Exactly 900 burials for Stoke-by-Nayland just added to the site, from 1558-1600! More to follow.
Stoke-by-Nayland burials
More Kersey baptisms!
Nearly 700 baptisms for Kersey, Suffolk, from 1711-1762 added to the site. That makes nearly 3,000 baptisms for Kersey from 1561. And there’s more to come!
More Kersey baptisms!
Over 1,000 baptisms for Kersey, Suffolk, from 1631 to 1711 are now online!
The mystery of the Kersey headstone
In April, I paid a visit to Kersey in Suffolk. Like many Suffolk villages, it’s picturesque and full of ancient timber-framed houses, but Kersey is slightly different as its main street runs down and up the sides of a valley – quite unusual for a country that’s famously not very hilly. A ford runs across the main street, and at one end the church is perched above the village on a hill.
There’s some interesting memorials inside the church, and a large number of legible headstones in the churchyard. Some more legible than others, I noticed…
Continue reading →Early Kersey burials now online!
Over 1,000 burials for Kersey, Suffolk, now transcribed, from 1563-1670.
Stoke-by-Nayland transcriptions
Over 2,000 baptisms from 1558-1626, and over 1,200 marriages from 1558-1754 now online for Stoke-by-Nayland in Suffolk. The village is right on the border with Essex, not too far from Colchester. So if your Essex ancestors aren’t appearing in Essex registers, give the Stoke-by-Nayland transcriptions a try. There’s quite a few Colchester couples in the marriages, as well as people from Boxted, Dedham, and other nearby Essex parishes.
Boxford memorials
Sixty photos of memorials at Boxford St Mary church, including some headstones outside, and all of the memorials inside.
Early Kersey baptisms
Baptisms for Kersey, Suffolk, from 1561 to 1630 now online! And there’s more on the way.
Boxford, Suffolk – 1557-1760 now online!
Thousands of baptisms, marriages and burials for Boxford in Suffolk now online from 1557 to 1760.
Grass widows in Stoke-by-Nayland
I’m currently transcribing Stoke-by-Nayland’s parish registers, and I was rather confused by a marriage that took place on 23rd July 1622 between:
Amye Wright Grasse widow and Nathaniel Ratcatcher.
First of all, the entry is very unusual, giving the bride’s name before the groom’s. Secondly, it looks like Amy has two surnames, and that the groom’s surname has been missed off, giving his occupation instead.
So what were their names? Amy Wright, or Amy Grasse? Nathaniel Wright, or Nathaniel Grasse?
I carried on transcribing and met another, on 12th May 1633:
John Gallant widd. to Susan Clarke grease widd.
I realised then that “grease” or “grasse” wasn’t a surname, and the expression “grass widow” came to mind.
Continue reading →