Hello Maggie
Greetings from one of your many New Zealand 'cousins' on the 150th anniversary of the wonderful letter written on 16 January 1866 by Thomas Collins MEARS of Kettering to his niece in America.
Like you, we descend from William MEARS (1755-1829), miller of Newton in the Willows, and his wife, Mary OSBOND (1759-1799).
Specifically, we descend from William & Mary's oldest surviving daughter, Ann BRAMPTON, nee MEARS, (1786-1863). One of Ann's daughters was Mary Ann REYNOLDS, nee BRAMPTON, (1813-1890). Mary Ann's oldest son was Raymond Leicester REYNOLDS (1840-1922). Raymond, a shoemaker, came to New Zealand in the 1870s. He had six children and 26 grandchildren (three of whom are still alive, although now quite elderly).
Raymond Leicester REYNOLDS is my great-grandfather and there are now at least two further generations in this country.
On behalf of all MEARS descendants in this branch, I send special greetings to you on this 150th anniversary of the 1866 letter which I hope will once again reconnect the various branches of our family.
With very best wishes,
Angela
PS: I really, really wanted to send this email on 16 January - the 150th anniversary of the letter written by Thomas Collins MEARS of Kettering to his niece in America. Unfortunately I've been all but defeated by the technology this evening. Earlier I tried to post a message on Jerry Green's website but was unable to do so and now it's taken longer than I thought to post to this website. So as I write it has just clicked over to 17 January here in NZ but it's still 16 January in England - so the special-ness of this date is still valid for you. Hope to hear from you soon. A.
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