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Robert FOX
1643 - 1718 (~ 74 years)
Has 2 ancestors and 1249 descendants in this family tree.
Set As Default Person 
-
Name Robert FOX Relationship 
with Teresa Ann GOATHAM Baptised 10 Dec 1643 St. Mary’s Church, Ashford, Kent, England 
- From PR entry (image on FMP, viewed 26 Aug 2019)
Gender Male Occupation Bricklayer Buried 12 Jan 1715/16 St. Mary’s Church, Lenham, Kent, England - KFHS transcribed data on CD 25
This shows the burial date as 12 Jan 1718 (NS year) - looking at the view with these in date order shows it between burials on 6 Jan 1716 and 24 Jan 1716! It seems the year should be 1715/6.
Robert is shown as "senr bricklayer"
(Also, there was no other burial of a Robert Fox in Lenham in 1715 or 1715/16, but there is a probate inventory for a Robert Fox of Lenham, made 16 Jan 1715/16, so I am confident the year has a typo, and has not been accidentally inserted in the wrong place in the index).
Died 1718 Lenham, Kent, England Siblings3 brothers and 6 sisters Patriarch & Matriarch 
Notes Wives and Descendants
It was quite a shock to realise that Robert married 4 times (i.e. was widowed 3 times) between about 1663 and 1674. It's hard to imagine how he would have coped with so much bereavement. Two of his first four children also died by 1675, although sadly this was, of course, something that many parents had to come to terms with.
I am aware that the dates don't quite agree at present, e.g. one marriage to a wife is before the previous one died, one child was born before they died etc. All my dates are from the KFHS CDs for Lenham (16 for marrs, 25 for burials, 27 for deaths) and it is clear that a few entries have been duplicated on them but with slightly different details e.g. year, and I think that some of the non-duplicate events have similar errors. Since I don't know which dates are right they are all as on the CDs until such time as I am able to see images of the PR and BT pages for myself.
Did Robert marry Jane Basill?
(alt sps /readings of her name: Joan Bushell)
It seems reasonable to suppose that the marriage of Robert to Mary was the marriage of a couple with these names in Lenham, especially with a good match on dates. Similarly, with the marriage to Joan in the adjacent parish of Harrietsham. It is not unreasonable to suppose that Robert may have married in Canterbury, but if looking afield for his marriage could there have been other Robert = Joan/Jane marriages? I think there could but it is unlikely. Although Fox was not an uncommon name, there are only 4 marriages of a Robert Fox to a Joan or Jane on the IGI in Kent for the whole period 1650 to 1770. Although the IGI is far from covering all marriages in Kent for this period, the co-incidence of another such in the very year in which it is most likely Robert married Jane/Joan has to be extremely slim. Then there are 2 clinchers: the marriage entry shows Robert as being "of Lenham" and he and Jane give a son the Christian name 'Basswell' - from her surname.
Ancestors
I have less confidence in the tree back from Robert. It is partly based on the research of others and I have no reason to dispute it, I just do not know how many Robert Fox(e)s were born at this period that could have been "my Robert".
That John and Jane are shown on many trees on Ancestry does not add weight to the argument; I think it most likely all are based on research by one person. And I do not know how confident that person is, and if confident, for what reasons, or whether they regard it as conjecture.
To feel more confident I would like to:
discuss this with the person who did the research;
have a look for other Roberts and work out how common or otherwise the name was;
learn more about the John and Jane currently shown as his parents (e.g. is there any indication as to John's occupation);
learn more about bricklaying - when did different places start having brick built houses? - would this tie in with Robert's apparent move from Ashford to Lenham?
Person ID I4407 All | Teresa's direct ancestors Last Modified 15 Jul 2024
Father John FOX, bur. 9 Jan 1660/61, St. Mary’s Church, Ashford, Kent, England Mother Jane WOOD, d. 1689 Married 28 Sep 1631 St. Michael’s Church, Kingsnorth, Kent, England - From transcribed data from PRs etc. - tbc
Very few baptism entries in PRs for Ashford between May 1644 and Dec 1648, with lots of blank spaces left, presumably in the hope that the omitted entries would be added later. John and Jane's children mentioned in their wills but for whom no baptisms have been found were presumably baptised during this period.
Marriage License 24 Sep 1632 Canterbury, Kent, England - "Fawkes, John, of Wye, husb., widr., and
Jane Wood of Allington, v., about
23, d. of [blank] Wood of Charing,
w., who consents. At Kingsnorth.
Sept. 24, 1632."
Family ID F3382 Family Group Page | Family Chart
Family 1 Jane, bur. 2 Apr 1667, St. Mary’s Church, Lenham, Kent, England Children 1. Jane FOX, bap. 14 Aug 1664, St. Mary’s Church, Lenham, Kent, England , d. Yes, date unknownLast Modified 29 Aug 2011 Family ID F4265 Family Group Page | Family Chart
Family 2 Joane PERRIN, b. Abt 1644, bur. 23 Jan 1668/69, St. Mary’s Church, Lenham, Kent, England (Age ~ 25 years) Marriage License 25 Nov 1667 Canterbury, Kent, England - Foxe, Robert, of Lenham, mason, widr., and Joan Perrin, s. p., maiden, 23, whose parents are dead. At Lenham or Harrietsham. John Smith of Lenham, blacksmith, bonds. Nov. 25, 1667.
Married 10 Dec 1667 St. John the Baptist Church, Harrietsham, Kent, England - IGI
Children 1. Alles FOX, bap. 24 Jan 1669/70, St. Mary’s Church, Lenham, Kent, England , bur. 5 Nov 1668, St. Mary’s Church, Lenham, Kent, England Last Modified 20 Aug 2016 Family ID F4266 Family Group Page | Family Chart
Family 3 Mary WILLIAMSON, d. Abt 1672 Married 6 Jul 1669 St. Mary’s Church, Lenham, Kent, England - From PR entry (image on microfilm, viewed at the CCA, 19 July 2016)
"July 6 Rob: Foxe and Mary Williamson" - under headings 'Anno Dominij 1669' and 'Mariages'
Children2 children Last Modified 20 Aug 2016 Family ID F4264 Family Group Page | Family Chart
Family 4 Joan BASSILL, b. Abt 1645, (possibly), Charing, Kent, England , bur. 19 Mar 1711/12, St. Mary’s Church, Lenham, Kent, England (Age ~ 67 years) Married 2 Jul 1674 St. Margaret’s Church, Canterbury, Kent, England - From PR entry (image on FMP, viewed 18 Feb 2013):
"July 2 1674 Robert Fox of Lenham and Joane Bassill of Charing mar."
Marriage License 2 Jul 1674 Canterbury, Kent, England - "Fox, Robert, of Lenham, bricklayer, widr., and Joan Bassill of Charing, spr., 26 and upwards. At S. Margt., Cant. John Dodd of Cant., chirurgeon, bonds. July 2, 1674."
Children3 children Last Modified 15 Jul 2024 Family ID F3380 Family Group Page | Family Chart