Thinking Outside the Genealogy Box

 

When my ancestor John Suckling of Pluckley Kent England died in 1644, accounts from other villagers for their assistance were submitted to the Parish Church for payment.

Starting in April 1643 the Church provided support for the Suckling family for 13 months, with candles and money.

We can also see from the account listings that one of their children had died in this time period.

Finding this wonderful bit of detail about John and his last days came about because I found an obscure Thesis from 1987 called “ Custom and Conflict in a Wealden Village; Pluckley 1550-1700” a 1987 thesis by Neil Davie,

Reading through the 400 plus pages I found it full of names and tiny facts about the villagers. I’m still gleaning information about several of my Pluckley ancestors and about the village in general.

Thinking outside the box and looking for alternate obscure records can provide many happy findings. So don’t  overlook the less obvious sources  of information as you go about your genealogy journey.