jusnoneed
I will try the link you suggested. Thank you.
There is a mistake in one set of notes which I used for the first message. Greenwich was the address, not Greenwick. All five of the men listed as part of the company, including the three Joyce family members, had links with the Beckington area. One of them, Ebenezer Gough was a developer of a cork and oil floorcovering called Kamptoulicon, later superseded by another similarly named oilcloth, Kampticon, which was soon to become Linoleum, produced by Walton. Eventually, Nairns Linoleum became prominent. There are many of them in this area as well.
My mother was a Nairn, but her Nairn branch is well-documented in Ayrshire. It is thought that there could be a connection a long time ago.
I am wondering if the Joyce family and the group listed were involved in the floorcovering business as well.
There are a number of strong Joyce families in Southern England, including a very tempting one associated with Shapwick and White Mill. I am obviously getting a bit desperate in this search after fifty years, because I can see family resemblances to both of these families. Without naming him, I showed a photograph of John Joyce (1779-1865) to my sisters, and immediately they stated that he looked like our father. I can't ignore that!
I have found, last night:-
Parish of North Bradley
Southwick
1832 voters
John Bailey, Occupier Rags Hill farm
Walter Bailey, Freehold house, In the Rank
George Frowd, Freehold farm, Little Common
John Joyce, Freehold farm, In the Rank
Job Keevil, Occupier, Cutteridge
Peter Keevil, Freehold, Organ Pool Farm
Peter Keevil Jnr, Occupier, Kings Farm
I have read a book about the History of Beckington. Very fascinating, especially about their firm rules and government. The witchhunt sidetracked me for some time. Now I am back on track trying to find out if this family has a Parker name associated with it.