Earlier Quaker Connections

St Ethelburga, Bishopsgate

The post, Some Quaker Roots, cited vital records for the Blacketer family from the Quaker Meeting in Barking, Essex. Since then, images of the records have become available on ancestry.com which contain much more information than the indexes alone. And from these I have been able to trace the Blacketer line to the turn of the 18th century and some 7xgreat grandparents. Along the way we will see several spelling variants for Blacketer.

First, some historical name-dropping. The Barking Quaker Meeting was attended by the reformer Elizabeth Fry. The cropped image below shows the birth record for William Botting Blacketer. On the line below is the birth record for Daniel Henry Fry, the reformer's youngest son. Whether the Blacketers and Frys ever rubbed shoulders at Meeting I don't know, but the birth records of their children are here side-by-side!

Top line: William Botting Blacketer; next line: Daniel Henry Fry

The transcript reads:

  12mo:9:1822 Stratford William Botting Son Joseph & Elizabeth Stratford not a member

                          Essex                                          Blacketer

  11mo:1:1822 Plasket   Daniel Henry    Son Joseph & Elizabeth  Plasket   Banker

                                                                                 Fry

The use of, for example, 12mo is peculiar to the Society of Friends, which had long refused to use the pagan-named months (January through August) of the conventional calendar, referring to them by number instead. However until 1752, when the English Parliament reformed the calendar, the year was reckoned as started on 25 March. Thus, March was the "first month" for the Friends. After 1752, March became the "third month". After 1752, the year was reckoned to begin 1 January. From this record, William Botting Blacketer was born 9 December 1822, while Daniel Henry Fry was born 1 November 1822.

The corresponding records for other children of Joseph and Elizabeth Blacketer are:

       1817 25th of the 12th month / Stratford WtHam Essex / Thomas / Son /
              Joseph & Elizabeth Blacketer father not a member / Stratford /
              Servt to Howard, Jewell & Gibson

       1820 8th of 10.Mo /  Stratford / Joseph / Son /
              Joseph & Elizabeth Blacketer not a member / Stratford /
              In the employ of Howard & Co Chemists

       12mo 24 1825 / Stratford / John not in membership / Son /
              Joseph & Elizabeth Blacketer / Stratford /
              not in membership

This Thomas Blacketer is my 3xgreat grandfather.

William Botting Blacketer is a 4xgreat uncle of mine. He died 26 November 1829, aged 7, and was buried in the Friends Buring-ground in Ratcliffe.

I believe Joseph Blacketer (another 4xgreat uncle of mine) is the one  died in 1839:
       BMD Death Index Joseph Blacketer Mar1839 West Ham 12 202

Of the last brother, John Blacketer, I have not found any certain information, beyond an 1851 census. Australian records have John Blacketer of about the right age as an unassisted passenger to Victoria in 1852, and a death record for presumably the same person in St Kilda, Victoria 1908. However, it give mother's maiden name as Moon, when we are expecting Botting, of which more later.

Interestingly Joseph Blacketer is "not a member". He may never have been a member, or he may have been in and out of membership - the Frys had their membership suspended from time to time.

Two of the records list an occupation for Joseph, that he worked for Howard, Jewell and Gibson, Chemists. This is at variance with Thomas's marriage record, which states that his father was a watchmaker. I wondered briefly if I hadn't made some mistake.

First, the marriage record (BMD Marriage Jun1845 West Ham 12 415 Thomas Blacketer and Martha Greenfield). This is a copy of the record from the General Register Office:
       18 May 1845 at the Parish Church of West Ham
       Groom: Thomas Blacketer  Full Age  Bachelor  Shoe Maker  West Ham
              father: Joseph Blacketer  Watch Maker
       Bride: Martha Greenfield  Full Age  Spinster  West Ham
              father: Thomas Greenfield  Butcher
       signed: Thomas Blacketer, Martha Greenfield
       witnessed: Thomas Joseph Adey, Harriet Greenfield

The witnesses and much else makes this certain that Thomas's wife is Martha Greenfield from Guildford, Surrey. The 1851 for Thomas and Martha at Harrow Cottages has:
        Thos Blackiter Head Mar 33  Shoe Maker   Essex, Stratford
        Martha   Do     Wife  Mar 30                        Surrey, Guilford
        Joseph    Do     Son    U    2                         Essex, Stratford
        Thomas   Do     Son    U    8 months                Do       Do

The 1861 England Census at 1 Harrow Cottages for this same household:
        Thomas Blacketter     Head   Mar       43  Carman    Essex West Ham
        Martha Blacketter        Wife    Mar       41                  Guildford, Surrey
        Sarah Ann Blacketter Daugr  Unmar  14                   Essex, West Ham
        Joseph Blacketter       Son      Unmar  12   Schlolar  Essex, West Ham
        Thomas Blacketter     Son      Unmar  11       Do      Essex, West Ham
        Elizabeth Blacketter   Daugr  Unmar    3                  Essex, West Ham
        Elizabeth Blacketter   Mother Widow  75                  Petworth, Sussex

By 1861, Elizabeth Blacketer is a widow. Joseph's death must be that recorded at:
        BMD Death Index Joseph Blacketer Dec1856 West Ham 4a 3

Next, going back to the 1851 England Census, this time for Joseph Blacketer's household at 7 Bridge Place, Stratford:
        Joseph Blacketer Head         Mar   63  Carman       Midx, Ratcliffe
        Elizabeth   Do      Wife           Mar  63      Do Wife   Sussex, Petworth
        John          Do      Son             U    25      Do            Essex, Stratford
        Sarah A     Do     Grand Daug U    4                            Do        Do

Just as Thomas Blacketer's reported occupation changes from Shoe Maker (1845 and 1851) to Carman 1861, so Joseph, his father's changes from working at the chemical company (1817 and 1820) to Watch Maker (1845) to Carman (1851 and 1861).

A Peter Blackiter or Blacketer - also appears as Blackett, Blackister - Watchgilder, finished his apprenticeship in 1786, and baptized several children in the 1780s and 90s. From what I can tell, Peter is an uncle of Joseph. He died in 1795, although Joseph may have maintained a relationship with the trade. And yet, given his connection to the chemical works, I wonder if he was actually engaged in making matches, and that Match Maker became Watch Maker in transcription to the general register. A look at the parish register might clear this up.

Much of the above repeats, though in more detail, records presented in the post Quaker Roots. At the end of that post, I mentioned birth records for Joseph and Hannah Blacketer. Subsequently, following them up, I found that this earlier generation had Quaker connections. Here is the transcript for Joseph's birth registration (italics are handwritten, while the normal font is printed on the form):

       On the Nineteenth Day of the Ninth Month,
       called September One Thousand Seven-Hundred and
       Eighty Seven was born in the New Road Ratcliff Highway
       in the Parish of St. George's (so called) in the
       County of Middlesex unto Thos. Blacketer
       Shoe Maker and Elizabeth his Wife, a
       Son who was named Joseph

       We, who were present at the said birth, have subscribed our Names as
       Witnesses thereof.
[signed]
       Rachel Deighton Midwife
       Elizabeth Tippett
       Winnefread Blacketer

       A true Copy, Sam Marsh
       Licensed Register to Ratcliff Monthly Meeting
       Not a Member of Our Society

[Margin note]
       The Parents not Members of our Society

From what I can tell the record is a copy of the Quaker Meeting's vital records, made for the Registrar General in 1837. Hannah's birth registration is on the same page, with much the same information except that obviously she was a daughter named Hannah, born 14 August 1788. The witnesses are: Rachel Deighton Midwife, Winnefread Blacketer (as before) and Ann Lineman.

St George in the East has the following burial record for 1788:
       Novbr 5  Thomas Blacketer  New Road  39 [years old]

And this presumably is for the father of the Quaker birth registrations. His year of birth calculates to 1749.

While St Ethelburga Bishopgate has the following marriage for 1786:
       Thomas Blacketer Bachelor & Elizabeth Garrit both of this parish were married the
       Banns first being duly published according to Act of Parliament this twenty first
       day of September 1786 by me John Girton Curate
       This marriage was solemnized )  Thos Blacketer
       between us                               )  Elizth Garritt
       In presence of us                         Robert Blacketer
                                                           Ann Blacketer
                                                           Margt Mackie

Autographs of three Blacketers 1786

The short marriage, interupted by Thomas's death explains why there are no more birth records for this couple. Elizabeth went on to remarry in 1794. The Quarterly Meeting of London and Middlesex (of the Friends) records the marriage of Elizabeth Blacketer nee Garritt:
       The Twenty Ninth Day of the Seventh Month,
       One Thousand Seven Hundred and Ninety Four
       Christopher Moor of Upton in Essex
              Son of John Moor
       of Netherdale Yorkshire Husbandman
              and Jane his Wife,
       and Elizabeth Blackiter Daughter of Joseph Garritt
       Draper of Chelmsford in Essex
              and Mary his Wife, deceased
       were married in a publick Assembly of the People called Quakers in
       Plaistow
       A Copy of the Marriage Certificate, at full Length, is recorded in
       Barking Monthly-Meeting

She is probably the Elizabeth Moor of Plaistow, aged 62, who dies 4 May 1826. and is buried at the Friends Burial-ground in Barking on the tenth of that month. Her year of birth calculates to about 1764, making her 15 years Thomas Blacketer's junior. Her second husband Christopher Moor(e) is buried in the same place the year after her 21 February 1827. His age of death, 72, gives a year of birth about 1755. The following births are recorded by the Friends as children of Christopher and Elizabeth Moor:
       John Moor 20 October 1795
       Sarah Moor 16 February 1797
       William Moor 17 April 1798
       Christopher Moor 1 September 1800
       Eliza Moor 9 June 1802

These would all be step-siblings of Joseph Blacketer, my 4xgreat grandfather.

I have noticed that occasionally "Moor" is transcribed "Moon", and this made me think about the 1908 death record in Australia for John Blacketer which gives his mother's maiden name as Moon. Death records are only as accurate as the informant on the certificate. Elizabeth Moor was our John Blacketer's grandmother. Perhaps the informant knew this and assumed that she must be his maternal grandmother. After all, his paternal grandmother might be expected to have Blacketer for her married name. Along the way the name has been mistranscribed from "Moor" to "Moon". If you're a descendant of John Blacketer 1825-1908 reading this in Australia, I would welcome information from you, whether I must be wrong or could be right.

The birth records for Joseph and Hannah Blacketer included the detail that Winnefread Blacketer witnessed the births. This is a welcome detail, being an unusual name. And searching in ancestry.com for a marriage of Winnifred someone to someone Blacketer was rewarded by the following record, of which more in the next post.