Overview of the four families and how they are linked
The Helen Kegie Collection is no ordinary family history collection, because it covers more than one family and with complex relationships. In fact, it relates to four separate families and their associated lines, but for convenience, the trees are split according to each of Helen’s grandparent’s families.
- Barton – the family of Helen’s father’s father (Isle of Wight)
- Quinton – the family of Helen’s father’s mother (Isle of Wight)
- Child – the family of Helen’s mother’s father (Chepstow area)
- Sargent – the family of Helen’s mother’s mother (Chepstow area)
Also interesting is the way that there are more links between the families than normal.
The link can be traced back to Evelyn Kate Barton (1887-1942), who was a sister to Helen’s father on the Isle of Wight. Family stories recall that as a 14-year-old (around 1901) she met a boy from Portsmouth called Albert Silvester (1885-69). They became friends, and he determined that she was the girl he would marry.
Some years later, Albert was working for the Excise Department in Scotland as a whisky gauger at the Speyside distilleries. Evelyn took a holiday there to visit him and stayed at Ballindalloch in a house called the Swiss Cottage. It is probable that on that visit she also met Stewart Child (1884-1974) from Chepstow, who was a colleague of Albert’s. Evelyn’s family believe that on that holiday Evelyn took with her her youngest sister Rosalie (1891-1988), and that was how Rosalie met Stewart, who she was later to marry.
Figure 1: A later photo of Albert Silvester and Evelyn Barton, dating from about 1925
Albert and Evelyn married at Brighstone on the Isle of Wight on 23rd August 1915. We do know (from Evelyn’s daughter Ann) that the two witnesses in the marriage register were Stewart and Rosalie, so it appears that the two couples were very close friends by then.
Figure 2: Stewart Child and Rosalie Barton at their wedding on 21st August 1916
Almost exactly a year later – on 21st August 1916 – Stewart and Rosalie married in the same church, and Stewart’s sister Amy Child met Rosalie’s brother, Alfred Quinton Barton. That couple married in 1920 and their first child was Helen Kegie.
Figure 3: The marriage of Stewart Child and Rosalie Barton at Brighstone Church (Isle of Wight) on 21st August 1916. This was the occasion where Helen Kegie’s parents met. Amy Child is the bridesmaid sitting next to the groom with a black band showing on her hat. Alfred Quinton Barton sits in the front with his hand raised
When Helen Kegie was born, both Stewart and Rosalie were blood relations, as well as being related by marriage and this complex link between the Barton and Child families created a special family bond. The records of these families found their way to Helen Kegie as they were passed on over time, creating the extraordinary collection that we have today.