Rowcliffe, Harvey, Stanbury Families

My fingers have been itching to begin looking at the fiche that I received as Christmas presents - Landkey, Merton and Molland. I did have a look at Rose Ash but not a long one yet!

The published information on the Rowcliffe Harvey marriage has always claimed that Joan Harvey was the daughter of Edward and that she was baptized at Merton. However, the parish register for Merton shows that Joan Harvey was "of Dolton" and checking the IGI (does need to be checked against the original documents) I found a baptism for a Joan Harvey, daughter of Christopher Harvey and Mary Stanbury, 1 March 1690. Checking through the Merton register I found that her burial date was 9 Mar 1760 not 9 Mar 1730 which has been published in various sources. Joan Harvey married Andrew Rowcliffe 8 Jun 1720 at Merton, Devon.

There isn't a baptism for Andrew Rowcliffe at Merton but the parish registers do not commence until 1687 although it is Parish Register 2. Perhaps Parish Register 1 does not exist or the Meeth Devon Register covers Merton. I still need to determine that. According to the brief collected for the rebuilding of St Pauls Cathedral in London in 1678, Andrew Routly, Priscilla Routly, Jane Routly and Samuel Routlife were living at Merton. Samuel Rowcliff was buried the 2nd day of February and Andrew Rowcliff was buried the 3rd day of February, both in 1687. William Rowcliff was baptized as the posthumous son of Andrew Rowcliff and his wife Mary on the 18th day of March 1687. These are, unfortunately, on the first page of the entries for this parish. I will check the Meeth register though to see if there are Rowcliff entries there. Interestingly, at Dolton a Lewes, a Richard and a Charles Rowcliff are baptizing children between 1695 and 1725. Andrew and Joan his wife are baptizing children at Merton between 1721 and 1732 including Philip (my 4x great grandfather) baptized 4 Apr 1721. On the 1678 brief for St Pauls Cathedral at Dolton there aren't any members of the Rowcliff family listed.

That was my yesterday's work on the family tree as well as writing to my siblings to bring them up to date on a few items and Legacy has added a new feature to their picture family tree. The names of the great grandparents now appear on the tree with their picture. I prepared a four generation chart for my father and mother to send off to my siblings. My father's chart has himself, his parents, three of his four grandparents and two of his great grandparents. There is a possibility that I will be able to obtain his Knight great grandparents and his Blake great grandmother in the future. There are rumours that a picture of Samuel Knight and Louisa Butt exists and Ann Blake lived into the 1890s so always a possibility that one might appear. My mother's picture tree though is pretty empty, there is herself, her parents, her paternal grandfather and his parents (one set of great grandparents). The chances of obtaining any more are quite remote as the wife of her paternal grandfather died in the 1880s and the one picture of her that I remember as a child is missing. Any pictures of her parents appear to have gone missing. On her mother's side there aren't any known pictures of her parents or her grandparents. There may be some that exist as some of them lived into the late 1890s and even into the early 1900s but I need to find a descendant of that line and that hasn't happened yet. That means that for myself, I have my picture, my parents, all my grandparents but only four of my great grandparents.