Happy Canada Flag Day to all Canadians. I have flags but I can not find them. I coloured in a flag I printed and it is in my front window. Although it is always tempting to go downtown on these special occasions and the Conservatives are holding a Canada First Rally but I shall watch it on TV and not inflict my old age on the younger people celebrating. The exuberance of youth is always wonderful to see and I can see it well on the television.
Forgot to mention initially three more Israeli hostages released and why not all of them? It is ridiculous to keep babies in captivity for over a year and a half. It is actually ignorant to the point of extreme cruelty and Hamas should pay big time for that. The deaths they have inflicted by their stupidity on the Palestinian people should forever negate them as leaders of a people. The Palestinians themselves need to grow up; they have lived in Gaza for more than three generations and have nothing to show for it and it is their own fault. When they accept that and accept that one does not attack one's neighbour or even hate them they will move forward. No good comes out of hatred. One must always be moving forward and changing a path if the one they are on does not work. The benefit is always on your side then.
Staying out of politics and political situations. I know where I stand and it is firmly on this land surrounded by, as far as I can tell, people who are interested in Canada continuing to be the great country it has been (and called Turtle Island which in our ignorance of the language we did not realize) where we have vastly supported the world far beyond our weight. Especially when the chips are down we come forward and do our best and we always will. God is at our helm and we follow His teachings. Our friendship with the people of the United States is forever. God bless Canada and God bless our dear neighbours and for me cousins (many) in the United States of America. God bless the King and the Governor General and God bless the Westminster model of government which has served us well.
There are two suggested connections between the Calne Blake family and the Andover Blake family by others and a third by me. The two suggested connections are recorded on large charts - Blake Pedigree Chart created by the College of Arms using material that was the property of the Daniel Blake family of London (circa 1690 with additions into the 1700s) and the Blake Family Chart held by the Blake Museum in Bridgwater (they do not have an individual named as the creator but I suspect it is Edward Jarman Blake who lived at Crewkerne, Somerset and he was in communication with Francis Blake of Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America, a distant cousin) created during the latter part of the 1800s with updates. Edward J Blake was a solicitor and can be found on the 1901 census at Crewkerne. The chart held by the Blake Museum is extremely complete for his family giving further suspicion that he was the creator. I suspect his purpose was recording the connection of the Somerset Blake family to the Calne Blake family and adding in an excellent set of material on the Somerset Blake family that, thus far, fits the data very well as far as I can tell.
Connection one: A William Blake married to an Avis Ripley was added to the children of Roger Blake and Mary (Baynard) Blake in the Blake Pedigree Chart and this William is listed as dying in 1582. The 1565 Visitation of Wiltshire lists the three sons (and also the daughters and their husbands) of Roger and Mary (Baynard) Blake at which time if there was a William he would have been also married likely as his oldest children I would think were born in the 1550s at least and possibly earlier because all of the children are married by 1582 including the youngest and there are grandchildren although not mentioned by name. William's father Nicholas mentions his son in his will and most of his land passes to William. But in 1547 (date of the will) Nicholas does not mention grandchildren or a daughter in law although his daughter Alice is married to (unknown) Godwyn. But he is likely over 21 years of age but if one thinks of him as 21 in 1547 he would have been 56 years of age in 1582. I think he sounds older than that in his will - possibly in his early 60s so not a lot older plus he likely wasn't born in 1521 when Robert Blake mentions Nicholas' likely father Richard in his will. When you use the years available to you then it does provide a context that you can readily refer to. Going back just one page in the Visitations to the Bellingham family connections with their family in Surrey and Westmoreland are mentioned. That is what I base the likelihood of this connection being accurate upon. Plus comments made by the Richmond Herald at the College of Arms in 1693 although he was not appointed as the Richmond Herald until 1721 concerning the Blake family of Calne were also part of that thought.
Connection two: A broken line running from Robert Blake married to Avis (Wallop) (Malewyn) Blake from the first pdf to the second pdf adding in an unknown Blake (and I am not really sure whether it is implied that Robert had a brother or that this is another suggested child of Robert and Avis). I have not yet verified or dismissed the data in the second pdf that concerns the Blake family of Andover. I can see incorrect material but have not yet blogged that information. Today I must have a look at this along with some of the wills. My eyes can only look at so many new wills in one day - it is very tiring work on the eyes and I do spare them regularly (as I always did). This chart appears to be based on Horatio Somerby Gates' fraudulent work on the Blake Family of Andover. I will look at this chart and have in the past but with regard to the actual wills of the individuals mentioned who lived in Andover and are mentioned on the Chart. Perhaps I should move to that but my mind is sort of on these wills so will proceed with that today but tomorrow I might consider spending a little time on this 2nd pdf of the original chart.
Connection three: I postulate that an individual without a surname at Knights Enham married into a Blake family (at this time surnames were not used in England) and took the Blake surname in the late 1200s or early 1300s of his wife - if she was indeed from Normandy the advantage to that is quite large for his continued occupation of his land one might think which indeed remained in the Blake family up into the 1700s. The conquerors do get to set the pace for a while but eventually it is ironed out and those who were there before get to reinstate themselves into the new system. But that was a very long time ago - nearly a thousand years now since the Norman Conquest in 1066.
There are about 50 of these wills in perhaps 20 different cities/towns/villages of Hampshire with these places being in clusters - the Andover Cluster, the Southampton/Christchurch cluster and a smaller Winchester cluster that sort of captures that area south of Andover and north east of Southampton. I think that these three are different in the y-DNA line from the Calne Blake family. I suspect both the Winchester cluster and the Southampton/Christchurch cluster are Norman/French/Dutch with the Andover cluster being early Briton (there is another member of the yDNA study that is in the same descendant line as my brothers with the lines having S2742 in common (estimated at 4500 BCE) and diverging at this point. The interesting part is that the ancestor of the tester and my grandfather worked for the same railway and lived in Eastleigh. This individual was known to my grandfather and they had tried to figure out how they were related. At this point in time my grandfather was not in the Andover area as Eastleigh is close to Southampton. The other individual could trace back to Romsey in the late 1700s (Romsey is S of Andover and a distance of about 18 miles, Romsey is NNW of Southampton and 8 miles away). Finding a match that existed that far back in the past is amazing but not unexpected given the matches with another family nearer to Basingstoke. So these individuals along with my line were Western Hunter Gatherers arriving in the British Isles as much as 8000 years ago or more or less. I have not attempted to trace his line further back then Romsey. I do not get into that (to me 18 miles is like nothing really in terms of distance). It might be logical to think that the Southampton/Christchurch are descendant of the Calne family but I do not think that is necessarily correct as there were Blake families along the coast that appear in the late 1200s and early 1300s when we also find the le Blak family arriving from Normandy.
It would be good to look again at the Emigrants Database from 1330 to 1550. I have removed everyone except Dorset, Hampshire, Wiltshire (no names for Berkshire during this time period).
Surname Forename Nationality Day Month Year Residence
Blake John Norman 18 Apr 1524 Dorset, Eastbury (tything in Tarrant-Gunville)
Blake John Dutch 11 Jul 1440 Hampshire, King's Somborne hundred
Blake Stephen 11 Jul 1440 Hampshire, Millbrook
Blake Robert French 19 Sep 1441 Wiltshire, Great Somerford
Blake Richard Irish 10 Jul 1440 Wiltshire, Salisbury
Blake Richard Irish 7 Sep 1441 Wiltshire, Salisbury
Eastbury is close to Blandford so also Salisbury in Dorset.
Kings Somborne is midway between Andover and Winchester and Southampton.
Millbrook is just north of Southampton.
Great Somerford is north of Calne (and Chippenham).
Salisbury is to the north west of Southampton.
Kings Somborne
Andrew Blake 1551, mentions Richard Blake, Joane Blake, Edmond Blake, Philp Blake and his brother John Blake (executor). I assume these are his children.
John Blake 1558, a brother John Blake with a son Wa[l]ter Blake and his daughter Alse Blake. His wife is Jone and she receives the residue of his estate. I can see where I might consider transcribing these wills as I go along but that does slow me down quite a bit. Kings Somborne is just seven miles north of Romsey and eleven miles south of Andover. I shall have to consider whether there are any gains to transcribing the will at this time since I am spending time on it reading it.
These are the only two Blake wills known to me at Kings Somborne. That they date back to the mid 1500s is interesting although the Blake family at Andover is fairly well documented in this time frame. Having a John Blake arrive here 11 Jul 1440 from The Netherlands is rather interesting as shown on the Emigrants Database. Why would one chose Kings Somborne? Are the two men related?
East and West Tytherley (SWS of Andover, half way between Andover and Southampton, along the Hampshire/Wiltshire border, 8 miles W of Kings Somborne).
Augustin Blake, 1578, West Tytherley, his son Thomas, his daughter Agnes, wife is Alys and Richard Blake is a witness (no relationship mentioned).
Richard Blake, 1596, West Tytherley, yeoman, sons are William, Richard (sons are Richard and John), Augustyne and John, daughters Joane and Alice and his wife is Oliffe.
In that Richard named his son Augustyne one might wonder if Augustin Blake leaving his will in 1578 and Richard Blake leaving his will in 1596 are brothers. I did read through the whole of Richard's will but quickly. I did not notice any reference to Thomas or Agnes the children of Augustin Blake as they would have been his nephew and niece if Augustin was his brother.
Since this is close to Kings Somborne it could be that all of these individuals are descendant of the John Blake who came as an emigrant from the Netherlands in 1440. It does though tell me that the match that I have with my brothers in the study is likely not related to this family unless of course a western Hunter Gatherer stopped off in the Netherlands that matched us but I suspect they all kept going off to the British Isles many many years ago. Plus the wills of the Andover Blake family appear to go back to Robert Blake who left his will in 1521 and he was elderly at that time.
Beaulieu (part of Southampton, 7 miles NE of Lymington)
Bartholomew Blake, 1557, Beaulieu, children named as Humfrey, John, Dorothie, Richard, Robert, and Margery. Possibly his wife's name is Cecilie.
Quarley (6 miles W of Andover)
Gilbert Blake 1575, Quarley, mentions an Alis Blake (no relationship given).
Christchurch (SW of Southampton and the New Forest National Park, close to the English Channel). There was an ancient port here that had sufficient water at the high tides and was used primarily between England and France.
Henry Blake, 1594, Christchurch, mentions a Joseph Blake (and he has children) but no relationship given.
Margaret Blake, 1592, Christchurch (Hubborne),widow, she names her children John Blake, Christian, Katheren and Roger. She only gives a surname to John. Her husband is not named.
Richard Blake, 1559, Christchurch, husbandman, brothers are William and Thomas, children not identified, wife was Margery.
William Blake, 1585, Christchurch, sons John and Roger, daughters Katheren and Christian, wife is Margaret so that solves the question of the children's surname. Margaret, 1592, is the widow of William.
Richard, William and his wife Margaret are all part of a common Blake family.
Boldre
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