The earliest traceable members are James and Ann Warren from the town of Tincleton in the agricultural area of Dorset, England. Towns were self contained, inbred, with few roads in or out and these were inclined to be real shockers to try and travel on. It had to clothe and feed itself, provide work for all and care for the aged and ill. Wages at this time, in the mid-1700's, were about seven shillings a week or workers received payment in kind, food shelter etc.
The Warrens lived in the Estate Village of Tincleton Farm in a stone built cottage. There they raised their six sons and their descendants remained in the area for at least the next 100 years or more. One son, Peter, founded a prolific family and one of his grand-children emigrated to America and his grand-son, John Paton Matthews still resides in Utah.
Our line descends from son Robert and his wife Martha Stephens.
Raising six sons and a daughter could not have been an easy task. Most labouring people at some time or another in their lives, knew the meaning of real hunger. The family were all agricultural workers and rose at five or six in the morning and worked until eight or nine in the evening. The wife also worked as well as the children as soon as they were able.
Their fifth son Peter, a shepherd, married local girl Catherine Oliver from Affpuddle,on 7/2/1836 and began their familyin 1837. Just before this in 1834, there occurred about the only major historical event in Dorset of that century. A few miles north of Tincleton in the town of Tolpuddle, a group of agricultural labourers were charged with "swearing an illegal oath" and were sentenced to seven years transportation to Australia. They had in fact established a lodge of the Friendly Society of Agricultural Labourers and are remembered in the history of the Trade Unions as the Tolpuddle Martyrs. Wages had risen to around fifteen shillings weekly and expenses would be bread at four pence a pound, meat ninepence a pound,. rabbits one shilling each and oysters sevenpence a dozen although the latter would hardly likely to have been on the Warren�s family menu.
Their second daughter Fanny,b 1/3/1841, married on 25/8/1863, a William Charlo and is shown as a "Coast Guard Man" as is his father on the marriage Certificate. They appear to have had only one child, Alice Fanny Charlow, b 7/6/1864 who married at Tincleton dorset on 3/3/1888 Andrew Knapp, b 12/7/1866 of the Isle of Wight.
