| Notes |
- RESEARCH_NOTES:
1. The name James and Jacob sometimes were interchangeable at this early time. James in the latinized version of Jacob. Searches should keep this in mind.
2. The Hales Newsletter, Winter 2002 Vol. 7. No. 4, www.hales.org, Ken Hales, editor: "Yalding, Kent, England, (Based on articles by A.J.J. Parsons, J. Worley, Tony Kremer and Alan Smith) The original Saxon settlement at Twyford (meaning Twin Ford) south and west of Maidstone may have ceased to exist after some serious flooding, and perhaps the survivors sought refuge on the higher land upstream at what we now know as Yalding. Pieces of pottery unearthed at Yalding were distinctive of this Saxon period. Many of the Hales families found throughout the United States trace their earliest Hales ancestor to this village. This suggests that we should learn more about Yalding. The village chartered here in 873 A.D. called "Gealding" (in medieval times GE = village and EALD = old, so that the village was known as "The Old Village" in Saxon times) and is located in the hundred of Twyford. The rural village of Yalding involves the appreciation of a vast range of subjects. Several local estates and freehold manors have their origins in the medieval period. This growth of small farms was to play an important part in the establishment of a rural trading center, when Yalding was granted the status of a market town in 1319. The manor of Yalding was held by several notables from the 1300s including Hugh de Audley, Ralph Stafford – a Knight of the Garter, Humphrey Stafford, and Humphrey's grandson Henry, Duke of Buckingham. There were also several small manors in Yalding, which indicated that the population was far larger, at an early date, than that of surrounding parishes, but was to be kept in check by nature. Ravaged by the Black Death on more than one occasion, the population was contained. It is understood that in 1510 half of the inhabitants are thought to have perished. With new sanitation and health improvements in the eighteenth century, as well as new agricultural methods there was a minor explosion in the erection of tenant farm cottages – the population of the parish doubled to two thousand. In the next quarter century almost another five hundred were added, then leveled off and has hardly increased since. Yalding owes it existence to the confluence of the River Beult with the rivers Medway and Tiese near Twyford Bridge. From times immemorial, these rivers have overflowed their banks and deposited the rich alluvial silt brought down from the wooded weald, to make the soil at Yalding some of the finest agricultural land in Kent. This fertile plain is all that a Yeoman Farmer could desire. An old boast claims that Kent is the Garden of England and Yalding is the Garden of Kent. The attached map [see hard file] is a part of the Hundred Map of Twyford. Hundreds were subdivisions of some English and American Counties. Of interest on this map is that approximately 1 1/4 mile west of Yalding, in a village now known as East Peckham, is a street listed as Hail Street. (One source indicates both a Hale Place and Street). The people of the time (including the cartographer that made this map) were not consistent in their spellings. This street may have been Hail, Hale, Hails, Hales, or any other variant the cartographer wished to use. My guess is that there is some significance to the street name; most likely it leads to a house occupied by a Hail (or variant spelling) family. Also note that there is no church near this village. The people here most likely traveled the mile or so to a nearby church using local paths and bridges. As early as 1207 Stephen Langton complained bitterly about the non-existent bridges across the Medway at Yalding. The present "Town Bridge" was built in the 15th century. However, the actual foundations were unearthed during an archaeological excavation in 1969 and date to a couple of centuries earlier. In addition to the farming activity, Yalding became the transshipment port on the Medway at Hampstead Hamlet where the present Hampstead Lock is situated. Many hundreds of iron cannons must have been man-handled on to the barges at Yalding during the Civil War (1642-48). The cannons, cast in the furnaces of the Weald, were shipped down the Medway to the Royal Navy at Chatham. During the Second World War, (1939-1945 in England) a plan to flood parts of Kent, including Yalding, as a defense against a possible German invasion was proposed by Winston Churchill. Fish caught in the Medway during a 42 year period include: Roach, 3 pounds; Dace, pound; Carp, 19 pounds; Bream, 7 pounds; Perch, 2 pounds, Chub 4 pounds, and Pike, 16 pounds. This thatched house in Yalding [see hard file] was built in the 13th century, no later than 1290, which was about the latest period at which over-lapping joints were used. The house was originally a large hall, with small top rooms only on the north and south ends, where at one end the master and his lady would have slept and at the other end the servants. The original owner was probably a Yeoman. Certainly in the 17th century it must have been occupied by a Royalist family, as well hidden in the house were some Cavalier shoe buckles. Smoke holes were on both sides of the roof, and the fire would have been somewhere in the middle on the floor. Reed would probably have been laid on the floor of earth. The walls would have been of wattle and cow dung. The window frames are slotted for shutters, as glass for windows in houses was not usual until a much later date... The Hales family, historically Yeoman Farmers, most likely lived in this type of house and within the three square miles shown above in the piece of the Twiford Hundred map. It is not known at this writing the occupation of our Jacob Hales of Yalding, but they were most likely farmers. Today Yalding and mid-Kent is noted for a producing area for apples, pears, nuts and cherries. Water transport by the river Medway, brought the London markets within easy reach of the producer. On my visit to this area in 1981 I was impressed by the production of "hops" – an ingredient of the ail relished by the people of England. How lovely it is to drive the country lanes near Yalding in the month of May. Though cherry blossom is over and gone and the flowers of cherry plum long forgotten, pear is past its prime and plum is pensioned off, apple blossom is at its best. Its scent fills the air and the buzz of goneybees delights the ear. There was a church at Yalding [photo in hard file] before the Norman Conquest, and the lower tower was the oldest part of the present building dating dates from that time. The picture shown was taken on a very rainy day in May of 1981 when my wife and I visited Kent. This is the church where the Jacob Hales family attended and we found their records in the parish registers. We stayed at a bed-and-breakfast in Tonbridge on the river Medway and drove the short distance to Yalding. The name of the river Medway in earlier times was Tunn, hence the name Tonbridge describes a bridge over the Medway. Because of the wet day, we did not walk the Yalding Footpaths, and we were unable to find a headstone due to their deteriorated and unreadable condition. When you take your trip to Yalding, you might want to walk the Yalding Footpaths [see hard file for map] and understand what our Hales Ancestors might have experienced in this lush countryside and village."
3. The Hales Newsletter, Summer 2004 Vol. 8 No. 2:
"Hales Origins, Boxley, Kent, England family. This is the Hales Origins chapter from my new book Windows II.
In my first book Windows, I attempted to describe the origins of the Hales family. I repeated the Reverend R. Cox Hales assertion that the original ancestor was Tonne, Lord of Hales and Luceby, in the time of Edward the Confessor1. This places the origin of the Hales name during the reign of this Edward (who died in 1066). This predates William the Conqueror. Reverend Hales did not cite his reasoning or the source of his belief.
I have not been able to locate a record for Tonne. The earliest person named Hales that I have been able to discover is Sir Roger of Hales in Norfolk, England. Born about 1130 he was Lord of Hales during the early reign of King Henry II, who ruled from 1154 – 1189. Some people named Hales assume that Hales is a Norman name, arriving in England with William the Conqueror and were at Hales when his Domesday book was compiled. But the evidence points to an Icini (Celtic) tribe or Angles tribe origin.2 Tonne is a Celtic name or a unit of weights and measures. Also, because the symbols used during the development of the Hales coat-of-arms predate this time period, an earlier descent is indicated.
Between 62 and 650 A.D. the Iceni tribe of Norfolk (Celtics) was centered at Venta Icenorum (near Caister Saint Edmund), which became the ancient capital of Norfolk. The Angles tribe came to Britain in 449 A.D. Archaeological evidence indicates that by 700 A.D. the Iceni and Angles tribes had merged completely.
The arms of the Hales family displays three arrows, pointed downwards, on a red shield as is shown in the introduction to this book. The first person that I have been able to discover that claimed the symbol of the arrow was King Edmund the Martyr. King Edmund was born in 841 and was martyred at Hoxne, Suffolk, England in 869 or 870 long before the Norman's invaded in 1066. The Hales family either adopted or inherited King Edmund's 3 arrows symbol for their coat of arms.
It appears that King Edmund was captured by invading Danes in about 869 at Hoxne. He refused to share his Christian kingdom with the heathen invaders, and they tied him to a tree and shot him with arrows until his body was covered with them. The Symbol of the Arrow is detailed later in this book. Hoxne is located approximately 45 miles from Hales, Norfolk, England.
Either the family of King Edmund or a fraction of his Angles tribe settled at a place they called Hales after his death. Several Angles migrations occurred throughout Norfolk after the king was killed. The original families in charge of Hales were Angles Lords who were of high standing – enough to be able to properly settle the area.
In any event these people were not of Norman descent. They were either Angles or a mix of Angles and the earlier Icini (Celtic) tribes which merged together. The Icini were forced by the Romans to their capital called Venta Icenorum or Caister Saint Edmund. It is not far from what would later be called Hales by the Angles.
Lord Roger of Hales, born about 1130, was Lord of Hales during the early reign of King Henry II, who ruled from 1154 – 1189. The title "Lord" would indicate a family of high status. His son, Lord William of Hales, born about 1155, was Lord of Hales during the latter 4 years of King Henry II's reign. Lord Walter of Hales, born about 1180, was Lord of Hales sometime during the reign of King John, which was between 1199 – 1216. He is believed to be the son of Lord William of Hales.
There was a mansion at Hales during the mid-1100s. Called Hales Hall or Loddon Hall it was anciently the seat of the Hales family. How early it was built is not known.
This was also the period of Thomas a Becket. Following his appointment as chancellor of England and his later installation of archbishop of Canterbury, Becket and King Henry II had bitter conflicts over the king's attempts to gain control over the church of England. Henry attempted to collect taxes on church lands, and to try church officials accused of serious crimes. Becket resisted Henry's efforts. King Henry was outraged. In 1164, fearing for his safety, Becket went into hiding and then fled to France. To avoid detection he stayed in manors owned by his followers. Becket also had relatives in Norfolk.
When King Henry tried to locate Becket, and discovered he was in the safety of his friends, Henry's practice was to destroy the manors where Becket stayed. One of the manors destroyed was Hales Manor at Loddon Hales in Norfolk.
The followers of Becket, including one named Hales, went into exile in France with Becket to avoid the kings wrath. The Pipe Rolls mentions "Adam of Hales and his brothers," and states that his father was in exile with Becket in France. Why he was in exile is not known – perhaps he sheltered Becket. It seems likely that Roger of Hales, owner of Hales Manor at Loddon Hales, and living here during this period, might be the father mentioned here.
Becket returned to England in 1170 and quickly renewed his opposition to royal authority. Becket's new defiance irritated the king. In the hearing of his knights, Henry asked if anyone was brave enough to rid him of a single troublesome priest. Four knights took Henry's remarks as a royal request. The knights murdered Becket while he was at evening prayers in Canterbury Cathedral.
The Genealogists Magazine of The Society of Genealogists states that the Hales family came to Kent from Norfolk in or prior to the year 1172. 1172 is two years after the death of Becket. Perhaps they had connections there when Becket returned to England from France. The followers of Becket, also in exile, returned to England as well and possibly located in Kent near Becket.
It should be noted that during these early times symbols and arms were inherited by the heir to the original user of these symbols or arms. Sir Roger of Hales was most likely the first to display the Hales arms consisting of three arrows pointed downward on a red shield.
Also, there is the marriage of Alice of Hales in 1318 to Thomas Plantagenet, Earl of Norfolk, at Harwich, Essex, England. This Thomas was the son of King Edward 1 of England and his wife, Margaret of France. The claim is that this Alice was so beautiful that she captured the heart of Thomas. While this may be true it is more likely that the son of a king would find his wife in a known descendant of royalty, the practice in this period, rather than pick a commoner.
After their marriage, Alice prevailed on the king through her husband and received ownership to her ancestral home at Hales, Norfolk, England. Her father, Sir Roger of Hales, about 1260 to about 1313, was probably the most influential and powerful individual in Norfolk. His connection with royalty is documented and Roger's Lordship extended throughout Norfolk, especially the area between Lodden and beyond Hales Hall. Hales in Norfolk is located in a thin narrow valley nearly two miles long and 3/4 mile in width. On the Domesday maps it is listed as Hala, from the Anglo-Saxon Hal or the Celtic Hal.
Alice of Hales was born about 1302 at Harwich, Essex, England the daughter of Sir Roger of Hales and his wife Alice Skogan.
Adam of Hales and his brothers are mentioned as being in Kent by 1204. Were they in Kent to join their father that returned from exile with Becket? Becket being Archbishop of Canterbury would return to Kent. Most likely they were in Kent since the early 1170s because they were associated with Becket. With the Hales mansion in Norfolk destroyed, the father of Adam of Hales had to find a residence elsewhere.
In England there was an order of succession for the children of a family. The eldest son inherited the family arms. The fourth son is destined to the University and the church. Later sons were not recognized as were the older sons. The purpose of this practice was to ensure that the wealth of a family was maintained – at least through one of the sons. A very young son that inherited little had little to bequeath to his younger sons.
The brothers of Adam of Hales are not noted in history. At least I have not been able to discover their names or families. It was most likely from one of them that some of the lessor Hales families in Kent originated.
Apparently Nicholas of Hales inherited the family arms, identifying him as the eldest son of his father's family. These arms are the same arms bequeathed to the descendants of Sir Roger of Hales.
The arms of Nicholas Hales is a red shield, the color symbolizing valor, and emblazoned with three golden arrows, fletched white, and pointed down – the same arms as those used by Sir Roger of Hales who adapted them from King Edmund the Martyr. A coincidence? I think not. This would seem to indicate that Nicholas of Hales inherited the arms from Sir Roger of Hales, possibly through his son and heir. Possibly Adam of Hales or one of his brothers. This also indicates a Norfolk connection.
Nicholas of Hales of Kent and his descendants are documented in a separate work, The Hales Chronicles, by the author of this book. While it may not be possible to prove the descent of Nicholas from one of the siblings of Adam of Hales, his descendants are documented as accurately as possible in the above cited work.
Nicholas of Hales appears in Kent in the early 1300s. He was Prior of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem3 in London's church at Clerkenwell4 and Leader of the House of Lords.5 Nicholas received a grant to Halden, in the Southeast corner of Kent in 1334.
This Nicholas of Hales sired two sons, Sir Robert of Hales and Sir Nicholas of Hales. Sir Robert of Hales assumed his father's offices in both the Hospitallers and House of Lords. King Edward III made him an Admiral in 1367 when English ships still controlled the seas.6 He was the treasurer beheaded during Wat Tyler's revolt when he was blamed for the poll tax.
It was Sir Nicholas of Hales, son of Sir Nicholas of Hales and brother of Sir Robert of Hales that is considered the common ancestor of the Hales family in Kent. He most likely descended from Adam of Hales or one of his brothers. It is from this Nicholas Hales "from whence as from their fountain, the several streams of the Hales's, that in divided rivulets have spread themselves over the whole country, did originally break forth."7
During this time the maps of Kent were drawn in what was called "Hundreds." A hundred is defined as an area comprising a hundred families. There were 81 hundreds in this period. The demography would indicate that this consists of 8,100 families. If there were approximately 7 people in each family (my estimate), then there would have been approximately 56,700 people in all of Kent County at this time.
While Robert and Nicholas of Hales were part of the gentry during the revolt of 1381, John Hales of Malling was one of the peasant leaders. He was called "the first and principal originator of the insurrection during the subsequent inquisition in Canterbury." This John poses the question of his ancestry. Was he one of the several descendants of Nicholas Hales, or was he one of the lessor sons of one of the siblings of Adam of Hales?
Within Kent England there are several families that are most-likely close relatives. Because of the lack of records and the civil war from 1640 to 1660 documentation may not be available to trace our ancestry earlier than what has been accomplished in the above cited works. Also, because of the unformatted spellings of the days, some of our ancestors spelled their names differently than what we think of. Interesting possibilities include the following families and a particular manor of interest.
Halfway between Boxley and Boxley Abbey, against the foothills to the north, was Tattellmell. Tattellmell was a mansion owned by John de Capell in 1253. Upon his demise it went to his son Richard de Capell. When he died it went to his daughter, who married a Harlackenden of the borough of Harlackenden in Woodchurch. In the beginning of King James, Deborah, sole daughter and heir of Walter Harlackended, married Sir Edward Hales of Tunstall, knight and baronet, and Tattellmell was added to his collection of manor houses. Upon the death of Sir Edward in 1654 it devolved to his grandson Sir Edward Hales of Tunstall.
A distant cousin, Roy Hales of Fort Langley, BC, Canada, describes a Boxley to Yalding connection in his as yet unpublished manuscript.8 Some of this information is new.
Before March 25, in the year 1523 John Hale, Senior, from Boxley and five partners purchased a house with 2 acres in Yalding for £20. This may have been in the western part of the parish, which adjoins Hail street in the neighboring parish of East Peckham. It is possible that Hail street was named for this house or owner. At this time the nearest parish church to this Hail street was the church at Yalding. This John Hale was an elderly man, who lived only four more years.4 His will helps to reconstruct this Hale family during the decades preceding the church parish registers. John's wife 'Johan' or 'Joone' survived him. He had five offspring. There was possibly a deceased daughter – Margarete – and another living daughter 'Johan.' There were also some sons. Raynold, Nicholas and John.
Two miles to the north and west of Yalding lies Mereworth and between Yalding and Mereworth lies West and East Peckham and Nettlestead. There were other male heirs in John Hale, Senior's will more than 70 years before.
Raynold was the principal beneficiary of that 1526 will. He inherited most of the "lands and tenements," and was chosen to be the sole "legatee & Executor." It seems likely that the Thomas Haile, who is so prominent in the Yalding records between 1575 and 1600, would have been his descendant. Nicholas and John inherited "remainders" of their father's estate. John is mentioned a half mile north, in Nettlestead, when he sold his third of a house, 10 acres of land and 2 of meadowland during 1529 or 1530. Another John Hale, possibly his son, was involved in a similar transaction in Yalding six years later. This may be the John Halle, who was buried in Yalding on October 21st 1575.
Nicholas Hale married Mary Haile in Yalding during 1607. She appears to be the 24-year-old daughter of Thomas and Elizabeth Haile – considering that their fathers were both named Thomas and not likely to be brothers, this Nicholas and Mary may have been second cousins. The couple were "of Mereworth" when their daughter Margery was christened six years later. Nicholas must have been the narrow weaver who had his will proved in West Peckham during 1638. This document mentions a house, orchard and farmland in Mereworth. As his wife predeceased him, Nicholas left his estate to his brother-in-law Thomas Dawson, his daughter Magret Eton, and grandchildren Marie and Elizabeth Usher. We may be descended from one of Nicholas Hale's two sons: either Thomas Hale who was christened December 2, 1610, or more likely John Haele who was christened December 16, 1612. This, of course, begs the question of their not being in their father's will.
There are other possibilities, as well as gaps in the parish registers. We could easily be descended from some unrecorded son of Thomas Haile II's in Yalding, or from the "labourer" Thomas of Mereworth. However a more promising lead comes from West Farleigh, only two miles north of Yalding. A John Hale married Anne Martine there on February 11, 1606. There are no further Hale entries in this parish for John and Anne Hale which means that they probably resided elsewhere. It is possible that our Jacob Hales of Yalding was a son of this John and Anne Martine Hale.
There was little evidence of any Hale family in this area by 1660. The Civil War between 1640 to 1660 caused a gap in the church records. They are not listed in the parish overseer's accounts of 1663, or the Hearth Tax that was printed the following year. Yet Thomas Dawson, or a son of the same name, is mentioned in Mereworth. The size of his house is shocking, if it is the one mentioned in Nicholas Haile's estate. It was heated by a single hearth, and Dawson was thought to be so poor that he was not charged the tax. This raises the possibility that any surviving member of the Haile family may have continued in the less easily traced ranks of laborers and tenant farmers.
Thomas Haile of Yalding was a yeoman, elected churchwarden on two occasions, and one of the more prominent characters of the parish. However, this Thomas broke into James Browne's enclosure and destroyed 20 shillings worth of grass. Along with Stephen Ferris he attacked the widow Elizabeth Barefoot and left her wounded. Convicted and fined 6 pence, yet Haile was a respected member of the community who posted sureties for others and pled his village's case in the Maidstone assizes. Thomas Haile married Elizabeth Kemp in 1575 and was the father of four daughters and possibly two sons.
Another Thomas Hale may have been their son. He appears to have been a carpenter who posted sureties for at least two local laborers. He had two daughters and may be the Thomas Haile who married a widow named Ann Tanter (or Annis Taster) in 1624. He was buried three years later.
From Boxley to Yalding and as far to the east as Frinstead this family spread over Kent. From when John Hale, Senior of Boxley purchased property in Yalding, to when we find Arnold Haille in Frinstead in the mid-1500s there are traces of this family. And, considering that there are approximately three generations in a hundred years, when our John Hales (1694 Yalding) traveled to Frinstead to marry he may very well have been visiting a close relative. This John also relocated from Yalding to Boxley, where John Hale, Senior and Junior were located in the mid-1500s.
Our Hales family appeared in East Malling on January 10th, 1692. That was the day that Jacob Hales married Elizabeth Penny. I suspect, but cannot prove, that Jacob descended from the Haile family that was last seen in Yalding or Mereworth. The name of his firstborn son is John and probably carries the name of his paternal grandfather. Jacob was not in the parish overseer's accounts for 1700, 1715 or 1728, yet we know the couple had money, for Elizabeth received an inheritance of £40 when she married. Jacob may have been a tradesman.
Two of Jacob's sons returned to Boxley: John and Jacob. It may be that they returned to the Hales home that was left when the property was purchased in Yalding in the 1500s, or perhaps some relatives were still living at Boxley or there was some Hales property there.
John Hales of Boxley, son of Jacob of Yalding, would have been 30 when he married Mary Foster at Frinsted in 1724. Based on the headstone inscription at Boxley, Mary was born in 1700 and would have been 24. While it is stated that this Mary Foster was "of Frinsted," I have not been able to discover a Foster family there. However, about three and a half miles to the east of Frinsted lies the parish of Lynsted. In the records of Lynsted there is a Foster family which lists the death of Mary, daughter of William Foster of Frinsted in 1699. Other members of this family are also referred to as being "of Frinsted." The next year this family named another daughter Mary when she was christened in 1700. I believe this is the Mary Foster that married John Hales.
While the parish churches of Lynsted and Frinsted are only three and a half miles apart, the actual farms where they lived might be somewhere in-between and they may have attended both the Lynsted and Frinsted parish churches.
Most likely John Hales of Boxley had a reason to be in the Frinsted area. It may have been because he had an ancestor or other relative there to visit. The reason is yet to be found.
Jacob Hales of Boxley, son of Jacob of Yalding, followed his brother John to Boxley and married ten years later. Neither of these two sons named a son Jacob (or James – the Latinized form of Jacob), and both called their firstborn girl Elizabeth. This probably indicates something of their relationship to their father. The oldest daughter is named after their mother, but the oldest son is not named after their father.
There was a Matthew Heale or Hales of Boxley living in Maidstone in the early 1600s. Maidstone is approximately halfway between Boxley and Yalding. He married a woman named Johane about 1631 and they had a son named John that was christened June 27, 1633 at Maidstone. The tradition would indicate that the father of this Matthew was named John.
Matthew Hales wife died in 1680 and her will was proved at Boxley. This would indicate some type of Boxley connection with Matthew Hales of Maidstone. While her will was proved at Boxley, she was buried November 6, 1680 at Maidstone.
In the late 1600s a cousin of Sir Edward Hales, Elizabeth Hales of Chilson, married Edwin Wyatt. This Elizabeth Hales Wyatt was buried in 1707 at Boxley and an inscription to the Wyatt family can be found inside the Boxley church. Edwin Wyatt also died in 1707. This family may also have had a connection to the Tattellmell manor.
About this time or shortly thereafter John Hales, born in 1694 and a son of Jacob Hales, appears in Boxley. One wonders where this John moved to in Boxley – was there some connection with the Tattellmell manor?
Later generations can be found in my earlier book Windows. This story is provided so that descendants of John and Mary Foster Hales might benefit from all of the research accomplished to this point.
1. If his title of "Lord" is correct, and if Tonne is really a name and not a weight, then Tonne must have been the son of a Duke or the eldest son of an Earl. This is a title obtained through heredity and would make him a part of royalty.
2. Refer to The Hales Newsletter, Volume 8 Number 1, Spring 2003, for source information for this chapter. Much of the information cited in this newsletter is the work of Lewis Kim Hales of Milner, Georgia.
3. The Order of 'The Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem' refers to the Knights Templar which evolved into the Masonic Order. The 'Prior' or leader would mean the Grand Master of the Freemasons. Christopher Knight and Robert Lomas, The Hiram Key (Barnes and Noble, 1998), p.27.
4. Edward Hasted, History and Topographical Survey of the County of Kent. volume IV, p. 414.
5. Knowles, volume II, p. 304.
6. The House of Hales Place, www.martenrogers.treeserve.co.uk/page6.htm
7. Thomas Philipott, Esquire, Villare Cantianum; or Kent Surveyed and Illustrated (London: W. Lane, 1776), p.176.
8. Manuscript of Roy Hales of Fort Langley, BC, Canada."
4. Internet article by Roy L. Hales accessed 24 Jan 2016. Roy, in an accompanying email notes: "I did a little reconstructing of the possibility our Hales were in London during the early 16th century. Found quite a few clues pointing that way, though nothing strong enough to establish it as fact."
Website link: https://sites.google.com/site/ourkentishgenealogy/surnames/hales-in-london
"Hales in London
Why Look for Hales in London
So far, our Hales family genealogists have not been able to go any further back than the Jacob Hales who married Elizabeth Penny in East Malling, on January 10, 1692. There are no records of a Hale or Hales family in either East Malling or Yalding, where this couple settled, in the decades immediately prior to this event. Though some argue that the names "James" and "Jacob" are related, I have yet to see a record in which our family could be said to switch one for another. Indeed there are few references to the name "Jacob Hales" in Kent during this time. All of which leads me to suspect that we need to look outside Kent and will most likely find our Hales in London.
The number of clues pointing in this direction is impressive, but still not conclusive enough to be more than a best guess.
Aside from the fact there are a number of references to "Jacob Hales" in London, under variant spellings, people from all social classes had been going to Kent
- London's poor were attracted by the wages, which were in highest in England during the 1680's (page 257 of THE ECONOMY OF KENT 1640-1914) and, since the Tudor era, there has been an annual influx of pickers from London and Essex (page 147, CRISES AND ORDER IN ENGLISH TOWNS 1500-1700)
- In LONDON (Vintage edition of 2001, p 728) Peter Ackroyd described wealthier London residents moving to Kent: "the air being exceedingly wholesome, many citizens have built houses; and such whose circumstances do not permit of that expense, take ready furnished lodgings for the summer."
Kent's Other Jacob Hales & Hales Shipwrights
Our Jacob first appeared in East Malling, a parish with strong connections to the sea. 6 of the 20 wills from pre-1614 East Malling were left by mariners, people concerned with ships, or (in one case) a mariner's widow (C.I. Sinclair Williams, "Maritime East Malling, ARCHAEOLOGIA CANTIANA, vol LXXXVIII pp 52, 53)
There are also a number of early 18th century parish entries pertaining to Hales who were shipwrights from St Nicholas parish register in Deptford, which is only four miles east of London. From the Hales Newsletter (p 31). Register searched between 1571-1812, there are no Hale(s) entries until 1595. There is no reference to professions for another century and the first one recorded is a "Shipwright":
- Christened to Thomas Hail, Shipwright, Church Street: John (9 Aug, 1702); Sarah (6 Aug 1704); subsequent entires do not mention Thomas' profession: Elizabeth (23 June 1706); Hoskins (30 Jan 1708/9) Thomas (20 June 1712)
- Christened to William Hailes, Shipwright: Mary (30 Sept 1718) subsequent entires state that William was "on the Green": James (16 Sept 1722); William (6 Sept 1724);
- 19 of the Hale(s) entries from Deptford 1571-1812 mention the profession "shipwright" and the register has a gap between 1619-53.
Though the Worshipful Company of Shipwrights had its headquarters in London, its two principal shipyards were in Kent. Between 1512 and 1915, "5,000 ships were launched into the Thames from the Royal Dockyards at Deptford and Woolwich."
There were two Hales entries in the lower part of Deptford, in the 1664 Hearth tax, showing Hale(s) families owning their houses:
- John Hayles, possibly grandfather of the Thomas Hail above (Thomas s/o William, gs/o John "Hale"), has a house with two chimneys. (Duncan Harrington, KENT HEART TAX ASSESSMENT LADY DAY 1664, p 10)
- the "widdow Haeles" had a house with one chimney. As she was "non chargeable," she probably did not have much money (ibid, p 13).
Two of the three Hales entries from Minster, on the Isle of Sheppey, in Kent, also pertain to a shipwright. As these are isolated entries, both the Robert and Jacob Hales mentioned below obviously came from outside the parish:
From "Canterbury: Marriage Licenses 1675 to 1770," published in the Hales Newsletter (p 54):
-11 Jul 1706, Marr: Robert Hales, Shipwright of Minster, Sheppey and Cath. Hodges.
From Parish extracts, Minster, Sheppey, Kent, England 1670-1730, also in the Hales Newsletter (p 29):
- Bur: 29 Sep 1706 Katharine, wife of Robert Halles
- Bur: 19 Jun 1713 Jacob Hales of "Sheerness, Minster"
The Jacob Hales mentioned above is obviously not our ancestor, who was living in Yalding at this time, but could he be our Jacob's father?
Given that there are no other Hale(s) entries in this register, it seems likely that Jacob and Robert Hales are related and came from outside Minster. Though have no indication of Jacob's age, Robert's recent marriage makes it likely he was born sometime in the 1670's of 80's.
Jacob Hales in London
Though there is no reference to a Robert being christened to Jacob Hales in London, there is a Jacob Hales of the right age to be the most likely candidate for the father of our Jacob.
Christenings of a Jacob Hales in London 1650-1680
1. Jacobus Hayles, born 28 March 1663, would have been 29 when our Jacob was married. He was christened at St Martins in the Fields on 2 Apr 1663 to "Jacobi" and "Annae" Hayles.
2. Jacobus Hailes, born 8 May 1674, would have been 18 when our Jacob was married. He was christened at St Martins in the Fields on 10 May 1674 to Obadiae and Janae Hailes.
The second Jacob seems unlikely because (a) In an age when names normally passed from generation to generation, neither our Jacob or his son John called any of their children"Obadiae" or "Janae" (Jane) (b) Though Jacob could have married at 18, this would have been unusual.
The first Jacob is both of a more likely age to be married in 1692 and, assuming he is our Jacob, his children carried forward the names of both their paternal grandparents.
There are two more christenings for this family listed in the St Martins of the Fields' parish register. This is my reconstruction of the family:
1. Susana Hayles (born Nov 2, c Nov 10, 1661 - died Nov 14, 1661 St Martins in the Fields)
2. Jacobus Hayles - (born 8 May, c May 10 1663 St Martins in the Fields)
3. Johannes Hales - (born 24 May 1664, c 5 June 1664 St Martins in the Fields)
4. Robert Hales - (assumed, would probably have been born sometime in the 1670s or 1680ish)
The evidence that our Jacob & Elizabeth Hales Used Naming Patterns
Based on the records of Elizabeth Penny's family, we know that she used naming patterns. She used her own name, the names of both her parents (Henry & Elizabeth), her only sibling (Mary) and her paternal grandfather John Pack (who left Elizabeth a £40 inheritance) when naming her children.
Known Maternal Line: Elizabeth Penny's family
- Elizabeth named her son John Hales (c Yalding 1694) after her maternal grandfather John Pack (who left her a £40 inheritance).
- Elizabeth named her daughter Elizabeth Hales (c Yalding 1696) after herself and her mother: Elizabeth Penny (nee Pack).
- Elizabeth named her daughter Mary Hales (c Yalding 1707) after her only sibling: Mary Penny.
Elizabeth named her son Henry Hales (c Yalding 1713) after her father: Henry Penny.
We find a similar fit, with the names of Jacob Hales' proposed family. His parents (Jacobi and Annae), living proposed siblings (Johannes & Robert) and a possible connection (Thomas).
Suggested Paternal Line: Our Jacob Hales' Family
- Jacob could have named his son John Hales (c Yalding 1694) after his uncle Johannes (2, above), though the Pack origin seems more likely.
- Jacob could have named his son Jacob Hales (c Yalding 1699) after himself and his father "Jacobi Hayles."
- Jacob could have named his son Thomas Hales (c Yalding 1701) after Thomas Hail of Deptford (very tentative suggestion).
- Jacob could have named his son Robert Hales (c Yalding 1710) after his proposed brother Robert Hales from Minster on Sheppy (4, above).
- Jacob could have named his son Ann Hales (of whom we have only a burial record from Yalding) after his mother "Annae Hayles."
The Years at St Martins in the Fields
Modern St Martins in the Fields is at the northeast corner of Trafalgar Square, in Westminster, London, but in the 17th century it was what John Evelyn called a "little town" that grew up as London expanded into the surrounding countryside. It is about 6 miles from Deptford.
"Jacobi" and "Annae Hayles" are not listed as home owners in either Kent (during 1664) or London (hearth tax of 1666).
I have not yet found a record of their marriage and, so far, they are only known to have been in St Martins of the Fields between 1661 and 1664.
That last year is significant. Six months after the christening, the London's last great plague broke out in the city's northern outskirts. There were many death in St Martins of the Fields. Defoe notes that in June 1665, Justices of the Peace were shutting up infected houses within the parish.
Jacobi and Annae had good reason to leave the London area.
Jacobi would presumably have been born around 1644 (+/- five years).
If he is the son of Arnold and Mary Hale (below), he would have been 23 (born 1648) when his daughter Susanna was born and 65 when he was buried at Minster on the Isle of Sheppey.
A Possible Preceding Generation: Children of Arnold & Mary Hale
I found only one promising christening record for a Jacob Hale(s).
Arnold and Mary Hale christened their son Jacob at St. Margaret's (Anglican) Church, in Westminster, London, on September 3, 1648.
Arguments against them being the parents of Jacobi Hayles:
- Jacob was born when there is a known gap in the parish records of Deptford (between 1619-53) and Jacobi could have been born there.
- There is no support from Arnold & Mary's naming records, such as is found with Jacobi & Annae.
Arguments for their being Jacobi Hayles' parents:
- Arnold and Mary Hale gave all of their children have names starting with "J" (for Jehovah?). This abruptly stops in 1648, the year that King Charles I was surrendered to Parliament. They may have continued to sire children, as Arnold was only 32. So were there other Hale children christened in independent sects? If so, they could have been threatened by possible fines, imprisonment and/or persecution during the Restoration (1660-88). This may not have been a naming pattern Jacobi wanted to carry forward. Arnold and Mary's known children were named:
- John Hale (c 14 Aug 1640) christened at Dunstan, Stepney, Middlesex
- John Hayle (c 30 Jan 1642) christened at St Margaret, Westminster, Middlesex
- James Hale (17 Mar 1644) " "
- Jane Hayle (c 13 Dec 1646) " "
- Jacob Hale (c 3 Sep 1648) " "
- St. Margaret's Church is less than a mile from St Martin's in the Fields
- A number of shipwrights are also known to have come from their original parish of Stepney, which is four miles from Deptford.
- Tobias Fenton of Stepney, Middlesex, "shipwright," who married Martha Alden on Jan 31, 1600/1.
- Thomas Etheridge of Stepney, Middlesex, "shipwright" who married Judith Abbot on Aug 2, 1626
- David Browne of Stepney, Middlesex, "shipwright" who married Mary Seller of the same parish on May 19, 1688.
Robert Colling of Stepney, Middlesex, "shipwright" who married Mary Mason of the same parish on Nov 11, 1691.
This does not prove that Arnold Hale was a shipwright, but does show he could have been.
This is presumably the Arnolt Haile who married Mary Tyson in Stepney, Middlesex, 14 July 1639.
While it is not certain Arnold was the father of Jacobi, Arnolde probably is the son of Robert Hale (below) and thus 23 at the time of his marriage.
Another Generation: Children of Robert & Elizabeth Hale
Robert Hale married Elizabeth Cowper at St Botolph Bishopsgate, London, 10 July 1614. Their children were:
- Arnolde Hale (c 1 May 1616)
- Ann Hale (c 5 May 1622)
- Jacob Hale (c 31 Aug 1625)
- Elizabeth Hale (c 26 April 1629)
Robert Hale appears in London's records at a time when the city was growing by 7,000 people every year because wages were 50% higher than anywhere in Britain. (Francis Sheppard, LONDON: A HISTORY, Oxford University Press, 1998, p 128)"
5. Another theory that needs additional proof comes from researcher Gary Higgins 4 Feb 2016:
"Jacob was the son of John Hales and Mary Denys who were married in Cripplegate, London, Middlesex, 1 May 1665. In 1667 at the age of one he was moved to Yalding, Kent from London to avoid the plague. Many families who could afford it were thus moved. He was brought there 16 July 1667.
In questioning Gary about the source for this information, he replied:
"I am looking through my logs. There was communication between the Curate of Yalding and his bishop, in which the Curate wrote about the new people coming temporarily into the parish. I can't go from memory on this. I will have to see it and copy it in order to use it. My notes refer to it, but I do not have a copy yet."
Researcher Roy L Hales in response to the above notes:
"Using naming patterns, I once followed Jacob's trail back to a John and Mary Hales and Cripplegate sounds very familiar. I think it is the same family and you will find there were also Denys in either East Malling or Yalding. Jacobi's family also works with naming patterns and we have a christening record for him. If I remember correctly, both Jacobi and the John from Cripplegate descend from the Robert Hale who married Elizabeth Cowper at St Botolph Bishopsgate on 10 July 1614. I agree with you Kerry, so far we have not crossed the line from possibilities to definitive proof. I hope we are about to see some."
My research shows that there is a great history of Cripplegate available online which talks about the Plague of 1665 which was followed by the Great Fire the following year. The timing certainly works, but proof of the curate's statement is needed.
Gary by 28 Feb 2016 email further communicates:
"That communication about Jacob Hales is most likely in the Maidstone deanery according to what I wrote in my log. I am still pursuing it. When I find it again I will send you a copy. I've searched the parish chest records on poor rates and paupers and such because that is where it is supposed to be. There was nothing in Yalding itself that was very helpful. What worries me is that I think I wrote in my notes "Yalding" in the margin because I was going to check there to see if it was our Jacob.. Not because that is where I saw the report."
6. The following extraction was made from the "Index to the Kent Lay Subsidy Roll of 1334/5," by H.A. Hanley, B.A. and C.W. Chalklin, M.A., B. Litt <http://www.kentarchaeology.org.uk/Research/Pub/KRV/18/7/313.htm> accessed 11 Feb 2016. From this index, the actual entries are found in "The Kent Lay Subsidy Roll of 1334/5," by the same authors <http://www.kentarchaeology.org.uk/Research/Pub/KRV/18/3/058-172.htm> accessed 12 Feb 2016. The second document more fully explains the history of this Lay Subsity. This was a tax assessed on householders; however, it probably only represents about 50% of the householders since the poorer families were not assessed:
No mentions were found for family surnames Acock/Alcock, Barret, Chepfield, Dancy, Dennett, Eagles, Gateland, Hadwin, Hales, Mills, Morskin, Shelley, Sisley, Strain, Vande Wall, Worme.
MARRIAGE:
1. LDS Ordinance Index extracted record film 0992508, batch M131581, printout 6906614 shows Jacob Hales and Elizabeth Penny, m. 10 Nov 1692 in East Malling, Kent, England.
SOURCES_MISC:
1. 18 Dec 2002 website .
2. Parish records of East Malling, Yalding, Frinstead, and Boxley by correspondence; Research done by Raymond E. Stokes, record agent of Cobbam, Kent, England for the Hales Genealogical society, Kenneth Glyn Hales, sec.
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Chris & Julie Petersen's Genealogy
Abt 1671 - 1741 (~ 70 years)