Edward Mills - Jeanne Lewens married 1662

[kazwilly]

Hi guys, I am a "newbie" and have been researching my family "Mills" for the past 15 years. I have a "brick wall" I am trying to knock down.'
Edward Mills and Jeanne Lewens married in Mere 1662 - and I have been unable to locate Edwards father and mother from any sources so far!!!
Any ideas, as the family seemed to have lived somewhere else prior to this date. After this marriage- all the family resided in Mere.

I was told that a possibility was that his mother's name was Margaret Townsend??? (Calne)

Cheers from down under in OZ
Kaz

[pwholt]

Looking at the date of the marriage, you may have a problem that will never be satisfactorily solved. 1662 is at the end of the English Civil War. During that period,roughly 1640-1660, many places didn't keep records, or those that were kept were not preserved after the Restoration, and so there are gaps in baptisms as well as marriages from about 1640 onwards. No Bishops Transcripts either as there were no Bishops for that period. I'm assuming you mean Mere in Wiltshire; in that case, you'd do better to look in Dorset or Somerset rather than to Calne, Wiltshire. Mere is on the southern border while Calne is separated from the south by the barrenness of Salisbury Plain.
Dorset and Somerset places would be nearer.
Have you considered wills? Can you identify other MILLS who left wills which may name your Edward? These did tend to survive, and can be found in the PCC collection at the National Archives. PW

[2001woosnam]

Hi Kazwilly,

Have you tried the TribalPages website? - it is www.tribalpages.com and you may have to register (takes two minutes and is free).You press the search tab and then the Family tree websites, then press Mills and all the Mills' names will come up. Enter Edward Mills and you will see that there are several from Mere starting with Edward born in 1648.These are all from the Hails/Martin family tree. You can write by e-mail to the tree owner and ask to see their tree - worth a go!

Good luck

John King

[kazwilly]

Thank you so much for making the time to help me. I really appreciate it.
It appears that this is the same family, as I recognise a lot of the surnames attached to the Mills family.
Cheers'
Kaz

[kazwilly]

Thank you so much - I will try to check out the details for Somerset and Dorset
Yes it was Mere Wiltshire I was referring to - should have explained better.
Kaz

[2001woosnam]

Hi Kaz,

I've done a little more digging and I think I have made some progress for you.

It seems that Edward and Jean were actually married in 1691 at Mere and Edward was born in Mere in 1672 and Jean in 1665. They had 4 children William b.1693 d.1694, Grace b.1700,William b.1703 and Edward b.1710.. Edward's father was Edward Mills born in 1642 at Mere and his mother was Jean Bowles born in 1647 - they were married in Mere on 14th January 1669 at St Michael's Church, Mere.

I found these details on website - www.wiltshire-opc.org.uk. Go into that site and press Parish Information Centre and then Parishes I-O on right hand side.Then press Mere and on next page above the Church photograph enter Cathy Day's website. Then press the Master Index and go down to "Fanny Miles to Maria Mills" and enter. You will find Edward Mills b. 1672 lower down.
You will also be able to see his children's marriages.

Hope this is some help and if you need any further assistance then please shout.

Regards

John

[kazwilly]

Thank you so much John, now I need to be able to confirm "Edwards" parents details which have proved very elulsive - it appears the family were living elsewhere prior to Mere?
Any suggestions?
Regards'
Kaz::

[2001woosnam]

Hi Kaz,
You can drop an e-mail to Cathy Day who has compiled the Mere records - she is in fact based in Australia working for Australia National University. As she is an expert in the Wiltshire area she may be able to throw some light on your family prior to 1642.
Regards
John