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1852
Sale
of Land & Cottage in Union St. Kinghill, Nailsea.
Thomas
Bull of Nailsea, labourer & Louisa to
Henry Bessant of Nailsea, mason.
A/BEK
C/2979 S.R.O.
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Gordano is located in the Hundred of Portbury and is
situated at the northernmost point in the county of Somerset. The Hundred has
the sea on the West and North West and the river Avon on the East and North
East. The area stretches from the Bristol Channel to the Clevedon-flats which
is opposite the Coast of Cardiff in South Wales.The Portbury Hundred is
divided into tithings containing the Gordano villages, with Nailsea, Wraxall,
Tickenham, Clevedon, Portbury and Portishead and it is at Clevedon in 1758
that the name of 'Bessant' first appears in the Militia records. It was
during the reign of Henry VIII that groups of men were trained in order to
defend the realm 'in the hour of need.' These men were aged between 15 and 50
and it was the responsibility of each county to raise a fixed quota of men.
The seven years war between Britain and France (1756-1763) caused the Militia
to be called upon yet again. By the Act of 1756 the men were selected by
ballot but substitutes were allowed for the payment of cash. It is recorded
in the records of the Fifth Company in the Second Battalion that William
Beasaent of Clevedon Tything was to substitute for William Hort of North
Weston Tything. This happened at Long Ashton on the 14th of November 1758
where the swearing in took place. A Ralph Resaent was also recorded as having
sworne but was recorded as a balloted member of Captain Smyth's Company. This
is most probably Ralph Besaent as the recorder of the list would not know the
men individually but would write down the name as it sounded to them.The root
of this tree centres on William and Ralph and branches out to include
thousands of descendants from Somerset to the New World. The material
presented has been, in the most part, from original records and transcripts
held at the Somerset and Bristol Record Offices and in liaison with Mr. John
Bessant of Liverpool whom I would like to thank for his contributions over
the past nine years and to Miss Brenda Davis of Essex for her support with
certificate information.
M. Mason Dec 2000.
Updated Aug.2001.Updated Oct 2002.Updated Jan & Apr
2004.Updated Jan 2006. Updated Mar 2007.
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