William EDWARDS was my Gt. Gt. Grandfather and he married Joanna MILES Base Born child of Miriam MILES, they married at St. Michael Church, Basingstoke, Hants on 11 Oct 1841. After the birth of their first son William [born 27 Mar 1842 at Basingstoke] the family moved to Kingsclere, they were the first EDWARDS in Kingsclere. William [the elder] was according to the 1851/1861 & 1871 Census "Born At Sea" - and that is where I am stuck, there are no records -as far as my researching has gone - for children Born At Sea covering the period William would have been born i.e. About 1816. His father according to his Marriage Cert was also William and he was a Labourer. ONS GRO CHAPLINS RETURNS/ MARRIAGES I found an entry for a William Jeffrey EDWARDS who married Ann HARE at Ostend in 1815. I decided to purchase a copy. It states Netherlands / 1815 November 13th / No.14 William Jeffrey EDWARDS / Gent & Lieutenant in the Royal Navy / Batchelor and Ann HALL/ Spinster. By Me Thomas MORRIS Chaplain to the Forces. Why Ann is HARE in the Indexes and HALL on the Cert I have not delved into. I sent for this Cert as William [the Elder] named one of his sons Jeffrey [Geoffrey] but I do not feel that a Gent & Lieutenant in the Navy would have become a Labourer - but..... one never knows! Dorothy is so good at delving that I wondered if she might have some thought on all this - I have never made it to the Hampshire R.O. to see if they might have something that might throw some light on these William's - my niece Shirley back in the 1980's did the early researching at the R.O. I descend from William [the eldest son] who moved to Hurst, Berks to work - along it seems with some other folk from Kingsclere - MILES & JEWELL. Can anyone tell me why this emigration took place by these families - was there an advert in the local paper informing the local people of "the promised land" - Hurst is still very much a country Village, I have visited and I was born in Reading which is not that far away. William & Joanna had the following children after William and they were all born in Kingsclere: George [1845] who married Elizabeth JONES and who moved to Reading, Berks. They lived at 31 Waterloo Road and my mother was born at No. 26. When I was a child my mother would send me up to Waterloo Road with fresh vegetables from my father's allotment - time has been cruel here as I just cannot remember who the lady was or the number of the house I had to deliver to - but obviously it must have been a descendant of George. John [1846] died [1848] Ambrose [1848] married Matilda ROLFE 2 Nov 1869 died [1919] buried Hannington. Sarah Ann [1851] married Daniel DENNIS 14 Feb 1869 at Kingsclere, lived Newbury, Berks. Harry [1853] married Agnes H. [Unknown] lived Swindon, Wilts / worked on the Railway. Jeffrey [Geoffrey] [1856] married Mary Ann [Unknown] stayed in Kingsclere / Gen Lab. James [1858] married Charlotte BUTLER / lived Swindon, Wilts / worked as a Brass Fitter. Edward [1860] died [1861]. Their mother Joanna died 22 May 1903 in Northcroft Lane, Newbury, Berks Aged 84 yrs as Johanna EDWARDS / the Informant was her daughter Sarah Ann. I cannot find where she was buried. Their father William died 6 Oct 1900 at Poors Cottages, Wolverton, Kingsclere Aged 83 Yrs/ the Informant was his daughter Sarah Ann who was then living at the Temperance Hall, Newbury, Berks. I cannotfind where he was buried. If anyone can fill in the "gaps" I would be most greatful. Denis