Nieces and Nephews

Four months interlude, but picking up where I left us in August, and wishing all my readers a Happy Advent!

In this post I propose to examine the nieces and nephews named in the wills of William Dunrich (died 1794) and his widow, Elizabeth (nee Gaich or Geach, died 1802). Transcripts of each of these wills are in the previous post on Dunrich Babbage Connections. William and Elizabeth appear to have had no children of their own, but were generous to their nephews and nieces.

I have no information on siblings of Elizabeth Dundrich, and all those named by the Dundriches are children of William's siblings. The Buckland Monachorum baptisms reported in England, Births and Christenings, 1538-1975 have, in addition to William (1722), Robert (1725 died in infancy 1726), John (born 1727), and Elizabeth (born 1730).

Of the survivors, England, Marriages, 1538-1973 has:
       John Dundridge and Mary Blake 16 Apr 1755 Antony Cornwall

And as reported in the previous post, England, Select Plymouth and West Devon, Parish Registers, 1538-1912 has:
       Elizabeth Dundridge and John Babidge 1757 in Devon

England, Select Births and Christenings, 1538-1975 have the following baptisms for children of John Dundridge and Mary in Antony, Cornwall:
       Mary Dundridge  16 Apr 1757
       William Dundridge  12 Sep 1760
       Elisabeth Dundridge 11 Dec 1762
       Ann Dundridge  30 Jan 1769

Of these, Mary Dundridge must have married Pascho Pollard, as we find the following baptisms indexed in England, Select births and Christenings, 1538-1975 of parents Pascho (or Pascoe) Pollard and Mary in Stoke Damerel, Devon:
       Thomas Pollard  5 Jan 1779
       Pascho Pollard   14 Jun 1780
       John Dundrich Pollard  16 May 1781
Mary and her husband are both mentioned in the wills.

I have no further record for William Dundridge. He is not mentioned in the wills, nor any children of his, and presumably he died childless before 1794.

Elisabeth Dundridge married Ebenezer Fisher. Pallot's Marriage Index for England, 1780-1837 records Esth Dunrick and Ebenezer Fisher Esq. married by license at St Pancras, Exeter in 1795, matching her maiden name in her uncle's will (made in 1792), and married name in her aunt's (1801). The corresponding index in England, Select Marriages, 1538-1975 has:
       Elizabeth Dunrich and Ebenezer Fisher St Pancras Exeter 10 Sep 1795.

Pallot's Index reports Fisher as "Lt His Maj R.N.", while Commissioned Sea Officers of the Royal Navy, 1660-1815 (also from ancestry.com) have Ebenezer Fisher commissioned Lieutentant 13 Nov 1790.

Ann Dundridge was married to Abraham Roberts in 1792, but had died by 1801, leaving children. They were presumably in the care of her uncle and aunt, since, when the latter died, she passed on their care to Pascho and Mary Pollard. The most likely fate of the Robertses is picked up in this excellent website. Abraham and Ann moved to London, where his ropemaking business failed. Ann probably died in 1801 (there is a plausible burial 30 May 1801 at St John, Horsleydown), while at the time Elizabeth Dundrich was making her will, Abraham was a debtor in the King's Bench Prison. He was discharged in 1804, but likely died soon after, a plausible burial being 1 Feb 1806 at St. George the Martyr, Southwark.

The other survivor of the children of Robert and Margaret Dunrich, baptized in Buckland Monachorum, is Elizabeth Dunrich, who married John Babbage. As previously reported, I find baptisms in Chudleigh for John Babbage (1760) and Thomas (1763) Babbage, children of John and Elizabeth, but not William. However, both parents had likely died by 1768, in which year their (presumably their) John and William were sent by the parish of Chudleigh as apprentices to John and William Dunrich respectively.

William Dunrich in his will (1792) mentions his nephews Willm and John Bavage, while Elizabeth Dunrich mentions (1801) cousins Elizabeth and William Dundridge Babbage, children of William Babbage, Hatchelor, deceased and Rosamond Sampson. It seems likely that Willm Bavage is William Babbage, Hatchelor, and the refernce to cousins is intended loosely to mean relatives - they would in fact be second or grand nephew and niece. I have already described the above William Dundridge Babbage (my 4x great grandfather), and traced their marriage to the Peterkens.

Neither John Bavage (or Babbage) nor his family is not mentioned in Elizabeth's will. And I turn to these now to establish the connection between Babbage and Bavage. England, Select Marriages, 1538-1975 has:
       John Babbidge and Catherine Avery 5 Jun 1781 Stoke Damerel

They appear to have moved across Tor Point to Maker, Cornwall. Children of John Babbage/Babage and Catherine found in England, Select Births and Christenings, 1538-1975 are:
       John Babbage  9 Sep 1781  Stoke Damerel, Devon
       Willm Dundredge Babbage  21 May 1786  Maker, Cornwall
       Jenefer Babbage  21 May 1786  Maker, Cornwall  (twins or a deferred baptism?)
       Samuel Henry Avery Babage  15 Jan 1792  Maker, Cornwall
       George Lobb Babage  3 May 1795  Stoke Damerel, Devon
       Samuel Babbage  6 Jun 1797  Stoke, Damerel, Devon
       Mary Ann Babbage  21 Jan 1800  Stoke Damerel, Devon

Among these siblings, we find the spelling Bavage and Bavidge on later records. England Select Marriages, 1537-1970 has:
       Jenifer Bavage and William Goss  18 Nov 1802  Stoke Damerel, Devon

Thus among baptisms at the Morice Street Wesleyan Chapel in Stoke Damerel (England & Wales, Non-Conformist and Non-Parochial Registers, 1567-1970) are the following children of William and Mary Bavage/Bevdge/Bavege:
       Mary Dundridge Bavage born 26 Feb 1822  bapt. 1 Apr 1822
       Rosamond Caroline Bevdge  born 5 Jun 1824  bapt. 4 Oct 1824
       Jane Elizabeth Dundridge Bavege  born 17 May 1827  bapt. 11 Jun 1827

The treesandstars website has a marriage for William Dundridge Babbage and Mary Vorco.

Rosamond and Jane Bavage, aged 15 and 12 respectively, are found together in Barrack Street, Devonport in the 1841 England Census, each with the occupation "Plain Work Girl". Their mother had just died, the presumed FreeBMD Death Index being:
       Mary Bavage Jun1841 Stoke Damerel 9 261

Pallot's Marriage Index for England, 1780-1837 has:
       John Babage and Grace Rodda  1800  Paul, Cornwall

The following are from England, Births and Christenings, 1583-1975, baptized in Paul, Cornwall with parents John Bavage/Babage/Babbage and Grace:
       John Every Babage  23 Nov 1800
       James Avary Babbage  2 Dec 1810
       Samuel Avery Bavage  5 Mar 1817
Note the variant transcipts for Avery, their grandmother's maiden name.

Other children recorded to this couple, include: Mary (1803), Mary (1804), Henry Ralph (1808), William Avery (1814) and Grace (1820). They started out in Paul, Cornwall, and by the 1830s were in Northumberland where John and Grace both died, and many of their children raised their families.
       FreeBMD Death Index Grace Bavidge Sep1851 Tynemouth 25 311
       FreeBMD Death Index John Bavidge Dec1860 Tynemouth 10b 88

Here ends the two-part digression to document the nephews and nieces named in the Dunrich wills.

Dunrich Babbage Connections

What follows is a reconstruction of a small part of the Dunrich and Babbage families in the West Country of Devon and Cornwall in the 18th century. Of note, the names had not at the point established a standard spelling. You'll find, if you say Dun-rich quickly, that a "D" sound inserts itself between the syllables! I have seen Dunrich, Dundrich and Dundridge on the one part, and Babbage, Babbidge, Bobbidge, Babbich and even Bavage and Bavidge on the other.

A monument in Saints Peter and Paul, Sheviock, Cornwall is recorded by Joseph Polsue, A Complete Parochial History of the County of Cornwall, Vol. IV, p.147 (1872).

       Near this place are deposited the remains of William Dunrich, late of Lescawn
       in this parish, who died February 3, 1794; in the 75 year of his age. Also of
       Elizabeth Dunrich, who died 26 February 1802; aged 83 years.

For each of them a Last Will and Testament is preserved among the records of the Prerogative Court of Canterbury Wills, 1384-1858, which I have viewed through ancestry.com. The legal caligraphy takes some getting used to. I present here my transcripts of each of them in turn. First, the will of William Dunrich (1719-94). I have highlighted the names of William's nephews and nieces, including two Bavage references, which are spelling variants of Babbage. Apart from the phonetic similarity of "B" and "V", I will present some genalogical evidence in a later post.

       In the Name of God Amen I William Dunrich of the Parish of Sheviock in the
       County of Cornwall Yeoman being in Health of Body & of Sound and disposing
       memory (blessed be God) Do this fifth day of June in the year of our Lord one
       thousand seven hundred and ninety two make publish & declare this my last Will
       & Testament in manner following (that is to say) First I give unto my niece Mary
       Pollard Wife of Pascho Pollard of St. Budeaux in the County of Devon Yeoman
       the sum of Sixty pounds of lawful money of Great Britain Also I give and
       bequeath unto my niece Elizabeth Dunrich the sum of Fifty pounds Also I give
       & bequeath unto my other niece Ann Roberts Wife of Abraham Roberts Junr.
       The sum of Fifty pounds Also I give & bequeath unto my nephew Willm Bavage
       the sum of Fifty pounds All which before mentioned Legacies shall be paid
       within Six months after my decease Also I give & bequeath unto such children
       of my nephew John Bavage as may be living at my decease the sum of Twenty
       Pounds to be equally divided amongst them by my executrix when and as she may
       think most proper Also I give and bequeath unto Thomas Littleton Esqr. of Trowen
       in the County of Cornwall our gold Ring Also all the rest & residue of my Goods
       Chattels & Effects whatsoever I give devise & bequeath unto my Beloved Wife
       Elizabeth Dunrich and I make & ordain this my said Wife my sole Executrix of this
       my last Will and Testament In Trust for the intents and purposes beforementioned
       not in the least doubting but that she will fulfill the same In Witness whereof I the
       said William Dunrich have hereunto sett my hand & seal the day and year first
       above written – William Dunrich – Signed Sealed and Delivered by the said
       William Dunrich as and for his last Will and Testament in the presence of us who
       were present at the Signing & sealing/thereof – Henry Rott Spook – William Roberts.

       This Will was proved at London the twenty eighth day of May in the Year of our
       Lord One thousand seven hundred and ninety five before The right Honble. Sir
       William Wynn Knight Doctor of Laws Master Keeper or Commissary of the
       Prerogative Court of Canterbury lawfully constituted by the Oath of Elizabeth
       Dunrich Widow the Relict of the Deceased and Sole Executrix named in the Will
       to whom Administration was granted of all and singular the Goods Chattels and
       Credits of the Deceased having been first Sworn duly to Administer by Commission

 Before I reconstruct the family, from this and other records, here is the will of his widow, Elizabeth Dunrich (1719-1802). Parts of this, I posted previously in relation to William Babbage, Son of a Hatchelor.

       In the Name of God Amen I Elizabeth Dunrich of the Parish of Sheviock in
       the County of Cornwall Widow being in perfect health and of sound mind
       memory and understanding thanks be given to God calling to mind the mortality
       of my body and knowing that it is appointed for all men once to die Do make
       and ordain this to be my last Will and Testament in manner and form Following
       (that is to say) Principally and First of all I commend my Soul into the hands of
       of Almighty God that gave it and my body to the Earth to be buried in a decent
       Christian like manner at the Discretion of my Executrixes hereinafter mentioned
       nothing doubting but at the General Resurrection I shall receive the same again
       by the Almighty Power of God and as touching such worldly Estate where with
       it hath pleased God to bless me in this life I give devise and bequeath the same in
       manner Following that is to say First I desire that all my just Debts and Funeral
       expenses may be paid as soon as possible after my death Item I give and bequeath
       to my Cousin Elizabeth Babbage and William Dunrich Babbage Son and Daughter
       of William Babbage late of the town of Plymouth Dock in the parish of Damarell
       in the County of Devon Hatchelor deceased the sum of two hundred and Fifty
       Pounds apiece to each of them of lawful money of Great Britain to be paid at the
       end of Six months next after the day of my Death and in Case either of them shall
       die before me that then and in such case I do give and bequeath to the Survivor of
       them the sum of Five hundred pounds of lawful money of Great Britain to be paid
       to the said Survivor at the End of Six months next after the day of my Death Item
       I give and bequeath to all the children of my Niece Ann Roberts Deceased the Sum
       of Five hundred Pounds of lawful money of Great Britain to be equally Divided
       amongst them share and share alike and I do hereby nominate and appoint Paschoe
       Pollard of the Parish of Saint Budeaux in the County of Devon Gentleman to be
       Guardian and Trustee over them and do will and desire that he will lay out such
       part thereof as he may think proper for the Education livelihood and Maintenance
       of them or either of them until they shall successively attain the age of twenty one
       years old and then to pay the residue and remainder of his or her part and portion
       of the said legacy into his or her own hands and if either of them shall happen to
       die before he or she shall attain to the age of twenty one years then the residue and
       remainder of such Child or Children’s Legacy so dying shall be equally Divided
       amongst the Survivors of them share and share alike Item I give and bequeath to
       my Niece Elizabeth Fisher all my Table China consisting of Eleven blue and white
       China Dishes and Eighteen Plates my Diamond Ring and Earrings and my Silver
       Sauce boats Item I give and bequeath to my Niece Mary Pollard my Silver Coffee
       pot Item I give and bequeath to my Niece Elizabeth Fisher all my Table china
       consisting of Eleven blue and white China Dishes and Eighteen Plates my
       Diamond Ring and Earrings and my Silver Sauce Boats Item I give and bequeath
       to my Niece Mary Pollard my Silver Coffee pot Item I give and bequeath to
       Rosamond Sampson the mother of the above named Elizabeth Babbage and
       William Dunrich Babbage my Brown Chintz Gown black quilted petticote and
       running sprigd Apron Item I give and bequeath to Miss Betty Ellis of the Parish
       of Antony in the County of Cornwall the Sum of Ten Pounds of lawful money of
       Great Britain Item I give and bequeath to Ann Martin Wife of William Martin of
       the said Parish of Sheviock the sum of Two Guineas Item I give and bequeath to
       William Symons my Servant the sum of Five Guineas if he is living with me at the
       time of my Death item I give and bequeath to each and every of my Servants that
       shall be living with me at the time of my Death asuit of Mourning to each and
       every of them Item I give and bequeath to the Poor of the said parish of Sheviock
       the Sum of Five Pounds to be given to them in Bread at the Church on the first
       Five Several Sundays that shall first and next happen after my Death item I give
       and bequeath to Mistress Ann Roberts Wife of the Reverend Doctor Bryan Roberts
       and to her Sister Elizabeth Bennett Wife of the Reverend John Bennett the Sum of
       three Pounds each to buy amourning Ring Item I give and bequeath to my Servant
       John Westrott the Sum of four Guineas Item I give and bequeath to my Servant
       Mary Hoskon the Sum of two Guineas all the rest residue and remainder of my
       Lands Tenements Goods Chattels Ready money and Sureties for money Book
       Debts and personal Estate whatsoever that I may Die possessed of or in any wise
       Entitled unto after payment of my Just Debts and Legacies herein before given
       and bequeathed I do hereby give Devise and bequeath to my said two Nieces
       Mary Pollard and Elizabeth Fisher herein before named therin Executors
       Administrators and assigns to be equally Divided amongst them share and share
       alike and I do hereby Constitute Nominate and appoint the said Mary Pollard and
       Elizabeth Fisher joint Executrixes of this my last Will and Testament and I do
       hereby revoke make void and disannul all and every Former and other Will or
       Wills and Testaments by me at any time heretofore made ratifying and Confirming
       this and no other to be my last Will and Testament In Witness whereof I the said
       Elizabeth Dunrich have to this my last Will and Testament written on two sheets
       of Paper to the First Set my hand and to this last my hand and Seal this Eighteenth
       day of July in the year of Our Lord One thousand Eight hundred and one
       #E: Dunrich Signed Sealed and Published and Declared by the said Testatrix
       Elizabeth Dunrich to be her last Will and Testament who at her request and in her
       presence and in the presence of each other (after the Interlineation of the words
       (to wit) lay out between the twenty third and twenty Fourth Fourth Lines of the
       first Sheet being first made) have subscribed our names as witnesses hereto
       # Richard Serpill #Jane Geard #James Bligh

       This Will was proved at London the Seventh Day of April in the year of Our Lord
       Onethousand Eight hundred and two before the Right Honorable Sir William Wynn
       Knight Doctor of Laws Master Keeper or Commissary of the Prerogative Court of
       Canterbury lawfully constituted by the oaths of Mary Pollard (Wife of Pascho
       Pollard) and Elizabeth Fisher (Wife of Ebenezer Fisher) the Executrixes named in
       the said Will to whom Administration was granted of all and singular the Goods
       Chattels and Credits of the said Deceased having been first sworn by Commission
       Duly to Administer.

I have made highlights in this transcript as well for the sake of comparison with the first.

The Dunrich's named nieces are: Elizabeth Dunrich in 1792, who must have become Elizabeth Fisher by 1801; Mary Pollard (wife of Pascho Pollard); and Ann Roberts, alive in 1792, but deceased by 1801, whose children are entrusted to the guardianship of their uncle Pascho. The Dunrich's named nephews are John Bavage 1792, who is not mentioned in 1801; and Willm Bavage of 1792 who must be the William Babbage Hatchelor deceased of 1801.

These wills are not the only connections between the names of Babbage and Dunrich. England, Select Plymouth and West Devon Marriages, 1538-1912 has John Babidge and Elizabeth Dundridge in married 1757. A bit of rooting around online reveals that this marriage was solemnized in St Budeaux, just to the north of Plymouth. I am especially indebted to Carolyn Mason in New Zealand whose treesandstars website provided the genealogical framework for what follows.

Also connecting Babbage and Dundridge, the following are held at the Devon Record Office:
        3009A-99/PO18/27 1768
               John Babbage apprenticed to John Dundridge of Anthony, Cornwall

        3009A-99/PO18/31 1768
               William Babbage apprenticed to William Dundridge of Sheviock, Cornwall

The first of these is an indenture dated 28 October 1768 by which responsibility for the maintenance of John Babbage is transferred from the Overseers of the Poor of the Parish of Chudleigh, Devon to John Dundridge, who was to train him in "good husbandry work" up to the age of twentyfour years. I have not seen the second of these records, which I suspect is a similar document, but for William Babbage (the future hatchelor) to be apprenticed to William Dundridge of Sheviock. That is, William Dunrich, who mentions his nephews John and William Bavage in his will. It would seem most likely that William Dunrich (Dundridge) of Sheviock, Devon is the brother of John Dundridge of Anthony, Cornwall, and of Elizabeth Dundridge, wife of John Babage who had married in St Budeaux.

The Chudleigh parish records as transcribed by Carol Gertner and Gary Liddell have these baptisms (perhaps William was baptized at St Budeaux):
       2 May 1760 John, son of John and Elizabeth Babbage
       1 Dec 1763 born: 26 Nov 1763 Thomas, son of John and Elizabeth Babbidge
     
The same set of records from Chudleigh parish registers has Elizabeth Babbidge buried 3 June 1765. As to the fate of Thomas, I have no record, but it seems likely that William and John were orphans at this point. In 1768, John Babbage is described on the indenture as a "poor child of the said parish". Treesandstars notes that Elizabeth Babbage was already in receipt of parish relief in 1762, receiving an extra 10s when Thomas was born. One John Babbage of an invalid regiment is buried in St Saviour, Dartmouth on 21 Jun 1763, and he may well be their father.

As to the birth of John Babbage, future husband of Elizabeth Dundridge (if correct, these are my 6x great grandparents), the most likely candidate from Chudleigh parish records and his brothers are:
       15 Mar 1727/8 George son of George and Elizabeth Bobbidge
              Buried 11 Apr 1728  George son of George Bobbidge
        4 Feb 1728/9 George son of George and Elizabeth Bobbidge
        9 Feb 1731/2 John son of George and Elizabeth Bobbidge
       21 Feb 1733/4 Thomas son of George and Elizabeth Babbidge
       24 Sep 1736    James son of George and Elizabeth Babbidge
      
Looking or Elizabeth Dunrich and her brothers, we find the following are baptized at Buckland Monachorum, Devon according to England, Births and Christenings, 1538-1975:
       William    17 Mar 1722 son of Robert and Margaret Dunrich
       Robert      11 Apr 1725 son of Robert and Margeret Dunrich
              Buried 11 Dec 1726
       John          5 Jun 1727 son of Robert and Margaret Dunrich
       Elizabeth 20 Sep 1730 son of Robert and Margaret Dunrich

If we are correct, each of these Dunrich children moved away from Buckland Monachorum: William to Sheviock, Cornwall; John to Antony, Cornwall; and Elizabeth to Chudleigh, Devon. George and Elizabeth Babbidge/Bobbidge, and Robert and Margaret Dunrich are my 7x great grandparents.

There are still questions about all this. Can we be sure that Bavage and Babbage are the same? What of the "cousins" in Elizabeth will? The next post will examine the data for the nephews and nieces of William and Elizabeth Dunrich of Sheviock, Cornwall, and hopefully answer questions like these.

Son of a Hatchelor

The Fighting Temeraire tugged to her last berth to be broken up, 1838 JMW Turner

Turner's image of change was a success when first exhibited, and endures in the popular imagination. HMS Temeraire was a sailing ship of the line, launched 1798, which had distinguished itself at the Battle of Trafalgar, 1805. When the Admiralty sold it for scrap, there was considerable interest, and thousands of spectators came to see her towed up the Thames by two steam tugs, nostalgic for Britain's opposition to the French Revolution and Napoleon. By the 1830s, Britain was undergoing constitutional reform, and the political landscape had changed with the Reform Act of 1832. Technologically, the Royal Navy launched HMS Tartarus in 1834, their first side-paddle steamer ship of the line. The days of sail were numbered, a process my Babbage ancestors were well placed to witness.

Thomas Babbage is among my 3xgreat grandfathers, documented as Shipwright and Gentleman born in Pembroke, Wales about 1822. Having already followed Thomas, this post collects the records for his father, who I believe is William Dundridge Babbage, baptized in Stoke Damerel and mentioned in the last Will and Testament of Mrs. Elizabeth Dundridge (or Dunrich) of Sheviock, Cornwall.

The first mention of William Babbage in census records is in 1841 at the Featherstone Buildings in Limehouse, East London, where we also see his children.
       William Babbage  45  Shipwright      N[ot born in Middlesex]
       Sarah        do        45                          N
       Thomas   do         15  Ap Shipwright  N
       Edmund  do         15                           N
       Charlotte  do         9                            N

The Methodist Brunswick Chapel, Limehouse records the burial on 29 October 1842 of Sarah Babbage of Featherstone Buildings, aged 50. This corresponds to:
       BMD Death Index Sarah Babbage Dec1842 Stepney 2 319

Wales, Births and Baptisms, 1541-1907 has the following baptisms at St Mary Pembroke, children of parents William and Sarah. The first five were baptized 5 June 1822, the last name given as Babbeg:
       Louisa; George; John; William; and Thomas

The next two children were baptized 19 November 1828, the last name given as Bebbeg:
       Elizabeth; and Edmund

As to years of birth for these children, I have found records for George Babbage of Pembroke, Coachbuilder who lived in Manchester, suggesting he was born about 1819. As we have seen, Thomas, Shipwright and Gentleman, was born about 1822. Other than these I have no other information on birth order. The 1841 census lists Charlotte, born about 1832, but I have no baptism information for her.

The Methodist Brunswick Chapel, Limehouse records the burial on 29 January 1837 of Wm Babbage of Three Colt Street, aged 21. This might be the William baptized in Pembroke, in which case his year of birth would be 1816.

An index of people from Pembroke's People by Richard Rose, a book of genealogical information on Pembroke, lists William Babbage, Shipwrights, 1st Company, his wife Sarah (p.145), and William Babbage, List No.2 Shipwrights (p.120). No longer in print, second hand copies of the book run at over $150. If I can find it in a library, I'm curious as to other information on the Babbages is contained therein.

Continuing with William Babbage, senior, in 1851, still at Featherstone Buildings is:
       William Babbage  Head  Widower  59  Shipwright  Devonport

While in 1861 at 36, Suffolk Street, Poplar is:
       William Babbage  Head  Mar  67  Superannuated Shipwright  Devon Devonport
                                                                           Admiralty Office

I might have taken his status of "married" in 1861 as an error. There is, however, the following parish record at St Dunstan and All Saints, Stepney for a marriage on 17 April 1855:
       Groom: William Babbage / 57 / Widower / Shipwright / 6 Mile End Place
                        father: William Babbage / Rope Maker
       Bride: Frances Ferris / 52 / Widow / / 2 York Street
                        father: John Skinner
       Signed: William Babbage / Frances x Ferris her mark
       Witnessed: Martha x Babbage her mark / Ithiel Price

Ithiel Price is the Parish Clerk at All Saints. His witness signature appears on other marriage documents, so he is most likely unrelated to the Babbages. Martha Babbage is possibly William's daughter-in-law (nee Jarvis), wife of Thomas Babbage, and my 3x great grandmother.

I can find very little on the bride, except that on 20 January 1830 at St Mary Lambeth, Thomas Ferris mand Frances Skinner were married. This record probably belongs to William Babbage's wife, but so far, no census returns for Frances Ferris or Frances Babbage.

Having not found William Babbage in the 1871 Census, his may be the death recorded in:
       BMD Death Index William Babbage Jun1869 Kensington 1a 35  Age:76

Between them, these records yield a year of birth in the range 1792-98. Of these, the 1855 marriage is an outlier. But I do believe they all refer to the same person, William Babbage, Shipwright, born in Devenport, and residing in London's East End. Vanity, perhaps, explains his underreported age!
       1841  Age  45-49   Born 1792-1796
       1851  Age  59        Born 1792
       1855  Age  57        Born 1798
       1861  Age  67        Born 1794
       1869  Age  76        Born 1793

England, Select Births and Christenings, 1538-1975 has the following baptism at Stoke Damerel, consistent with a Devonport place of birth, and around the right time:
       William Dundridge Babbage  baptized 8 Sep 1793  parents: William and Rose

Could this be the William Babbage of the later records from East London? There is also a sister, baptized at the same place:
       Elizabeth Babage  baptized 27 Jan 1788  parents: William and Rose

The parents of these two must be William Babage and Rosamond Gimblett whose marriage at Stoke Damerel on 21 August 1786 is recorded in England, Select Marriages, 1538-1973. These would be my  5x great grandparents.

The last Will and Testament of Elizabeth Dunrich (or Dundridge) Widow of Sheviock, Cornwall made 18 July 1801 contains the following:
       Item I give and bequeath to my cousin Elizabeth Babbage and William Dunrich
       Babbage son and daughter of William Babbage late of the town of Plymouth
       Dock in the parish of Damarell in the County of Devon Hatchelor deceased the
       sum of two hundred and Fifty pounds apiece to each of them of lawful money
       of Great Britain to be paid at the end of Six months next after the Day of my
       Death and in Case either of them shall die before me that then and in such case
       I give and bequeath to the Survivor of them the sum of Five hundred pounds of
       lawful money of Great Britain to be paid to the said Survivor at the End of Six
       months next after the day of my Death...

       Item I give and bequeath to Rosamond Sampson mother of the above named
       Elizabeth Babbage and William Dunrich Babbage my Brown Chintz Gown
       black quilted petticote and running sprigd Apron...

England, Select Marriages, 1538-1973 has the marriage on 30 June 1800 at Stoke Damerel of Rose Babbage and Richard Sampson, consistent with the bequest of clothing to Rosamond Sampson, mother of the Babbage children.

So what on earth is a hatchelor? That being the occupation of William Babbage deceased, whose children were given 250 pounds each - a significant sum at the turn of the nineteenth century. A hatchel (or hatchell) is a comb used to separate flax fibers used in ropemaking. The diagram below shows it as a two-dimensional array of steel spikes on a small board. A hatchelor must be one who works with a hatchel - a rope maker.


Rope Making Tools - Hatchel is lower left

And this makes another connection between the William Babbage records from the East End of London and those of William Dundridge Babbage baptized in Devonport 1793. We have:     1. Name William (Dundridge) Babbage
     2. Year of birth about 1793 - but note discepancy with the 1855 marriage document
     3. Place of birth Devonport/Stoke Damerel
     4. Father's name William Babbage
     5. Father's occupation Rope Maker/Hatchelor

In this case: William Dundridge Babbage was born in Devonport 1793, moved to Pembroke, presumably when the naval dockyard opened there in 1814. This is where he raised his family before moving again to Limehouse. By 1861, he had retired with an Admiralty Office pension. He died in 1869.

Among the First Quakers

Quakers in London 1723

On this, my fiftieth post in this blog, there is more to say about Quaker ancestors on my maternal grandmother's side of the family. As with many explorations into pre-19th century genealogy, don't expect too many firm conclusions. The records just aren't there. But I do believe that the Garritts are the Quaker connection, and go back to the beginnings of the movement.

The Quakers emerged around 1650 as George Fox and other dissenters began to preach around the country. They called themselves Friends; according to Fox, the term Quaker originated after a magistrate mocked Fox for urging him to "tremble at the word of the Lord". They were fiercely persecuted for their non-conformity, until the Toleration Act of 1689. But even by 1655, when George Fox visited Coggeshall in Essex, he found there were already 2000 co-religionists meeting at the town. Some of those may have been my ancestors. The story unfolds below.

Thomas Blacketer, shoe maker, and son of Zachariah and Winifred, married Elizabeth Garritt in 1786 and died two only years later, aged 31. Thomas and Elizabeth are 5xgreat grandparents of mine. Their children - they had two in their two years of marriage - have their births recorded by the Ratcliff Meeting of the Friends, although neither of the parents were considered members at the time. Elizabeth went on to remarry Christopher Moor, and their marriage, and the births of their children are recorded by the Friends. The Moors appear to have been members of their Friends Meeting since no there is no anotation to the contrary on their records.

Elizabeth's grandsons, through Joseph Blacketer, and all born in her lifetime, also have their births recorded at the Friends Meeting, while Joseph and his wife are not considered members. I have found no Quaker connection in my Blacketer line either before or since these two sets of records. And this made me particularly interested in Elizabeth Garritt's background.

On the marriage record for Elizabeth Blackiter and Christopher Moor, 29 July 1794, from the Quarterly Meeting of London and Middlesex, her parents are described as:
       Joseph Garritt, of Chelmsford in Essex, Draper, and Mary his Wife, deceased

From this I would have drawn the conclusion that Joseph must still be alive at this time, although Mary is not. However, I decided to search for Garritt marriages in which there were parents Joseph Garritt and Mary. Perhaps I could flush out some of Elizabeth's siblings. There were two marriages of interest.

The first, from the Quarterly Meeting of London and Middlesex 17 September 1793, for Joseph Docwra and Ann Garritt, describing his parents as:
       Joseph Docwra of the same place [Essex] Deceased & Patience his Wife him surviving

And her parents as:
       Joseph & Mary Garrett of Chelmsford in said County [Essex] deceased

Which I would read as both of Ann's parents being deceased. Of particular interest on Quaker Marriage Certificates is the large number of witness signatures, many of whom are under the heading: "relations". Among the relations signing as witnesses for this marriage is Elizabeth Blackitter, who must be Ann Garritt's widowed sister.

The second record of interest in my search comes from 6 August 1776, when another sister of Elizabeth Garritt has a marriage recorded at the Monthly Meeting of Devonshire House, London:
       Thomas Pace of the Parish called Saint Mary Whitechapel, Clockmaker,
       Son of John Pace, late of the Parish called Christ Church in Middlesex,
       Shoemaker, and Sarah, his Wife, both deceased; and Sarah Garritt,
       Daughter of Joseph Garritt, late of Chelmsford in Essex, Draper, deceased,
       and Mary, his Wife him surviving (now Mary Gostling)

So, Joseph Garritt, the Draper of Chelmsford, and father of Sarah, Ann and Elizabeth (and she my 5xgreat grandmother), died before 6 August 1776. His widow remarried someone named Gostling, and died before 17 September 1793, the date of the marriage record for Ann Garritt and Joseph Docwra. Of Joseph Garritt's marriage, the births of his children, and his deaths I have no direct record, nor of his widow's remarriage or death. The absence of these records from the Essex Friends Meetings suggests that they were not in membership, although his daughters appear to have remained in contact with the Society.

The Monthly Meeting of Witham have birth records which include Joseph Garritt, born in Chelmsford 1732. This Joseph, I believe, is our Draper of Chelmsford. Here is a list of children born to Thomas Garritt and his wife Ann:
       Thomas 7 June 1725 
              (Thomas Garritt son of Thomas and Ann
                     was buried in Chelmsford 13 November 1729)
       William 6 August 1726
       Joseph 17 December 1727 (this has been read as 1722 and 1732,
                                                       but 1727 would be sequential in the register)
       Ann 11 May 1729
              (Ann Garritt daughter of Thomas and Ann
                     was buried in Chelmsford 13 November 1729
                                      - they buried two children on one day)
       Sarah 23 September 1730
       Ann 31 January 1731/2 
       Elizabeth 9 June 1733 (but see below, the last digit is not visible)
              (A 67-year-old Elizabeth Garritt, Spinster
                     was buried in Colchester 10 August 1800)

Ann Garritt, the mother, was buried at Chelmsford 13 June 1733. June is rendered as 4th Month, although one could read the document as 11th Month, but in that case it should be double dated 1733/4 (and is clearly not double-dated). The double dating occurs because the English style New Year began 25th March, while elsewhere it was already 1st January. Likewise, the date of birth for the last of the children, Elizabeth, can be read as 9 June or January 173? - the last digit is obscured by the center binding. Elizabeth's date of birth could be one of the following:
       9 January 1732/3 or 9 June 1733.

I am thinking it's the second of these and Ann's burial is the 13 June 1733, and that Ann must have died of postpartum complications, what in the period they described as "death in child bed". It is, of course, possible that one of the January dates is the correct birth date for Elizabeth, and that Ann's death is unrelated to Elizabeth's birth.

Thomas Garritt, the father, meanwhile appears to have remarried. The Colchester Monthly Meeting records the burial 8 June 1776 of "Mary Garritt, Widdow of Thos Garritt, Draper late of Chelmsford in the County of Essex, deceased, aged about Seventy nine years". I have not yet found a direct record of such a marriage, nor of his death. For all I know, they may have had children for which I have found no record.

There is a later marriage for Sarah Garritt that is probably related to the 1730 birth of that name. This comes from the Witham Monthly Meeting of a marriage that occurred in Chelmsford 6 March 1764:
       Joseph Row of Duke Street old Artilley Ground Londn Weaver,
       Son of John Row of the same Place and Trade, deceas'd and Elizth
       his Wife him Surviving; and Sarah Garritt Daur of Thos Garritt of
       Chelmsford Essex Shopkeeper and Ann his Wife she being deceased.

At the top of the signatures of relations attesting to the 1776 marriage (described above) of Thomas Pace and Sarah Garritt are those of Joseph and Sarah Row, who, if we are right, are the aunt and uncle of Sarah Garritt of the 1776 marriage.

Sarah Garritt of the Garritt/Row marriage record is connected to Sarah Garritt, born in 1730, by the following points:
       1. Same name: Sarah Garritt
       2. Same parents' names: Thomas and Ann Garritt
       3. Same town: Chelmsford, Essex
       4. They are Quakers

Searching for Thomas Garritt, Sarah's father, I found a possible birth record at the Monthly Meeting of Coggeshall:
       Thomas Ye Son of Thomas Garritt & Elizabeth
              his Wiff was born the 6th of the 2:Mo:1700

Garritt marriages in which there were parents Thomas Garritt and Ann or Mary did not flush out any siblings. But I did find a record for parents Thomas and Elizabeth. A child of Thomas and Elizabeth Garritt is Sarah, who marries Thomas Corbyn 21 January 1752, as recorded by the Colchester Monthly Meeting.
       Thomas Corbyn of Holborn, Citizen and Apothecary of London Son of John
       Corbyn of the City of Worcester Clothier, and of Candia his Wife, and Sarah
       Garritt Daughter of Thomas Garritt late of Colchester Salesman and of
       Elizabeth his Wife both deceased.

Among witness signatures are the following Garritts: John, Ann, Isaac, Sarah, Mary, Rebeker[!]. And Thomas and Sarah Corbyn of this marriage are witnesses (as relations) to the marriage of Joseph Row and Sarah Garritt twelve years later in 1764. Again, if we are correct, they are uncle and aunt to the bride.

Sarah Corbyn died 21 January 1790, aged about 70 years, and is buried at the Friends Burying Ground Bunhill Fields. She would therefore have been born around 1719. I have not yet found a record of her birth, or the birth records for any prior siblings, except for the Thomas Garritt birth in Coggeshall 1700.

In Coggeshall 18 January 1697/8, the Essex Quarterly Meeting records the marriage of the parents of course Thomas born 1700:
       Whereas Thomas Garret [later references are all to Thomas Garritt]
       of Coggeshall Magna In Ye County of Essex Tayler Son of John Garritt
       of ye same Towne and County Afforesd Tayler and Elizabeth Pemberton
       Daughter of Richard Pemberton And Sarah his Wife deceased of ye
       same Towne and County Afforesd Baymaker.

Among the first witness signatures are John Garritt and Ann Garritt, possibly Thomas's parents, and Richard Pemberton, possibly Elizabeth's father or brother. Other Garritts are Isaac and Francis. If the line is correct back from Elizabeth Garritt (who married Thomas Blacketer), then Thomas Garritt and Elizabeth Pemberton are my 8xgreat grandparents. The caveat here is the discontinuity of records between Thomas Garritt born in Coggeshall in 1700, and Thomas Garritt the father of the children born in Chelmsford in the 1720s and 30s.

Births to Thomas and Ann (or Anna) Garritt recorded by the Coggeshall Monthly Meeting are:
       John 20 December 1666
       Thomas 16 December 1669 - presumably the future husband of Elizabeth Pemberton
       Isaac 22 April 1672
       Francis 8 March 1678

Meanwhile Richard Pemberton and Sarah his wife have the following children recorded at the same place:
       Richard 9 January 1662
       John 16 April 1665
       Sarah 31 August 1674
       Elizabeth 29 January 1676

There is even a record for the marriage of these parents:
       Richard Pemberton tooke Sarah the Daughter of William Guyon (deceased)
       the first day of the first month 1662 haveing twice published the same in the
       meeting before to wife.

Which would make William Guyon a 10xgreat grandfather of mine.

There are two Pemberton burial records of interest here, recorded together by the Coggeshall Monthly Meeting:
       Aged
       23 years (Sarah Pemberton the daughter of Richard Pemberton
                      (deceased, died 21st of ye 8/month [October] 1697
       61 years (Sarah Pemberton Snr the Wife of Richard Pemberton
                      (departed this Life the 24th of ye 10/Mo [December] 1697

A probate record, probably a will, for Richard Pemberton, Clothier of Gt Coggeshall is recorded for 1696, suggesting a year of death. If so, the signature on the marriage document must be Richard Pemberton, Elizabeth's brother. But note, the Richard, father of the bride, on the Garritt/Pemberton marriage document is described as a Baymaker, one who weaves baize, a woollen cloth resembling felt. The clothier could be a different Richard Pemberton.

By the 1660s, John and Ann Garritt, and Richard and Elizabeth Pemberton have the births of their children recorded among the Quakers. These four are all likely to have been born in the 1630s or early 1640s. They would have come of age as Quaker teaching came to Coggeshall, are appear to have been early converts to the movement.

The further back in time I go, the less certain the evidence. The Garritt family is probably quite large, and may have moved beyond Essex. The names are common, so I might expect there to be several Thomas or Sarah Garritts at any one time. On the encouraging side, the records presented in this post are connected by Friends Meetings. Marriages in earlier generations produce witness signatures of relatives in later ones. And occupational data appear to make sense, even from generation to generation. If you pass this information along in your family history, please be sure to add all the caveats.

Zach Black's Missing Watch

The Bench Hogarth

A derivation of the name Blacketer is Blackadder, a Lowland clan whose lands were on Blackadder Water, a tributary of the Tweed in Berwickshire. I am thus related to Edmund Blackadder, made famous by Rowan Atkinson in the series by that name! So far, I have not come across any Blackadders, although I have documented Blackader with one d.

Before proceeding further, I will review my Blacketer line. My great grandfather on this side is Thomas John Blacketer (sometime Mayor of Poplar) and his wife is Mary Ann Peterken. His father is Joseph Blacketer (who died aged before Tom was born) and his mother Hannah Thurley. Joseph Blacketer's father is Thomas Blacketer (sometime shoe maker, also carman) and his mother Martha Greenfield. And Thomas's father in turn is Joseph Blacketer (chemical worker, watch maker, and carman) and mother Elizabeth (probably) Botting. The documentary record of all of this holds together tightly through census returns and vital records. We can be as certain as it is possible to be that this line must be correct back to my 4xgreat grandparents.

In the previous post, Earlier Quaker Connections, I moved a generation before this to the parents of Joseph Blacketer, based on birth records kept by the Quaker Meeting in Ratcliff in east London. Here are the connections between that record and later records that I am sure belong to my 4xgreat grandfather Joseph Blacketer:
       1.  Name on the birth record match those of later records.
       2.  Time of birth on the birth record is consistent with that given in the later records.
       3.  Place of birth on the birth record is the same as that given in the later records.

Whether we believe the two Joseph Blacketers to be the same person hinges on our answer to how many Joseph Blacketers were born around 1787-8 in Ratcliff. I suspect there is only one, and I give special significance to the Quaker connection of Joseph's birth record, and then the later birth records of Joseph Blacketer's children. We also have a plausible narrative by which the widow Elizabeth Blacketer moves from Ratcliff to Barking; that is, she marries Christopher Moor.

All the same, it would be nice to see some kind of direct link between Joseph Blacketer and Elizabeth and/or Christopher Moor (his step-father from the age of 6); perhaps from a will. While I haven't yet found such a document, I do think I am justified in believing that Joseph Blacketer, child of the Ratcliff Meeting birth records (1787) is Joseph Blacketer, father of the Barking Meeting birth records (1817 to 1825).

Now, we work backwards from the 1787 birth record, searching for references to "Winnifread Blacketer". I set up the search in ancestry.com for "someone Blacketer" with spouse "Winifred someone" married around 1760 (broad search setting). And this produced the following record from London and Surrey, England, Marriage Bonds and Allegations 1597-1921. The names Winifred and Blacketer are rare enought that this must be the only couple, at least in that time and place, to possess that combination of names.

                                            15th May 1753
       Appeared personally Zachariah Blacketer
       of the parish of Endfield in the County of Middlesex
       Bachelor aged Twenty three Years and
       alleged that he intends to intermarry with
       Winifred Brown of the same Parish Spinster
       aged Twenty two years
       [etc...]

That is the Marriage Allegation. It goes on to specify three places where the marriage might be solemnized: the Parish Church of En[d]field, St Botolph Bishopsgate, or St Andrew Holborn. Enfield is where Zachariah was from; the others may be where Winifred is from, and where they intended to live. Additionally, the Marriage Bond contains the information that Zachariah is a Cheesemonger.

Cheesemonger Zachariah Blacketer is a prosecution witness, and victim of larceny, in Old Bailey Proceedings dated 23 October 1754. Here is a transcript of his testimony:
       Zac. Blacketer: I am a Cheesemonger in East Smithfield. The prisoner
       [William Smith] took a lodging in my house, ready furnished; he went
       for a Cooper. On the 6th of Sept. the first night he lay there, he burnt out
       a whole candle; the next day he came in about 12 o'clock at night and
       lay on bed till 12 the next day, which was Sunday; he got up and went
       out, and came in about half an hour after 6 in the evening, and said he'd
       go lie down for half an hour, and then he'd go and see his mother; he told
       me she was a tallow-chandler near London-stone; he went up about 5 or
       6 minutes, he came down, and at going out, said he had ordered a man
       with his chest of cloaths, and bid me take care of them; I went up stairs in
       about three quarters of an hour and missed my watch which was hanging
       up in my room before and the door was left open; then I suspected, as I
       had lost my watch I had also lost my lodger...

Smith was found guilty of this and other offenses, and sentenced to transportation. Zachariah doesn't appear to have recovered his watch, as the pawn broker denied any knowledge of the stolen property and was distinctly uncooperative with the authorities.

A series of tax records show a change in residence of Zachariah Blacketer. In 1762 and 1765, he is found in Wapping. The address is given as simply "Street", the previous address being Parrot Yard. In 1762 his landlord is Josiah Shank. In 1765, his landlord in John Minnitt at what looks like the same address, described as "empty late Zachh Blacketer". But not late as in dead, rather because he had moved. In 1766 there is a Zach Blacketer, and in 1772 a Zachh Blackader on Bett's Street, St George in the East.

This move is confirmed by baptismal records for their children.
At St John Wapping:
       14 [April 1754] Robert S of Zacariah Blackiter Cheesemonger and
                                                                   Winifred Eastsmithfield 16 [days old]
       14 [March 1756] Sarah Daur of Zacariah Blackiter Cheesemonger
                                                                   Eastsmithfield & Winifred 27 [days old]
       24 [April 1757] Thomas S of Zachariah Blackiter Cheesemonger &
                                                                   Winifred Eastsmithfield [illegible days old]
       18 [February 1759] Hannah d of Zachariah Blackiter Chandler &
                                                                   Winifred Eastsmithfield [illegible days old]
       23 [March 1760] George s of Zacharias Blackiter Chandler &
                                                                   Winifred Eastsmithfd 29 [days old]
       23 [December 1764] Peter S of Zachariah Blackiter Labourer &
                                                                   Winifred Eastsmith [27 days old]
 At St George in the East:
       17 [July 1768] Zechariah S of _______ Blacketer Labr by
                                                                    Winifred Betts St 28 [days old]

There is a burial at St George in the East 18 December 1774 for:
       Zachariah Blacketer  Betts St  44 [years old]

So far, I have no death nor remarriage record for Winifred, although we do know she was still alive in 1788 to witness the birth of her grand daughter Hannah, Hannah's father, of course, being the Thomas Blackiter above, baptized 24 April 1757 at St John Wapping.

To find the family origins of Zachariah, I searched for a birth or baptism about 1730, based on his age at death. I was rewarded with this record from the Enfield Baker Street Presbyterian Meeting. Note this agrees with his marriage allegation that he was from En[d]field. There is not just Zachariah, but a family with five recorded siblings:
       Septr 25 1728 Sarah Blackader Daugtr of Robert Blackader Gardr Enfd
       Decr 13 1730 Zachariah Blackadour Son of Robt & Sarah Blackadore Enfd
       Apr 24 1733 Elizabeth Blackadore Daur of Robt Blackadore at Enfd
       Octbr 21 1735 Sarah Dautr of Robt & Sarah Blackador Baker St
       Apr 27 1740 Thos Son of Robt & Sarah Blackadore Firty [prob. Forty] Hill

A Sarah Blackadore was buried 14 October 1728, presumably the first of these children. A note after her name, "Aff m" means that an affidavit was made affirming her shroud to be made of wool, after an Act of Parliament requiring all burials to be in wool (thus providing the wool trade a steady stream of customers).

The baptism for Sarah (1728) states he was a gardener (Gardr), and for Thomas (1740), he lived on what is probably Forty Hill, and for the second of the Sarahs (1735), he was on Baker Street, which is close by. Was he a market gardener, working on his own account; or did he work as a gardener at the Jacobean mansion at Forty Hall?

Forty Hall, Enfield

London and Surrey, England, Marriage Bonds and Allegations 1597-1921 records 24 February 1724/5 the intention to marry of Robert Blackader Bachelor and Sarah Field Spinster. The Bond states that Robert is a Gardener of Enfield.

The corresponding Allegation for this marriage records:
       Appeared personally Robert Blackader of
       the parish of Enfield in the County of Middx
       aged twenty four Years and a Bachelor
       and alledged that he intends to marry
       with Sarah Field of the same place aged
       twenty three Years and a Spinster...

Squeezed into the last line of a page in the parish register at St Andrew, Enfield:
       Robert Blackader & Sarah Field Both of this Parish were married February 25 1724/5

There are burial records for both Robert Blacketer (20 March 1774) and Sarah (8 March 1770) Blackedter at St Andrew Enfield, which are likely to be theirs. Robert Blackader and Sarah Field are my 7xgreat grandparents.

Following these generations of Blacketers, the documents show several spellings of the name. Zachariah is associated with the spellings: Blacketer, Blackiter, and Blackadour/Blackadore; while Robert has: Blacketer, Blackadore/Blackadour, Blackader and Blackador. His wife Sarah even has Blackedter. Robert himself signs: Robart Blakader. He does so twice, (on his Marriage Bond and Marriage Allegation) the same day 24 February 1725, so I believe he intentionally wrote his autograph this way. It is not at all obvious to me which spelling we should prefer for any individual.

 



 

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.