thank you so much for the reply.i never knew this info about him at all.all i have to do is find his place of burial.its band enough having relatives in unmarked graves in france from ww1,i thought it may have been easier finding a ministers grave over here but i was wrong,thank you for your time in helping me.
kind regards
steven jacklin

Please help us to help you.
Do you know approximate dates or places ?
If you know James' birthdate I guess you know likely birthdate/place, please.

Hi Chieftain, try this search technique using the extensive searchable Parish Records on this site. It's not very scientific but it's worked for me many times: you say James Hawkins is believed born about 1835 in Viney Hill area.

1. Search for the Baptism only of a James Hawkins in 1835 +/- 5 Years to play safe.
Gives following 3 "hits",
Year Surname First Name Event Parish/Chapel More detail
1839 HAWKINS James Baptism Coleford More detail
1834 HAWKINS James Baptism Parkend More detail
1837 HAWKINS James Charles Baptism Christchurch More detail

Most likely is 1834 Parkend, view "More Detail" gives:

Record_ID: 111824
Entry_Number: 674
Year: 1834
Month: Aug
Day: 31
Parents_Surname: HAWKINS
Child_Forenames: James
Fathers_Forenames: Thomas
Mothers_Forenames: Anne
Mothers_Surname:
Residence: Pillowell
Occupation: Collier
Officiating_Minister: Tho[ma]s Morgan Offg Minr
Event: Baptism
Memoranda:
Notes:
Register_Reference: P245 IN 1/9
Page_Number: 85
Parish_Chapel: Parkend
Soundex: H252

How's this look to you ?.
Possible correct date & place I think.
Note Baptism Records give Parent's Names, remember them for next step.

2. Now repeat this search for a possible sister Elizabeth Hawkins, to minimise false leads start off by assuming similar age and place. (personally I prefer to filter as little as possible, ticking "soundex" box, takes longer but more likely to succeed in case of spelling variations etc). Study each likely PR for matching parents.

So in your case search for the Baptism only of Elizabeth Hawkins baptised 1835 +/- 10 Years to play safe. Gives only 11 possibles, so easy to read their detailed PRs. Look for Parishes near Parkend/Viney Hill first.
Gives:

Record_ID: 49559
Entry_Number: 22
Year: 1837
Month: Jun
Day: 18
Parents_Surname: HAWKINS
Child_Forenames: Elizabeth
Fathers_Forenames: Thomas
Mothers_Forenames: Ann
Mothers_Surname:
Residence: Whitecroft
Occupation: Collier
Officiating_Minister: Henry Poole
Event: Baptism
Memoranda:
Notes:
Register_Reference: P245 IN 1/10
Page_Number: 3
Parish_Chapel: Parkend
Soundex: H252

To me this looks a good close match to James's Baptism above.

3. Await someone to point out the error due to the "madness in my method"... or hopefully not.
Hope this helps you now & in the future, happy hunting, Jeff.

From my family history research I can make a geographical connection with the name Hawkins in the Viney Hill area which adjoins Blakeney and thus historically the parish of Awre. I hope something here will give you a clue or family connection arising from your own Hawkins searches, although much of my information is third hand off genesreunited and/or, I suspect, from IGI.

One of my gt-gt-gt-gt-grandmothers was Ann nee Shaw, born 14 Nov 1793 Westbury-on-Severn. (She married William "Sterry" at Awre, and down the line my father's mother was an eventual "Sterrey" of Lydney.)

Ann's parents were James Shaw and Christian Beavan (sic).

Christian Beavan's parents were Thomas Bevan (sic) and Christian Hawkins, both born Awre c. 1731.

Tha parents of Christian Hawkins(* below) were William Hawkins, baptised Awre 1702 and Elizabeth (no surname or other details known.)

The parents of William Hawkins were Edward Hawkins and Ann nee Bedoes (sic, and it was this possible misrecording of the name "Beddis" mentioned earlier in this thread that made me look into possible connections) who were married at Awre on 12 May 1701.

The Awre register for this marriage has a note that Edward Hawkins was "of Newland" (near Coleford.) The Newland register has an Edward Hawkins baptised there on 12 September 1651 with parents Edward and Joan (further details unknown.)

* Christian Hawkins is shown as having had brothers Edward baptised 1733 and Barrow baptised 1738, both at Awre.

None of this gives you a direct link to James Hawkins or his father but the amount of Awre/Viney Hill coincidence introduces a reasonable likelihood that a direct link could be discovered.