Baptism dates for all five children kindly supplied by Gay Brennan who also reports that baby Hannah was buried at Castleton (Castleton being the parish that surrounds Sherborne). Four of these dates can be found at http://www.opcdorset.org/SherborneFiles/CastletonBaps1.htm which lists Castleton baptisms from 1715 - 1750. Ann Newman's baptism date can be found here.

It appears that Charles and Hannah spent all or most of their married lives in or near Sherborne since all their children were baptized there.

Both Charles and Hannah died young, leaving young Henry to be brought up by his grandparent Francis Holles and Eleanor Newman following the deaths of his parents (information from Jerry Gandolfo, email dated 14th Jan 2003).

A note sent to me by Di Clements in Aug 2002 indicates that Charles (the son of Charles Newman) lived in Sherborne when Francis Newman (the elder) wr ote a codicil to his will in 1767.

Hannah Sandys was the daughter of John Sandys of North Pertherton, Somerset (as I had it. John Newman tells me she came from South Pelberton, and so does Cliff Ranson who also gave me the year of her death). It is from her that the name Sandys came into the Newman family.

[Added 10 Mar 2003:] It would be interesting to know if Hannah Sandys was in any way related to Sir Edwin Sandys (d.1629), who controlled the Virginia Company and in 1619 was involved in promoting self-government for the colony (to the subsequent displeasure of King James I.)  Jerry Gandolfo speculates that perhaps Francis Newman's "disappearance" to America 170 years later and his rapid re-emergence as an estate owner might have had something to do with lingering family connections in the Maryland-Virginia area.

One observation may support the possibility that Hannah was related to Sir Edwin Sandys: it is that her grandson Edwin Sandys Newman was the first Newman to have the name "Edwin" which he passed on to his eldest son Edwin Newman the Yeovil lawyer, and which has since been used in several branches of the family descending from him, including my own.  It is by no means impossible that Hannah named one of her own sons Edwin, and that he died in infancy (and so far unrecorded).

Jerry Gandolfo wrote again about Sir Edwin Sandys in an email sent to me on 15 Mar 2003: "At this point, my research on the Sandys has turned up maybe too much information. They were apparently a very prominent and influential family. Like the Newmans, they have a very strong clerical affinity highlighted by Archbishop Edwin Sandys of York. Apparently this cleric was a major figure in the Reformation who was exiled for a while in Germany then returned to England and prominence during the time of Elizabeth I. The frustrating part is that while I have pages and pages of Sandys information, and several possible candidates who might be the 'John Sandys of North Pertherton' father of Hannah Sandys, I have yet to prove the connection. Like the Mompessons, the Sandys are very colorful and would make a fascinating addition to the family tree. If your contacts have any more information on Hannah Sandys and/or John Sandys, or have a means of obtaining the same, please let them know I would be fascinated and appreciative to learn anything more."

Charles Newman: Charles Newman's name appears in several pages of "The Trial of an Information issuing out of the Court of King's Bench on the Prosecution of William Baily, clerk, against Francis Newman and John Hunt Esqrs, for certain Tresspasses and Misdemeanors, at the Assizes at Taunton" as republished by ECCO (Eighteenth Century Collections Online). In the record of the proceedings which took place in or around 1776, Charles is described by the Prosecution as "a man of the most infamous character, and ready for any mischief .... (who), after having been long neglected, reprobated by his family, even by the defendant himself (i.e. his brother Frank Newman), and left with a pittance of £20 per year to subsist on." Later in the proceedings, a witness commented that William Baily (who was first cousin to both Francis and Charles Newman) "vilified Mr Charles Newman much, and (said) that there was a warrant against him for felony at Hinkley in Leicestershire". Hinkley, Leicestershire, was the village where Charles's nephew Francis Newman (the younger) was born in 1759.