Thursday, June 22, 2023

Fifth Generation of the Siderfin family and the Thomas-Line

Once into the Siderfin book again I rapidly made the decision that William born circa 1671 could not be proven in the Fifth generation and likely belonged in the Sixth Generation and so I have placed him there. His father likely Robert and I did find deeds from the 1680s and 1690s that indicate Robert at Timberscombe had a son William. William Siderfin, son of Robert is mentioned on a 1682 deed which includes a reference to Robert Siderfin of East Lynch, Timberscombe, yeoman. Coming back after a few days off made me notice that a William Siderfin and his wife Mary are associated with Robert Siderfin of East Linch in a deed created in 1698 and this William was of Minehead. So, William is the son of Robert 6 (Robert 5, William 4, Robert 3, William 2, John 1). Nice to have that settled in my mind. I was concentrating on the coat of arms usage and finding that the Mary listed by James Sanders as his wife with a will in 1747 did not work datewise that meant that the William-Line was just as likely as the Robert-Line. 

Kayaking in the early afternoon yesterday was a beautiful experience; out in the wetlands surrounded by greenery was quite striking. We saw a number of Great Blue Herons - one sat by the water's edge as we moved out from the pier. Never moved actually; just stood there watching us. Then along the way a family of Canada Geese taking their young ones across the waterway so we slowed up and let them take their time crossing which they did. Many many turtles out sunning themselves on the sunken logs in the various waterways. Certainly an interesting hour on the waterway. No beavers; too early in the day. Another beautiful sunny day forecast with air quality at 35. Must try and get the new bird feeder up today. The chipmunks will not likely use it which would be nice although do not begrudge the chipmunks the food they collect but it is a bird feeder :)

James Sanders in his book "The Siderfin Family of West Somerset" page 29 states " By one of the earlier marriages he had two sons, Walter and Robert, but neither is referred to in his will, by which he left all his lands in Somerset and Devon, subject to a charge for the payment of his debts, to his wife Elizabeth, and made her residuary legatee and sole executrix." The choice of the two names is interesting and I have not been able to find baptisms for these two sons. Walter is an interesting name in the family but I have earlier shown that Walter is likely the son of John 6 (Robert 5, William 4, Robert 3, William 2, John 1). Robert 5, in his mother Christian (Webber) Siderfin's will is said to have three children Robert, Wilmot and John (see Generation 5). 

Both of the sons of Thomas 4 (Robert 3, William 2, John 1) were in debt at the time of their deaths and there do not appear to be any male descendants for Thomas 4 at the grandchild level. His grandaughters are Ann Siderfin (daughter of Thomas 5) and Elizabeth Siderfin (daughter of Robert 5). James Sanders does not list the two sons mentioned in the text, Walter and Robert, on his Pedigree Chart.

The children of Thomas 4 are the last grandchildren of Robert 3 (William 2, John 1)  to resolve on the Chart that James Sanders produced. Moving forward the William-Line (William 4, Robert 3, William 2, John 1) and the Thomas-Line (Thomas 4, Robert 3, William 2, John 1) all daughter out in the grandchildren generation (Generation 5).  The exceptions in the William-Line  are the sons of Robert 5 (William 4, Robert 3, William 2, John 1) with two sons Robert 6 and John 6, the son of William 5 (William 4, Robert 3, William 2, John 1) who has a son Thomas but no further information thus far and the sons of Thomas 5 (William 4, Robert 3, William 2, John 1) with two sons Thomas 6 (unknown status) and Philip 6 (likely died as a child of 9 years of age). In the Thomas-Line there are no known exceptions other than the reference that James Sanders makes in his text mentioning that Robert 5 (Thomas 4, Robert 3, William 2, John 1) has sons Walter and Robert but not mentioned on the Pedigree Chart which he produced. 

Just to do as clean a research as possible, I will do searches on the London and area Parish Registers in Find My Past and Ancestry today. It would be neat to move onto the Sixth Generation by the weekend. Having resolved all the conflicts on the Fifth Generation level at this moment in time and any future information can only benefit this level for sure. Doing the changes/corrections to James Sanders' book is just one step in the history of the family; I am sure that steps will follow my own rendition of the research that I am currently doing on this particular line and thank whomever does do that in the future. 

We are approaching the dry spell in Canada although we may have surprises as El Nino suggests that this area of Canada will be cooler and wetter so our level of forest fires may well diminish although management is always ongoing. Permitting the fires to burn out does regenerate the landscape and I always remember the beauty of Obatanga Provincial Park when we visited it about five years after a forest fire. It was absolutely stunning although the stark reminders of the forest fire were still prominent with the burned out hulks of trees still standing but the growth was amazing. Pristine perfect lakes and rivers with portages was a lovely way to spend our holiday that year as we traveled across Northern Ontario (we planned to go back but children  and the ruggedness of the terrain for small ones kept us close to home for a few years and then time passed and we traveled back to Europe and the British Isles so that forays into the north just did not happen again until much later). I often wonder what Obatanga looks like now and did have a glance at the Parks page. It was created in 1967 so we were there just a short time after that. Amazing really.

The day moves onward and I have much to accomplish. I may water again today as no rain until the weekend. The garden looks good and we ate lettuce and green onions yesterday. The raspberry bushes are about to burst forth with their treats soon enough. The currant bushes are a favourite of the birds and we may make a nice currant juice. The gooseberry bushes are loaded with fruit and the elderberry bushes are doing well. The rhubarb was a good crop this year. The tomato plants and peppers are now in bloom. The garden is definitely moving along. This regenerative gardening is interesting especially if it does regenerate the soil. The sunflowers are reaching upward further every day. In the back garden where the rabbits like to feed the carrots are growing, the radishes are starting to thicken, the beans are good sized plants, the beets are growing and the rabbits have been nibbling. Further back the cucumber plants are growing quickly now and the racoon if it returns will enjoy those (as will we if they produce enough). The bird life has been very frequent this year and getting up the second feeder would be great as it is better for the baby birds being taught to eat at a feeder. Bird parents are very efficient actually and hover about their young protecting them and teaching them. 

On to breakfast.

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