William Dove and Jane Morgan

William Dove and Jane Morgan were the parents of Mary Dove and online records had given me a marriage for Thomas Rawlence and Mary Dove 9 Dec 1807 at Woodford, Wiltshire, England. I hesitated for ever so long to look seriously at this marriage but decided when I was writing up my 52 ancestor Challenge for my 4x great grandparents to at least write about William Dove and Jane Morgan my possible 4x great grandparents.

Enter electronic availability of Wiltshire records online at Find My Past. I had read the Woodford Parish Records and accepted the spelling of Mary's last name as Dove in the 9 Dec 1807 record of Banns for marriage with Thomas Rawlence. However Find My Past has the surname of Dear - Thomas Rawlins married Mary Dear 9 Dec 1807 at Woodford, Wiltshire, England. There isn't an original copy of the register online at this time.

As it turns out I do have a copy of this record from the Banns book:

The records on Find My Past are from the Wiltshire Parish Records Index which was created locally so I do tend to think that their knowledge of the families is greater. The surname Rawlence does leave one wondering and has left me in that state ever since I found it over ten years ago. Does the surname of Mary spell Dove or Dear - this is a different record from the actual marriage record which was used in the Find My Past Transcription.

Time will tell the correct surname of my 3x great grandmother. A few strong DNA matches with people still living in this area in England may be helpful as I inherited strongly from my Rawlings grandmother.

Jane Morgan (circa 1750s-60s - 1839?)

52 Ancestor Challenge - Challenge 37

Blake, King, Coleman, Pearce, Farmer, Mary (unknown), Lambden, Sarah (unknown), Knight, Ellis, Knight, Vincent, Butt, O'Ford, Arnold, Molton, Cotterell, Bartlett, Alderman, Shepherd, Sherwood, Elizabeth (unknown), Happerfield, Collins, Rawlings, Tanner, Dove, Morgan, Lywood, Lanham, unknown, Peck, Pincombe, Charley, Rowcliffe, Pearse, Rew, Moggridge, Siderfin, Kent, Gray, Hilton, Cobb, Sproxton, Routledge, Tweddle, Routledge, Routledge, (unknown) Buller, unknown, Beard, Hemsley, Welch, Brockhouse, Cheatle, Woodcock, unknown Taylor, unknown, Harborne, Lewis, Roberts, Croxall, Lawley, unknown

A true mystery woman perhaps, Jane Morgan could possibly be the Jenny Morgan baptized 21 Oct 1750 at Kingston Deverill daughter of Lazarus and Betty Morgan. This is seventeen miles from Woodford however.A name like Lazarus might have passed on one might think but this couple - William Dove and Jane Morgan married 1 Jan 1783 at St Thomas Salisbury did not have good fortune with their children with only Mary and Harry appearing to survive childhood. Plus baptisms do not always appear in the register for this family.

Also at St Martin Salisbury, Jenny Morgan daughter of Daniel and Jane was baptized 7 May 1755 (this couple lived at Salisbury, Salisbury is four miles from Woodford)). 

Moving into Dorset I found a Jenny Morgan baptized to William and Elizabeth at Pentridge 28 Oct 1753 which is just 14 miles from Woodford.

Also in Dorset at Hinton-Martell, Jane Morgan daughter of John and Elizabeth was baptized 27 Dec 1764 (Hinton-Martell is 20 miles from Woodford). 

I do not think it is possible at this time to connect Jane to her parents. Perhaps in the future I could be so lucky.

I found the burial of Jane Dove 2nd quarter 1839 at Amesbury RD. This is perhaps my 4x great grandmother. 

Ancestry of Jane Morgan:

1. Elizabeth BLAKE
2. Ernest Edward George BLAKE (b 20 Aug 1904) - Eastleigh Hampshire England
3. Edith Bessie TAYLOR (b 1 Apr 1875) - Kimpton Hampshire England
4. Elizabeth RAWLINGS (b 19 Oct 1853) - Enford Wiltshire England
5. William RAWLINGS (b 1825) - Enford Wiltshire England
6. Mary DOVE (b c 1790) - Woodford Wiltshire England
7. Jane MORGAN

William Dove (1755 - 1829)

52 Ancestor Challenge - Challenge 36

Blake, King, Coleman, Pearce, Farmer, Mary (unknown), Lambden, Sarah (unknown), Knight, Ellis, Knight, Vincent, Butt, O'Ford, Arnold, Molton, Cotterell, Bartlett, Alderman, Shepherd, Sherwood, Elizabeth (unknown), Happerfield, Collins, Rawlings, Tanner, Dove, Morgan, Lywood, Lanham, unknown, Peck, Pincombe, Charley, Rowcliffe, Pearse, Rew, Moggridge, Siderfin, Kent, Gray, Hilton, Cobb, Sproxton, Routledge, Tweddle, Routledge, Routledge, (unknown) Buller, unknown, Beard, Hemsley, Welch, Brockhouse, Cheatle, Woodcock, unknown Taylor, unknown, Harborne, Lewis, Roberts, Croxall, Lawley, unknown

The Dove family was a brickwall for me for quite a while. I had found the marriage of  Thomas Rawlins/Rawlence and Mary Dove 9 Dec 1807 at Woodford but was hesitant to use it. Why did Thomas go from Enford to Woodford? But his father Jeremiah had gone from Enford to Tilshead to marry. Gradually as I had a chance to go through the parish registers for Woodford and surrounding areas I realized that there weren't any Rawlins/Rawlings/Rawlence families there and that the Thomas Rawlence marrying there was likely my Thomas Rawlins. But that brought up a new mystery why the long period before any children were born to this couple (not before 1813)?

I had an email from a descendant of a Sarah Rawlins who had been born in North America (Halifax) daughter of Thomas and Mary Rawlins (circa 1812). I have been suspicious that Thomas had been in the army during the Napoleonic Wars with his cousin George Lywood but no proof has arrived in any of the online databases thus far. I continue to hunt out that information.

Scouring the parish registers of Woodford I did find  a Robert Dove baptized 14 Apr 1793 at Woodford and buried there 6 Aug 1793 son of William and Jane Dove. Hunting around for this couple I found a marriage 1 Jan 1783 at St Thomas Salisbury, Wiltshire for William Dove and Jane Morgan. I estimated the birth of Mary Dove to be circa 1786 as the marriage with Thomas Rawlins and Mary Dove was 9 Dec 1807 at Woodford. Searching through the Woodford Registers I could not find a baptism for a Mary Dove. However, I did find a baptism for a Harry Dove 5 Jul 1789. I found a burial for another child William 21 Jul 1807 for this couple. There is also a William Dove buried at the age of 73 years 9 Sep 1829 (died 6 Sep 1829) which would give him a birth year circa 1756. He lived at Heale, Woodford at the time of his death.

I did find a baptism for William Dove 4 May 1755 son of William and Mary Dove at Woodford. I found a burial for a Mary Dove (born circa 1719) 4 Jun 1787 at Woodford.  William (father of William, likely buried 21 Apr 1779) and Mary (buried 4 Jun 1787) Dove have records for five children at Woodford:

Henry baptized 24 Nov 1751
William baptized 4 May 1755 and married to Jane Morgan 1 Jan 1783 at Salisbury
Samuel baptized 27 Mar 1757 and buried 29 Nov 1758 at Woodford
Ann buried 30 Apr 1764 at Woodford
Robert baptized 30 Apr 1763 and buried 30 Jul 1769 at Woodford

That was all that I found for the Dove family at Woodford (I have a printout of the parish registers for baptisms and burials). But I also looked at the microfilm for Woodford at Salt Lake City in 2008. At that time I also looked at the marriage register but did not find a marriage for William Dove and Jane at Woodford. There aren't any records for a Morgan family at Woodford in the set of parish registers.

I have not yet investigated Find My Past for this family. I found the burial of Jane Dove 2nd quarter 1839 at Amesbury RD. This is perhaps my 4x great grandmother. I will leave Jane for the next challenge day however as that will be her turn. There is a William Dove baptized 19 Jan 1718 at Tilshead son of Henry and Sarah Dove. Could this be the father of William baptized 1755? This William named his first son Henry.  The Tilshead is interesting as that is the location for the marriage of Jeremiah Rawlins and Sarah Tanner.

Family Search has a number of baptisms:

Henry Dove son of Henry and Sarah baptized 28 Mar 1715 at Shrewton (3 miles from Tilshead)
James Dove son of Henry and Sarah baptized 13 Jun 1716 at Tilshead
John Dove son of Henry and Sarah baptized 31 May 1717 at Tilshead
William Dove son of Henry and Sarah baptized 19 Jan 1718 at Tilshead
Thomas Dove son of Henry and Sarah baptized 27 Jun 1720 at Tilshead
Sarah Dove daughter of Henry and Sarah baptized 18 Mar 1721 at Tilshead; buried 6 Oct 1723

There is also a baptism for a Henry Dove son of Henry and Mary Dove 26 Dec 1688 at Woodford. Evidently I did not go back far enough in the parish registers in 2008!  I found a Mary Dove buried 30 Oct 1733 at Woodford and she is perhaps the mother of this Henry.

Back to Find My Past to look at Henry Dove again. There is a will for Henry Dove senior a cordwainer who lived at Hamptworth Downton and left a will probated in 1703. I shall have a look for that to see if it has been scanned (not yet available). There is a marriage for Henry Dove and Sarah Elderton in 2 May 1714 at Andover Hampshire. Could this be the Henry and Sarah at Tilshead? This marriage date fits in with the baptisms. Another marriage of interest between Henry Dove and Mary Biggs 16 Jul 1684 at Durnford (2 miles from Woodford).

Always interesting finding families that link with places and there is this Dove family going from Woodford to Tilshead and then back to Woodford (are they one and the same?). At another time I must locate the marriage registers for Woodford again and Tilshead.There is a baptism for a Henry Dove son of Henry baptized 23 Jan 1656/57 at Downton (10 miles from Woodford). This Henry married Rebecca Mowdy 28 Jul 1656 at Downton.

I started the day with William Dove baptized 4 May 1755 at Woodford Wiltshire so the results have been most interesting. Perhaps a clue that one of his children was named Harry (a nickname for Henry!) leads me back to the grandfather of William baptized 1755!

Ancestry of William Dove:

1. Elizabeth BLAKE
2. Ernest Edward George BLAKE (b 20 Aug 1904) - Eastleigh Hampshire England
3. Edith Bessie TAYLOR (b 1 Apr 1875) - Kimpton Hampshire England
4. Elizabeth RAWLINGS (b 19 Oct 1853) - Enford Wiltshire England
5. William RAWLINGS (b 1825) - Enford Wiltshire England
6. Mary DOVE (b c 1790) - Woodford Wiltshire England
7. William DOVE (b 4 May 1755) - Woodford Wiltshire England
possibly
8. William DOVE (b 19 Jan 1718) - Tilshead Wiltshire England
9. Henry DOVE (b 26 Dec 1688) - Woodford Wiltshire England
10. Henry DOVE (b 23 Jan 1656) - Downton Wiltshire England
11. Henry DOVE

Jeremiah Rawlins (1755 - 1834)

52 Ancestor Challenge - Challenge 26

Blake, King, Coleman, Pearce, Farmer, Mary (unknown), Lambden, Sarah (unknown), Knight, Ellis, Knight, Vincent, Butt, O'Ford, Arnold, Molton, Cotterel, Bartlett, Alderman, Shepherd, Sherwood, Elizabeth (unknown), Happerfield, Collins, Rawlings, Tanner, Dove, Morgan, Lywood, Lanham, unknown, Peck, Pincombe, Charley, Rowcliffe, Pearse, Rew, Moggridge, Siderfin, Kent, Gray, Hilton, Cobb, Sproxton, Routledge, Tweddle, Routledge, Routledge, (unknown) Buller, unknown, Beard, Hemsley, Welch, Brockhouse, Cheatle, Woodcock, unknown Taylor, unknown, Harborne, Lewis, Roberts, Croxall, Lawley, unknown

Jeremiah (Jerome) Rawlins is another of my 4x great grandfathers. He has been known to me since the early part of my time in genealogy. I first met cousins online in 2006. From one of the cousins I received the fiche for Enford and I have imaged the records for the Rawlins family there. Jeremiah, unlike the rest of his siblings, was baptized at Netheravon instead of Enford. Fortunately my cousin had obtained that record as well and the priest has noted that Jeremiah was of Enford when he was baptized. Of note, the Rawlins family lived right at the edge of  the village of Enford close to Netheravon and perhaps on that day or at that time it was just more convenient to have Jeremiah baptized at Netheravon.

Jeremiah was married to Sarah Tanner at Tilshead 1 Nov 1780 and again the priest made a notation that Jeremiah was of Enford.

,

Note the spelling of Rawlins as Rallings. This Rawlins family did not begin to spell their name Rawlings until the early to mid 1800s. Some of my cousins still use the Rawlins spelling for their surname (particularly in Australia).

Jeremiah and Sarah baptized eight children at Enford, 1 baptism not found:

Elizabeth baptized 26 Aug 1781 and married to William Hurkett 10 Feb 1808 at Enford
Thomas baptized 20 Sep 1783 and married to Mary Dove 9 Dec 1807 at Woodford
Anne baptized 6 Dec 1785 and likely dead by 1793
John baptized 8 Oct 1786 (his only son William emigrated to Australia)
Jeremiah baptized 13 Feb 1790 (went to Australia)
Anne baptized 4 Apr 1793; buried 7 Dec 1793 at Enford
William baptized 5 Mar 1797
Anne baptized 5 Mar 1797
James born circa 1801 and married to Ruth Lay 24 Apr 1828 at Enford

My line descends down through Thomas married to Mary Dove and lately correspondence has indicated that my original thought that Thomas may have served in the Napoleonic Wars including being in Canada may be correct. There is a descendant of a child of a Thomas Rawlings born in North America. There is also a daughter Harriet born circa 1813 in Wiltshire but deceased likely by 1819. Thomas and Mary were married 9 Dec 1807 at Woodford. A search of this parish register does not show any Rawlins/Rawlings families there other than this marriage of Thomas and Mary. Mary was of the parish of Woodford although no baptism has been found for her there. They have six children known by me:

Harriet 1813
Isaac 1818
Harriet 1819
Jeremiah 1821
Jane 1823
William 1825 (and my ancestor)

William Rawlings married Elizabeth Lywood 22 Sep 1849 at Amesbury and they had seven children:

George born circa 1851 at Milston married Mary Ann Mead
Harriet born circa 1852 at Enford and married to Charles C Butler mar quarter 1869 at Devizes
Elizabeth born 19 Oct 1853 at Enford and married to William Taylor 11 Feb 1882 at Ludgershall
Mary Jane born circa 1856 at Enford
William born circa 1858 at Enford and married Jane Barlow jun quarter 1883 at Collingbourne Ducis
David born circa 1863 at Enford and married Hannah Elizabeth Broadhurst dec quarter 1891
Sidney Herbert born circa 1870 at Collingbourne Ducis and married Lily Sherwood 10 Oct 1892 at Abbots Ann

My ancestor was Elizabeth and she had a child before her marriage to William Taylor named Ada Bessie Cotteril Rawlings baptized 27 Aug 1876 at Kimpton, Hampshire. Bessie would marry Samuel George Blake 1 Jun 1903 at Kimpton and they were my paternal grandparents. On the 1881 census she is listed as Ada Rawlings living with her maternal grandparents at Collingbourne Ducis.

William Rawlings circa 1902













William and Elizabeth Rawlings get my vote for best grandparents ever as they took in their grand daughter at some point after her birth and baptism at Kimpton (her baptism was five months after her birth at Kimpton) and she perhaps remained with her grandparents until after her mother's marriage in 1882. On the 1891 census she is listed as Bessie Taylor living with her step father, mother and siblings. She then married as Edith Bessie Taylor and I have it on good reference that Ada pronounced by a Wiltshire resident could well sound like Edith by the time it is recorded as such in Kimpton. My father mentioned that he had three grandfathers although only met the one shortly before he came to Canada. My grandmother did know she was illegitimate as her step father signed as a witness on her marriage registration and the name of the father was blank. Perhaps the families decided that they would not marry. Such information did not pass down in my family or in the family of her step siblings.But it all worked out for the best for all parties it would appear as each went on to have their families and were content.

Back to Jeremiah my 4x great grandfather and he was a labourer. His father was William Rawlins and the marriage which another researcher (paid by my cousin) felt with a reasonable search was William Rawlins and Mary Ford 30 Sep 1741 at Wylye and I agree that this is the likely marriage for this couple. They had eight children and five of them were baptized at Enford. For the eldest Mary I have not yet found a baptism; I am missing one for Edward and the youngest, Jeremiah, was baptized at Netheravon.

Mary Rawlings born circa 1742 married Stephen Cotterel 28 Jan 1764 at Enford ( A grandchild of this couple would marry in Australia her second cousin William Rawlins (son of John).)
William baptized 17 Nov 1743 and married Mary Dyke 25 Sep 1766 at Enford
Edward born circa 1745 and married Ruth White 20 Jun 1766 at Enford
Elizabeth baptized 26 Jun 1747 and married Thomas Hillier 31 May 1772 at Enford
Thomas baptized 14 Jan 1748 and buried 11 Jul 1758 at Enford
Martha baptized 23 Jun 1751 and married Robert Matthews
John baptized 22 Oct 1752
Jeremiah baptized 13 Apr 1755 at Netheravon married Sarah Tanner 1 Nov 1780 at Tilshead

At this point William Rawlins and Mary Ford are elusive. Mary was buried 10 Mar 1789 at Enford. My object today is to learn more about William Rawlins and Mary Ford as I have not looked at this family for quite a long time. Solving the mystery of my grandmother happened back in 2006 following the purchase of eight birth/marriage/burial registrations that then permitted me to fit the family of Elizabeth Rawlins/William Taylor together with proofs. At that time I hypothesized a possible ancestry for William Rawlins which I put together from Family Search but discarded it. I have not yet found information for Mary Ford.

Searching for William Rawlins on Find My Past does verify the marriage at Wylye for a William Rawlins and Mary Ford. That this is my William and Mary is mostly based on the best fit - the only couple in the area that fits the description.

There is a baptism of William Rawlings 5 Jun 1716 at Box son of William and Ann and there is a marriage in 1750 at Box of William Rawlings and Mary West which eliminates this William from consideration. There is also a burial in 1760 of a William Rawlings at Box but could be the father of this William. The other baptisms would be underage.

There is a burial in 1759 at Charlton near Pewsey (six miles from Enford) that could well be William Rawlins. The last child born was Jeremiah in 1755. Back in 2004, 2005, 2006 I did a search on the Rawlins family in Family Search and discovered a William Rawlins baptized 6 Apr 1722 at Steeple Ashton son of John Rawlins and Ann Carrington who had themselves been married 21 Dec 1722 at Trowbridge (3 miles from Steeple Ashton). I also found a Mary Ford baptized Nov 1722 in Edington daughter of William Ford and Sarah Harding who had themselves been married 14 Apr 1718 at Edington. These two places are only 2.7 miles apart and just 11 miles to Wylye. They are both underage at the marriage in 1741 but why did they chose Enford to live in. Since William was a labourer he could well have obtained a position in that area noting that Enford is just 14 miles from Edington and 15 miles from Steeple Ashton. At the time this seemed rather fanciful and I abandoned the thought until I decided to write up William Rawlins as my 4x great grandfather and revisited these possibilities.

Looking at Ann Carrington she was baptized 25 Mar 1690 at Holt (2.3 miles from Trowbridge) so a reasonable distance. She was the daughter of Thomas Carrington and Anne Drewett who were themselves married 1 Aug 1687 at Colerne. Colerne is just nine miles from Trowbridge so not too far away. Thomas Carrington was buried 22 Jan 1717 at Holt and Anne Drewett was buried 3 Jul 1722 at Holt.

Looking at William Ford  baptized 15 Jan 1698 at Edington and he was the son of George Ford.

There is a John Rawlings baptized 21 Sep 1696 at Colerne son of William. There is a William Rawlings baptized at Steeple Ashton 16 May 1669 son of William.

Also baptized at Colerne children of William and Ann Rawlings:

Ann Rawlings baptized 17 Nov 1686
William Rawlings baptized 9 Jan 1689
Elizabeth Rawlings baptized 12 Sep 1692
John Rawlings baptized 21 Sep 1696
Thomas Rawlings baptized 14 Jul 1700
 
John, William, Thomas, Henry, Joseph and Gifford Rawlings/Rawlins are all baptizing children in this time period at Colerne.However this is the only John that fits into the marriage of John and Ann.

Looking at the places and events in which I am interested, John Rawlings/Rawlins baptized at Colerne son of William would appear to be an interesting possibility. Then this William perhaps the William baptized at Steeple Ashton 16 May 1669 also son of William. There is a William Rawlings baptized 23 Jan 1624 at North Bradley son of James (North Bradley is just 3 miles from Steeple Ashton).

There are a couple of marriages at Collingbourne Kingston for a William Rawlins - 1684 and 1694 with Anne Farmer and Ann Piper (widower at the second marriage). But it is 24 miles away so reluctant to look at that one too enthusiastically. 

I think the scenario John Rawlings baptized at Colerne son of William baptized at Steeple Ashton son of William baptized at North Bradley son of James sounds like a more reasonable lineage than moving large distances.

Ancestry of Jeremiah Rawlins:

1. Elizabeth BLAKE
2. Ernest Edward George BLAKE (b 20 Aug 1904) - Eastleigh Hampshire England
3. Edith Bessie TAYLOR (b 1 Apr 1875) - Kimpton Hampshire England
4. Elizabeth RAWLINGS (b 19 Oct 1853) - Enford Wiltshire England
5. William RAWLINGS (b 1825) - Enford Wiltshire England
6. Thomas RAWLINS (b 20 Sep 1783) - Enford Wiltshire England
7. Jeremiah RAWLINS (b 13 Apr 1755) - Enford (Netheravon) Wiltshire England
On examination the following appears interesting
8. William RAWLINS  (b 6 Apr 1723) - Steeple Ashton Wiltshire England
9. John RAWLINGS  (b 12 Sep 1696) - Colerne Wiltshire England
10. William RAWLINGS (b 16 May 1669) - Steeple Ashton Wiltshire England
11. William RAWLINGS (b 23 Jan 1624) - North Bradley Wiltshire England
12. James RAWLINGS

This is exciting to look at Rawlins/Rawlings once again. The spelling appears to be somewhat interchangeable in the records with notations being made that it is Rawlins in the Register and Rawlings in the Bishops Transcripts for the same record.

Looking a little more at Mary Ford wife of William Rawlins and married at Wylye, I had found possible parents earlier and I rather think these parents work very well. I am always somewhat troubled when you do not see the forenames appearing later (Sarah does not appear but looking at the marriage of Jeremiah Rawlings to Sarah Tanner which is a solid paper trail and Sarah does not appear in descending families in my line).The parents of this Mary could be William Ford and Sarah Harding who married 14 Apr 1718 at Edington. William is baptized at Edington 15 Jan 1698 son of George. There is a George Ford baptized 8 Apr 1672 at Edington son of William Ford. No marriage for George Ford that is reasonable but there is a marriage for William Foarde and Anne Horte 27 Oct 1662 at Colerne (Colerne is 13 miles from Edington). Another day I must get back to the Ford family. I will also work on the Sarah Harding family. Another time I shall work on the Rawlings family to see if I can find siblings and spouses for the possible ancestors of William Rawlins baptized 1723 at Steeple Ashton..

Brick Wall Number 4 - Wife of Thomas Rawlins

Brick Wall Number 4: Wife of Thomas Rawlins

Almost from the beginning of my research days I have been able to reach back to Thomas Rawlins (and further back but the name of his wife was a riddle. There was a marriage of a Thomas Rawlence
and Mary Dove 9 Dec 1807 at Woodford on the IGI but I see now that it is record by another researcher as Thomas Rawlins and Mary Dear same date. I have an image of the original record from the Woodford Parish Registers. The original record reads Thomas Rawlines and Mary Dove both of the parish, bachelor and spinster, with witnesses John Thornton and Dinah Moore.  There are no Rawlins family in the Woodford registers that I found in this time frame. There are Dove families in the register. Possibly Mary is the daughter of William Dove and Jane Morgan who married 1 Jan 1783 at Saint Thomas Salisbury Wiltshire. I only found one child in the register at Woodford Robert baptized 14 Apr 1793 and buried 6 Aug 1793 all at Woodford (he was baptized the same day as he was born). William is like the son of William and Mary Dove (Mary was buried 4 Jun 1787 at Woodford) and the mother of William also Mary Dove a widow was buried 30 Oct 1733 at Woodford.

The riddle in all of this is that the first child of Thomas and Mary Rawlins isn't born until circa 1813 and she has likely died by 1819 when another child is given the same name Harriet. Family lore in another family line says that Thomas was at the battle of Waterloo (like is later daughter in law's father George Lywood). I have not yet found that reference. The next child after Harriet is Isaac and likely born around 1818 as he died december quarter 1885 at Amesbury (aged 67 years).  The last child of this family born in 1825 is my 2x great grandfather William Rawlings.

I am somewhat on the side of thinking that Mary Dove is the wife of Thomas Rawlins. It would be nice to find a really solid proof. The marriage lines say that he is of the parish of Woodford but I know that he was born and raised at Enford but he could have gone there to work. Certainly his father Jeremiah Rawlings married at Tilshead but the priest identified him as of Enford. Handy information but this doesn't appear on the Woodford Parish Registers. 

The younger children in this family were born at Enford and I do not know yet where the older children were born.

Mary Dove - Family Tree on Ancestry

The work that I did on the Dove family was back in 2008 and I haven't really looked at it since. I was checking out the Lywood family and discovered a new Rawlins Family Tree online at Ancestry. This one claims that Mary Dove was born in Fifield, Wiltshire 19 Mar 1783 and the daughter of George Dove and Rachel Artley. Same marriage date to Thomas Rawlins 9 Dec 1807 at Upper Woodford. I shall try to make contact to see if she has more information on this Dove family.

This Dove family originates in Hutton Cranswick, East Yorkshire Riding. Seems somewhat distant as they married 12 Oct 1775 at Boynton, Yorkshire and George died 25 Jun 1806 at Harpham, Yorkshire. I was a bit concerned that mine was far fetched because it was a couple marrying in Salisbury! Other than that the tree owner has copied my picture of William Rawlins from my webpage. It would be so nice if they were right but Yorkshire does seem a mite far for this couple to have traveled and then to go back again for their burials.

I must admit though the date of birth 19 Mar 1783 at Fifield for Mary Dove I will investigate.

Morgan Family at Woodford, Wiltshire

The Morgan Family at Woodford may or may not be ancestral to me. Jane Morgan married William Dove 1 Jan 1783 at Saint Thomas Parish in Salisbury, Wiltshire. Their son Robert Dove was baptized at Woodford 14 Apr 1793 and buried there 6 Aug 1793. My suspicion is that Mary Dove was also their daughter but no baptism found for her. She was perhaps the Mary Dove married to Thomas Rawlins 9 Dec 1807 at Woodford. I have made no attempt to find Jane Morgan at this point in time. On the LDS website there are two possibilities one in 1755 and one in 1750.

However, I rather think I will use this Research Time to transcribe wills that we collected from Kew on our first trip there in 2010. The will I am going to transcribe I referred to in the Blog on North Molton and the Burges family there:

http://kippeeb.blogspot.ca/2011/08/north-molton-parish-registers-burges.html

I will transcribe the will on the next blog post.I will continue transcribing family wills in this time slot.

Dove family at Woodford

Mary Dove mentioned yesterday was married to Thomas Rawlence at Woodford, Wiltshire 9 Dec 1807 and I would like to find further proof that this was indeed the Thomas Rawlins baptized 20 Sep 1783 at Enford. I have read through the Woodford parish registers and there are no entries of baptisms or burials for the Rawlins family which is a positive in this case. Woodford is ten miles south of Enford but given the tendency of these males to mary away from Enford - Jeremiah father of Thomas married at Tilshead and William Rawlins may have married at Wylye. So I do not discount this possibility.

I transcribed the Dove family members in the Woodford parish register when we were at Salt Lake City in 2008 and discovered a Robert Dove baptized 14 Apr 1793 at Woodford (buried 6 Aug 1793 also at Woodford) but that was the only baptism of a child at Woodford for William Dove and his wife Jane. A William Dove and Jane Morgan were married 1 Jan 1783 at Saint Thomas Parish Church, Salisbury. This is possibly the William Dove who was baptized 4 May 1755 at Woodford son of William and Mary Dove. A Mary Dove was buried 4 Jun 1787 at Woodford at 65 years of age giving her a year of birth circa 1722. William and Mary Dove baptized four children William Dove, Samuel Dove baptized 27 Mar 1757 at Woodford and buried there 29 Nov 1758, Ann Dove (daughter of William and Mary Dove) buried 30 Apr 1764 at Woodford and Robert Dove baptized 30 Apr 1763 at Woodford and buried there 30 Jul 1769. A Mary Dove (widow) was buried 30 Oct 1733 at Woodford. For William Dove (father of William Dove baptized 1755) no baptism found at Woodford and Susanna Dove buried at Woodford 14 May 1717.

Not sure where to proceed with the Dove family? I did read some of the parish registers around Woodford but note also that Rawlins was spelled Rawlence by the priest in the marriage at Woodford. Likely I need to continue trying to find Thomas Rawlins for sure and I need to continue looking for Rawlins/Rawlings entries in this area of Wiltshire.

Rawlin[g]s Family of Enford, Wiltshire

Depending upon which cousin I write to the spelling of this surname varies between Rawlings and Rawlins. My 3x great grandfather Thomas spelled his name Rawlins but his son William (my 2x great grandfather) spelled his name Rawlings. Elizabeth, the daughter of William and my great grandmother, spelled her name Rawlings.


Elizabeth Rawlings was born 19 October 1853 at Enford, Wiltshire the daughter of William Rawlings and Elizabeth Lywood who were themselves married 22 Sep 1849 at Amesbury, Wiltshire which is seven miles south of Enford or 3 miles south of Milston where Elizabeth lived. I suspect that they ran away to be married. William and Elizabeth had seven children: George, Harriet, Elizabeth, Mary Jane, William, David, and Sidney Herbert. Harriet married  Charles Butler and died in childbirth although her son Thomas Butler survived. Charles remarried. Mary Jane does not appear to have married but the four brothers all married. I have met several of their descendants online at Genes Reunited.

William Rawlings was born circa 1825 at Enford but I have not yet found his baptism. He died 10 Sep 1902 at Ludgershall after being paralyzed for three years from a stroke. A picture I have of him is below. William's parents were Thomas Rawlins and Mary Dove who were likely married 9 Dec 1807 at Woodford, Wiltshire. However my proof for this is rather weak. They had six children Harriet born circa 1813, Isaac born circa 1818, Harriet born circa 1819, Jeremiah born circa 1821, Jane born circa 1823 and William born circa 1825.

As I will mention later with the Lywood family where George was in the 23rd Regiment of Foot and served in the Peninsular Wars and at Waterloo, I wonder if Thomas was also in the military but have not yet found any record of that. The birth of Harriet in 1813 and then Isaac in 1818 as the first children is quite suspect for someone being away in the military. The first Harriet must have died as the second Harriet arrives in 1819. I do know that Thomas Rawlins was baptized 20 Sep 1783 at Enford and that his wife Mary died sep quarter 1849 at Enford. Thomas died march quarter 1866 in Pewsey Registration District (Enford is in Pewsey). I do have the parish records for Enford Baptisms 1635 - 1813, Burials 1722 - 1813, and Marriages 1722 - 1837. I know that Thomas was not married at Enford. According to the 1841 census Thomas and Mary were born in Enford and circa 1786 but this age was rounded up or down depending on their actual age in this case the implied age is rounded to 55 years so somewhere around that mark and I know that Thomas was born around 1783 so he was rounded down to 55 years when he was actually 58 years of age. Mary did not survive to the next census so do not have any record of where she was born. On the 1851 census Thomas states that he was born at Enford. Living with him in 1851 is William and Elizabeth Rawlins (spelled that way but in the 1861 spelled Rawlings). They do not have any children in 1851 as George was born after the census was taken (their eldest child).

But continuing with the Rawlins family and Thomas was the son of  Jeremiah Rawlins and Sarah Tanner who were married 1 Nov 1780 at Tilshead (image acquired at Salt Lake City). The priest having kindly recorded that Jeremiah was from Enford although he spelled his surname Rallings and indeed he was baptized 13 Apr 1755 at Netheravon (just two miles away) although all the rest of his siblings were baptized at Enford.

The Church at Tilshead is a Grade I listed building dating back to the 1100s
 http://www.britishlistedbuildings.co.uk/en-319876-church-of-st-thomas-a-becket-tilshead-

I acquired an interesting list of the Vicars at Tilshead whilst at Salt Lake City in 2008:

1317  Adam de Newenham
13..    Henry de Rowde
1348  John Scoter de Mershton
1361  William de Mershton
1393  William Baroun or Brown
1399   Roger Mey
1403   John Bulwere
14 . .   William Penne
1422   William Frye
1423    Thomas Pule
14 . .    William Francombe
1443   John Lorde
1448   John Hyllynge
1456   William Grove
1460   John Putwell
1462   Richard Belle
1469   Thomas Philippes
1475   Thomas Lorde
14 . .    John Holes
1495   William Okey
1522   Robert Counetable
15 . .    William Merchaunt
1529   John Hobbes
1575   Edward Colthurst
1598   Henry Moore
1623   Richard Foote
16 . .   John Thornborough
1661   Henry Hoskins
1663   Anthony de la Court
1711   Thomas Higgons
1722   George Jacques
1772   John Edwards
1783   Lewis Jones
1803 3 Aug   David Williams
1836   Joseph Holden Johnson
1884 27 May   Horace Vere Thompson
1899   Hugh Corrie Frere
1903   3 Mar   Bernard Barton
1905   10 Nov   Henry Emery
1939   24 Dec  Wilford Gordon Griffin
1945   20 Dec   William John Freeman
1954   8 Dec Arthur Samuel Berry
1959   1 Jun   Cecil Ayshford Duke Baker
1963   12 Mar   Frederick George Chamberlain

I know that Jeremiah was the son of William and Mary Rawlins who lived at Enford but searching back through the Enford Parish Registers William and Mary were not married at Enford nor were they baptized there. They may be the William Rawlins and Mary Foord married at Wylye 30 Sep 1741. Mary was buried at Enford 10 Mar 1789. I did not find a burial for William at Enford. They had eight children:

Mary (not baptized at Enford) married Stephen Cotterel 28 Jan 1764 at Enford, one son Stephen Cotterel.

William baptized 17 Nov 1743 at Enford and married Mary Dyke 25 Sep 1766 at Enford and they had three children Anne, Charlotte and William

Edward was not baptized at Enford but he married Ruth White 20 Jun 1766 at Enford and they had five children: Mary, Anne, Elizabeth, Mary and John

Elizabeth was baptized 26 Jun 1747 at Enford and married thomas Hillier 31 May 1772 at Enford and they had nine children: Elizabeth, William, John, Jeremiah, Letticia, Rebecca, Sarah, David and Rosanna of whom only five survived past infancy

Thomas was baptized 14 Jan 1747 at Enford and buried there 11 Jul 1758

Martha was baptized 23 Jun 1751 at Enford and had a son Jeremiah Rawlins (reputed father Robert Matthews)

John was baptized 22 Oct 1752 at Enford

Jeremiah was baptized 13 Apr 1755 at Netheravon and married Sarah Tanner 1 Nov 1780 at Tilshead. They had nine children Elizabeth, Thomas, Anne (died as an infant), John, Jeremiah, Anne (died as an infant), William, Anne and James. I have been able to trace down the families of Elizabeth, Thomas, John and James.

The next research day I shall have a look at Find My Past for the Rawlins/Rawlings family. I could consider transcribing the Enford Parish Registers or the Protestation Returns for this area as I have images for both of these.

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.

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.

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.

Hinxman Wills - 18 August 2009

I continued working on the Hinxman Will and have something in every line now! I started on the Inventory as well. I think perhaps it is a combination of the very poor writing and the lightness of some of the strokes that makes this particular will difficult.

I created a new Group on GenealogyWise - my Rawlin[g]s family. Over a period of 250 years the spelling changed in my line from Rawlins to Rawlings. Some lines retained the Rawlins spelling particularly in Australia. I have an interesting picture of the house of one of these Rawlins' ancestor in Wiltshire. This Rawlins family is found at Enford from 1743 on with the baptism of William 17 Nov 1743 the son of William and Mary Rawlins. They baptized six more children (5 at Enford and 1 at Netheravon). The baptism at Netheravon reads William and Mary Rawlins from Enford and it is for my ancestor (4x great grandfather Jeremiah Rawlins). I have managed to trace down 5 of these siblings and the sixth sibling (the eldest) was traced down by their descendant in Australia. She may provide the clue to where William and Mary lived. They appear to have married at Wylye 30 Sep 1741 but this is still up for debate. I spent several hours looking at the parish registers of Wylye and the parishes around Wylye long enough to determine that neither William nor Mary were of Wylye. If this is their marriage then it is William Rawlins and Mary Foord. There are Ford families at Enford but I didn't find a baptism that fits for Mary yet. I need to purchase the Enford fiche prior to the 1740s to determine that. I did have a brief look at Salt Lake City but this particular register is not overly easy to read and requires more study than I could give it at the time. I was especially interested at that time in determining if the marriage between Thomas Rawlins and Mary Dove 9 Dec 1807 at Woodford Wiltshire was my ancestor's marriage. I know that his wife was Mary and examining the registers showed that Thomas and Mary were considered to be of the parish and there were Dove families there and posible parents for Mary but her baptism was missing. William Dove and Jane Morgan had married at Saint Thomas, Salisbury, Wiltshire 1 Jan 1783 but the baptisms of their children in the Woodford register begin in 1793 with the baptism of Robert 14 Apr 1793 (he died as an infant). No further children were born to this couple at Woodford. The Dove family is found at Woodford back into the early 1700s at least.

Off to the dentist today. Our smog warning has lifted and it is very warm here today 40 degrees celsius. The dentist appointment leaves me with a tooth to cap which is fine. I would rather cap them when they are full of filling. I expect to have six caps in total and I have four already. It could be I might have one more. By flossing and cleaning in the morning and then using the new dental picks and cleaning in the evening I have managed to eliminate a lot of plaque buildup which pays its premiums when I go for a cleaning! We have a dental plan which is most helpful although I will have to pay 50% of the cap (or whatever the portion left from what the plan will pay).

We went shopping in the afternoon. I wanted to have a look at dresses for the wedding but got quickly distracted buying a new outfit for the engagement party - not too expensive actually as everything was on sale. I got a pair of slacks 25% off and a top for just $7.99 regularly $39.99. I had liked the look of them earlier but didn't want to spend $40 for something I wouldn't wear very often.

Watched the movie "Knowing" in the evening after cooking our dinner. We decided to do Kraft Dinner with deviled eggs and left over salads from our dinner yesterday. Excellent meal actually. I never liked Kraft Dinner since I was a child but have acquired a taste for it the last year or so. I think because it is an easy meal that we can just prepare in ten minutes and accompany it with a salad and hot dogs. The movie was very very interesting - scary I suppose but it had a deeper meaning which I am finding these days with a lot of the movies. The use of Biblical imagery really suited the presentation and was totally not offensive. The idea of God seeding other worlds is quite fascinating and gives some hope that our civilization could survive far into the eons. The promise of Abraham and his seed forever would thus be fulfilled. I can not think that God intended otherwise although when one looks around at the results of human habitation on the planet one wonders about the survival of the earth. Although I firmly believe that nature will eventually win and teach us how to live with the earth - something our First peoples already knew how to do before we arrived. I think being a late comer and with so few emigrant ancestors I tend to look at this differently. Having just the three Canadian born ancestors does affect one's thinking (my mother, her father and his mother) as most of my forebearers descendants are still living in England. I represent just a few transplanted lines - Routledge (and Routledge) in 1818, Gray in 1832, Pincombe (and Rew) in 1850, Buller in 1908 and Blake (and Rawlings) in 1913. The bracketed name of course represents the spouse of the ancestor who emigrated. Two came as singles - my 2x great grandfather Robert Gray from Etton and my grandmother Ellen Rosina Buller from Birmingham.

This morning I intend to continue looking at the Hinxman Will and prepare a list of items for purchase from the Hampshire Registration Office. I have several more wills that I want to acquire - Richard Blake (1522), Robert Blake (1522), Jone Blake (1528), Thomas Blake (1541) and Robert Blake (1542). These five wills (I have transcripts of two of them) may be an eye opener with regard to the name of the husband of Jone Blake who wrote her will in 1527 and was probated in 1528. She was my 13x great grandmother and the mother of Nicholas my 12x great grandfather. It still amazes me being back that far with my Blake line although published genealogies claim a connection back to the Wiltshire Blake family at Pinhills and Calne. Time will tell on that connection as I am not accepting it just because it is published. I want to see the proof for the relationship.

Webpage Update and Bishops Nympton PRs

After overhauling my webpage "Table of Contents" the day before, I spent a little time compiling a list of people that I have in each generation back to the 6x great grandparents that I have not yet put on my webpage or that I am missing. I was missing 1 at the great grandparent level, 1 at the 2x great grandparent level, 5 at the 3x great grandparent level, 10 known at the 4x great grandparents level (with nine unknown), 11 known at the 5x great grandparent level (with 47 unknown) and 19 known at the 6x great grandparent level (with 185 unknown). A lot of work to do at the 4x, 5x and 6x great grandparent level even yet (241 people to find although some of these will be included in my Routledge/Knight lines that collapse together). I have 2 Routledge cousins at the 3x great grandparent level and 2 Knight cousins at the 3x great grandparent level (reducing the number of lines as I work my way back) and then a likely Knight line in common at the 6x great grandparent level. It is amazing how quickly your tree collapses when there are first/second/third cousin marriages. I then added the Cotterill, Sherwood, Alderman, Habberfield, Dove, Harborne and Lawley lines to my webpage. That brings me to the 4x great grandparent level which I am now proving. As I prove each line back I will add them to my webpage. I find this an interesting way to display my information plus I can begin adding transcriptions of documents about people for whom I receive requests for information. This has its pros and cons in that people might not then write to me and I would not gain their insight into the family lines.

I continued working on the Bishops Nympton PRs for marriages bringing me up to 1803. I continue to find so many interesting witnesses to these marriages that I am finding my process through this material rather slow. I have quite a number of lines at Bishops Nympton since my families were there from 1599 up to the present. I did correspond with one family member but haven't heard back from her. I believe she is descended from the brother of my 3x great grandfather.