Some of you, especially descendants of the supposed brothers Thomas and Joseph B., will recall the lively discussions that were conducted on this list, starting in 1996-7, concerning the search for the family of these two emigrant ancestors. There has been considerable interest in trying to locate early records in England that might settle the question of where this BLANCHARD line originated. In reviewing the information exchanged on B-L over the past 3 1/2 years, it appears that we still lack positive leads for solving this puzzle. For example, Robert BLANCHARD of Axford, Nutley, HAM (Will, 1587) and Thomas BLANCHARD of East Stratton, HAM (Will, not dated; Inv. 1621), appear to have no connection with Thomas or Joseph. Existing parish records for Goodworth Clatford, HAM the earliest recorded whereabouts of Thomas, include baptisms (1623-1633) of children of Thomas and his first wife, Elizabeth; baptism (1638) of Agnes, daughter of Thomas and his second wife, Agnes Bent Barnes and burial (1636) of Thomas' first wife Elizabeth, whose name seems to be confirmed by its singular appearance in the baptism record (1631) for their son Nathaniel. These same parish records also provide knowledge that there were at least two other BLANCHARD families in Goodworth Clatford during the time period (1549-1697); Robert BLANCHARD, whose children's baptisms are recorded (1549-1560), and John and Edith BLANCHARD whose children were baptised (1639-1666). As far as I know, no connections between these two families and the family of Thomas have been established. Joseph is believed to have come from England to America (Boston) in 1637 and died soon after, but we have no documentation for his early life in England. What we know about his family is based almost entirely on records for his wife, Ann, who was born by 1605, possibly in England or France, and married by 1620. In May, I will be making a brief visit to England to search some of the early records in the PRO and the Hampshire Record Office and to attend the Annual General Meeting of the Blanc/shard Family History Society in Lincoln on 20 May. I look forward to this opportunity to maintain a cooperative relationship with the BFHS and to learn more about their collection of Blanc/shard records in England. I have notified some of the BLANCHARD-L members who have been active in these investigations, about my plans, and have already received some valuable suggestions for research topics. Please pass along any thoughts you have. My time will be limited and I don't expect to make any spectacular discoveries but maybe some new light can be shed. Fletch

Does anyone have info on Thomas J Blandford from Wiltshire, England who married and had numerous children According to family info at one time he lived in TN Thank You for any info Judith Pierce Arnold Fletcher Blanchard wrote: > Some of you, especially descendants of the supposed brothers Thomas > and Joseph B., will recall the lively discussions that were > conducted on this list, starting in 1996-7, concerning the search > for the family of these two emigrant ancestors. There has > been considerable interest in trying to locate early records in > England that might settle the question of where this BLANCHARD line > originated. In reviewing the information exchanged on B-L over the > past 3 1/2 years, it appears that we still lack positive leads for > solving this puzzle. For example, Robert BLANCHARD of Axford, > Nutley, HAM (Will, 1587) and Thomas BLANCHARD of East Stratton, HAM > (Will, not dated; Inv. 1621), appear to have no connection with > Thomas or Joseph. > > Existing parish records for Goodworth Clatford, HAM the earliest > recorded whereabouts of Thomas, include baptisms (1623-1633) of > children of Thomas and his first wife, Elizabeth; baptism (1638) of > Agnes, daughter of Thomas and his second wife, Agnes Bent Barnes > and burial (1636) of Thomas' first wife Elizabeth, whose name seems > to be confirmed by its singular appearance in the baptism record > (1631) for their son Nathaniel. These same parish records also > provide knowledge that there were at least two other BLANCHARD > families in Goodworth Clatford during the time period (1549-1697); > Robert BLANCHARD, whose children's baptisms are recorded > (1549-1560), and John and Edith BLANCHARD whose children were > baptised (1639-1666). As far as I know, no connections between > these two families and the family of Thomas have been established. > > Joseph is believed to have come from England to America (Boston) in > 1637 and died soon after, but we have no documentation for his > early life in England. What we know about his family is based > almost entirely on records for his wife, Ann, who was born by 1605, > possibly in England or France, and married by 1620. > > In May, I will be making a brief visit to England to search some of > the early records in the PRO and the Hampshire Record Office and to > attend the Annual General Meeting of the Blanc/shard Family History > Society in Lincoln on 20 May. I look forward to this opportunity to > maintain a cooperative relationship with the BFHS and to learn more > about their collection of Blanc/shard records in England. > > I have notified some of the BLANCHARD-L members who have been > active in these investigations, about my plans, and have already > received some valuable suggestions for research topics. Please pass > along any thoughts you have. My time will be limited and I don't > expect to make any spectacular discoveries but maybe some new light > can be shed. Fletch > > ==== BLANCHARD Mailing List ==== > Check your surnames on the Roots Surname List. > http://rsl.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/rslsql.cgi