Introduction to the Hartland Britton Family Website
Welcome to the Hartland Britton Website which records our family history. Its aim is to promote future family history research by sharing information about:
This website contains some thirty stories about Britton women and men across three continents. It recounts tales of migration, fishing fleets, shipwrecks, farming, and daily living. It reveals that Britton DNA has been tracked back to the thirteenth century, possibly earlier, and it fits together the jigsaw pieces of our shared history suggesting that our ancestors may have played a role in the Norman invasion of England, for which they were rewarded with lands in Devon.
The Hartland Britton Photo Gallery gives face to the biographical details described in the family trees that have been developed around the world. The photos are structured in family groupings that include babies to ensure that future generations of Hartland Brittons can see how they fit-in to the lineage and that they understand a little of the extended family background that has contributed to their identity.
The collated information on this website has already uncovered lost branches of the family, and it shows that the Britton Diaspora now extends from Devon to Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and the USA. Such is the strength of interest in Britton heritage that distant relatives in five countries are in communication and call each other friends. As the photographs of Britton reunions show, they still wine, dine and dance together. To encourage these friendships, the website includes maps and self-drive tours around Devon to assist those wanting to engage in family history tourism.
The Hartland Britton website is designed to strengthen and support an understanding of shared ancestry, and to bring alive the past through stories, songs and photographs. It has five sections for you to explore:
There are many people to thank for the development of this website including all the Britton descendants who have written their own stories. The website was initiated and curated by Professor Lynne Hunt, great-granddaughter of Thomas and Mary-Anne Britton, whose photograph features on the front page of this Hartland Britton Website. Lynne was inspired to develop the website by the foundational family tree research completed by Jane Brenchley, great-great-granddaughter of Thomas and Mary Anne.
Jane’s meticulous research, which reached back to the mid-eighteenth century, was extended by Dan Britton, great-great-grandson of Thomas and Mary Anne. His insightful documentary research has established a solid evidence base for Hartland Britton ancestry dating back to 1690, and his DNA research shows links to a date between the years 800 and 1300.
Brothers Ian and Michael Ford, also great-great grandsons of Thomas and Mary Anne, laboured on the technical side of this website in readiness for the first 2014 version of the website. Lynne Hunt updated the website in 2022 in a manner that summarises, integrates, and archives research findings to date.
Many contributors to the website continue to work on family history projects, so they are keen to communicate with anybody completing their own Hartland Britton research. However, it should be noted that this is a group of volunteers, all of whom are descended from the Hartland Brittons. This informal group of relatives is not a formal research organisation, so they are unable to complete research on your behalf. Those wishing to share Hartland Britton research findings with other active researchers may contact us by email thebrittonfamilysite@gmail.com
