UPDATE FOR WINTER 2023 - Where Was Wickenden?
WINTER 2023 UPDATE
New Year's Greetings to Wickenden Families and Friends!
Where was the Wicken den? - The map above of Cowden, Kent, shows the location of Wickenden (now lost). Two of the homesteads to which the extended family expanded are located on the map - Polefields and Claydene. Wickenden was located between them (see the pin), very close to Spode Lane, an old Roman-era path. After it was sold, the name of that home was changed to Wellsfield and now Willsfield, and the alliteration of these names is one of the five clues suggesting that this is the location of the original homestead of Wickenden. You'll find these clues along with pictures and much more information about the original den in the Wickenden website at www.thomas-r-wickenden-families.com - See the article on "Wickenden Homesteads in Cowden" 'in the Wickenden History section of the website.
What's Been Happening? - It's been nine months since the last group email message. However, besides traveling around the country with his wife to babysit their granddaughter, Juniper Wickenden, ending up in San Francisco, CA, for two weeks, followed by Thanksgiving with the family in Flagstaff, AZ, and Christmas in Los Angeles, CA, your editor has been busy working on several Wickenden Family History Projects:1. A Published Article - One project has been to research and write about our Wicken ancestors in early medieval Europe. An article resulting from this research will be published in 35th volume of the journal Mediaevistik under the title "An Anglian Alliance: Place-Name Tracing the Iclingas and the Wicingas." The article uses the newly developed methodology of place-name tracing to describe the relationship between two tribal groups, the Wicingas (Wicken) and the Iclingas, as they migrated from the Continent across Britain to the Western Midlands, where they established the post-Roman kingdoms of Hwiccia and Mercia. Another group of these same Wicken established the "denn" in Cowden, Kent. A link to the article will be provided in a month or two, as soon as the publication is available on-line. 2. A Trove of Memorabilia - Another project recently completed was to update and enrich the website by digitizing and uploading pictures, newspaper items and other documents from a trove of memorabilia preserved by Thomas H Wickenden I and recently discovered by his grandson. Materials have been added to pages for the following families: William E Wickenden, Thomas H Wickenden, and Homer E Wickenden. Some of the letters sent to Thomas by his siblings have been posted on the THW Correspondence site linked to his family page. The originals will be provided upon request to the families whose ancestors wrote them.3. A New Book - Using both Place-Name Tracing and Place-Name Analysis, a 300-plus page book is nearing completion. Hunt for the Hwicce follows a warband of Wicing, pre-vikings who crossed the Baltic and migrated down into central Germany, up to Angeln at the base of the Jutland Peninsula, down and over to the Dover Strait off the coast of the Netherlands, and across to the Isle of Thanet at the northeastern tip of Kent. One branch of the trail leads down from there to the Weald and across to Wickenden in Cowden. Another group serving as mercenaries were deployed up to East Anglia and expanded their settlements across to the Western Midlands, where the clan, then called Wicingas, modified their name to Hwicce and established a kingdom. Using new research techniques and tools, this book sheds light on a dark age in the early medieval history of Britain and, in so doing, reveals the identity of the Hwicce and the origin of all the Wickendens. A digital copy of the book and will be provided on request, as soon as it is available.
New Contributions to Family Pages - We always welcome new materials, including pictures, articles, family trees, etc. regarding any of our families. Updates based on recent holiday gatherings or reunions are also valuable contributions.
New Subscribers - We have had several new subscribers since our last group email, one from the UK and one from Canada. These are individuals who stumbled upon our website while wandering around the internet. Suggestions for additional subscribers are always welcome, so please share this email with other Wickenden family and friends. Remember that we can always add links to other existing files and websites. Readers are also invited to comment on or contribute to any section of the website. We will soon begin a systematic campaign to engage new subscribers and contributors.
New Operations Committee - Anyone interested in serving on an Operations Committee to provide advice about decisions concerning website structure, domain name, marketing,, communications, family tree, and research should contact the website manager at the address below!
Thank you again for your interest in our website. In case you missed any previous Updates, they are all posted in the News section of the Website. Be well, stay safe and enjoy the New Year!
The Website Wickendens
