A Cornucopia of Packs

The Pack Family History
ISBN 1-84683-104-0
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by Jeffrey Pack
An illustrated history of the Pack family and their connection with the Kent village of Egerton over several centuries.

This book contains many photographs and has been produced in two versions, which are identical in terms of their content. The standard version is printed in monochrome, with the option of upgrading to a luxury version printed in full colour throughout. Both versions have a stunning full colour cover designed by Christopher Turrall; they are large 'coffee table' books produced in high-quality softback format.

In this enjoyable family history, Jeffrey Pack takes an entertaining look at the activities of the Pack family over several centuries and demonstrates how addictive genealogy can be.

The author succeeded in tracing his own forebears back about 250 years but in the course of his research he also discovered many bearers of the Pack surname who were quite possibly related to his own branch of the family but with whom he could not definitively establish a link.

This wider history of the Pack family goes back 500 years and includes such luminaries as Sir Christopher Pack, Lord Mayor of London in 1654 and a close friend of Oliver Cromwell; Sir Denis Pack, second (after Wellington) most decorated hero of Waterloo; Thomas Pack, who ran the Whitechapel Bell Foundry, the most famous in the world; Packs who emigrated to the USA and elsewhere; Packs who ended up in the workhouse; a possible Mormon Pack; a Barnardo’s Pack … and much more besides.

The author sets the stories of these colourful individual Pack family members in context within the wider history of the times in which they lived and, in some cases, played significant roles.

He also examines the history of Egerton – the village in Kent where the Pack surname proliferated and which has been home to many generations of Packs over the centuries.

The outcome is an entertaining and informative journey through several hundred years of English social history that will prove fascinating to present-day members of the Pack family in particular, but also makes for agreeable reading in its own right.

Author's Comments

This book started out as a simple family history; I expected it to be no more than a list of names and dates – “Great Aunt Nellie, 1860 to 1940” – and so on. But it became so much more than that for two reasons.

Firstly, I was very lucky to find that so much had been written by my own family and that so many photographs existed. And secondly, in researching my own family I found a host of other Packs, included herein (hence “Cornucopia”), with incredible stories. Pack is not a common surname so I have tried to link them up with my own branch of the family – but there is no certainty. Because these “other” Packs extend back 500 years, the book became an opportunity to tell the history of the times through these various Pack families and their exploits.

The story begins with Sir Christopher Pack, who started as an apprentice but rose to become Lord Mayor of London in 1654, under Cromwell, who was almost certainly a close friend. His descendants still live in Prestwold Hall, “acquired” by Sir Christopher. His family have a highly distinguished military history.

Then there is Sir Denis Pack, whose entire military career was spent fighting Napoleon all over the world and was the second most decorated soldier at Waterloo (after Wellington, of course, who was godfather to Sir Denis’ sons). His father was Dean of Ossory in Ireland. There is also Thomas Pack, who ran the Whitechapel bell foundry (still there today) for 40 years in the 18th century.

Later still, there is Lord Cornwallis, who was not a Pack but favoured the family very generously. More recently, there is Arthur Conan Doyle, whose maternal grandmother was Catherine Pack and whose links with the Packs may be even more extensive.

There is also a small village in Kent, Egerton, where for nearly 100 years my forefathers were builders and must have built nearly a third of the village.

These are just some of the stories but they were not all happy ones. At least one Pack ended up in the workhouse, one died tragically, repairing a deep well, and one seems to have been a Mormon and had two families. There are also two very interesting World War II stories plus tales about Packs who emigrated to the USA and further afield.

These and many more stories are placed in context against the backdrop of the history of the times. For any member of the Pack genus it is a must-have book. For those who are less fortunate, it is a highly entertaining journey through 500 years of history in pursuit of a family name

There are a large number of pictures and photographs, so the book has been produced in a colour version and a less expensive black and white version. The stunning cover is in colour in both versions and will attract attention on your coffee table.

Jeff Pack, 2010

details softback | 205 x 290 mm | 240 pages | many photos
subjects the origins of the Pack surname | the exploits of Pack family members over several centuries | the history of the Kent village of Egerton
genres genealogy | family history | UK and US social history | local history