Chalker and Granberry History

The goal of this site is to provide information about the history of our Granberry and Chalker families including genealogy in addition to interesting family stories and pictures.

Note:  The information in this site was collected and documented by me as a result of reviewing and organizing the overwhelming amount of pictures, documents, letters, etc. found in the home, Chalgran, in Orange Park, FL that the family had owned since 1945. When the property was sold in 2022, I collected these items and am still processing them. In attempting to make sense of these items, I found that I had to research who was who and how everyone was related. This began a process of investigating the genealogy of my family concentrating on the paternal lineage of my grandmother and grandfather, the Chalkers and the Granberries. 

So how was I able to document the family ancestry recorded here? It started with all of the documents described above. A family bible provided information on parentage, birthdays, etc. Pictures and other documents provided information about our ancestors. I have copies of diaries, wills, birth certificates, newspaper articles, etc. 

Included was a document labeled "Chalker History" which listed family names, children, birthdates, etc. Others had paid researchers to document the backgrounds of Alexander and other Chalkers. Those documents are attached. A will, for example, of William Chalker dated 1484 in Biddenden, England describe his wife and children (including John Chalker). (Will found here: Church of England. Archdeaconry of Canterbury. Court, Probate Records for the Court of the Archdeaconry of Canterbury). John Chalker's will shows that he is the father of Robert. And the records go on and on.

Edwin and Hallie Granberry had both done research on the Granberry family and included newspaper articles, letters, and other documents about the Granberry family. Uncle Edwin wrote to just about everyone with the name Granberry and documented those correspondences. A well-known researched document, "The Granberry Family and Allied Families" by Edgar Frances Waterman provided well-documented information about our Granberry ancestors all the way back to William Granberry (1614-1693) who was the first to immigrate to the United States. The records used were property records, wedding records, patents, etc. A document titled "John Granberry, Virginia" focuses on another family line, but goes back to the origins of the family in England with information gained from a document translated from Latin.

I joined Ancestry and other sites focused on family ancestry and did lots of research online. Of course you can't believe everything you find online so I focused on original documents like military records, handwritten wills that named children and location, and court records. There are amazing resources online and AI makes more available even if it makes it harder to wade through what's real and relevant.

I took a genealogy course at the local community college and have joined the National Genealogical Society to further my knowledge about this journey. I'll keep looking and adding information as I find it. It's become a real interest of mine.

Trisha Holland (Granddaughter of Agnes and Selwyn Chalker)

Information on census records.

©2024 Patricia Holland All Rights Reserved
Submission Remains the Property of Patricia Holland