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General => The Common Room => Topic started by: BORRI on Thursday 20 November 08 22:32 GMT (UK)
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Hi
I know this is a long shot but I have been looking for a Francis/Frances (male) Norris for about 7 years.
I know he married in Wolvercote/Woolvercot Oxfordshire in 1789 and he also died there in1827 but where was he born?
There was a Francis Norris born in Hagbourne and I can't find a Marriage or Death for him, but are there any others in say Wiltshire, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire or Berkshire.
Please has anyone seen a Francis Norris born c1760.
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Hi there...
It's a tough one, because his dates are pre-census. You know when and where he died, and when and where he married...both in the same place...have you checked with the churches in that area to see if there are any traces of Norris? The Francis Norris that was born in Hagbourne...how do you know he isn't the one? (Just curious.)
Also, did they have children? Check out where they ended up living, maybe that could give you a lead. It does seem that the men seemed a lot of the time to get married in the area where their bride came from, so it is hard to pin down. But, it had to be reasonbly close, because they had to meet somewhere!
Also if he married there, is there any record of his marriage?
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Hi Borri,
From Oxfordshire Marriage Index ( 1538-1837 )
29 Apr 1787 Francis Norris to Ann Stuart at Wolvercote
This is the only marriage for that name on here.
Sue
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Also found a Francis Norris, christening records, Trowbridge, Wiltshire: 28 Nov 1764, father's name Francis Norris, mother's name Sarah.
Together with this, there are a few christening records, the same father, but a couple of years apart, possibly siblings of this Francis Norris...
There are a couple more, but not that close: hertfordshire, 1773 & 1793. There are a lot of Norris's in Wiltshire. Don't know if that is any use to you at all. :)
There are Norris's listed in Gloucestershire & Berkshire, but not in the relevant dates.
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Hi thanks for your time.
Yes I have the Parish records for Wolvercote which gives me the date of marriage and it states "both of this Parish" but there is no record of either of them prior to the marriage.
There is a Thomas Norris mentioned as a witness to an earlier wedding but no other Norris mentions at all.
I hope Francis does come from Hagbourne as I have been on good terms with others from that tree for about 3 years, I need to check other possibilities before I say yes that's him.
I know Wiltshire is a hotbed for Norris' that's what makes me uneasy.
Thanks again, Pete
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Hi Jamajo
Thanks for the reply, yes that is the correct marriage.
Hi Daisy Loo
I don't suppose you know whether the Francis born in Trowbridge either married or died in the area?
My Great Great Grandads brother George disappears after the 1901 census and the only George I can find that fits him is in the Trowbridge area, coincidence probably but that's why I won't take the Hagbourne Tree as right tree without checking.
You're doing a great job thanks to you both.
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tax records are the way to go
everybody had to pay tax at some point
hearth tax
window tax
carriage tax
servant tax
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Hi Daisy Loo
I don't suppose you know whether the Francis born in Trowbridge either married or died in the area?
My Great Great Grandads brother George disappears after the 1901 census and the only George I can find that fits him is in the Trowbridge area, coincidence probably but that's why I won't take the Hagbourne Tree as right tree without checking.
You're doing a great job thanks to you both.
I couldn't find anything that fit, there are marrieges, but the closest one that could match was a marriege that took place in 1817, in Marlborough, Wiltshire...to a Maria Edmunds...there were no death records that fit at all. Of course, that doesn't mean there weren't any. I was looking on Ancestry.
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Thanks toni* I must admit I haven't tried tax but I will next time I go to the archives.
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Hi Daisy Loo
I have tried Ancestry myself, it has helped me a lot in the past but not on this brick wall.
What I was hoping for was someone whilst doing their own family my recall seeing a Francis Norris.
I have been stuck for about 7 years and have looked in the usual places but I am looking for a lucky break.
I have read books on Oxford characters and villians and turned up 1 family member and I have done research for other people and stumbled across a couple of others, it's that sort of luck I'm looking for.
I've checked for settlement orders and many other documents from the parish chest and next I go to the Oxford record office I want to check Bawdy courts and quarter sessions, toni* suggestion of tax records is a good one, I suppose Manorial rolls might be another.
Keep up the good work I really appreciate the help.
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Hello Borri! Looks like we have both been searching for the same man. I have been looking for probables since the early 1990s, and no success yet.
Hearth tax I have tried, they wont help, although, over the many years, there is one interesting connection, which I will go into later. The original marriage record is in the Oxford Archives, and shows both Francis and Ann (nee Stuart) signing (with an X), in 1787, and as you say prior to that the trail goes very cold.
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Hi Dravot
Good to hear from you.
I think Ann Stuart might be the daughter of (can't remember first name offhand) Steward from Woodstock.
Is the connection anything to do with the Earl of Abingdon?
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It certainly is!
I have examined most of the records over the past 15 years, and there is one logical conclusion. The nearby gentry Lord Norris (and earlier Norreys), had a tradition of using the names Francis and Henry, it could be our man is an illegit off shoot. Something my grandmother also mentioned years ago, is that she recalled family at a large country house nearby, I think this was Weston manor. The seat of the Norris family. It is equally possible that Francis adopted teh surname of his landlord ofcourse.
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Hi Steve
Thought it was you!
You didn't say if I had sent you that Birth Certificate or not.
Christopher would be in your direct line I believe, I sent for it so that I could confirm his mothers maiden name, she of course died soon after the birth.
Christopher was baptised on the day of her funeral and died a week or two later, he was the son of Richard.
All the best, Pete.
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oooo Need to . thread.... Hi Folks.. be back when I get chance.. Lesanne.
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Sounds good! I'm finished for tonight but will be back tomorrow night.
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Got all fingers and toes crossed, that I can travel to Oxford RO, next week.... :P I shall have my head deep in the Norris/Norres/Norreys family.
Please send me a list of any peeps you're with, just in case I come across them. ;)
8) Lesanne
BTW... I shall be at Liverpool RO soon as well, doing the Lancashire 'branch'....
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Have a good day at the ORO, I haven't been there for about a year, must go soon.
All my Norris' are in Wolvercote/Woolvercott going back to about 1789 and I think they may have come from Hagbourne, Berks although Steve (Dravot) thinks along a different line.
If you find any mention of a male Francis Norris born c1760 I would be very interested, I know where he is from 1789 but where was he before that?
I have read some of your long running string over the last month or so but as yet have seen no overlap between our families.
I have seen Headington and Woodstock mentioned and I do have family members who moved to those areas in mid 1800's.
Good luck at the Archives. Borri.
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http://members.dslextreme.com/users/enorrste/norreys1.html
8) This makes interesting reading, if you've a few hours to spare.... ;D
Have you any sibs or anything else that goes with Francis... ;) I found a Francis in the swing riots. One later in Henley.
I have a Henry and the only one in Oxon is 1733 Elsfield... :-\ to John & Elizabeth? possibly Harper of Garsington. They are on the OMT but they are not in the licenses. Is this another John and Eliz... :-X
I am going to be there for some time... :o probably looking at every "Norris" in Oxon.... ::)
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Thanks for that, I will check it all through later, at work now (or supposed to be) but I might get a chance this afternoon.
No I don't have any sibs for Francis, what I do know is that he was married and died in Wolvercote but wasn't baptised there. But there is a Francis born in Hagbourne c1760, but didn't marry or die there, so the 2 fit together but it's guess work.
I do know all the sibs of Francis in Hagbourne and can take that family back to 1700.
There was a Thomas Norris in Wolvercote before Francis appeared there but he disappeared again and I don't know if they are related.
Francis' son Thomas left Wolvercote and married in Biddlesden, where he had 3 children before returning to Wolvercote, could that be their ancestrial home? at present I don't think so.
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I just checked that website "WOW" see what you mean about having time!