Marriage of William Charles Pincombe and Annie Steel Smith in 1899

The marriage of William Charles Pincombe and Annie Steel Smith in l899 at St John's Church in the Parish of St John Bootle in the Registration District of West Derby has fascinated me ever since I found it on Free BMD back in the early days of my Pincombe one name study. Who was this William Charles Pincombe? His forenames reminded me of my great grandfather's youngest brother Philip's family. Philip Pincombe married Julia Susannah Greene 2 Jul 1840 at St Andrews, Clifton in Gloucester, England. They had six children of whom only three survived to adulthood with just the first and the last child marrying. The forenames in his family included Charles, Philip, William and Richard. Philip was only six when his mother died and eight when his father died and he was raised by his elder brother John (my ancestor).


Solving the mystery of this William Charles Pincombe is not going to happen with the marriage registration.  The only William Charles Pincombe in Free BMD was born July quarter 1864 at Clerkenwell, London.


Having the marriage lines from a recent Marriage Challenge has given me more details on this family. They married 15 Nov 1899 and William Charles Pincombe was 30 years of age, a bachelor working as a Commercial Traveller and living at 123 Benedict Street with father William Pincombe and he was a Horse Dealer. Annie Steele Smith was 21 years of age, a spinster, living at 119 Benedict Street and the daughter of John Smith a Printer. They were married after Banns by Charles Lester, MA Vicar. They both signed the register and the witnesses were William Coulthard and Catherine Coulthard.

When I search the census the only William I can find married to an Annie in the 1901 census is living with his parents (William and Elizabeth Pincombe) and he is a farmer with a father being a retired farmer. William and Annie do not have any children. There are only two entries with one having a birth year of 1871 and the other a birth year of 1867. The 30 year old lives at Week near Burrington (South Molton) and is married to Annie G who was born at Highbickington Devon and is 25 years of age and William is listed as being born at Burrington and a farm. They live with his parents William and Elizabeth Pincombe and that William a retired farmer.

The other possibility is that they emigrated after marriage. The only outbound Pincombe (Wm E) that I find departed in 1896 for Calcutta, India. He was single at that time but his second initial is definitely an E looking at the rest of the page.

Is it possible to at last attach this marriage to a known Pincombe family? Searching on BMD there are a number of children with surname Pincombe registered at South Molton RD. However I need to turn to the 1911 census to see if I can continue to see William Pincombe as a farmer and he is now 40 years of age (born in 1871) and rather interestingly he is married and retired and his mother is still living with him. His wife is however missing but crossed out are the completed years of marriage and that is 11 years. I find Annie G Pincombe living with her parents and her father is a farmer Thomas Slee. This does eliminate this family from being the married couple William Charles Pincombe and Annie Steel Smith.

Looking at the 1871 census at St James Clerkenwell I find an Alice Pincombe as head of a family (she is married and 38 years of age). She has eight children: Clara (13), Alice (11), Florance (9), Fanny (8), Harriet (6), William (4), Julia (2), and Thomas (1).  This Alice was born at Margate Kent and all of her children were born in London.

Looking at the 1861 census at Clerkenwell St James, I find William and Alice Pincombe and he is a traveller. They have three children Clara, Alice and Florance. It is difficult to read his place of birth but it could be the City of London. Alice (his wife) is born at Margate Kent once again.

I find the marriage of William Larking Pincombe and Alice  Barton September quarter 1856 at Clerkenwell. These marriages are online and William Larking Pincombe is the son of  Charles Richard Pincombe (also a Traveller) and he was 21 years of age with Alice Barton being 23 years of age. They both signed the parish register. The witnesses were Thomas Barton and Charlotte Noble.

Now looking at my Pincombe charts from the earlier researchers I find that there is a William Larkin Pincombe born circa 1836 at Stepney and he was the son of Charles Pincombe and Mary Meredith according to the chart and they married  26 Jul 1829 at Saint Bride Parish Church in the City of London. This register is online at Ancestry and reads:

Charles Pincombe of the Parish of Saint Dunstan Stepney in the County of Middlesex Bachelor and Mary Meridith of the Parish of Saint Bride London a Spinster were married in this Church by Licence this twenty sixth day of July in the Year 1829 by me J M Jones Curate, both signed the register and the witnesses were James Good and Sarah Good.

The Chart does not take Charles back further so is brickwalled thus far but do have a date of birth for him of the 8 of Jul of 7 of Aug 1804 and he died in 1857. I have not yet entered this particular chart into my Legacy one name study for Pincombe but will move to doing that soon.

Why William would refer to his father as a horse dealer though in the marriage between William Pincombe and Annie Steele Smith? Is it just an inaccuracy, had he changed his occupation from traveller? All interesting questions but for the moment I shall seriously consider that William Charles Pincombe in this marriage goes back to Charles Pincombe and Mary Meredith of Stepney London. The Pincombe family at Stepney is somewhat known to me in that Arthur Pincombe married Elizabeth Milton 13 Oct 1784 at St James Westminster and this Arthur was baptized 26 Dec 1761at Robourough by Torrington Devon and he was buried 19 Apr 1823 at St Mary Whitechapel, Stepney. Arthur married a second time to Ann Smale. I have information from a direct descendant of this family which is somewhat similar to the information on the charts and it was he who alerted me to the existence of the charts at the Society of Genealogists a number of years ago. He sent me all his research which I have on a CD. I think that this Charles would have to be a collateral line if he is related to Arthur but more investigation on that later. An interesting foray into the Pincombe family.