"To be ignorant of what occurred before you were born is to remain always a 
child. For what is the worth of human life, unless it is woven into the life 
of our ancestors by the records of history?" 
Marcus Tullius Cicero, 106 B.C.-43 B.C.

-----------------------------xxx000xxx--------------------------

"If you have an apple and I have an apple and we exchange these apples, then 
you and I will still each have one apple.But if you have an idea and I have an 
idea and we exchange these ideas, then each of us will have two ideas."
George Bernard Shaw - 1856-1950 
                     
---------------------------XXXOOOXXX----------------------------

Welcome to my Tribal Pages. Here you will learn something about our 
predecessors and their history as it is being discovered in the real time. 
You will find one or two on-line-links that have been helpful to me in my 
personal hunt for the roots of our family.

These links include sites of two organisations of which I am a member that 
are of great assistance in my research, they may provide you with more 
detailed information that could open other lines of research when you become 
bogged down. Other links take you to sites concerning my home town of Grays 
Thurrock, Essex, England UK.

If you can help me with my on-going quest I shall be pleased to hear from you. 
If you think I can assist you in anyway I will endeavour too, within the 
limitations of my knowledge and ability. Just leave me a message in my Guest 
Book which I hope you will visit and sign.

These are the principal family surnames involved in my research: GOSNALL, 
BUTTELL, CARTER, DINES, GILMOUR, GRANTHAM, HEMPSTEAD, KNIGHT, NEWTON, MERCER, 
MOTYER, OSBORN, PACKHAM, TUTTON, WILSON, WINSOR, and WINTER many more are 
listed in the index who have become embraced by marriage.

Geographically my roots are in the town of Grays Thurrock, Essex to which my 
fathers GOSNALL family brought him as a young boy c1885. They were Dockers 
from the Eastend of London who were moving to work in the new dock being built 
at Tilbury. 

My paternal great-grandparents are from North Essex, and were born in 
or around Colchester and Lawford according to the entry in the 1851 UK Census. 

My g.g. grandfather John GOSNALL, is described as a carpenter on his son John 
William, GOSNALL's marriage certificate issued at the Parish Church Lawford, 
Essex in 1843, so it is possible that he married in Colchester. It is 
un-confirmed to me at this time but other documents suggest he may have been 
born across the border in Suffolk. My great grandparents and their son had 
moved into the Dockland area of London's East End by 30 March 1851 and were 
found dwelling at 6, Princes Street, Tower Hamlets, St.George East, Middlesex. 

My fathers mother was Margaret SWEENEY her family came over from Limerick 
Ireland probably around the time of the potato famine of the 1840's and also 
settled in the East End of London where I found them at 4, Cox Square, Tower 
Hamlets, Spitalfields, Middlesex. They were makers of hats.

In the past couple of months I have been checking the 1851 and 1861 Census for 
Middlesex and as result have discovered that both my Grand-father and great-
grand-father appear to have married twice. My grand-mother Margaret SWEENEY 
Jnr. also appears to have had other children that died in infancy so from 
these facts it seems they had a very hard tough life.

My mothers BUTTELL family moved into Grays from South Ockendon, Essex. From 
the detailed information in the 1851 census it seems probable that John BUTTLE 
my g.g.-grand-father is the brother of Joseph BUTTLE who has his father James 
b.1782 at Stifford the next village on the road to Grays dwelling with him at 
South Ockendon. If my assumption, based solely on the evidence recorded in the 
census returns is correct, this ties the South Ockendon families to the family 
recorded in the IGI of Nathaniel and Elizabeth Buttle whose family included 
James born in 1782 and baptised at Stifford on the 14 April 1782.

Mother's maternal CARTER family came to Grays from Canvey Island North 
Benfleet, Essex further down the banks of the River Thames between 1851 and 
1861.

My wife's NEWTON family are from Swinderby, Lincolnshire. Her Great-grand-
father Charles NEWTON was a farmer married to Mary, more recent information 
now suggests she was Damaris CURTIS of Swinderby. Their son's, moved south to 
London at some point in the mid 1800's. In 1881 they were running a 
drapery business in the Westminster area. 

The family tree of Charles NEWTON and Damaris CURTIS can the new facts suggest 
be traced back to 1540 and include a branch that includes Sir Isaac NEWTON 
1642-1727

The web-site of Steve Pavitt  is all about my 
home town of Grays Thurrock and is well worth a visit, especially if you wish 
to know how you can put your home town or village on the world wide web.


Henry W. Longfellow once wrote :- 
"Lives of great men all remind us we can make our lives sublime and departing, 
leave behind us, footprints on the sands of time." 

Please kindly leave your "footprint" in my Guest Book and thank you for 
calling.