Third Generation  

3. Thomas FRANCIS [53124] (John², John¹) was born on 20 Mar 1791 in Hildenborough Kent England and died on 24 Nov 1880 in Hildenborough Kent England at age 89.

General Notes: In a File received in April 2008 from Mark Ward, he included the following:
Thomas Francis of Watts Cross, Hildenborough Kent was born 29 March 1791 and died 24th Novembner 1880 at Hildenborough.

'In 1810 was drawn for the militia - to fight Napoleon but transferred to the Kentish Yeomanary (Tonbridge Troop) before being called up.
He bore the colours of the regiment -was colour sergeant - when the regiment escorted Louis XV to Chatham on his way back to France after the peace proclomation of 1815.

His daughter was mary Ann Francis born 2 May 1825 and died 29 March 1905.

Arthur Herbert Wells, Thomas' grandson and Bess's father, used to remember with pride standing between his granfather's knees at the garden gate with his grandfather's sword in front of him as grandfather sat there to take the salute so the Yeomanary rode past to go into camp. The litte boy (Arthur Herbert Wells) would be about 6 so it would have been about 1869.
The old sergeant could not bother to get into his tunic, it was rested on his shoulders, he would have been about 80 by then.'

Thomas FRANCIS - (1791 - 1879). He lived at the Poplars (now called The Cottage, Watts Cross), a house/shop which had belonged to the Francis family since the 17th century and remained so until the early 1960s. Mr Francis was the Surveyor of Highways and Highway Rate Collector for Tonbridge Parish. It is interesting to note that in 1843, a man's daily wage for stone-breaking and highway clearing was 1s.8d. (8p approximately) for an 11-hour day! His wife Jane, ran the shop, the only one between Tonbridge and Sevenoaks prior to 1881, when it closed. He was the Minister at the Wesleyan chapel in Stocks Green Road until Hildenborough church was built and circa 1853 he became a church warden. His eldest son Thomas, was a cricket ball maker and foreman at Dark's cricket ball factory.

Thomas married Jane RICHARDSON [53125] [MRIN: 18920], daughter of John RICHARDSON [54264] and UNKNOWN [55599]. Jane was born on 02 Apr 1794 in Tonbridge Kent England and died on 04 Mar 1856 in Hildenborough Kent England at age 61.

Children from this marriage were:

+ 6 F    i. Mary Ann FRANCIS [53123] was born on 02 May 1823 in Hildenborough Kent England and died on 29 Mar 1905 in Halstead Kent England at age 81.

+ 7 F    ii. Caroline Jane FRANCIS [53230] was born about 1824 in Hildenborough Kent England and died on 04 Apr 1893 in Hildenborough Kent England aged about 69.

+ 8 F    iii. Harriet FRANCIS [54269] was born in 1829 and died in 1891 in Tonbridge Kent England at age 62.

   9 F    iv. Elizabeth FRANCIS [54276] was born in 1832 in Tonbridge Kent England.

+ 10 M    v. Thomas FRANCIS [54271] was born on 26 Jul 1835 in Hildenborough Kent England and died on 20 Jun 1906 at age 70.

+ 11 M    vi. John FRANCIS [54274] was born on 03 May 1838 in Hildenborough Kent England and died in 1908 in Hildenborough Kent England at age 70.

4. George FRANCIS [54266] (John², John¹) was born in 1815 in Tonbridge Kent England.

George married Lucy [54267] [MRIN: 19252]. Lucy was born in 1804 in Folkestone Kent England and died in Dec 1876 in Hildenborough Kent England at age 72.

Children from this marriage were:

   12 F    i. Fanny FRANCIS [54278] was born in 1833 in Tonbridge Kent England.

   13 F    ii. Sarah FRANCIS [54279] was born in 1844 in Tonbridge Kent England.