Now here we have a fine kettle of fish! Talk about a can of worms!
The task of sorting out the Marsh families of Alkham is a humongous one.
Many Marsh families passed through Alkham over the years. Some Marsh
lines have a long history there, others came and went. My great grandfather,
John Marsh, spent a short time there. His uncle Luke spent most of his
life there and raised a family at Poulton and is recorded as a landowner
in the 1873 Return of Landowners. My grandfather, another John Marsh, spent
several years there as landlord of the Carpenters Arms. Apart from those
close relatives, I am connected in various ways to many other Alkham families.
One of the problems with family research at Alkham is the repetition
of names and the existence of more than one set of couples with the same
names, such as John and Elizabeth Marsh, living there at the same time.
Many of these couples would have been related, father & son, cousins,
etc. A further problem was the movement of families, back and forth, between
Alkham and other villages, Capel le Ferne, Hougham, etc, and the towns
of Folkestone and Dover.
I shall be posting a series of charts with the hope that eventually
evidence will be disclosed to connect up some of the families. Initially
each will comprise a few notes and a descendancy chart; more detailed information
and pictures will be added later. You can access the charts through the
head persons listed below. Have fun! I shall look forward to comments and
new information.
Bill Marsh 31 December 2002
A good read about Alkham and Alkham families can be found in "A Pictorial Study of ALKHAM PARISH" by Susan Lees & Roy Humphreys, published by Meresborough Books, 7 Station Road, Rainham, Gillingham, Kent. ME8 7RS, England - 48pp, inexpensive, approx 12 1/2 x 8 1/2 inches, soft cover.