KinverOnline Forum

My g g grandparents were (supposedly) William Seymour (who was a tailor) and Harriet Vale. My great grandfather Walter George Seymour migrated to Australia in 1889 to join his brother Joseph. I can find no family in England to match his family. He apparently was born in Staffordshire and often spoke of Kinver. Does anyone know of this family? I will be in England in April/May 2013 - any tips on where I should search for him. Thank you, Cheryl

Good luck in your quest.
I expect that our resident Encyclopædia Britannica - aka Freddie - will be able to assist.

I had a really quick look this morning before I went to work.

This thread here looked quite interesting - it mentions a Harriet Vale, and also an "Uncle Will". I don't know whether it would be the same ones. I know that the name Vale appears on gravestones at St Peter's church on the hill in Kinver.
http://boards.ancestry.co.uk/thread.asp ... names.vale

The Vale family also ran the Royal Exchange pub (it was also known as the Cherry Tree back then), although it was a pretty common name so it might not have been the right one.

I can't remember where all of the records are now kept. Kinver library does have some interesting reference books, but I don't know where the church ones are, or the other ones. They might be in Wolverhampton but that is a guess.
In your research, Kinver has also had some fairly dodgy spelling. Look out for Kinfare, Kynfare, Chenfare, Chenevare and Cynefare.

Your great, great grandfather would still recognise much of Kinver today - the winding high street with it's Tudor houses, the wonderful old Grammar school, the sandstone church high on the hill and the view from the top of the iron age fort across the village and beyond towards the Black Country where in his days, the smoke from the rolling and slitting mills, and the furnaces and forges would have been characteristic of the landscape then. If you come, bring your camera and take some photos of the Rock Houses - (your descendants would have known them when they were all still inhabited), and show your family and friends what is likely to be the inspiration behind the Hobbit. Good luck, and post up some more stuff if you find it out - maybe more people will be able to help

Thank you all for your help, it gives me a starting point. I have seen the Vale thread but it doesn't seem to fit with my family, not that I have much to go on!