RootsChat.Com

Research in Other Countries => Other Countries => Topic started by: Sallyann17 on Sunday 06 July 14 20:55 BST (UK)

Title: Was my Great, great grandmother a slave?
Post by: Sallyann17 on Sunday 06 July 14 20:55 BST (UK)
My gggrandmother was Louisa Vincent lock, she was born 'off cape St Vincent, someone on ancestry.com has suggested that means St Vincent and the grenadines. She was born in 1813, I have got all that off the census and she was married in 1840 in Plymouth to Edward Curtis who was a master mariner. Any suggestions as to how I find out if she was born in st vincent and how I find out if she was a slave, I know slavery had been outlawed by 1807, but transportation still went on.
Title: Re: Was my Great, great grandmother a slave?
Post by: JenB on Sunday 06 July 14 20:58 BST (UK)
Cape St Vincent is in Portugal.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cape_St._Vincent

I'd suggest that most likely born 'off Cape St Vincent' means she was born at sea.
Title: Re: Was my Great, great grandmother a slave?
Post by: Mike in Cumbria on Sunday 06 July 14 21:02 BST (UK)
Nothing about what you have found out suggests to me that she was a slave. As Jen says, she was born at sea, off the coast of Portugal.  It would be interesting to find out why, though.

Mike
Title: Re: Was my Great, great grandmother a slave?
Post by: heywood on Sunday 06 July 14 21:40 BST (UK)
Hello,

her marriage certificate would give her father's name and occupation hopefully. He perhaps was a mariner also which may account for her birth at sea.

heywood
Title: Re: Was my Great, great grandmother a slave?
Post by: nanny jan on Sunday 06 July 14 21:48 BST (UK)
Hi,

A possible baptism:

Louisa Vincent Lock, birth date 20 May 1815, baptism year 1815 at Bideford, Devon.  Father John, a shipwright and mother Eleanor.

Parish register entry for her marriage confirms her father as John, a shipwright.


Nanny Jan
Title: Re: Was my Great, great grandmother a slave?
Post by: heywood on Sunday 06 July 14 21:53 BST (UK)
Hi,

A possible baptism:

Louisa Vincent Lock, birth date 20 May 1815, baptism year 1815 at Bideford, Devon.  Father John, a shipwright and mother Eleanor.

Nanny Jan

Looks good  :D
Title: Re: Was my Great, great grandmother a slave?
Post by: heywood on Sunday 06 July 14 22:05 BST (UK)
There are published trees with parents John Lock, shipwright and Eleanor Tyte Downe.
They married 1807 in Bideford.

There are several children mentioned but no Louisa. However it depends where the information comes from and as she was married in 1840  - that may be a reason  :-\

Possibility

1841  275 / 13/ 21
Charlotte Street Stoke Damarel
John Lock  57 yrs  Shipwright
 Henry I Lock  15 yrs   Shipwright
 Eleanor Lock  56 yrs
 Caroline Lock  20 yrs
 Sarah I Lock  11 yrs

all born in county
Title: Re: Was my Great, great grandmother a slave?
Post by: Mabel Bagshawe on Sunday 06 July 14 22:12 BST (UK)
1851 looks promising - Eleanor Lock, b Crediton c 1787, widow, is living in the same building as your Louisa Curtis and children
Title: Re: Was my Great, great grandmother a slave?
Post by: heywood on Sunday 06 July 14 22:14 BST (UK)
I was just going to post the same info MB - still Charlotte Street  :)

1841 Louisa is in Bideford.  (born in county)
Title: Re: Was my Great, great grandmother a slave?
Post by: Sallyann17 on Sunday 06 July 14 22:38 BST (UK)
Where have you found the  information birth date 20th May baptism Biddeford, and if that is the same Louisa, why is she on the census as being born off cape st vincent ? Nanny jan, where did you get all that lovely information, it looks very promising, maybe you are all right, she was born at sea, that would explain why Vincent is part of her name! Please let me know what your source of information is, I can't find it anywhere!
Title: Re: Was my Great, great grandmother a slave?
Post by: heywood on Sunday 06 July 14 23:08 BST (UK)
The parish information re birth and marriage are probably transcribed from a subscription site.
Title: Re: Was my Great, great grandmother a slave?
Post by: nanny jan on Monday 07 July 14 08:51 BST (UK)
The parish information re birth and marriage are probably transcribed from a subscription site.

Correct, not able to see the actual entry just a transcription.
Title: Re: Was my Great, great grandmother a slave?
Post by: JenB on Monday 07 July 14 08:55 BST (UK)
Where have you found the  information birth date 20th May baptism Biddeford, and if that is the same Louisa, why is she on the census as being born off cape st vincent ?

The assumption would be that she was born at sea, 'off Cape Vincent' and then baptised back in England.
Title: Re: Was my Great, great grandmother a slave?
Post by: MargP on Monday 07 July 14 09:19 BST (UK)
Hi,

A possible baptism:

Louisa Vincent Lock, birth date 20 May 1815, baptism year 1815 at Bideford, Devon.  Father John, a shipwright and mother Eleanor.

Parish register entry for her marriage confirms her father as John, a shipwright.


Nanny Jan
Hi, Witnesses on the marriage are Henry and Amelia Fowler and Caroline Lock
Title: Re: Was my Great, great grandmother a slave?
Post by: Sallyann17 on Monday 07 July 14 13:10 BST (UK)
Thank you all very much, I love this site! Now I am going to look into whether there is a record of births at sea! Most exciting, makes a change from miners and labourers!
Title: Re: Was my Great, great grandmother a slave?
Post by: nanny jan on Monday 07 July 14 13:20 BST (UK)
Hi,

FindMyPast have some records for births at sea; it is a subscription site.

Nanny Jan
Title: Re: Was my Great, great grandmother a slave?
Post by: MargP on Monday 07 July 14 13:35 BST (UK)
Hi,

FindMyPast have some records for births at sea; it is a subscription site.

Nanny Jan
Hi, they don't start until 1818
Title: Re: Was my Great, great grandmother a slave?
Post by: nanny jan on Monday 07 July 14 14:00 BST (UK)

Thanks MargP, not a database I've had to search very often. :)