In October 2006 my wife and I had a very fruitful trip touring by car through
England and Wales.
During
this 'holiday' I was able to visit a little village called Quainton in Buckinghamshire, about 20 miles from Aylesbury. It
was such a quiet and peaceful place, totally surrounded by farmlands and isolated far away from the hustle and bustle
of modern day living. A pub, butcher, general store, two churches, a 'Green' in the centre of town and a windmill just
about covers it.
The narrow streets house a population of about 1200 people, who have maintained
this little village dotted with a few thatched roofs in extremely good condition. The locals made us extremely welcome and
were proud to show off their town to us.
It was here just by chance, that
I found at the rear of the Baptist Church, under the shade of an overhanging Willow tree, the grave of my great-great-great
grandfather, William Burnell with his wife Mary, as well as, five of their fourteen children.
One of William's sons was Charles Burnell, who unfortunately for him, but
fortunate for me, got himself into serious trouble with the law. On 17 Oct 1846 in London, he was tried and convicted
of having two stolen metal watches in his possession. As a result he was sentenced to 7 years transportation to Van Diemans
Land arriving on the "Anna Maria" on 7 June 1848. He never returned to England. Had he not been transported to Australia
but imprisoned in England, then I would not have been born at all. So thanks Charles for your indescretion.
I
was also fortunate to obtain more information about the 'Burnell' families who lived in Quainton from the Holy Cross &
St Mary Church, with baptism, marriage and burial records. From this detailed information I was now able to trace
my ancestors ten generations, back to another William Burnell, who was born at Syresham, Northants in 1605.
I'm
still missing a few dates and spouse maiden names, but here is the list so far.
William Burnell 1605-1700
wife.. ?
William Burnell 1650-1706 wife.. Margaret ?
James Burnell 1682- wife.. Alice
?
James Burnell 1721-
wife.. Anne ?
Robert Burnell 1746-1822 wife.. Elizabeth Griffin
William Burnell 1781-1851 wife.. Mary Hayles
Charles Burnell
1824-1893 wife.. Elizabeth Goldsmith
Henry Burnell 1862-1931
wife.. Elizabeth Harris
Cyril H Burnell 1883-1960 wife.. Elizabeth Cleary
Cyril F Burnell 1910-1982 wife.. Victoria Wray
Roy H Burnell
1938 -
What a discovery!
