Rodney Kimberley Greenard GANT

Rodney Kimberley Greenard GANT is a bit of a mystery. He was born in July 1901 in Ipswich, and registered in Sept Qtr 1901 as Rodney Kimberley GREENARD. According to the IGI, he was the son of Edward Marshall GREENARD and Jessie Susan WARNER. Edward and Jessie are on the 1901 census in Ipswich with several children - no Rodney of course, as he would have been born later that year. Jessie Susan GREENARD’s death is registered in June Qtr 1906 in Ipswich, and according to the IGI, Edward Marshall GREENARD died in 1917 in Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada. At least 2 of the older children also died in Canada, so they may have gone with Edward after Jessie’s death.

No problems so far… except that Rodney uses the surname GANT, not GREENARD.

• Rodney’s Navy Service Record Card (shown above) clearly has his surname as GANT.
• Rodney Kimberley Greenard GANT married Mary McNiece NISBET in 1924 in Brisbane, Australia.
• Maxwell Rodney Greenard GANT was born in Brisbane in 1927, presumably the son of Rodney and Mary.
• Rodney Kimberley GANT and Mary McNiece GANT are listed on the Australian Electoral Rolls between 1930 and 1936 in New South Wales, Australia.
• Rodney Kimberley G. GANT died in 1961 in Parramatta District, New South Wales. His parents’ names are shown on the index as George and Lucy - not Edward and Jessie as would have been expected.

So the question is - why GANT, and who are George and Lucy? I can find no record of a suitable George GANT marrying a Lucy, otherwise I would have assumed that Rodney was taken in by a George and Lucy GANT after his mother died. More research is definitely needed.

Caroline Gant, Convict

The convict records have at last arrived, delayed no doubt by Royal Mail’s industrial action. They were worth the wait though as I now know that Caroline was indeed from my family. Caroline Gant was my Great Great Aunt, the younger sister of my Great Grandfather William Gant.  The convict records give her age as 19, but I think she may have been nearer 16 judging by the entries on the 1841 and 1851 censuses.

She was convicted at Ipswich Quarter Sessions in January 1852, sentenced to 10 years hard labour, and transported to Tasmania. Her crime - “Stealing a Petticoat and a Jacket from a Little Boy”. She seemed to be a bit of a rebel! Her conduct on the ship was described as “fair”, all the others on the page were “good”. She was sentenced to an additional 4 months hard labour for “insolence”, and she absconded at least once while in Tasmania, earning her another 3 months hard labour and a spell in the House of Correction in Launceston. She married John Smith and had 2 sons, William and Samuel, in 1854 and 1856. Unfortunately that wasn’t the end of her life of crime as she was convicted of “Larceny under £5″ in 1861, and sentenced to another 9 months hard labour.

All this information about Caroline - and more - will be added to my website as soon as possible. An update is long overdue!

Cosford Marriage Challenge

Many thanks to Sandra, a member of the Guild of One Name Studies who has completed a Guild Marriage Challenge for Cosford Registration District. I have received through the post 62 (yes, sixty two!) faux marriage certificates for Gant marriages taking place in Cosford between 1837 and 1911. There’s a huge amount of information on these certificates; I’m currently adding it all to my database and it will be included in the next update of my website.

Convict transported to Tasmania

Ancestry.co.uk have recently added a database of convicts transported to Australia. There are only a couple of entries for Gants, but one of them is a Caroline Gant tried and convicted in Ipswich, Suffolk and transported to Tasmania in 1852 aboard the Sir Robert Seppings - thanks to Liz for drawing this entry to my attention!

It’s highly likely that this is my Great Great Aunt Caroline Gant, younger sister of my Great Grandfather William Gant. He had five younger sisters, two of whom died in childhood, and the surviving sisters Eliza, Caroline and Matilda seemed to have vanished off the face of the earth after the 1851 census when the family were living in Ipswich. If the convict Caroline is in fact from my family, then maybe her sisters followed her to Tasmania at a later date.

I now have to wait for the convict records to arrive from Tasmania - there’s a 9 week backlog apparently, so that takes us at least to the end of September. Naturally I hope she’s from my family, but if not, I’ll make sure I reunite her with her relatives!

Photo Gallery

The Photo Gallery on my website is filling up nicely, thanks to several very generous contributors. Currently there are 92 photographs relating to seven different Gant trees, and there’s plenty of room for more! It’s great to be able to put faces to names, and it makes the family trees so much more interesting. Real people, not just a list of names and facts.

Google Earth Placemarks

I’m not sure if this will be useful or not, but I’ve added a downloadable Google Earth placemark (as a .kmz file) to each of the Gant trees that I’ve researched so far. Each placemark represents the earliest event found in each tree. They certainly show how the families were clustered around eastern England, though as the dates of these events range from 1647 to the nineteenth century the placemarks probably are really no more than a rough guide.

To get the best effect (see the image), turn off all the layers in Google Earth after downloading and opening each KMZ file.

James Gant on HMS Bellerophon, 1796

Paul in Australia has sent me details of a James Gant, born about 1770 in Yorkshire. Paul collects Royal Navy Medals and Militaria and recently purchased a medal which was contemporaneously engraved to one “James Gant of the Bellerophon”. The medal is Alexander Davidson’s Medal for the Nile 1798, gilt-bronze which was awarded to Petty Officers present at the Battle of Aboukir Bay on 1 August 1798. There are further details on my website.

So far I have been unable to identify this James Gant. There are several Gant families in Yorkshire around the mid 1700s, particularly around the Leeds/Bradford area. My feeling is that he may be from the Gant family who were in Bolton, Bradford, Yorkshire around the mid 1700s. There was a James Walker Gant baptised in Bradford in 1777, the son of Richard Gant of Bradford, and brother of Benjamin Gant, the grandfather of Tetley Gant CMG. I have no further information about James Walker Gant, but another of Benjamin’s grandsons was named Louis Walker Gant in 1870, was this possibly as a mark of respect to an “illustrious” relative born 100 years previously?

Burials in Weston in Gordano, Somerset

I found a burial for John Gant/Gaut at St Peter and St Paul, Weston in Gordano, Somerset. John Gant b. abt 1830 Barnham, Suffolk was a Gamekeeper at Weston Hill, Weston in Gordano from about 1861 onwards. As we live less than 5 miles from Weston in Gordano, we just had to go to take photographs!

I suspect that this John was known as John GAUT as that is what the inscription looks like. There is also a death registration under the name of GAUT in March Quarter 1900, Bristol Registration District. His family were consistently in the earlier censuses as GANT, also most of the birth and marriage registrations for this family were for GANT, but somewhere along the way Gant became Gaut. It’s so easy in a handwritten transcription to confuse the two names, so this must be what happened to change their name.

Headstone at St Peter and St Paul, Weston in Gordano, Somerset.
Monumental Inscription:
In memory of John Ga_t
Died __ January 1900
Age 71 years
Also his wife
Mary Jane __nt
Died 31st December 188_
Age 50 years
(Gravestone is of sandstone, has crumbled and is difficult to read)

Margaret Gant of Hothfield, Kent

James Gant and his wife Frances probably came from Wighton in Norfolk, though for some reason as yet unknown they lived in Hothfield in Kent from around 1822 where their daughter Margaret was born - five previous children had been born in Wighton.

Their son Robert Gant married Phoebe Waters, and emigrated with their family to Australia in 1858, where there are still many Gant descendants. Their daughter Margaret Gant married George Gurr in December Quarter 1840, in West Ashford (Kent) Registration District. After that Margaret and George disappeared. Thanks to Michael and Dot - both from Australia - I now know what happened to Margaret. (Incidentally, Margaret’s sister Anne Gant married George Gurr’s brother Edwin, December Qtr 1841 in West Ashford Registration District.)

“The Moffatt”, brought Margaret and George Gurr, a carpenter, as emigrants to Australia arriving on the 31st May 1841. George Gurr died about 1841/1842 and his widow Margaret Gurr with a young baby named Henry, married Abraham Mills at Morpeth NSW on 6th November 1843.

Margaret and Abraham had 16 children. Margaret Gant was born 1st June 1822 at Hothfield Kent and died 8th September 1879, and is buried at Mt.Vincent cemetery near Newcastle NSW. Abraham Mills died 3rd June 1902 at Mulbring and is buried beside Margaret at Mt Vincent Cemetery

Abraham Mills was born in England about 1817 and came to Australia as a convict on 31st August 1836 on the ship “The Moffatt”, the same ship that brought Margaret and George to Australia some 5 years later.

Captain Robert James Gant

Anna has very kindly sent me lots of information and photographs of her family, including Captain Robert James Gant b. 1856 Wiveton, Norfolk. Robert James Gant was Captain of the steamship Homer, which disappeared with the whole of her crew after a collision with the Russian barque Hoppet off Spurn Head, Yorkshire in 1901. As always, there’s plenty more information on my website.

Gant wills

I’ve downloaded three very interesting Wills from the National Archives, those of William Gant a Stationer of Bristol (dated 1781), Elizabeth Gant a widow of Bristol (dated 1792), and Ann Gant a spinster of Spitalfields (dated 1809). I’d already correctly guessed that William Gant and Elizabeth Gant were husband and wife, but it appears that Ann Gant of Spitalfields was the sister of William. William and Ann were the son and daughter of William Gant, a weaver of Spitalfields.

They seem to have been a very well-to-do family judging by their possessions and apparent wealth. Incidentally, William Gant, the weaver of Spitalfields, was a direct ancestor of the surgeon Frederick James Gant, the author of the book I purchased from eBay.

Found on eBay!

I usually keep a watch on eBay to see if any interesting items crop up relating to the Gant surname. I recently found this little gem, a book by Frederick James Gant entitled “A Guide to the Examinations at the Royal College of Surgeons in England for the diplomas of Member and Fellow”. Of course I had to buy it!

Frederick James Gant was a renowned surgeon born in Hackney, Middlesex in 1825, and author of many books on surgical procedures. The Gant Prize was founded at the Royal Free Hospital School of Medicine in 1907 by the Foundation of Frederick James Gant. Awarded jointly from 2004 following the merger of the Royal Free Hospital School of Medicine with University College London and Middlesex School of Medicine.

A Guide to the Examinations at the Royal College of Surgeons in England for the diplomas of Member and Fellow, by Frederick James Gant F.R.C.S., Senior Surgeon to the Royal Free Hospital; President of the Medical Society of London.
Bailliere, Tindall & Cox. 1881

More Gants from Little Blakenham

And yes, these are all from my family. Huge thanks to Bob in Canada! A connection to the Gants from Barking in Suffolk now seems unlikely, but I’m more than happy to have gone back another generation on my hard to find family.

It’s been pointed out to me that I’m lucky to be here…. my GG Grandfather William Gant b 1801 in Little Blakenham was the 14th child of William Gant and Sarah Fairs. All but one of their previous 13 children had died either in infancy or in early childhood.

Lucy Gant, infant was buried March 4, 1791.

Uney Gant buried Sept. 28, 1794.

William son of William Gant and wife Sarah buried March 18, 1795.

Samuel son of William Gant and his wife Sarah was buried Sept. 22, 1799.

Samuel son of William Gant and Sarah, Late Fairs was born August 2, 1799 bapt. August 4, 1799.

William son of William Gant, his wife Sarah,Late Fairs was born Feb. 22, 1795 bapt. March 11, 1795.

Uney dau. of William Gant his wife Sarah, Late Fairs, born June 8, 1794 bapt. June 15.

Lucy dau. of William Gant and wife Sarah, born Dec. 16, 1791 bapt. Dec. 18, 1791.

Mary dau. of William Gant and wife Sarah was born Jan. 9, 1792 bapt. Jan. 13, 1792.

Sarah dau. of William and Sarah Gant was bapt. Sept. 18, 1781.

William son of William and Sarah Gant was July 21, 1782.

Sarah dau. of William and Sarah Gant was bapt. Dec. 7, 1783.

Hannah dau. of William and Sarah Gant was born Mar. 18, 1785, bapt. Mar. 27, 1785.

Sarah Gant was buried Jan. 29, 1782.

William Gant, infant was buried Sept. 1782.

William son of William and Sarah was born Feb. 26, 1801 bapt. Mar. 8,1801.

Hannah dau. of William and Sarah was buried June 9, 1785.

Marriage fiche 3:

William Gant, otp and Sarah Fayers, parish of Combs, banns Oct. 5, Oct. 12. Oct. 19. 1777. fiche 3, entry 16, page 4.

Burial fiche 5: Willam Gant March 16, 1823 age 73. entry# 65, page 9.

Sarah Gant age 66, April 29, 1823. entry# 66, page 9.

My Gant family from Blakenham, Suffolk. A breakthrough!

Thanks to Liz who has helped me so much in the past, it seems like I’m finally getting somewhere with my own Gant family. From the Suffolk Burials CD:

Little Blakenham burials
Sarah Gant 27 Jan 1782
William Gant 1 Sep 1782 inf
Hannah Gant 9 Jun 1785 Da of William & Sarah late Fairs
Lucy Gant 11 Mar 1792 inf
Uney Gant 28 Sep 1794
William Gant 18 Mar 1798 so William & Sarah
Samuel Gant 22 Sep 1799 so William & Sarah
James Gant 29 Jan 1804 inf so William & Sarah
William Gant aged 73 buried at Lt Blakenham on 16 Mar 1823 abode Lt Blakenham
Sarah Gant aged 66 buried at Lt Blakenham on 29 April 1823, wid of William abode Lt Blakenham
William Gant aged 52 buried at Barham on 25 April 1852 died Barham UH, “late Blakenham Parva”.
Samuel Gant aged 70 buried on 11 May 1835 at Barham died Barham UH, “late Barking”
Elizabeth Gant aged 67 buried on 5 May 1836 at Barham died Barham UH, “late Barking”

Gant families from Barking, Suffolk

I’ve been trying for a long time to connect my GG Grandfather William GANT born around 1801 in Blakenham, to other GANT families. Blakenham isn’t far from Barking, and I’d found Sarah born abt 1791 in Barking. On the 1851 census, I had also found a Samuel GANT in Hadleigh, born abt 1790 in Barking, and I thought it possible that Samuel and Sarah were brother and sister.

I have a theory, as yet unproved, that my William GANT b. abt 1801 in Blakenham is another sibling of Samuel and Sarah. William’s son (also William) born around 1830 in Blakenham named his first son William Samuel, and one of his daughters Sarah Ann. Both babies died in infancy, and the names weren’t used again in the family. Possibly coincidence, but it may show a link to the Samuel and Sarah from Barking.

My GANT family starts here: http://www.gant-name.org.uk/trees/658.htm

Lots more research is needed for my family!

Gant family from Brandon, Suffolk

The first tree has been added to my new One Name website - the descendants of Francis Gant of Weeting, Norfolk. Many of his female descendants worked as furriers in Brandon, probably not the most pleasant of occupations as the job involved skinning the local rabbits!

Lingwood’s Hat and Fur Factory in Brandon

Extract From White’s 1844 Suffolk Directory

BRANDON, a well-built market town, noted for gun-flints, whiting, rabbit-skins, and fur, is pleasantly situated on the south bank of Little Ouse river, which is navigable for barges, and is crossed by a good bridge, at the junction of roads from Lynn and Swaffham, 6 miles W.N.W of Thetford, 9 miles N.N.E. of Mildenhall, 16 miles N. by W. of Bury St. Edmunds, and 78 miles N.N.E. of London. Its parish increased its population from 1148 souls in 1801, to 2002 in 1841, and comprises 6760 acres of land, extending six miles westward, along the south side of the vale, to the fens, and including about 4500 acres of light sandy land, which was inclosed under an Act passed in 1807, previous to which it was in open sheep-walks, and a large rabbit warren. Though now enclosed, there are still many rabbits to be seen in the parish; and on its broders are the extensive warrens of Lakenheath, Santon Downham and Elveden, which supply the Brandon furriers with immense quantities of skins, the dressing of which gives employment to about 200 females. During the late war, and before the invention of percussion caps, great numbers of the inhabitants were employed in preparing gun-flints from the prolific beds of that mineral, which lie at various depths below the chalk stratum; but the trade had become nearly obsolete in 1838, when a company was formed in 138 £25 shares, for its revival. The flint found here in large masses is said to be the best in the world for the use of fire-arms; and Brandon is now the only place in England where gun-flints are made to any considerable extent. Here are three whiting-mills, and a large brewery; and several barges ply hence to and from Lynn with corn, coal, &c.