During The Ashdown Forest Dispute 1876-1882 commoners and land owners were interviewed by the solicitor William Raper. Their comments were recorded in a series of notebooks:
Best, John. Aged 53. Was teamster to Mr. William Farmer for 9 years and then went dealer on his own account for several years and then took Widehurst Farm, Maresfield, which he has held for 13 years. It contains 20 acres.
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| John Best labourer | m: 12th Oct 1811 St. Peter's Church, Chailey, Sussex | Elizabeth Ridley | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| b: 1788 d: Dec 1826 Maresfield, Sussex bur: 17th Dec 1826 St Bartholomew Parish Church, Maresfield, Sussex | b: 1791 d: Dec 1841 Maresfield, Sussex bur: 26th Dec 1841 St Bartholomew Parish Church, Maresfield, Sussex | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Henry | Reuben | Elizabeth | John | Caroline | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| b: 1812 Chailey, Sussex ch: 15th Nov 1812 St. Peter's Church | b: 1816 Chailey, Sussex ch: 23rd Jun 1816 St. Peter's Church | b: 1818 Maresfield, Sussex ch: 28th Mar 1818 St Bartholomew Parish Church | b: 1820 Maresfield, Sussex ch: 8th Oct 1820 St Bartholomew Parish Church d: Dec 1878 Maresfield, Sussex bur: 13th Dec 1878 St Bartholomew Parish Church, Maresfield, Sussex | b: 1826 Maresfield, Sussex ch: 26th Feb 1826 St Bartholomew Parish Church | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| John Best carrier | m: 27th Jan 1839 St. Nicholas Church, Brighton, Sussex | Harriett Osborne | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| b: 1820 Maresfield, Sussex ch: 8th Oct 1820 St Bartholomew Parish Church d: Dec 1878 Maresfield, Sussex bur: 13th Dec 1878 St Bartholomew Parish Church, Maresfield, Sussex | b: 1816 Maresfield, Sussex ch: 19th Jul 1816 St Bartholomew Parish Church | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Henry | Mary | William | Caroline Sarah | John | Harriet | Matilda | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| b: 1840 Maresfield, Sussex ch: 26th Jun 1842 St Bartholomew Parish Church | b: 1841 Maresfield, Sussex | b: 1844 Maresfield, Sussex ch: 25th Aug 1844 St Bartholomew Parish Church | b: 1846 Maresfield, Sussex ch: 12th Jul 1847 St Bartholomew Parish Church | b: 1849 Maresfield, Sussex | b: 1851 Maresfield, Sussex | b: 1855 Maresfield, Sussex | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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