Austen
Pam Griffiths
Having discovered - several generations back, and in the persons of John Austen and Joan Berry - shared ancestors with Jane Austen, I began to read a lot of material published about her family in the hope of extending my own tree. However, I was not convinced by what I found, and so went back to the original documents. What I read seemed to cast some doubt on the received wisdom, that her ancestor John Austen I of Horsmonden was probably descended from the Astyns of Yalding, but I could not prove things either way. At the time, I published what I had found and let the matter drop. A few years ago, quite by chance, I came across the will of a Thomas Austen who was quite clearly the father of John Austen I. So I re-drafted my account to reflect what I have discovered, appending the two key pieces of evidence: the will of Thomas Austen of Wadhurst in 1602 and the Deposition of John Austen of Horsmonden, 1591. Now, thanks to the good offices of another Austin researcher and descendant, Martin Burch, I am able to piece together a bit more of the story, as he discovered and generously shared information about the family of Stephen Astyn of Mayfield, brother of Thomas of Wadhurst. Between us, we have been able to confirm much of what I had surmised and suggest possible origins for the family, and I owe him a debt of gratitude. The 2021 updated account Untangling the Austens shows what has now been discovered.
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