Richard Bint, who died in 1605, had farmed there, and his family's births, deaths and marriages are recorded in the earliest of Sonning's parish registers from the 1590s. 

Early wills indicate that this family had connections with the West Ilsey and the Ridgeway area sheep farmers. An early manorial record appears to spell our name as Bynde which may give an indication of its origin.

William Bint from Shinfield who married Hannah in 1800, fathered the Arborfield family from whom I, Tom Bint, born to Tom Bint and Ivy Savery in 1936 am descended. 

The earliest Bint families on Berkshire records were sheep farmers from West Ilsey, Lambourn and villages around the Vale of the White Horse and the Ridgeway. 

My mother's family, the Saverys have their roots in the Thornbury area of Gloucestershire. Our earliest recorded ancestor was shoemaker John Savery who moved from Berkeley to Cow Hill, Oldbury in the mid 18th century.

His descendants include the Elberton 19th century blacksmith's family who founded the Savery's ironmongers business at Thornbury pictured here to the left of the building society.

Luke Savery, my mother's great-grandfather moved to South Wales in the late 19th century, his family finding work in the Pontypool area's iron smelting and coal mining industry.

My partner Ann, who was born Elizabeth Ann Ridgers at Bagshot, Surrey in 1941 is descended from the Ridgers family of wheelwrights who settled in the Bagshot/ Windlesham area around 1802.

Her grandmother Mary Dance who married Ernest Ridgers at Bishopswood, near Ross-on-Wye, Herefordshire in 1906 was from a Forest of Dean family. Mary's father and brothers worked in the Lydbrook tin-plate industry.

Lydbrook tin-platers

The Cisco, Texas family are descended from William Bint and Magdalen Hansaker who married at Lambourn in 1673. We have no indication from which of the Berkshire families he originated. We do know that she was christened at Lambourn in 1655 the daughter of Charles & Joan Hansaker.                                                        

They did not have a long marriage as William died in February 1685 leaving her with six children, one of them being Dolphin's ancestor William who was born in 1675.

Magdalen herself only lived till February 1687 but left a will bequeathing everything to her mother who was to take care of the children. 

She seems to have been reasonably wealthy as the estate was valued at 480 pounds which was a fair amount  in 1687. Her clothes were worth 10 pounds. 

Dolphin, one of the founding fathers of Cisco, was christened at Lambourn in November 1840 the second son of gamekeeper Charles Bint (born 1802) and Mary Legge (1810) who were married at Childrey in 1836.  His older brother was Francis John (born 1837)

Dolphin Bint 1840

The New Zealand family, like me, are descended from the Shinfield & Arborfield Berkshire Bints.

Philip Thomas Bint and his wife Charlotte Allman migrated to Christchurch, New Zealand on the Cardigan Castle  in 1876 with their sons, Philip, George and James. Another son, Walter, was born on that voyage.

From this family there are now far more Bint family members in New Zealand than reside in the UK.