THE FINNIS FAMILY TREE
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THE FINNIS FAMILY TREE |
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Alongside is an old photograph of a cottage built
in the 1500s in the Kent Village of Acrise. It was once the home of
Valentine Finnis (1752-1837) and was supplied by Lindsay Gregory a more
recent occupant who says "I grew up in Acrise,
where Valentine was born and lived. My father was a parish councillor
and spent much time attending meetings at the Estate where the private
church of St Martins was. The names of the Finnis and Court family are
very familiar to me. As a child I would often put wild flowers on the
neglected graves of both families. Such are the odd things that children
do! The Courts owned quite a bit of land then and were quite well off. I got involved in family history as my father had an awful lot of old papers. I had always been fascinated by Valentine, if only because his was such an unusual name. In Valentine's time, there was an enormous coachhouse there, so one would assume that he was quite a wealthy man." It now forms part of The Limes Farm Equestrian Centre. The couple in the photograph are unknown. |
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Above are 2 photographs, perhaps
1900, of the carpenter's shop, East Langdon owned by Ernest John Finnis (1876). |
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NAVIGATION OF THIS
SITE |
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BROWSER
INCOMPATIBILTY |
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It could be said that my link, and that of many others, to Henry and Ann is a little tenuous. My immediate descendant was another Henry born around 1803 and he does not appear as part of the family in some sources. However, the 1851 census shows that Henry, a policeman, had with him his nephew James aged 20 from East Langdon, (also a policeman). This strongly suggests that he was James the son of Thomas Finnis (1805) and the 1851 census for the household of Thomas shows that his son James was not there. Further corroboration comes from James having married in London in 1852. I have discovered many
living relatives and I hope they will participate in this site by
sending photographs for publication. There is a
contact list of those who wish their
An important discovery
has occurred from further research of the International Genealogical
Index. Henry's parents have now been established and it will be seen
that Henry had 8 siblings. I have so far researched only the oldest,
Anne Finnis, baptized in 1752, who married John Spain in 1771. Just recently,
following further research, it became apparent that a memorandum sent to
me by Bruce Ingram over a year ago and running to 12 pages had become
relevant. It deals with descendants of John Fineux born about 1650.
The memorandum deals with descendants of John's grandson Henry
(1705-1794). Until then, all of those listed on this family tree were
descendants of John's grandson Thomas (1702-?). This new web site was
published for the first time by using a "gedcom", a means of
transferring genealogical information from one source (in this case
Genes Reunited) to another (in this case Family Historian). The
transfer is not completely seamless and many dates of
births/deaths/marriages became corrupted. It will take a little
while to sort this out. Photographs also need to be sorted out.
Please continue to mail new ones. It has taken a few
weeks to add the descendants of Ann Finnis (1752) and John Spain (1753). A mailshot to Finnis
telephone subscribers in the Dover area has revealed the families of
Lucjon "Lew" Finnis (1947) and his brother John (1934). The corrupted dates
referred to 15 January have now been attended to. Following contact with Thelma Breed and John Burfoot,
more information has been entered about the family of Donald Finnis
(1897). In particular, his daughters Dorothy (1922) and Mabel
(1924) are alive and well. Contact with Mark Wood has also added
information on the family of Elizabeth Finnis (1738). Many further additions have
occurred in the last two months including the families of John Finnis
(1740), Francis Pilcher (1780), Fanny Finnis (1850), William Finnis
(1855), Albert George Finnis (1895), Ernest Finnis (1897), James G
Finnis (1900) and Frank Finnis (1902). Following contact with Trevor Finnis,
hundreds of additions have been made in the last three weeks reflecting
the marriage of William Finnis (1759) to Mildred Arnold together with
their descendants. New family groupings have been added
for William Finnis (1857) following the acquisition of his marriage
certificate, for Ann Finnis (1783) following contact with Sheena
Merrick, and for Frances Finnis (1801) following contact with Naomi
Weatherhead. Reviewing the 1911 census for England
& Wales has revealed family for Charles John Finnis (1869) - another
case of adding a second s to the surname, and for Henry Edward Finnis
(1872). Contact with Keith Grover has revealed descendants of
Joseph Finnis (1821). Sadie Gosby recently made contact and
supplied details of further descendants of Frances Finnis (1801).
Likewise Malcolm Pinnell gave details of further descendants of Ann
Finnis (1735). Meanwhile further review of the 1911 census has
shown more relatives of Margaret Anne Finnis (1866). Descendants of Jane Eliza Finnis
(1868) are now included. The 1911 census has produced further
information, notably many more entries for the Mercer Family; Brett
Mercer (1732) married Sarah Finnis (1740). Further research for marriages has
added several more relatives, notably descendants of Ernest James Finnis
(1898). A visit to Westminster Abbey today
revealed, in a collection of silver, a plate dated 1675 from St
Augustine's in East Langdon. Unfortunately the Warriors Chapel was
closed for repairs. It contains many of the old colours of The
Buffs (Royal East Kent) Regiment, now the Princess Of Wales' Royal
Regiment. The altar and east window are memorials to the men of
this regiment and perhaps some of our ancestors are remembered there.
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WHO IS THE OLDEST LIVING
FINNIS? |
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With thanks to Pam Colbourne for help with research.
Created with Family Historian 4
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