My mother migrated to Australia with her parents and younger sister when she was 9.
As a result, I know little about that side of the family but my mother remembers the time with her grandparents fondly.
In 2001, I was able to make a short trip to Belgium where I met my grandfather’s brother and his wife, who are wonderful people. Amongst many other activities, they took me to the grave of my great grandparents near Charleroi (which as you can see contains VERY little information).
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.
While in Devon I paid a visit to the lovely village of Broadhembury. I had hopes of finding the graves of my STILING forebears to give me some new leads – this wasn’t to be. I did however, find the graves of some other Stilings. These Stilings are bound to be related somewhere along the line so I post these photos of their gravestones to help out distant family members who may be looking for these guys.
Affectionate Remembrance of
Thomas Stiling
Died Sep 18th 1848
Aged 38 years
[…] in death
ALSO Jane his wife
Died March 26 1875
Aged 75 years
Thy Will Be Done
ALSO John their son
Died November 27 1892
Aged 63 years
In Loving Memory
Of
William Stiling
Who died March 20 1865
Aged 43 years
*note* – These inscriptions were extremely difficult to read. Most of the last one was deciphered through touch and educated guesswork so may not be entirely accurate.
I have been writing a lot about my WREFORDs lately, particularly with regard to George WREFORD and his bankruptcy woes. However, his wife would have also been sharing these worries with him. Also missing from the 1861 census, perhaps she had travelled to Exeter for his court hearing.
In 1845, Harriotte STILING married George WREFORD in Cove Chapel (in the Pitt quarter of the parish of Tiverton). Both lived in Tiverton at the time and both of their fathers were farmers. I know this (and their father’s names) because of the information recorded on their marriage certificate.
This is a copy of their marriage ordered from the General Register Office (my first ever certificate ordered):
George WREFORD and Harriet STILING marriage certificate – 1845
A lot of people assume that the signatures on these certificates are those of their ancestors when first starting in genealogy. However, this is only a ‘Certified Copy of an Entry of Marriage’ (as stated on top of the document). Someone (with authority) has basically just copied the information into another book.
This is the actual entry for their marriage in the Cove Chapel parish registers:
George WREFORD and Harriet STILING Marriage Entry – 1845
There is no difference in the information given except I now have the actual signatures of George WREFORD, Harriotte STILING and her father John STILING!
A Philip CHAVE was also witness to the marriage – he may be a relative, close friend or just someone there on the day.
You may think, why bother?
Well, sometimes the information can differ from the copy but I have to admit, it gives me a little thrill to see the actual signatures. In the absence of photographs or other memorabilia, it can be as close as you may get to ‘touching’ your ancestor. I can imagine having access to the actual parish register book they would have written in would be even more thrilling. It may be sad but I’m sure other family historians out there know what I’m talking about.
NOTE: I remember reading somewhere that an X (or mark) as a signature didn’t always mean the person was illiterate. Sometimes women especially would use an X so as not to show up their new husband.
I like to visit places which played parts in my ancestors’ lives so we drove up to Cove through very narrow, winding hillside roads. I believe this photo is of Cove Chapel. It is fenced off with a PRIVATE sign right next to someone’s home so we stuck around long enough just to get this photo. I have been unable to find much information on Cove Chapel so if I’m incorrect, please let me know.
Cove Chapel, Tiverton parish as it was August 2009
Hobart Town from the New Town Road by J.S. Prout (1844) (source)
Carrying on from last week’s Black Sheep Sunday post. I have managed to have find some more snippets of information of my Black Sheep duo – George WHITE and Elizabeth ALLEN.
World Vital Records offered free records until the 18th (tomorrow) so I took them up on their offer. I must say, I do find the site a bit of confusing. Searches for records of specific places (such as UK, Australia and New Zealand) tend to also include the American records in the results. This may be something an experienced user can combat but for me, time is of the essence!
Tucked away in the Hobart Town Gazette of 1844 were 2 references for each of my beloved convicts.Elizabeth Allen, Margaret, to Zachary Pocock, Hobart:
Hobart Town Gazette – 8 March 1844
George White, George III., from J. & R. Meikle, Murray-street, to Thomas Allcock, Hobart Town.:
Hobart Town Gazette – 16 August 1844
George White, George the Third, by Thomas Allcock, Liverpool-street, 2 months, 21st ditto [October]:
Hobart Town Gazette – 12 November 1844
Elizabeth Allen, Margaret, by George Lewis, Restdown, 1 month, from 10th ditto [September].:
Hobart Town Gazette – 8 October 1844
These snippets refer to whose private service they entered as a passholder.
From 1840 convicts usually served an initial period of “probation” in government work gangs, before becoming “passholders” who competed in the labour market. In the context of high unemployment, this meant that thousands of serving convicts joined ticket-of-leave holders and emancipists to roam the island in search of work. The sight of these workers, who by necessity or choice often lived rough in the bush, horrified and frightened the free settlers…(Source: Van Diemen’s Land by James Boyce – found via Google Books).
Next steps:
Search for other issues of the Hobart Town Gazette
Research the employers listed for some background information
