KENNARD from Clapham, Sussex. Help!

[fpegrum]

Please could somebody give me a direction in which to go? I have John KENNARD born in Clapham, Sussex in 1732, marrying Mary HEWITT in 1773 and dying in London in 1791.

I also have his brother George KENNARD birthplace and marriage date unknown who died at Covent Garden in 1782.

The information for John has been obtained by the I.G.I. as a 'record submitted by a member of the LDS church'. My questions concern how to confirm this information and trace back - sorry this may sound a bit general but the Sussex area is a new one on me. If possible, I would like to avoid a trip down to London!

Many thanks in advance,

Fiona

[Jane M]

Hi Fiona,

I've checked my Sussex Marriage index and there is no marriage for a John Kennard to a Mary Hewitt, so their marriage didn't occur in Sussex. There are other marriages of John Kennard around that time but not to an Ann. AS it appears he was about 41 when he married Ann, have you considered that it might be a second marriage?
Some marriages of a George Kennard in Sussex also, so let me know if you want me to check anything!
Jane

[fpegrum]

Hi Jane, Many thanks for having a look for me; John KENNARD is often recorded as also being married to Mary HUYSHE - was that a record that you came across?

If you are able to assist George KENNARD's wife is Elizabeth ? b. about 1738 who died at Covent Garden.

With many thanks,

Fiona

[Jane M]

Hi Fiona,

Absolutely NOTHING for a marriage of John Kennard in Sussex, nothing even close to it. Checked under Mary Hewitt, again nothing remotely close. Checked under Mary Huyshe, no marriages recorded at all under that name.

Only marriages for George Kennard to an Elizabeth are recorded in 1815, 1819 & 1824, much too late for your George & Elizabeth.

I know Hewitt to be very much in evidence in Surrey (I have the name in my line) so that might be the place to go.

Sorry not to be more positive on this for you,

Jane

[Jane M]

Hi Fiona it's me again,
Just done a bit of sleuthing for you. From the IGI it would appear that your John Kennard was the son of Thomas & Mary. Here is their marriage,

Extract from the Sussex Marriage Index:
Place: Fairlight, East Sussex, Date: 30 Mar 1719:
Subject: Thomas KENNARD
Spouse: Mary CRAMP
They had 5 children that I can find, Thomas 1720, Fairlight, Mary 1723, Guestling, Joseph, 1725, Guestling, Ann 1729, Guestling & your John 1732, Guestling.

I have two marriages for a John Kennard, One in fairlight & one in Guestling.
Extract from the Sussex Marriage Index:
Place: Fairlight, East Sussex, Date: 10 Sep 1750:
Subject: John KENNARD
Spouse: Mary HARMAN, Pett (Mary is from Pett in Sussex)

Extract from the Sussex Marriage Index:
Place: Guestling, East Sussex, Date: 10 Apr 1755:
Subject: John KENNARD
Spouse: Susanna PAGHAM

These could be the same John, Mary having died and he remarrying. I found 2 birth's attributed to a John & Mary Kennard, William 1751, Pett & Mary 1752, Hellingly. None after 1752. Several children attributed to a John & Sussana.

Jane

[Geoffers]

Please could somebody give me a direction in which to go? I have John KENNARD born in Clapham, Sussex in 1732, marrying Mary HEWITT in 1773 and dying in London in 1791. I also have his brother George KENNARD birthplace and marriage date unknown who died at Covent Garden in 1782.
The information for John has been obtained by the I.G.I. as a 'record submitted by a member of the LDS church'. Fiona

NEVER trust information on the IGI which is submitted by a member. I have lost count of the number of queries that I have received from others in this hobby where their 'source' is a member submitted record - to date none of them have been properly or effectively researched and all have inaccuracies ranging from dates and places being wrong to completely fictitious records. The IGI entries taken directly from registers are usually fairly reliable, certainly enough to be used as a guide to checking original records.

What is the latest generation which you know to be correct and what source(s) have you for this? The sort of records which you need to be using to coinfirm detail for the 18th century include, Parish Registers (and the annual copies made and returned to either the Archdeacon or Bishop), Wills, Directories, Poll Books, Tax Records (e.g. Land Tax 1798), Militia Lists.

If you aren't sure about any of these sourcs and where to find them (many are on CD-rom from ArchiveCDbooks) - then just ask

Geoffers
Charlbury, Oxfordshire

[fpegrum]

Hi Jane

Many thanks for your input. I had a look at the information you managed to obtain; the only downside is that John's brother George is not amongst those named.

Regards

Fiona

[fpegrum]

Thanks for the suggestions. I would appreciate some advice on where I am likely to find further details.

My George KENNARD was proprietor of the Old Hummums in Covent Garden, Middlesex (will) married to Elizabeth (will). George died in 1782. The hotel stayed in the hands of various family members at least for another 50 years.

The only clue that I have about George's birthplace is from his brother's line John KENNARD (info from Burke's Peerage) and this is where the information submitted by a member on the IGI comes in. Any suggestions for next steps?

Regards

Fiona

[Jane M]

Fiona are you sure George & John are brothers? There are an awful lot of Kennards in the Sussex marriage index. For the distribution of marriages I have,

Lewes 47 marriages
Brighton 23
Guestling 19
Fairlight 7

So the Kennards seem to be in the Brighton/Lewes areas.

Have you looked for a death entry for George? It might give an age, although I doubt it, in those early years invariably they didn't. A marriage for George to Elizabeth might be in Middlesex. You need to ask for a BVRI look-up.
Jane

[fpegrum]

Hi Jane,

Yes John and George are definitely brothers - they and their families are mentioned in several wills. I do not have the age of George KENNARD's death; I only have his wife Elizabeth's estimated date of birth as 1738 (she was buried in Jan 1816 aged 78). I have found no record to date of a marriage in Middlesex. All I know is that their first child was christened in St Dunstan-in-the-West, London.

It is unfortunate that both brothers have common names as do their wives! Maybe something will come up eventually to lead me in the right direction!

Many thanks for your input.

Fiona