RootsChat.Com
England (Counties as in 1851-1901) => England => Somerset => Topic started by: DerekB on Wednesday 29 March 06 14:25 BST (UK)
-
Looking for anyone with connections to the Shenton family in Chelvey ca 1750.
I have a lot of information on the descendants of this family and am looking to their origins, they did not come from Chelvey, no mention of the name in the parish record prior to 1747.
Shenton is not a common name in Somerset does anyone know where they came from?
Thanks
Derek B
-
Hi Derek
I've recently discovered that I am descended from a John Shenton (b c1800) in Somerset. According to the censuses he was born and lived in Congresbury. I'm pretty sure he must be linked to the Chelvey Shentons but haven't proved it yet. For a while I thought another John Shenton who married in Kingston Seymour was the same person. I found the Chelvey Shentons through tracing him back but I am now certain they are two different people.
Sorry I can't really help much at the moment but it's good to know there is someone else interested in this family.
Debbie
-
Hi Debbie,
Good to know that I'm not alone but there are so few Shentons in Somerset that there won't be many looking for them and there is a good chance that they are all related.
I don't have a John Shenton b. ca 1800 in my tree but I have only managed to trace my line through Chelvey to Nailsea and Yatton.
My sources:
I have a copy of the Chelvey, Yatton and Nailsea parish registers on microfiche.
The B&A FHS North Somerset index of marriages for 1754 - 1837 on CD this index only lists 12 male and 5 female marriages for name Shenton.
Others must have married in villiages south of the area covered by the B&A FHS index.
There are some marriages in the index that I can't place, possibly children of people whose marriages I have not located.
These are the Shenton names I have in my tree.
Generation 1
Thomas Shenton b. c 1720 married Hannah but not in Chelvey actual place is still unknown.
Generation 2
The children of Thomas and Hannah were:
James b. 25 Jan 1747
Mary b. 19 Jan 1749
William b. 19 Sep 1750
Thomas b. 29 Apr 1752
Hannah b. 21 Feb 1755
John b. 14 Jul 1756
Sarah b. 27 Oct 1757
Jane b. 28 Oct 1760
James married Mary King in 1773 in Nailsea - my line.
Hannah probably married Robert Hasel in Barrow Gurney in 1777
John probably married Betty Goodenough in Wrington in 1882
Generation 3
The children of James and Mary were:
Mary b. 26 Mar 1775
James b. 7 Apr 1779
William b. 9 Sep 1781
Thomas b. 9 Mar 1783
James married Sarah ?, place and date unknown but not in the area covered by the B&A FHS index.
Generation 4
The Children of James and Sarah were:
Sarah b. 24 May 1804
Ann b. 23 Mar 1806
James b. 5 Jun 1808
Harriet b. 14 Apr 1811
Sarah married Samuel Chidsey - my line. Lived Yatton and then Bedminster.
End of known Shenton names.
The Chelvey PR shows 3 Thomas Shenton marriages 1762, 1774 and 1782 but it is unclear to which Thomas Shenton they refer.
The 1762 marriage can not be Thomas son of Thomas b 1752 so this is probably another Thomas Shenton (?brother of John?)
On the other 2 marriages one is a widower so a second marriage but I can't decide which Thomas it was that re married, father or son as they both may have married Hannahs. Needs more work.
Regards
Derek
-
Hi Debbie and Derek
My wife can trace her ancestory back to John Shenton, born 1799 in Congresbury. We think his father was also called John and was born in Axbridge in 1766. Both these John's were agricultural labourers who appeared to have difficulty in settling anywhere too long.
John Shenton (jnr) married Mary Mashman in Congresbury in about 1840. Mary was 15 or 16 at the time. I've found four children from that marriage:
William 1842, Louisa 1843, Eliza 1845 and John 1849.
Louisa later changed her name to Lucy Lukins, had three illegitimate children by a local married farmer, probably John Lukins and then in 1873 married 20 year old John Adams in Portbury. It looks like Louisa/Lucy had a total of 12 children.
Hope this helps
-
Hi Uksiss,
The Shenton name in Somerset is according to one archivist at the Somerset Record Office ' Very rare' so there is a very good chance that your John 1799 in Congresbury is related to my Thomas b ca 1720. Axbridge is only 9 miles from Chelvey and 5.5 miles from Congresbury. Ag Labs seemed to have moved to where the work was and don't seem to have settled anywhere for long, which makes them difficult to trace. At least with an uncommon name like Shenton when you find someone with the right name and age there is a good chance it is the right person.
I have checked the Chelvey PR back as far as 1668 and there are no other Shentons, I have also checked other nearby parishes while looking for other families and have not found any earlier Shentons. I assume that as you have a 'brick wall' with your John, the early Shentons are not in Congresbury or Axbridge either.
Looks like you and Debbie are possibly descended from the same John Shenton.
A John Shenton married Mary Whippy in Street on 6 March 1764, possibly the parents of your John snr.
I understand that the LDS are soon going to extend the coverage on the IGI for Somerset so hopefully it will include this area. It will make finding places to check easier witout having to fruitlessly search parish by parish.
If I find a connection between your Shenton line and mine I'll let you know.
My other names from this area are Chidsey/Chidgy, Coomer and King.
Regards
Derek
-
Hi Uksiss,
As Derek says, it certainly looks like we are descended from the same branch of the Shenton family.
I also have a John Shenton marrying a Mary Mashman in Congresbury on 08 Sep 1829. The family are living in Congresbury in 1841
John Shenton 35
Mary Shenton 35
Sarah Shenton 15
Betsey Shenton 13
Jane Shenton 11
Thomas Shenton 9
James Shenton 6
Maria Shenton 4
William Shenton 1
Mary Shenton appears to have died and was buried in Congresbury 24 May 1846.
In 1851 John has children William 9, Louisa 7 and Eliza 6 with him which match yours...haven't found John born in 1849 yet though, if you could please give me more details.
I am descended from Jane who was baptised in Congresbury 09 Oct 1831.
In 1851 Jane and James Shenton are living with their sister Sarah in Kewstoke, Somerset. By then Sarah has married Thomas Bailey and they have Sarah's daughter Emma Mashman (b abt 1843) living with them. I am guessing from this that Sarah Shenton in 1841 is the same person as Sarah Bailey (nee Mashman) in 1851.
I think both Betsey and Sarah could have been Mary Mashman's daughters from a previous marriage/relationship.
Debbie
-
I am Burgess descendent of Prudence and can supply details of Burgess tree if required. I am also aware of Chidgey 's residing in Abergavenny, Monmouthshire. I realise you have some of above but it may help.
donb
1 Prudence SHENTON. Born in 1787. Prudence died in Congresbury on 26 May 1872; she was 85.
In 1809 when Prudence was 22, she married Robert BURGESS.
2 Thomas SHENTON. Born in 1753 in Congresbury.
On 11 Apr 1782 when Thomas was 29, he married Sarah EDWARDS, in Chelvey.
3 Sarah EDWARDS. Born in 1757 in Nailsea.
4 Thomas SHENTON. Born in 1720 in Congresbury. Buried on 13 Dec 1795 in Chelvey.
In 1745 when Thomas was 25, he married Hannah.
5 Hannah. Born in 1720 in Congresbury. Hannah died in Chelvey in 1761; she was 41.
-
Hi this message is a bit of a long shot.
Do you have any of your Shenton's as shown in your message linked to the following family ancestor. My GGGG Grandfather A Mr Henry Kelway brn 27th Jan1758 from Falmouth, Cornwall married a Mary Clist Shenton on the 29th October 1780 in Falmouth.
I do not have her birth date or where she was born or who her parents were hence this enquiry. Other than the listing above the surname Shenton does not appear in Cornwall as far as I can ascertain in any other BDM records.
I am of the opinion that the name originates from either Cheshire or Leicestershire
My late parents gave me the name & a number of relatives both living & dead have also been given the name Shenton as part of their names. Are you able to help in my quest for more info on the Cornish 'Shenton' family?. Thank you
Geraint Shenton Gregory.
-
Hi,
I have a number of Female Shentons un accounted for but none that realistically could be your Mary Shenton.
As you say the Shenton name does occur more frequently in Cheshire and Leicestershire but also in Derbyshire, Lancashire, Shropshire and Nottingham.
There are a small number in Devon which is closer to home and a scattering in other southern counties.
If I find anything more I'll post it here but I have been looking for 6 years.
Best
Derek
-
Hi Derek
I have been sent this link by my sister in law as we have been looking for Chidsey's in Yatton and Sarah Chidsey *(nee Shenton) is my GGGmother.
I have the marriage cert and wanted to know more about her line.
I have been looking for Sherton all these years and so I am very happy to discover that the name is actually Shenton. Now I may get a little further with my research.
Do you want to swap details?
PS I am visiting the UK from Australia and have been looking at the gravestones in Yatton and Congresbury, but I only have one more week before I head back to Melbourne.
Looking forward to hearing from you/
Thanks so much.
Vivienne Mason
-
Hi Vivienne,
Yes the name is definitely Shenton, I have looked at the parish records, the Somerset archives say it is Shenton and the Bristol & Avon FHS also say Shenton.
I have traced the Shenton and Chidsey families back to Thomas Shenton b ca 1720 and James Chidsey ca 1759. Neither were born in the parish in which they settled nor any of the near by parishes and I have so far not established where they came from. Chidsey is spelled Chidzy in the earliest records.
Samuel Chidsey and Sarah (Shenton) were my GG grandparents, their daughter Maria Chidsey b 1847 in Yatton married Samuel Joy in Bristol in 1869.
One of their children Blanche Amelia Joy was my Grandmother.
This may be a little strange but I think I already have you in my family tree, if you are descended from John Chidsey (Chidgezy) and Caroline Pedrick via Alexander b 1855 in Bristol. He had a brother George James Chidgzey who emigrated to Australia in 1876. I have been in contact with Melissa Harding who lives in Perth, WA. There are also some cousins (Chidgzey) in the Queensland area but they did not seem to want to communicate. A lot of Alexander's side of the tree came from Sue Haylett 5 or 6 years ago who I think said she had been in contact with you some time before that but had lost contact.
I have a Chidsey/Shenton tree that must have about 1000 names.
I would be happy to send you a copy.
If you are looking for gravestones the Shentons lived for many years in Chelvey, Thomas married Hannah ? somewhere but not Chelvey before 1746 and he and Hannah are buried in Chelvey.
There are very few Shentons in Somerset and I have found a few but so far no Thomas born in the 1720's.
The only clues I have so far are that there seems to be a few Shentons in the east of Somerset in the 1600's but none fit yet there is a generation missing. If this is correct then they seem to have moved west from area around Shepton Mallet.
I don't know if it is possible to contact someone offline on this board but I will have a look.
Happy hunting
Regards
Derek
-
Hi Vivienne and Derek,
A Big Welcome to RootsChat Vivienne ;D
To pass on personal information we use the secure PM (personal message) system. As a new member Vivienne will need to make a couple more posts before the PM system opens up to her, so just reply here a couple of times Vivienne. Then you will find that by clicking on the little green scroll to the left of Derek's post (under his username) you will be able to talk to him privately and share personal data.
All the best
Cheers Kris :)
-
Dear Derek
Thanks for your swift reply. Yes I am descended from Alexander Chidgzey and his daughter Violet is my grandmother.
I have been researching the Chidsey line on and off for 10 years and only just picked up that line again recently when we found George Chidsey in WA. I didn't even know he was Alexander's brother until last month.
John Chidsey father of Alexander I think went to Australia and re-married, but I do not have absolute proof of this as 2 John Chidseys emigrated - one to Adelaide and one to Brisbane.
I would be delighted to be in contact with the WA family and also Sue Haylet who we lost contact with when I emigrated myself.
Happy to share my tree with you.
Regards
Vivienne
-
Hi Vivienne,
I have also replied off board.
But it is interesting what you say about John Chidsey as I have looked for him in the census without success and had assumed that he had died, as Caroline has apparently 'married' again, but have not found a death record.
In the 1861 census his wife Caroline in shown as the 'wife' of James Giles and Alexander age 6 is also there. I have not found a marriage between James Giles and Caroline. George age 7 is living with Caroline's parents.
John and Caroline married in 1852 and George was born 1853 and Alexander in 1855, I have a copy the marriage cert and of both birth certs.
What happened to John seems to have been in 1855 or later almost certainly before 1861.
Did he emigrate of was he transported?
They almost certainly did not divorce as it was expensive and also difficult to obtain.
I also don't think Caroline married James Giles as a Caroline Chidgezy married in 1884 in Southwark but the groom was not James Giles. Had she married James Giles she would have been Caroline Giles. I have not persued this any further.
Regards
Derek
-
Try Carhampton and Dunster - lines there from 1600 to early 1700
-
Hi Mike,
Thanks for the information had not seen the Dunster branck before. As you say early dates but unfortunately they don't seem to link into my Shentons but may do at an earlier date.
Still looking for Thomas Shenton b ca 1635. Married 1657 East Pennard.
Regards
Derek