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.
It took some time (and a bit of money) for me to find the right George PALMER’s death certificate. I am now quite sure this is the correct one as the age, occupation and location fit.
George Palmer’s death certificate – 29th October 1896
After an eventful life, George died in Westminster Union Workhouse. How did he end up there?
Note that George died of ‘Senile Decay’. Does this mean I have another lunatic on my hands?
Ancestry UK now has London Poor Law records available to view online. I searched the Westminster Union ‘Register of Lunatics’, which thankfully has a surname index and found there were no PALMER lunatics between the years of 1890 and 1898.
Unfortunately the ‘Admission and Discharge Book’ does NOT have a surname index. Using George’s date of death, I found his ‘discharge’ (death).
October 1896 Westminster Union Workhouse ‘Admission and Discharge Book’
George died on Thursday, October 29th 1896. His last meal was breakfast and his diet was described as ‘class 2’ (The Workhouse site explains the class of diet from 1900 onwards but I have yet to find a key to the Westminster Union classes in 1896).
The 1891 census for Westminster Union Workhouse contains a George Palmer of the same age, occupation and county of birth as mine:
George PALMER on the 1891 census in Westminster Union Workhouse
Presuming the George on the 1891 census is mine (the town of birth is listed as Winchester, Hampshire whereas all the other information that I have, states that George was born in Portsea, Hampshire), I have a window of 10 years in which to search for his admission.
Considering there is no surname index, this is a bit of a tedious task as I have to trawl through each page in the book for his surname – wish me luck!
In 1848, George Wright PALMER married Mary Ann ALLEN in the parish church of Gillingham, Kent (St Mary Magdalene). George was a gunner in the Royal Navy and Mary was a carpenter’s daughter. Here is the certified copy of their marriage entry ordered from the GRO (click on the images to see a larger version):
George Wright PALMER and Mary Ann ALLEN marriage certificate – 1848
The next image is of the marriage entry from the Gillingham Parish Church records:
George Wright PALMER and Mary Ann ALLEN marriage entry -1848
I am lucky enough to be able to view the parish records on the Medway Council’s City Ark website. These images have been published as part of the ‘Medway Ancestors’ project, thanks to a grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund. If you have ancestors in the Medway district – it’s well worth a look.
Again, I now have my ancestor’s signatures, as well as that of Mary Ann’s father, William Henry ALLEN. Fortunately in this case, the certificate was an accurate copy of the actual marriage entry. You may however find otherwise. If family historians ever have the opportunity to check parish records, they should. One small transcription error can lead to years of frustration. The information gleaned from these have been known to break down ‘brick walls’ in the past.
And hey, even if the information is the same, at least you’ll have your ancestors’ signatures or marks.
