c 1717 to 26 December, 1803

Edition 4 - 2003

The story commences with Thomas, who was the earliest established Barnett in our line when I commenced writing this "book" on April 25, 1999. Since then I have been told that he was born in the Bradfield area of Berkshire to William and Mary. He had ten siblings. It is not known what happened to his parents or siblings or when he moved from Bradfield. What is known is that Thomas lived close to the River Thames at Remenham in Berkshire, England and was a farmer.

What follows is research undertaken by the author with generous assistance from other family historians. Wherever possible facts have been checked against primary sources for verification. This has not always been possible so there may be some errors in the details that follow.

A number of lines have been followed and the descendents established. Other individuals have not been traced yet and they may always remain a mystery to us.

Sources have been many and varied. Parish Registers provide details of baptisms, marriages and burials. Sometimes other information is included with the details of the event. This is always a bonus. Wills, marriage license applications, poll lists and monumental inscriptions (head stone details) have all been utilised to piece together family relationships and to bring some fabric to the bare bones of simple dates. Another invaluable source has been the census data. A census has been conducted in England each 10 years since early in the 1800s. The earliest surviving census data of real value is that of 1841. To date, census data through to 1901 has been released and is accessible. Sources are generally noted throughout and include newspaper reports and notices, probate documents and birth, marriage and death certificates amongst others.

I hope that you enjoy learning a little more about this part of your family.

Lorraine Wuth

Daughter of William Donald Barnett and great, great, great, great, great granddaughter of the first Thomas

Last amended January 4, 2003

I would like to thank the many people who have so generously supplied photos and other material for me to use. Particular thanks go to Kevin Gibson, Barbara Lorains and her father J D "Dave" Barnett, Murray Barnett and Elva Dunlop. Irene Cambridge contacted me in January 2000 and provided a wealth of information that had come from Melba Hobbs, including copies of letters carefully transcribed by Melba. Both Melba and her brother Andy have been very generous providing family information, photos and support. Harley Barnette was a wonderful 'find' in June 2000. Through him I have been able to fill in many of the missing bits concerning family members who moved to the US. I sincerely thank you all for your support and assistance particularly where it enabled information to be validated and errors corrected.

It was through Melba that I found details of the parents of our Thomas and his siblings. This is a mixed blessing: great to know who they are and where they lived but it left me in a quandary as to what to include in this version of our story. I decided to commence at its original starting point – Thomas, however I have included details of his siblings and parents elsewhere.

I have attempted to include images of as many original documents as possible to give a feel for the range of material available. Sources, while many and varied, include parish records, certificates and marriage licence applications.

This edition of our story is just a start. It covers only six generations. Since commencing putting together the story of Thomas Barnett's family I have been fortunate to come across references to family members who had previously vanished into the great mire of Barnetts and other family groups. Each warrants further study.

This edition has extended the story and picked up some of the material which abounds within families and available records. Some of the stories appear to be stretching the fabric of truth into the wishful thinking zone, but then that is part of the charm of family tales: what is real and what is ‘a story’.

I will gratefully accept any material that adds to the story of our extended family.

Lorraine Wuth

25 Barritt St, Kambah ACT 2902, Australia

lwuth@hups.net