I have just subscribed and am a member of Kent FHS researching my CASSELDEN ancestors, mostly gardeners cum ag labs from Teston, working at Barham Court. My gt grandfather James married Sarah Ellen JONES 1 Mar 1868 at St John's in Sidcup and eventually the family moved to London where James just vanished without trace and Sarah had to bring up my grandfather, Frederick, and the family, alone! His father, also a James from BarnJet in Barming, married Anne POINTER at Wateringbury on 15 Feb 1835. The trail gets complicated here and it seems that his father was probably John CASTLEDON who married Susannah CRONK at Nettlestead on 16 May 1673. I have assembled a lot of data on the wider CASSELDEN family and am happy to share this information. This is such an unusual name that I have often speculated on it's origins, wondering if Cassel in northern France is connected? We have a transportee to Australia, William CASTLEDEN b 1776 in Teston and I have recently obtained basic details from The Archives Authority of South Wales in Australia. He was convicted at Kent Assizes on 5 August 1812 and given a life sentence. Can anyone please suggest how I could obtain details of his case from a distance, here is south Notts? Also, my gggf James is said to have drowned in the Medway10 May 1864, although I have been unable to locate a death certificate in the GRO records. Can anyone suggest a source that I could check this against? Would there have been a coroners report and how could I get access to this? Lastly, my gt granny Sarah, formerly JONES is proving a bit of a mystery. Her wedding certificate shows her father was a Robert JONES, moulder, deceased. I cannot find her family in Sidcup in 1868, although the 1881census entry for her London address shows she was born in St Helen's, Lancs. However, there is no record of her birth and I cannot rule out the possibility that her father originated from North Wales, possibly a brickmaker moving around for work. Please contact me if you would like further details or can help with any of this! Mike in south Notts. Mike Casselden <cassel@lm.u-net.com> <m.t.casselden@lboro.ac.uk> 01509 820711 (fax by arrangement) 6 Willow Close East Leake, Notts, UK LE12 6PU.