Results of Research at Salt Lake City - 15 April 2008

A number of queries from Siderfin family descendants resulted in my reexamining the book on the Siderfin Family of West Somerset produced by James Hooper Saunders in 1910. He had constructed a genealogical chart in his book (last pages) that had baffled me initially when I first saw it. My 3x great grandmother was listed (Betty Siderfin) as the daughter of Robert Siderfin and Grace Kent. This is quite clear in her baptismal registration in the original parish records. The marriage of Robert Siderfin and Grace Kent is in the Parish Records as is the marriage of Betty Siderfin and John Rew (Selworthy Somerset). However, James Saunders placed this family in the descent from Robert Siderfin and Thomasine with a second marriage to Elizabeth Blackford (no children). This would make Robert over 60 years old when he married Grace Kent (only 21 years old) and the father of eight children. This could have happened especially as Robert is known to have lived to 103 years of age "apparently." On reviewing the Parish Registers the priest does not give any details. Hidden away on this genealogical chart is another marriage between a Robert Siderfin and Grace Kent. This Robert is the son of Augustine Siderfin (brother to Robert above and also a son of Robert Siderfin and Thomasine ). Robert (s/o Augustine) also married a Grace Kent according to the chart. I can find only one Robert Siderfin/Grace Kent marriage. I copied the Graveyard transcriptions when we were at Salt Lake City and yesterday I transcribed this record. I know that by his will John Rew (who died at South Molton in 1848) asked to be buried beside his wife in the Selworthy Churchyard. There is a Rew family buried in the Davis plot that is identifed as J and M. Augustine Siderfin married Mary Davi[e]s. More evidence pointing to Augustine as the correct line exists in the Mary Escott will where she leaves the bulk of her estate to the children of Robert Siderfin (and Grace Kent). The principal recipient was John Siderfin and the burial of Mary Escott is in the Siderfin plot of the John Siderfin family at Knowle (which is the Augustine Siderfin line). With this evidence in hand, I have changed my descent to follow through Augustine and it appears revised on my webpages. I will continue to collect information but I suspect that James simply make a transcription error in his chart. Since this is his line (his great grandfather was the grandson of Augustine Siderfin) I was giving him the benefit of the doubt since he would have known his grandfather. James was 14 when his grandfather died and his grandfather was 26 when his father died. Although they lived at Selworthy and James grew up at South Molton, I do have my families visiting back and forth between Bishops Nympton and Wootton Courtney in the 1840s so certainly theoretically possible. But James and his contemporary cousins from my line would have been fourth cousins (i.e. my grandfather John Routledge Pincombe would have been fourth cousin to James Hooper Saunders). My family had emigrated to Canada in 1851 and Betty Siderfin's marriage and children were not on James' chart. That being said, it is not surprising that an error was made.

Eventually I will put the transcription of Sander's book on my website (I still need to proofread it along with the chart and the corrections that I have made to it and why). Augustine was a schoolteacher and my family line has a number of school teachers (my 2x great grandmother was a school teacher as was one of her sisters). All members of the Augustine family appear to have been able to read and write as they always signed their marriage registrations. I am still extracting information on Selworthy and nearby places from the Parish Registers.

I also received a surprise email on the Blake family. I have been working on my proofs following back from Thomas Blake (b 1685) to John Blake to William Blake (Clerk) to William Blake to Richard Blake to William Blake to Nicholas Blake. I have revised my webpage slightly to show that dates are approximate where I do not clearly have a Parish Register record just so that there is no error in this thought. In discussion, there is perhaps a conflict in our data in that the other researcher shows two more generations between Nicholas and Richard Blake. I will review all the evidence and see if I have been too simplistic since I have only been researching a short period of time and I am always willing to step back and look at the available evidence and revise. I am generally on the cautious side with my webpage in order to prevent errors creeping into the genealogy of my families. There is a lot of mis-information out there and I do not want to add to it. It was interesting to see the tree that she had constructed from my family information online as it shows quite clearly what I do know and what I do not. That is somewhat of a relief as I wanted to be sure not to add to the misinformation. I will work away at all the evidence and see what emerges with respect to this rather ancient Hampshire family. Many claim that the roots of this family are at Calne Wiltshire but that is still to be proven in my mind.

Other than that I did not do any other work. The day flew by quickly and today I want to construct a large map of the Churchyard at Selworthy Somerset. I will also be working on the Blake family. I have copied the Manor Records for Upper Clatford to learn more about the Blake family there plus some Andover records. Perhaps it is time to move back to Hampshire records which also includes Abbots Ann where the Blake families lived.