Everybody's life I think seems to be a succession of coincidences. When you come from a strain of a family that has travelled so much it's a miracle really each person met, they so easily could have just missed each other and then none of us would be here. A few years ago I was amazed to discover that Judith my 4x Great Grandmother was born where I live now. Part of a London Borough now, in 1791 when she as born it was a tiny village but it had the same pub, same ponds and same church. The church she was baptised in is the one I walk through the graveyard with Scarlett all the time as a cut through to the park. The graveyard that my 6x Great Grandparents are buried in after they settled in the village with their young son, my 5x Great Grandfather. I have never been able to find their grave as the old stones are so worn but I know they are there and think about them when ever I walk through. As a Liverpool family moving "down south" it is a miracle that we ended up in the same place. However this year I found and even more incredible coincidence.
I decided I would see if I could go any further back from Charles and Sarah my 6x Great Grandparents. It was relatively easy as they have such an unusual surname Sprules. The coincidences continued as my 7x Great Grandfather also called Charles was born in the village we moved to in 1967 where my Dad still lives now. He was baptised in the church we have walked up to a thousand times just around the corner from the lodge my Mum and Dad moved to in 1980. Even more astonishing though was the fact his father, also called Charles (they didn't have much imagination in those days!) was the bailiff and book keeper for the Park Estate where my Dad lives in the lodge now. In the 1680's and 90's he would have lived literally a few hundred yards from where the family home is now. When we moved there it was just a name on a map of England. We had never heard of it but we said it had a really nice feel to the village. I'm beginning to wonder now if some sort of memory has been passed on in our DNA!
Around 1700 Charles the book keeper moved to Mickelham, a few miles down the road. I have found his will, four pages long with bequeaths to everyone he ever knew I think, he named so many people! I like to think he must have been very kind. He was described as a Yeoman for a large estate in Mickelham. In 1719 he died and was buried in the graveyard there with his wife Mary who had died 12 years before. Yesterday I went with my Dad and my sister to St Michael And All Angels Church in Mickelham. We searched and searched but couldn't find his grave as the old graves were so worn. We did however find the grave of his son William who is my 7x Great Uncle.
