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

11