Families of Austrey, 1550-1700

The Kendall and Crosse families

The Kendalls and the Crosses provide revealing examples of the way in which marriage alliances and decisions about property affected family fortunes. These strategies and decisions can be traced through the Austrey probate documents. In the case of the Kendalls, the marriages of younger sons spread the family across the village social hierarchy, leading eventually to their economic decline and impoverishment.