Mary Bilcliffe and my other Bilcliffe ancestors

Mary Bilcliffe (1735-1783).My 5th great-grandmother. The Bilcliffe surname is a rare one in the UK and appears in several forms in the records (like many other surnames of the time), for example as Billcliff, Billcliffe, Bentley and even Bentlet. The first to marry into my Surrey-based Finch family was Mary Bilcliffe – but who was […]

Phoebe Ann Ward (1836-1921)

Dover war memorial

Phoebe Ann Ward (1836-1921). My 2nd great-grandmother. Phoebe Ann Ward was born in Tottenham, Middlesex, on 28 November 1836 and was baptised there on 26 February 1837 at All Hallows Church. Her parents were gardener William Ward and Mary Ann Downer. As a teenager, Phoebe worked as a domestic servant. The 1851 census shows her living at […]

Agnes Louisa Finch (1869-1952) – shopkeeper in Scotland

The 1911 census

Agnes Louisa Finch (1869-1952) and Robert Hardie (1866-1920).My great-grand aunt and uncle. Agnes spent much of her life in Scotland but was born in 1869 and baptised on 21 November of that year in St Matthew’s Church, Redhill, Surrey, the daughter of Isaac Finch and Phoebe Ann Ward. The family lived in Chart Road and […]

Peter Finch (1845-1891) and his well-travelled son Henry

The Aorangi

Peter Finch (1845-1891) and Eliza Esther Turner (1841-1895). My 2nd great-grand uncle and aunt. Born in 1845 to parents Henry Finch and Jane Bashford, Peter could well have been the twin of his brother George as they were both baptised on 15 June that year at St Mary’s Church in Reigate, Surrey. And he ended […]

Henry Finch (1834-1919) – gardener and property owner

The 1911 census return

Henry Finch (1834-1919), Lydia Lambourn (1822-1891) and Eleanor Streeter (1845-1927). My 2nd great-grand uncle and aunts. Henry Finch was baptised in St Mary’s Church in Reigate, Surrey, on 9 March 1834, the son of Henry Finch and Jane Bashford. His father was an agricultural labourer and he grew up with the family in and around […]

James Finch (1831-1900) and his adventurous son Jacob

HMS Malabar

James Finch (1831-1900) and Mary Wicks (1831-1881). My 2nd great grand-uncle and aunt. James Finch was baptised on 13 November 1831 at St Mary’s Church in Reigate, Surrey, one of the sons of Henry Finch and Jane Bashford. After growing up in the town with his siblings, he following his father in working as an […]

Mary Ann Finch (1867-1954) and her ill-fated soldier son

Mary and family in the 1911 census

Mary Ann Finch (1867-1954).My 2nd great aunt. Born to Isaac Finch and Phoebe Ann Ward in 1867 in Reigate, Mary Ann Finch was baptised at St Matthew’s Church in Redhill, Surrey, on 19 January 1868. She grew up in the area with her family and in 1881 was living at home but working as a domestic […]

Jacob Finch (1866-1935) – death in a sandpit

Jacob's burial record

Jacob Finch (1866-1935), Mary Ann Dodd (1870-1901) and Annie Elizabeth Lacey (1872-1955). My great-grand uncle and aunts. Jacob Finch was born in 1866 in Reigate, Surrey, the son of Isaac Finch and Phoebe Ann Ward, and was baptised on 19 August that year at St Matthew’s Church in Redhill. The 1881 census reported him working […]