Twists and Turns

Charles Albert Eldridge

In contrast to the paternal Eldridge line  itself which seems from the outset to remain obstinately frozen in time in Mortlake, Surrey, in the mid-eighteenth century, the line of Emily Coulter, the wife of Thomas Eldridge, and grandmother of Charles Albert Eldridge can seemingly be followed, albeit with numerous twists and turns and diversions, all the way back to when one Henry Cobbes, a possible x20 great-grandfather of Charles is recorded buying up land in the Romney area of Kent in 1258 during the reign of King Henry III.

The copious lines of descent that emerge on this side of the family are far too large to handle. But, as we shall see, there are a number of indications that the marriage of Emily Coulter and Thomas Eldridge did not arise from some chance meeting, and that the Eldridges of Surrey may themselves have roots in the county of Kent. These possible connections will be examined in some detail, and constitute one of the main refrains of the story. 

In scouring through the Kent parish records and ever-hopefully dipping into the trees of distant cousins in the search for evidence of earlier origins, certain other themes emerged. First of all, before the industrial age stuttered into action, and even for some time after it, families were much less mobile, living for generations in the same localities, and inter-marrying almost exclusively within their communities. However, this commonality noted, they were not entirely static either. As agricultural labourers, which many of them were, seasonal work led them to move quite frequently between villages and parishes, resulting in over time in the dispersal of families throughout the county, and consequent headaches for any researcher interested in stitching those branches back together again.