R/RFHA Newsletter, December 1994                 P.43

From Dennis Rawlings, 1642 Colonial Blvd., Fort Myers, FL 33907

Dennis reports on his successful search back to the Old Country for his ancestors all the way to the 1600's! Congratulations, Dennis, and here's your letter to give heart to others of us who have not succeeded that far.

"I thought I had gone back as far as I could in my search for my RAWLINGS family when I found my great-grandfather's birth certificate that showed JAMES RAWLINGS was born to JANE RAWLINGS and father unknown in Plymouth, England, 1851. But I kept digging. I found them in a census, living with his grandparents, ROBERT and Mary Ann RAWLINGS, also in a City Directory. I could now go back to about 1830, but no further.

So I decided to ask for help. I joined the Devon Family History Society. They had marriage records from 1800 to 1850, so I sent for them. Luckily for me there was only one ROBERT to Mary Ann! The church certificate said ROBERT was in the Royal Marines and Mary Ann was of the parish.

Again I asked for help. I hired a researcher to go to Kew, England, where the military records were kept. I hoped this would tell me volumes about ROBERT. It didn't. However, when his record came, it said ROBERT was 15 when he enlisted in the Royal Marines in 1812 in Marlborough, Wiltshire. He was 5'1", sandy hair and grey eyes, but most importantly, it said that he was born in the town of SEEND, and that was it! I rushed to my maps, my relatives' maps and my library but could not find the town of SEEND. I thought "Oh great - a village that doesn't exist any more!" But I kept digging.

I went to England. Do I sound like a man possessed? I am. First thing, I bought a map of England. SEEND was not on it. OK, I figured I would go to Plymouth and somebody might know where Seend used to be. As I drove about England I found that many existing towns did not appear on my maps. So I drove to Wiltshire and purchased a county map and I saw SEEND!

SEEND is a village of about 1500 people with one store and two pubs. Every village has at least two pubs. I still didn't know if ROBERT was from there, or his parents were maybe just passing through. So once again I asked for help. I asked the combination store-keeper and postmaster if any RAWLINGS lived in SEEND (talk about a long-shot!) and she replied "Yes, Brian Rawlings." I knew I had to meet BRIAN.

So I tracked BRIAN down on his farm. He knew less than I did about the RAWLINGS family, but he was 69 and he knew his grandfather had lived in SEEND all of his life. By the way, he had a remarkable resemblance to my father and my uncles.

So I tracked down the church records, hoping to find ROBERT's baptism record since I knew from his military record when he was born. But what I found was a genealogical bonanza! I found perfectly maintained church records dating back to 1635, and I was able to trace the RAWLINGS family back to JOHN and Susanna, 1635, in Seend. 350 years in the same village! I guess we didn't get around much then. It will take me a long time to sort out all my data, but I will be happy to share. Of course, I'm still digging for JOHN and Susannah's roots. I have just joined the Wiltshire Family History Society so hopefully this will be continued.

PS. ROBERT and Mary Ann and JAMES emigrated to Canada around 1860. They lived in Port Hope, Ontario. My grandfather PATRICK was born in Lindsey, Ontario, Canada and emigrated to Chicago around 1910.

Dennis Rawlings" Ed. Note: Great job, Dennis!