were passed to prevent the importation of dyed or printed calicoes
from India, China or Persia. To get around this, plain calico fabric
was brought in and patterns were designed locally and printed on it.

Vere was said to have been trained as an engraver and that would
have prepared him for the calico trade as engravers were needed
to design the patterns, which were cut into copper plates, and then
printed on the material. The printed fabric was called chintz, from
which came the term chintzy, or gaudy.

Vere’s parents were from Mitcham in the county of Surrey. Clive
Killick, our link to the Killick family, found information about their
marriage on the Internet. Their marriage banns were published on
August 31, 1776, between John Beck, calico printer, and Samuel Kil-
lick, bricklayer, and father of the bride, Martha Lucy Killick. The
document stated that the bride and groom were both of the parish
of Mitcham and guaranteed there was no impediment to their mar-
riage, and included a penalty of £200 if either side defaulted. That was
a huge sum for that time, but fortunately there were no problems,
and the marriage took place in September, 1776.

John was working in the calico trade in Mitcham at this time, but
sometime in the next few years he moved to Crayford, a distance of
about 10 miles. Crayford was noted for having several large com-
panies involved in calico and silk printing, so it would make sense
that John would move to an area that was home to such industries.
He entered a partnership with the Buchanans and worked with them
until 1783.

Vere was baptized on September 14 in St. Paulinus Church in
Crayford. The church was established shortly after 600 A.D. when
the Italian missionary, Paulinus, carried the Gospel to that area of
Southern England. The original building was replaced and the pres-
ent structure dates from about the year 1100.

Preston and Jessie Beck (1.4.3A.2A.1) visited the church in Sep-
tember, 1975, while on a trip to England. They looked through the
record books and saw the entry for Vere’s birth.

Jim and Barbara Beck (1.4.6.6.1.) visited the church in 1982 and
saw the original record of the baptism, and made a copy of it. While

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