Hi all, this is my first entry on any threads so forgive me if I'm a little rough in my writing. I have been working on my Vickery family history and I hit a massive brick wall which I cannot seem to break down. The eldest record I found was an 1861 census of Canada listing my 5th great grandfather along with his family. But I cannot seem to find anything definitive ANYWHERE prior to these records. The record states the following family members: Thomas Vickerie 50 born in England married Jane Vickerie 50 born in England married Isabelle Vickerie 27 born in England married Thomas Vickerie 24 born in England single William Vickerie 22 born in England single James Vickerie 17 born in Canada West single Great lead, especially as they are all listed as members of the Church of England. HOWEVER I cannot find any trace of this family in England, or anywhere else, for that matter. I have found later censuses which list William's birth place as Ireland as well as England but I cannot find anything to support any claims in any direction. Could anyone be so kind as to give me suggestions what kind of resources I may be able to look at, or suggestions regarding any ideas how they could theoretically immigrated? I've even considered the thought of a name change in immigration. I can't see why one would change their name if they were English speaking but I don't have lot of experience with that particular area of expertise. Thank you in advance for any suggestions made. I'm open to any ideas or suggestions anyone can make.
Hi Searching Vickery. Welcome Ontario County marriages March 7th 1866 have two interesting records. First is William Vickery age 28 and Catherine McPhail. His place of birth is noted as Canada. Father Thomas Vickery and mother Jane Ritchie. DOB 1838(?) The second is that of James Vickery and Nessa Hanlay, same date. Father Thomas Vickery and mother Jane Ritchie. James place of birth Canada. 1844 On the 1861 Isabelle is said to be married. Could she be the wife of Thomas 24?
Going on from the above post a 71 year old Jane Vickery is living with her son James Vickery and Nessa Vickery in 1881 at Orford Bothwell Ontario birthplace, England. She is widowed 178 B 3 84 C-13276. Children are Barbara 10, William J 7 and Morris G 5.
Welcome Searching Vickery... Do you have his death? Thomas Vickery buried in Sherman Cemetery, Thamesville. from Canada Genweb. 1810-1875 It's on Hwy 21 so likely under a ton of snow right now. There is a Vickery tree on Ancestry and they have a baptism for him 28 Aug 1811 04 Aug 1811 Thomas, s. of John & Sarah Vickery. Book Baptisms 1770--1812. Collection Somerset: Bruton - Parish Registers, 1681-1812
Umm, I don't think this is the right Thomas and Jane. In this census (1851) he gives his name as Thomas Morrell (sp?) Vickery and that he is born in Great Torrington, Devon. Then he's in the 1861 and 1881 census in Devon and dies in Devon in 1885.
A Thomas Vickery age 25 (1811) arrived New York from England June 1836 on the ship 'Liverpool'. He was a labourer.
Alison, I know nothing about Canadian research, but would a copy of his death certificate give you any clues? For example parents names. There are so many Thomas Vickery/Vickerie in England that it makes my head spin! But then you probably already know this.
Hi Archie's Mum, I'm not sure who she is. Thomas married an Anne Louisa Prebble and they are actually a very well documented family as far as the records go. So I'm not sure where Isabelle fits in, her name was never mentioned in my dad's family bible (where I found most of my original hints) but I didn't know anything about either James or Thomas either, William is my direct ancestor and everything else I've found out has been a wonderful discovery. oh that's interesting I'm going to look into that one, thank you!
Hi Sis, Thanks for the suggestion, I've never actually been able to find his death record but I'm going to see if I can get a copy of it from the Canadian Archives. I was able to take my Dad with me on a road trip last summer up to where his grave site is as well as the original lot that the census I posted about was recorded as being, and he was like a little kid once he actually saw the head stone. I have photos of it (it's so black you can barely read it so we're now planning on going back to try and safely restore it now). Regarding Canadian research, the one nice thing about Canadian records in my experience is that they've been based on their British predecessors, so they're almost identical in layout and how they're organized. Yay for that! I absolutely agree with you regarding the quantity of Thomases that I found when I started looking. I've been working on my Genealogy for about 10 years now but just recently caved and bought a membership to Ancestry to find the British records. Although now I'm starting to wonder if a membership to findmypast.com might have been better since they seem to have more records that I'm interested in. I'm going to do more looking. Thank you for your input, I appreciate it!
Definitely true, thank you again for pointing me in this direction. I LOVE the Genealogy groups I've been privileged enough to discover, and this forum is definitely going to be part of my favourites. I'll find the truth yet, I don't care how many years or cross-Atlantic journeys it may take me. One of my bucket list items is to find out where my family came from and visit that area. Maybe some of you will be able to tell me what's worth visiting there!
Hi again ..Searching Vickery Sorry about the mistake with the Thomases! I also did some searching for a death registration, but I can't find it. A lot of the Ontario records aren't online. Have you tried going to the local genealogy center that covers the Thamesville area? A lot of the time I find they have records that aren't online... I found several for Oxford county in their Woodstock genealogy office.
Hi Sue, I actually have been to the Chatham-Kent Public Library a few times. They've been extremely helpful with all of the local resources they have there. I was actually mentioning to Jan (Daft Bat) they have a wonderful resource that I wish other communities had thought up. Their local society indexed every issue of the newspapers that they have on Microfilm by mentioned name. So if you wanted to know whether anyone in your family has been mentioned in their newspapers you just have to go to their card catalogue and look up the person's name alphabetically and it lists the newspaper, issue and date that they were mentioned. I think all death records are stored at the Canadian Archives, so I think I will be sending a request for a copy of that record shortly. Thanks for your input! Also don't be sorry, I'm glad you're helping me at all and there were multiple HUNDREDS of Thomas Vickery/Vicary/Vickeries born in the 1800s in England. I was stunned when I saw how many there were!