Can anyone help with info on these people? believe to be from malling,or hartley area of kent late 1890`s early 1900`s.i believe they were the parents of my grandfather william ernest coleman who was killed in 1941 while serving with the royal navy.Would be good if i could find any trace of siblings of william or family members.Anyone with any info or access to 1901 census would be appreciated.

Hi Calvin

1901 Census
Civil Parish: Hartley
Registration District: Dartford
Sub Registration District: Farningham

COLEMAN family
John - head - age: 42 - b: Wrotham Kent - Occ: Waggoner on farm
Sarah - wife - age; 29 - b: Faversham Kent
Frank - son - age: 19 - b: Platt, Wrotham Kent - Occ: Carter on farm
George - son - age: 7 - b: Ightham Kent
John - son - age: 5 - b: Southfleet Kent
Mary - daug - age: 3 - b: Swanley Kent
James - son - age: 1 - b: Hartley Kent
Samuel GALVIN - Boarder - age: 19 - b: Agra India

FreeBMD
Sarah Jane Attaway b: Qrt Sep 1873 District: Faversham Kent - Vol: 2a - Pg: 718

Sarah Jane Attaway married John Coleman - Qrt Dec 1892 District: Malling Kent - Vol: 2a - Pg: 1176

Hope it helps

Regards
Tania

Thanks, Tania for that info.Looks like my grandfather did have siblings.my granfather was born to john and sarah coleman in 1906 so it looks like he was likely the youngest child.he was born in ash sevenoaks and his family were farm workers,so your info would fit.Perhaps my mum has cousins out there somewhere.anyway thanks for your help. calvin.

Hello -- info about your grandfather on the Commonwealth War Graves Commission website at http://www.cwgc.org/ confirms the names of his parents. It states "Son of John and Sarah Jane Coleman; husband of Annie Hester Kate Coleman, of, Gillingham, Kent."

To access this info yourself, click on the Search Our Records link which is listed on the left side of the CWGC home page. Regards, Andrea (Kent Board admin)

Thanks Andrea, i have this info on my grandfather already but do appreciate your help.spent several years tracing my grandfathers death as we never could ask gran about it as she found the whole event of losing him very painful.she passed away last year and my aunt gave me some papers of his that she had found in grans house,this had a clue on his naval service record that at one time his next of kin had been a brother.Mum and my aunt were babies when he was killed and have no knowledge of any of his family.Its the people on the 1901 census or their relations iam trying to trace,but with no success.Any how thanks for your time.calvin.

Hello Calvin -- my apologies for posting info you already knew. My confusion stemmed from the fact that your initial query stated that you "believed" that your grandfather's parents were John & Sarah Jane. I mistakenly took this to mean that you weren't sure, ie. hadn't confirmed the fact that they were his parents.

Anyway, good luck in tracing descendants of this family. This can be more difficult than tracing ancestors of centuries ago because, for example, there are no censuses or even parish records to rely on. One option is to try and trace the births, marriages and deaths in the family via the BMD civil registration indexes.

Another tactic that has worked for me is to write Letters to the Editor in newspapers published where the family is known to have lived. These queries are more likely to be published in smaller towns, though. Newspapers in bigger cities tend to reject such letters or suggest placing adverts in the classified section. Still, worth a try.

You could also try tracing/finding the family in phone directories although a surname such as COLEMAN is fairly common -- and judging by the 1901 census, first names were common ones as well -- so it may be difficult and/or impossible. For example, the Ancestry.co.uk website is now offering a database of British Phone Books dating from 1880 to 1984 as well as a 14 day free trial offer subscription. As an alternative, many libraries and archives in England have old telephone or residents' directories for their particular geographical area.

Lastly, have you obtained all of your grandfather's military papers and records? These may give you some clues, particularly of family members around the time of the Second World War. Good luck and regards, Andrea (Kent Board admin)

Thanks once again Andrea,nice you took the trouble to help.Your tip about contacting the local newspaper is a great one,and i have now followed that advice and hopefully it might pay off.will keep you posted,cheers calvin.

I am a derect family member of frank colemans family and would love to make contact with you.I have imformation on john and sarah attaway an franks birth mother. Hope to hear from you soon ian coleman

Hi Ian,thanks for the contact.My grandfather was William Ernest Coleman son of john&sarah jane coleman.He was killed in 1941 while serving in the Royal Navy.Wanted info on his family as we know very little,seems my grandmother lost contact with his family after his death.Would be nice to find some info for my mum and aunt who where williams children.Regards Calvin.

Hi Ian, sorry if this message has taken a good while to get back to you.Please feel free to contact me.my email is merrycalvin@yahoo.co.uk.I would love to recieve any info on the Coleman family,and info on what happened to John and Sarah,plus any family members that my grandfather William Ernest Coleman may still have.