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England (Counties as in 1851-1901) => Devon => England => Devon Lookup Requests => Topic started by: Tilly92 on Monday 28 December 09 09:46 GMT (UK)
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Hello
Am researching the Searle family from Stoke Damerel in Devon. Could anyone help me find the names of Mary Searle's parents, she was christened in 1765 and her mother is names as Fanny Searle but can't find the fathers name.
Many Thanks
Tilly
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Hi Tilly,
As only the Mothers name is shown it is more than likely Mary was illegitimate.
There is a Frances ( possible Fanny) on the IGI christened 13 August 1742, Buckfastleigh, Parents ANDREW and GRACE
That would make her abt 23 when Mary was born if it is her.
Trish :)
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I agree with Trish - Ive seen this sort of thing a number of times before and it nearly always means that the child was illegitimate...
There is one other possibility - and this has occurred in my own family history where the Father of the baby has died before it was born and at its baptism only the Mother's name was recorded and not the Father's. Its worth checking to see if anyone called Fanny married a Searle at Stoke Damerel previous to 1765 just in case... then tying it in with a possible male Searle burial... if you understand me!!!
Its a long shot, but worth ruling out. (It doesnt help that Stoke Damerel is such a big parish!!!)
Good luck
Graham
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My own ancestors are Searles from Stoke Damerel whose roots can be traced back to the Launceston area of Cornwall in the early 1700s. Specifically, Zechariah Searle, born in Egloskerry, Cornwall moved to Stoke Damerel and married Elizabeth Febus on October 11, 1791. One of their children, Francis, emigrated to Philadelphia in 1808. I can find very little about Francis' siblings in Stoke Damerel. Do you have any information that relates to these people? Is there any other information about Searles in Stoke Damerel that you need? Thank you.
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In addition to the 4 siblings found via the IGI, I show that Zechariah & wife Elizabeth also baptised at Stoke Damerel:
14 Feb 1805 John (born 24 Sep 1804)
18 May 1806 Elizabeth Phoebus
making a total of 7 children.
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Thanks for the birth date of John. I only had his christening date.
I have a total of 8 children born to Zechariah and Elizabeth (Febus) Searle: Mary, Francis, Mary Ann, William, Charlotte, Richard, John and Elizabeth. I have their christening dates.
Do you know how I can get more information on these siblings? For example, what source did you use for John's date of birth? Other than my ancestor, FRANCIS, there is no other record (marriage or death) for the other members of his family. I found a collateral reference to Frances' mother (Elizabeth) in a Last Will and Testament posted online for her step-mother. Elizabeth received a bequest of a table! Not bad for a step-daughter.
Thanks again for the quick repsonse with that date for John.
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John's birth date was included in the parish register entry for his baptism. Sorry, I missed Richard's baptism 9 Jan 1803, written as SEARL, and a birth date of 2 Sep 1802.
Zachariah was buried at Stoke Damerel, aged 72 26 Aug 1832, so birth ca 1760.
An Elizabeth SEARLE was buried at Stoke Damerel, aged 71 22 May 1831, residence Dock Wall.
An Elizabeth SEARL was buried aged 58 20 Aug 1827 of Pembroke Street.
Francis SEARL (1795) buried aged 30 13 Apr 1825.
Unfortunately, the surname SEARL(E) is quite common in Devon, and there are too many possibilities to guess at for the marriages of the others.
A Richard SEARLE is shown in the 1861 census married to a Catherine with his age given as 55 - possibly poetic licence as his wife was only 38? You can check for yourself at http://freecen.rootsweb.com/cgi/search.pl
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Thank you for the dates. However, I am greatly distressed over the information in FRANCIS' burial record from 1825 because his age makes his birth-year 1795 (the birth year matches what I had from his christening record). I thought I had seen that burial record some time ago (I cannot remember when or where) and that the birth-year was 1775. This is critical information for me as FRANCIS is my direct ancestral link from the United States back to England in 1808 and my family's Francis died in Philadelphia on April 14, 1838!
What are the chances that your burial record for a Francis Searle with a birth-year that matches what I know for sure is a different Francis than my American ancestor? (While Searle was a common surname in Plymouth, Francis was a less common forename, which makes it hard to discount the data you provided from Francis' burial record.) I have more than five years of extensive genealogy research riding on the answer to the above question!! No pressure, if you would like to answer it.
Do you have a Internet link to the Stoke Damerel parish register (burials) where that information came from? I would be most grateful. Thanks again.
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I forgot to mention that the census link you provided in your last post was very helpful. I didn't have that family in my notes. The head of that family could possibly be my RICHARD, although he has one of those popular forenames.
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No there is no internet link for the burial records. I would suggest that you contact the Devon Record Office who can confirm the details of the burial from the original register. Go to http://www.devon.gov.uk/record_office.htm for the link.
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Thank you for the link. I will look into it there.