The first persons with a recognisable form of the Aveling name appear to have arrived in England in the 13^th Century. They were Thomas, Germanus and Simon d’Avelin.  Two were merchants trading in wool and the third a mercenary soldier. Whether or not they were related is conjectural, however it seems unlikely that they were. They came from the little village of Avelin near Lille in northern France, in what was then Flanders and the hub of the wool trade. As was the habit in those times they took their names from their place of birth. 

Thomas was the mercenary soldier and in 1294 he was knighted by Edward I for his services and granted the Lordships of the Manors of Motson, Elmede and Dunstalk in Kent. He had two children, Nicholas who married but left no issue, and Mary who married Sir John Sauvage of Kent.  Germanus and Simon the wool merchants regularly traded in Lewes, Sussex. Germanus had no children. Simon became the probable founder of the family in England.

From the time of Simon d’Avelin it must be noted that the descent is purely conjectural, however likely it may be. Geoffrey Avelin who died at Whittlesey in 1478 is the first proven ancestor in the Aveling descent. Be that as it may, for the sake of convenience we set out the supposed connection below.

Simon married the Lady Le Mayde and settled in Gissing in Norfolk.  The moat that surrounded his house is still visible today and the Saxon church is still very much the same, as he must have known it. He had a son John born at Diss in 1214. John died aged 60 being murdered at West Rudham in 1274 by Martin Le Fevre.  The circumstances of the murder are not known, but we conclude that John’s son Gaultier, a mercenary soldier, avenged this murder at Aslacton, as we know that he was arrested for murder and imprisoned in Norwich Castle obtaining his release by means of a bribe. 

Gaultier’s son Robert was the subject of an inquisition in 1302.  He was one of a group of Ipswich men who apparently seized three ships belonging to a Hanseatic trader who complained to the King. For his part in the action Robert was fined twenty shillings. 

John was the next to find himself in disfavour, during the Peasant’s Revolt of 1371 he took part in the destruction of the Manors of Methwold, Innstade and Crabbegate; all the property of the Duke of Lancaster (the great John of Gaunt). The King entrusted the pursuit of the dissidents to Hugh Dispens, the warrior Bishop of Norwich, who dispersed and dealt summarily with the transgressors, mainly at the end of the rope. However John seems to have extricated himself even though he was implicated; he must have learned from his forebears. 

Next we have another John circa 1424 of Diss and his son Geoffrey who died at Whittlesey St Andrew in 1478, starting a family connection that was to last 500 years. Geoffrey is the first in the proven line of descent to the present day. His wife was named Margaret and his Will is in existence, dated 1478. 

Geoffrey had two sons, John and Robert. John had five children and had a wife named Joanna but the family was decimated by the plague in 1541 (some say they were Robert’s children, but Joanna was shown as a Widow in the 1523 Subsidy in which Robert appears, therefore indicating John as the father). Luckily for us John’s (or Robert’s as the case may be) son Thomas (who also appears in the 1523 Subsidy) had children who survived to carry on the line. Thomas married Helen Kelfull and his Will was made in 1541. 

Thomas’s son Ralph, during the period 1541 to 1593 instituted proceedings against the King’s Bench on behalf of the inhabitants of Whittlesey and Lady Elizabeth Holton for land enclosures. He must have been born about 1526 and he married Isabell. He is mentioned in his father’s Will proved in 1542 and his Mothers proved in 1556 and his brother Thomas’s proved in 1558. His own Will is dated 1606. 

Ralph’s son John Avelin was born about 1557 and married Agnes Beale. He is mentioned in his cousin William’s Will in 1583 and his father’s Will of 1606. His son was Ralph born about 1580 who married Alice Cattell in 1600. He is mentioned in his Grandfather’s Will and his own Will made in 1617 mentions his children and his wife Alice. 

At this point the Aveling family line splits. Ralph’s son John Avelin baptised 21 December1604 was the progenitor of the Horsegate House branch from whom stems the eminent present-day Aveling genealogist A J Aveling of Melbourne, Australia. Ralph’s son Ralph Avelin baptised 17 February 1610/11 is the progenitor of the Low Cross Branch who appear in the Landed Gentry and today are represented by the writer among sundry others. Ralph died in 1668/9 and his Will mentions his children, including his son Thomas. 

It was Ralph baptised in 1610/11 who was the father of Thomas Aveling who died at Whittlesey in 1694. In his Will dated 1694 Thomas Aveling is stated as ‘Thomas of Raph’ ie Thomas son of Ralph. There are many pedigrees existing which erroneously state Thomas’s father as Henry which is incorrect. It has been proven by AJ Aveling of Melbourne using details of Ralph’s baptism in 1610/11, his two marriages, his Will and the Wills of his son James and James’s wife Mary (Dowe) among other records that Ralph 1610/11 is indeed the proven father of Thomas who died in 1694. Thomas purchased Low Cross House in 1677, thereby naming the Low Cross Branch. 

Thomas who died in 1694 married Alice Hemmant (not Household as stated in the Landed Gentry) and had 12 children. Of these Thomas produced the line that continued with Stephen 1712-1774, then another Thomas 1740-1806, and again a Thomas 1771-1803. Thomas’s (1694) other son Ralph born 1685 was the father of William, who became commissioner of the Great Level of the Fens whilst living at Eldernell in 1753. Ralph was also the father of Thomas (previously he was also thought to be the son of Thomas the father of Stephen) who married Rebecca Baxter: the couple who were the progenitor of the writer’s family: John born 1749 son of Thomas and Rebecca Baxter moved from Whittlesey to Peterborough to Beccles and finally to St Albans. John’s daughter Elizabeth born at Beccles in 1798 had an illegitimate child Frederick Aveling at Luton in 1798 who is the writer’s ancestor. Elizabeth’s sister Fanny Aveling married john Kingsbury Lott at Aldenham in 1806. This line also produced one of the noted Aveling genealogists: Henry Frederick Aveling of London and Bournemouth (1858-1943) the writer’s great great great Uncle. 

So we come to Thomas: great grandson of Stephen (1712-1774): Thomas Aveling 1801-1835 of Eldernell, Cambs, and Rochester. His brother Stephen 1804-1876 also lived in Rochester (and was the father of another great Aveling Genealogist: Stephen Thomas Aveling of Restoration House, Roachester). Thomas was married to Ann Hobson and died aged 34, his father before him having died aged 32 and only 2 years after his son was born. 

The most famous Thomas of them all was the son of Thomas (1801-1835), who through his steam inventions in Rochester became world famous with honours bestowed on him from around the world: Chevalier of the Legion of Honour, France and Knight of the Order of Francis Joseph, Austria. He left a son Thomas Lake Aveling 1856-1931 who married Rosita Marion Porter and a grandson Thomas OBE Lt Col MC who died 21-9-1982, the last of the line and the 9^th Thomas. 

However there do remain some descendants of the Rochester Branch emanating from Robert Aveling, the brother of Thomas Aveling who had eight children: Thomas; Amy; George; Robert; Arthur; Edith; Mabel and Henry. 

Mention here should be made of some other well known members of the Aveling family: Rev Thomas William Baxter Aveling 1815-1884, who as a boy of 16 preached in the non-conformist chapels in the villages surrounding Wisbech, such was his fame people followed him wherever he preached.  At the age of 23 he entered the Free Church Ministry and in 1838 was appointed to his one and only church, Kingsland Congregational Church in North London where he remained until his death.  He soon acquired a reputation for eloquence and learning, to accommodate the ever-increasing congregation the church was enlarged to take 2200 on the floor and 1800 on the balcony.  It became known as the Free Church Cathedral of North London. He was the great grandson of Thomas Aveling who married Rebecca Baxter. 

He had two wives and eight children, one of these to become the most infamous of the family.  Edward Bibbins Aveling 1849-1898, educated at Taunton and Harrow, he took an honours degree in Science at London University soon becoming a major figure in Bloomsbury Society, propounding atheism and evolution according to Darwin. He became a close companion of Charles Bradlaugh the MP for Northampton, Annie Beasant the finest platform speaker of her generation and George Bernard Shaw.  Eleanor Marx, the youngest daughter of Karl Marx, enlisted Aveling as her tutor and soon announced that she was going to live with him (he was married but had deserted his wife). As a borrower of money, as a swindler, and as a seducer of women his record was unapproachable; he had the art of first class coaching for science examinations and girl students would scrape the money together to pay in advance his fee for twelve lessons.  The more fortunate ones got nothing more than a letter of apology for breaking their appointments, the others were seduced, had their microscopes appropriated and sold. 

George Bernard Shaw who considered himself a ladies man could not understand why Edward came before him in so many ladies affections, as Edward was ugly almost to the point of deformity, but given half an hours start of the most handsome man in London then Edward reigned supreme.  Annie Beasant was enraptured by the mere music of his speech, the artistic charm of his language, which was exquisitely chosen and polished to the highest extent. In Shaw’s play ‘The Doctor’s Dilemma’ the part of Dubatat is based on Edward.  Edward died of cancer and thus two great orators, the father to the glory of god, and the son to atheism and evolution passed away.  

The third Aveling of note is James Charles, born at Elm, Cambs, in 1869 the fourth son of James Thomas Aveling of March, Cambs, JP and Deputy Lieutenant of Cambs and Hunts.  He was a descendant of the line of Stephen (1712-1774). He grew up sharing the pleasures of cricketing and skating, born into the ‘Golden Age of Fen Skaters’ he sought to emulate his idol, friend, and compatriot the legendary Professional Champion James Smart. In 1890 at the age of 21 he had his first success, finishing fourth in the National Championships, and followed it up by beating the champion in a race at Wisbech. 

In December 1891 the National Skating Association decided to send him to the World Championships in Norway, he created a good impression on the Norwegians who taught him to ski, and on his return to England introduced the speed skate as we know it today, his own personal skates being made by ‘Heinie’ father of Sonia the greatest figure skater of her time, becoming one of Hollywood’s legendary film stars.  He arrived back from Norway too late to participate in the British Championships and at the first opportunity soundly defeated the new champion. The next championship to be held in 1892/1893, at the age of 23, was to be his finest year, three world records, the quarter mile, the mile and the mile and a half, whilst his brother Bob collected the world 200 yards record. 

So many firsts, he was the first winner of the Duddlestone Cup, he defeated leading continental skaters in winning the Prince of Orange Vase he became the first skater to win the National Skating Association’s Gold Badge, and he became the British Champion at all the distances from the quarter mile up to three miles. His record time for the quarter mile stood until 1938 a period of 45 years.  Above all he was always remembered for his grace and beauty of style on skates. In 1894 he represented his country in the World Championships in Sweden where he acquitted himself with a fifth placing, being at a considerable disadvantage on the oval courses, in direct contrast to the straight up and down English courses, the continentals being able to generate greater speed on the bends with their foot over foot cornering. 

And so to the end of this concise history. And it is very concise as the information on the Aveling Family is hugely extensive. Please explore the Website for more information and family trees.