The Faversham Society may be able to help you with some of your family history enquiries.

We have extensive records for people who lived and worked in Faversham, and we are starting to put some of this information online for everyone to access for free.

Gunpowder Workers

Many Faversham people were involved in working at one of the many gunpowder factories around the town. Our dedicated volunteers, especially John Breeze, have built up a database of information on those who worked in Faversham's important explosives industry.

Information stored includes transcriptions from census entries as well as parish records of birth, marriage and death. Also, burial information and extracts from town directories and Faversham Newspapers.

Use the following link to explore this database, where you can search by name and filter on dates of birth and death, to find previously unpublished information about your relatives

Gunpowder Workers Database

We’ve had a great response to this data being online, here is additional information on some of the Gunpowder Workers, supplied by their descendants:

BODEKER Alfred - 1860 to 1920

BODEKER Ann GREGORY - 1855 to 1921

BODEKER Charles Horatio - 1892 to 1949

GREGORY Ann RUCK - 1824 to 1885

KEARN, Henry - 1853 to ?

WISE, Harold - 1892 to 1916

We also have another Faversham Paper that is free to download FP 84 - Faversham Gunpowder Personnel Register This is a compilation of information for Gunpowder Workers from 1573 up to 1840. Unfortunately not searchable, but they are listed in alphabetical order, it usually details where they worked and what they did and if you are lucky, quite a lot more too.

Biographical Registers

Information has been collected for many prominent Faversham townspeople, dating from 1100 to 1650. This was previously published as Faversham Paper 56 but has now been uploaded to browse for free. It’s not searchable, but names are in alphabetical order to make browsing simpler.

Names A to C ................... Names D to H .................... Names I to O .................... Names P to Y

Exiles

We have a couple of Faversham Papers that tell the fascinating and sad stories of some of the Faversham folk who were sent to Australia as convicts in the mid 19th century, often for very minor crimes. They are available for you to download for free FP 49 - Faversham's Reluctant Exiles and FP 66 - More of Faversham's Reluctant Exiles!

Other family research

We do not hold copies of registers of Census returns, but we do have a very large collection of references from various sources, from the 16th century onwards.

We also have some Faversham Papers that might help you with your research. One details life in the Workhouses of Selling, Faversham and Blean. It is available to buy here FP 126 - Paupers in the Family

There are some older Faversham Papers available to download for FREE too. FP 28 - The Faversham Poor in the 18th and 19th century and FP 80 - Faversham Union Workhouse Both detail life in the workhouse and have details of some of the unfortunate residents.

If your relative lived in Abbey Street, there might be a mention in this Faversham Paper, available for FREE here FP44 and FP81 - Memories of Abbey Streeet - FREE DOWNLOAD.

Our information covers Faversham and the parishes of Baddlesmere, Boughton-under-Blean, The Brents, Buckland-by-Faversham, Davington, Doddington, Dunkirk, Eastling, Goodnestone-next-Faversham, Graveney, Hernhill, Leaveland, Luddenham, Lynsted, Newnham, Norton, Oare, Ospringe, Otterden, Preston-next-Faversham, Selling, Sheldwich, Stalisfield, Stone-by-Faversham, Teynham, Throwley and Wychling.

If you give us the information you already have, we will do our best. You will need to explain what information you seek. You can present this in the form of a family tree, however brief and/or incomplete. Make sure this includes all known dates and places of birth or baptism, marriage, and death or burial.

As we are all volunteers, please note that enquiries can take time to be processed.

If we cannot help you, we will keep your enquiry on our books so that any relevant information emerging at a later date may be passed on. For this reason (and in case you change your e-mail address) make sure you let us have your postal address and phone numbers.

Please feel free to CONTACT US with your family research and history enquiries.