FRIENDS OF CLAINES CHuRCH

CLAINES FRIENDS: SHRINKING THE WORLD!

Two recent visitors to Claines have shown how Claines Friends Web site is helping to shrink the world and bridge the centuries!  They  each travelled over 4000 miles to visit the parish of their ancestors after having made contact through Claines Friends.

Hugh Curtler is Professor of Philosophy at Southwest State University, Minnesota. He is also the Great Grandson of Martin Curtler, who lived at Bevere House from the late 1800’s until his death in 1901. The Curtlers endowed three of the Stained Glass Windows in the Church. The Belfry window was in memory of Hugh’s Great Grandmother and the window of the transfiguration in memory of Martin, his great grandfather.

Hugh enjoyed a visit to the family graves and monuments, a tour of the old Bevere Estate and a visit inside Bevere House, approximately 70 years since the Curtlers left the property.

The Yarnall/Yarnold family lived in Claines in the 1600’s. Brothers Phillip and Francis Yarnall left Claines in 1684. Both emigrated to Philadelphia as part of the Penn Colony of immigrants, belonging to The Society of Friends, The Quakers. Desendants now live in Pennsylvania, USA; Ontario, Canada; and New South Wales, Australia.

Over 40 members of the Yarnall family were buried at Claines between 1675 and 1810. The family had branches in Martin Hussingtree and Oddingley also. Only one grave and one 18th century memorial to members of the Yarnold family exists  now.

Lauren Lawver is a direct descendant of Francis Yarnall. She lives in Atlanta, Georgia and visited Claines in May, with her partner, for a whirlwind tour, before moving onto Martin Hussingtree and Oddingley to look at the wider family roots.