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My 4xgt grandparents were JOHN and SARAH LEWER. I have settlement documents for them dated 26th April 1793 when they were granted settlement in the parish of St Thomas in the Cliffe, Lewes from the parish of Billingshurst. John was a lath maker and at that time they had four children: SARAH aged 13 "or thereabouts", JOHN aged 11 "or thereabouts",  Maria Ann aged 8 "or thereabouts" and Samuel aged 2 "or thereabouts". The family appears to have remained in Lewes from 1793. Two more children were born in the town, ANN GORING on 23 July 1793 and my 3x gt grandmother EVE ANN in 1798. According to the Sussex Burial Index SARAH LEWER was buried in Lewes in 1799 but I have no other details. This burial certainly wasn't the daughter Sarah as she married in 1803.

I also have an extract from the Diary of Thomas Turner who was a parish official in East Hoathley. He describes conducting an inquest in Nov 1764 into the death of MATTHEW LEWER a lath cleaver who was found dead in woodland after a day working with his nephew Matthew and John, the son of his nephew. I think this John may well be my John, given his occupation as an adult.

I have had difficulty finding anything concrete about John and Sarah and have seen a burial record for JOHN LEWER at Bury in 1826. I did wonder if he was mine but having seen your posts, am pretty sure he isn't. I think you are right in saying there were two families headed by John and Sarah Lewer in Sussex at the same time. I think my couple are the ones who married at Buxted in 1779. However, many years ago I recall seeing a record somewhere on the internet which connected a John Lewer with a Sarah Goring - I'm not sure what it was now. Since my pair's next to youngest daughter was Ann Goring Lewer, I do wonder if there is a something to be explored there. I wish I could since I have never been able to find the record again!

The Patrick who married in 1815 might be a relative of Mary's and my 3xgt grandfather James. Unfortunately, we don't seem able to find any information about him before he joined the army so there's no way of telling I'm afraid.

Ann

Hi Stephen: I'm not sure if we have ever been in contact before either so I'll tell you what I know about "my" JAMES LALLY. Since I posted my original query I've obtained a copy of his army discharge papers from Kew.

They show that he was born in Kiltormer,Co. Galway c1797. He was 18 when he enlisted in the 66th Regiment of Foot on 13th March 1815 at Eyrecourt,Co.Galway. Something about the wording on the document makes me think that may have been his 18th birthday.He was posted to the Island of St Helena,I presume as part of the garrison guarding Napoleon, given the timing and he remained there until 1836. After Napoleon's death he volunteered as a private in the St Helena Regiment under the control of the East India Company. By the time of his discharge on 11th March 1836 he had a wife (MARY) and at least 4 children, all born on St Helena: JAMES born 1818: THOMAS (my gt gt grandfather) born 1822 died 1914 in Lewes,Sussex: JANE born 1828 and HELEN born 1830. The family went to Ireland after James' discharge where they settled in Birr (then called Parsonstown), Co Offaly (then called Kings County). There was another daughter, MARY ANN who married in Birr in 1848 but there is no indication of when or where she was born. James was a sawyer by trade.

My gt gt grandfather THOMAS married in Birr and fathered 9 children. His son DANIEL HENRY LALLY born 1854 was a tailor who moved to London sometime before 1881. He married a London girl in 1882 - they were my gt grandparents - and moved to Sussex between 1899 and 1901.

If any of this rings any bells - with you or anyone else - I should be delighted to hear from you.

Ann

I posted this query here because I knew Chris had done a lot of work on St John the Baptist registers - you've found entries for me in the past Chris for which, many thanks.And thanks for your interest in this.

I've just Googled Lewes + Michigan. There doesn't seem to be a town called Lewes, although there is a holiday complex wit that name. However, there is a Lewes in Delaware and it does have a church called St John the Baptist!

Ann

Thanks for your interest Chris. I knew Lally was a "wild Geese" name...that is a very interesting web site so thank you for bringing it to my attention. By the time of the records you have found, my own immediate family had settled in Birr, Co. Offaly and, from there, my great grandfather and some of his siblings moved to England where the family then stayed.

Ann