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England (Counties as in 1851-1901) => England => Shropshire => Topic started by: Aulus on Monday 01 October 07 19:01 BST (UK)

Title: GUESTs - Broseley
Post by: Aulus on Monday 01 October 07 19:01 BST (UK)
Having chased my GUEST family over to Suffolk, a chance discovery of a note in an 1820s newspaper revealed  that the father Ralph GUEST (1743-1830) originated in Broseley, Shropshire.

Anyone else got Shropshire and more specifically, Broseley, GUESTs in their trees?


I can see quite a few Guests born in Broseley on the IGI - all I have to do is make sense of them and see if they fit together.

My line is through Ralph GUEST (1743 - 1830), son of John GUEST and Penelope.  The IGI suggests John & Penelope had just five children, between 1739 and 1745.  Can't see John & Penelope's marriage (there is one, but it's in 1730, and 9 years seems a bit too long till the first child, wouldn't you say?)

Ralph moved to London (seems a remarkable step for those days!), and then to Bury St Edmunds, where he ended up as choirmaster and organist.  (One of his sons, George Guest - my gggg great-uncle - was also an organist, at Wisbech in Cambridgeshire.
Title: Re: GUESTs - Broseley
Post by: bristolloggerheads on Monday 01 October 07 23:26 BST (UK)
John Guest (Guist) of Broseley baptised Sep 5 1715? Penelope Guest is buried in Broseley Baptist Chapel having died in 1788 aged 56 years hence a 1732 birth (and late baptism!!) Her son (John jnr) is also buried there having died aged 10.

Peter
Title: Re: GUESTs - Broseley
Post by: Aulus on Tuesday 02 October 07 09:29 BST (UK)
Thanks Peter.  That John is a definite possibility, but it can't be that Penelope, as it would make her only 11 when my ggggg grandfather, Ralph Guest was born, and there are three children baptised before that (to parents John & Penelope Guest, according to the IGI).

Though a 1732 birth would fit with the John & Penelope marriage on the IGI in 1730.

The ones on the IGI (Batch: P011551) that seem to me to make up the family to which my Ralph Guest belongs are:

Penelope (1739)
John (1740)
Alexander (1741)
Ralph (1743)
Frances (1745)

Are there many Guests buried in Broseley?  Perhaps I need a day trip to go gravestone searching!
Title: Re: GUESTs - Broseley
Post by: bristolloggerheads on Tuesday 02 October 07 17:30 BST (UK)
Those two Guests were the only two burials I could find although St. Leonards / All Saints church in Broseley has no MIs recorded that I know of. Perhaps you had a baptist tradition of only baptising the children when they were old enough to decide for themselves? - I have come across this before. I also have several Broseley baptisms in my tree of children aged up to 6.
Earliest Broseley Guest in the PR is 1576. There are three wills at Hereford of Guests including George and Mary in the 1670s (collier and widow).
Peter
Title: Re: GUESTs - Broseley
Post by: Aulus on Tuesday 02 October 07 17:34 BST (UK)
Thanks Peter.

All interesting stuff!
Title: Re: GUESTs - Broseley
Post by: bristolloggerheads on Tuesday 02 October 07 18:06 BST (UK)
"Some well-known names appear in this list of Members. (Anti-Felons) The Guests are probably the most famous. They belonged to an old Broseley family, and for many years were prominent iron-makers and coal-owners. Randall mentions a John Guest who was born in Broseley in 1522, and had a son Andrew who was buried there in 1609. A branch of the family established itself in South Wales at Dowlais in the mid-18th century and laid the foundations of a great industrial firm, which developed into to-day’s G.K.N.
 Charles Guest was a trustee of the turnpike road running through Cuckoo Oak, where the principal tollhouse stood. He was a subscriber to the building of the Preens Eddy Bridge at Coalport; and he and John Guest also subscribed to the building of the Iron Bridge. John Guest “paid half the cost of the Birch Meadow Baptist Chapel, Broseley, in 1801”
From www.broseley.org.uk
There are 69 hits for guest if you do a search.
Title: Re: GUESTs - Broseley
Post by: Aulus on Wednesday 03 October 07 13:13 BST (UK)
What a gem of a website!  Parish registers too!

Thanks Peter.

GKN.  It had never occurred to me that GKN stood for Guest, Keen & Nettlefold Ltd!
Title: Re: GUESTs - Broseley
Post by: bristolloggerheads on Wednesday 03 October 07 17:44 BST (UK)
The parish registers are great but the transcription is not entirely accurate. (The odd missing entry). The index is good so make sure you work through all the entries from there. Also worth considering are the PRs for Benthall the adjoining village. Early Benthall events are also recorded in the Much Wenlock PR and there is the odd BT surviving at Hereford.

Steve, the webmaster, is worth contacting for specific Broseley enquiries and from the newsletters you can see what a good job he's doing.
Title: Re: GUESTs - Broseley
Post by: john2o2o on Friday 05 October 07 17:48 BST (UK)
Hi,

Okay. John and Penelope were certainly the couple married in 1730 - their eldest children (Mary and Charles) were christened at Barrow which is the neighbouring parish to Broseley.

John was christened at Broseley in 1704 the eldest child of Charles and Mary (Davis married 1703) - their other children were baptised at Barrow.

Charles was christened in Broseley in 1669, son of John and Cicely.

I have no personal connection to this family, I have been researching the GKN Guests. I believe that Thomas Guest was born in 1748 the son of John Guest and his first wife Ann Willmore who were married in Barrow on 5 Feb 1747/8 (prob OS).

John, the founder was not christened in Broseley, but there is a John baptised in Barrow in 1722, which is the right date to Thomas and Sarah.

The IGI is a bit confusing on this Thomas, however and there are two names for his wife, Sarah. More to do.
Title: Re: GUESTs - Broseley
Post by: john2o2o on Friday 05 October 07 18:17 BST (UK)
Bit more to add to my previous post. First, the marriage of John Guest to Ann Willmore at Barrow appears on the IGI as 5 Feb 1746 and this is probably the OS date (ie 5 Feb 1746/7), but would need to be checked.

The christening of John Guest is 16 Mar 1703/4 from the transcript on the Broseley website.

The entry for Charles' christening reads:

'Apr 20 Charles so of John Guest, of Linley, & Cicily, at Linley; bap.'[1669].

Also from the Broseley website is a transcript of Willey registers, and the following may be relevant to the GKN Guests:

'1729 July 20 Thomas, s. of Tho Guest, junr., of Upper Standburn in Barrow p., & Sarah.'

Title: Re: GUESTs - Broseley
Post by: Aulus on Friday 05 October 07 18:21 BST (UK)
Ah, thanks John.

Presumably there is a common ancestor between the GKN Guests and the John & Penelope from whom I'm descended?
Title: Re: GUESTs - Broseley
Post by: john2o2o on Friday 05 October 07 19:27 BST (UK)
Hi,

I would think it's a certainty that there's a connection - a nice 'find' definitely if you were not aware of it before.

I would think that the connection is in the parishes of Broseley and Barrow somewhere - I'll post again if I find it.

John
Title: Re: GUESTs - Broseley
Post by: bristolloggerheads on Friday 05 October 07 19:47 BST (UK)
There is a map of Broseley (George Weld's land) dated 1686 which shows Robert Guest's house and yard and Guests garden adjacent. The house is labelled as John Parr's house in 1658 and not there in 1621.
Peter
Title: Re: GUESTs - Broseley
Post by: john2o2o on Sunday 07 October 07 18:44 BST (UK)
line of Guest of Broseley from transcript of register and IGI to Ralph Guest b 1743:

John Guest m Elizabeth
son:
Andrew Guest bp 17Jan1552 bur 20 Jul 1609 mElizabeth
(note: the above bp is from the IGI and suggests a bp at Lindley, however Lindley has no separate register as far as I can see, so perhaps has been taken from another register in the locality or a BT)
son:
George 'Geast' bp 2 Nov 1578 bur 24 Feb 1616/7
m Agnes Huxley
son:
George Geast bp 14 Sep 1604 bur 29 Jan 1649/50 m Mary Haddon 14 Oct 1630
(note his bp 1604 is from the IGI as above suggesting Lindley. The mother is stated to be Agnes Huxley or Uxley - again I do not know where this assertion comes from as the Broseley register does not list either this bp or his parent's m). The IGI incorrectly suggests that he died 1674 - his widow died in 1668).
son:
John Guest bp 9 Mar 1633/4 bur 27 Dec 1709 m Cicily Hartshorne 8 Dec 1659
son:
Charles Guest bp 20 Apr 1669 bur? (probably at Barrow) m Mary Davis 1 May 1703 Highley
(note: the transcript of Broseley register states that  Charles was bp at Lindley. His family moved to Barrow c1690 as when his parents and brother (Henry) were buried at Broseley the register stated that they lived at Barrow. His brother Michael also raised children at Barrow).
son:
John Guest bp 16 Mar 1703/4 at Broseley bur?(probably at Broseley after 1750) m Penelope Easthope 1 Aug 1730 Quatford
(note: The father Charles, born at Lindley moved to Barrow with his family c1690 (see above). Only his eldest son (this John) was bp at Broseley, his other children were b at Barrow. It may be that his elder son was christened at Broseley because it was the family's ancestral parish).
son:
Ralph Guest bp 23 Jan 1743/4
(note, John and Penelope initially lived at Barrow where John grew up and only moved to Broseley in the late 1730s. Ralph was their youngest son).
Title: Re: GUESTs - Broseley
Post by: john2o2o on Sunday 07 October 07 19:27 BST (UK)
Line of Guest iron manufacturers: from Broseley transcript &c: events at Broseley unless otherwise stated.

as above to:
George Guest m Mary Haddon 14 Oct 1630
elder son:
George Guest bp 20 May 1632 bur 14 Aug 1674 m Elizabeth Yates 25 Jun 1668 (at Lindley)
elder son:
Thomas Guest bp 30 Mar 1669 bur ? m Elizabeth Pugh at ? c1693.
(Note IGI suggests incorrectly that this Thomas was buried on 10 Jun 1703. The burial in fact is of an infant child of a later couple George Guest and Elizabeth Williams whose son Thomas was bp 4 May 1703).
elder son:
Thomas Guest b 16 Jun 1694 bur 19 Sep 1777? m Sarah Mayor 17 Mar 1720(/1?)
(note the above details for Thomas b 1694 are from the IGI and do not appear in Broseley register. Perhaps the details are taken from the quaker N/C registers?)
elder son:
John Guest bp 12 Aug 1722 Barrow d?(or bur) 25 Nov 1787 (in Wales?) m(1) Ann Willmore 5 Feb 1746(/7?) Barrow. This John was the founder of the Guest fortune. His second wife was Mary who he married c1758.
elder son:
Thomas Guest bp 30 May 1748 Broseley d 28 Feb 1807 at ? m Jemima Revell Phillips 1 Nov 1776 at ?
elder son:
Sir Josiah John Guest, Bt b 2 Feb 1785 Dowlais, Merthyr Tydfil d 26 Nov 1752 - world's largest iron manufacturer.

(Note, the Thomas father of Thomas b 1694 is alternatively son of John and Cicily bp 12 Apr 1667. However, I believe that this Thomas b 1667 married Elizabeth Stokes 25 Dec 1695 in Barrow and lived there. His parents John and Cicily are known to have taken their family to Barrow c1690. This other Thomas had a son Thomas bp 8 Feb 1701(/2?) at Barrow who m Elizabeth Lewis 11 Feb 1730/1 at Broseley).

(Note 2: Per IGI there is another marriage of a Thomas Guest to a Sarah Cound 30 Nov 1721 at Barrow - perhaps this is the above Thomas b 1667 marrying for a second time - I do not know, it would have to be checked with the original register of Barrow).

John Pretty
Title: Re: GUESTs - Broseley
Post by: bristolloggerheads on Sunday 07 October 07 19:33 BST (UK)
I would suggest early Linley records may be in the Much Wenlock PR. I have come across one resident of Linley who used Astley Abbotts for a while - may be worth checking there too.
Title: Re: GUESTs - Broseley
Post by: bristolloggerheads on Sunday 07 October 07 19:43 BST (UK)
Richard Geyste paid the 1525 Subsidy at Pontesbury. someone of the same name paid in 1524 at Halesowen in Brimstree Hundred
Title: Re: GUESTs - Broseley
Post by: Aulus on Monday 08 October 07 02:00 BST (UK)
Thanks - lots here for me to follow up.
Title: Re: GUESTs - Broseley
Post by: john2o2o on Monday 08 October 07 19:46 BST (UK)
Hi Aulus,

Just as I'm in an altruistic mood I've had a look back at some of your other posts. Did you ever find the Collis family in 1881? The reason you've had trouble with them is because they appear just with their initials for some reason - lazy enumerator perhaps. The reference is RG11 0402 folio 34 page 14. Their address is 8 Bank Stock Buildings, London.

With the IGI generally the material in capitals is  reasonably reliable - though should still always be checked to the original. Conversely the stuff in lower case letters that has been added more recently is usually garbage and is far less reliable. The point is that there is a definite difference in the quality of the IGI material in capitals compared to the material in lower case letters!

With John and Penelope there is a later couple of the same name that someone else posted on this forum. Penelope is not a common name so that is unusual, however you can be confident that John Guest and Penelope Easthope married in 1730 are Ralph's parents. The IGI (capitals reference) suggests that Penelope Easthope was baptised in Bridgnorth in 1702 - the name is unusual and the date is right. The other Penelope East(h)ope bp 1727 at Bridgnorth is probably going to be her niece.

In case you were not aware it is an easy matter to pick up the children in a family if you use the facility on the IGI in the top right hand corner - just put in the father's name and the mother's first name. Leave everything else to do with the names blank.

This does have one caveat, however in that if the IGI transcript does not have a mother's name then the children will not be shown. As with everything to do with the IGI use, but use with caution.

I'm intrigued by aunt Florence. Having a relative on the stage about 100 years ago was probably a little like having a pole dancer in the family today - a little embarrassing. Actresses (perhaps unfairly) had an unsavoury reputation  - Nell Gwyn and Dorothy Bland being famous King's mistresses and actresses.

Just one more thing - above I posted dates such as '1737/8' - this refers to the old/new calendar dates. So January would here be 1737 old (Julian) calendar with the new year beginning 25th March and 1738 new (Gregorian) calendar with new year beginning 1st January. If you want to know more it's an easy matter to look up calendar changes. From 1752 we adopted the Gregorian calendar with the new year beginning 1st January.

best wishes John



Title: Re: GUESTs - Broseley
Post by: Aulus on Tuesday 09 October 07 18:24 BST (UK)
Thanks John.

Very kind of you.

Yes, I had found the Collises in 1881.

I agree any IGI submitted records need to be treated with a great deal of doubt.  However, the extracted records that I've checked, I've so far found to be reliable.  Still worth getting to the original registers, though, as there is often additional information there.

I'd found that with the IGI Batch no, you can search by surname only and it will find all the children, but haven't tried the method you describe, so thanks for that.

Great Aunt Florence is an enigma.  We know which side of the family she was on (my paternal grandfather, so Smith, Stevenson or Burton), but there just isn't a Florence in the right period.  The photograph dates to the period September 1877 - 1902, which is when the photographer, Henry Van der Weyde's studio was at 82 Regent Street.  Unfortunately my father never asked his father who she was, beyond being Great Aunt Florence, and we didn't push my grandmother hard enough to get beyond the "she went to London: we don't talk about her" - as you say, similar to having a pole dancer or worse today.  The moral for anyone out there with living grandparents is "put grannie on the rack till she gives up every last bit of information"  ;D  Clearly Florence did go to London, as that's where the photograph is taken.  Given the address (on Regent St), van der Weyde was no cheap back-street photographer, so I suspect she can't have been too unsuccessful.  It's a very glamorous photograph and I've only just noticed she appears to be wearing a sleeveless dress which sounds a bit risqué for the second half of the 19th century.

Thanks for all your help and pointers.  All much appreciated.
Title: Re: GUESTs - Broseley
Post by: bristolloggerheads on Friday 19 October 07 21:20 BST (UK)
Charles Guest married Anne Hartshorne and had three children - Mary who later married James Easthope; Fanny and Charles born 1763 died 1845. There are 18 generations listed previous to Anne in "The Hartshorn Families in America"
Title: Re: GUESTs - Broseley
Post by: Aulus on Monday 22 October 07 21:36 BST (UK)
Thanks, I'll look up the Hartshorns.

Just revisited some of the Guests in John's posts

Quote
George 'Geast' bp 2 Nov 1578 bur 24 Feb 1616/7
m Agnes Huxley
son:
George Geast bp 14 Sep 1604 bur 29 Jan 1649/50 m Mary Haddon 14 Oct 1630
(note his bp 1604 is from the IGI as above suggesting Lindley. The mother is stated to be Agnes Huxley or Uxley - again I do not know where this assertion comes from as the Broseley register does not list either this bp or his parent's m). The IGI incorrectly suggests that he died 1674 - his widow died in 1668).

The IGI has (extracted records, so reasonably reliable) four children of a George and Agnes Guest at the start of the 17th century: Elizabeth (1606), Robert (1609), Anna (1612) and John (1615).  But still no clue as to where Huxley/Uxley come s from.

Also in the IGI (Batch: P011551 ) is a George & Mary Gest (sic) having a son, Robert, baptised 19 Feb 1650/51, which doesn't tally with him being buried January 1649/50.  I wonder if there were two couples called George & Mary Guest?
Title: Re: GUESTs - Broseley
Post by: bristolloggerheads on Monday 22 October 07 23:09 BST (UK)
Robert son of George & Mary Gest was Feb 19 1649/50 according to the published transcript!

I suspect the burial may be George snr???
Title: Re: GUESTs - Broseley
Post by: Aulus on Monday 29 October 07 16:30 GMT (UK)
I've been following the GKN Guest line for interest and found that, leaving aside the lorryload of Barons and Earls and such like,  Jane Asher is my 9th cousin once removed.  Must go and bake a cake!  ;D
Title: Re: GUESTs - Broseley
Post by: janek1 on Monday 29 August 11 23:20 BST (UK)
I've just found this thread, trying to sort out the various Guest families of Broseley and environs (too many people with the same name!). My ancestor was Penelope Guest sister of Ralph Guest of Bury St Edmunds through her first husband. They were 2 of the children of John Guest (1703/4) & Penelope Easthope.
Penelope Guest (1738/9-1795) was a cousin of the GKN Guest family - however she married 13/10/1774 at Broseley (as her 2nd husband) John Guest (1750-1824) her cousin who was son of John Guest (1722) & Ann Willmore, and younger brother of Thomas Guest. We think that Penelope and her husband John Guest were 2nd cousins, but it depends on how you unscramble the many branches of the  family. They had 3 daughters, the youngest of who was the wife of John Onions, an iron founder at Broseley. Her first husband was John Firmstone, and his descendants were iron masters in Bilston, Staffordshire. Her son Joseph Firmstone worked at Dowlais for the Guest family where he was a furnaceman between 1784 and 1789 before having his own business in Bilston.
Title: Re: GUESTs - Broseley
Post by: Aulus on Tuesday 30 August 11 00:54 BST (UK)
Thanks for that janek1.

I agree that there are a lot of Guests with the same names, and it's quite tricky.  My branch is that of Ralph who ended up in Bury St Edmunds.

Some time ago, I was sent some photos of a Guest family tree, apparently drawn up in the 1820s (or thereabouts) which is great for confirming what I've already discovered, but is not always very clear and does seem to have the occasional error.  For example, this tree appears to say that Lydia Lloyd (who married George Firmstone) was the one whose second husband was John Guest.  I suspected this actually applies to her mother-in-law, Penelope Firmstone, nee Guest, and there is indeed the marriage you mention, so it's good to have you confirm that.

I've not yet got over to the John Guest=Ann Willmore side of this old tree yet, but have just noticed that the John Guest=Penelope Firmstone marriage is mentioned there.

I'd worked out that Joseph Firmstone was in the Merthyr area for a while, but didn't know he's worked for the Guests at the Dowlais works.

I wonder if that John Onions who you say marries one of the Penelope Guest-John Guest daughters is also a cousin via the 1722 John Guest's sister Elizabeth who married Peter Onions at Madeley 29 Dec 1746?
Title: Re: GUESTs - Broseley
Post by: janek1 on Tuesday 30 August 11 20:57 BST (UK)
I have various old handwritten genealogies for the Guests. One of these is a copy of notes written by John Thorn, Canon of Stoneleigh Warwickshire (1830-1906) which mentions Thomas Guest and John Guest sons of John Guest and Mary Ann Willmore and has the descendants of the marriage between John Guest and Penelope Firmstone (née Guest).

Among these are a series of letters written in 1903 by CEGuest  great-grandson of Ralph Guest about the Guest family - he was hoping to publish a history of his branch of the Guest family but may never have done so. He sent my great-grandmother various family trees.

At the time he thought that his ancestor John Guest (bur 1777) who married Penelope Easthope (1/8/1730 at Quatford) was the son of John Guest (1679) and Mary Major, and grandson of Richard Guest (1647) & Mary Parramore, but did not have the christening which would have proved it.  Richard Guest (1647) was brother to John Guest who married Cecilia Hartshorne (whose descendant was John Guest husband of Penelope)

Presumably the link to John (1703/4) son of Charles Guest and Mary Davis is rather better established? The Richard Guest/Mary Parramore connection comes from  Hardwick's MSS Collections for History of Shropshire, extracted 1902.

Another of these old notes is a quotation from a pre-1908 Groves Dictionary of Music which refers to Ralph and George Guest; and some notes about Rev Charles Henry Hartshorne son of John Hartshorne and Ralph's eldest sister Mary

Title: Re: GUESTs - Broseley
Post by: janek1 on Friday 02 September 11 07:49 BST (UK)
About the birth/parentage of John Guest who married Penelope Easthope:-
- In a family tree from 1820s his birth-date is given as 1/1/1698 son of John Guest (1671) & Mary, but doesnt make it clear who the father is of John (1671). (This could be John & Cecily Hartshorne)
- In a family tree from 1903 his baptism is unknown, but he is given as son of John Guest (bap 17/2/1679-80) & Mary Major (married at Bendall 1696), where John Guest is son of Richard Guest & Mary Parramore (marr 1674). Richard was bap 27/2/1647 at Linley, bur 1681 at Broseley. The disadvantage of this is that John (1679/80) is rather young to be marrying then.
- This is an alternative to various Internet genealogies which assume that he is John Guest baptised 1703/4 son of Charles Guest and Mary Davis.

The 1903 tree also has a different wife (Elizabeth Major) for Charles son of John Guest & Cecily Hartshorne. However I dont think they had found the 1703 marriage at Highley of Charles Guest and Mary Davis.

The 1903 tree also has Thomas (1667) son of John & Cecily as the father of Thomas (1694), rather than Thomas (1669). This fits with our family tradition that Penelope Firmstone née Guest (1738) married her cousin John Guest (1750) brother of Thomas (1748) - however that might just have been assumed later. The theory about Thomas (1669) certainly sounds plausible.

It would be useful to see the various Guest wills at Hereford record office - they might clear up some ambiguities.


Title: Re: GUESTs - Broseley
Post by: bristolloggerheads on Saturday 03 September 11 08:16 BST (UK)
I have an inventory of Richard Ghost (sic) of Broseley dated 1676. I believe this isn't an inventory following a death but one taken after his possesions were seized. The record was in the Much Wenlock Bailiffs Court files and taken by a Burgess and a sixman (my ancestor).

Peter
Title: Re: GUESTs - Broseley
Post by: bristolloggerheads on Wednesday 07 September 11 20:29 BST (UK)

Some time ago, I was sent some photos of a Guest family tree, apparently drawn up in the 1820s (or thereabouts) which is great for confirming what I've already discovered,

In Thomas Beard's Diary it says that in 1829 he compiled a Guest family tree going back 200 years.

Peter
Title: Re: GUESTs - Broseley
Post by: Katie Steele on Friday 16 November 18 14:17 GMT (UK)
To add to this thread (7 years later)
I have just found my connection to the Guest family of Broseley.

I have for years struggled with my Harris family that originate from Birmingham, however this weekend I found a grave in Madeley which has revealed a fair few more names for my tree.

My connection is Fanny Guest bn 1771, Daughter of Alexander Guest bn 1741 to John and Penelope.
Fanny married John Harris, unfortunately my search on the Harris family stops again as he died 1820 in London and I can't find anymore information on him.
However the find at least allows me to discover Fanny's family.

 ;D
Title: Re: GUESTs - Broseley
Post by: Buildingmytree on Friday 19 March 21 09:15 GMT (UK)
Hello, I have been researching my family tree (GUEST) for sometime now. However, the amazing efforts of my grandpa who did most of the leg work on behalf of my granny a direct descendant of Thomas Guest born 1694 Broseley Shropshire. Thomas Guest married to Sarah Mayer. Elder son John Guest 1722 (senior branch) (M) Anne Wilmore, and youngest son Robert Guest 1738 (my relative) junior branch. Both brothers were instrumental in the famous Dowlais ironworks Merthyr Tydfil (GKN)
My grandpa left me with a very detailed family tree that he created after writing to all the parish councils. So when I joined Ancestry.com it was quite easy to confirm his great efforts. I believe that John Guest the eldest son, my 7Th great uncle went on to have a prominent standing in society, and other family members went on to do very well also. His grandson marrying Lady Charlotte Bertie, daughter of the 9th earl of Lindsey. Quite incredible woman in her own right. Ref: The Mabinogion. John Guest's great grandson, Sir Ivor Bertie Guest married Lady Cornelia Spencer Churchill sister off Lord Randolf Churchill father of Winston Churchill.
John's brother Robert my direct descendant continued for the next several generations with the enterprising Dowlais ironworks, along with owning their own foundry... The Old Foundry, now part of Johnson's iron and steel. John and Robert guests grandfather was also known as Thomas Guest b1668 d1728 a yeoman farmer of Broseley Shropshire.
I believe that Thomas b1694 had the following children..
John, Elizabeth, Sarah, Mary, Thomas, Anne, Gertrude, William, Robert, and Jane. I think it's quite easy to follow John Guest b1722 family side because of the many articles, books and references relating relating to this side of the family.
If anyone can go back further than Thomas Guest b1668 died 1728 I would really appreciate the information. When I was a member of Ancestry.com I managed to go back to 1522 but it's always very difficult to know if you have the right Guest.