Neil read the column recently concerning the CHAMBERS family at Wragby. This family connects into his family tree with George and Henry being the elder brothers of his great-great-great-grandfather Robert. Sadly this is where the trail goes cold for Neil; this is his brickwall. If you have any links please let me know and I will pass them on. Another name that comes into the conversation at this point is that of BOOTH with Elizabeth CHAMBERS marrying George BOOTH the son of John & Mary. Brickwall number two. In 1856 there were 466 souls living in the parish of Benniworth which is just six miles north east of Wragby and although Neil just says Holton I assume that he means Holton cum Beckering, with its 185 souls, which is two and half miles to the north west. The family does seem to be nicely compact and grouped into a single area. One of Neil's family lines is that of CREASEY. The CREASEY family came from Heckington and the story goes that they owned a number of horses and that these were stolen sometime before 1739. The thief was no other than Dick TURPIN and the theft was part of the trail that led to York where he was living under the name of John PALMER. After 'Googling' Dick TURPIN and reading some of the websites dedicated to him it seems that the tales of daring-do carried out by TURPIN were actually rather squalid affairs. What should Neil do next? He has traced some of his branches back to 1547 and so one can assume that he will know his way around the parish registers; it is here that the digging takes place. One aid in the search can be found on the BENNETT Family website at www.parloc.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk. Download the freeware parish locator to be found there. Using this very useful little program enter a central parish in your search area then print out the parishes within ten miles or so. Then it's off to the archives to start the trawling of the registers.
The name CHAMBERS is from the same root and meaning the same as the official called the CHAMBERLAIN. The chamber would have been in a rather grand residence. The BOOTH name on the other hand was decidedly further down market. Still used further north the booth comes from the Old Danish word bōth which was a herdsman's hut. Today it would be called a bothey and what would probably have been used as a shepherd's hut has been restored and is now used by walkers.
CREASEY was very much a name belonging to the eastern coast of England. Very common in Lincolnshire and the fens and could be found right through to parts of Kent. The name is of French origin and no doubt everyone will have heard of the battle of Crecy and it is from this location that the name comes. By the 1180s Alexander de CRECY could be found in Lincolnshire and his name recorded in the Gilbertine Charters.
Bits and Bobs
LRSM -1st July 1808 - On Saturday se´nnight died at Sutton near Hull, aged 94, George RYSTON, an out-pensioner of Chelsea Hospital, who was in the Battles of Dettingen and Culloden, and at the taking of Belleisle. He twice gave up his pension to be actively serviceable to his King and Country. He was married thirteen times, and six of his wives were alive at one time.
A veritable glutton for punishment with thirteen mothers-in-law!!
