Monday, November 28, 2016

The family of Thomas Boam 1768-1822

This page for my Families of Winster book  was probably the hardest to make so far because I know so little about Thomas Boam , my 5x G Grandfather - he is the last generation before civil registration and censuses teach us so much more about our ancestors.
He probably was a Lead miner, like his sons and grandsons but I can find nothing to confirm that. He may have lived in Woolleys Yard as his descendants did, but again, nothing I have found confirms this - so the page below is simply what I know of him and his family and Winster, where he lived his whole life.


Thomas Boam was born in 1768, and baptised on 23rd October 1768 at St Johns the Baptist Church in Winster, the son of James Boam and Ann Allen.  He was the 4th child and second son of the couple. Little is known of his early life, however a large proportion of the population of Winster was employed in the nearby Lead Mines. Certainly Thomas’ sons James and Thomas and those of several generations following him, were Lead Miners.
On 29th June 1790 Thomas married Martha Walker, who was the daughter of Adam Walker and Sarah Ohme, also of Winster.
Very soon after their marriage their first son James was born, and was baptised on 28th December 1790 .
Thomas and Martha went on to have at least 6 children including one who died as an infant in 1808.
Both Thomas and Martha died in the same year 1822 . Martha died first on the 4th  June and was buried in St John the Baptist churchyard 2 days later on 6th June of that year.
Just a few months later in October, Thomas also died and is buried in the same churchyard as his

Winster changed considerably during the term of Thomas’ life. Mining had brought immense prosperity. Between 1720 and 1770, Winster's population had grown to more than 2,000 and over 20 inns had sprung up. Most of the houses, now standing in Winster, date from those times. But the huge amounts of ore extracted eventually rebounded on profitability. By the late 18 century, the London Lead Company found their Derbyshire operations too costly and sold their Peak District concessions in 1778.

By the end of the 18th century, most of the mines had closed, with only two continuing to operate into the 19th century. Population returns dramatically reflect the industrial decline. In 1789 the population had declined to little more than 1000 and by 1801 there were only 750 people in the village

Saturday, November 26, 2016

The Family of James Boam 1740 - 1799 6x Great Grandfather



This page will replace the previous Boam pages I had done as the first Boam page in my series as I unfortunately discovered an error in my previous research and the James I thought was this James was not !- That James had died as a child but his death record had previously gone un noticed.

My James - it appears was an illegitimate son of Sarah Boam from Darley Dale and we arent positive who her father is, though it could be Hugh Boam - I believe these people are all descendants of Henry Boam or his siblings from my earlier post but more research will have to be done to prove it

This is the journalling from the layout above.

It is thought James Boam is the illegitmate son of Sarah Boam of Darley Dale. Sarah was probably the daughter of Hugh Boam from the same village, however records are not clear enough to be sure.
James was baptised on 9th March 1740 at St Helens Church in Darley Dale. Where he spent his childhood is unknown but he married Ann Allen in St John the Baptist Church, Winster on 14th May 1764.
James and Anns first 3 children were born in Winster, James and Samuel in 1764 and Thomas in 1768, however Samuel sadly died in the same year Thomas was born.
What James occupation was is unknown but it is clear that the family came upon hard times because in 1769 there is a Removal order for James, his wife Ann and their children James and Thomas. The removal order dated 18-01-1769 for "James BOAM  -  wife Ann and children James abt 4 and Thomas abt a  a year". to be removed from the parish of Winster, back to Darley Dale, where James had been born.
The removal order would have been based on the  poor law Act of Settlement and Removal. The Settlement Act allowed for the removal from a parish, back to their place of settlement, of newcomers whom local justices deemed "likely to be chargeable" to the parish poor rates.  Each person had a Parish of Settlement. This was the parish that a person was entitled to live in , and the Parish would often take responsibility for the poor in their own parish, however they did not want responsibility for those who were from elsewhere.
Clearly James and his family needed financial aid and could not provide for themselves at this point in time.
 It is unknown if the Removal Order was enforced, but in any case by 1771 James and Ann and their family were back in Winster, as all the remaining children were born there.
It is likely James gained employment in the Lead mines in the area. Winster was a village with man lead miners in its population. Mining brought immense prosperity to the town . Between 1720 and 1770, Winster's population had more than doubled to 2000  and over 20 inns had sprung up.
James was buried on Christmas Even 1799and is buried at St John the Baptist churchyard in Winster along with his wife Ann who  died just over 3 years later in February 1803.

The family of David Wilson 1747-1795 - updated- and the family of Simon Wilson

Its been a busy week genealogically speaking for me.
This was prompted by my last weeks layout on David Wilson and the discovery of a whole new branch of the family which necessitated me redoing last weeks layout


David Wilson was my 6x Great Grandfather. He was baptised at Longnor Staffordshire on 22nd November 1747, and married Jane Sleigh at Alstonefield . Very early in their marriage they lived at Under Longnor Edge, probably in the same house or close to Davids father who also lived at this location, however before long they moved to Dunbrook, where most of their children were born, and remained there for the rest of David’s life as his burial record attests. After Davids death, Jane remarried to William Slack but they dont appear to have remained in the district.
It is unknown what occupation David held, however we do know from his marriage record that he could at least write as se has signed his name. The marriage of David and Jane Sleigh was witnessed by Peter Wilson who was Davids brother .
We do not know for sure what occupation David held but it is likely he was either a farmer, or a miner, or even a stone mason, as his son Simon was and his grandsons Edward and Isaac.  based on the location of his cottage at Dunbrook, and the occupations of his children some of whom became lead miners.  Davids son Joseph, my 5x Great Grandfather, was the first in my direct line to move to Winster in Derbyshire.

The cottage that the Wilsons probably lived in along with its detached 2 story barn, at Dunbrook is still standing and though it has had significant modernisation, it still retains the character it likely had when it was lived in by my 6x Great Grandparents David and Jane had a total of 9 children. The eldest, Elizabeth, baptised as Betty was born while the family still lived at Under Longnor Edge however all the rest were born at Dunbrook .Later it seems youngest son Simon, with the help of his son Issac, built another house just across the road - a more modern 2 story stone cottage which he left in his will to his son Edward.  One of the conditions of the will was that if Isaac wished to build a similar house Edward should pay half towards it. Apparently Isaac took his father up on that offer, because now 2 stone houses are on the same property. Isaac stayed at Dunbrook until 1866 when he emigrated with his family to New Zealand.





I will probably do a separate layout which covers the following information about Simon - but before I forget all Ive learned this week I will post it here



While there is no record of his birth, it is presumed that Simon Wilson - who is living at Dunbrook in the 1841 and 1851 census is the son of David Wilson.
Unfortunately we are not likely to ever prove this conclusively as the records from the church at Longnor where Davids children were all baptised are missing several years covering the period where Simon was born, however the fact he is living at Dunbrook, and his children all take names strongly linked with Davids family ( including one named David) would indicate that our assumption would be correct.

What we discovered is that there is more than one house at Dunbrook - we originally thought just the old cottage now known as Poole Cottage was where David lived.
However we also discovered a cottage called Dunbrook Cottage- this apparently is a 19th century dwelling so probably not Davids,- it is far more likely he lived in the cottage above, which dates from the 1700s  The house below - called Dunbrook cottage was most likely built by Davids son Simon who was a stone mason

On the same section as Dunbrook Cottage, just behind it hidden in the trees is another very similar house called Dunbrook House


From Simon's will we know that he left his house to his son Edward, and that his son Isaac had helped him build the house . One condition of this was that Edward should pay for the building of another house for his brother Isaac if Isaac wished.

One of the two houses is obviously the first house that Simon and Isaac built, and the other is the one Isaac built after his father died . 
We know Edward was for some time living at Dunbrook as there seems to have been an disagreement between Simons daughter Elizabeth and Edwards wife Jemima 

However Edward is not living at Dunbrook in any of the census records- In 1861, 1871 and 1881  he is living at Sheen ,about 3 miles away. 

Here is a transcription of Simon Wilsons will

This is the last will and Testament of me Simon Willson of Dunbrook in the township of Longnor in the parish of Alstonfield in the County of Stafford. First I direct that all my just debts funeral and testamentary expenses be paid by my executors hereinafter named out of my personal estate. I give and bequeath subject to the privisoes hereinafter made until my son Edward Willson his heirs and assigns for ever All that my freehold Dwellinghouse in which I now reside situate at Dunbrook aforesaid together with one morety or have part and sall be set off and divided by my executors of my Cow house, Coal house Garden adn Croft with all rights roads and appurtenances thereunto belonging I give and bequeath unto my son Isaac Willson his heirs and assigns for ever all that other morety or half part of my said cow house coal house garden and croft as shall be set off or divided by my executors with all rights roads and appurtenances thereunto belonging provided always my will and mind is that if in case my son Isaac shall within Twelve calendar months make up his mind and elect to erect therafter upon the premises hereby bequeathed to to him a Dwellinghouse I do hereby charge my Dwelling house which is bequeathed to my son Edward with half the cost of the materials and workmanship of the masonry plastering flagging tiling or staking for a similar dwellinghouse as to value as that now in my occupation. This charge I consider equivalent to Issacs share for help in the erection of my dwellinghouse but in the event of my son Isaac Willson electing to receive the sum of Forty Pounds at the end of Twelve Calendar months next after my decease in lieu of the half or morety of my cow house coal house garden and croft and for the share of building materials and workmanship as a ove provided and charged I wish my son Edward or his heirs and assigns to accede to the terms and pay that sum to my son Isaac in lieu of his morety and Building Materials as above bequeathed to him with charge for workmanship and the erection of a Dwellinghouse and the release of my said son Isaac his heirs and assigns shall be a good discharge to his brother or his heirs or assigns for the same after which being executed my son Edward or his heirs and assigns will take the whole of my real property. Provided further in the event of either of my daughters Elizabeth or Sarah being left Widows and needing a dwelling house my wish and desire is and I do hereby will and bequeath that one or both of them my said daughters as the case may happen may have free use and tenure during her life or lives respectively of my parlour and my bedroom over my parlour with ingress and egress to and from the said rooms without any payments of rent whatever or it may be optional with all parties concerned for my son Edward his heirs and assigns to allow rent to one or both of my said daughters equivalent to the value of the above named rooms for her or them to reside elsewhere in case of needing a Dwelling house in widowhood only and as to the rest and residue of my property whether in Money Book Debts Stock Implements or other effects whatsoever, except tools which I wish my two sons to take equally between them, I hereby give and bequeath the same to be equally divided between my two daughters Elizabeth and Sarah as soon as convenient after my decease.  I dp hereby nominate constitute and appoint my two friends Joseph Millward and Joseph Grindey both of Tunstead in the township of Longnor aforesaid Executors of this my last will and testament and direct that they shall be the arbitrators in the division of my cow house coal house garden and croft as herein before declared I do hereby revoke and make void all former and other wills by me at any time heretofore made and declare this alone to be my last will and testament contained on two sides of this sheet of paper in witness whereof I have to this my last Will and Testament set my hand this third day of March in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and Sixty. 

Isaac marries Ann Chedwick   in Alstonfield before heading to Lancashire to an area which is now part of Downtown Manchester, for reasons yet to be known, however likely to be work related as the people around him are all in the brick, stone  or masonery business. 
After his fathers death in 1860 he is back in Dunbrook with his 6 children, but by the end of 1865 he had made the decision to emigrate to New Zealand and the family with wife and 5 children  packed up and left the small village his family had lived in for over 100 years and aboard the Mermaid they arrived in Canterbury on 1st January 1866. 
Isaac and Ann had 2 more children in New Zealand before Isaac died in Christchurch aged only 59 in 1879.

Simons daughter Elizabeth had already emigrated to New Zealand in March 1860. Later she married a second cousin - David Wilson Hamilton, who had also chosen to emigrate to New Zealand sometime before. David Wilson Hamilton, owned a house, “the Grange”, and was proprietor of a coach service, the precursor of the tramway system, which ran from Sharlands Corner via Stanmore, Shirley and the New Brighton roads to the New Brighton Hotel in Seaview Road where he was “mine host”.

My thanks to Dawn Scotting and Hugh Stark for their assistance in this research which will no doubt be ongoing!









 

Saturday, November 19, 2016

The Family of David Wilson 1747-1795

This is another page for the book I intend to create featuring the branches of my family who moved to and lived at Winster in Derbyshire.
This page features David Wilson my 6x Great Grandfather, son of Francis Wilson of Longnor, Staffordshire  whose page I did previously.

Again as noted previously because this era had records which featured very little information , not much is known about the day to day lives of this family, however their address of Dunbrook, Longnor gives a good clue as in the early 18th century there were very few buildings in the area and Dawn Scotting (from whom the vast majority of the research on this family was done) has ascertained that the house which David Wilson built is still standing .
The other exciting thing to note is David is one of the most distant ancestors of whom I have a copy of his hand writing - which came from his marriage record.


David Wilson was my 6x Great Grandfather. He was baptised at Longnor Staffordshire on 22nd November 1747, and married Jane Sleigh at Alstonefield . Very early in their marriage they lived at Under Longnor Edge, probably in the same house or close to Davids father who also lived at this location, however before long they moved to Dunbrook, where most of their children were born, and remained there for the rest of David’s life as his burial record attests. After Davids death, Jane remarried to William Slack but they dont appear to have remained in the district.
It is unknown what occupation David held, however we do know from his marriage record that he could at least write as she has signed his name. The marriage was witnessed by a Peter Wilson. I am unsure who Peter is as from our records, this was not the name of any of David’s brothers or Uncles.
It is likely he was either a farmer, or a miner, or even a stone mason, based on the location of his cottage at Dunbrook, and the occupations of his children some of whom became lead miners.  Davids son Joseph, my 5x Great Grandfather, was the first in my direct line to move to Winster in Derbyshire.
The cottage that the Wilsons lived in along with its detached 2 story barn, at Dunbrook is still standing and though it has had significant modernisation, it still retains the character it likely had when it was lived in by my 6x Great Grandparents David and Jane had a total of 9 children. The eldest, Elizabeth, baptised as Betty was born while the family still lived at Under Longnor Edge however all the rest were born at Dunbrook .
It appears the home stayed in the family as an 1834 trade directory has a Simon Wilson, Mason living there, and he remained there for the remainder of his life, as shown in both the 1841 and 1851 censuses and his death record in 1860.
From the 1851 census it would appear that Simon was  born in 1788 or 89 so could have been a child of David and Jane but I can not find a birth record for him at all , however the records around this time are quite damaged and pages appear to be missing so Simon could easily be the son of David and Jane. 

Monday, November 14, 2016

The Family of James Boam 1679-1753

ADDENDUM
Unfortunately after completng this layout it appears that this is not my branch of the family. It was thought that my branch descended from James 1783 who married Ann Herdsfield - and then down through his son James, however James 1783 son James died as a child so this can not be the case.



Heres my third page for the book Im producing on the branch of my family who lived in Winster, although with this instalment the family is still yet to reach Winster, This covers the family of James Boam and his wife Grace nee Fern who were from Bakewell.  It is with James son that the family finally makes the move to Winster.
Almost nothing is known of James Boam, son of Henry Boam and Joane Plant, who was baptised at Bakewell All Saints Church on 21 Dec 1679. Unlike his brothers Hugh and Francis, James remained for his life in Bakewell.
On 28 January 1707 he married Grace Fern, also of Bakewell and they had 8 children, that we are aware of over the next 18 years.
Again little is known about these children except for their baptism, marriage and death  records. The last 4 of James children died as children or infants , the second child Ann, died without marrying aged 30 before both her parents, and Grace born 1711 was widowed not long after she married. I have no information on what happened to her after her husbands death. Only the two sons John and James survived their parents and had children themselves. 
All the children were baptised at All Saints Church in Bakewell. The church in Bakewell had been in existence for hundreds of years before the Boam family baptised their children there.  The church dates from Saxon times with additions throughout the next 800 years.
.In the early 18th century there was an attempt to attract people to Bakewell with the building of a Bath house. Nearby Buxton had a thriving economy which was assisted by travellers visiting the warm spring . James Boam would have seen the building of the Bath House, however which was built in 1697 by the Duke of Rutland  However, at 15°C, Bakewell’s spring was much colder than Buxton and the venture was not a success.
As stated almost nothing is known of the day to day  lives of the Boam Family at this time and we do not know what industry James Boam was involved in, however his younger brothers Francis and Samuel had moved their families to Winster by the mid 18th century so it is possible the family were involved in the lead mining industry.
Lead Mining along with wool, had been  one of the largest earners for the wealthy of the Derbyshire Peak District from as early as the 13th century. The surname Fern, that of James’ Wife Grace is associated with the Mining industry in nearby Bonsall. By the middle of the 18th century though, Lead Mining in the Bakewell region was in decline, and the Manners family who lived at Haddon Hall had moved to their Leicestershire Estate and this vastly impacted the economy of the region as their estate was a large employer of the local population.
This could account for why more members of the Boam family seemed to make the move to the Winster area.
James and Grace however seemed to stay in the Bakewell area, James death is listed as March 1753 and he was buried on the 7th of March in that year, at All Saints Bakewell, 8 years after his wife Grace had died in April 1845 and was buried on 28th April 1845.

Saturday, November 12, 2016

The families of Winster Book - The family of Francis Wilson 1690- 1795

My last layout was the first I had done for a book Im planning on the families of the branches of my family tree who lived in Winster in Derbyshires Peak District.
I started last week with the Boam family and today I start with a branch that marries into the Boams - the Wilsons.
I must thank and acknowledge Dawn Scotting for her work on researching this family that we share.
I have started with Francis my 7x Great Grandfather.
Of course once again we know very little about the day to day lives of our ancestors back in the 17th century, but Dawn has pieced together as full a story as we can write based on the little information at hand which consists almost entirely of birth, marriage and death records.

The Family of Francis Wilson 1690-1795

Firstly, the dates of birth and death above are NOT a typo. Francis Wilson, my 7x G Grandfather did in fact live till the amazing age of 105. His age was noted in the burials in the parish records at Longnor Edge  where he died on 11 March 1795.
He was born miles away in Eccleshall, Staffordshire to father Francis and mother possibly Elizabeth, but when he moved to Longnor is not known except that it before 5th October 1728 when he married his first wife Elizabeth Burton . Together they had 8 children, and then Elizabeth died weeks after giving birth to the 8th child James.
With multiple young children, Francis need to remarry and he did to Mary Redfern, on 7th May 1747 . Mary and Francis went on to have at least 6 more children.
It is noted on the baptism records of Francis’ children that he lived at “Under Longnor Edge” 
Top of the Edge is a hill area on the outskirts of Longnor Village and at the bottom of the hill, at the end of High Street, there are a small group of very old cottages. I wonder if Francis and his family lived in one of these cottages.
Eccleshall, Staffordshire is over an hours drive from Winster on modern roads, so for the family of Francis Wilson in the 18th century it would have been a long distance away, however the family moved progressively closer to Winster over the next century. It wasnt until 2 generations later that the family end up living in Winster.  As we know so little about the daily lives of people this long ago we can only surmise as to why Francis moved from Eccleshall where he was born to Longnor where he married his first wife Elizabeth. This was a huge distance away . The walk between the two would take over 10 hours, but he was definitely a resident in the village of Longnor when he married so had not just moved there in order to marry.  Perhaps his trade was more needed in Longnor than Eccleshall. From Longnor the distance to Winster is much less ,so the various branches of the family would not  had more than a 3 hour walk across the hills of the Peak District.

Monday, November 7, 2016

The Family of Henry Boam 1650-1697

ADDENDUM  
Unfortunately - after creating this layout evidence came to light to prove that my line of the Boams might not extend down from Henry and then through James 1679 as previously thought.
more research is ongoing ...




- In preparation for my trip to the UK next year I decided to embark upon a book covering my Winster based families.
Im starting with the Boams and will cover the Wilsons and others I can find enough information on before I go

The hard thing about doing layouts and books about these ancestors is I know very little of their day to day lives so stories are limited and the layouts are basically just covering facts which can be a bit dry and boring.
Hopefully the book will end up not being too boring!!
Im starting with Henry Boam born 1650 in Bakewell. It was his sons who appear to be the first in the family to move to Winster.




Henry BOAM was baptised at All Saints Church Bakewell, Derbyshire on June 30 1650. The baptism register is written in Latin and he is named as Henricus and his father as Samuelus Boam. It is thought that Samuel was born 1623 also in Bakewell, and died 1674 but it is not known who Henry’s mother was.
Little is known of Henry’s life but it is know that he married Joan PLANT at St Giles Church, Great Longstone, Derbyshire on 29 June 1676. Great Longstone is about an hours walk across the hills from Bakewell.
Records are sparse , but it is known that Henry had at least one older sister, Dorothy (1647-1656)
Henry is thought to have had 8 children. Some have Joan listed as the mother but others list no mother, but one assumes she was the mother of all the children.
Records show two sons named Samuel so the assumption is the elder Samuel died and the younger Samuel was named after him.
It was around the mid 18th century and the early stages of the industrial revolution that mining became important to the Derbyshire region, this could be why several of Henry’s children moved their families to Winster.

The Family of Henry Boam 1650-1697

In preparation for my trip to the UK next year I decided to embark upon a book covering my Winster based families.
Im starting with the Boams and will cover the Wilsons and others I can find enough information on before I go

The hard thing about doing layouts and books about these ancestors is I know very little of their day to day lives so stories are limited and the layouts are basically just covering facts which can be a bit dry and boring.
Hopefully the book will end up not being too boring!!
Im starting with Henry Boam born 1650 in Bakewell. It was his sons who appear to be the first in the family to move to Winster.




Henry BOAM was baptised at All Saints Church Bakewell, Derbyshire on June 30 1650. The baptism register is written in Latin and he is named as Henricus and his father as Samuelus Boam. It is thought that Samuel was born 1623 also in Bakewell, and died 1674 but it is not known who Henry’s mother was.
Little is known of Henry’s life but it is know that he married Joan PLANT at St Giles Church, Great Longstone, Derbyshire on 29 June 1676. Great Longstone is about an hours walk across the hills from Bakewell.
Records are sparse , but it is known that Henry had at least one older sister, Dorothy (1647-1656)
Henry is thought to have had 8 children. Some have Joan listed as the mother but others list no mother, but one assumes she was the mother of all the children.
Records show two sons named Samuel so the assumption is the elder Samuel died and the younger Samuel was named after him.
It was around the mid 18th century and the early stages of the industrial revolution that mining became important to the Derbyshire region, this could be why several of Henry’s children moved their families to Winster.

Thursday, November 3, 2016

DNA Update

Here is my latest update on the branches of my family tree that I have confirmed with DNA.
The lastest confirmation was a small match to another descendant of my 4x Great Grandparents William  Garbett, Born 12 Jun 1796, Little Wenlock,Shropshire,England; Married Elizabeth Powell Born 3 Sep 1786 Dawley, Shropshire, England on 12 October 1818. 
Elizabeth had been previously married, and widowed. Her first husband was John Sandlands , who she married in 1808 and had at least 3 children to before he died in 1817
They were:
Robert Sandlands b 1810,
Ann Sandlands b 1812 and
John Sandlands born 1814


Elizabeth and William had 7 children together. 
William Garbett b.1819-1898
Michael Garbett b1821-1898
George Robert Sandlands Garbett 1823-1899
John Garbett 1825-1900
Elizabeth 1827-1844
Samuel 1829-1875
Mary Ann 1831-

I descend from Samuel Garbett  and my match descends from George Robert Sandlands Garbett 
George Robert Garbett joined the Mormon church and emigrated to America .
Samuel Garbett followed his fathers lead and became a miner, eventually rising to become a Chartermaster.

This DNA match is very small and without being able to investigate further I am taking it at face value - however I hope my match will upload their DNA to Gedmatch so we can look further into the DNA and find some common matches 

Based on this last match I have now confirmed 7 out of 8 Great Grandparents and 10 out of 16 GG Grandparents. - Not bad going!!