Photographs of Kite family

During the past month I have received several photographs of members of the Kite family courtesy of Brian of Dorset, England. It has been so exciting to hear from Brian who stumbled across this blog while searching one day.

I have been able to share some information on the Kite family with Brian and he has shared dates and places with me that I didn't already have. Thank you again Brian.

Since I began doing genealogy and family history work many years ago I have been contacted by many wonderful family members. By sharing our work we don't have to repeat the same research over and over again.

What a blessing it has been in my life to get to know new people and others who have only been names but now are my friends.

If anyone has information or who has family pictures please contact me at jnybltz@q.com and let's share!

Thomas Nye and Ann Walker

We know that Thomas Nye was buried 3 March 1831 at Leigh, Kent, England. He was 81 years old and his birth year has been estimated as 1750 from this information. Although many family members have reported that Thomas' parents are Thomas Nye and Barbara Gearing it has been proven that information is incorrect.

Trying to find the parents of Thomas Nye has been a very tedious and long task and as of August 2011 the search continues.

We do know that Thomas married Ann Walker on 12 October 1775 at Leigh. This information was found at the LDS Genealogy Library in Salt Lake City, Utah and is recorded in the Parish Registers of Leigh, Kent. England.

Another interesting bit of information was found in Salt Lake City also and following is a transcription of a court entry-

The 1797 Quarter Sessions Meeting House, recorded in Leigh:
Whereas Thomas Hopkins, Joseph Gateward, John Harmon, Thomas Nye and William Medhurst protestant injectors of the denomination of General Baptist have certified to the justices of the peace at the General Quarter Sessions of the peace to house of William Medhurst in the parish of Leigh in the said County as the place of meeting of a congregation or assembly for religious worship and desired that it may be recorded in the court for that purpose. It is ordered by this court that the said house behind the same is hereby for that purpose pursuant to the statute in that case made and provided.

This proof of Thomas being a non-conformist helps us to understand why his granddaughters Anne and Sophia Nye paid to have the Baptist Church on Pembury Road built and also why his grandsons John and Thomas Cotton Nye chose to marry their brides at the Wateringbury Baptist Church.

Ann Walker had been christened on 15 July 1750 in Bidborough, Kent, the youngest child of John Walker and Mary Peckam.

According to the Parish Registers of Leigh the following Nye children were baptized:

• Elizabeth Nye born 1 September 1776
• Ann Nye born 31 May 1778
• Richard Nye born 24 March 1782
• John Nye born 26 January 1784
• Gracy Nye born 22 May 1785
• Thomas Nye born about 1787 (no parish record found)
• William Nye born 12 May 1789
• Job Nye born about 1791 (no parish record found). 

Click on the links to see the children's individual stories on this blog.

There is another problem that is believed by some family members. The spelling of Walker on one record appears to be Walther or Wather so it has been reported that Thomas Nye had two wives.

Reason reminds us that names were commonly misspelled, very few people could read or write and those who could certainly tried to be accurate but weren't always.

If Ann Walker had died and Thomas had married again there would have been records to that effect, I have been unable to find either one. Divorces were extremely rare and there would definitely be a record.

If anyone has a source or a copy of a record that is different to what I am posting in this blog please send it to me, I would be happy to receive it.

Ann Walker Nye died 14 November 1837 at Tonbridge Wells at the age of 88. Her death certificate reports that the cause of death was gangrene. Her son William was with her at the time of her death. She was buried 19 November 1837 in Leigh, Kent.

Hadlow St. Mary Church, Kent, England

Job Nye

Marriage Certificate of Job Nye and Catherine Goldsmith in the Parish of Brenchley
4 June 1840 is above.

The 8th and last child born to Thomas Nye and Ann Walker was named Job who was born about 1791. Similiarly to his brother Thomas, after much searching for a birth or christening I began to doubt that Job existed.

Finally after ignoring him for a long time I received a telephone call from my cousin Karen. She was in Salt Lake City researching at the Family History Library and was excited to tell me that she had found Job's marriage, so we were off and running again.

Job married Ann Rolfe on 4 June 1815 in Horton Kirby, Kent. They lived in East Peckham where five children were born to them:

• Caroline Nye born in 1820
• Mercy Nye born in 1823
• Thomas Nye born in 1825
• Anne Nye born in 1828
• and Elizabeth Nye born in 1831.

Ann Rolfe Nye died and was buried at East Peckham on 21 November 1833. Their son Thomas died and is buried in East Peckham also on 6 April 1834.

On 4 June 1840 Job married Catherine Goldsmith (nee Bromley), a widow who had been born in Ireland. They were married at Brenchley, Kent. Catherine's first husband, James Goldsmith, had died in 1830 at Newfoundland, Canada and she had 3 children: Richard Goldsmith, born 31 Dec 1825; Martha Goldsmith born 16 March 1828; and James George Goldsmith born 11 May 1830 (died 1830). Martha and Richard came back to England - Martha can be found in the 1851 census and in the 1861 census she had married. Richard is in the 1841 census, but not  living with Job and Catherine and Job's daughters. He was probably working nearby being nearly 16 years old.

In 1851 and 1861 Job's birthplace was listed as Cranbrook, Kent. Since Cranbrook is approximately 15 miles from Leigh, and his mother could have travelled that far to be with a sister to have her last child, Cranbrook was thoroughly searched for Job's christening with no results.

Job was an agricultural laborer. He and Catherine did not have children. Job died in 1868 in East Peckham and in 1871 Catherine was living in an almshouse in East Peckham.

The death record of Catherine Goldsmith Nye reads as follows:

Catherine Nye nee Goldsmith died 18th Feb in Tonbrige workhouse aged 75 widow of Job Nye farm labourer died of senile decay Richard Goldsmith son in attendance Golden Green Hadlow

Elizabeth Nye Goldsmith
Job's daughter Elizabeth Nye married Catherine's son Richard Goldsmith on 28 November 1852 in East Peckham, Kent (about 5 miles from Tonbridge). Richard was age 26, and Elizabeth was age 20.

As shown in the above marriage record, their residence at the time of marriage was Hale Street. Elizabeth could not write, so she left her mark in the presence of Richard Humphrey and Mercy Humphrey maiden name Nye. Mercy left her mark as well.

Richard and Elizabeth were blessed with three sons and three daughters. As shown in the following death record, Richard Goldsmith died on 8 March 1884 of a strangulated hernia, age 59.

After Richard died, Elizabeth married John Wallis, a shoemaker in 1885. They are shown in the 1891 Tonbridge census. John died in 1895 in Maidstone, Kent.  Elizabeth died in 1907 at Bartons Farm (information provided by Leonard Goldsmith).

Mercy Nye Humphrey

Mercy Nye married Richard Humphrey, as shown in the above marriage record for Elizabeth Nye and Richard Goldsmith.  Richard and Mercy were the parents of ten children.

For more details on the descendants of Job Nye and the Goldsmiths, see the Genealogy page.

William Nye

Thomas and Ann Walker Nye next had another son whom they named William. He was born 12 May 1789 and christened on 9 August 1789 in the Parish Church at Leigh.

William married Elizabeth Scott of Pembury, abt 1822 in Pembury, Kent.

Beginning in 1822, the first nine children were born and christened or baptized in the beautiful baptistry in the Pembury Church. They were Eliza or Elizabeth 1822, William 1823, Harriett 1825, Mary 1827, Emma 1828, Alfred 1831, George 1833, Maria 1835, and Charles in 1838. Two more boys, John and Thomas were born in the Tonbridge area in 1840 and 1845 but no christening has been located for them.

George and Charles both died in 1841.

The 1841 and 1851 census' note that William was an agricultural laborer and he would have worked on farms belonging to others. He died about 1853.

Elizabeth became a monthly nurse, living in Tonbridge Wells. She continued in that profession until her death in 1873. Elizabeth was probably untrained and her role as a monthly nurse would have been to care for a new mother and infant for one month following the child's birth. Her oldest daughter Eliza, a widow came home from Sussex with her son Frederick and lived with Elizabeth in 1871.

Thomas Nye

The sixth child of Thomas Nye and Ann Walker was Thomas, born about 1787, but searches have not turned up a christening date for him in or around Leigh. It's possible that he was never christened.

In 1806 Thomas was in Sompting, Sussex where he married Sarah Bashford on May 13. Sarah had been born and christened at Sompting. Nothing is known about why Thomas had travelled to Sompting but there were other Nye families living there. No relationship with the Sompting Nye's has been found to date. Did he have an argument with his father or one or more of his brothers? Was he looking for work? We don't have answers to those questions.

Thomas and Sarah's first three children were born in Sompting:

• Anne Nye was born and died in 1807
• Sarah Nye was born in 1808 
• James Nye was born in 1809. 

When the family left Sompting, James stayed behind and married and raised a family between Sompting and Steyning, Sussex.

• The next child, George, was born in Southwick, Sussex and was christened 30 June 1811.

This possibly indicates that the family may have been on their way back to Hadlow and stayed long enough in Southwick for Sarah to give birth and recover enough to travel. At any rate George was christened in Southwick.

Because of the timing we believe that when John Nye became a farm bailiff he needed his younger brother Thomas to come home and help him run Winchester farm.

For whatever reason Thomas and Sarah moved their family and the next five children were born in Hadlow:

• Caroline Nye born 1818
• Thomas Nye born 1821
• John Nye born 1823
• Josiah Nye born 1826 
• and Jane Nye born 1829

The 1841 census shows that Thomas, Sarah and Jane lived on Higham Lane (click for photo) next door to John and Ann Randall Nye and their daughters. Thomas was listed as being in animal husbandry so he must have been in charge of raising and breeding the livestock. The census also indicates that he had been born in Kent. So this is proof that the two brothers lived side by side in the Hadlow home that Michael Bouy and Janice Nye Lutz visited in 2010. Son Josiah was living with and working for another family also on Higham Lane.

Sarah died in 1842. In 1851 Thomas, a widower, was living with his son George and family at Hadlow Stair. The census taker wrote that Thomas had been born in Enfield, Sussex. Didn't George know where his father had been born? No Enfield has been found in Sussex and it doesn't make sense for him to have been born so far from Leigh. Another question arises here, why didn't Thomas stay at the Higham Lane home until his brother died?

Hadlow Stair is a wooded area not far from Higham Lane and Old Hadlow Stair Road leads directly to Higham Lane.

Thomas died at Hadlow in 1855, leaving behind a lot of unanswered questions.

Gracy or Grace Nye

Another daughter, Grace Nye was next born to Thomas and Ann Walker. She was christened as Gracy on 22 May 1785 at Leigh, Kent. However other records have her name as Grace.

On 24 December 1807 Grace married James Nicholls in East Peckham, Kent.

A thorough search of Penshurst, East Peckham, Chiddingstone, Leigh and Sevenoaks was made in November 2007 and no christening was found for James.

James and Grace had the following children -

James christened at Leigh on 13 June 1813 married Susan Baker in 1839 in Malling, after she died he married Sophia Watts in 1869 in Sheppey, then after her death he married Eliza Crowhurst in 1872 in Sevenoaks. He did not have children with Susan or Sophia but he and Eliza had a son that she named Charles James Nicholls Marchant in 1860. This child had been born while Eliza was keeping house for James. Her name at that time was Eliza Marchant.

Thomas Nicholls was christened on 30 November 1817 at Leigh and was buried at Leigh on 26 February 1848. He was not married.

William Nicholls was christened at Blackheath, Kent. This is a beautiful area near London, England. There were a great many deaths in that area resulting from the black epidemic, hence the name Blackheath. He married Frances Osborne on 1 April 1849 in Tonbridge. On 1 April 1853 William was buried in the church yard at Leigh.
He and Frances did not have children.

Eleanor Nicholls was christened 12 February 1826 at Leigh. She married Benjamin Winn on 29 Nov 1845 in Tonbridge. Eleanor was buried 16 October 1846 at Leigh and didn't have children.

Grace's husband James died and was buried on 25 December 1831 in Leigh.

A second marriage to Joseph Stone took place on 5 October 1833 in Sundridge, Kent. Joseph was the same age as her eldest son, Grace being 48 and Joseph age 20. She must have looked much younger than her age because she stated her age as 40 in the 1841 census.

In 1851 Grace is listed as being 50 and Joseph is 40, she was actually 66 years old and Joseph was 38.

Grace was buried on 27 June 1854 in Leigh. I had especially hoped to find her grave and the graves of her family members in the Leigh, Kent church yard but we were unsucessful.

Richard Nye

Richard Nye christened 24 Mar 1782 at Leigh, Kent, England was the third child and first son of Thomas Nye and Ann Walker Nye. Nothing is known about Richard until his marriage to Elizabeth Avis who had been born in Edenbridge, Kent. They were married at Shipborne, Kent on 10 November 1806. One of the witnesses to their marriage was Richard's brother John.

Beginning in 1807 and ending in 1828 there were 11 children born to this marriage:

• William Nye born 1807
• Richard Nye born 1809
• Harriet Nye born 1810
• Thomas Nye born 1812
• Elizabeth Nye born 1815
• John Nye born 1817
• George Nye born 1820
• Ann Nye born 1822
• Susan Nye born 1824
• Frances Nye born 1826 
• and James Nye born 1828.

The 1841 census notes that Richard was a farmer and two of his sons who were living at home, Richard and John were blacksmiths.

In 1851 we find that Richard was a farmer of 65 acres, his daughter Frances was the farm agent, son George was a farmer and grandson Henry's occupation was that of blacksmith.

On 22 October 1853 Richard Nye age 71, farmer, died at Charcott as a result of a diseased ankle joint.

Richard Nye death certificate

The will of Richard was signed on the day of his death and has some very interesting information contained in it. He owned 3 farms which were named Hale farm, Charcott farm and Bennett farm. The blacksmithing business was conducted at Charcott.

In 2010 when we drove to Charcott we found a bed and breakfast establishment and a few houses but no signs of any blacksmithing. In retrospect we should have stopped and asked some questions. Would there have been some wonderful information pertaining to the family to be found? Thanks to Jennifer Cox, we now have the following information:

• Google Streetview of Charcott Cottage and Forge - the Nyes lived in the left side, and the Gasson family lived on the right side of the house. The building on the right is the blacksmith shop, now a motor garage.
    
• Google Streetview of the Charcott Forge blacksmith shop.
    
• English Heritage listing of Charcott Cottage and Forge House.
    
• British Listed Buildings information about Charcott Cottage and Forge House

And from Judy Coutts we now have an 1880s photo of Charcott Farm.

Son Richard inherited the blacksmith business with exception of an anvil and a set of bellows being bequeathed to son John. Thomas and James inherited all of the farming stock and instruments of husbandry live and dead stock and effects at Hale farm, after legacies were paid.

The children were bequeathed the following monies: Harriet, Frances and grandson Henry each twenty pounds, William and John thirty pounds each; Elizabeth, Ann and Susan each forty pounds.

Charcott and Bennett farms were to continue to be farmed by Richard's wife Elizabeth with their son George being directed to live with his mother and assist her in carrying on the business of said farms. George was to receive ten pounds per year out of the profits of the farms.

Elizabeth was also empowered to manage Richards estate and after her death, the children were to inherit equally except that George would inherit an extra one hundred fifty pounds. In 1861 in addition to Elizabeth, George, Frances, Ann, and two grandchildren there was a servant and two laborers living at Charcott.

True to his father's wishes George did not marry until after his mother's death.

Elizabeth died in 1863 and she and Richard and their son Richard and their son John and his wife Fanny were all buried in the church yard at Leigh. We visited their graves and found that their stones are mostly readable and can be viewed by clicking on the link.

The children and their spouses were as follows:

William Nye
William married Jemima Marchant in 1834 and they had 3 children, after Jemima's death he married Dinah Gasson and there were four children born to them. He died 20 Apr 1883 at Tonbridge, Kent

Richard Nye
Richard never married. The National Probate Calendar 1861-1941 lists Richard Nye, late of Charcott in the Parish of Leigh in the County of Kent, blacksmith, bachelor who died 25 Aug 1859 at Charcott left effects under 300 pounds. His brother James was named as executor.

Harriet Nye
Harriet was the mother of Henry who was born in 1830 and in 1833 she married Richard Woodhams and they had 9 children. She was buried 29 Aug 1896 at Hildenborough, Kent

Thomas Nye
Thomas never married and in 1861 and 1871 was living at Hale Oak farm, farming 147 acres with his brother James. Their sister Susan lived with them and they employed three laborers and 2 servants in 1861. In 1881 Thomas was living with his sister Frances and her husband John Gasson in Sundridge, Kent and his occupation was laborer. Some problems must have arisen between Thomas and James or James' wife.

In 1891 the census shows John and Frances Gasson living on a farm in Tatsfield, Surrey and Thomas is living with them as a boarder. He died at Tatsfield in 1897.

Elizabeth Nye
Elizabeth married James Snashall and they had four children. After James' death Elizabeth married Joseph Gasson about 1852 and they had only one child. We have no information on her death or burial.

John Nye
John married Fanny Knight about 1845 and their children number four. At the time of his death 15 March 1886 at Charcott, John's personal estate was worth ninety pounds. By 22 March 1889 when Fanny died her worth is listed as seventy eight pounds. These figures have been quoted from The National Probate Calendar 1861-1941 and found on Ancestry.com.

The children of John and Fanny Nye are:

• Ann Nye, born 1846 in Leigh, Kent
• Jane Nye, born 21 Nov 1847 in Leigh, Kent
• Alfred Nye, born 1851 in Leigh, Kent
• Henry Nye, born 1856 in Leigh, Kent

Birth record for Jane Nye

George Nye
George married Emily Harriet Chubb in 1874, they had three children. He was buried 12 Dec 1899 at Tunbridge Wells, Kent

George Nye & Emily Harriet Chubb marriage record

Ann Nye
Ann married Thomas Sturt on 28 November 1857 and had one child, then married James Charman in 1873 after child bearing age. She died June quarter 1883 at Sundridge, Kent

Ann Nye & Thomas Sturt marriage record

Susan Nye 
Susan's only child was Edward born in 1851. She didn't marry until about 1875 when she married widower James Tapsell. She died September quarter 1903 at Sevenoaks, Kent

Frances Nye
Frances married widower John Gasson after 1861 and did not have children. She died June quarter 1914 at Godstone, Surrey

James Nye
James married Caroline Francis from Sussex in 1861 in Surrey. Their first child was born in Lodsworth Sussex, then five more were born at Hale Oak Farm in Sevenoaks, Kent. He died 11 Sep 1919 at Godstone, Surrey

Elizabeth Nye birth record - daughter of James Nye and Caroline Francis

Ann Nye

Christening record for Ann Nye, daughter of Thomas and Anne Nye

Above is a copy of the christening record of Ann Nye from the Parish Registers of Leigh, Kent, England in the year 1778.

Ann Nye is the second child born to Thomas Nye and Anne Walker (click on the link for a list of siblings).  Her christening took place on 31 May 1778 in the parish church at Leigh, Kent, England.

She married James Harber at Shoreham, Kent on 5 June 1803. James had been born 6 March 1784 and was over a year old when he was christened in Eynsford, Kent. (Note: Eynsford, Horton Kirby and Sutton at Hone are in the Dartford area.)

Marriage record for James Harber and Ann Nye

When we were in Kent it was only for two days and there was no time to visit all of the areas where our family had lived, but as we drove back to London I did see the signs for a Dartford turnoff and would have loved to have been able to spend some time there.

Ann Nye Harber died 30 Jun 1855 at Sutton at Hone.

The children of Anne Nye and James Harber are detailed below.

Thomas Harber
Thomas Harber was christened 20 November 1803 at Sutton at Hone, Kent. He married Jane Hodge about 1831. They had eight children, all girls, between 1832 and 1850. His wife Jane died in 1869 and is buried at Horton Kirby.

Thomas is found in the 1871 census living with his daughter Sefton and her family at Horton Kirby and is listed as a farm servant at the age of 67. In 1881 he lived with his daughter Jane and her family in Horton Kirby. Thomas died in 1885 and is also buried at Horton Kirby.

Mary Harber
Mary was the next child, her christening took place on 23 February 1806 at Sutton at Hone. She married Richard Head on 2 July 1825 at Farnborough and they proceeded to have 11 children in the next 22 years.

Richard Head died in 1859 and the 1861 census shows that Mary was working as a char woman in Sutton at Hone. Wikipedia defines char woman or char lady as a woman hired to do cleaning etc. for others. It has the same roots as a chore woman.

The 1871 census shows Mary visiting with her youngest daughter Emily and her family at Sutton at Hone. Next we find Mary in 1881 as a 75 year old widow living in an alms house.

Wikipedia has the definition of almshouse as a home for the poor who could no longer work, the funds for these homes came from taxes.

Mary died in January 1886 and is buried in Sutton at Hone with her husband.

James Harber
The next child of James Harber and Ann Nye is James Harber who was christened on 7 February 1808 in Sutton at Hone. He married Elizabeth Vallinder in 1849 and was her second husband. She had been married to James Barnes and had 7 children. There were no children born to James Harber and Elizabeth Vallinder Barnes.

The census of 1841 has James at Swanscombe, Kent listed as a laborer, in 1851 he was in So. Darenth, Kent and was an agricultural laborer, then in 1861 he was working as an agricultural laborer in Sutton at Hone.

James died in April 1870 and is buried in Sutton at Hone. Elizabeth lived until January 1900. The 1881 and 1891 census' have her listed living in an Alms House in Sutton at Hone.

William Harber
William Harber, child #4 was christened on 3 Dec 1809 at Sutton at Hone. On 2 June 1832 he married Harriet Edith Harber, no relationship found.

There were 8 children born but it is extremely difficult to learn who the father or fathers of Harriet's children was of were.

At some time William disappeared possibly in the service during a war and Harriet lived with John Young as his housekeeper. At least the last two children were John Young's but some of the other children used the name Harber, then Young and sometimes Harber-Young so John probably fathered all but the first two children. Harriet always listed William Harber as the father of her children when they were christened.

No marriage has ever been located for John Young and Harriet Harber possibly because she never received notification of a death of William so never married John. Or maybe she didn't feel it was necessary when they had lived together as husband and wife for years.

Harriet died in 1882 in Dartford where she is buried. John died in 1885 and is also buried in Dartford.

John Harber
Child number 5 was John Harber who was christened on 19 April 1812 in Wilmington, Kent. He married Sophia Porter from Scotland on 19 October 1844. They didn't have children. In 1851 and 1861 at the time of the census they were living in Sutton at Hone, then in 1871 and 1881 they were in Bromley. John was always listed as a laborer. He died in March of 1886 in Bromley, Kent and Sophia died in June of 1888 also in Bromley.

Sarah Harber
About 1815/1816 another daughter, Sarah, was born to James Harber and Ann Nye. She was not christened until 1836 as an adult baptism.

Sarah Nye married Stephen Nash, who had been christened on 19 January 1817, on 18 October 1840 in Farnborough, Kent. They had one child Emily christened 15 September 1844 in Darenth, Kent.

Emily married Henry Poole in Middlesex and they had six children. The Poole family always lived with Emily's parents. After the death of Sarah in 1882 in Dartford and the death of Henry Poole in 1885, Emily and her children continued to live with her father Stephen. Stephen worked as a laborer in a paper mill, later becoming a mill wright according to the various census information. He died in 1905 in Dartford.

Elizabeth Harber
Elizabeth was born next to James and Ann Harber in about 1819 but was not christened until 1836 in Sutton at Hone, on the same day as her sister Sarah.

Elizabeth married Samuel Parker on 13 Oct 1838. All nine of their children were born in England but were christened in various villages and towns such as Dartford, St. Mary Cray, Sidcup, St. Paul Cray and Chislehurst all in the Dartford area. Samuel was a laborer and they probably moved to find better employment.

In 1890 Elizabeth died at Foots Cray and later Samuel and some of the grown children emigrated to Queensland, Australia where they lived and are buried giving us another tie to Australia. In 1894 Samuel died at Kenmore, Queensland, Australia.

Elizabeth Nye

Elizabeth Nye, eldest child of Thomas Nye and Ann Walker, was christened 1 September 1776 at the parish church in Leigh, Kent. Her name on the christening record is Eliza but her marriage and death records both have her as Elizabeth.

On 13 December 1796 she married Samuel Kite in Horton Kirby as recorded in Pallott's marriage index. Horton Kirby is in the Dartford area and it is possible that Elizabeth went there to find work and when she met Samuel she stayed. Samuel Kite was christened 4 Aug 1765 at Hothfield, Kent, England a son of Samuel and Mary Kite.  (Source FHL film 1751915.  Family History Library = FHL)

Their first five children, namely Esther born abt 1800, Elizabeth 1802, William 1804 and twin boys 1806, who were not named, all died shortly after birth.

Finally the sixth child Samuel Kite Jr. who was born abt 1808 and christened 25 April 1813 lived until adulthood. Next another son named Charles was born and died in 1809. Child #8 Harriet was born in 1812 and was alive during the 1841 census but no further information has been found for Harriet.

Again the family was to have the heartbreak of another early death when Robert was born and died in 1813. Child #10 Maria was born in 1814, her christening took place on 6 March 1814; Eleanor was christened 1 July 1816 these two girls lived to adulthood but child #12 Hester who was born in 1819 died at the age of 15.

Elizabeth Nye Kite died 30 Mar 1840 at Horton Kirby at the age of 63, the cause of death according to the death certificate was disease of the heart.

Death Certificate for Elizabeth Nye Kite

On 22 Apr 1849 Samuel Kite Sr. was buried. He had been employed as a shepherd, a factory laborer and a laborer during his lifetime.

Imagine the heartbreak of giving birth to twelve children and only having 3 of them live long enough to marry and have their own families. Following is information on those three children.


Samuel Kite Jr.

Eliza Farrell Kite, wife of Samuel Kite Jr.
photo courtesy of Brian Skinner

Samuel Kite Jr
son of Elizabeth Nye and Samuel Kite
photo courtesy of Brian Skinner

Samuel Kite Jr. was married to Anna Maria Lott on 28 April 1833. She was christened 30 Jul 1815 in Luddesdown, Kent (FHL film 1469432 - 1813-1862 christenings). They were blessed with a son they named George William Kite in 1835. Anna Maria died sometime before 1840.

Samuel Kite Jr. then married his second wife Eliza Farrell on 30 August 1840 and they produced eight children. Eliza died 18 September 1874 at the age of 58. Tragically their son Samuel III drowned in the river Darenth on 15 July 1852 at the age of 10.

There is a monument in St. Mary's Churchyard at Horton Kirby which reads as follows:

"Eliza wife of Samuel Kite [Jr.] of this parish died 18 September 1874 aged 58, Samuel son of the above who was drowned in the river Darenth 15 July 1852 aged 10. Also Caroline infant daughter of Charles and Caroline Kite R.S. who died at Nasseerabad, Bombay, India 17 July 1872 aged 3 months 18 days. Also Samuel Kite died at Wilmington 13 Feb 1879 aged 71". Erected by surviving families."

This record can be viewed at St. Mary's Churchyard Monumental Inscriptions 1461-1989 fiche 6359799 #3 North West Kent Family History Society Horton Kirby, Kent, England.

Maria Kite
Daughter Maria (child #10) married Isaac Brown in 1830 and they were the parents of eleven children, after Isaac's death in 1852, Maria married John Moore in 1854 in Wrotham, Kent. She died in 1871.

Eleanor Kite
Eleanor (child #11) married George Ralph Walkling in 1842 and they had 4 children. George died in 1886 and Eleanor in 1893, they lived in Northfleet, Kent.

For more details on the Kite family, please see the Genealogy page.

Sophia Nye

Sophia Nye was christened on 6 April 1817 at Hadlow in County Kent, England. She never married and lived with her parents, John Nye and Anne Randall, on their farm until their deaths. In 1841 she was listed as a dress maker.

After her parents death she and her sister Ann Nye continued to live on the family farm and to operate it with the help of their cousin Henry who was the son of Harriet Nye, daughter of Richard Nye and Elizabeth Avis.

In 1867, Winchester Farm - then owned by Sophia and Ann Nye - had an extremely abundant harvest, from which the Nye sisters donated £250 to entirely fund the construction of the Zion Baptist Church on Pembury Road, Tonbridge.

At the time the 1871 census was taken Ann was in Maidstone visiting with their brother Thomas Cotton Nye and his family so Sophia was listed as the head of the household in Hadlow. She was farming 90 acres and employing 5 men and 2 boys. Cousin Henry continued to be the manager of the farm. Rhoda Dedman was visiting, she later married Henry.

Sophia died on 20 March 1876 at Hadlow, less than three months after her brother Thomas died. She was buried alongside her brother and her parents in Borough Green, Kent (click to see headstone). Later their sister Ann was buried there also.

Ann Nye

Ann Nye, daughter of John Nye and Anne Randall, was christened 3 October 1813 in the Hadlow Church. Ann never married but stayed at home with her parents until their deaths. In 1841 Ann was listed as a dressmaker but in the 1851 census there is no occupation listed.

The 1861 census states that Ann age 47 was the head of the household and was a farmer of 89 acres employing 1 man and 1 boy. Her sister Sophia Nye is also living at the farm and their cousin Henry Nye was the bailiff for the sisters. Henry was a son of Harriet Nye the daughter of Richard Nye and Elizabeth Avis.

In 1867, Winchester Farm - then owned by Sophia and Ann Nye - had an extremely abundant harvest, from which the Nye sisters donated £250 to entirely fund the construction of the Zion Baptist Church on Pembury Road, Tonbridge.

At the time of the 1871 census Ann was visiting in Maidstone at the home of her brother Thomas Cotton Nye and his wife Mary Ann.

The 1881 census shows Ann a lodger and annuitant (a person living on retirement funds) living at Budd Farm near Shipborne, Kent in the home of William Fermor and his wife. Having never married, and after her parents and her siblings died, Ann was in need of care so she went to live with the Fermor's. Apparently William Fermor promised a home and care if Ann signed her money over to him.

Ann died 3 December 1882 and was buried in the Borough Green Baptist Churchyard (click to see headstone) next to her parents, her brother Thomas and her sister Sophia.

Thomas Cotton Nye

Thomas Cotton Nye, the son of John Nye and Anne Randall, was christened or baptized on 4 August 1811 in the Penshurst Church. Thomas probably grew up as an agricultural laborer with limited formal education, and we know little of his life until his marriage to Mary Ann Goldsmith in Wateringbury Kent.

As found in the Parish register of Wateringbury "Thomas Nye, bachelor of this parish and Mary Ann Goldsmith, spinster of this parish were married in this church by banns this 21st day of June 1835 by Mr. Robert Earle. Witnesses were William Burden and Sophia Nye". Sophia was a sister of Thomas.

There was some confusion in some of the Nye family about Mary Ann's birth name. It has been reported as being Mary Ann Summers but the marriage has her correct name. The 1851 census has Mary Ann as being born in Tudely Kent and the 1871 census has her born in Tonbridge. In October 2011 I finally located Mary Ann Goldsmith's christening date as 27 Dec 1816 in Tonbridge Wells, Kent, England.

The 1841 census notes that Thomas and Mary Ann were living in Springfield, Essex County with Thomas Nye listed as a railway worker.

• Their son William Henry Nye was born while they were in Essex and his christening was found to be 2 May 1849 at Springfield. William later married Mary Ann Willett.

In 1851 the family had moved to West Ashford Kent and were living at #131 Churchyard. Thomas was working as a rose laborer.

• Their second son George Thomas was christened on 19 October 1845 at West Ashford. He later married Amanda Amelia Mercer.

George Nye birth - son of George Nye & Amanda A Mercer

• Their daughter Eliza Ann was born 21 April 1851 at West Ashford. She later married William McKeough.

Eliza Ann Nye birth record.

• Their third son Frederick John was born on 19 December 1855 at Thornhills, East Maidstone. No marriage has been found for Frederick.

Birth record of Frederick John Nye

They were again listed in Ashford in 1861 with Thomas working as a railway laborer. William was working as a cabinet maker and George was listed as a railway laborer.

The 1871 census states that the Nye's had moved to #36 Fisher Street in Maidstone. Thomas is listed as a laborer. The only two children living with their parents were Eliza Ann and Frederick.

Thomas Cotton Nye died on 25 December 1875 at his home. His certificate of death has his occupation as a platelayer and his age as 64. Cause of death was paralysis for six weeks and he was in a coma the last two days of his life. Eliza Ann Nye is listed as the informant, so Eliza was not using her married name McKeough at that time.

Record of death of Thomas Cotton Nye

As previously stated Thomas was buried next to his parents at Borough Green, Kent.

Mary Ann and her daughter Eliza Ann along with Eliza's husband and child continued to live at #36 Fisher Street. Both women were listed as dress makers. William Mc Keough disappeared at some point.

An interesting side note on Mary Ann was found on Ancestry.com as follows: England and Wales Criminal Registers 1791-1892 - 16 Mar 1835 larceny by servant, Mary Ann Summers alias Goldsmith, sentenced to three months. I currently don't have information on why Mary Ann used both names.

Mary Ann lived until 1895 and died at Maidstone.

Tonbridge, Kent, England

In August 2010 my son Michael Bouy, who lives in Adelaide, Australia with his wife, flew to Utah for his 30th High School reunion. He spent part of three days with family and friends then he and I flew to JFK airport in New York City followed by Rykajavik Iceland airport. Our next stop was Heathrow airport in London, England. Michael is such a well-traveled person that he had us cleared through security and on the underground shortly and we rode to our hotel. He knew that I would enjoy being close to Hyde Park because our ancestor Ephraim Nye baptized several people there when he was the LDS Mission President in England in the late 1800's, so Michael had booked a room there.

The next day while my son took care of some business I walked through beautiful Hyde Park for a couple of hours. The Serpentine is a lovely lake, the baptisms had taken place there late at night. There is also a place named Speakers Corner where preachers could preach. Now is it a spot to get sandwiches and soft drinks etc.

Michael and I met at the hotel and rode the subway to where he had another meeting scheduled. He left me at Covent Garden to explore then he and his colleagues found me and we all went to lunch. Afterwards Michael had another meeting and this time took me with him. Although he lives in Australia he spent time living in England and works for a company there helping them do business in Australia.

Next we began touring London and Michael was able to point out many famous buildings. I had walked a lot by that time and was getting tired so we got on a tour bus and rode around the city seeing many wonderful sights. The price of the bus tour included a boat ride, so we floated down the Thames River and continued our tour. It was interesting to see places that I had read and heard about all of my life. After leaving the boat we again rode the bus back toward our hotel, but I was too tired to walk out for a meal so we picked up some sandwiches and took them back to the hotel.

Tonbridge Castle Gate

The following morning we left in a rental car and drove through the maze-like streets of London in very busy traffic. After finally getting out of the city we travelled on the freeway and we were much more relaxed. We were soon in County Kent and enjoying the beautiful green country side.

Michael drove to Tonbridge, Kent and we stopped to view the castle there. We took some photos and picked up some brochures, it was an interesting area to visit. Tonbridge, a prosperous, business, market and residential town, lies near the foot of sandstone hills of the central Weald. It straddles the Medway, Kent's most important river.

On the River Medway in front of the remains of Tonbridge Castle

High Street, Tonbridge

Penshurst Church

  

The Church of St. John the Baptist in Penshurst, Kent, England stands in the south west corner of Penshurst Place's Park; there are entrances directly from the park and from Penshurst Place's formal garden. The most commonly used approach is from the village, through the buildings of the small Leicester Square, named after the Sidneys of Penshurst who were Earls of Leicester from 1618-1743.

This is a photo of Janice Nye Lutz approaching the Church from the village, and a photo of the interior of the Church.

The bulging church yard contains the burials of almost eight centuries. The church yard was closed in 1857 by order of the Privy Council. Since then, parish burials have taken place at Poundsbridge Chapel, on the edge of Penshurst parish, about two miles away. Although there were Nye's buried at Penshurst it was impossible to locate and view their graves due to the erosion from weathering and time.

Census Record - John Nye, Winchester Farm, Hadlow

In the book dated 1852 The Poll For the Knights Of The Shire, To Represent The Western Division Of The County Of Kent, In The Sixth Parliament Of The Reign Of Queen Victoria, Including The Whole Of The Registered Electors, With A General Index To Parishes And The Names Of The Electors; Taken At The Different Polling Places, On Thursday and Friday, the 15th and 16th of July 1852; was listed on page 93: Hadlow, Nye, John, Winchester's Farm, Hadlow.

John Nye and Anne Randall

John Nye was christened 26 January 1784 at Leigh, Kent, England, the son of Thomas Nye and Ann Walker (click on the link for a list of siblings).

On 26 December 1806 he married Anne Randall, who was the daughter of George Randall and Sarah Cotton. George had been married previously to Mary Denman and they had three children:

• William Streetfield Randall born in 1775, 
• Sarah Randall born in 1777 
• and Mary Denman Randall born in 1779. 

After the death of his wife Mary, George married Sarah Cotton on 15 November 1781 and they had only one child, Anne Randall who was christened 1 August 1784 at Penshurst in Kent.

To the right is shown the ornate Baptistry inside the Penshurst Church where Anne and her half brother and sisters were christened or baptized.

John and Anne's youngest son Thomas Cotton Nye was also christened at Penshurst.

In the land tax assessments for Penshurst 1780-1832 George Randall and family occupied land owned by the Honorable Mrs. E. Perry between 1781 and 1801 in the town of Upland. In 1784 the land was owned by the executors for Mrs. E. Perry. In 1793 George was renting from John Sidney who appears to then own all of Mrs. Perry's properties. Then in 1795 rent no longer shows, only the assessment.

George Randall was probably born about 1750 and wasn't christened until 18 May 1758 in Thanet, Kent.

The children of John and Anne Nye were:

• John Nye christened 12 July 1807 at Leigh
• Thomas Cotton Nye christened 4 August 1811 at Penshurst
• Ann Nye born 3 October 1813 at Hadlow
• Sophia Nye christened 6 April 1817 at Hadlow.

John Nye senior was a farmer and by the time the daughters were born was probably farming the area in Hadlow. They were living at 92 Higham Lane (click for photos).

The 1841 census of Hadlow has John Nye age 55, a bailiff, Ann age 56, Ann age 25, dress maker and Sophia age 20 dressmaker.

John Nye was a registered elector and his farm was named Winchester Farm.

In 1851 the family was listed as John Ney(sic), age 67, farmer, Anne, age 66, Ann, unmarried daughter age 37 and Sophia unmarried daughter, age 34, John Nye, grandson age 15 and 4 laborers and another boy all living and working on the farm.

John Nye died 1 May 1853 at Hadlow. His will states that his wife was to be taken care of first as was the custom, then his son Thomas Cotton Nye was bequethed fifty pounds, his son John Nye was bequethed five pounds and the balance of his property and estate were left to his two daughters Ann and Sophia.

His wife Ann Randall Nye died 31 May 1858. Their graves can be found at the Borough Green Baptist Church in Kent, England.

We don't know if the two John Nye's didn't get along or what but the younger John definitely could have used far more than fifty pounds.

The two sisters Ann and Sophia continued to live in the Higham Lane house along with their mother who died 31 May 1858. In 1861 the two daughters had their cousin Henry Nye living with them as the farm bailiff and were farming 89 acres.

The 1871 census shows that Ann Nye was visiting her brother Thomas Cotton Nye and his family in West Maidstone, while Sophia was listed at home farming 90 acres and Henry was there as manager of the farm. They employed five men and two boys.

In 1876 Sophia died and by 1881 Ann had gone to live with William Fermor and his family who promised to take care of Ann until her death. Ann was listed as an annuitant but family members of that time felt that there had to be some money that Mr. Fermor kept after Ann's death in 1882.