Thomas Austen of Yalding

Thomas Austen was a Yeoman farmer, living at Yalding at the time his will was written in 1795. His wife at the time was Mary, daughter of Henry Marti(e)n. There are five children mentioned in the will:
      Sarah Austen who married Thomas Clark,  William Austen, Ambrose Austen born in 1757,John Austen and
       Mary Austen who married Thomas Wellfear of East Peckham.
Also mentioned is a nephew:  John Asten of Penshurst, Kent.

Thomas and Ambrose were adherents of the Baptists in the area, with a John Austen a Minister in the Church of Spillshill and Smarden. It is a reasonable assumption that Thomas' father was John.  Benjamin and Daniel, are also mentioned as participants in Baptist circles and maybe brothers or even sons. Recorded also are the names of Thomas Bassett and Richard Kinsnorth, names mentioned in Thomas' will. The name of Thomas' first wife, the mother of Sarah and Ambrose has not been found.

Thomas Austen (577)
+unknown spouse
|-- William Austen (652)
|-- Sarah Austen (651)
|   +Thomas Clark (834), m. 21 Apr 1747
\-- Ambrose Austen (1), b. 19 Jun 1757 at England, d. 29 Jan 1843 at OH, USA
    +Susannah Beard (2), b. 03 Dec 1759 at Sussex, England, m. 23 Nov 1779, d. 08 Sep 1839
    |-- Henry Thomas Austen (5)
    |-- Charles Austen (3), b. 02 Aug 1785 at Kent, England, d. 12 Apr 1865 at Allegheny Co, PA
    |-- Nathaniel Beard Austen (4), b. 16 Jun 1787, d. 1823
    |-- Susannah Austen (8), b. 02 Apr 1791 at Kent, d. 07 Aug 1865 at Allegheny Co, PA
    |-- Mary Austen (9), b. 04 May 1793
    |-- John Austen (13), b. 28 May 1794 at Kent, England, d. 26 Jan 1866 at Ashland Co, OH
    |-- Charlotte Austen (14), b. 31 Dec 1798, d. 14 Dec 1860
    |-- Ambrose Austen (15), b. 22 Jan 1800
    \-- Joseph Austin (16), b. 07 Apr 1802 at Sevemoakes, Kent, England, d. 05 Dec 1893
+Mary Marten (798), m. Jun 1762
|-- John Austen (650), b. circa 1770
\-- Mary Austen (831), b. 1771, d. 1847 at Kent
    +Thomas Welfear (833), m. 22 May 1794
    \-- Anna Welfear (874), b. 1816


From: Memorials of Smarden, Kent by the Rev. Francis Haslewood, A.K.D., 

1,  In March 1656 the Smarden Church officers at the inauguration of the church consisted of two Elders -- Richard Kingsnorth and Andrew Hills with three Deacons --Daniel Kingsnorth,  John Austen, and John London.
      2.  In  1732 John Austen  was the third to be called to the office of oversight.  He lived in Staplehurst near Spillshill.
      3.  Benjamin Austin, an elder, who had studied at the General Baptist Academy in London in 1797, left the church in 1815 to form a hourse meeting which continued for some years.
      4.  In 1846 the church had 60 members and 102 Sunday School Scolars.  In the next few years members of the Kingsnorth, Austen and Hosmer families emegrated to America.  They settled in Oneida County in the Mohawk Valley on the Erie Canal.
      5.  Names in lists:
            Deacons of Tilden -- John Austin  1640
            
            Ministers of Zion   -- John Austen              1732-1765  (see above)
                                       -- Benjamin Austin        1790-1815   withdrew to house

            Deacons of Zion    -- John Austin               1794

            Messengers and Ministers who left ZION
                                          Daniel Austin          Portsmouth
                                          Ambrose Austin      Sussex
                                          Ambrose Austin      Dorset


Ancestry.
Significant research has so far failed to find either Thomas' first marriage details, and therefore the mother of Ambrose or his parents. John, but who? is a likely prospect. To aid this search a DNA test has been undertaken and although there are potentially two matches, no link has been found.