Our family history

On the third day of February, our family went to West Wratting and West Wickham. The drive took us out of the fen country and into the fields, hills and meadows south of Cambridge. Our first stop was at West Wratting, a nice little town on a hill. It was very cold there. We got out at St Andrew's church and began searching the graveyard for the grave of Edward and Susan Starling, my Great, Great, Great, Great Grandparents. They had ten children, We are descended from their son William.

So, we found the grave and got a photo, while Lydia, who we were having trouble controlling, was "dancing on someone's grave"!

Then we entered the church, it was a great old church with a pipe organ, a funeral carriage and the font where my ancestors were christened!

As we were busy looking around the church and taking pictures, mum found the book that had a list of all the graves in it, and who they belonged to. It also had the grave's inscriptions. Not only that but inside it she found the location of the long lost grave of Anne or Anna Starling, who the book said died 1723! What's confusing about that is my Grandpa, who loves researching our family tree and writing about them said she died 1728! Who was right? The inscription said: "Anna, wife of William Starling, d. May 1723". We found the grave, it was mossy, and the writing had nearly faded away.

Mum's discovery is of much importance as Anne and William are our earliest known ancestors with the last name of Starling!