The main research on this site is for the  FREE  FAMILY  TREE , with my branch starting 
in Cardiff, Glamorgan, going back to Horseheath in Cambridge, and so far, originating from 
Hadstock, Essex. 
At each generation the tree has branched out to link with the Tree of the spouse, the 
 RIGBY  and  RABBITT  trees from Rainford and Warrington in Lancashire branch out 
from my generation, where as the  YOUNG tree from Walsall, Stafford and  JONES  tree 
from the Rhondda in Glamorgan, as well as the  CUTTER  and  GILES  trees, both from 
Monmouth and Glamorgan extend from my parents generation.  Earlier generations take you to the  
BUTLER  tree from Shrivenham, Berkshire, the  DAVIES  tree from Cardiff, Glamorgan, and 
the  MYNOTT  tree from Horseheath in Cambridge.


My Great Great Great Grandparents, John FREE and Sarah MYNOTT, had 12 children; 
William, Charles, Eliza, Henry, Isaac, Judith, Marianne, Alfred, Celia, John, George, and a second 
Celia.  The first Celia, and George died in Horseheath in infancy of whooping cough, their deaths 
being just three days apart in 1843.  Eliza died in Doncaster in 1857 whilst employed as a 
domestic servant.  I've managed to follow the remaining 9 children through furthergenerations as 
each one married and had children of their own.

My Great Great Grandfather, William FREE is the only one who moved to the Cardiff area.  
There he married Mary DAVIES apparently to start a new life after his first marriage to 
Rebecca STINTON in Horseheath.
His children were George Alfred, Celia Eliza, Alice Celia, Nimrod William, Harriet Judith, Sarah 
Eliza and Nimrod James.  
Celia and Nimrod William died in infancy, and George died unmarried at the age of 28 but Alice 
married Charles HAWKES and moved to Gravesend, Harriet married David COLLETT 
eventually moving to Birmingham, Sarah married William WHITNEY, spending her life in 
Llanelly, and Nimrod James (later just known as James) married Mary Ann BUTLER, remaining 
in Cardiff where my Grandfather, Benjamin FREE was born.

Charles FREE married, and survived three wifes. First in Horseheath he was married to 
Emma SALMON, they had two daughters, Eliza and Agnes. After Emma's death Agnes went to live 
with Emma's parents and Eliza lived with John and Sarah Free.  Remaining in Horseheath for a 
while, Charles married Mary PRESTON, they left Horseheath and moved to Barkingside then 
Walthamstow, where they had Judy, George and William.  Mary died in Walthamstow and Charles 
married Ann LAWRANCE, having another daughter, Celia.

Henry FREE married Mary WILLS in Romford, Essex.  They started their family in 
Barkingsdale, Mary's hometown and had a total of 7 children in and around the London area; Eliza, 
Fanny, William, Edward, Henry, Julia and Sarah.  I have yet to follow the lives of these children 
further.

Isaac FREE married Mary Ann PURKIS in Horseheath then followed his brother to the 
London area where he raised a family of 9; Jane, John, Elizabeth, Alfred, Harry, William, George 
and Sydney.  The eldest daughter, Jane, and youngest son, Sydney, died at the same time as Mary 
Ann, who quite possibly died in childbirth.  John married Lydia Ellen DRUCE who, possilby 
unknown to him was still married to her first husband.  They adopted Mabel Clara Jane FREE 
who had been abandoned at birth.  Elizabeth married Ernest BOLTON and both she and her 
husband were witneses at the wedding of her cousin Alice to Charles Hawkes.  Alfred disappeared 
off to Argentina and returned married with a son.  His wife was his cousin Celia FREE, 
daughter of Charles Free and Ann Lawrance.  After Mary Ann died, Isaac married a widow, Rebecca 
BRADFORD and merged the two families.  Rebecca's maiden name was Rebecca JOYCE.

After a living in Doncaster for a while where she was employed as a domestic servant, Judith 
FREE married a Policeman, Edward LIDDELL, in Barnburgh nearby,  Judith's sister Eliza 
was one of the witnesses at the wedding.  They moved to Newark where they had no children but 
Judith's mother, Sarah lived with them for a while after she was widowed.  Judith and Edward 
remained in Newark and Edward eventually retired from the Newark Police Force where he had reached 
the rank of Cheif of Police.

Marianne FREE was also livng in Barnburgh, York, when she was married to Charles 
BATTERSBY. They moved to Sheffield where they had 9 children; John, Eliza, Kate, Alice, 
Albert, Alfred, Florence, Emily and Frank.  Eliza, Alfred and Emily died in infancy, Alfred and 
Albert were twins.
Marianne ran a grocers shop with the help of her daughter Kate whilst Charles Battersby provided 
another connection with the Police Force.  He was eventually Detective Inspector of the Sheffield 
Police Force.

Alfred FREE joined Judith and Edward in Newark, also becomming a Policeman.  He married 
Mary JACKSON, the daughter of the landlord of The Nag's Head in Sutton-on-Trent.  
They had 6 children; Sarah, John, Florence, Eliza, Henry and Margaret and were, at one time, 
living at the Newark Police Station which was ocupying space in the Town Hall.  Alfred achieved 
promotion to the rank of Inspector before he retired.

John FREE was also living in Bromley when he married Eliza LASHMAR.  They had 5 
children; Ellen, Eliza, Charles, Paulina and Emma.  He was still living in Bromley when Eliza died 
and he married a second wife, Emma Sarah CLARK, having one more child, Derek.

Celia FREE was living with Judith and Edward in Newark when she was married to 
John STEVENS.  Edward was her best man and Mary Jackson, not then married to Alfred was her 
bridesmaid.  Celia and John moved to Sheffield and had 5 children; John, Emily, Judith, Winifred 
and John.

My Great Great Great Grandparents, John and Sarah had 55 grandchildren and at last count, I have  found 123 great grandchildren.


Use the TREE link in the toolbar above if you want to join me at the base of my tree but if 
you're looking for someone who isn't in my direct line , then it's probably easier to use the 
List of Last Names below to find the person you are looking for.

Feel free to browse around. (No Pun intended)



Certificates

I have a large number of birth, marriage and death certificates for the descendents of John Free  and Sarah Mynott, as well as the death certificates for John's parents, Samuel Free and Susannah  Pearson.
 If anyone would like coppies of the ones I have, just let me know, they're usually noted as the  sources to the facts and dates shown on the family view page of an individual,  likewise, if you  have any you wouldn't mind sharing to help me to fill in the gaps of the ones I'm missing, they'd  be very much appreciated, thanks.



Potted Histories

For a few of the main individuals in my tree I have arranged the information I have gathered into  accounts of how and where they lived, including some details of the family and friends who  influenced their lives.  These Potted Histories can be found in the individual's notes and at the  bottom of their family view page. All of the events written about in these accounts have been  taken from documented evidence and the sources are available for anyone who would like to see them.



Genealogy Reports ...

If you're interested in a particular branch of the tree and would like to see my information in  further detail I can put it into a Genealogy Report for you.  My reports are made with the help of  Family Tree Maker 2005.



People & Places ... 

I've gradually found a little spare time to do some much needed legwork for my tree, here are a  few of the places I've visited and people I've met along the way.

Newark-on-Trent - July 2005,    Hereford - Jan 2007,    Hereford - Jan 2008, 

Sheffield - Feb 2008,    Noel Free - May 2008,    Bill Rabbitt - Jul 2008, 

Newark-on-Trent - Oct 2008,    Kay Russell - June 2009,    

Ann Wilson - Oct 2009,    Doncaster - Jan 2010,    Jim Thomas - Sept 2010,

and Stan Ginzler - Oct 2010.



Skeletons in the Closet ... 

Every tree has it's Skeletons, things which have been swept under the carpet, hushed up and never 
mentioned again, and things which have been handed down the generations in whispered rumours.

It's often the rumours and hearsay, the thought of ancient gosip and scandal, which turn a long  list of facts and dates into a family history. Here are just a few of the Skeletons I've found  along the way



Claims to Fame ...

You will always find some sort of claim to be connected to someone famous, whether it's being a  descendent of the Prime Minister of New Zealand, or being distantly related to Princess Diana.

Some of the more noted people I've found in my tree are a Town Mayoress in Penarth, a Chief of  Police in Newark, a Detective Superintendent of Police in Sheffield, an Author and Bookseller from  Edwinstowe, and a World Class Boxer in Tonypandy.



It's a Small World ...

John Free was born into the small village, Horseheath, he was baptised in the local church,  married "the girl next door" and eventually died and was buried at the church he was baptised at. Considering how many billions of people there are in the world today, and how easy it is to  travel, it's often quite surprising to find out just how closely related people actually are.



Riddle me Ree ...

My first is in the records, but where on earth is the second, third, fourth ...

I do love a puzzle, something you can really get your teeth into.  Join me on a few of the really  good ones, and if you can point me to any of the pieces I havn't found yet then please do.



Armchair Archives ... 

A lot of my research has been done online.  Although the internet is no substitute for finding 
solid facts, sometimes it just isn't possible to put in the legwork.  If a detail is found on one 
online database I try not to take it as read until I have confirmed it from at least one other 
source.



Guestbook... 

Once you've had a look around my site, please sign the Guestbook. You can add your e-mail address, 
and give your own family tree site a plug, or simply just give me a shout, it'd be great to hear 
from you.  

When you sign the Guestbook please say how your're linked to the tree so anyone with a similar  interest can see if they are connected to your branch.  If you leave your e-mail address I'll drop  you a line if anything new comes up that I think you might be interested in.



Acknowledgements...

There is a large amount of my tree which simply wouldn't be here if it hadn't been for the help  and research of others and the information which was freely shared. Although it is almost  impossible to list everyone here, I'll have a good go, and apologies before hand to anyone I miss  out.



Privacy

This is always a difficult one and although I try to strike the right balance between sharing and  security, It's not always easy to get it right.
 In this digital age a vast amount of information is freely available online for anyone who cares  to look for it but although my homepage, and subsiquent links, are eaily accessable, my actual  tree can only be viewed with a password and even then any information on living relatives is  sparce.
 However, if you do spot anything you're not happy with then please give me a shout.