Chuck and list, I know that sinking feeling when you have a really common name to research. I started out about eight years ago thinking Smith was going to be impossible but I found two things, if one could get prior to 1800, the mobility of most families decreases sharply, apart from the steady migration to London from the country, and the size of the UK population and thus its density drops sharply, making it possible to do single name studies in an area in order to use every scrap of data to work out who was who. We have a family story that my Smiths on my father's side are linked to a Sgt John Smith of Ticknall, Derbyshire who won a VC in India, but I cannot find a connection other than getting shoemakers in both Smith twigs and the Herbert family having estates in both places. While my mother's Smith family is Kingsclere/Kingsclere Woodlands and Hannington, I did have to look at North Wiltshire Smiths a while back to disprove a possible connection on my father's Smith family. There were masses of Smith's in North Wilts it seems to be a hot spot like Kingsclere/Baughurst. Has anybody looked at the PRs of Lydiard Millicent ca 1828 to extract the names of William's parents for you? If not, I can do that for you since I live just half an hour from the Wiltshire Record Centre which has the PRs. I see your William was a beer retailer, so his connection with Kingsclere leading to meeting his future wife, might be trade based since Kingsclere has a favourable micro-climate being tucked under the lee of the North Hampshire Downs and combined with the local geology and soils produced very fine quality barley for brewing beer until the soils became overworked. Perhaps we need to continue off list since we are are getting away from the focus of Kingsclere. Regards, Nigel Gerdes > My current detailed information on William SMITH (b.1828) can be found on > the Kingsclere genealogy website at > > http://startx.co.uk:2317/Kingsclere?i=23900 > > Note that my Kingsclere connection is through his wife, Georgiana Emily > Thorne, d/o James THORNE and Jane HILLYAR. > > William's birth information is from a slip of very, very old paper handed > down in my family that says William Smith was born in the parish of Lydiard > Millicent, Wilts, Old England, December 19, 1828. > > William and Georgiana SMITH resided in Lydiard Tregoze, Wilts, until the > time they immigrated to Chicago, IL, United States in 1877. William was a > grocer and possibly a beer merchant (trades unfortunately lost to my family > other than from a consumers point of view...). > > Any more information or connection to these families would be welcome, > including any ideas on how my GGGparents could have met between the > Lydiards and Kingclere back in 1860. I keep looking for clues on my SMITH > ancestry, and the common names are stifling on research. > > Regards, > > Chuck Smith > > > -----Original Message----- > From: eng-hampshire-kingsclere-bounces@rootsweb.com > [mailto:eng-hampshire-kingsclere-bounces@rootsweb.com] On Behalf Of Nigel > St C Gerdes > Sent: Wednesday, September 02, 2009 10:39 AM > To: eng-hampshire-kingsclere@rootsweb.com > Subject: Re: [King] Poaching at Bucklebury & trial at Reading February 1863 > > I too would be interested in the report. Like Chuck, I collect Kingsclere > Smiths since back to 1600 in Kingsclere they are my mother's family. > > Stephen Smith is very interesting because I have an earlier Stephen Smith > of > Newtown in my father's family tree and Stephen was not a common name. > > Kingsclere had the highest numbers of Smith per 1000 population of anywhere > in > England in the 1881 census. Baughurst is the hot spot for them. So clearly > they had been very well established in the area for a long time and/or > there > > is a lot of Romany blood since Smith was a popular choice of surname. The > heathlands attracted many Romany into the area. > > Chuck: Do you have an estimated birth date for your William? > > Regards, > > Nigel Gerdes > > > I would be interested in the report. Still trying to determine why or > > how my gggf William smith from wilts married georgiena thorne from > > kingsclere. I figure there has to be family in the area. So I've been > > 'collecting' kingsclere smiths especially those near > > Ecchingswell. Some day I may find the link and get a clue to William > > smith's ancestors. > > > > Regards > > > > -chuck smith > > > > Sent from my iPhone > > > > On Sep 1, 2009, at 4:38 AM, Gbsoper49@aol.com wrote: > > > I have just been investigating a trial in Reading in which one of my > > > ancestors was involved, he was found not guilty. There were eight > > > men charged, > > > as below:- > > > > > > Stephen Smith,23, Charles Smith,19, James Hutchins,22, David > > > Hutchins,27, > > > James Blackney,34, Henry Rabbits,21, Henry Clarke, 25, and Charles > > > Smith,19. > > > > > > All the accused appear to be from Kingsclere area, most from > > > Ashford Hill. > > > I think I have identified the first six, they are all on John Lewis's > > > site, the first two Smiths are brothers. The last two I cannot > > > identify with > > > certainty. In addition there are various witnesses mentioned, > > > probably the > > > most significant is Eli Butler, brother in law to Stephen & Charles > > > Smith. > > > Brothers George & Charles Cotterell are also mentioned. > > > > > > The poaching occured in December 1862 at Corbyn's wood, Bucklebury. > > > > > > Four of the accused were found guilty, Stephen Smith,23, Charles > > > Smith,19, > > > Henry Rabbits,21 & Henry Clarke, 25. > > > > > > If anybody is interested I have copies of report from Berkshire > > > Chronicle > > > or a word document with transcript of report, subject to my typing > > > errors.I > > > will send them off list to anyone who contacts me. > > > > > > Gerald > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > --------------------------------------- > > > > > >> From Kingsclere. ALL SURNAMES IN CAPITAL LETTERS PLEASE. > > > > > > --------------------------------------- > > > If you get unsubscribed and did not ask to be unsubscribed, please > > > email eng-hampshire-kingsclere-admin@rootsweb.com > > > --------------------------------------- > > > Make sure your Anti Virus Protection is updated and do a weekly > > > backup of your files. > > > > > > > > > ------------------------------- > > > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > > > ENG-HAMPSHIRE-KINGSCLERE-request@rootsweb.com with the word > > 'unsubscribe' > > > > without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message > > > > --------------------------------------- > > > > >From Kingsclere. 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