NAME: THOMAS STURGE........of Gaunts, Earthcote,

SURNAME: Sturge ............... GIVEN NAMES:Thomas................. *SEX: M

BIRTH: circa 1575 Frampton cotteral, Sth Gloucestershire, England

DEATH: unkown

• FATHER: unkown
• MOTHER: unkown

OCCUPATION: Farmer

MARRIAGE: unkown

Married: circa 1600

CHILDREN

1...M...Joseph STURGE Ist

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NOTES

See TIMELINE for IGI ancestral Records

See MEDIA for information sources

of GAUNTS, EARTHCOTE,BRISTOL , ENGLAND (BUILT BEFORE 1605)

Thomas of Gaunts Earthcott

If you travel south from Gloucester and follow the signpost to Gaunts Earthcott, near the Severn Bridge, you will come upon an attractive old manor house, at present at restaurant. Carved on this house you will read “T.S.” and the date 1605. This was the home of Thomas, the first Sturge of whom there is evidence. It is said that his father was John Sturge, or Sturridge in the local dialect, lord of the manor of Frampton Cotterell in the mid-sixteenth century, but Thomas is our first certain ancestor.

The Sturges were yeoman farmers and graziers in the Vale of Gloucester, farming their own land, which was some of the richest in the country, or holding it on renewable leases from the Corporation of Bristol.

The Gaunts Earthcott manor was part of a monastic estate granted to the city by Henry VIII after the dissolution of the monasteries.

http://www.sturgefamily.com/Discover/THE%20STURGES%20OF%20BIRMINGHA...

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Quaker Digests (The Religious Society of Friends) (Nonconformists)

Quakerism came to Gloucestershire in 1654

Nature of Source

Quaker records of birth (Quakers did not believe in baptism at all), marriage and death. The Quakers, formally known as the Religious Society of Friends, was founded by George Fox (1624-1691) in 1647. The Friends rejected any form of organised structure to worship or any hierarchy of ministers and are renowned for their systematic and thorough record keeping.

Most registers survive after 1780 when the authorities decreed that nonconformist congregations should keep registers. Most complied with the ruling and these registers form the bulk of those handed in to the Registrar General in 1837 following the introduction of civil registration.

Collectively these registers are known as the Non-Parochial Registers and are held at The National Archives with copies available at various record offices. The Quakers initially failed to hand in their registers to the Registrar General, however the Friends later fully complied with the order. Not only did they comply, they also embarked on a project to transcribe all known registers which they completed in a few years. The Digests effectively act as an index to the registers held by The National Archives which hold additional information. Obituaries can be found in the Yearly Monitor and the Minute Books.

The digest is arranged alphabetically by surname and then by date. The Quakers refuse to use the pagan names given for the months of the year and days of the week and therefore assign each month a number from one to twelve, so January is referred to as the First Month and Sunday as the First Day.

Quakers along with Jews were exempt from Hardwicke's marriage Act of 1754 which stipulated that marriage must take place in a licensed Anglican parish church in the bride or bridegroom's own parish in the presence of two witnesses and only after the publication of banns.

The local congregation is known as a Particular Meeting which is managed by the Preparative Meeting. Representatives from the Preparative Meeting meet at district level as a body known as the Monthly Meeting. Delegates from the Monthly Meeting attended the county wide Quarterly Meeting. From this meeting delegates attend the London Yearly Meeting which acts as the executive arm of the movement. The Monthly Meetings dealt with a variety of issues such as poor relief, education, apprenticeships and marriage. Marriages between Quakers were sanctioned at the Monthly Meetings and contain the results of an investigation into the suitability of both parties before granting permission to marry.

- See more at: http://www.genguide.co.uk/source/Quaker-Digests-The-Religious-Socie...

http://www.genguide.co.uk/source/Quaker-Digests-The-Religious-Socie...

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