D A T L E N - Family History Project

Datlen History

History It is beleived that the Datlen family first emerged in Chatham, Kent, England around 1800 when a foreigner by the name of Johannes Datlen settled there with his family. Where Johannes came from is still unknown but it is hoped that ongoing research should be able to answer this question. Current theories and research suggest that he came from Germany and that his surname was probably Dietlein but due to his foreign accent this name became corrupt to Datlen. This would explain the numerous spelling variations especially in the early days.

There are other documented references to the Datlen name which are covered in these pages but no link has yet been established with Johannes Dietlein.

This timeline presents the history of the datlen name. Click on the year to jump to the article. I have also included some key events from history to help put the articles into context.

DATE

EVENT

The Origin of the Datlen Name - Early speculation and references to the Datlen name from the Danish Invasion of 797AD

The documented mention of a village (town) named Datlen, in the papal bull of Pope Eugene III

1154

Henry II, King of England

1189

King Henry of England d., succeeded by Richard I, Coeur-de-Lion

1199

King Richard I, killed at a siege in France, succeeded by King John (Lackland), the youngest son of Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine

1216

King John d., succeeded by Henry III (aged 9)

1272

Henry III of England d., succeeded by Edward I

1307

King Edward of England d., succeeded by Edward II

Goswin Frydag de Datlen

1327

Edward II, deposed bt Parliament and murdered at Berkeley Castle, is succeeded by Edward III

1337

The Hundred Years War -1453 (England v France)

1346

Start of the Black Death. Reaching from India to Iceland, it reduces population in England by a third.

Were Datlen’s among the “large numbers of foreigners” that came to England from Flanders ?

1377

Edward III d., succeeded by his grandson Richard II

1399

Richard II deposed: Henry of Lancaster, son of John of Gaunt, succeeds to the throne as Henry IV

1413

Henry IV d., suceeded by his son Henry V

1422

Henry V d., succeeded by nine-month old Henry VI

1455

Wars of the Roses - English Civil Wars

1461

Edward, son of Richard of York, crowned Edward IV, King if England

1483

Edward IV of England d., succeeded by his young son Edward V
Edward V and his brother disappear, probably murdered by their uncle, Richard of Gloucester, who claims the throne as Richard III

1485

Henry Tudor, Earl of Richmond defeats and kills Richard III at Bosworth, succeeds as Henry VII, starts Tudor dynasty

1492

Christopher Columbus discovers America

1509

Henry VII of England d., succeeded by his 18 year old son Henry VIII

Parishes are ordered to keep a register of baptisms, marriages and burials

1547

Henry VIII of Englans d., succeeded by his and Jane Seymour’s son Edward VI

1553

King Edward VI of England d., Lady Jane Grey proclaimed Queen of England, deposed nine days later
Mary I, daughter of Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon, becomes Queen of England

English lose Calais. “Many strangers entered Dover”

1558

Queen Mary I of England d., Succeeded by Elizabeth I

Johan Joest van Datlen

1603

Queen Elizabeth I of England d., succeeded by her cousin James VI of Scotland as James I of England

1605

Gunpowder Plot; Guy Fawkes and other Roman Catholic conspirators fail in attempt to blow up Parliament and James I.

1618

Thirty Years' War begins, lasts until 1648

1625

James I of England d., succeeded by Charles I of England

1642

English Civil War begins -1651

1649

Charles I beheaded, England declares a Commonwealth

Marriage record of Susana Datlen to Peter Holmes at St Mary’s Church, Sandwich, Kent

1661

Coronation of Charles II of England

1664

2nd Anglo-Dutch War -1668

1665

The Great Plague in London kills about 75,000 of the 460,000 residents.

1666

Great Fire of London (Feb 2 - 9)

1672

3rd Anglo-Dutch War -1674

1685

Charles II of England d., succeeded by his brother James II

1688

England’s Glorius Revolution

1689

James II abdicates, William and Mary proclaimed King and Queen (William III and Mary II)

1694

Queen Mary II of Engalnd wife of William III d.

1702

King William III d., succeeded by Queen Anne
England declares war on France as part of the War of the Spanish Succession

1714

Queen Anne of England d., succeded by George I

1715

The Jacobite Rebellion begins in Scotland

1718

War of the Quadruple Alliance -1820 (Spain v Britain, France, Netherlands, Holy Roman Empire)

1727

George I of England d., succeeded by his son George II
Anglo-Spanish War -1729

1740

War of Austrian Succession -1748

1745

Jacobite Rebellion in Scotland led by 'Bonnie Prince Charlie'

1752

Adoption of the Gregorian Calendar in Britain

1756

Britain, allied with Prussia, declares war against France and her allies, Austria and Russia. The Seven Years' War begins

1760

King George II of England d., suceeded by his grandson George III

Johannes, the father of all Datlen’s born

1770

James Cook discovers Botany Bay, Australia

1775

The American War for Independence -1783

1789

Outbreak of the French Revolution

1793

Outbreak of War between Britain and France.

The first record of the Datlen’s in Chatham, Kent.
Johannes Dietlein to Adam Datlen.

1803

Beginning of the Napoleonic Wars. Britain declares war on France.

1815

The defeat of Napoleon Bonaparte at Waterloo marks the end of the Napoleonic Wars.

1820

King George III of England d, succeeded by prince Regent as George IV

1830

William IV, third son of George III, becomes King of Great Britain and Ireland
First major cholera epidemic in Britain - 1832

1833

Abolition of Slavery throughout the British Empire

1834

Parliament passes the Poor Law Act, establishing workhouses for the poor

1837

William IV, King of Great Britain d., succeeded by Victoria

Births, deaths and marriages must be registered by law

The British census is taken on the night of 7th June 1841

1845

Irish Potato Famine kills more than a million people

Adam Datlen dies aged 80 years

The British census is taken on the night of 30th March 1851

1853

The Crimean War begins -1856

1861

The American Civil War -1865

The British census is taken on the night of 7th April 1861

The British census is taken on the night of 2nd April 1871

1879

The Zulu War is fought in South Africa

1880

The first Anglo-Boer War is fought -1881

The British census is taken on the night of 3rd April 1881

The British census is taken on the night of 5th April 1891

1899

Anglo-Boer War in South Africa -1902

George Audrey Datlen emmigrates to South Africa

1901

Queen Victoria d., succeeded by her son Edward VII

The British census is taken on the night of 31st March 1901

1910

King Edward VII d., succeeded by George V

Isabella Datlen emmigrates to New York and marries Louis King

George Audrey Datlen emmigrates to South Africa

Outbreak of First World War -1918

The British census is taken on the night of 2nd April 1911

Russian revolution, Tsar Nicholas II abdicates

1918

The greatest disaster of the 20th Century; over 20 million killed worldwide by a flu epidemic

William Evan Datlen emmigrates to South Africa

Walter James Datlen emmigrates to Australia

Reginald Walter Datlen emmigrates to Rhodesia

1936

King George V of England d., succeeded by his son Edward VIII who abdicates following gossip about his relationship with Wallis Simpson, succeeded by his brother George VI

1939

Second World War -1945

1945

The Cold War -1991

1950

Korean War-1953