William Ayling, Greatham

[Chainsaw]

Please can I request a look-up in the Parish Registers for the bapt. of one William Ayling, born circa 1767.

I would like to know the parents names, and would also be interested in any siblings bapt by the same parents.

I am aware that there is also a Greatham in Hampshire, so if I get no luck here I will try there.  However, the 1851

census does show him as having been born in Sussex.

[Chainsaw]

O.k., I had a look on the IGI, and found William, or rather Will Ayling bapt 10 Feb 1766 at Alverstoke, Hampshire.

Seems he was the son of James Ayling and Mary, but there was no further info on his parents, so it grinds to a halt yet

again.

As I get told off for not quoting sources;-

The bapt is on  IGI, Batch 7306614, sheet 09, Source call number 0822678

I also found his marriage, which confirms my records- wife Anne Faulkner, marriage 19 May 1790 at Felpham, Sussex.

BUT, I'm still trying to find his parents, and it seems they could be anywhere.

[swebby]

Both the 1851 and 1841 census suggest he is born in Sussex, so I would perhaps be wary of the IGI record.

1841 New Shoreham Worthing HO107/1095/1
Wm Ayling Age 70 Bricklayer Born in the county
Rhoda Ayling Age 55 Born in the county

1851 Broadwater Worthing HO107/1651/118/16
William Ayling Age 82 Bricklayer Born Greatham Sussex
Rhoda Ayling Age 66 Born Billingshurst Sussex

Regards
Sean

[Chainsaw]

Thanks Sean, although if you study the dates, ages and stuff, I get the feeling that the William that wed Rhoda could

have easily been son of the William that wed Anne Faulkner in 1790.

I'll try to check it out, somehow.

Just like you, I am aware that the IGI is not faultless, and it is foolish to treat it as such.

[ayling1]

I wondered if the 1851 census listing William's birth place as Greatham, Sussex might have been Greatham, Hamphire instead. However, I have checked the Hampshire records and there are no Aylings there.

I note that a number of ancestry.com trees have William born in Graffham. This is possible, but viewing the original 1851 census shows that it definitely says "Greatham" with no possibility of a transcription error on that document, unless there error was made between the transcription from the original census taker's sheet to what we see with the 1851 document...

However, the closest match in Graffham is: 13/07/1766 William William Elizabeth AYLING Born 07/07/1766. But this William died the following year: 05/01/1767 AYLING William S/o William & Elizabeth.   There is another William baptized in 1775 but this seems to be too much of a gap in his census birth date of 1769-70.

Perhaps the census really said "Eartham"?

This is the closest match for an Ayling in Felpham in this period. Likely not "Ayling".

Abel Alling bapt 24 Feb 1771 Felpham,Sussex
Parents: Abel and Jane Alling

If the census meant to say "Eartham" here is a possible family group:

Elizabeth Ayling bapt 23 Jul 1775 Eartham,Sussex
Parent: Henry & Elizth Ayling

Henry Ayling bapt 17 May 1773 Eartham,Sussex
Parents: Henry & Elizabeth Ayling

I note there is an Administration  for a Thomas Ayling in 1794 for Aldingbourne. Relative? Father?

Thomas Ayling 1794, Aldingbourne, Sussex
Register 3.  Administrations in the Consistory Court at Chichester 1555-1800
Thomas Ayling buried 10 Apr 1794 Aldingbourn, Sussex

Finally, William's descendant Edwin Ayling (1884-1935) married into another very much larger Ayling line that goes back to the early 1500's in Hampshire. He married Rosa Collins (1886-1978). Rosa was the granddaughter of George Ayling (1782-1831) of Alton, Hampshire.

See ancestry.com tree called "John Ayling (B. abt 1540) of Petersfield Hampshire & descendants Family Tree" or message me for a .GED file.

Chris Ayling

[ayling1]

I think William might have been born, but not baptized, in Felpham, the next parish south of Aldingbourne where he is married. The only source we have for his place of birth is via the 1851 census. The 1841 does not list parish. I am guessing that Greatham was transcribed in error for Felpham. I note further there is a marriage of Thomas Ayling (1734-1794) and Elizabeth Greenwood in South Bersted, the parish next door to Aldingbourne, in 1769. This is William's date of birth (based on census info). See https://www.ancestry.com/boards/surnames.ayling/398/mb.ashx. Thomas resides in Aldingbourne and is buried there. Thomas' Will is available (see post above), but it is an Administration and not likely to mention a son. However, I will see if I can order it to confirm if a son William is mentioned. Thomas' father was likely John Ayling (B. 1712) of South Bersted. His father was likely Richard Ayling (B. abt 1680). I think the South Bersted and Aldingbourne Ayling families reach back further through Felpham. A lot of guess work but you can see the patterns by looking at the parish transcription compilation for Aylings. See https://www.ancestry.com/boards/surnames.ayling/mb.ashx

Chris Ayling
Canada

[ayling1]

From the Eastergate parish (neighboiur to Aldingbourne) parish:

03/10/1790 Elizabeth William Anne AYLING
22/11/1791 William William Anne AYLING
11/04/1800 George William Ann AYLING
07/02/1802 Ann William Ann AYLING
28/08/1803 Emily William Ann AYLING
08/09/1805 Reuben William Ann AYLING
25/12/1807 Stephen William Ann AYLING

This is likely William Ayling (1767-1855) and Anne Faulkner who are having their other children baptized in Aldingbourne and perhaps also later in Broadwater/Worthing before Anne dies in 1816.

See "John Ayling (B. abt 1540) of Petersfield Hampshire & descendants Family Tree" on ancestry.com for the entire family line.

[ayling1]

I have an autosomal DNA match with a descendant of William Ayling via his granddaughter Caroline Ayling (B. 1844). This puzzled me because I did not see a link between my Ayling ancestors (in the Graffham/Woolavington area) and the Aylings of Broadwater/Worthing.

In the 1851 census William says he was born about 1767 and from Greatham. I thought this might have been transcribed in error for Graffham. And there is a William born there in 1767...but he is deceased in 1767. However, there is a William Ayling born in 1766 in nearby Woolavington. There was a lot of movement between Graffham and Woolavington for Ayling families. For example, my 6X great grandfather James Ayling (1774-1860) was born in Woolavington. His father Thomas Ayling (1738-1820) was from Graffham. James' son John Ayling (1804-1890) raises his family in Graffham.

So what I am saying is that perhaps William Ayling of "Greatham" was the son of Thomas Ayling (1738-1820) of Graffham, brother to my 6X great grandfather James Ayling (1774-1860). If so, this other person and I would share about .7% of autosomal DNA from Thomas. Is this enough for Ancestry to pick up? I'm not sure.

The only way to know for sure would be for an Ayling male descendant of William to take a YDNA test and compare to my test results. If you are that person, contact me at aylinghistorian@gmail.com. Or contact me via the Ayling Surname Project at www.familytreedna.com/groups/ayling-surname/about/background

Cheers,

Chris Ayling

[ayling1]

Just to close this message string out for anyone who comes across it in future.

William Ayling was born 1769 in Woolavington and deceased in 1855 in Worthing. He was the son of Thomas Ayling (1738-1820) born in Graffham and deceased at Norwood Farm in Woolavington. Autosomal testing of about a dozen descendants confirms this assessment. Even more conclusively, YDNA testing of me and a descendant of William confirms Thomas was our 5th great grandfather. This assessment is rock solid. I descend from William's brother James Ayling (1775-1860), born in Woolavington and deceased in Brighton (but returned to East Dean for burial where his wife Mary was buried).

See "Aylings of Graffham/Woolavington, West Sussex" tree on Ancestry for the family lines back to Richard Aylyng, of Heyshott, one of the first men to have the surname recorded in a tax document. He was probably born somewhere around 1250 AD.

Since my original post above, I've since done extensive research on the Ayling (and Aylwin) surname, including compiling the records for all parishes in West Sussex, Hampshire and West Surrey. I have recently compiled transcripts of all Ayling (and Aylwin ) Wills and Administrations, of which there are nearly 500, as well as over 100 Estate Inventories. All of the above has allowed me to figure out where most families originated and how they connect.

YDNA testing of 11 Ayling men (as of spring 2021), with West Sussex ancestors in Iping, Stedham, Lodsworth, Graffham, Woolavington, South Stoke, Houghton, Walberton and Worthing, confirms we share essentially the same Y chromosome --and that we therefore descend from the same man. In assessing the minor differences in our YDNA signatures against known genealogy, I am fairly confident our ancestor-in-common was John Aylyng (D. 1511) deceased at Bramshott, Hampshire. He may have been the person recorded as the Reeve of Droxford Manor, Hants in the late 1400's.

To see the above research check out aylinghistory.net

Cheers,

Chris Ayling
Canada