Hi Rita >I am puzzled as to the move from Wiltshire to Gosport, which was before 1802 Possibly due to the French Wars which started 1793, until the Peace of Amiens, circa 1802ish, and then continued about 1803, for another 11 years or so. There could have been a connection with the armed forces (Army, Navy and RM), with the Dockyard or even supplying goods and services to these bodies - Portsmouth and Gosport would have been booming during this period, and was probably a place were a reasonably good living could be made if you had the right skills. I note that my wife's relatives moved around this time, into a town where war materials were being produced for the Army and Navy, and were eventually able to set up a business which lasted for another 40 years, until their product was probably undercut by cheaper imports from abroad. Many people living in the countryside during the time of Revolutionary / Napoleonic Wars were starting to feel the effects of war time inflation, and you could probably double your wages or more by moving to the right place. Modes of transport - farm carts - shank's pony etc., possibly over a period of years, with the father moving down to find work and the family following later ? And you could probably earn a living on the way down - there would have been quite large drives of cattle, pigs and sheep etc. from Wiltshire, supplying the armed forces along the coast, where there would have been a steady demand in the fleet - for both live and salted down. Talking to old drovers as a kid it was apparent they would stop when it got dark, and would sleep under the stars when the weather permitted - if the weather was bad, they would try to find a dry bed in a barn. If you go out into the countryside around Portsmouth ISTR there were still a few traces of some of the old drovers ways visible - least they were when I was down there in the 50s. Regards Paul On Wed, 6 Jul 2005 20:43:16 +0100, "Rita Newton" <newton.r@tesco.net> wrote: >Hi List > >Had an amazing breakthrough with my HINES/HAINES family yesterday, a cousin went to Wiltshire Records Office & found baptism, marriage & burial records for our family. So we are now back to John HAINES (born abt 1753) and his wife Elizabeth (abt 1758). >They had at least 5 children, all baptised at Donhead St Andrew, in Wiltshire. > >James, our ancestor, was baptised 16 April 1780 in Donhead St Andrew Wiltshire. He was in Frater Lane, Elson, Gosport, with a family in 1841 with children born from about 1802 onwards in Gosport/Alverstoke. > >I am puzzled as to the move from Wiltshire to Gosport, which was before 1802. Mode of transport? - Donhead St Andrew seemed to have a canal system, but not sure when that dates from. > >If anyone can suppy help/advice on this puzzle, we would really appreciate it. > >Rita > > > > >==== ENG-HAM-PORTSMOUTH-GOSPORT Mailing List ==== > Don't go barking up the wrong tree be like a good chef and ALWAYS check your SOURCES > >============================== >Search Family and Local Histories for stories about your family and the >areas they lived. Over 85 million names added in the last 12 months. >Learn more: http://www.ancestry.com/s13966/rd.ashx 50.33.50N 02.26.70W http://www.pbenyon.plus.com/Naval.html