An article on the history of West Leake by the Southwell & Nottingham Church History Project has the following sad account. "The ministry of Edward Bigland (1620-1649), a fellow of Queens College Cambridge, coincided with the Civil War in which the Rector supported the King. Gilbert Millington of Sutton Bonington, who was later a member of the High Court of Justice which sentenced King Charles I to death, was at the bottom of Rev Bigland's troubles." Edward was taken as prisoner to Nottingham and during the journey developed a severe chill, which led to his death a few months later. One of his cousins just happens to be a 10X great grandfather on the male side of my tree, who kept well out of trouble building dry stone walls in the Lakeland fells. A 9X, great grandmother on my mother's side of our tree married into a Leake parish family, so another pair of 10X great grandparents, and possibly their parents, almost certainly knew Rev Bigland. The final coincidence. 9X great grandma is Elizabeth Angrave, née Leake.
Don't you just love serendipity! Several years ago I found something which absolutely amazed me. I was brought up in a service family so never really had a meaningful place of origin. Born in Bristol but only lived there a few months-can't say I recall much about the place! Lived in Singapore, Cyprus ,Wales(very exotic) and all over the UK. My husband lived in a Hampshire village all his life (until I dragged him away). When I started researching his family I found his gg grandparents and mine lived on opposite sides of the same Hampshire field. So they must have known one another- It still feels unreal and makes me smile! Did they like each other? Maybe they didn't get on at all - who knows! If I had the chance to go back in time it would be to that Hampshire field.
My 6x gt grandfather on my father's side came from the same small Somerset village as my 3x gt grandfather on my mother's side. My parents had no idea. I suspect that migrating into London in the 1840s folk gravitated to the same part of the city as their neighbours and so 80+ years later my parents lived not far from each other.
