Sunday, April 21, 2013

Durnford/Dunford family of Winterborne Stickland

Jean/Jane Durnford married John Butt 14 Oct 1800 at Winterborne Stickland. Jane and John appear on the 1841 Census at Winterborne Stickland with their daughter Maria and her three children Ann 10, Elizabeth 7 and Martha 5. She has however died by 1848 and was buried 3 Feb 1848 at Winterborne Stickland.

There is a baptism 29 Sep 1771 at Winterborne Stickland for a Jane Dunford daughter of Thomas and Mary Dunford. I would like to attempt to find more information for this particular family on Ancestry now that the Dorset Parish Registers are available there. The original records shows Jane was born 22nd of September and baptized 29th September the daughter of Thomas Dunford and Mary his wife. Is this the same Jane/Jean who married John Butt? Interestingly there is the birth of John the son of John Butt and Mary his wife and he was born 29 Nov and baptized 11th December also in 1771 at Winterborne Stickland. As it turns out this is the same family into which a Jane Durnford/Dunford married. But the first John Butt was buried 15 Sep 1772 at Winterborne Stickland. She married the second John baptized by John and Mary Butt 10 May 1776.

Just checking the marriage lines for John Butt and Jean/Jane Durnford:

John Butt of this parish and Jean Durnford of this Parish were married in this Church by Banns the fourteenth day of October in the year One thousand Eight hundred by me James Dowland, Minister, This marriage was solemnized between us John Butt, the mark of Jean Durnford, In the presence of William Elford and William Tizzard.

Both of these men are witnesses on occasion so does not perhaps point out any family information for these two people. I will need to check for Durnford/Dunford entries in the parish registers of Winterborne Stickland to learn more about Jean/Jane Dunford/Durnford.

Children of Thomas and Mary Dunford
 John Dunford baptized 13 June 1777
Jane Dunford baptized  29 September 1771
Sarah Dunford baptized 10 December 1769
Mary Dunford baptized 2 November 1767
Chatherine Dunford baptized 19 Oct 1762
Susanna Dunford baptized 22 Mar 1761

Children of Thomas and Chatherine Dunford (Chatherine perhaps an error and should have been Mary)

Robert Dunford baptized 15 Nov 1764

Children of Joseph and Elizabeth Dunford

John Dunford baptized 15 June 1752 (born 14 Jun 1752)


Burials
Joseph Dunford was buried 8 May (affidavit made) 1760

There is on the Family Search website the burial of Thomas Durnford 20 Mar 1811 at Winterborne Stickland and he was 76 years of age giving him an approximate birth date of 1735. Is the name Dunford and Durnford used interchangeably?

There was a Thomas Dunford baptized 16 Sep 1736 at Fifehead Magdalen son of Robert and Jane Dunford on Family Search.  Checking the original parish registers this is actually James and Thomas sons of Robert and Jane Durnford baptized 16 Sep 1736. No other information is given.

Robert Dunford was baptized Jul 1731 son of Robert and Jane Dunford
John son of Robert and Jane Dunford buried 19 May 1732
John son of Robert and Jane Dunford baptized 11 Aug 1734
John Durnford buried 23 Apr 1734
James son of Robert and Jane Durnford buried 4 Mar 1738
 Elizabetha uxor Joanis Durnford buried 7 Oct 1722

It does appear at least within the parish register of Fifehead Magdalen that Dunford and Durnford are used interchangeably. Fifehead Magdalen is in North Dorset and about 11 miles NNW of Winterborne Stickland. Have I quite accidentally found the family that I am looking for? The name Robert occurs with the marriage of Robert and Jane Dunford some time prior to 1731 and their first son was named Robert. Thomas and his wife Mary likely named a son Robert. There was at Fifehead Magdalen a couple named John and Elizabeth Durnford with Elizabeth buried as a wife of John in 1722. Could they be the parents of Robert baptizing children at Fifehead Magdalen?

Not an overly common name Durnford/Dunford with the British Isles profiler showing that Durnford is a Wiltshire surname but spreading southward into Dorset as well as being found in the London area. Dunford on the other hand is found principally in the Dorset area but also up into Wiltshire. The frequency of Durnford in 1881 was 319 with 12 occurrences per million names and that of Dunford 1806 with 67 occurrences per million names.  Hence the more common spelling is Dunford at least by 1881 and especially in Dorset.

Interesting foray into the Dunford/Durnford surname but not really much further ahead until I can determine that Jean Durnford who married John Butt was actually Jane Dunford daughter of Thomas and Mary Dunford. Thus far I have not found marriages for any of these Dunford/Durnford families - Thomas and Mary, Robert and Jane, John and Elizabeth, and Joseph and Elizabeth.





No comments:

Post a Comment