The origins of the Eggleton family are in the Buckinghamshire / Hertfordshire borders with our ancestry traced back to the 18th century. Our earliest ancestor was James Eggleton and his son David was a Farmer; his son James was a Taxidermist, a skill he passed on to his sons.
Henry, the elder brother of James, gained notoriety by becoming our first known criminal in the family and the first one to go to Australia, being transported in 1849 for stealing one sheep.
Joseph, the younger brother of James, joined the Royal Navy and became a Royal Naval Irish Coastguard. He ultimately settled in Pembroke, Wales.
James left the Chilterns living for a long time in Glasgow, Scotland before returning to London. Most of his children from his first marriage remained in Scotland and one of James’ grandsons became the Director of Art Galleries and Museums in Glasgow in the 1920’s, responsible for the Kelvingrove Museum and Art Gallery.
It is via his second marriage to Mary Ann that we are linked to the Scott family. The children from this second marriage, our direct ancestry, returned with James to West London where they remained with their families and the link with the Wood family was forged via his daughters Mary Ann and Margaret who married brothers Stafford John Francis and Charles Bertram respectively.
Other key families who are our ancestors and are linked to the Eggleton’s are: the Reding family whom are earliest ancestor James Eggleton married into, marrying Mary in 1733. They are from Hertfordshire and our earliest ancestors here are Mary’s parents James and Mary. The Truman family from Birmingham, Warwickshire are linked by the marriage of David to Eliza, our direct ancestor. Little is known about this family.
Distant relatives of this family have been traced and known descendants currently reside in Cornwall; Tenby, Wales; Glasgow, Scotland; Canada; New Zealand and New South Wales and Queensland, Australia.
The names James, David, Edward, John and Margaret are common in the family
Gillard / Wood Family History 