michelle and Kenneth, David and Susan, Sally and Stephen, adored poppy of Nicole, Scott, Kym, Samantha, Matthew, Ashley, Jack, Hayley and Mitchell, loved by all of his relatives and friends.

Aged 61 years.

In God's loving care.

SAUNDERS, Weston Brangwyn (Stodge) - June 20, 1991, loved son of Olive (died April, 1991), devoted brother and brother-in-law of Loretta and Graham Lenzner and loved uncle of Guy and Rennel, at rest.

Between them, the two death notices provided quite a bit of information. It was easy to find Loretta, the sister of Bill, as I soon learned that he was called. Loretta provided some clues which assisted in the next phase of the search for the origins of the name Brangwyn. Firstly, Loretta is a half sister. Weston was known as Bill.

Bill's father was George W Saunders who was supposedly English and possibly an engineer. George came to Australia after being in Mexico. The Brangwyn came from George.

So now to the NSW marriage index and a search for George Saunders marrying an Olive. Easily found. They married in 1928 and I ordered a copy of the certificate. George Weston Saunders married Olive Lulu Cater on March 21, 1928 at the Congregational Church, South Strathfield, NSW. According to a note on their marriage entry, they were divorced on December 1, 1961. The following information came from the marriage entry:

Olive, or Lulu as she was known, had died in April 1991 according to her son'e death notice. Was there a notice? Yes, there was. She had died on April 19. From information gained from Loretta it appears that George W had vanished leaving Lulu with baby Bill. The family did not know anything further about him. He was obviously alive in 1961 otherwise there would have been no need for Lulu to have gone through the divorce proceedings.

Back to the facts.

George Weston Saunders had been born in Chipping Norton, OXF. His parents were given as Weston Aspin Saunders and Kathleen Lilian Shaw. According to the marriage and birth indexes for England, they had married in 1900. George Weston was born in 1901.

Weston Aspin Saunders was listed in the 1881 census for England and Wales. He was living in Chipping Norton with his parents George Henry and Julia Saunders. He was 4 years old and born in Chipping Norton.

In 1901, according to the census, Julia Saunders was living at 22 New St Hill Lawn, Chipping Norton. She was a 65 year old widow living on her own means. Also in her household were:

• Her son, Weston A Saunders, 24, mining engineer
• His wife, Lillian K, 25, who had been born in Camborne, Cornwell
• Julia's grandson George W Saunders who was 3 months old and born in Chipping Norton

Weston Aspin S. was dead by the time his son (George W) married. A search of the probate index turned up two entries:

• SAUNDERS, Weston Aplin of Chipping Norton Oxfordshire mining engineer died 21 June 1914 at Galverston United States of America Administration (with Will limited) Oxford 11 November 1914 to Julia Saunders widow. Effects £560 15s 9d
• SAUNDERS, Weston Aplin of Chipping Norton Oxfordshire mining engineer died 21 June 1914 at Galverston United States of America Administration (with Will) Oxford 1 March 1922 to George Weston Saunders farmer. Effects £627 10s 7d. Former Grant Oxford November 1914.

A check in my database revealed an entry for George Henry Saunders and Julia Brangwin. They had married on May 14, 1860 at the Parish Church, Lee, Kent. Julia was the daughter of Castle Brangwin and Charlotte Bell. [See the April 2001 newsletter for further details of this part of the family - but beware of the Elizabeth Cowan line which was corrected in the April 2002 newsletter.] Julia had been baptised on January 28, 1838 at Deptford St Paul, Kent. She died on September 6, 1918 at Peckham House, Peckham, Surrey. The second entry in the probate index for the Weston Aplin Saunders would have come about because Julia had died in 1918 and his son George Weston would have reached the age of 21 and could then take on the administration of his fathers estate.

Julia's husband, George Henry Saunders, had been born in St Michael's, Hertfordshire around 1833. When he first arrived in Chipping Norton he was a solicitor's clerk and progressed in the law eventually becoming a solicitor. He died on May 11, 1892 aged 59, at Chipping Norton. Probate was granted to Percival George Saunders, solicitor and Thomas Donnelly, bank manager. He left effects worth £7725 7s 6d. He does not appear to have been buried at Chipping Norton.

Julia and George had married by licence. George was a bachelor of full age (that is at least 21 years old) and was listed as a gentleman of Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire. His father, John Saunders, was a farmer. Julia was also of full age and a spinster of Lee. Her father, Castle Brangwin, was listed as a gentleman. The witnesses were Eliza Ann Mile and Castle Brangwin.

According to the 1881 census, Julia and her family were living in Chipping Norton, she was 43 years old and a solicitor's wife. She had been born in Deptford, Kent. Some of her children were away at school but the youngest child, Weston Aplin, was with his parents.

Julia's probate index entry was:

SAUNDERS Julia of Asplin Cottage Riverside Mortlake Surry widow died 6 September 1918 at Peckham House Peckham Probate London 10 October 1918 to Kathleen Appleyard (wife of Arthur William Appleyard) and William Toy solicitor. Effects £1022 11s 9d

From the probate entries I began a search for Julia's children. I looked at the 1881 census for Saunders born in Chipping Norton. I also asked for assistance with a search of the parish register entries for Saunders at Chipping Norton and was provided with invaluable assistance by members of the Oxfordshire mailing list. My other source was the birth index in which I searched for Saunders born in the Chipping Norton registration district. It would appear that Julia and George had five children. They were:

1. Kathleen who was born in 1861 at Chipping Norton. She married Arthur William Appleyard in 1890. According the 1901 census she was living at 86 Edith Rd, Fulham and she was 35. Her husband, William, was an army and university tutor. He was an employer working at home. He had been born in Brixton , London, and was 31. There were also two children, who appear to be twins: 8 year olds Frederick and George, both born in Fulham, London.
2. Marian was born in Chipping Norton in 1862 and baptised there on April 15, 1863. She married Edward Gibson on February 5, 1884 at Chipping Norton.
3. Leslie was born in 1864, baptised on September 20 of that year and died in 1865. All events occurred in Chipping Norton where he was buried on February 28, 1865.
4. Percival George was born in 1866 in Chipping Norton and baptised there on August 17, 1866. In 1881 he was 14 years old and a pupil at Clifton College, Clifton, Gloucester. He married and died in Chipping Norton aged 43 on April 24, 1909. According to the probate index he was of Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire and a gentleman. Probate was granted to Drucilla Saunders widow and George Henry Allen Solicitor's Clerk. Effects £2555 8s 1d. The 1901 census jad him living at 4 Blenheim Terrace, Chipping Norton. He was a solicitor, aged 34. His wife, Drucilla, was 25 and born in Stonebridge, Worcester.
5. Weston Aplin born in 1876 at Chipping Norton and died June 21, 1914 in Galverston, Texas

Of interest is the trail that lead back to Julia. Without the inclusion of Brangwyn in the name of her great grandson we may well have missed another part of the family living in Australia. Another twig on our family tree has leaves.

Further work is needed to follow this family line. When I get a chance I will look at what happened to each of Julia's children.

Hambleden - a Buckinghamshire Parish

Nearly every newsletter mentions Hambleden in one guise or another. Here is a little more about this parish which is so important to many of us.

Hambleden belongs to the Hundred of Desborough. To see where it fits and the surrounding parishes, as well as references to places such as Colstrop and Huttons, click on the following link: Desborough Hundred map 1796

"Hambleden, Hamleden, Hamelden, or Hambleton, is bounded, on the North, by Fingest and Marlow; on the East, by Medmenham; on the South, by the Thames; and on the West, by Fawley. The parish, is five miles in length and four in breadth; containing about 7000 acres, of which 5500 are arable and pasture, 1200 woodland, 150 common or waste. Mr. Langley says, that in 1796, there were thirty farms, 154 cottages, and about 970 inhabitants. The land-tax assessment was 511 l. 12s. 8d."
[The History and Antiquities of the County of Buckingham, by George Lipscomb, 1847]

Hambleden was described in 1806 in "Magna Britannia" as follows:

HAMBLEDEN, in the hundred of Desborough and deanery of Wycombe, is situated in a pleasant valley, about a mile out of the road from Marlow to Henley, at the distance of about six miles from the former, and somewhat more than four from the latter. It had formerly a market on Mondays, granted in 1315 to the Baddlesmeres, with a fair on the festival of St. Bartholomew, and confirmed, in 1321, to Hugh Despencer the elder, who had a temporary possession of the manor, during an attainder, which was afterwards reversed. The manor of Hambleden was anciently in the Clares, Earls of Gloucester, from whom it passed, by female heir, to the families of Baddlesmere, Tibtot, and Scrope. After the death of Emmanuel Scrope, Earl of Sunderland, in 1631, it became the property of Thomas Earl Rivers, who married one of his natural daughters. Before the close of the 17th century it was purchased, but not immediately, as it appears, of the Rivers family, by Robert Clayton, lord mayor of London in 1680, in whose family it continued till within a few years. The late Sir Robert Clayton bart. gave it by will to his solicitor, R.I. Troward esq. who in 1803 sold the manor, and a considerable part of the estate, to Robert Scott esq. of Danesfield. The manor-house was for many generations a seat of the Scropes. It was rebuilt on a new site about the year 1604, by the last Lord Scrope, of Bolton, who was Lord President of the north, and in 1627, created Earl of Sunderland. It is said that King Charles I. came to this house on the 28th of April 1646, with Dr. Hudson and Mr. Ashburnham, on his road from oxford to St. Alban's: the house is at present unoccupied.

There is another manor in this parish, called Greenland or Ewden, which was successively in the ancient families of Chowne and Shipwash. From the latter it passed to a younger branch of the Doyleys of Oxfordshire. In 1651 it was sold by Sir John Doyley to Sir Bulstrode Whitlock. After some intermediate alienations, the estate became divided between two co-heiresses. The Rev. Mr. Hinde, who resides at Mill-end, being in possession of one of the moities in right of his wife, who was widow of the late Richard Lane esq. purchased the other moiety in 1801, of the Rev. Henry Stevens, of Bradfield, in Berks. Mr. Hinde retaining the manor, has since sold Greenland farm, and the site of Greenland-house to Mr. Steers.

Greenland-house was a seat of the Doyleys: in the month of May 1644, being then the property of Sir John Doyley, it was garrisoned for the king, with a view of commanding the passage of the river Thames from Henley and Reading to London. After sustaining a long and severe siege from the parliamentary forces under the command of Major-General Brown, the house having been almost reduced to a heap of ruins, by the batteries from the opposite side of the river, it was surrendered on honourable terms the llth July, by its governor, Col. Hawkins. The ground about the farm exhibits the appearance of extensive fortifications and buildings.

In this parish is Parmoor, the seat of John Doyley esq. a descendant of the Doyleys of Greenland-house. The estate belonged formerly to the Knights Hospitallers; it came to the Doyleys by marriage with the family of Saunders. Lady Periam, relict of Sir Robert Doyley, and afterwards wife of Sir William Periam, who died in 1621, bequeathed an estate in this parish to archbishop Laud, to be disposed of at his direction, for the benefit of some college in Oxford; the archbishop founded with it a fellowship and two scholarships at Baliol College.

In the parish church (a large and handsome Gothic structure) are some memorials of the family of Scrope; an ancient mural monument, without either name or date, which from the arms, and the name Elizabeth which occur in some verses, appears to have been intended for Thomas Lord Sandys, of the Vine, who married Elizabeth, daughter of George Lord Roos, who died in 1526; and a tablet for Dr. Francis Gregory, rector of Hambleden, who died in 1707; he had been usher of Westminster School, under Dr. Busby, and was author of several school treatises and controversial tracts. In a burial-place belonging to the Doyleys, is a handsome monument for Sir Cope Doyley, who died in 1633, and his wife Martha, "who lived together in inviolated bands of holy wedlock 22 years, and multiplied themselves into five sons and five daughters." The following lines inscribed on the monument were written, probably, by Francis Quarles, who was lady Doyley's brother.

"Ask not me who's buried here,
Go ask the Commons, ask the sheire;
Go ask the church, they'll tell thee who,
As well as blubbered eyes can doe:
Go ask the herauldes, ask the poore,
Thine eares shall hear enough to ask no more.
Then if thine eye bedewe this sacred urne,
Each drop a pearle will turne
T' adorne his tombe, of if thou canst not vent,
Thou bringst more marble to his monument.

----------

Wouldst thou, reader, draw to life,
The perfect copy of a wife:
Read on, and then redeem from shame,
That lost, that honourable name.
This dust was once in spirit a Jael,
Rebecca in grace, in heart an Abigail;
In works a Dorcas, to the church a Hannah,
And to her spouse, Susanna.
Prudently simple, providently wary,
To the world a Martha and to heaven a Mary."

The valuable rectory of Hambleden is in the gift of St. Matthew Ridley, by the bequest of the late William Colborne esq. of Bath, his lady's uncle, by whom it was purchased a few years ago. James Howell, in a letter to his brother Thomas, (afterwards bishop of Bristol,) written in 1628, and published in his familiar letters, says, that it was then valued at 500. l per annum, and better than some bishoprics. He offers his brother the refusal of purchasing the next presentation, which had been given him by Lord Sunderland, in satisfaction for some arrearages. This nobleman, when he built the present manor-house, gave the old mansion to the rector and his successors. The present rectory-house was built on its site by Dr. Kenrick, in 1724; it stands in a beautiful situation, at some distance from the village and church. The parish register records many births and burials of the families of Doyley and Scrope; the burial of Lord Chief Baron Hen, of Ireland, who died in 1708; and several instances of longevity, among which are four persons to the age of a hundred years or upwards.

The name Hambledon derives from the old english words hamel, dun and means 'crooked or irregularly-shaped hill'.

St. Mary the Virgin, Hambleden [September 1998]

Nearby places to Hambleden - in Buckinghamshire, Berkshire and Oxfordshire.

In September 1998 I visited Hambleden a number of times and spent quite a while in the church yard searching for and recording Brangwin family monuments.

Benjamin Brangwin and Thomas Major- a further note
(or "Was Benjamin wrongly accused of wrong doing?")
by David Brangwyn

We saw in the previous articles how suspicion had fallen on Benjamin's colleague Thomas Major regarding dubious transactions; this was confirmed in a report to Mr. Francis Beyer, Auditor General of the East India Company in May 1699. James Bruce, who sent the report, states that it is very hard to find the prices at which Major sold his stock of cloth "it being next to an impossibility among these Country Merchants and Shopkeepers to gett information what they bought their cloth att…" Bruce then refers to the 2 or 3 imperfect accounts Major sent during Captain Brangwin's life. It emerges from the report that Major had been summoned to England to explain the considerable disparities in the accounts he had kept, as it was clear that James Bruce could make neither head nor tail of them:

"I found so many errours every way some whereof appeared to be errours in the Coppying that I found unless he were here to shew how he makes it out …only make a puzle to no purpose."

Bruce then draws attention to Major's gambit of "crouding it [a bill] in with another bill thinking it will pass securer than alone…" but he is careful not to make specific allegations, preferring phrases such as "whither or no the allowances and abatements on cloth and stuffs were made so large as he put down he alone knows," or, " As for the Extravagency of his Expences our right honorable Masters know best whether they will allow them…" but he adds that Tabriz (where Major had been) was reputed to be the cheapest place in Persia!

So Thomas Major, having cheated Benjamin (see Part three) seems to have also defrauded the Company. Whether he paid for his misdeeds I have yet to discover.

The Hearth Tax 1662-1688
by Margaret Brangwyn

The 1662 Hearth Tax returns for Oxfordshire show that Castell Brangwin, (born 1634 - died 1710, ancestor of so many members of our family,) paid Hearth Tax in Callicott [= Caulcott, part of Lower Heyford].

The Hearth Tax was a "half-yearly payment of one shilling for each hearth [fireplace] in the occupation of each person whose house was worth more than 20s a year, and who was a local ratepayer of church and poor rates." The tax was introduced by Charles II at a time when he was in dire need of money.

The number of hearths in a dwelling is included in the Tax Records, but as yet I have been unable to discover how many hearths Castell had.

The more hearths in a house, the wealthier the occupier. Over seven hearths usually meant gentry or above. Between four and seven hearths denoted wealthy craftsmen, tradesmen, merchants and yeomen. Two or three hearths - "ordinary" craftsmen, tradesmen and yeomen. Peasants, husbandmen and poor craftsmen only had one hearth.

Some people avoided paying this tax by obtaining an exemption certificate from the Parish, a Clergyman, Churchwarden, or Overseer of the Poor.

This tax ceased to be collected in 1688, which must have been a great relief to all those who were liable to pay it.

More information on The Hearth Tax is available from the Public Record Office at Kew.

Ends

There are a number of places that are of interest to the family that have End in their name. Lane End, Mill End and Bourne End come readily to mind. Is there any significance in the End? Perhaps there is.

While looking through a volume on "The Manor and Parish Records of Medmenham Buckinghamshire", a parish that abutts Hambleden, I came across the following, when the author was discussing Bockmer:

Aound this ancient [Bockmer] habitation were clustered the few hovels of dependnets who lived by their manual labour on the land. These dwellings formed the "endship" of Broch, and the district is still known as Bockmer End. One feature of this part of the country is the frequency with which the same terminations abounds. Wood End, Lane End, Cadmore End, Bourne End, and Mill End are all examples of the same class. The endship was a hamlet or small suburb, but the term is now obsolete. Like certain other words it has survived to provoke inquiry, because the termination "end" is mostly found in places which never seem to possess and noticeable beginnings.

So, the next time you stumble across one of the places that has an End you can wonder what it was an end to.

I hope you have found this edition of the Brangwin Family Newsletter of interest.

I would like to thank Sarah, David and Margaret for their contributions.

That's it for this month.

If you have anything you would like to contribute it would be most welcome.

Until then next month

Lorraine