An introduction
to the FLEWIN
family tree

The first records of FLEWINS (or FLEWING as it appears to have been at the time) which link into an on-gong family tree come from the English county of Kent at the very end of the 18th Century. They appear to lead to every known Flewin alive to-day.

The family tree tells a classic story reflecting the development trends of society in 19th century England. The century began with three quarters of the population living and working in rural areas. The middle years followed Queen Victoria's accession to the throne and the arrival of the industrial revolution. They were dominated by families abandoning the countryside, many moving to towns and cities, some joining the armed forces and others emigrating to populate new lands. The close of the century saw three quarters of the remaining population of England living in urban areas.

The FLEWINS did all this. In the early 1800s all known male members of the family earned their living from the land in Kent. Over the four decades, most of the sons left. They set up new homes and found new ways of earning a living in London -- with some notable exceptions.

Brothers Thomas and George, the sons of John Flewin, a Kent landowners' bailiff, emigrated in 1852 and 53 in lengthy sail ship journeys, Thomas to North America and George to Australia. These two spawned the present family groups on those two continents. In England, after the tragic deaths in their thirties of John Flewin's nephew William and his wife, Mary, in the late 1860s -- Edward perished after falling down a well and his wife died three years later of cancer -- their two sons, Henry William, and Albert, joined the army.

The rural exodus was all part of the industrial revolution and while the London Flewins hardly took on what would now be described as roles in industry, they played their part in the supporting infrastructure. They became, among other things, carpenters, printers, policemen and bakers.

First Records

The first known record in the FLEWIN family tree is a wedding at the church of St. Peter and St. Paul at Farningham, Kent, in July 1781. The parish records of Farningham list all christenings, marriages and burials at the church between 1559 and 1812. However, there was no mention of the name Flewin before 1781, and the only vaguely similar name (allowing for "old English" spelling) "ffeoffin" appears only a couple of times in the 1670s.

The records for the marriage on July 8th 1781 did identify the bride and groom, Jane Carter and Edward Flewin, as "being of this parish." It is known from the description given to him on the death certificate of his widow, who died at a good age in 1844, that Edward was an "agricultural labourer."

The family tree now shows Edward as the forefather of all FLEWIN lines which survived through the 19th century and therefore is assumed to be the male ancestor of all bearing the surname to-day.

The parish records of Farningham also listed the christening on the same day as the wedding, and presumably at the same time, of an infant, Samuel, described as the "base" (illegitimate) son of Jane Carter. Elsewhere, the burial of Samuel, son of Jane Carter, was recorded four days later, on July 12. The father of the child is not identified but, with the christening on the same day as the wedding, it is unlikely to be anyone other than Edward Flewin.

For the following fifty years, three generations of Flewin families lived and worked the land in the North Kent villages of Farningham, Wilmington, Horton Kirby, St Mary Cray and Sutton at Hone.

Flewin, Flewing or what...

Spelling was and is an issue with the surname Flewin, and it must have been more of a problem in days when most of the population could not read or write. Even by the mid 1800s one branch of the family was still using the spelling Flewing (Edward's death, and that of his wife, were recorded under this spelling). There are other known variations of the name in the formal records of births, deaths and marriages which commenced in England in the autumn of 1837. These were Flewer (registered name of John Flewin, born in 1845) and Fluellen (registered name of William Henry Flewin, born 1874).

The lack of earlier centralised records, at a time when reading and writing was even more a skill of the top end of society rather than among those who worked the land, tracking FLEWINS and the source of the name becomes increasingly difficult. These earlier records of Flewins appear dotted in parish registers in London with the occasional one outside the capital.

IGI

The best gathering together of these records are the birth, christening and marriage records which can be found in the International Genealogical Index. These are taken mostly from parish registers and have been compiled over many years by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.

The first relevant record in these indexes is the christening of Elizabeth Flewen, daughter of Thomas Flewen, of Dartford, Kent, on February 18th 1645. Dartford is just a short distance from Farningham, but there appears to be no other Flewin activity recorded in the area between that date and the marriage of Edward and Jane in 1781.

Dartford is also not far from London which, in the 17th and 18th centuries was far less of a continuous conurbation than it is to-day. Many of the present day districts were little more than small communities. One of these, Stepney, saw the christening at the Church of St Mary, Whitechapel, in September 1678 of William, the son of William and Mary Flewin.

Outside London, the IGI records two christenings at Shalbourne (probably Shelbourne) in Wiltshire of the children of John Flewin and Margery -- Martha in December 1693, and William in September three years later.

End of the century

By the end of the century, one small family group was left in North Kent, while several were well established in London. Abroad, the families of FLEWINS who emigrated began to expand. In North America the family of Thomas, whose destination had been Vancouver Island, had become part of the pioneering spirit of British Columbia and Canada itself. In Australia too a strong family grouping was being established around farming and brick making.

To-day the UK FLEWINS are spread across the South East of England, from Essex and Bedfordshire to Kent and Hampshire. In Australia, the majority live in the state of Victoria while in Canada FLEWINS are spread from Winnipeg to British Columbia. Some moved south of the border into the USA. Elsewhere, there are known to be FLEWINS in South Africa and Germany.

Picture Credit: North West Kent Family History Society