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Progress Report December 2004 to November 2005
Last Updated 23 Oct 05 After my Xmas letter, the new year's research (started mid December) certainly got off to a good start:- ---------------------------------------- 1 Jan 05 December Progress:- John & Elizabeth SMITH - I had been struggling to find these 3x.gt grandparents on the 1871 and 81 census's (they are not the easiest names to search for !). They should have been in Bristol and I suspected that John was working for a Seaman's Mission (as per the 1991 census). Whilst searching the 1871 census I followed an unlikely lead for a John SMITH in Brighton and this appears (at last) to be him, as he gives his occupation as "Travelling agent for the Seaman's Mission", and his birthplace and age match exactly. He is in lodgings without wife Elizabeth (but does say that he is married). This entry sounded familiar, so I checked on the next census (1881) and ten years later he is at the same address (now a "House Agent"). I had looked at this entry before, but dismissed it as 'unlikely', the 1871 entry seems to prove I have the correct person. Elizabeth is more of a problem, but at least I now know that she will be alone, and have found a probable entry for her in Bristol 1881, but cannot find her in 1871, despite locating all her children and discovering she is not with any of them. ---- Harriet UPTON's grandchildren - this is fascinating me ! - the latest count (Nov. 04) was 62, but I could not locate one daughter (Alice), who (if alive) I expected to follow in the family tradition and add even more to the list. I was not disappointed, I finally located Alice as Mrs. PENTLAND (although I cant find a marriage), and she appears to have outdone her mother and sisters with approx 16 children !!. I am still checking this out (some of the children seemed to change names - or perhaps use nicknames on the census, so it is very confusing), but I have 19 names (one is probably a grandchild), born between 1866 and 1889. 13 of those names appear on census's (so must be her children), the others appear only on birth records. But it does look like I can now list nearly 80 grandchildren for Harriet!. ---- Josiah ALLSOP - I have been missing this 2x gt grandfather's birth, since I discovered he was Emma (nee ALLSOP) BRENNAN's father in 2001. 2004 ended with me knocking down this "brick wall'. It started with contact from someone else researching the ALLSOP name (I now think we are related). His interest prompted me to convert all the data I have into an ALLSOP family tree (I have been putting this off for three years, because I could not see a direct relationship between Josiah and all the others). When I drew up the tree I could see an anomaly - there were two brothers called Thomas, alive at the same time - obviously not likely!. The second Thomas was born 1802, the approximate age I had for Josiah, so I wondered if there was a mistake in either my data, or in the register itself. So I ended the year with a visit to Essex Record Office and rechecked all the Hornchurch parish records, but they all said "Thomas", however on close examination the actual parish register seemed to have been altered after being written (i.e. the line with Thomas on it was in a different hand, and 'squeezed in' between other lines, as if added later). The only other thing to check was a "Bishops Transcript" of the register (which is supposed to be an exact copy for the Bishop's records). I asked for this and actually got my hands on the original, 200 year old, documents (everything else was done from microfilm). This clearly showed the child baptised 12 Oct 1802 to be Josiah not Thomas. At last I have proof and know who his parents are (Robert and Mary)……. Unfortunately that's the next brick wall, I don't know where they come from, when they married, or what Mary's maiden name was - "as one door opens, another closes", the search continues……….. -------------------------------------------------------------------- 22 Jan 05 I have been making considerable progress this month, documenting the ALLSOP (London / Hornchurch) and SMITH (Bristol families). This has turned up an intriguing situation:- I think we may actually have a bigamist (except I cant find a second marriage), but:- Peter son of Josiah and Elizabeth ALLSOP (granny STANTON's uncle) 1871 he is with wife Jane +4 1881 he is with wife Ruth (Jane is elsewhere with 3 of the children) 1885 Peter dies (I've ordered the certificate to confirm its him) 1891 both Jane and Ruth are widows (2x Mrs ALLSOPs) 1901 Ruth a widow. I think I can see the first marriage reference (unproved as yet), but cant find a second one (so perhaps they never actually went through the ceremony ?). Today's news is that I went to Essex Record Office for a couple of hours (which turned into six!), there I found the marriage (see above) for Robert ALLSOP and Mary BLATCH, no clues as to Mary's parents , but at least I have her maiden name to work on. I also know that they were not originally from Hornchurch (as suspected), Robert was from South Weald (possibly Brentwood in that parish), and Mary from Doddinghurst in Essex. Above I mentioned 'someone else' researching ALLSOP (Dave WHITE) - now that I have proved the Robert & Mary relationship, this means that we are distant cousins (he is descended through Robert's son Robert and his son Robert "Overhead" ALLSOP). On the MacLEAN side of the family; news of an Essex connection as well. I have been chasing the amazing travelling PHILLIPS family (from Leek to Essex to Kingston on Thames and back to Leek). I discovered that daughter Eliza described herself as 'born Belerick Essex' in 1881. From this I, at last, have proof of the Essex connection (and two more children). The family were in Billericay c1827-33 (where father John was described as a 'Journeyman Silk Weaver' and he and Maria had three children; John, Eliza and William), and in Coggeshall 1834 where Elizabeth was born (by 1838 they were back in Leek). Interestingly in the Billericay registers was another Silk Weaver; Francis FOLLOWS - this is Maria's maiden name, so it is likely this is her brother, and may help me track down her family. -------------------------------------------------------------------- 28 Jan 05 Peter ALLSOP's death certificate has arrived - it looks like he isnt a bigamist after all (but only because he didnt actually marry Ruth) - she registered the death as "Ruth MITCHILL" and gave the same address as Peter, so I presume it must be her. She still called herself "Mrs ALLSOP widow" on the next two census's. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 4 March 05 February's research produced few new facts about direct ancestor's, although I have added a huge amount of data to my knowledge of cousins, gt uncles and aunts etc. The 1861 census has finally been transcribed for Surrey, and this enabled me to (at last) find Esther (nee BAVERSTOCK) STANTON, with her son (uncle) William. They are in Shalford (which is south of Guildford and North of Cranleigh - I had searched both places, but not the villages in between!). However the London transcript did not find gt grandfather Walter John WEEKES, or his mother Mary MAHANY. I still suspect that they are with Dr John WEEKES at High Street St. Giles, however the address was missed by the census, so we shall probably never know. As I cannot find Walter John or Mary on the 1871 census either (Dr. John died in 1863), this remains the biggest 'hole' in my research (I still have nothing at all on Walter John between his birth in 1857 and his marriage to Catherine Mary UPTON in 1878, and even less on Mary MAHANY) I discovered that The Public Record Office (now called "The National Archives") have completed their project to index and digitally image all WW1 soldiers medal cards. So I decided to recheck the records to see if 'The Old Man' really was awarded a "Mention in Despatches", sadly it appears he was not (how my father would have loved confirmation of this!). What I did find was that he had a second medal card that I had not found when I visited Kew - this one was for him as a private at the outbreak of the war. On this it is noted that in 1920 he was awarded a 'clasp' to his "1914 Star", this signifies that he came under fire in 1914, I wonder if this was what my father thought was a 'Mention in Dispatches' award. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 14th July '05 Not much time for research recently, so limited news. I spent a time trying to date the MacLEAN family photgraph, taken at "cousin Miff's wedding" c1921. I search for the marriage reference with no luck whatsoever. I dont undestand this, it should be there, Aunty Dora is in the picture as a bridesmaid, and looks to be a teenager, so that should date the photo within 7 years, but I have looked way either side of these dates and cannot find it. Similarly I tried to find the death of Harriet Annie (WEEKES) SMYTHE. My mother believes she was named Rosemary in remembrance of her aunt, which should date this within a couple of years. But again I have drawn a blank. This website has 'turned up trumps' as I have made contact with two more ALLSOP cousins (brothers John and Andrew ALLSOP) Andrew is creating his own website at http://www.allsop.faithfulfish.co.uk/ , please visit it. The most important news recently is that I have been contacted by the Wey and Arun Canal Trust. With the current occupant of "Lock cottage" in Bramley, they are going to erect a plaque on the cottage to show its importance in the history of the canal and its association with the STANTON family (see the STANTON pages on this site). ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 20 August '05 At last I have found "cousin Miff's" wedding reference, which dates the photograph, which I have uploaded to this site, as 26th August 1923. Miff was Martha Agnes not Martha Amelia as we thought, and she married Henry not Harry KING (presumably Harry was a nickname. I have also started to trace the other siblings and nephews/ neices of grandfather William George, using the family tree left by Aunty Dora as a base. At the moment (easy) research stops c1910, which is how far the birth/ marriage register transcriptions have got. But I have managed to find all 4 marriages for the siblings, and the births of 10 of the 16 cousins shown on the tree. One curiosity, Dora gave the fifth child of John James McLEAN ("Jack") and Agnes BRAND, as "Douglas", so far, I cant find his birth, however at the right time and place, there is a birth of a John James McLEAN. If this is JJ the son of JJ (which I would expect), then this is strange, because his eldest brother was christened William George John James McLEAN. so was Douglas a nickname ? or did this JJ die, and Aunty Dora didnt know about him?. Another point of note is that, unlike grandfather, the siblings all spelt their name as McLEAN, so it appears to be only grandfather who used "MacLEAN". ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 18 Oct '05 I have just got back from another trip to Devon. This time I was really only trying to fill in some gaps, and get photographs of the villages/ churches involved with the WEEKES family. As usual, when you are not really trying, something happens!. First I was walking around Sydenham Damerel churchyard (trying to get an angle for a photo), and noticed, by chance, the grave of 3xgt grandparents Walter and Thomasine WEEKES. Although I knew that Walter was buried here, Thomasine is not mentioned in the parish register, so the joint headstone was a surprise. Next stop was Lifton churchyard, again I had no intention of checking the (large) churchyard, but there by the side of the path, very close to the main door was the double grave of John and Elizabeth DAVY (5xgt grandparents). The headstone is really in remarkably good condition, considering it is nearly 200 years old. Until now I had only been able to presume that the parish register entries were the correct ones, but the headstone correponds to the register, and contains the information that John was "of Carley in this parish". This corresponds exactly with the WEEKES family papers at Devon Record Office, which state that "John of Carley's" daughter Elizabeth married Walter WEEKES in 1793, thus proving the family connection. The next day at Devon Record Office, I found the will of John and Elizabeth's son Henry. This refers to "my father's grandson, Walter WEEKES, daughter of my sister Elizabeth", this is Walter (jnr) whose grave I had found in Sydenham Damerel. Again this neatly confirmed the relationship between the DAVY and WEEKES families, which until now had been largely by "circumstantial evidence". Photographs of these gravestones are now on the WEEKES and DAVY pages on this site. With more confidence that I am on the right DAVY track, I am now trying to track down John and Elizabeth's 'roots'. More difficult this, as they dont seem to have married in Lifton. However, there is promising looking marriage in nearby Broadwoodwidger of John DAVY of Lifton to Elizabeth MATHEWS, 18th Nov. 1756. Another visit to Devon is needed, to see if there are any clues it the Parish Register. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 23 Oct. 05 Success at last - From early on in my research, I have been wondering how gt. Grandmother Sarah STERNDALE, from a very poor area of Manchester, managed to meet William MacLEAN in London in the 1860's. How/ why had she got there ? (or did William visit Manchester ?). I have been researching the other members of the STERNDALE family, in particular Sarah's aunt Emma, who I knew had married a Peter McGARVIE in 1853. Two of Peter and Emma's children turned up on the 1871 census in the Manchester Workhouse "Industrial School" (for pauper children), this indicates that one or both of their parents had died. The problem was that I could not find the family on the 1861 census, so I widened the search for them - particularly by varying the spelling of the name ( Mc / Mac , McGARVY/ McGARVEY etc). Finally I got a 'hit'; Emma Mac GARVY (i.e. three words) and the census page showed Emma and Peter with their four children. The interesting thing was that the family were in Little Dean St. London, just around the corner from the MacLEAN family in Meards St.. So it seems reasonable to presume that Sarah visited (or moved to) London, where her aunt could look after her (or perhaps to work for her uncle who was a Tailor), and that was how she met William MacLEAN. N.B. Emma appears to have died in 1868 (in London), I don't know what happened to Peter, but three of their children are back in Manchester in 1871 (two at the Industrial School, the other with grandparents David and Martha STERNDALE). The other child stayed in London with his uncle / aunt (presumably Peter's sister), where he learnt his father's trade as a Tailor, before returning to Manchester by 1881. The three McGARVIE son's families are the only descendants (apart from ourselves) of David and Martha STERNDALE that I can trace through to 1901. |
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