Sensom, Kent

[josey]

I am reading 'Return of the Black Death' by Susan Scott & Christopher Duncan. [Not the point of my post but it is a fascinating book, leading to the conclusion that some of the outbreaks were not bubonic plague but a lethal & highly infectious haemorrhagic virus].

One excerpt from an account in 1687 by a survivor, Leonard Gale, who was born in Sevenoaks in Kent:
'my father & mother ...going to visit friends in Sensom in the said county'.

Where is Sensom? My interest is that my g g grandfather Philip Murray states on his army record that he was born in Senzy near Chatham [and it definitely is not 'Penzy' as first thought]. Much help from rootschatters on this post of 2009
http://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php?topic=394242.msg2654754#msg2654754 & the Kent FHS have failed to identify this place.

Just wondered having read of it last night if Senzy could possibly be Sensom? Does anyone recognise the place?

What I've found out since the original post is that Philip married Anne Sheedy/Sheehy in Borrisokane, Co Tipperary on 9 Jun 1831, no parents mentioned the transcription of the parish record on rootsireland.ie.

Thanks for any help.

Josey

[scintilla]

I don't know if you have seen this resource http://www.kentarchaeology.org.uk/Research/Libr/KPN/A/01/01.htm
A good list of Kent placenames. But Sensom is not on there. There is a SELSON which is a hamlet in Eastry parish, Kent;  5 miles northwest of Deal.

I was rather intrigued by your 'Senzy' puzzle, but haven't come up with anything. I know the Medway Towns fairly well and couldn't twist any version or accent which could come up with this name in the area. I did wonder if he was from an army family that it may refer to Chatham, Kent County in Ontario, Canada where his father could have served (wives did sometimes travel with the regiment in those days), and there was fighting in the War of 1812 in October 1813 (Battle of the Thames). But I couldn't make it make sense there either(there is a list of communities in Chatham-Kent at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chatham,_Ontario

[josey]

Sorry to be so long thanking you for your reply 

I had a look at the Chatham, Ontario page too but could not find a community looking or sounding like Senzy. I tried sounding the 'z' like the Scottish 'y' as in a short 'yer' [Dalziel pronounced Dalyell] but with 2 'y's together it doesn't make sense. As was pointed out originally, Philip was a clerk so would have known if a mistake was made on his discharge papers. He seems determined to stay a brick wall