As American President Joe Biden visits the UK to mark 25 years since Good Friday Agreement these are his links to Sussex

He has been in Belfast meeting Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Northern Ireland’s political leaders and has now headed to Dublin.

Whilst on his trip, he said visiting the area his great-great-grandfather had left for America "feels like coming home".

We previously spoke to a Sussex historian, who said that Mr Biden’s family also has links to Sussex.

Eddy Greenfield said the 46th US president is the first one to have Sussex ancestry.

After Mr Biden was elected in November 2020, Mr Greenfield, from Horsham, revealed all about the president’s links to the county.

He said: "Joe Biden's English ancestry has been a matter of some dispute, with varying claims that his paternal great-great-great-grandfather, William Biden, was born in either Sussex or Cambridgeshire.

"The Cambridge advocates cite the discovery of the grave of a John Biden in St Mary's Church, Houghton (not to be confused with the Sussex Houghton), and reference to a son named William Henry Biden, who became a sailor. They believe that this is the same William Biden who lies buried in Baltimore (although others claim that he died in India), but cannot offer any evidence to prove a connection.

"However, aside from these discrepancies, there is another piece of evidence that leads me to conclude that Joe Biden's ancestry originates from Sussex, not Cambridgeshire.

"It is known that Joe's great-great-grandfather, Joseph Biden, was born in Maryland around 1828 and married Lydia Ann Randle in Baltimore in December 1852. In 1868, Joseph was visited by an English relative by the name of Henry Biden, who was born in Westbourne in 1834, and left a diary of his travels in America – a diary in which he mentions Joseph's father: William Biden.

"This William was Henry's uncle, and was christened at St John the Baptist Church, Westbourne on 8 March 1789. He was the second child of James Biden and Ann Silverlock, who had married at Westbourne on 16 May 1785.

"William had four known siblings: John Biden, christened at Westbourne on November 17, 1786; Hope Biden, christened at Westbourne on September 11, 1791 and buried in the churchyard just fifteen days later; Hannah Biden, christened at Westbourne on January 20, 1793; and James Biden (Henry Biden's father), who was christened at Westbourne on July 27, 1800. He married Ann Pitney at the same church on January 1, 1826, and later became a master builder living in Portsea, where he died in 1874.

"Little more could be discovered about the Biden line. James (Joe Biden's great-great-great-great-grandfather) was christened at the church of St Thomas à Becket in Pagham on November 15, 1767, and was the son of Richard and Susan Biden. Nothing could be found as to the identities of James' parents, or of any siblings he may have had.

"However, James' wife, Ann Silverlock, was known to have been christened at Holy Trinity Church, Bosham – the oldest known place of worship in West Sussex – on March 2, 1766. She was the third child of Joseph Silverlock and Sarah Horn, who had a total of eight children.

"All were christened at Bosham, beginning with William Silverlock on March 14, 1762. He died and was buried in the churchyard on October 2, 1763. Next was Martha, who was born in March 1764. After Ann came the second William Silverlock, christened in 1768 and buried at Bosham on December 5, 1815.

"Next was John (1771), James (christened July 1773, buried January 1774), Joseph (christened February 1775, buried August 1780), another James (1777), and finally Elizabeth Silverlock, who was christened at Bosham on January 10, 1780.

"As with the Biden line, the Silverlock line comes to a sudden halt, with it being impossible to determine any more details for Joseph's parentage. He may have been the illegitimate son of Elizabeth Silverlock recorded as having been christened at Alton in March 1731.

"Nonetheless, it is known that Joseph married Sarah Horn at Bosham on December 27, 1761, and it is via the latter that we can step back another generation in Joe's Sussex ancestry.

"Sarah was christened on March 23, 1739 at St Mary's Church, Chidham, as the third child of John Horn and Sarah Purdue. They married at Chidham on May 7, 1732 – one of only three marriages to take place there in that year – and went on to have four children: John (1733), Thomas (February 1734, buried April 1735), Sarah, and Richard (1744).

"Sadly, no more information could be found with any degree of certainty for either John Horn or Sarah Purdue, although given the large gap between the births of Sarah and Richard, it is likely that there were several other pregnancies that most likely resulted in stillbirths.

"Nonetheless, it is clear that Joe Biden has his English roots firmly in Sussex, and the county can finally lay a proper claim to a President of the United States of America.”

Let’s hope that if Mr Biden makes another visit to the UK, he’ll make time to stop off at Sussex!