Another line back to the 1500s, all being well!

Discussion in 'Fantastic Finds' started by Findem, Sep 8, 2015.

  1. Findem

    Findem The Fearless One. Rest in Peace.

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    Having now been able to access Free Reg's parish transcription coverage list here is what the situation is for Chelmsford and Stebbing coverage.

    Stebbing: Zero. :confused: :eek: :)

    Transcriptions of Chelmsford St Mary Transcripts (held by the ERO):-
    Baptisms, Marriages and Burials: 1530 to 1819

    Transcriptions from Chelmsford St Mary Parish Registers (held by the ERO)
    Baptisms: 1570 to 1789 & 1810 to 1819.
    Marriages: 1810 to 1819.
    Burials: 1810 to 1819.

    So I guess the only way to ensure that William Willis born 1793 at Stebbing wasn't buried there before the date of the marriage to Elizabeth Maskell 1819 at Little Bardfield, or a marriage to another Elizabeth come to that, is a search in Stebbing PRs on the ERO's SEAX Essex Ancestors.
    Plus of course a search of Stebbing marriages on the same site.

    Same site for verifying the Chelmsford St Mary baptism details of the children of William and Elizabeth Willis, just in case of any Family Search errors.

    On the plus side it's likely you could pick up extra info from the Chelmsford St Mary PRs such as the occupation of the father in each entry and what area the family were living in. The PRs frequently mention a father's abode as "of Moulsham", the records of St John the Evangelist, Moulsham don't start until 1837.

    An occupation example is one of my ancestors who baptised 10 children at Chelmsford St Mary 1775 to 1796, during that time his occupation went from a Glove Maker to a Breeches Maker, then a Pauper and finally a Labourer.
     
    Last edited: Nov 21, 2016
  2. Barry Willis

    Barry Willis New Member

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    You have been busy Derek!......sorry had a bit of down time on this as sorting out bits relative to my hip replacement. Will be back on it shortly but I really appreciate your involved investigation on this with the obvious knowledge you bring with you. I feel a proper novice in comparison. You could have done this professionally for the heir hunters. Will let you know when I am back up and running with this and I will try to do my bit. Cheers Loads Baz.
    My email is elysium (underscore) arts AT hotmail dot com
    (Email munged to deter spammers. Jan)
     
  3. Findem

    Findem The Fearless One. Rest in Peace.

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    Got your email address OK, I got it off the email on my phone.
     
  4. Findem

    Findem The Fearless One. Rest in Peace.

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    I did try and shortcut the 'link proving' by trying to find your William and Elizabeth on the 1841 and 1851 Censuses, nothing doing. I thought that in 1851 there was a good chance William might still be alive, being about 58 years of age, if successful it would have showed where they were living and identified Elizabeth birth year and place.

    Good luck with your hip job hope all goes well.
     
  5. Findem

    Findem The Fearless One. Rest in Peace.

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    Hi Barry,

    In case you missed a child here are the children from the 1861 Census for Heybridge, Joseph 9, Amos 6, Elizabeth 3 and Faithful 9 months.

    I note Joseph was missing form the 1851 Census but his wife Lucy was noted as a Sailor's wife so he would be at sea or up the canal.

    Have you been on Ancestry.co.? There is a photo of a gravestone in Heybridge Cemetery for a Joseph Willis 1826 - 1904., must be your Joseph, a note states it was "shared by B R 38 on 10 Feb 2010. I have the lady's full username written down. If you haven't seen that photo let me know, there might be a chance she is still active on Ancestry, might be worth contacting if you haven't done so already.
     
  6. Findem

    Findem The Fearless One. Rest in Peace.

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    Just thought that I'd add the following research I did which proved the couple William Willis and Elizabeth Turner who married 17 Feb 1809 at Finchingfield had no children baptised at Finchingfield, my theory being they are the parents of the Great Bardfield children.

    From a Free Reg search of Willis baptisms Finchingfield 1815 - 1860, name soundex on, I found there were 21 Willis children baptised in total the last being in 1840. The parent names were, in order of appearance: John & Sarah, George & Mary, David & Ruth, Charles & Hannah, Samuel & Phebe, Charles & Charlotte and lastly Joseph & Sarah.
    Notes
    George & Mary only baptised one child in the period I searched, Charlotte 17 Mar 1816, probably the tail end of their family.

    Joseph and his wife Sarah didn't appear until 1837 when they baptised two children Peter Jarvis Willis and Walter Dodd Willis both on 24 Dec 1837, Joseph and Sarah were noted as being of Old Sampford, Joseph's occupation was a Baker, when they baptised Anne Elizabeth 23 Jun 1839 Joseph's abode was Finchingfield and his occupation was a Miller.

    All the other Willis males were stated to be Labourers.

    I did a search of Finchingfield (also Essex wide) burials for the burial of Hannah Willis 1818 to 1830 to see if Charles wife Hannah had died and he remarried a Charlotte, nothing found.

    I did find Charles Willis, widower, married Charlotte Searle, spinster, 18 Sep 1829 at Finchingfield, witnesses Hannah Searle and Samuel French. Couldn't find a Charles Willis to a Hannah marriage though.

    Think that just about wraps up my contribution. As I see it, if Barry researches the William Willis baptised 1793 at Stebbing in Essex Ancestors and finds William didn't marry or be buried in Stebbing, that plus the names of the children baptised in Chelmsford is enough to suggest Barry's William is the Stebbing William.

    I have contacted a couple of people via Ancestry and R C to see how they deduced a link but so far no replies, there is one more person on RC I can try although I suspect the two people on R C are one and the same person, having two user names.
     
  7. Findem

    Findem The Fearless One. Rest in Peace.

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    Curiosity got the better of me, so one for the road.

    Charles Willis married Hannah Barnes 1 March 1823 at Great Sampford, Essex, wouldn't mind betting Charles and Joseph (of Old Sampford) are related, perhaps brothers even. No doubt Charles and Hannah moved to Finchingfield to raise children, looks like a pattern emerging with the Willis lot prefer to marry in one place and then move to another parish to raise a family, must have itchy feet. :D
    I got that from Ancestry, still no sign of Hannah's burial though, thankfully that's of no consequence to the task in hand.

    One other thing, I've noticed is that the name George Willis seems to crop up quite a bit in various Essex parishes and I think other counties possibly but I could be wrong on that. I have no idea of the significance of it, I have six Willis families (two lines) that I have personally researched, spanning from a baptism in 1684 to a baptism in 1735, not one George Willis to be seen. :)
     
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  8. Barry Willis

    Barry Willis New Member

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    Hello Derek
    Hope all is well with you. Thought you may and users of this site may be interested in knowing that
    Find My Past .co.uk for this weekend has census records and scans viewable for free.
    Enjoy.........Barry
    Sent from my iPad
     
  9. Findem

    Findem The Fearless One. Rest in Peace.

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    Thanks Barry.

    Have you had your hip job yet, if haven't good luck with the op, if you have hope all went to plan.

    Still haven't heard anything, doubt I will now.
     
  10. Adam McGregor

    Adam McGregor Active Member

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    Does anyone have any information on George Willis, christened in Shalford in 1748? He was the son of Henry and Elizabeth Willis. Does this connect to these lines at all? If they do, please DM a list of dates and places etc, that’d be great!
     
  11. Findem

    Findem The Fearless One. Rest in Peace.

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    Not sure if have the particular details you are after but what I do have is the birth and or baptism details of six children of Henry and Elizabeth Willis all baptised in Shalford, for the first four, including George, I have also the dates of birth.

    Are these details of use to you? If so I will post them.

    The following info came from transcripts: Henry Willis married Elizabeth Bird 19 Nov 1745 at Black Notley, I strongly suspect that couple are the Henry and Elizabeth Willis who raised a family in Shalford.

    I haven't researched the family of Henry and Elizabeth of Shalford to see which Willis line they link to but I did see and note some children of a Henry and Anne Willis baptised in Bardfield Saling 1769 to 1781 and I wonder if the father Henry was the Henry born and baptised 1747 in Shalford, the son of Henry and Elizabeth Willis.
     
  12. Findem

    Findem The Fearless One. Rest in Peace.

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    I should have mentioned that the reason I haven't researched the family yet is because although I suspect they are related to one of my Willis lines, Henry is not an ancestor, it's nothing personal. :D
     
  13. Adam McGregor

    Adam McGregor Active Member

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    I've got George's date of birth from FreeREG, but thanks for the marriage details! I'll follow that up and see if I can get anywhere. Thanks again.
     
  14. Adam McGregor

    Adam McGregor Active Member

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    Hello,

    Apologies for being late to this thread.

    I have two Willis lines in Shalford: the only one I have been able to trace back properly is George Willis (b. 1748, Shalford), son of Henry and Elizabeth Willis. I don’t have a marriage record for Henry and Elizabeth, nor anything on them prior to a birth in 1745 I think it was.

    If they link up to this old line that’d be great! None of my Essex lines extend beyond the 1730s - apparently the parish registers are still being transcribed.

    I’d appreciate any help!

    Adam
     
  15. Adam McGregor

    Adam McGregor Active Member

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    Sorry, I didn’t see that I’d posted before. Please forgive me.
     
  16. Dogsday

    Dogsday Well-Known Member

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    By eck, looks like you've both been very busy, isn't it great when it all falls into place :);):)
     
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  17. Adam McGregor

    Adam McGregor Active Member

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    Yep, just frustrating not being able to link the two. I’m going to be getting a one-day Seax subscription soon so hopefully will be able to solidify any connection to this line in particular.
     
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