The Sandford Years

Sandford was a hamlet in the Tithing of Bisterne-and-Crow, in the parish of Ringwood, located a few kilometres to the south east of Ringwood town.

(Crown Copyright)

Old Parish Records

The first record of a Kendall at Sandford in the parish registers was the baptism of Alfred, son of Stephen and Sarah, on 29 July 1835.

I checked the parish register, and discovered that the practice of including where people were from in the baptism, marriage and burial registers began on January 1st 1812. It wasn't until 1835 that the name of the hamlet was recorded, rather than the name of the parish, and then only for baptisms and burials; not marriages.

Sandford burial records of that time included:

• Elisabeth Kendale, on 23 August 1835, age 56 (i.e., born about 1779).
• Emma Kendale, on 16 March 1837, age 76 (i.e., born about 1761).
• Keturah Kendall , on 13 Jan 1839, aged 25 (i.e., born about 1814).

The 1841 Census

The 1841 census recorded a total of 25 households in Sandford. It asked people their occupation, and if they were from the county. Two households were headed by farmers, one by a carpenter, one by a publican, and 16 by "Agricultural Labourers". The rest were "of independent means".

Included in the 1841 census were two "Kindle" homes. All the Kindle men were Agricultural Labourers. One household was headed by Stephen; the other by Thomas, aged 60 (i.e., born 1781). I believe his age was recorded incorrectly, and that he was Stephen’s father.

Living with Thomas was James, his wife Martha (née Cox) and their family. James was a son of Charles and his wife Lucy (née Wiseman). Charles was a son of George and his wife Mary (née Peckham).

Also in Sandford in 1841 were John Harder and his family. John’s mother was Mary Kindle, the daughter of George and Mary. Three years later, John’s daughter Mary Ann would marry Thomas Kendall, the son of Stephen and Sarah.

Looking Back

The parish baptism record shows that James had a sister, Kitty, who was baptised in 1813. Kitty was probably Keturah, buried in Sandford in 1839. Her mother Lucy died in 1818 when Kitty was 5, and her father Charles died in 1829 when Kitty was 16. It’s likely she went to live with her brother James and his family.

Elisabeth, buried in Sandford in 1835, was likely Elizabeth Jennings, widow of James, who died in 1819. James was also a son of George and Mary, and a brother of Charles.

If the Thomas with whom James and his family were living was indeed Stephen’s father, then it’s possible that Emma, buried in Sandford in 1837, was in fact Thomas’s wife Amy. There’s no other record of Emma or, for that matter, of Amy.

Scottish Mary

Another interesting household in Sandford was that of Robert Brewer and his wife Mary, who married in Ringwood in 1838. Mary's father was James Kindle.

In the 1841 census, Mary said she was born in Scotland. In later censuses, she provided more detail, saying she was born about 1814 in Musselburg, Scotland, “of English parents”.

Mary was the right age to have been the daughter of the aforementioned James Kindle and Elizabeth Jennings, who married in 1803. No children of James and Elizabeth were baptised in Ringwood Parish. It appears they were in Scotland!

The Bisterne Chapel

In 1843, Bisterne Church (St. Paul) was built as a "chapel of ease", to spare the inhabitants of the tithing the long walk to the parish church in Ringwood. It's probably safe to assume that baptism, marriage or burial at the Bisterne Chapel meant the person resided in the tithing.

The 1851 Census

The 1851 census recorded a total of 30 households in Sandford, of which 20 had arrived during the preceding ten years. The majority of Sandford households were still headed by Agricultural Labourers. The new households included:

• William Kendall and his wife Mary (née Mist).
• Henry Kendall, eldest son of Stephen and Sarah, and his wife Harriet (née Day).
• Caleb Minty and his wife Selina Kendall, daughter of James and Martha.
• Charles Rogers and his wife Jane Kendall, daughter of Stephen and Sarah.
• James Barnes, whose daughter Elizabeth married George Kendall, a son of William and Mary.

Missing from the 1851 census was Thomas Kindle, who died in Sandford in 1847. He was 86 (i.e., born 1761). Present at his death was one Mary Kendall.

The 1861 Census

By 1861 the population of Sandford had shrunk to 24 households, of which 10 were new. Most households were still Agricultural Labourers.

The new households included John Kendall, a son of Stephen and Sarah and twin brother of Jane, and his wife Elizabeth (née Rogers), who was the sister of Charles.

Stephen died in 1867. Present at his death was his daughter-in-law, John's wife Elizabeth. John, his sister Jane, and their families moved to Crowe about that time. Henry went to join his brother Thomas, who had already moved to Avon. Stephen Jr. and James went to Southampton. Widow Sarah went to live with her son John in Crowe. Alfred stayed in Sandford.

William and Mary left Sandford before the next census in 1871. They moved to Strouds Lane, in Ringwood.

Robert Brewer died just before the census in 1871. His widow Mary (née Kindle) moved to Crowe and lived next-door to John and his family until sometime after 1881, when she moved to Ripley to live with her son Edwin and his family.

The Twentieth Century

By 1901 there were only 17 families in Sandford. A new arrival was Eli Mintey, son of Selena and Caleb, and his family. He was the farmer at Brixey’s Farm.

Charles Rogers (widower of Stephen’s Jane and brother of John’s wife Elizabeth) had moved back to Sandford by 1901, and probably lived there until he died in 1911. He was a “Cow keeper”.

Stephen’s son Alfred was the last Kendall in Sandford. By 1911 he was a widower and a Railway Carpenter, and lived with his son George and daughter Agnes. He probably stayed in Sandford until he died in 1919.

The Twenty-First Century

I visited Sandford in September 2009. There's nothing there anymore. I was told by a local gentleman that, back in the nineteenth century, the farm labourers would have lived in mud/thatch cottages. They are long gone.

The Death of Thomas Kindle

In my last post, I wrote about Thomas Kendill who was recorded in the 1841 census living in Sandford with James Kindell, his wife Martha and their children. The census said Thomas was aged 60 (i.e., born 1781).

There’s no other record of a Thomas born circa 1781, and he doesn’t appear in the 1851 census with James & Martha (or anywhere else).

The Ringwood Parish record contains an entry for the burial of one Thomas Kendall on 11 July 1847 (which would explain his absence from the 1851 census!). But this Thomas was aged 86 (i.e., born 1761 rather than 1781).

I obtained a copy of the corresponding record of death. It says Thomas was a labourer, and that he died at Sandford on July 7th. The informant was one Mary Kendall, who had been present at his death. It doesn’t describe her relationship to Thomas.

Mary Ann Harder was the wife of Thomas's grandson, Thomas Kendall (1821-1899), a son of Stephen. Mary Ann and young Thomas both lived in Sandford in 1841, she with her parents and he with his. They married in 1844, and by 1851 they lived in Sopley. It is possible that they still lived in Sandford in 1847, but in every recorded instance, Mary Ann used her full name, and never called herself Mary.

Mary Mist was the wife of William Kendall (1794-1879). William was born in Sandford. He and Mary were married in Ibsley in 1819, and lived in Hightown in 1841. But in the 1851 census, they were recorded living in Sandford, next-door to Stephen, who lived next-door to James and Martha. (Stephen and his wife Sarah Head were also married in Ibsley.)

My favorite theories are as follows:

• Thomas’s age in the 1841 census of Sandford was recorded or transcribed incorrectly. It was written as "60", but should have been "80".
• This was the same Thomas who died in Sandford in 1847, aged 86.
  
• William and Mary lived in Sandford by the time Thomas died, and she was present at his death.

With Thomas being born in 1761, I'm convinced that he was the same man who married Amy Hatcher in 1785 (aged 24) and fathered Stephen in 1791 (aged 30).

It's possible that Thomas was a brother of James's father Charles Kindle (born 1760), who was a son of George Kindle. That would mean Thomas was the uncle of James, with whom he lived in 1841. Unfortunately, there is no record of the baptism of Thomas in the Ringwood transcripts, but there are baptism records for seven children of George.

Finally, William living next to Stephen and James, and his wife Mary attending to Thomas at his death would be an indication that they might be related, and many assert that William was a son of Thomas. Unfortunately, there's no record of the baptism of William in the Ringwood transcripts either.

Update: see the results of DNA testing of descendants of Thomas, William and James.

The Children of Thomas Kindle and Amy Hatcher

Several public trees on the Ancestry web site claim Thomas was born in 1755 and list numerous children of Thomas Kindle and Amy Hatcher, including:

• Thomas (1781–)
• Stephen (1791–)
• John (1792–)
• William (1794/5–)
• James (1800/1-)

In fact, there’s no record of the birth of Thomas in Hampshire, and the only Ringwood Parish baptism record that mentions both Thomas and Amy was that of Stephen Kindle in 1791. There’s also a baptism of Thomas Kindle in 1793; it says his father was Thomas, but omits his mother's name.

The 1841 census recorded a Thomas Kindell (born 1781) in Sandford living with James Kindell (born 1801) and his wife Martha, close to Stephen Kindell (born 1791) and his wife Sarah.

In the 1851 census, there was no mention of Thomas (1881), but Stephen, James and their families were still neigbours in Sandford, now with William (1795) and his family living next-door.

In the 1861 census, there was no mention of James (1801) but Stephen and William, and their families were still neigbours in Sandford.

I suspect that someone saw these census records, and made the assumption that Stephen, Thomas, James and William were all brothers. Others copied, and now nobody seems to know the origin of the information.

Of course, transcriptions and even original parish and census records can contain omissions and errors, so circumstantial evidence has to be considered. But caveat emptor is always the rule!

THOMAS 1881

While the 1841 census recorded a Thomas Kindell (born 1781), there’s no other record of a Thomas of that vintage and, again, he doesn’t appear in the 1851 census with James & Martha (or anywhere else). There is a Ringwood death record of one Thomas Kendall in 1847, but his age was 86 (i.e., born 1761 rather than 1781). More about that later!

STEPHEN 1791

Stephen Kindle was born in Sandford and baptised on 11 March 1791, the son of Thomas and Amy Kindle [22M84 PR4 Ringwood CB 1782-1812]. Stephen married Sarah Head in Ibsley in 1817. As mentioned, the 1841, 1851 and 1861 census recorded him living in Sandford. He died in 1867 aged 76.

JOHN 1792
I don't know how John (1792) could be connected to Thomas and Amy. The only John of that vintage that I’ve found lived in Winkton in 1841 with his wife Ann, and died in 1847 aged 56. Winkton is south of Sopley, some distance from Sandford. I've found no connection to any of the other would-be brothers.

THOMAS 1793
The Ringwood parish baptism transcripts list Thomas Kindle, born in Sandford and baptised on 13 October 1793, the son of Thomas (with no mention of Amy). There’s no other record of this Thomas.

WILLIAM 1794
William (1794) was born in Sandford. He and his wife Mary Mist married in Ibsley in 1819. The 1841 census recorded them living at Hightown, which is fairly close to Sandford. In 1851 they were recorded living in Sandford, next-door to Stephen (1791) and James (1801). In 1861 they were still in Sandford near Stephen (1791). William died in 1879 aged 85. There's no record of the baptism of William. His marriage in Ibsley, and living near Stephen in 1851 and 1861 could be a coincidence… but probably not, according to the results of DNA testing.

JAMES 1800
James (1800) married Martha Cox in 1824 and died in 1851. The Ringwood Parish baptism record notes that James was baptised 11 July 1802 and was the son of Charles (whose wife was Lucy Wiseman). Charles was baptised in 1760 and was the son of George Kindell and Mary Peckham. DNA testing gives very low odds to James having been a son of Thomas.