There is also a small group of Kingshott's out in Washington state, on the north western corner of the United States. They are fairly closely related to me, at least genealogically speaking, being descendants of my great great grandfathers younger brother James Kingshott.

James Kingshott

James was baptised on 10th March 1861 at Bepton, Sussex, England. He was the the tenth child, out of a total of eleven, born to my great great great grandparents Henry & Amelia Kingshott of Bramshott, Hampshire.

James married Sarah Gates of Bramshott on 2nd September 1883, in Linchmere, Sussex, England. They had a total of five children, all of whom survived into adulthood and all of whom emigrated to Snohomish County, Washington. These children were James, Amelia Ann, Mary Ann, William Thomas and Harry. They settled principally in the town of Everett.

I don't know if James & Sarah also went over, or whether they remained in England. If they stayed it must have been very hard on them, having their children leave and move away. Of course, they may have been glad to see the back of them! You never know.

There were, of course, no cheap flights in those days, and any trip would involve weeks of travel, as well as being relatively expensive.  

In 2008, my father, Brian Kingshott, visited Washington and met up with Edward Kingshott, a descendant of James. They are 3rd cousins. This is a photograph of the two of them.

Third Cousins - Brian Kingshott (left) and Edward Kingshott

James Kingshott's family group sheet can be seen here. And some of his more intrepid children are described below.

William Thomas Kingshott

William Thomas Kingshott was born to James & Mary Ann Kingshott at Liphook, Hampshire on 22nd December 1889. He grew up in the Liphook/Bramshott area and sometime in the early 20th century he moved to Canada.

On the 10th April 1916 he was attested into the Canadian Overseas Expeditionary Force and fought with the Canadian's in the First World War. At the time of his attestation he was living in Lanark Street, South Vancouver, Canada.

William Thomas Kingshott during the First World War

On the 19th March 1919, presumably after military service, William Thomas Kingshott married Mary Emily Hay, again in Vancouver. Shortly afterwards, they decided to emigrate from Canada to the United States, arriving at Port Blaine, Washington, on 23rd March 1920. William clearly liked it there as within 3 years he had signed an intention to become a US citizen.

William Thomas Kingshott (right) with a Hudson Bay Company Truck c.1920's

William eventually settled in the Everett township in Snohomish County, Washington, and became a baker. He maintained this occupation throughout his life and is recorded as such in the 1930 US Census.

William had a single son, of the same name, who was born in 1923 and who died in 1986. William the elder lived a long life and died on 26th May 1978 at the grand old age of 88. His grandson, Edward, is the chap pictured above with my dad.

James Kingshott

James was the oldest of the Kingshott siblings that went to Washington. He was born on 10th April 1883 in Liphook, Hampshire, England and grew up in and around that area.

Like his brother, James also went to the United States via Canada, but he had also travelled to Australia before this. He was considered, by the family, to be a very intelligent person and "quite an intellectual". Once in Canada, he eventually married a Glaswegian lady by the name of Catherine McGowan Campbell, in Vancouver, British Columbia, on 21st June 1916. They had a son, James, who was born in British Columbia in February 1918, but they eventually decided to cross the border into the United States. This was clearly as a result of his brother singing the praises of Everett.

On 5th December 1923 the family arrived in Port Blaine, Washington to start their new life. They quickly made their way to Everett township. Shortly after arrival, in 1924, a daughter, Amelia, was born. By this time James had followed in his younger brothers footsteps and became a baker.

On 27th May 1927 James signed a declaration at the Supreme Court expressing his intention of becoming a US citizen. I don't know why, but it seems that he did not become a naturalised US citizen until 14th April 1932.

James died, in Everett, on 21st August 1966 at the age of 83.

Harry Kingshott

Harry Kingshott was the youngest of this trio of adventurous men. He was born at Bramshott, Hampshire, on 6th April 1892.

Harry Kingshott

I don't know a great deal about him other than he was a butcher by trade.

He joined the Amalgamated Meat Cutters and Butcher Workmen, Local No. 81 in Seattle, Washington on Oct. 1, 1914 and was a continuous member until his death on 8th August 1955.

Harry married Rachel Hannah Marston at Cedar Cottage on 27th November 1912, and I am not aware of any children. Of course, if you know different, I would love to hear from you.