The Floats entered my family tree when Ann Float married my 4th great-grandfather James Wheatland in Sussex, England, in 1827. The surname is mostly found in the counties of south-east England and is found in many variations including Flote, Floot, Flood, Floate and Flot. It comes from middle English and a word meaning stream or body of water, perhaps suggesting a location for where people who carried the name in antiquity had lived.
- Ann Float and James Wheatland – my 4th great-grandparents.
- James was an agricultural labourer and he and Ann brought up their large family in Shipley, Sussex.
- Richard Float and Hannah Windom – my 5th great-grandparents.
- Richard and Hannah brought up their children in Sussex but Richard saw military service in the Corps of Royal Artillery Drivers.
- William Float and Sarah Michel – my 6th great-grandparents.
- William and his wife brought up their family in his home village of Washington, Sussex, but where she came from remains a mystery.