STRAND
Family History PageSTRAND
Family History PageSince the 1996 Christmas Newsletter, many more ancestors have been traced, together with the introduction of new finding aids for those connected with our family.
The year is 1470, England is in the midst of turbulent times. The wars of the Roses are still raging. Richard Neville, earl of Warwick, who was a power behind the throne of England, had made an alliance with the Lancastrians and, had just driven Edward IV from the throne and into exile in Holland. Henry VI again became king of England until 1471, when all Lancastrian resistance was crushed and Henry was taken prisoner.
Around that same year, in the village of Sellinge, Kent, a family by the name of DYLNOTT gave birth to and baptised their child William. William is one of my 13x great grandfathers. Meanwhile, Edward IV returned to England in 1471, raised a large army, and won decisive victories over his enemies at Barnet and Tewkesbury. Following the murder of Henry, thereafter the crown was securely in his possession. The most notable incident in the latter part of his reign was a short war with France in 1475. On the trade and economic front, printing and silk manufacturing were introduced into England at this time.
When William DYLNOTT was aged 13, Edward IV's brother Richard usurped the throne, becoming king as Richard III, and the Lancastrians turned for leadership to Henry Tudor, who later became King Henry VII, founder of the Tudor dynasty. In 1485 the forces of Richard and Henry fought the decisive Battle of Bosworth Field, (just a few miles outside Leicester), the last major encounter of the war. It was around this time that William DYLNOTT married Parnell. After Richard's death in battle, Henry ascended the throne and married Edward's daughter, thus uniting the houses. The chief result of the war was an increase in the power of the Crown. Battle and execution all but destroyed the old nobility, and the financial resources of the monarchy were strengthened by the confiscation of estates.
Life in Kent probably continued much as before. It is known that William and Parnell had three sons and quite possibly some daughters. (Females at that time were sometimes not recorded by the Church.) Their son Thomas was born between 1485 and 1505.
William DYLNOTT left a will made on X day of April MDXXVIII (10 Apr 1528), the year in which he died, in which he bequeathed 12d to the high alter for "my tithes and oblations negligently forgoten or witholden", 4d to "evry of the lightes of the crosse and oure lady there", Parnell his widow was to receive "ii kyene [cows] my mare and all my justuff [domestic stuff?] durying her life...." and after her decease shall pass unto his son Thomas everything except the cows and mare (he assumed a longer life for his animals than perhaps he did for his wife!). Parnell was also to "have one acre of whete and one of oote [oats]", the remainder being left to son Thomas, in part to pay off William's debts. He stipulated that 3 masses should be said at his burial, 4 one month later and at one year, at the discretion of his executors. His will also makes reference to other "cowe", lands and rents.
Thomas married Elizabeth, date unknown. Their son, my 11x great grandfather Oliver, was born in 1545 in Sellinge, Kent. Thomas died in 1557 and Elizabeth after 1562.
Oliver married twice, first to Christian and then to Ellyn INNESANT at Temple Ewell, Kent on 20th October 1588. Christian bore him two children, Mary and John. Both died before the age of 5 years. Ellyn was to have 6 sons, John 1588, Thomas 1591-94, James 1594, Oliver 1596-99, Thomas 1598 and Nicholas. Oliver was buried at Temple Ewell on 20th May 1608 and described as "a poor householder" in the parish register. In his will, he left Ellyn his house and land. After her death they were to pass to his surviving sons, John, James and Nicholas, in that order. Additionally he left John "the cubborde that stands in the hall", to Nicholas, "a bras pott" and to James, "the cheste that was mine when I was a servaunte", plus a sum of money amounting to £5.
Our Family Tree continues through son Nicholas DILNOTT, who was born in 1599 at Lydden, Kent. He married 22 year old Elizabeth KNATCHBOLE at Lydden church on 22 October 1628. Elizabeth gave birth to Anne in 1628, Nicholas in 1630 and John in 1632 at Ringwould, Kent. Nicholas was prematurely widowed in 1633 by the death of Elizabeth at the age of 28. Second wife Ann HART, who he married in 1635, bore him another son, baptised Valentine in 1637. We now enter the 20 year period of the Puritan Revolution, which began with the calling of the Long Parliament by King Charles I in 1640. It proceeded through two civil wars, the trial and execution of the king, the republican experiments of Oliver Cromwell, and, ultimately, the restoration of King Charles II. It was a turning point in English history, generating new political and religious ideas and extending the English tradition that the government's power should be limited. Nicholas was buried in Ringwould in 1667, aged 68 years.
Son John was also to live through this turbulent period in our history. Whether he supported the King's forces or the Parliamentary forces, or fought in any of the battles is unknown, but he was certainly of the right age. Just a year after the restoration of King Charles II in 1660, John married Joice CHAMBERS (1631-1672) in St. Andrews church, Canterbury on 19 February 1661. John was a shoemaker in the village of Sutton, Nr Dover. He also kept a pub, aptly called 'The Boot'. They had four sons, John 1664, Nicholas 1666, William 1668 & Valentine 1670. In 1672 Joice died, followed in 1702 by husband John. Both are buried in Sutton, their headstones still legible today.
Valentine DILNOT was only two years old and his eldest brother just eight, when their mother Joice died. It was quite common in those times, for a widowed father with young children, to take a younger wife to help bring up the children. Seemingly, John either managed by himself or had relatives to help. At St. Peter's church in Sandwich on 19 May 1695, at the age of 25, Valentine married Elizabeth GOODCHILD (1670, Sandwich - 1730). (The GOODCHILD line has been traced back 100 years, to 1570.) Nine children were born to Valentine & Elizabeth over a 20 year period, between 1696 and 1716; John, Ralph, Elizabeth, Abigail, Valentine, Nicholas, Joyce, Mary and Sarah, all but one known to be 'family names'. Sons John and Nicholas died aged 16 and 7 years respectively, whilst with the exception of Mary, marriages are recorded for all the other children. Valentine was 88 when he died in 1758 and is buried in Sutton with Elizabeth.
The birth of Elizabeth in 1700 sees the last link with the DILNOT tree for our family. Elizabeth married Richard MAKEY at St. George the Martyr's church in Canterbury, on 31 July 1721. Richard was a year younger than Elizabeth. A family was started the following year with the birth of Richard, then at two yearly intervals by, William, Valentine and Elizabeth. Their father was just forty years of age when he died in 1741. Elizabeth too was to die at a relatively young age, in 1751. They are both buried in Goodnestone by Wingham, Kent.
Good progress has also been made on other branches of our tree, much of it as a direct result of the Internet. The details of the DILNOT family arrived via an e-mail from Dr Alan Dilnot in Australia. Developments along the BOULDING branch have also progressed through another e-mail contact, this time closer to home. David Boulding of Kent has been researching his family name for a number of years and I include below a section from his web page.
The first noting of the name Boulding in Kent, appears in 1303 in the Court rolls of Tremworth Manor, a small manor which approximates to present day Crundale parish near Wye.
Crundale appears to be the very centre of origin of the family, with BOULDINGS and BOULDENS living very near by, even to this day. Hardly anyone of this name from Kent does not stem from this little parish.
A possible origin of the name is the old word "bollyng", meaning "to tipple". Tippling in past times meant "to brew beer". The BOULDING family, from the 14th century were regularly before the Manor Court for an "Assize of Ale". The Assize of Ale was normally a fine levied for selling short measure (or indeed bad) beer or bread. The BOULDING link with brewing was maintained until the 18th century when the family were noted as Maltsters and owned the Red Lyon pub in Wye.
If you are on the Internet, take a look at my own web site, which can be found at http://geocities.datacellar.net/Heartland/Prairie/4106 where, in addition to details of the BOULDING ancestors, you will find a full pedigree starting with grandfather, Ernest Charles STRAND. There is also a personal history with photographs, of great grandfather Charles STRAND (1849-1932). Early in 1998 I will also be publishing the St.Catherines Index of STRAND births from 1837 to 1958. This is fully cross referenced to marriages and deaths wherever possible. [NB: now published, 24 January 1998 - link]
At long last I have been able to take the STRAND name back a further generation. Three times great grandfather John STRAND was baptised at Hoath in Kent on 15 April 1759, the third child of William STRAND and Elizabeth (nee BURCHELL). William already had three children from his first marriage to Catherine STUPPELL in 1742 at Hoath, namely Mary (1743), Mercy (1744) and Elizabeth (1745). Catherine died and was buried in Hoath in 1752. William married Elizabeth BURCHELL at Chislet on 19 August 1753. Their first child was Ann born in 1755, followed by William in 1756. Then came g.g.g.f John, Richard (1761), Jane (1763), Andrew (1765), James (1770) and lastly, Michael (1774). It is believed that William died in May 1775 and Elizabeth in 1811, both buried in Hoath churchyard. The Parish Records for Hoath have a burial entry for a John STRAND in 1729. Could this perhaps be William's father ?
Remember if you will, that Family History, besides tracing people who are long dead and buried, is also a living thing. Everything we do today will one day be history. Make life easier for us genealogists, write a short history of your life. One further plea, if you haven't done so already, please remember to write names, dates and places on the back of those old and new photographs.
Just space to wish you a Happy Christmas and a prosperous New Year.