The Aylings joined my family tree when Annie Ayling married my 2nd great-grandfather Reuben Thomas Marlow. While Annie was born and brought up in Middlesex, England, her ancestors came from the more rural counties of Sussex and Hampshire. Some sources claim the surname derives from Ætheling, an Anglo-Saxon word for noble that was often applied to those destined to be king. Its later use doesn’t signify that the family was itself noble as derivatives of the word were later used as personal names before coming into use as a surname. Like all surnames, it ended up being spelled in a multitude of ways including Aylin, Ailing, Aylen and so on.
See where the Aylings fit in the family tree, from my grandmother Olive Wheatland.
- Annie Ayling and Reuben Thomas Marlow, my 2nd great-grandparents.
- Census records suggest that Annie was born in Chelsea, Middlesex, but no records have yet been found to prove it. She married Reuben and had his children, but died young. He went on to marry twice more but died in a house fire.
- James Ayling and Sarah Ann Chadwick, my 3rd great-grandparents.
- James was born and brought up in Hampshire but moved to Middlesex, where he raised his family and worked as a tailor. He married twice.
- Edward Ayling and Mary Mills nee Earwaker, my 4th great-grandparents.
- Edward came from Ovington in Hampshire, worked as a tailor and married twice. His first wife died young and it was Mary Mills nee Earwaker who gave birth to most of his children.
- George Ayling and Mary Thorne, my 5th great-grandparents.
- George was a husbandman and had a large family with his wife Mary. He live din East Meon and then Ovington in Hampshire.