Virginia and New York
A forty-year family history research, which started in Virginia, is now reaching an exciting conclusion in East Hoathly, East Sussex, England. The family tree of the Sturt family in McKenney, Dinwiddie county, Virginia was pieced together in the 1950s by Sabra Sturt and continued by Frances Harrington Davis, whose mother was a Sturt, aided by Juanita Martinez of Alabama. They were successful in tracing back to Sturts in New York State and to Samuel Gaius Sturt, 1820-1880, a cobbler by trade, who was born in East Hoathly, Sussex, England but there the trail stopped.
Visits to England
In April 1969, Sabra and Ed Russell, cousins of Fran, visited East Hoathly on a trip to England as did Elizabeth and Nannie Sturt in 1973. They were able to establish that Benjamin Charles Sturt, a cobbler and village postmaster, lived in a cottage, now known as The Old Post Office, in East Hoathly in the 1850s. However, the link to Samuel Gaius Sturt could not be proven as the Parish Church registers were in a fragile state.
Photo: Holloway & Beard, Brighton - Provincial Tour 1872
Stroke of Good Fortune
The Sturt genealogy, family history and family tree web site was published in March 2000 and then relaunched in its present form in May 2000.A bulletin board was set up on the Ancestry.com web site to advertise the Sturt web site. By a stroke of good fortune, this drew a response from Kristen Alger in Florida, a daughter of Juanita Martinez, who is married to a descendant of Samuel Gaius Sturt. This was followed by a detailed family tree from Fran Davis. Meanwhile things had been stirring in East Hoathly.
East Hoathly
Today, East Hoathly is a typical, quiet Sussex village and an active community. Modern units have replaced most of the old houses but a few old buildings, like the Old Post Office, which is thought to date back to the 15th century, remain. The Parish Church, which dates back to the 11th century, was restored and extended by the Victorians. During the restoration work, remains of a much older church building, perhaps dating back to the 8th century were found. Originally, the Old Post Office would have been on the edge of the village green, diagonally opposite the church - an ideal location for a cobbler.
Village Tea Shop a Hive of Activity
Behind the charming façade of Clara's Tea Shop in East Hoathly's High Street the hum of a computer can sometimes be heard over the chink of china and the buzz of local gossip. It is here that dedicated local historian, Jane Seabrook, carries out some of her research. In collaboration with Eric Gould, Warden of the Church Fabric, Jane painstakingly catalogued all the Parish registers of births, marriages and deaths before they were transferred to Lewes for safekeeping. With a few clicks Jane could print out all the records pertaining to the Sturt surname as well as the census data for 1851, 1861, 1871 and 1881.
9 High Street, East Hoathly BN8 6DR
Astonishing Results
The results of all Jane and Eric's hard work were astonishing. Not only were the births of the sisters of Samuel Gaius Sturt recorded but also the names of his parents and possibly his grandparents.
The earlier records in the registers showed the surname as Start, a known variant of the Sturt spelling. Between 1811 and 1822 the spelling changed from Start to Sturt and there is a Start gravestone in the churchyard in East Hoathly - further research is needed there!
Surprisingly, the birth of Samuel Gaius Sturt was not included in the Parish registers, but despite that, the Sturt families in Virginia, New York and Florida can now definitely trace their roots back to East Hoathly. Will it be possible to link Samuel Gaius' father to William Laughton Start, 1741-1819? Will it be possible to trace the descendants of Samuel Gaius' sisters? Will it be possible to prove the relationship between Benjamin Charles Sturt, the cobbler and village postmaster and William Laughton Start? Time and the Sturt web site may answer these questions.
If you've business in England
you need to know the angles
( and the Saxons).
Commercial Angles
Business and accountancy services.
Serious business with a light touch.
Return to the Sturt home page.