The Thurston family from Dursley

[KentGirl]

Hi

I have been tracing back my family tree - my great-grandad's surname was Thurston - I've traced my ancestors back to 1780:

Nathaniel Thurston - b. 1780 ish... who married Sarah Watkins and then had children - Edmund b.1802, William b. 1804... and a few more. George Thurston (many of them), Euphemia Thurston etc.

The majority of my Thurston ancestors came from the Dursley area and Birmingham, and then they slowly made their way to Maidstone, Kent which is where my nan was born.

I'm hoping to be over Dursley way in February time, to see the places listed on the censuses, to see 'where' they use to live. I would be grateful if anyone knows of any burials places etc whre my ancestors could be or where I could get the information.

Thanks

Sarah

[Bob Cretchley]

Sarah - The Dursley Parish Records are all stored in the Gloucestershire County Records Office, in the city of Gloucester, a short distance from the cathedral and city centre. Copies are available on microfiche for public viewing, and you can take photocopies of entries. It's well worth a visit. - Bob Cretchley

[KentGirl]

Ok, Thanks very much :)

[dursleyglos]

Hi Sarah

The principal Parish burial ground in the 18th Century was St. James's Church, Dursley. St. Mark's Church was built in 1844 so there may be some of your ancestors in the graveyard there. Dursley cemetery didn't open until 1934, so a lot later. There were lots of other non-conformist chapels around as well, some of which had graveyards and of course there are the churches in Cam, Uley, Stinchcombe, etc - all the nearby villages.

I have lists of the burials in St. James, St Marks and the Tabernacle so I'll take a look when I can. I know there were lots of Thurstons in the area in the 18th century - I have a list of them too which I'll dig out.

[KentGirl]

Excellent!! I'm so pleased I've found this website as (excuse the pun) I was feeling I'd hit a dead end.

Do you have my email address? as i typed it in when I signed up.

I have found this website extremely useful and it's nice to see the 'olden' days pictures. I've since found out that my great grandad x4 Nathaniel Thurston
was declared 'insolvent' in 1832 and then was a Parish Clerk for Dursley and was then caught stealing 2s from the offertory in 1847! so it will probably be St James' where he was based.

I look forward to hearing from you with those lists/information. I've also contacted the Gloustershire Archives who have been very helpful.

I'm off to Wales in Feb, and I've got the directions printed out to go to Dursley on the 17th (ish)

Thanks again :)

[dursleyglos]

Hi there Sarah
I've just checked my St. Mark's burial register and there is a Nathaniel Thurston listed. He was buried 18th November 1871, aged 91. He's listed in the register as Parish Clerk and is buried in plot 268 although there is no memorial stone. Plot 268 is amongst the graves which are behind the church building, to the left of the path as you walk the length of the main area. The large Ayliffe grave/crypt is plot 267.

A list of the Thurstons buried in St. Mark's are:

Plot Name Age Burial date Memorial Occupation
29 Thurston Ezra 21 26.1.1860 no tailor
268 Thurston Eliza 79 31.5.1892 no
268 Thurston George 82 3.2.1902 no
268 Thurston Nathaniel 91 18.11.1871 no parish clerk
616 Thurston Ann - 1.9.1899 yes
616 Thurston Thomas 71 12.9.1878 yes

I hope that helps (Yes, I do have your email address).

[dursleyglos]

A bit more information. I've looked at the list of memorial inscriptions for St. James' Church and there are no Thurstons listed. They could well be there though, just in an unmarked grave but I haven't got the full list of burials to hand at the moment.

[dursleyglos]

Here's a list of earlier Dursley burials

Thurston Sisley 20 June 1704 Widow
Thurston Samuel 3 February 1707
Thurston Robert 21 December 1714
Thurston John 20 June 1715
Thurston Jane 11 July 1723 (Parents Daniel & Millecent)
Thurston Francis 20 June 1729 Mary
Thurston Samuel 24 June 1730 (Parents Thomas & Agness)
Thurston Ann 29 October 1730 Widow
Thurston Daniel 28 May 1731 (Parents Daniel & Mary)
Thurston William 7 July 1734 (Parents Thomas & Ann)
Thurston John 23 June 1735 Elizabeth Widow
Thurston Millecent 19 March 1744 (Partner Daniel)
Thurston Daniel 21 January 1774
Thurston Ann 23 March 1774
Thurston Elizabeth 19 October 1777 (Partner Samuel)
Thurston Robert 23 February 1778 (Parents Daniel & Ann)
Thurston Robert 31 January 1779 (Parents Robert & Bridget)
Thurston Robert 20 June 1786
Thurston William 22 July 1791 (Parents Robert & Mary)
Thurston Robert 13 November 1791
Thurston Ann 25 February 1791 (Parents Daniel & Ann)
Thurston Ann 4 April 1793 (Parents Thomas & Mary)
Thurston Bridget 19 January 1794
Thurston Elizabeth 16 September 1795 (Partner Samuel)
Thurston Robert 18 October 1795 (Parents Thomas & Sarah)
Thurston Mary 8 September 1799 Widow

[KentGirl]

Excellent - some of those are part of my family tree:

29 Thurston Ezra - Grandson of Nathaniel
268 Thurston Eliza - Daughter of Nathaniel
268 Thurston George - Son of Nathaniel
268 Thurston Nathaniel

616 Thurston Ann - these 2 are on my family tree too.
616 Thurston Thomas

I've emailed the Gloucester Archives about some documents I'm interested in getting hold of:
Title: Dursley parish records, CHURCHWARDENS AND PCC, Miscellaneous churchwardens' records
Sort Ref: Level: Item
Document Ref: P124 CW 4/7
Title: Case and opinion about the stealing of 2s from the church offertory by Nathaniel Thurston (Dursley parish clerk), with two related letters and copy resignation of the accused
Date: 1847
Number of Docs: 5 documents

[kentlad1963]

Hi Sarah

It looks like that we are related as many of the names you have mentioned have appeared in alot of the research that I have carried out. I must say that you are very much ahead of me.
My Grandfather was Cyril Arthur THURSTON b maidstone ( Son of Albert Edwin THURSTON b Windsor )
Alberts father was Edwin THURSTON b Birmingham ( Son of Edmund THURSTON b Dursley )

Thats as far as I got prior to discovering this wealth of information on your posts.

If you could assist me any further it would be greatly appreciated I have one Uncle who is 70+ who has assisted me as far as his Grandfather Albert Edwin.

Kind Regards

David

[KentGirl]

Hi David,

I think your grandfather Cyril was my nan's brother! My nan is (was) Gladys and she's my dad's mum.

My dad is Barrie and his sister is called Carol.

I've done research on both of my nan's parents, the Thurstons and Bucklows (her mum's maiden name).

I have got a tree on ancestry.

I will speak to my dad and his sister and get back to you.

Sarah

[KentGirl]

Hello David,

My dad and I are extremely interested in about this new link we've created! Quite exciting!!! discovering new relatives!

From talking to my dad we've worked out that YOUR dad is MY dad's cousin.

Who was your dad? ...my dad seems to remember there were 2 boys that Cyril had.

Who is this uncle that is 70+ that is helping you?

We're still all around Kent, though my nan (your grandad's sister died in 1992).

My dad did start doing the research for his mum (my nan) but she unfortunately passed away before any proper research was done.

Obviously there is quite an age gap between your grandad and my nan which would explain the age gaps in the next generations.

Please get back to me - it would be great to find out more! Do you have an email address?

Thanks and hope to hear from you soon.

Sarah :)

[kentlad1963]

Sarah

My fathers name was Derek (now deceased) and his brother is Colin.
My Grandfather Cyril went on to be a publican and was Landlord of the Chequers at Aylesford for many years.
I have asked Andy to pass on my personal e mail address to you, but he asks that I post a reply to you in the first instance.

Look forward to having a chat

Regards

David

[dave31]

Hello,

I've been trying to find Info on the Thurston family tree and you seem to have to know a lot more than i do! I've got as far back as William and Amelia, born 1838 and 1837 respectively. I'm assuming William is Nathaniel's (B.1790) and Sarah Watkins grandson but I can't seem to find any more info or link between the two. Was wondering if you had any more info or i could have a look at your tree?

Regards

Dave

[KentGirl]

William Watkin Thurston (b.1837) was the oldest son and child of Thomas thurston (b. 1804) - Thomas Thurston is the 3rd Child of Nathaniel and Sarah (Watkins) Thurston.

I have a tree on ancestry.co.uk - its called Thurston Tree.

The furthest I have got back is 1752 which is Nathaniel Thurston's father - Thomas Thurston b. abt 1752 in Uley. Nathaniel's older sister Sarah was born in Uley in 1777. Their parents married in Uley in 1776.

I would love to try and go back further. I have found out about Nathaniel and his siblings and parents through a helpful researcher in Glouscester, but getting people to do research is costly!