To protect privacy and safeguard against identity theft, anyone born within the last one hundred years is NOT included in these genealogies. More extensive records including anyone born within the last one hundred years are kept on a separate database.
DISCLAIMER: While I do my best to investigate thoroughly and make wise conclusions, there is no guarantee that any of the information is accurate and the data on this site should NOT be treated as absolute. PLEASE DO NOT just copy what you find here. You should ALWAYS verify data for yourself before adding it to your own tree.
Every effort has been made to source, document and verify data within the ancestries. If you find individuals/lineages that do not appear to have accompanying documentation/sources to verify their information, please contact me. It is likely the information is stored in a separate database.
Whitchurch Family Genealogies
Whitchurch Ancestral Project – This project includes the ancestry of the Whitchurch and Pettit families and many of their branches. This is an ongoing project and is constantly being added to. The file may include disconnected branches which may or may not be related but have differential value.* The file provides information dating back to the mid 1500’s and strives mainly to chronicle the Whitchurch family of Frome, Somerset, England through the utilization of wills, inheritances and other relevant resources to help establish family connections. As part of the Whitchurch heritage, this is an ongoing project and is constantly being added to.
This file includes many disconnected families and branches, some of which may or may not be related but are included in the database for differential purposes and also with hope of establishing familial connections.*
Durnford Family Tree Project – This file investigates the family lineage of John Durnford, husband of Elizabeth Whitchurch, connecting to both the Metcalfe Whitchurch Ancestral Project and the Whitchurch Legacy Project above. There is some overlap between this file and the other files. This is an ongoing project and is constantly being added to. As an investigatory file it may include several disconnected branches which may or may not be related but have differential value.*
Nutley Family Tree Project – This file serves a dual purpose – to investigate the family lineage of Thomas Nutley, husband of Ann Durnford the supposed daughter of John Durnford and Elizabeth Whitchurch, connecting to Whitchurch Ancestral Project and the Durnford Family Tree Project above, and to establish with certainty the parentage of Ann Durnford, of which no birth/baptism record has been found for and whose only link so far to John and Elizabeth Durnford is her residence/marriage in Burbage and the name of her only known son, William Whitchurch Nutley. There is some overlap between this file and the other files. This is an ongoing project and is constantly being added to. As an investigatory file it may include several disconnected branches which may or may not be related but have differential value.* UPDATE: 2025 – The baptism record for Ann Durnford was discovered in Frome, Somerset, England. Through a series of archived documents, it was discovered that John and Elizabeth Durnford lived in Frome during the first few years of their marriage. It was also discovered that in while in Frome, another previously unknown son was baptized and died in infancy there. These discoveries were very exciting, and established with certainty the family relationship of the Nutley name.
Hutchings Family Tree Project – This file investigates the family lineage of Thomas Hutchings, husband of Mary Durnford the daughter of John Durnford and Elizabeth Whitchurch, connecting to both the Whitchurch Ancestral Project above. There is some overlap between this file and the other files. This is an ongoing project and is constantly being added to. As an investigatory file it may include several disconnected branches which may or may not be related but have differential value.*
*Relevant Non-family Genealogies/Differential Studies
A differential study is defined as a research project that is undertaken to differentiate between two or several individuals, couples or families of the same name to determine which one is the correct family member belonging in the tree. Determining these differences is beneficial for other people’s trees too.
The Metcalfe Genealogies has included several examples of differential studies, however, at this time there are no individual differential studies separate from the other trees in the Whitchurch Genealogies. As described above in the various projects, they may include many disconnected branches that may or may not be related for differential purposes or with the hope of establishing familial connections. The Whitchurch Ancestral Project in particular includes many, many extensive differential branches of study and is very interesting to explore.
To explore a disconnected branch, search for a name in the tree search or alphabetical list of all people.