#52 Ancestors - Christmas

Week 51 in my quest for 52 blogs this year and as its Christmas I thought I would take a random Christmas fact from my family tree and write about some families on the tree I have not mentioned before.  I looked at all the members on the tree who were baptised either on 25 or 26 December.  There were 23 altogether. 
 
Charles Edward RHOADES was my 3rd Great Grand Uncle and he was born in Ashby by Partney in Lincolnshire in 1824.  His parents were William RHOADES and Elizabeth GRAVES who were my Great x4 grandparents.  Charles had 4 brothers, John born 1821, William born 1823, Joseph born 1831 and Smith born 1833, my Great 3 Grandfather.  He had 4 sisters, Betsy born 1826, Emma born 1829, Susannah born 1835 and Mary Ann born 1840.
 
Charles married Elizabeth Payne in 1846 and I know of 2 sons born to them.
 
The interesting fact about Charles is that like his brother, Smith he ended up farming in Sussex.  I am yet to do more research into the family and discover if any more of the siblings ended up in Sussex but these 2 did.  Charles, according to the census returns I found farmed at Kents Farm in Hurstpierpoint which is in West Sussex.  He died in 1886 there. 
 
Charles had already set up home in Hurstpierpoint by the time of the 1851 census when Smith was still in Lincolnshire, he was a Groom in Welton Le Marsh.  By 1861 Smith had followed Charles to Hurstpierpoint.  However like Charles he had met and married his wife, Maria in Lincolnshire.

Image of Kents Farm, Hurstpierpoint, Sussex

George Frederick TURNER and Sarah Edith TURNER were both baptised on Boxing Day, Sarah in 1823 and George in 1828.  They were both born in Aldgate, London to Richard and Susannah TURNER.  They were my Great x5 Grandparents.  George and Sarah had 7 siblings, 4 brothers; James born 1804, my Great x 4 Grandfather, Edward born 1807 who died in 1809, Edward William born 1812 and John Richard born 1820 and 3 sisters; Sarah born 1806 died 1808, Nancy Susannah born 1816 and Margaret born 1827.  The family lived in Darby Street in Aldgate, London and later Cartwright Street, Aldgate where James and Edward brought up their own families. 
 
George Frederick died in August 1830 in Cartwright Street and Sarah Edith died in June 1824, meaning that Richard and Susannah lost 4 children all under the age of 5 painting a sad picture of poor families in some of the poorest parts of London.
 
James and his wife Eleanor DUNN married in 1826 and had 6 children, 4 of whom lived into adult life.  James died at the age of 38 when he was crushed by a falling piece of wood, James was a Carman although one record stated he was a Sawyer which was the chosen job of his son James Edwin, my Great x 3 Grandfather. 

Image of Aldgate, London showing Cartwright Street and Darby Street

​Lastly Henry STONESTREET was baptised on 26 December 1761 in Brightling, Sussex.  He was my Great x 5 Grandfather and he was born to Samuel and Lucy STONESTREET along with Lucy born 1751, Harry born 1754, died 1756, Elizabeth born 1757, Samuel born 1759, James born 1763 and Ann born 1765.  He married Sarah WATERS in 1783 in Heathfield and their seventh child was Ann born 1792 who married Thomas SINDEN alias WINCHESTER, who was my Great x4 Grandfather. 
 
In 1823 three of Henry and Sarah’s sons were convicted of breaking into a barn while returning home from Dallington with a wagon of wheat.  The trial took place at Lewes and they were all sentenced to 14 years transportation.  The three brothers departed Portsmouth, England 13 July 1824 aboard the Mangles 3 which arrived in Sydney via Teneriffe on 27 October 1824.  The convict indents states Moses aged 37, William aged 29 and Levi aged 23, all from Sussex and occupations listed as Reapers.  They arrived well and were forwarded to Parramatta for Distribution.  The three brothers were assigned to Mr J Hassall of Parramatta.
 
I wonder how many of those families who had their children baptised over Christmas thought about the future and where the lives of those babies would be directed.  These three examples of the 23 children baptised at Christmas all ended up with very different lives, some short, some having done well for themselves and some working hard, and bringing their own children into the world.  These three ancestors of mine are all work in progress, I have more research to do on all of them.  

Image of the church at Brightling in Sussex

Image of the Christmas story