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England (Counties as in 1851-1901) => England => London and Middlesex => Topic started by: solveman on Sunday 13 March 16 22:03 GMT (UK)
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I wonder if anyone has any information on the Bethnal Green Ferry's. My great gandmother was Mary Ann Ferry, born 1881, 1 Paradise Row, Bethnal Green. I am a direct descendant of Jacob Ferry, who fled with other Huguenots from France back in the 1600s. I have gone back to Mary's grandad, Robert Ferry c.1833. I used to have a digital file, The Descendants of Jacob Ferry, but I lost this when my old PC crashed, although the line it followed wasn't my direct line.
I would love to link myself directly to Jacob.
Thank you,
Rich
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Can you please give some more information on Robert Ferry?
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The only Mary Ann Ferry I can see born in 1881 with that spelling is Mary Ann born 22 Jan, bap. 20 Feb 1881, dau of Robert and Ann Ferry, of 7 Temple St. Bethnal Green.
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There are definitely problems tracing Robert Ferry. His marriage to Ann Jarvis lists his father as Robert Ferry, a weaver, but there is absolutely no sign of Robert junior on any earlier census in Bethnal Green, or for that matter the surrounding area, nor does there appear to be a birth registered for him. There isn't any sign of a Robert Ferry, weaver, as far as I can see in the area either, not from an immediate search. :-\
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I had the same trouble Smudwhisk. I couldn't even find the family in 1881, only 1891. I was waiting for the OP to come back with what he/she has already.
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Firstly, may I say thank you to everyone that responded. I really do appreciate the time and trouble to which people have gone. As for more information on Robert Ferry Senior, I only have his name and DoB as c.1833. That's it. I have his son as Robert Ferry married to Annie Jarvis, as has already been mentioned. 1833 is before compulsory BMD registration in 1834. Unless he crops up in parish records etc., I don't see where I go from here. I was going to try and go from the other end, i.e. Jacob Ferry, although the Jacob Ferry link is just an educated guess. As I said in my previous post, he came up in a document that I once had and, as he settled in Bethnal Green and my Ferry's are Bethnal Green, it wasn't too much of a leap to make the assumption that he is probably my ancestor. Add to that the fact that Mary Ann always maintained that the family were Huguenot silk weavers and, well, this is where I am at.
The document I had descended down a different line and I couldn't, at the time, see where my Ferry's branched off. Sadly, I lost the document when my old PC died.
Thank you, again, for all your help.
Rich
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1833 is before compulsory BMD registration in 1834.
Rich
It is actually July 1837
Stan
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Where do you get his birth year of c.1833 from?
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There are a lot of Ferry's in Bethnal Green but there is no guarantee that they all descend from Huguenots, although some definitely do as one line intermarries with sidelines on one of my Huguenot lines. Additionally, from a quick look at the non-conformist registers on Ancestry, there is no sign of a Jacob Ferry appearing in the various French Church registers, although that doesn't mean that there wasn't one that emigrated in the 1600s, he may just not have joined one of the churches. Now ancestry's indexing isn't that accurate but so far I can't see anything even via google about a Jacob Ferry who was a huguenot. It definitely is not a good idea though to start with someone and try to work forward and connect your family, there is unfortunately a good chance you could make more of a mistake doing this than trying to work backwards.
The problem you have is the fact there appears to be absolutely no sign of your Robert Ferry prior to his marriage and there is no sign of a Robert Ferry born c1833 who was a weaver. By the 1800s the vast majority of huguenot families had assimilated and were using the Church of England parish churches, many assimilated in the mid to late 1700s, if not earlier. I have one huguenot ancestor who emigrated with her parents in the late 1600s when she was about 2 years old. While her sister was baptised in the Threadneedle Street French Church, she herself never joined the church and married and was buried in a CofE parish church. The only reason I've been able to confirm she was huguenot was her very rare surname.
There are, unfortunately, a few other possiblities about who was your Robert Ferry born c1859. His father's name could undoubtably be wrongly entered on his marriage certificate. This is something that isn't that uncommon, I have two instances within my own research. Similarly, he may not have been born a Ferry but was born out of wedlock and his mother married one at a later date and he assumed his stepfather's name. His father in those circumstances may have been named Robert but not a Ferry. Its also possible that he wasn't illegitimate but took a stepfather's name for whatever reason. You could try contacting Tower Hamlets Register Office to see if they have an entry for a Robert Ferry born around the correct time but who has been missed off the GRO index when it was compiled. That wouldn't though solve the mystery as to where he was prior to his marriage.
Unfortunately, until you can conclusively find your Robert prior to his marriage, everything is hypothosis and while I appreciate that family claim they were of huguenot descent, a certain amount of a "pinch of salt" does need to be considered with family stories. My great aunt always claimed that her father's direct family ancestors were scottish, when in fact the family came from East Anglia. The story apparently may have come about because another aunt saw a tartan in Scotland that supposedly was for the family name and it was assumed that's where there family came from. I have numerous other examples where there is a shred of truth but the general story is incorrect. You may well have huguenot ancestry somewhere but perhaps not in the Ferry surname and the details may have got corrupted over time. Its something that isn't that uncommon unfortunately.
Unfortunately all you can really do is dig around looking at the Ferry line and hope that with each new data set that appears, something may help to confirm who Robert was.
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The document I had descended down a different line and I couldn't, at the time, see where my Ferry's branched off. Sadly, I lost the document when my old PC died.
Was this a document you had created, or was it something you found?
If you found it, where did you find it (in particular, the web, a book, or an archive)?
Someone may be able to re-find it for you.
In any case, hopefully this has taught you a lesson about backups.
Bugbear
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Thank you all, again for your responses, which I will try and answer.
Firstly, Stan, you are absolutely right. No idea why I put 1834. I think I may have read 1834 whilst looking at something and had it in mind when I wrote my response.
I have a date for 1833 for Robert Ferry from another family member.
The original document came from a distant relative but I can't remember who. I did punt around but had no luck. Yes, I now back everything up several times lol
Yes, perhaps going forward is a bad idea... clutching at straws I guess.
Well, thanks again.
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Have you located either Robert's in censuses before Robert junior's marriage?
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Not so far, Pinefamily.
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That's the next step. I'll have another look. Possibly badly mis-transcribed.
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Thank you, my friend. I feel like Hercule Poirot at the moment, as I have so many family mysteries to solve. As soon as I solve one another dozen seem to appear. At the moment I am trying to find out why I was always led to believe that my Grandad was Catholic, as his mother was... supposedly... being from Ireland. Well, research shows that she wasn't from Ireland, but Poplar! She was married in a C of E church, as was my Grandad. He did, however, list his religion as Roman Catholic when he joined the army, so he must have believed he was RC... Odd, eh? I love it really. As Poirot says: "One must use the little grey cells" ;D
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Did Robert junior die in 1895?
Robert Ferry, Sep 1/4 1895, 1c 174, Bethnal Green; age 38.
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That particular Robert Ferry was born 1858 and the son of Robert Ferry born c.1833
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Going by that death reference, I would suggest he was born in 1857. The age of 1858 in the census might indicate that his actual birthday was between the time of the census and the time of his death, eg March/April and September (at the latest).
This may prove handy when trying to locate a birth for him.
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Interesting, thank you
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Thank you all, again, for your input. Sorry for my tardiness in replying, but, for varying pressing personal reasons, I stepped away from my research.
Yes, I agree, that the Huguenot link might be erroneous. I have discovered that, apparently, it was fashionable for the Victorians to claim Huguenot ancestry. This may or may not be the case here. Jacob Ferry, however, is listed as a Huguenot on the Huguenots of Spitalfields website, so, even though the link might be tenuous, the link might just possibly be there. However, having done my DNA I do not have a French connection. This might mean that, if I do have a connection then it may have come via the Low Countries, which is indicated in my results. Equally, the name Ferry may have Irish links, too, just to add to the confusion. Perhaps I may just never find out, unless, at some point, a get a DNA hit with someone from a confirmed Huguenot Ferry descent.
I will continue to search from Robert Ferry and see if I can push back any further if only to push the line back and the Huguenot link aside. Anyway, thank you all again.
Rich