Spent a good portion of the day working my way through the Somerset Protestation Returns for Somerset. Since I was doing the task I also extracted Blake, Escott, Trill, Nurcombe, Westerne, Couch, Chorley/Charley/Churley, Question and Rew as well as Siderfin/Sidderfin. It was a task I had often thought of doing and the opportunity presented itself. I did not find any more Sidderfin/Siderfin names than I already had located using the index. I also have the Parliamentary copies of the original to look at from their excellent website. I need to read through Minehead.
What I am trying to prove, and it looks even more doable than before, is that the three children baptized at Minehead are all children of the same Robert and Ursula (Webber) Siderfin known to be at Minehead. Namely that is Wilmot Siderfin in 1614, Robert Siderfin in 1616 and John Siderfin 1619. I know that my Siderfin family at Selworthy also lived at Bratton just outside of Minehead at that time but part of Minehead now. James Sanders himself mentions property at Dunster that his mother was involved with at some point. Dunster is the location for the Question family and John's son Robert married Elizabeth Question of Dunster and James' mother Elizabeth was the eldest daughter of the eldest son according to his chart). James Sanders in his pedigree chart lists three children below John Siderfin whom he names as the only descendant of Robert which is incorrect it would appear. Learning more about Wilmot and Robert Siderfin the other two children baptized at Minehead would be interesting. I do have the Parish Registers for Minehead both the fiche of the original records and the Index of those records. I am at that place in time when I handed over the project to my cousin and decided to take on the Blake one-name study. Although I found Siderfin very interesting I did feel that my cousin was in a better position to do the research that, at that time, needed to be done in person at the Somerset Record Office. Time has passed and more and more information is online including the excellent search tool of the Archives at Somerset with lots of information.
Today I continue with the Protestation Returns and plan to complete that task. In my mind I already feel that I have accomplished the task of linking John at Selworthy in 1641 with the John baptized at Minehead in 1619. He does appear to marry late (his children are baptized in 1656, 1658 and 1660 making him 37 when the first child was baptized. His wife Thomasine was likely younger than him as she was buried in 1709 at Wootton Courtney. James Sanders links three children with this marriage of John and Thomasine and they are as follows: the eldest son of John was said to be a John and he lived at Wootton Courtney, the next son Robert lived at Selworthy and the youngest son William lived at Minehead. Thomasine's will would have provided a lot more information than the abstract but as life flows that is all that there is. The abstract only mentions the son Robert, a "cousin" Robert Siderfin of Linch and all the children of Robert and his wife Elizabeth (Question) Siderfin. But Thomasine was buried at Wootton Courtney and Robert lived always at Selworthy.
Interesting conundrum and the solution does lie in what is available one hopes. It doesn't matter in the long run in terms of just who the John at Wootton Courtney and the William at Minehead are when I reflect on my own line but for the sake of the Siderfin family study and the revision of James Sanders text I need to find as much information as I can. Will I ever register the study again? At 77 that seems a bit of a pipe dream to be honest. I am seeing myself as publishing and winding down in my studies although still very active with them.
So on with the study. On with the day and on with breakfast!
Glory to Ukraine and may she drive the Russians from her land. The murder of so many Ukrainian children, women and men hangs heavy on the world; one prays that the tanks will bring an end to this useless war of aggression that Russia has wrought on the world. May it be the last of such wars of greed for land and riches.
