My two grandmothers as young women: (above) Alice Maud Bussey/Wells 1873 - 1965 and (below) Lydia Matthews/Phillips 1886 - 1963.
These pages were compiled by my father Richard Phillips who sadly passed away in October 2015. He had been carrying out family history research since the early 90s.
I intend to leave the information here online as a basic outline of his research. I might carry out my own investigations in future. I can be contacted at mail@willphillips.org.uk, however, I regret that I have little free time for answering enquiries to present.
Results of my father's DNA tests will remain available for matching on the 23andme and Family Tree DNA sites.
Will Phillips, May 2016
My ancestors lived in different parts of England and included cork cutters, coppersmiths and a convict. You will also find bakers, bricklayers, coopers, artists, doctors of medicine, a mathematician, a sailor 'prest' into the navy, and the illegitimate offspring of a knight. These webpages show a little of what I have discovered about them.
The main surnames are Bussey (& Bussy), Dance, Denham (& Dinham), Figgins, Fitzgerald, Mason, Matthews (& Mathews), Phillips, Wells, Wheeler, and Whittaker.
Good luck with your own family history!
Richard Phillips
Short index
- James BACON born about 1845, probably London
- George BOULTON born about 1794, probably Staffordshire
- Hannah BOULTON born 1837, Lapley, Staffordshire
- Alice Maud BUSSEY born 1873, Southwark, London
- James BUSSEY born 1796, Stamford, Lincolnshire
- William BUSSEY born 1827, Nottingham
- William James BUSSEY born 1847, Nottingham
- Ann BUTLER born 1775, probably Nottingham
- Elizabeth Ann CHEESEMAN born 1796, Greenwich, Kent
- Isaac DANCE born 1759, Nottingham
- Isaack DANCE born 1648, Nottingham
- Matilda DANCE born 1802, Nottingham
- William DANCE born 1680, Nottingham
- William DANCE born 1719, Nottingham
- Elizabeth DENHAM born 1768, Stamford, Lincolnshire
- John DINHAM born 1695, Stamford, Lincolnshire
- William DINHAM born 1742, Spalding, Lincolnshire
- Sarah DUDLEY born 1680, Church Wilne, Derbyshire
- Emma FIGGINS born about 1825, Lambeth, Surrey
- Henry FIGGINS born 1716, Devizes, Wiltshire
- John FIGGINS born 1745, Devizes, Wiltshire
- John FIGGINS born 1774, Seend, Wiltshire
- Catherine FITZGERALD born 1848, Holborn, London
- Robert FITZGERALD born 1795, probably Ireland
- Robert Francis FITZGERALD born 1823, Chelsea, London
- Elizabeth GORDON born 1801, Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire
- Ann HERITAGE born 1748, Devizes, Wiltshire
- Elizabeth HODGET born 1798, Clifton, Nottinhamshire
- Elizabeth Susan HOWELL born 1819, Greenwich, Kent
- Thomas HOWELL born about 1790, probably Kent
- Hannah HYDE born 1796, Brewood, Staffordshire
- Thomas HYDE born about 1756, probably Staffordshire
- Ann KEY born about 1760, probably Nottingham
- Elizabeth Helen LANGDON born 1822, Greenwich, Kent
- Ann Caroline MASON born 1850, Newington, London
- George MASON born 1819, Beckenham, Kent
- Henry MATTHEWS born 1824, Bermondsey, London
- John MATTHEWS born 1856, Walworth, London
- Lydia MATTHEWS born 1886, Walworth, London
- Uriah MATTHEWS born about 1795, probably Cornwall
- Rachel PADDY born 1765, Brewood, Staffordshire
- Charles Albert PHILLIPS born 1888, Walworth, London
- Susanna REDMONDS born 1801, Dublin, Ireland
- Maria SADLER born 1824, St Georges, Middlesex
- Elizabeth SLADE born 1753, Stratford-on-Avon, Warwickshire
- John WELLS born 1753, Stratford-on-Avon, Warwickshire
- Thomas WELLS born 1792, Stratford-on-Avon, Warwickshire
- William WELLS born 1834, Stepney, London
- William George WELLS born 1872, Walsall, Staffordshire
- James WHEELER born about 1790, probably London
- Maria WHEELER born 1845, Southwark, London
- William WHEELER born 1821, Southwark, London
- Edward WHITAKER born 1722, Nottingham
- Edward WHITAKER born 1747, Nottingham
- Edward WHITAKER born 1780, Nottingham
- Edward WHITAKER born 1804, Nottingham
- Godfrey WHITAKER born 1689, Nottingham
- Mary Ann WHITTAKER born 1829, Nottingham
DNA & family history
DNA testing can help family history research in a number of different ways. I would be particularly interested in contacting anyone who has taken a DNA test and believes they are related to one of the families listed here.
I have results from yDNA tests for my Phillips and Wells families. This tests the Y chromosome which is passed down the male line, and so is usually passed on with the surname. I am grateful to the Wells family DNA project and the Phillips DNA project for co-ordinating these tests.
I have also taken a DNA test through 23andme. This is an 'autosomal' test which has a much wider scope because it samples DNA inherited from all my ancestors. Potentially, it should match anyone who shares one of my ancestors, although the likelihood of a match falls off after about five generations. If you have done a similar test, you can check whether you match my data on the GEDmatch website. My test kit number is M112152. My data is also on FTDNA.
"DNA in family history: a personal view of taking part in an international DNA study" is the title of a talk which I have given more than six times to family history societies and other interested groups in England. It is a based on my Wells family and explains my personal experiences of using DNA for family history, without too much technical detail.