The Sheen lineage traces back to a small village, Stoke Golding, in  Leicestershire, England.

Stoke Golding holds a special place in the history of the English kings: It was here the House of Tudor began its reign on the English throne. This  village has a most unusual claim to fame, in that in 1485 the people of the  village witnessed the rural coronation of the first Tudor monarch, Henry VII. For some thirty years before that fateful day of 22nd August 1485 there had  been a long standing quarrel between the houses of York and Lancaster for the  right to the throne. Commonly called the Wars of the Roses, the emblem of the  Yorkists being a white rose and that of the Lancastrians being a red one, the  feud culminated in the final battle of the Roses  just beyond the village of  Stoke Golding between the King and The Earl of Richmond commonly known as Henry  Tudor.

Recent  investigation indicates  that perhaps  the battlefield was much closer  to the village than was previously thought. Indeed accounts of the battle tell  of the villagers climbing to the battlements  of the church to view the fight.  The window sills of the Church show grooves which legend has it were caused by  the soldiers sharpening their swords on the eve of the battle. In 2013,King  Richard's remains were discovered buried under a car park in Stoke Golding.

The St Margarets church, where the Sheens were christened and married, has a  further claim to fame. During the 2nd World War, its steeple had to be removed as its height put it in the flight path of aircraft operating from the nearby  airfield. The steeple was replaced after the war. (see Stoke Golding website.)

Two hundred years after Henry VII claimed the throne, Joseph Sheen married  Elenor Bradford in the St Margarets church. They went on to have eight  children. Their gggson Thomas became the first of the Australian line of  Sheens. He came to Australia as a guest of the British Government. It was here in  Australia that he met and married Phoebe Ellen Perkins, a daughter of Samuel  Perkins and Alice Wright. Together they raised eleven children in a harsh, new  land. Their 8th child, Albert died shortly after birth and was buried in nearby  St Albans cemetery.

Thomas' younger brother Francis, also had a free trip to Australia. He was sent to Tasmania where  he served his seven year sentence before moving to the Lismore district in New South Wales. Cousin Richard Sheen also found himself on a ship to Tasmania where he too served out a seven year  term. He married and raised a family in Tasmania. A cousin, Richard Sheen was the third member of  the Sheen family to be sent to Australia. He, like Francis was transported to Tasmania where he  later married and raised his family.

Today there are more descendants of Joseph Sheen & Eleanor Bradford in Australia than Stoke  Golding.

This site is dedicated to the Ancestry of my parents,Reginald Sheen and Dorothy  Emily Luke.

In true Aussie style, many of their ancestral lines in Australia run through  that hardy breed of pioneers who were known as "convicts". They served  out their term and went on to become hardworking, down-to-earth Australians. Many though, were free persons on their arrival, and they too made their  contribution to their newly adopted land.

The Sheens are descended from Joseph Sheen who married Elenor Bradford, 3 Aug  1693 in Leicestershire, England. The Bradford family was established in Stoke  Golding but Joseph appears to be been a relative new-comer.

The Lukes are descended from James Ridley and Martha Luke, both of whom arrived  in Australia as English Government guests. Martha has an interesting story to tell - read it in The Old Bailey trial records. They had three children.

Added to these lines are Skinner - (who supposedly can be linked back to the  days of William the Conqueror), Dawson, Howard and Staff. Benjamin Howard, an engine  driver, found work in developing South America where he apparently later became Mayor of Santiago.

If you are interested in fascinating genealogies, try checking the LDS familysearch.org  for Anne Maunsell, born 1715. She is Langer Carey's grandmother. Her ancestry has been traced back to the time of William the Conqueror.