The Gilbert family line (my paternal line) traces back through the London
area, but prior to 1820's the family came from  Frome, Somerset, and possibly Wiltshire
before that. During the Victorian era, most of the family branches were living in the
Middlesex and Surrey areas of what is now Greater London. Prior to this, the different
families originated from places such as from Crondall, Hampshire; Blackburn,
Lancashire; Kings Langley, Hertfordshire; Husborne Crawley, Bedfordshire and of course
Frome, Somerset - where the Gilbert line has been traced back to the late 1700's.

The Batchelor family line (my maternal line) predominantly has Scottish origins,
via Singapore. My maternal grandfather's family came from Dundee, Angus and Cupar,
Fife. My maternal grandmother's family originated from Birse, Aboyne and
Kincardine O'Neil, a group of hamlets in Aberdeenshire. Latterly, some of them moved
into Aberdeen city, probably for work. Sadly some ended up in the poor house. There is
also a Norfolk link with the Calder family and the Bell family, in the villages of
Foulsham and Bintry, and some of the smaller surrounding hamlets. My great grandfather
came down from Aberdeenshire and married a Norfolk girl, Dorcas Bell, before finally
settling in south London.

In my quest for the family history, I have visited Foulsham and Norwich
doing research. I have also transcribed most of the parish records for Foulsham, for
the Norfolk Family History Society and the FreeREG project. I make great use of many of
the internet transcripts, and also the various societies and record offices around the
UK. I endeavour to reference all my sources of information, but as this is an ongoing
project, you may find some people have unreferenced dates of events. This will be
addressed as time passes.

I hope those who visit my site will enjoy reading the history of my family.
This is a 'living' site so it will be updated and amended quite frequently.
Photo's will be added in time so check back often if you have an interest in 
any of my ancestors. Please feel free to sign my guest book.