NOTE:  James and Elizabeth have nearly 1600 known descendants, nearly 1000 of whom are from the United States plus another 350 or so from New Zealand. They had six children of nine survive childhood, including sons Thomas, William, Samuel, James andCharles and a daughter Elizabeth. James, the father, is second of seven children of James Sinnock and Sarah Marshall, all born in Hailsham including brothers Henry and Samuel; grandson of Thomas Sennock (sic) and Elizabeth Looker from Eastbourne, East Sussex. His baptism is recorded 11 Aug 1758 in St. Mary's Parish Register in Hailsham "James Sinnock s. James & Sarah baptized". His ancestry can be traced through his grandparents Thomas and Elizabeth to a family of Senokes from nearby Eastbourne on the coast in the mid-1550's. This is when records for "commoners" became abundant based on Thomas Cromwell's order from Henry VIII that parishes keep records of all births, marriages, and deaths. Also listed in the Hailsham register are baptisms of their 9 children including Samuel, ancestor of nearly all Sinnocks in the United States. James and Elizabeth are also identified by his grandson Thomas Sinnock in his 1910 family history, linking family recollections to parish records. For all James and Elizabeth's descendants the most reliable information about family ties is provided by family records, commonly polished and expanded by official records. James and Elizabeth represent the transition where Sinnock family recollections (Thomas's history) fade to purely historical records.