Descendants of John & Alice Eydon (Eyden), Northamptonshire, England, c1545
The Book
This branch of my family history research is captured by my book the Descendants of John & Alice Eydon (Eyden), third edition, ISBN 978-0-473-13544-7 (Book) / 978-0-473-13545-4 (PDF). It’s available to borrow from our National Library. It’s 218 pages, spiral bound A4, illustrated (mostly portraits, some colour), with index. It’s usually read as a reference or ‘dip-into’ book rather than cover to cover.
I’m continually learning more about my history so this document will keep evolving over time. The first edition was extracted from my database 5 January 2002 (20 pp), the second 31 December 2003 (110 pp), and this third edition 22 March 2008 (218 pp). Additions since the previous edition include information from the recently indexed 1851 and 1891 census; more background information; British Army World War Ⅰ pension records; newspaper articles; Medal Roles, many new people, photos, and information; and the first official publication of this work.
Blurb
In the mid-1500s John and Alice Eydon’s family lived in the village of Tiffield, Northamptonshire, England.
Today over 270 of their known descendants span the world.
In this family history 12 × great grandson Tom Robinson of Wellington, New Zealand, presents facts, stories, and photographs of (and shared by) known descendants and families.
As well as covering around half the recorded Eydens in England, Descendants of John & Alice Eydon (Eyden) covers Butler, Flavell, Hammond, Humphries, Jackson, Robinson, Smith, Willby, and other family names.
The result is a captivating reference of one family’s line over five centuries.
Introduction
My earliest known ancestors are John & Alice Eydon (‘Eyden’ in later generations). Probably born in Tiffield, Northamptonshire, England, around 1545. This is the Tudor period in the history of England, and it’s hard to imagine what life must have been like—meals were basic, sanitation primitive, and the poor impoverished.
This report includes John & Alice’s descendants, their spouses, and parents of spouses.
They had at least one child born in Tiffield, and seventy five of the people in this report were also born there. Where the country is known, 94% of the people in this report were born in England, 3% in Australia, 1% in New Zealand, and the remaining in Wales, America, Canada, France, Germany, India, Ireland, and Scotland. Their known living descendants and spouses number around 270.
The most common occupations are agricultural labourer, builder, servant, dressmaker, gardener, and teacher. A number of people have been involved with the railways.
Eyden is generally pronounced in the family as Ay-den (the ‘ay’ as in May, say, slay, or today; IPA /əɪdɛn/); with a few saying it Eye-den, and in Coventry Eden (as in garden of).
Eyden is a rare surname with around 1,300 entries in the English Birth, Marriage, and Death indexes (1837–2005) and so far 46% of them appear in this book.