Charley-Charlie family at Bishops Nympton, Kentisbury and Arlington

One of my largest brickwalls was the ancestry of Mary Charlie who married John Pincombe 8 Nov 1767 at Bishops Nympton Devon. It remained in place from the beginning of my foray into genealogy just eight years ago until this past year when I began to look around north Devon at possible names that could be confused with Charlie. The priest had just ten years earlier recorded so much detail but the few years around this marriage the details were unfortunately sparse. Searching on Mary Charlie does not yield any entries other than my own. Interestingly my mother was able to trace her ancestry back (from a family Bible she remembered from funerals when she was a child) to John Pincombe and Grace Manning who married 20 Mar 1725 at Bishops Nympton. The Bible recorded the marriage of John Pincombe and Mary Charley and I still have the paper that my mother filled in many years ago with that spelling. Was she just remembering how Charley might be spelled and I am thinking knowing my mother probably not; that was likely the spelling that she had seen. My mother knew quite a bit about her family history on all sides of her family. It is this family lore that I fall back on when I hit a brick wall.

I collected all the Chorley, Churley, Charley (none available for Charley) wills when we visited Kew last year and a quick read does not reveal Mary Charley or Mary Pincombe mentioned. The wills are, primarily, from first sons and the only baptism that would work for Mary Charley thus far is 21 Sep 1735 at Kentisbury and the daughter of Hugh and Mary Charley.

Unfortunately the wills from Kew did not reveal any new information although a couple of them are for the Uffculme Chorley/Churley family. 

A list of wills were also held by the Devon Record Office (destroyed in WWII)

Charley     Escott     Kentisbury     DEV           1806     W    
Charley     Grace     Tawstock     DEV           1772     A    
Charley     Grace     Combemartin      DEV           1843     W    
Charley     Hugh     Kentisbury     DEV           1716     W    
Charley     Hugh     Arlington     DEV           1741     W    
Charley     James     Chittlehampton     DEV           1741     W    
Charley     Joan     North Molton     DEV           1822     W    
Charley     John     Kentisbury     DEV           1682     A    
Charley     John     Kentisbury     DEV           1717     W    
Charley     John     Kentisbury     DEV           1744     W    
Charley     John     Tawstock     DEV           1769     A    
Charley     John     Tawstock     DEV           1772     A    
Charley     John     Kentisbury     DEV           1781     W    
Charley     John     Combemartin      DEV           1835     W    
Charley     John     Combemartin      DEV           1838     W    
Charley     Margaret     Kentisbury     DEV           1756     W        
Charley     Martha     Barum [Barnstaple]     DEV           1747     W    
Charley     Richard     Combemartin     DEV       1857     W        
Charley     Robert     West Buckland     DEV           1812     A    
Charley     Thomas     Tawstock     DEV           1742     W    
Charley     William     Arlington     DEV           1720     A    
Charley     William     Arlington     DEV           1731     A    
Charley or Chailey     John     Kentisbury     DEV           1843     W    
Charly     John     Kentisbury     DEV           1643     A

In general this Charley family is further north or west from Bishops Nympton and I am left to wonder why Mary Charley is at Bishops Nympton. Why do they marry at Bishops Nympton? Being able to solve that mystery would probably also direct me to the correct family line for Mary. John Pincombe died after Mary so that excludes finding anything extra because of widowhood. The John Pincombe/Mary Charley family moved away from Bishops Nympton by the mid 1800s as far as I am able to determine. My line John Pincombe and Elizabeth Rew (descendant of Robert Pincombe (3rd son of John Pincombe and Mary Charley)) moved to Canada along with the only sister Elizabeth married to Richard Elworthy with Thomas, one brother, lost at sea with his family emigrating to Canada. George, another brother, lived near London UK and emigrated to Australia. Robert, the eldest son, emigrated to the United States the earliest of all the family. The youngest two sons remained in England but farmed in Somerset/Gloucestershire area for one and the second ran a milk business first in Birmingham and then returned to Gloucestershire late in life (he did not marry). The youngest brother Philip is the ancestor of many of the Pincombe families living in the Gloucestershire area.

Looking at the list of wills I spot two that may be significant


Charley     Hugh     Kentisbury     DEV           1716     W    
Charley     Hugh     Arlington     DEV           1741     W

Earlier I had found baptisms for the children of Hugh and Mary Charley at Kentisbury and Arlington

1710    11    4    Christening    William    Charley    Hugh    Charley    Mary  Kentisbury
1712    12    4    Christening    Mary    Charley    Hugh    Charley    Mary  Kentisbury
1714    2    26    Christening    John    Charley    Hugh    Charley    Mary  Kentisbury
1735    9    21    Christening    Mary    Charley    Hugh    Charley    Mary  Arlington

The spread between the last two children just seemed to be too great (21 years). Interestingly an unknown Charley married a Mary Charley 8 Apr 1733 at Trentishoe (near Kentisbury). Mary Charley (wife?) was buried in 1733. I am wondering if this child Mary was a daughter of unknown Charley and Mary Charley (son in law and daughter) of Hugh and Mary Charley. 

The father of Hugh Charley was John Charley married to Charity and Hugh was baptized 25 Jan 1676. There are two wills probated for Hugh Charley one in 1716 and one in 1741. This Hugh would have been 40 in 1716 and 65 in 1741. The first three children were baptized in 1710, 1712 and 1714. The marriage of Hugh and Mary Charley is unknown but Hugh was already 34 when the first child was baptized. There could have been other children in particular a Hugh whose will was probated in 1741.

There was a Mary Charley baptized 23 Feb 1719 and daughter of John Charley and Elizabeth (Richards) Charley. She was baptized at Barnstaple and I believe she married John Richards at Barnstaple in 1745. I have eliminated her from consideration.

As well there was a will for a James Charley in 1741 at Chittlehampton (3 miles from Bishops Nympton). 

The actual parentage of Mary Charley is unknown for the moment but the likelihood of her being the daughter of Hugh Charley is strong. I need to research other avenues that might point me to further proof for this linkage. The death of Hugh Charley in 1741 when she was only six years old could well account for her no longer being in Arlington where there was only the one Charley family (her own) and her being present in the Bishops Nympton area to marry John Pincombe. One item that makes me doubt this somewhat is the naming of the sons of John Pincombe and Mary Charley - John was undoubtedly named for his father and grandfather. William is another name in the Pincombe family and the elder brother of John. Robert does not occur in the Pincombe family but Thomas has in the past (four sons in total). There is a William Charley who would have been old enough to be married in 1733 and son of Hugh which brings the scenario of her being a grandchild of Hugh and Mary Charley into focus (and the naming of the second son William).

Next study time I shall look at the Land Records for the Charley family in Devon.

Bertrand Family

The Bertrand family of French Canadian descent is very well published. Initially I was unable to attach Antoinette to her correct Bertrand family line. I still have not found the marriage registration for Antoinette Bertrand and Marius Mourier in 1877 at Hull Québec. Today, I shall again search out the death registration on Ancestry to see if I am able to locate one for Antoinette Bertrand now that 1936 is available.The death registration for Marius Mourier gives the name of his father as Jean Calixte Mourier. Her father is listed as Julien Bertrand and her mother as Antoinette Séguin. Since I am unable to find the marriage registration thus far, finding her parents on the death registration is the next best thing (and she is identified correctly as the widow of Marius Mourier). The informant was her younger daughter Marie Louise Proulx.

This verification is excellent as the published source that I found listed her parents as Julien Vital Bertrand and Antoinette Séguin.

Again I will place the Bertrand family into folders and thus far I only have the last two generations with the pertinent documents. One project for this family will be to pull all the documents available back to the emigrant ancestor. In this case, the emigrant ancestor was Jean Bertrand who married Marie Charlotte Brard 23 Sep 1697 at Notre-Dame, Montréal. Looking at Tanguay, (although I have found a few errors in Tanguay I still consider this to be the best reference tool in terms of looking at an entire family of an emigrant) there are a number of Jean Bertrand marriages and according to the published records bringing us down to Julien Vital Bertrand we would select their son Jacques who married Marie Louise Dumouchel 19 Sep 1729 at Notre Dame, Montréal. Their son Michel Louis married Marie Josephte Boyer dit St-Germain 10 Aug 1778 at Saint Michel, Vaudreuil. Their son Antoine married Marie Josephte Cholet 11 Jan 1802 at Saint Michel, Vaudreuil. Julien Vital was a son of this couple. Tanguay only takes us to Michel Louis being identified as the son of Jacques Bertrand married to Marie Louise Dumouchel. but it is a good starting point. I need to then locate the marriage of Julien Vital Bertrand and Anoinette Séguin which I did by writing to a rootsweb site which promised lookups of the Registers at St Jean Baptiste, L'Orignal, Prescott, Ontario. This is also on the nosorigines website. I also found on WorldConnect



Married: 07 FEB 1842 in Paroisse Saint-Jean-Baptiste, L'Orignal, Comté de Prescott, Ontario, Canada 3
    * Note:

          Original :
          M.5 Julien Vital Bertrand & Antoinette Seguin
          On the seventh of February eighteen hundred and forty two, after two publications of banns at our parochial mase of L'Orignal, I the undersigned priest have joined & maried Julien Vital Bertrand son of age of Antoine Bertrand and of the late Joseph Cholette and to Antoinette Séguin daughter of Hiacinthe Seguin and of Monique Villeneuve of Hawkesbury in presence of Pierre Chabot & Marc Rochon
          Signature :
          P. Lefaivre Ptre

          Translation :
          M.5 Julien Vital Bertrand & Antoinette Seguin
          Le sept Février mil huit cent quarante et deux, après la publication de deux bans aux messes paroissiales de L'Orignal. Je prêtre soussigné ai joint et marié Julien Vital Bertrand fils majeur d'Antoine Bertrand et de feue Joseph Cholette et a Antoinette Séguin fille de Hiacinthe Seguin et de Monique Villeneuve de Hawkesbury en présence de Pierre Chabot & Marc Rochon
          Signature :
          P. Lefaivre Ptre

Short of seeing the original register all of these items, the transcription is certainly very convincing.

The parents of Julien Vital Bertrand are named as Antoine Bertrand and Marie Josephte Cholet. It would appear that Julien Vital Bertrand has moved on from Vaudreuil where he was born and from Rigaud where his mother was buried in 1836 to L'Original. . This is a distance of approximately 20 kilometres.

From Wikipedia(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L%27Orignal,_Ontario):

L'Orignal is a village and former municipality, now part of Champlain Township in eastern Ontario, Canada. It likely took its name from its location on the Ottawa River once known as Pointe à l'Orignal (French for "Moose Point"), where moose crossed the river.

The marriage of Antoine Bertrand and Marie Josephte Cholet was celebrated 11 Jan 1802 at St Michel, Vaudreuil. I did find the scan of their marriage on ancestry and downloaded a copy to my files. However, Tanguay does not have this marriage so I must work my way back another generation to Michel Louis Bertrand and Marie Josephte Boyer dit St Germain who married 10 Aug 1778 at St Michel, Vaudreuil according to the published information on this family. Both Louis Michel and Marie Josephte appear to be widowed at the time of their marriage. One notes from given baptismal records that Louis Michel would have been 41 years of age and Marie Josephte 37 years of age. In order to find the parents of Luis Michel I need to find his first marriage. His first wife was Marie Charlotte Bertrand and they married 10 June 1763 at LaPrairie. Louis Michel parents were recorded as Jacques Bertrand and Marie Louise Dumouchelle. Tanguay records their marriage as 19 Sep 1729 at Montréal which I shall verify on my next study day for the Bertrand family. So Jean is the first generation, Jacques is the second generation, Louis Michel is the third generation, Antoine is the fourth generation, Julien Vital is the fifth generation and Antoinette is the sixth generation. I can now separate the files into folders with the Bertrand folder.

Peck Family of Milston and Blake one name Study

Martha Peck married George Lywood 26 Oct 1817 at Milston Wiltshire and the wedding registration shows the name Martha scratched out and Rebecca written in. In the census that follows (1841, 1851, 1861) George's wife is always listed as Martha. The baptisms of the children (1818, 1822, 1826 and 1832) always shows the child as the infant of George and Martha Peck. Why Rebecca was written in is a mystery. Martha was buried 17 Feb 1867 at Milston (75 years of age). After all that George had been through in the Peninsular Wars he outlived Martha although he was buried 15 Apr 1868 at Milston (82 years of age).

Martha was baptized 1 Jul 1792 at Milston the daughter of Elizabeth Peck. No notation on the father is recorded in the original register. Elizabeth Peck was the daughter of Joseph Peck and Ann Holmes and baptized 15 April 1758 at Milston. Elizabeth was buried 1 Jan 1830 at Milston. Martha was Elizabeth's only child. Looking at the parish registers Elizabeth was the daughter of Joseph Peck and Ann Holmes. Her father Joseph was baptized 4 Apr 1718 at Milston and he died 7 Oct 1791 at Milston (10 months before Martha was born). Her mother Ann Holmes was possibly baptized 17 Jul 1712 at Figheldean and buried 5 Jul 1778 at Milston (the Holmes family lived principally at Figheldean with a few members at Milston (about 2 kilometres apart). My project for this particular surname is to pull all the Holmes and Peck entries from the Milston and Figheldean Parish Registers transcripts that I hold and put them into family groupings. The parents of Joseph are Thomas Peck and Joanna Holmes. Learning more about the Holmes family will be part of the Peck family project.

Children of Joseph Peck and Ann Holmes (married 26 Jul 1740 at Milston).

 John baptized 28 Apr 1741 at Milston
Thomas baptized 15 May 1744 at Milston
Samuel baptized 26 Apr 1747 at Milston
Jane baptized 9 Feb 1751 at Milston
Jonah baptized 27 Mar 1753 at Milston
Anne baptized 30 Apr 1755 at Milston
Elizabeth (as above)
Mary  baptized 15 May 1761 at Milston

If the Ann Holmes baptized 17 Jul 1712 is their mother than she would have been 49 years old when Mary was born. Since my great grandmother Blake had her last child at the age of 44 it does not seem too far fetched that she may have had a last child at 49. She was 46 when my ancestress Elizabeth was born. On the other hand there is another Ann Holmes baptized 7 Mar 1726. She would have been only 15 when the first child John was baptized so I have tended to regard Ann baptized 1712 as a better possibility.

Carrying on with the Peck family the parents of Joseph

Thomas was baptized 19 Dec 1676 at Milston and buried 22 Jul 1730 at Milston the son of Thomas and Mary Peck.

Joanna Holmes his wife may be the Joanna Holmes baptized 8 Jul 1767 at Figheldean and the daughter of George and Ann Holmes.

At this point we have to look at Thomas (father of Thomas baptized 1676) and his likely baptism is in the late 1630s or early 1640s because the first child of this family at Milston was Mary baptized 28 Jan 1674. However if this Thomas Peck is not the son of William Peck and Elizabeth who baptized six children at Milston then I need to continue searching out Peck families in this area. There is only one Peck family at Milston and William Peck was the only surviving son of William Peck and Bridget Lawes. This William left a will which is a fascinating read. William Peck and Bridget Lawes married 1 Nov 1603 at Milston.

Will of William Peck

Recorded: 23 Sep 2008, Elizabeth Kipp

Source: Microfiche

Type of record: Will – William Peck, Milston, Wiltshire

Dated: 14 Feb 1610; Deceased 1610

Holding Library: Wiltshire Record Office

Pecke: In the name of God Amen

The fourteenth day of February in the yeare of our

Lord god one thousand six hundred and nine. I William

Pecke of Milston, in the Countie of Wilts Shepherd

being sicke of bodie but of  perfect mynde and memorie, doe ordayne

and make this my last will and testament in manner and forme

followinge visit. First I bequeathe my soule into the hands of

Christ Jesus my saviour  trustinge to have redemption through his

merits and my bodie to be buried in the parish Churchyard of

Milston aforesaid, and as touchinge my worldly goods I give

and bequeathe them in manner and forme following vizit Imprimis

I give unto the Cathedrall Church of New Sarum the some of

fouer pence. Then I give unto Cecely Woorte, daughter of John

Woorte of Amsburie in the Countie aforesaid wheeler, one childe

sheepe. Then all the rest of my goods and chattels moveable

and not moveable not given and bequeathed my debtes legacies

and funeralls discharged I give and bequeath unto Bridgett my

wife and William Pecke my sonne, whome I make my full

and whole executors ioyntly the one as _ar_orth as the other
and further my will is that my said wife shall have the use
of all towards the keepinge of my said son until he shal[l b]e
of the age of twentie and one yeares, and I request Roger
Pinckney of  Milston and William Lawes of the same to be
my overseers to see this my last will and testament p[er]formed
accordingly Those being witnesses John Pecke, William
Lawes, Thomas Lawes, and Roger Pickney.


Still working on the Probate but it looks like it may have been given the 25 February 1610.


William and Bridget baptized only two children:


William (unknown)

John baptized 20 May 1608 at Milston; deceased by 1610.


Bridget was baptized 8 May 1580 at Milston and the daughter of Thomas Lawes. 


Pulling out this information out of the transcription will assist in looking at the Peck, Holmes and Lawes families. 


I worked on the Blake one name study as well this morning and I am still trying to pull the spouses' names out of the census. It is a slow process. 


I want to start looking at writing a short article about the Blake yDNA as descendants of the Theophilus Blake family have now found sufficient evidence to show that their line is not descendant of the Jasper Blake line where it appeared to be a non paternal event. Indeed their Theophilus emigrated from England directly in the mid 1700s.

Mourier Family of Ottawa ON

The Mourier Family of Ottawa ON was a mystery until I chanced upon a reference to Maurice-Calixte Mourier in Les Français au Québec 1765-1865: un mouvement migratoire méconnu, Marcel Fournier was the author. Item #1357 on page 318 lists the following:

Mourier, Maurice-Calixte, oblat de Marie-Immaculee, ne le 16 aout 1835 a Romans sur Isere (Drome), de l'union de Jean-Calixte Mourier et de Melanie Monestier. Ordonne le 17 decembre 1859 a Ajaccio, il arive au Canada le 28 mars 1863. Il oeuvre a Ottawa, a la baie d'Hudson, a Hull, a Betsiamites, au lac Temiscamingue et a Pointe-Bleue. Il décède à Lachine le 5 aout 1912.


Fournier, Marcel, 1946-. Les Français au Québec, 1765-1865 : un mouvement migratoire méconnu / Marcel Fournier ; préface de Claude Galarneau -- Sillery, Québec : Éditions du Septentrion, 1995. -- 386 p. : ill., cartes, fac-sim., portr. ; 23 cm. -- ISBN 2894480253 -- AMICUS No. 13888218

I had finally solved the puzzle of why Marius-Joseph Mourier (born 16 Aug 1845 at Romans sur Isere (Drome)) the son of Jean-Calixte Mourier and Marie-Melanie Monestier had emigrated to Canada in 1873 (from the 1901 census). Possibly chain migration as his brother had preceded him in Canada arriving in 1863. His brother was a priest in Ottawa.

Marius Mourier married Antoinette Bertrand in 1877 in Hull Quebec. I have not yet located the marriage registration for this couple. Antoinette was the daughter of Julien Vital Bertrand and Antoinette Séguin according to published reports. The 1881 Census (East Ottawa Ward) we find Marius Mourier, aged 38 and Antoinette Mourier aged 23 with Marius born in France and Antoinette born in Quebec. The 1891 Census Morris Murier aged 45, born in France, parents both born in France and their children Adele, Gabrielle, Leon, and twins Honore and Anna with all born in Ontario except Leon who was born in France (but registered in Ontario). The 1901 Census all ten years older, place of birth for Leon left blank and the twins are missing, new daughter Marie Louise. The 1911 Census all ten years older and only Marie Louise is living with them. All other details the same. There is a new person (possibly a sister in law - difficult to read) from France. She is 65 years old.

I sorted into generations and this time Marius is generation one, coming down to Gabrielle is generation two and then following to the third generation which married into the Bédard family. Online I did find parents for Jean-Calixte Mourier (father of Marius) named Pierre Joseph Mourier and Marie Adélaide Virginie. I shall follow my usual process looking at NosOrigines, World Connect and Ancestry for further information.

Nosorigines ou GenealogieQuebec is my source for the information and they list Jean-Calixte as being born 29 March 1800 at Romans, département de la Drome, France and that he died 25 Apr 1886 at the age of 86 in Romans, France.  Only three children are listed and two of them came to Canada. The third and eldest was their daughter who did not marry. No further information is available at this website. I did not find any information on World Connect. Ancestry family trees are all personal and no further information was found. Interesting that Jean Calixte died in 1886 as that is the year the son Leon was said to have been born in France.

There is more information online now for French records and I shall pursue that the next time that I am researching Mourier.

Canham at Fugglestone St Peter Wiltshire

The surname Canham has always been a brickwall ever since Warwick Lywood passed me the name of the wife of George Lywood (baptized 11 Nov 1750 at Fugglestone St Peter). George Lywood and Elizabeth Canham married 18 Jul 1780 at West Harnham. Elizabeth was buried 9 Feb 1829 at Odstock at the age of 77 giving an approximate year of birth as 1752. Looking at the Surname Profiler (World) shows the highest density for this surname to be in the British Isles, second highest in Australia/New Zealand  with a much lower frequency in North America. The village of Fugglestone St Peter is one mile east of Wilton and basically on the way into Salisbury these days. We passed by the roadsign on our tour of England.

The surname Canham is a locational name and the greatest frequency of this surname is in East Anglia with a slightly lower level in Wiltshire. In 1881 there were 49 occurrences per million names and in 1998 there were 51 occurrences per million names. It is thought to be a British name. Looking at the Protestation Returns for this area and Fugglestone St Peter includes Quidhampton and Bemerton and is listed in the Protestation Returns as:

Foulstan and Quidhampton

Uryah Bankes, curat
Thom Baker, churchwarden
George Bacon, churchwarden
William Scammell, overseer
John Feltham
Jarvise Hillman
William Ellis
John Ward
William Richards
Thomas Benger
George Feltham
Edward Feltham
Oliu Abun
John Froth
Roger Blake
Nicholas Blake
Thomas Gibbs
Mathewe Gibbs
John Mackerell, senior
John Mackerell, junior
Gilbert Watkins
Roger Meryvall
Edmond Targett
Richard Brashier
Edmond Ellis
John Thringe
Charles Blake
Randoll Bolton
Nicholas Topp
John Cooper
Roger Bacon
John Bacon, junior
John Bacon, senior
William Bacon
Richard Bacon
John White
William Privett
John Higgons
Henrey Best
Robert Elliott
Robert Starr
John Griffith
Richard Abyn

Bemerton

Adam Ranger, curat
Robert Bower
John Moowdye
Leonard Cooke
Thomas Ward
Robert Ward
Thomas Biggs
Henrey Ranger
Thomas Stevens
Thomas Cooper
William Bacon
John Grey
John Best, senior
John Best, junior
Thomas Ward
Nicholas Subdeane
Edward Ward
Robert Sheppard
Richard Goodfellowe
Richard Best
Humfry Creed
Richard Croatch
Vincent Fugar
Richard Daniell, senior
Henry Spelt
Richard Daniell, junior

I did not find a Canham family in this particular parish but the marriage was in West Harnham and the Protestion Returns:

West Harneham

John Fox, Minister
Richard Beevis, Churchwarden
John Jeffery, Churchwarden
Anthony Blethman, Overseer
John Bacon, Overseer
Robert Elliott, Tythingman
John Younge, gent
Steven Bowman, gent
Roger Langley
Richard Elliott
Henrey Orpen
William Dyer
Phillipp Mintorne
William Gigges
Thomas Barber
William Adlam
William Strugnell
Robert Thomas
Josias Luxan
John Stone
William Limington
Christopher Orron
William Crosman
Richard Laurence
James Lake
John Higgins
Richard Thomas
John Samuel
Richard Quent
John Strugnell, senior
John Strugnell, junior
John Jefferye, senior
William Randoll
John Randoll
John Jeffery, junior
William Jeffery
Richard Jeffrey, senior
Richard Jeffrey, junior
Richard Elliott
Bennett Jefferye
Joseph Mitchell
Walter Haylock
Thomas Head
William Mintorne
George Waterman
Oliu' Whinge
Henry Jefferey
Abraham Strange
Isaack Snelner
Nicholas Jefferey
John Stent
Robert Lymington
William Jefferye
William Ward
John Parker

I have begun my Protestation Returns from the Wiltshire Notes and Queries into a flat file it would appear. No sign of the Canham family in West Harneham.

I need to purchase the West Harnham Parish Register fiche to see if there is anything in the register that might give me details on the Canham family. I wonder if they have filmed the original parish registers? Hampshire Record Office did an absolutely superb job of filming their parish registers.

It would appear that in eight weeks when I look at this family again I shall be checking on family trees on World Connect and Ancestry to see if anything further has been posted which might give me some clues on this family.

George Lywood and Elizabeth Canham are my 4x great grandparents and the parents of George Lywood (baptized 7 May 1786 at West Harnham) and married to Martha Peck 26 October 1817 at Milston.

Matté and Gagnon families

Léon Matté married Marie Louise Gagnon 15 October 1865 at or near Plantagenet, Ontario in Prescott County. Léon stated that he was born at Vaudreuil Quebec, he was 22 years of age (est 1843) and he was the son of Louis Matte and Josette Bénoit. Louise stated that she was born at St Polycarpe Quebec, she was 19 years of age (est 1846) and that she was the daughter of Olivier Gagnon and Josephte Doutre.

For quite a while this couple was a brick wall for me. Léon Matte died 22 Mar 1917 and was buried 25 Mar 1917 at Notre Dame Cemetery, Ottawa. His burial lines stated that he was 73 years old (est 1844) and that Joseph Blais and Edward Gauthier were present (at some point in the future I shall determine if these were (as I suspect) sons in law). His death registration was somewhat more helpful. It stated that he was born at St. André Quebec. That he was a carriage maker by profession and that his father was Joseph Matte. The Informant was his wife Mrs. Léon Matte according to the document and they resided at 281 Guigues Avenue, Ottawa.

I placed all of my downloaded images for the Matté family  once again into the generational files with Generation 8 being the daughter Florence  baptized 13 Sep 1883 at St Jean Baptiste Parish, Ottawa, ON who married Joseph Valmore Bédard 30 Jan 1905 at Notre Dame Basilica, Ottawa. Using Tanquay I was able to work down to the fifth generation and then with the marriages I was able to prove the line down to Florence. The line back to the emigrant Nicolas Matté still needs to have the baptismal and burial records pulled. There are two lines of descent from Nicolas - his son Nicolas and his daughter Marie Louise.


I placed all of my downloaded images for the Gagnon family once again into the generational files with Generation 8 being Marie Louise Gagnon daughter of Olivier Gagnon and Josephte Doutre and they married 26 Jun 1844 at Curran, Saint Luc, Prescott ON. This information I obtained from the published descent of the Gagnon family. I am using it as a tool to work backwards and pull out all the documents for this family line. I have actually pulled all the records at this point for the marriages and now need to pull out the baptisms and burials. The parents of Olivier Gagnon were listed to be Louis Gagnon and Marie Elisabeth Caron who married 22 Sep 1800 at St Cuthbert Québec. The published transcription does verify this record. Mariages, sépultures et annotations marginales, paroisse St-Luc de Curran (Ontario), 1839-1994 compilé par Lucille Lalonde-Groulx, 1997 and located at Library and Archives Canada. Tanquay does not have this marriage but I was able to locate the marriage of Louis Gagnon and Marie Elisabeth Caron and the parents of Louis Gagnon were Louis Gagnon and Angélique Pelletier. Once again this marriage is not in Tanguay but once again I did find their marriage of 29 Aug 1768 at Ste Geneviève, Pierrefonds, Isle de Montréal. In turn this marriage states that the parents of Louis Gagnon were Jean Baptiste Gagnon and Marie Madeleine Bouthilllet. This marriage can be found in Tanguay. I continued pulling marriage right back to the emigrant ancestor Captain Pierre Gagnon.

I now need to pull all the baptisms and burials for the Gagnon line and indeed there are three Gagnon lines in this family tree. Jean (some write that he was a brother of Captain Pierre) and married to Marguerite Drouin and the two sons (Jean and Pierre) of Captain Pierre Gagnon.

For my next study session I wish to continue pulling documents for the Matté and Gagnon families.

Lywood Family of Wiltshire - Milston, West Harnham, Fugglestone St Peter, South Newton and Fovant

Most of the work on the Lywood family has been done by Warwick Lywood in his one-name study on Lywood with the Guild of one name Studies. When one looks at the World Profile site of the Lywood surname and I received a surprise because I had only looked at the British Isles profiler before for this surname, the highest frequency for the surname is in Canada at 2.52 per million with the United Kingdom at 2.01 per million and then three European countries - Denmark (0.33), Netherlands (0.32), and Norway (0.28). The top region is the Northwest Territories where the frequency per million shows 110.33 (one does not generally think in millions in the Northwest Territories of Canada :) as there are only 43,529 people living there).

My Lywood connection runs back through my paternal grandmother's line. Her mother Elizabeth Taylor (née Rawlings) was the daughter of Elizabeth Lywood and at that point the name enters into my tree. I have a picture of Elizabeth Lywood probably at a nursing home as the person beside her looks like a nursing sister. She died 2 Jul 1904 at Kimpton (actually at my great grandmother Elizabeth Taylor's home - Elizabeth must have slipped out to buy something as it was her neighbour who was actually listed as being the informant of her death. Unfortunately my paternal grandmother died five years before I was born and not a lot of stories about this family line were passed on as family lore.

Elizabeth Lywood's parents were George Lywood baptized 7 May 1786 at West Harnham and Martha Peck baptized 1 Jul 1792 at Milston. George and Martha married 26 October 1817 at Milston (the registration is somewhat confusing in that Martha is crossed out and the name Rebecca is written in). However, later census show that George married Martha Peck and there isn't a Rebecca to be found. George was a Waterloo pensioner serving in the Royal Welsh Fusiliers (23rd Regiment of Foot) and he earned several clasps during his service. He was honourably discharged in 1816 due to asthma. George and Martha had four children:

David baptized 20 Jul 1818 at Milston and married to Maria Henrietta Naish 21 Jun 1840 at Saint Edmunds Church, Salisbury

John baptized 11 Sep 1822 at Milston and married to Martha Elizabeth Jacobs 16 Nov 1844 at Figheldean

Elizabeth (as above)

George baptized 15 Apr 1832 and buried 18 Feb 1849 at Milston

It is John's line that brought the Lywood name to Canada via his grandson William George Lywood who emigrated to Canada in 1913 with his wife Alice Cannons and they were according to the ship's list heading for Winnipeg, Manitoba but they actually lived at Brockville, Ontario. They were accompanied by their children Robert, George and Nellie. This family I did know about from Warwick and I am curious if this is the family that my father corresponded with and can only vaguely remember his doing so when I was a child.

Looking up this family's emigration revealed another Lywood entry in 1919 and it was William John Lywood returning from the 1st world war. I have this person in the tree as a half brother to William George Lywood his father having been married twice - born Dec quarter 1888 at West Harnham. This was a puzzle to me actually and I have finally solved it. There were two Lywood lines in Canada (half siblings) and descended from Robert Lywood (youngest son of John).

I would like to learn a little more about the Lywood family and I have the protestation returns for this area in Wiltshire. I lately acquired these documents when we visited the Allen County Public Library.

Reviewing West Harneham  in 1641-42 I do not find any members of the Lywood family listed and this would be correct as they were not in this area until the middle 1700s.

Reviewing Foffont in 1641-42 I find Robert Lywood listed and indeed this is Robert Lywood married to Alice Baylie and he was born circa 1580s at Fovant and buried there 14 Dec 1660 (Robert and Alice were married 10 Jan 1624 at Fovant). Since his sons were all less than 18 (Robert was 13 and Thomas 8) they are not listed on the protestation return. I am curious about the Baylie family and there is a William Bayly listed. Whether or not this is the father of Alice remains to be proven. I shall set it as a goal of studying this particular family to learn more about the wives of the Lywood men since they are seldom researched in a one name study.

With that in mind I will check for:

Deart (Deare?) at Fovant
Bryan at Idmiston/Fovant/South Newton
Smith at Bemerton/South Newton
Canham at West Harnham

I did find a John Rawlins at South Newton and a Robert Rawlins at Fisherton Anger  which I shall tuck away for the Rawlins day.

There is a Deare family at Wishford Magna (three members on the Protestation Returns).

There is a Smith family at Steeple Langford (one member on the Protestation Return).

There is a Brian family at Langford Pva (one member on the Protestation Return)

There is a Smith family at Wyly (3 members on the Protestation Return).

There is a Smith family at Tilshead (1 member on the Protestation Return).

There is a Smith family at Shrewton (2 members on the Protestation Return (father and son)).

There is a Rawlins family (one member) and Smith family (six members) at Wilton Burg.

There is a Smith family at Fisherton Anger (three members on the Protestation Returns).

Interesting results from that quick survey and it has convinced me that I should enter these Protestation Returns into an excel file so that I can readily look at the names. This area is particularly pertinent to my paternal grandmother's line. My next study time for Lywood will be dedicated to that project.

Morgan family at Woodford Dorset

The Morgan family came to my attention because of the marriage of William Dove (of Woodford according to the parish register) and Jane Morgan 1 Jan 1783 at Saint Thomas, Salisbury, Wiltshire. William and Jane baptized a son Robert 14 Apr 1793 at Woodford and buried him 6 Aug 1793 also at Woodford. However, after searching the parish registers whilst at Salt Lake City I did not find any other baptisms for this family.

Mary Dove married Thomas Rawlins 9 Dec 1807 at Woodford but interestingly the priest has written the name as Rawlins in the Banns and Rawlence in the marriage registration. Since his father Jeremiah married at Tilshead I do not find it unusual that Thomas might marry at Woodford.

But I do wonder why no baptism for Mary Dove at Woodford. The priest records them both as "of Woodford" but I do not find any Rawlings in the parish other than this marriage in this time frame. There is a burial of a Mary Dove 4 June 1787 (65 years of age), a burial of a Robert Dove 30 Jul 1769, a burial of Ann daughter of William and Mary Dove 30 April 1767, a Samuel Dove was buried 29 November 1753, a Mary Dove buried 30 October 1733, a Susana Dove was buried 14 May 1717, a baptism of Robert son of William and Mary Dove 30 Apr 1764, the baptism of Samuel son of William and Mary Dove 27 March 1753, and a baptism of William son of William and Mary dove 4 May 1755.

The Dove family was at Woodford for at least the generation before William Dove married Jane Morgan in 1783 at Salisbury.Where were they from 1783 to 1793 when Robert was baptized at Woodford?

Other than sharing my finds at Woodford, I am not really solving the question as to whether this was my Thomas Rawlins at Woodford marrying Mary Dove in 1807. Definitely Thomas' wife was Mary by the baptisms of their children. I did try searching on the Chelsea Pensioner Records but did not find Thomas Rawlins there. The question is where were they from 1807 to 1823 when Jane was born at Enford (William in 1825)? Does it make sense to have this Thomas Rawlins as the husband of Mary Dove married at Woodford in 1807? If it is this Mary Dove then the likelihood of Mary being the child of William Dove and Jane Morgan is quite high given the identification of the groom as "of Woodford" in the marriage lines.

Bédard and Whélan families

Sorting the Bédard family into generational folders should enable me to now pull the other pertinent registrations from Ancestry or FamilySearch. I have accumulated a lot of the records but probably have as much again to download and save to files. The Bédard family lines include both sons of the emigrant Isaac Bédard and Marie Girard. Isaac and Marie were married 20 Mar 1644 in Chapelle Sainte-Marguerite, LaRochelle, Charente-Maritime, France. I do not have a baptism for Isaac (circa 1616 at St Sulpice de Paris, France) or Marie Girard said to have been baptized 16 Feb 1623 at Chapelle Sainte Marguerite, LaRochelle and the daughter of Simon Girard and Françoise Giraudet. This family is recorded as Generation I although they did emigrate to New France it is their son Isaac that I have placed in Generation 1although Isaac and Marie do not quite fit the criteria (were not married in New France), but they arrived in 1660 (father and son) where Jacques and Isaac were master carpenters with their wives and children arriving by 1663. Generation 2 of this family was also born in France Jacques was baptized 18 Dec 1644 at Chapelle Sainte Marguerite, LaRochelle and Louis 25 Feb 1655 as well. I would like to acquire the records for LaRochelle (these records I have from King's Daughters and Founding Mothers: The Filles du Roi 1663-1673 and written by Peter J Gagné) and will work away at that but moving forward Jacques married Elizabeth (Isabelle) Doucinet 4 Oct 1666 in Notre-Dame, Ville du Québec and Louis married Marie Madeleine Huppé. Elizabeth Doucinet was a Fille du Roi. I need to learn more about Marie Madeleine Huppé. I have not yet found the marriage registration for this couple. These two sons are both in Generation 2. Generation 3 has two sets of Bédard records for the two sons Charles François (son of Jacques) and Bernard (son of Louis). Generation 4 has the daughter of Bernard - Madeleine Marie who married Jean Pierre Villeneuve 23 Nov 1744 at Charlesbourg and this line then moves to the Villeneuve folder but Charles Joseph (son of  Charles François) continues the Bédard line down. I shall have to see how well this works out but it appears to be a good way to look at the ancestral lines. The Legacy file will maintain the links between the families when I produce an ahnantafel chart showing the generations back for each level. The next time that I work on the Bédard family I shall start with Generation 12 and insert the relevant documentation which is the marriage of our son in law and daughter. Then I can ensure that the line back is correct although it also matches the published information on this family. It is more a matter of collecting the relevant documents - this family is readily traced back to the founding Bédard family.

I also sorted out the folders for the Whélan family and this is one of my brick walls. I know that Charles Alexandre Bédard married Marie Emélie Whélan 29 Jul 1863 at Eglise St Jean Baptiste, Québec. Her parents were listed as Jean Thomas Whelan and Emilie Fournier dite Larose. Both Charles, his father Pierre and Jean Thomas were all carpenters (all three men signed the marriage register). The marriage of Jean Thomas Whelan and Emilie Fournier dite Larose took place 13 Jan 1835 at Notre-Dame, Québec with the priest recording the names as Thomas Welland and Emilie Fournier dite Larose. Thomas Welland (painter) was the son of Thomas Welland and Elizabeth Pépin dite Lachance and Emilie Fournier dite Larose daughter of Jean Baptiste Fournier dit Larose and Elizabeth Labbé. Linking these families apears to be quite straightforward. On the 1871 census Thomas Whélan and Emilie Whélan are still at Quebec city and he is a carpenter (they have seven children listed (Emélie married in 1863) and lists his Origin as Français. My next research day I will concentrate on Thomas and see what I can discover about him. Tanguay lists only one entry for an alternative spelling of this name - Edouard Wehenlan and very scant information which appears to be a second wife Suzanne Power born at Ballobrican, Ireland. World Connect offers four trees for this family none of which provide any further information. The website Généalogie du Québec et de l'Acadie does not have this particular set of information and once I am convinced that I have sufficient proof I will add the information. Ancestry offers four trees for this line but none go back before Thomas Welland (Whelan) and Elizabeth Pépin dite Lachance.

Blake Family One Name Study and Bédard

With my membership in the Guild of One Name Studies comes the perk of Marriage Challenges. These are very handy especially with the price of a marriage registration certificate being now nine pounds sterling. The marriages help to establish the family lines in the 1800s and are an absolute must in any family study. I am slowly working away on the 30,000 Blake marriages in England matching up couples where possible but individual marriage challenges do this for me automatically as the data is pulled from the original parish registers and civil registers. I searched out my marriages for two today and I had already prepared my excel file for both of them so it was an easy transfer. I hadn't matched up all the marriages using the census so I proceeded to do that and it is a lengthy task to do 35 marriages working through FreeBMD and the census.

I am also working on the The Blake Newsletter and it was written by Barrie Blake this time. I am just adding or revising a couple of items - we do each others and that works very well as it is really difficult to proofread your own work.

It is certainly nice to be settling back into regular research. I need to now plan my research time for the French Canadian lines of our son in law. I have allotted one hour per day (it can easily run to two hours because of the placement) to work on each of his 32 3x great grandparents. This may seem like a lot but indeed I could just as easily of gone back to the 6x great grandparents and worked on all of them as well. It is a consideration on my part as I have assigned 28 to their own individual day and then I have placed two on the weekends where it works otherwise I have three in one day on a weekday because the calendar doesn't have an exact number of days per month. My own lines I have rotating on an eight week basis - five to a week but I do not have nearly as many of my 4x great grandparents covered in my research!

I will be working on Bédard, Whélan, Matte, Gagnon, Mourier, Bertrand, Nepveu, Audet dit Lapointe, Grégoire, Séguin dit Ladéroute, Tremblay, Labelle, Lauzon, Brunet, Lanoie, Rhéaume, Dumoulin, Renaud, Larente dit Vinet, Cadieux, Clément, Charlebois, Pomainville, Pilon, Prévost, Desjardins, Deschatelets, Quesnel, St-Jean, Lavigne, Chénier and Racine. I am considering doing a second month which would include Patry, Fournier dit Larose, Bénoit dit Vaillacourt, Doutre, Monestier, Piché, Richer, Hémard dit Poitvin, Groux, Bernard dit Blondin, Lacroix, Thibaut, Constantineau, Boileau, Payette dit St-Amour, Sarrazin, Demers, Blais, Racicot, Lamarque dit Matthieu, Chantal, Desloges dit Poirier, Monette dit Boiseux, Creujeur (Kruger), St-Denis, Legault, D'Amour, Campeau, and Douras (Douvas). This would then take me back to the 4x great grandparents and mostly  in the early 1800s/late 1700s. I have already taken his lines back to early New France and to the parents in France but I have not yet collected all the registrations. I would also like to now seek out the notary records and other records that might be at Library and Archives Canada which would give a fuller picture of these families.

I shall follow approximately the same process each day. First I will check to make sure I have all the registrations from Ancestry or the LDS website as an image in the family folder. Then within each folder I shall arrange them by generation from the emigrant. If I eventually find the registrations for these families in France then I shall simply alter the arabic to a roman numeral with the roman numerals marking the generations back from the emigrant and the parents being the I generation. I shall then check Tanguay to see if what I have also blends in with what he has (I started to use Tanguay about a year after I started). In the cases where I am still in the late 1700s, Tanguay is great to help you look at the lines going back to the emigrant. I shall also have a look at Ancestry family trees and World Connect. I will also search the Library and Archives Canada website to note items that I wish to check on my next visit.

Process:

1. Label generations within the family folder
2. Pull missing registrations from Ancestry and LDS website
3. Check Tanguay
4. Check Ancestry family trees
5. Check World Connect family trees
6. Search LAC for incidences of family name

Bédard is the family name that I wish to work on today but my time is somewhat limited as I am also getting ready for Easter. I am curious what brought Charles Alexandre  and Marie Emelie Whélan from Quebec City to Ottawa  following the birth of their first child (baptized 1 Jun 1864 at St Jean Baptiste, Quebec, Quebec. It was an interesting time for a carpenter to come to this area. I want to search at the archives to see if I am able to discover where he worked. Ten children were born to this family - seven boys and three girls. I suspect that many of the Bédard families in this area are descended from Charles Alexandre. Charles can trace his lineage all the way back to Jacques who was the son of the emigrant Isaac and Marie Girard and they had married 20 Mar 1644 at La Rochelle, France.The first process of sorting may well take me all of my time for this first session. It is one of the reasons why I am not going to set up the second month of names yet. Once I have organized the first 32 folders (I have 387 family folders already and I am only going to look at 32 of these to start) then I can start to move back and organize folders as I go working then on the entire family but my starting point will then be 64 families and their ancestors. We will see how it works out. I suspect this too will be a lifetime vocation which I shall hope to pass on to one of our son-in-law's family members in the future.

Dove Family at Woodford

The Dove Family at Woodford is one of my finds at Salt Lake City back in October/November 2008 and I am a long time getting back to looking at them and why I felt the evidence pointed to Mary Dove being the wife of Thomas Rawlins. Thomas Rawlins was baptized 20 September 1783 at Enford, Wiltshire. The Rawlins family had been at Enford since 1743 when their eldest son was baptized there. Thomas was a grandson of the couple that are first at Enford. I need to actually transcribe the Parish Registers for Enford to determine if there were Rawlin(g)s there prior to 1743 - visually I have not found any.

Jeremiah Rawlins (baptized 13 Apr 1755 at Netheravon, Wiltshire) was the father of Thomas above and he had married Sarah Tanner at Tilshead, Wiltshire 1 Nov 1780. When I found the marriage of William Rawlings and Mary Ford at Wylye I was not overly surprised at the distance as this family seemed to move about marrying. However, now that I have worked on French Canadian Parish Registers I need a little more now when I find these records although this was the only marriage that would work in the IGI and BVRI II for William Rawlins/Rawlings. However, as I mentioned in the Rawlings writeup I will continue hunting out more evidence for this marriage. The Jeremiah Rawlins and Sarah Tanner marriage is correct (Jeremiah is identified as of Enford). That brings me back to Thomas Rawlins and marrying Mary Dove at Woodford, Wiltshire 9 Dec 1807. Enter the 1841 Census where Thomas Rawlins is found with his wife Mary and two sons Isaac 25 years and William 15 years and at Enford, Wiltshire. The age of Thomas works (55 years and actual would be 58 so rounded down as per the instructions given to the enumerators) and the age of Mary is also 55. They are listed as being at Netheravon and I believe this family lived on the outskirts of Enford close to the outskirts of Netheravon so it is the enumerator's call likely as to where they are listed. I am lucky with this family as the 1861 census lists Thomas a widower, William and Elizabeth Rawlins (my 2x great grandparents) are living with him along with two of his sons and I am now realizing that Jeremiah is still there so he was not transported after all - the Jeremiah transported was sent in the 1840s to Australia. Always good to go back and check material.

But back to the Dove family and I found a marriage between William Dove and Jane Morgan 1 Jan 1783 at SaintThomas, Salisbury, Wiltshire. This William  Dove is perhaps the William Dove baptized 4 May 1755 at Woodford and the son of William and Mary Dove who baptized four children at Woodford and Mary was buried there 4 Jun 1787.

Children of William and Mary Dove

William (as above)
Samuel baptized 27 Mar 1757; buried 29 Nov 1758 at Woodford
Ann buried 30 Apr 1764 at Woodford
Robert baptized 30 Apr 1763; buried 30 Jul 1679 at Woodford

I did not find a marriage for William Dove and Mary at Woodford but this was at Salt Lake City and I did not spend a great deal of time reading back through the Parish Registers. There was a Mary Dove buried 30 Oct 1733 at Woodford as well. There was a Susanna Dove daughter of Mary Dove (widow) buried 14 May 1717 at Woodford.

I did not find a baptism for a Mary Dove between 1783 and 1798 at Woodford but I did find Robert Dove baptized there 14 Apr 1793 and buried 6 Aug 1793 at Woodford. No other children appeared to have been born to this couple.The beta site of the IGI lists a Mary Dove as buried 12 Jun 1787 at Woodford (no further information given). I would anticipate that her baptism/birth was likely in the 1780s because she married in 1807 at Woodford.

I need to further investigate the Dove family and purchasing the Woodford Parish Registers might be a good step. I shall investigate doing so for the next Dove day.

I also want to get back to working on our son-in-law's French Canadian Ancestry (Bédard, Dumoulin etc) and will now set up an hour each day to look at particular families. This process works very well for me and leaves me free in the morning to work on Blake and Pincombe or other material that comes to light. I also want to get back to entering books into Library Thing to complete that project.

Recording Images of genealogical material for rapid retrieval

Recording images in a flat excel file for future reference was one of the tools that I set up as soon as I purchased my first digital camera. I have used my husband's digital cameras through the year but when we were going to Salt Lake City in the fall of 2008, I decided that I needed to own a good digital camera and bought a 10 pixel Canon which worked very well for me. It was a learning curve though in terms of photographing documents and some of the ones that I took are blurry. When we go to Salt Lake City there are a few that I will redo although they now have the ability to download to a memory stick which would actually be preferable. However, the camera is still a good standby visiting Archives that are not so equipped.

My file is simply set up with just the image number, the place where I actually took the picture, what is on the image and this doesn't have to be too exhaustive in terms of detail I have found. I want to be able to search the file and find any references to particular families so the details tend to include the family surname that is most prominent in that regard. With many thousands of images now of genealogical records I need to be able to pull them out quickly to look out and not spend hours finding them. A real gem I found at Allen County Public Library this time was the Protestation Returns for Wiltshire (partial) that I photographed. My fingers are itching to get at them one of these time. With many family lines from particular areas that stretch back into the 1600s the Protestation Returns are a must to help me see who was there and over eighteen at that time.

I copied all the frontispieces of the Blake books at the Allen County Public Library and will share that information on one of the Blake Newsletters in the near future. I want to mention that Somersby is not to be trusted in terms of Blake descent.

I can see now that I have all the images entered in from The Allen County Public Library and The Connecticut State Archives (mostly Blake) that I have a huge chore in front of me working on this material. I will save the parts that pertain to families other than Blake for their particular assigned day.

I also completed the Siderfin material and there are over 300 MB of documents to burn to a CD and send in to the Guild Archives and to the new One Name Study Co-ordinator. I shall get that done early next week and hopefully mailed off soon. Again this family will have their own special day so I will not do anything with the material until that day. I could see that I have some information to add into my charts.

My only non-Blake project is the Pincombe family where I am still the one name study co-ordinator although would also give that up to someone in England if they wished to take it on. As it stands, it needs someone who can travel about to the various archives looking up items in order to pursue this family further. I will continue inputting the older study into Legacy as I have only four of the 16 charts done. It is a massive effort as I need to check each marriage since the charts were mostly prepared by word of mouth and collecting people's transcribed information.

It is nice though concentrating on my two family lines (Blake - my father and Pincombe - my mother). I am hoping that one day someone will take over Lambden as I have not accomplished hardly anything at all on this family. I had not realized it would be such a large family when I took it on as the records spelled our line as Lambsden which is a very very small grouping.

Siderfin Family

Recently Mark Siderfin has taken over the Siderfin family one name study that I was leading. He is ideally located to do the study in far more depth than I could and I was very happy for him to take it on. I have finally begun the task of putting together the material that I have accumulated to submit to the Guild Archive and to send to Mark in case there is anything that I accumulated that he does not yet have. I still need to go through my Siderfin binder and scan any material that I have not yet scanned and then I will be ready to burn everything to a disc and send it off. I need to see if I can find a "Gold" DVD/CD as that is the standard that is desired for Guild archiving. That slowed me down earlier and I haven't had a chance to think about where I might locate such a disc. I shall concentrate on that and getting it all put together by the end of the month and mailed.

My Siderfin family ancestor was Elizabeth (baptized Betty but known as Elizabeth in her adult life) Siderfin (baptized 19 Jun 1759 at Wootton Courtney) and she married John Rew 30 Jan 1792 at Selworthy Somerset. She was buried 20 Dec 1828 at Selworthy Parish Church (in the burial register and her husband asked to be buried near her in his will of 1848). Her daughter Elizabeth Rew was married to John Pincombe and they were my emigrant ancestors to Canada in 1850/51. They left from Plymouth 20 Nov 1850 and arrived at the Port of New York 7 January 1851. Tales of their journey passed down through the family but I suspect they were greatly embellished possibly because of the death at sea of Thomas Pincombe and his entire family when they were coming to join them in 1855. Apparently food supplies ran low by the time they arrived and indeed their journey was a long one for the mid 1800s (48 days) given their point of debarkation was Plymouth so they were practically on the open ocean already. It was sufficiently harrowing that even with the opportunity Elizabeth could not be persuaded to return to England for a holiday. Her sons though returned to England bringing back the Red Devon cows for their farms.

Elizabeth Siderfin's parents were Robert Siderfin and Grace Kent who married 5 Feb 1752 at Selworthy with Robert baptized 23 Jun 1726 at Cutcombe and Grace baptized 25 Apr 1731 at Selworthy. It was the place of baptisms for both Robert and Elizabeth that eventually led to my disagreeing with the published book on the Siderfin family which linked my Robert back to the rather elderly Robert Siderfin baptized 9 Mar 1685 at Selworthy. Indeed, my Robert was the son of Augustine Siderfin who married Mary Davies at Cutcombe 29 Apr 1720 and taught school there for many years. Augustine was buried at Wootton Courtney 1 Mar 1762 which is more than enough reason for Elizabeth to be baptized at Wootton Courtney. Augustine in turn was the son of Robert Siderfin baptized 23 Aug 1658 at Selworthy and married to Elizabeth Question (marriage not yet located but proven by the will of her father Augustine Question where he mentions his daughter Elizabeth married to Robert Siderfin and his grandson Augustine Siderfin). This was another error in the book as Sanders' book has Robert married to Elizabeth Blackford. (History of the Siderfin Family of West Somerset by James Sanders, published 1910 private). A copy of this book can be found on my website.

My trek down memory lane has been an interesting one. I have kept fairly close tabs on my Siderfin family because of the study and will leave any further querying to the special day for the Siderfin family to come in my calendar of review.

Over 300 MB of data on just this one family line and I have it ready now to burn to a CD to submit to the Guild of One Name Studies and the new manager of the Siderfin One Name Study.

That used up a good deal of my day and I didn't accomplish a lot more.

Rawlin(g)s Family of Enford, Wiltshire and Blake One Name Study

As usual, I worked at the beginning of the day on my Blake One Name Study. I managed to find the correct partner for a number of the marriages in the 1911 census of England. I will continue working on the Hampshire Blake marriages to complete the time period from 1901 to 1911 in as much as possible. After that it gets easier as I have access to both FindMyPast and Ancestry for the UK Census from 1841 to 1901 (1911 for enumerator books). I may yet expand my FindMyPast membership to include the 1911 census - still thinking about that.

I also commented on the I2a2 DNA study which now has a Wiki. My Blake line is I2a2b with only one "match" which is only 8/12 but rather interesting because we are both so far away from everyone else to make us look like matches :) I was curious if anyone out there would comment and indeed I had a comment back from a member of the group who lives in Galway, Ireland. That was amazing and I commented how great it would be for a Blake to test who can paper trail himself back to the Blake family of 16th/17th century Galway. Who knows; it might happen and that would clearly establish whether or not these two Blake families are related - I do not think so but these days I wait for the results before actually deciding!

The family for me to look at today is the Rawlings family. This is my paternal grandmother's family line. Her mother was Elizabeth Rawlings daughter of William Rawlings and Elizabeth Lywood who married 22 Sep 1849 in Amesbury RD, Wiltshire which includes Milston (parish of Elizabeth Lywood). I have a picture of William Rawlings if anyone reads this and thinks they are related.

This picture was taken in the late 1800s and William is 75 years old. His death registration shows date of death as 10 September 1902.  William was possibly born at Enford or closeby but I have not located his baptism. I have not located the baptisms of his siblings either which makes me suspicious that they were perhaps baptized elsewhere and the records for elsewhere are not yet available on FindMyPast. My great grandmother was born at Enford according to her birth registration and the father of William was baptized at Enford thus leading to my suspicion that he was born at Enford. He is always on the census at Enford from 1841 to 1861. The second youngest child was born at Enford in 1863 and the last child was born at Collingbourne Ducis in 1870. I do have the fiche for Enford and did not find a baptism for William at Enford but they lived on the far end of Enford and could have readily baptized children at Netheravon (his grandfather Jeremiah was baptized at Netheravon) and I do not have those parish registers yet.

The children of William Rawlings and Elizabeth Lywood were

George born 1851 at Milston and married Mary Ann Mead by 1872 possibly at Ludgershall
Harriet born 1852 at Enford; died in childbirth 1874 at Devizes
Elizabeth (my great grandmother) born 19 Oct 1853 at Enford and married William Taylor 11 Feb 1882 at Ludgershall
Mary Jane born 1856 at Enford
William born 1858 at Enford and married Jane Barlow June quarter 1883 at Collingbourne Ducis
David born 1863 at Enford and married Hannah Elizabeth Broadhurst Dec quarter 1891 at Collingbourne Ducis
Sidney Herbert Rawlings born 1870 at Collingbourne Ducis in 1870 and married Lily Sherwood 10 Oct 1892 at Abbotts Ann, Hampshire

 Other than finding baptisms for William Rawlings and his siblings I have a fair amount of information on them. The parents of William Rawlings were Thomas Rawlins baptized 20 Sep 1783 at Enford and Mary Dove (younger sibling of Mary Dove was baptized at Woodford but when I checked the baptisms there is a gap. However her parents were married at Saint Thomas Parish in Salisbury 1 January 1783 so it is possible that she was baptized elsewhere. A quick check of FindMyPast with all the new Wiltshire records might reveal new information but I found nothing.

Children of Thomas Rawlins and Mary Dove and these children do not have baptisms at Enford. Why the surname now is spelled Rawlings is a mystery to me.

Harriet Rawlins born 1813
Isaac Rawlins born 1818
Harriet Rawlins born 1819
Jeremiah Rawlins born 1821
Jane Rawlins born 1823
William Rawlin(g)s (as above)

 I assume that Harriet (1) died before 1819. I am curious if Thomas was in the British Army and need to check that out. The marriage of Thomas Rawlins and Mary Dove was 9 Dec 1807 at Woodford. I do not find any other children born to this couple. I can not find many details on the siblings - Isaac never married, Jeremiah went to Australia I think.

Thomas Rawlins was the son of Jeremiah (Jerome) Rawlins and Sarah Tanner. The priest at Tilshead wrote that Jeremiah Rawlins was of Enford on the marriage registration dated 1 Nov 1780. Jeremiah was baptized 13 April 1755 at Netheravon and the priest recorded that his parents William and Mary Rawlins were from Enford. Sarah Tanner was baptized 31 Dec 1758 at Tilshead and the daughter of John Tanner and Ann Stratton. John and Ann had only two children, John was baptized 10 Mar 1756 at Tilshead and John Tanner and Ann Stratton had married 27 Jan 1752 at Little Cheverell. To date I have not discovered anything further on this family. Returning to Jeremiah he was the last child baptized in the William Rawlins and Mary Ford marriage. Mary Rawlins was buried 10 Mar 1789 at Enford; no burial date yet found for William Rawlins. If this is the correct marriage and I am still working on that they married 30 Sep 1741 at Wylye

Children of Jeremiah Rawlins and Sarah Tanner all baptized at Enford

Elizabeth baptized 26 Aug 1781 at Enford and married William Hurkett 10 Feb 1808 at Enford with children Rachel born 1816 and Charity born 1826 (census)

Thomas (as above) and died March quarter 1866 in Pewsey RD (need to purchase this death registration)

Anne baptized 6 Dec 1785 at Enford; likely died by 1793

John baptized 8 Oct 1786 at Enford and married to unknown with son William born 1814 at Enford (from this line many of the Australian Rawlins are descended and they have retained the Rawlins spelling)

Jeremiah baptized 13 Feb 1790 at Enford (he may have emigrated to Australia as well)

Anne baptized 4 Apr 1793; buried 7 Dec 1793 at Enford

William baptized 5 Mar 1797 at Enford

Anne baptized 5 Mar 1797 at Enford

James born 1801 and married Ruth Lay 24 Apr 1828 at Enford with sons George born 1829 and Thomas born 1840 (census)

The children of William Rawlins and Mary Ford were not all baptized at Enford; I need to investigate to see if I can find a baptisms for them at Wylye or closeby

Mary born 1742 and married Stephen Cotterel 28 Jan 1764 at Enford with son Stephen whose daughter Mary married her 2nd cousin William Rawlins (b 1814 Enford) and they lived in Australia.

William baptized 17 Nov 1743 at Enford married Mary Dyke 25 Sep 1766 at Enford and their children Anne baptized 3 Mar 1767 ; buried 9 Sep 1767 at Enford, Charlotte baptized 25 Aug 1771 at Chisenbury and William 5 Apr 1778 at Enford.

Edward born 1745 (baptism not found at Enford (I have the fiche)) married Ruth White 20 Jun 1766 at Enford and they had five children Mary baptized 2 Aug 1766; buried 21 Aug 1766 at Enford, Anne baptized 13 Jun 1767 at Enford, Elizabeth baptized 19 Sep 1768 at Enford, Mary baptized 8 Feb 1770 at Enford and John baptized 24 Sep 1776 at Enford.

Elizabeth baptized 26 Jun 1747, married 31 May 1772 Thomas Hillier at Enford and they had nine children all baptized at Enford (details available to anyone looking for this information)

Thomas baptized 14 Jan 1748; buried 11 Jul 1758 at Enford

Martha baptized 23 Jun 1751 at Enford married Robert Matthews with son Jeremiah baptized 12 Oct 1777 at Enford

John baptized 22 Oct 1752 at Enford

Jeremiah baptized 13 Apr 1755 at Netheravon

I can not move back from William Rawlins and Mary Ford until I can prove that this marriage is correct. I looked at the marriage at Wylye but only a typed transcript was available and this couple were married by banns. At some point I need to order the Wylye parish register fiche and will consider that for my next research day. Definitely the Rawlins were not at Enford before the 1740s - I have read the Parish Registers well back into the 1600s. Where were they before the 1740s is a mystery although it is interesting the Jeremiah (my 5x great grandfather) married at Tilshead. One is left to ponder if this is a family that lived permanently in another parish or moved about somewhat; certainly they spent the time from 1742 until the 1860s at Enford.