East Ramblings

Angela Waterfall sent out an invite (via email & the website) to members to the first of a series of walks and lunches themed around Easts in various locations in the South-East of England.

The first walk took place on 19th September, in Wallingford, where Angela lives. Three members joined her at her home for coffee & biscuits, to share information about the East families, known to have lived in Wallingford and the surrounding villages.

Angela looked at the Census data for her hometown and produced a walk around the town to find local families. The historic Saxon town was where William the Conqueror crossed the River Thames on the way to London and is one of the locations of Midsomer Murders (Wallingford is Cawston!). The search of Wallingford was on for:

Richard East (1793-1852) at Cross Keys Inn, 168 High Street

Emma East (1866-) at Church Lane

Emma East (1826-) at St Leonards Square

Jemima East (1828-) at 1, Almshouses

Thomas East (1869-) at New Road

Thomas F East (1898-) at New Road

William James East (1831-) at Grangers Court

Hannah East (1821-) at Fish Street, Marketplace

Arthur Edward East (1869-) at St Peters Street

Also (further afield):

Edmund Creek East (1899-) of East Hagbourne. There is information that links him to Robert East b.1534 and his wife Sophia Painter. From 1851-1865, Edmund was an inspector at Didcot for the Great Western Railways.

Robert East (1822-1900) who emigrated to New Zealand. His ancestor may have been Samuel East (1706-1777), born in Leicestershire

William James East (1831-1903) was a shoemaker and appears on the 1861 and 1871 Census for Wallingford. By 1881, William has returned to Oxford.

Richard East was a local publican during 1851 and 1861 Census. His father, Thomas came from Monks Risborough

John East (1860-1865) was a thatcher in the hamlet of Rokemarsh. He is buried in the churchyard of St. Helens Church, Benson.