Category: Stiling

Calendar of the Dead

Ancestry have now released the National Probate Calendar (1861-1941) which is almost like an index to wills.  A distant relative who has worked with me on my STILING line gave me the heads up and I checked it out:
STILING John 9 October.
The Will of John Stiling late of Tiverton in the County of Devon Yeoman deceased who died 3 February 1862 at Tiverton aforesaid was proved at Exeter by the oath of Edward Stiling of the Parish of Tiverton aforesaid Yeoman the Son one of the Executors.
Effects under £600.
[handwritten underneath] Resworn at the Stamp Office Feb 1865 under £450.

I believe this to be my John STILING for the following reasons:

  • he dropped off the census after 1861
  • wife declared a widow on the 1871 census
  • recorded living at Tiverton since 1811 (son Edward’s birth)
  • has son Edward STILING
  • farmer (yeoman) since 1841 census

This is the first time I had even come close to a death date for John STILING so I was very pleased indeed to see this entry.

I used ancestry to look further into the son mentioned, Edward STILING and found what appears to be his will too. The entry contained: formerly of Barton but late of Tiverton Farmer died 16 Feb 1873 at Tiverton – Elizabeth Daw, widow, his sister executrix.

Not only do I have a death date but also a daughter of John that I was unaware of until now.

Next Steps:

  • Obtain a copy of John & Edward STILING’s wills

The Wrong Stilings

I’ve certainly been very busy with genealogy the last week or so.
The most significant discovery is that I am now quite sure that the Broadhembury STILINGs are not directly linked to me. (Click the link to see my previous Stiling posts, or click Stiling in the right sidebar). The John STILING farming at Lane End Farm is not Harriet STILING’s father. I discovered this by making contact with other people researching the Broadhembury John STILING on Ancestry.co.uk.
Devon has not allowed the LDS to film their parish records and so most baptisms from Devon are not available on the IGI.  This has meant that I have not yet seen Harriet’s baptismal entry but instead have accepted information given to me by a relative over 10 years ago (until I can check the records for myself) which states her mother was Grace FREED.  When I first searched the 1841 census (via microfilm) all those years ago, the Broadhembury John STILING was the closest match I found.  I then decided it was possible Grace had died and this wife, Mary could have been a second wife.  However, the other (very helpful) people researching this family had no knowledge of a first wife (Grace) or of a daughter called Harriet.
John STILING on Harriet’s marriage record

I decided to recheck all my sources.  Harriet’s marriage certificate lists her father as John STILING, a farmer, so I searched the census again with Ancestry.co.uk, including spelling variants.  Still no joy.  The Broadhembury STILINGS were still the only likely option.  I then went through my digital folders and came across a file called ‘Stilings on the 1841 census’.  I had another look and this time saw a John and Grace STILING in the Tiverton area (how I’d not noticed that before is beyond me).  I searched for them in this area and sure enough John and Grace topped the list!  They had been transcribed as Steling.  Someone seems to have originally recorded the name as Styling and someone’s attempt to correct it allowed it to be misread as Steling.

Another John STILING farmer – this time at West Barton Farm near Tiverton

I am more confident that these are my STILINGS – not only because of the wife, Grace but also because they reside in the Tiverton area which is where I found Harriet working as a servant on the 1841 census and her location at the time of her marriage.  However, until I see the birth records, I have no hard evidence that Grace is, in fact, Harriet’s mother and that this is MY family, as she never appears with her parents on a census.

Next Steps: 

  • Visit Devon library to locate Harriet’s baptism entry in the parish records.