When James died in 1785, he was a farmer of 187 acres near Denham St John, Suffolk County, England. This parish is six miles west of Fressingfield where our Aldous ancestors resided in the 16th Century.

James Aldous

Born: 1710 Fressingfield, Suffolk County, England

Father: Stephen Aldous (1678 to 1735)
Mother: Sarah Barber (1680 to 1738)

Spouse: Mary (Unknown)

Married: Unknown

Children:

James Aldous (1739 to 1810)
Elizabeth Aldous (1741 to Unknown)
Lionel Aldous (1745 to Unknown)
John Aldous (1746 to Unknown)

Died: 1785 in Denham St John, Suffolk County, England

Burial: 23 JUL 1785 in the Saint John The Baptist Churchyard

Timeline:

1735 Death of father, Stephen
1738 Death of mother, Sarah
1739 Birth of son, James
1741 Birth of daughter, Elizabeth
1745 Birth of son, Lionel
1746 Birth of son, John
1785 Death and Burial

Occupation: farmer

Records:

England, Select Births and Christenings, 1538-1975
England, Select Deaths and Burials, 1538-1991
The UK, Extracted Probate Records
UK and Ireland, Find A Grave Index, 1300s-Current

Variations of Surname: none

As I was researching the Aldous family, I discovered that there are two parishes with the name Denham located in Suffolk County, England. The parish our Aldous ancestors lived in is Denham St John near the market town of Eye. The other parish is called Denham St Mary. It is near the market town of Bury St Edmunds.

Denham St John is 35 miles east of Denham St Mary. It is also six miles west of Fressingfield where our Aldous ancestors resided in the 16th Century.

Notes:

Here are some links to websites that helped with my Aldous family research:

Aldous.net (Aldous family history and family tree)
Ancestors of Tim Farr, Descendants of Stephen Farr (family tree)
Reid-Schroeder Genealogies (family tree)
The Tree of Us (family tree)
Family Search (family tree website)
The Internet Surname Database (surname meaning and origins)
House of Names (coat of arms)

Creating Your Family Tree

Interested in building a great family tree? Remember these important steps:

Look in your photo albums. You may have old pictures that your parents or grandparents gave you. Or, ask them for copies of photos that they have in their possession. Many people will write names and dates on the backs of photographs. Letters, diaries, and family bibles are also excellent sources for vital records.

Talk to your older relatives to find out about your ancestry. They may relate stories about an ancestor that you can add to your family tree. Family history is usually not found in newspapers. It is more of a verbal memory passed down from generation to generation.

Find the right family tree builder that suits your needs. You can choose one that has a paid subscription like Ancestry.com. There are also free sites like FamilySearch.org.

When you start building your family tree, add documentation to your ancestor’s profile. Records should include birth, marriage, death, census, military, city, and county directory listings. Any information that you can find will help create a life story about your ancestor.

If you have a unique surname, you may find databases on the internet that are useful in your search. I use SurnameDB.com for my English surnames. There are other websites on the internet for countries like Italy and Germany.

Genealogy is the study of a person’s “line of descent.” As you create your family tree, you would start with one individual and go “back into time.” You would add their parents, grandparents, and so on. There are also family trees that go “forward into time.” Many of these family trees start with a famous person, such as a president or royalty. They would then move forward into the present time. The purpose of this type of pedigree is to establish a person’s bloodline to that famous person.

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