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Research in Other Countries => United States of America => US Lookup Requests => Topic started by: thecalifornialife on Wednesday 11 December 19 19:06 GMT (UK)
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I’m trying to find the parents of James Perkins from England. He was born Feb 22, 1830 and died Dec 7, 1904 in Rock Island, Illinois. His obituary doesn’t list his parents name. I’m trying to find his parents names.
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Have you checked www.familysearch.org
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Without more information I think this may not be possible.
Do you know when he migrated? Did he travel with a relative?
Do censuses give any hint of where in England he came from?
Is a parent or relative named on a marriage document?
Did he have children? What were their names?
Philip
ADDED: Birth registration in England began in 1837. Before that, the only record is baptism registers which do not usually give the date of birth. James PERKINS is not an unusual name - FamilySearch has eleven possible baptisms 1830-31, and there are hundreds of English parish churches and nonconformist churches whose records are not yet online.
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Without more information I think this may not be possible.
Do you know when he migrated? Did he travel with a relative?
Do censuses give any hint of where in England he came from?
Is a parent or relative named on a marriage document?
Did he have children? What were their names?
Philip
US census do not give place names in England, Ireland or Scotland of where someone comes from.
Generally just the country.
Sandra
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Illinois Marriage Index - Married 20 July 1861 Mercer County Illinois.
1870 census Greene, Mercer, Illinois - shows James was born Scotland. All children listed born Illinois.
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M6HJ-CD2
1880 census Pre-Emption, Mercer, Illinois - shows James born England.
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MXVT-1DF
1900 census Black Hawk, Rock Island, Illinois - shows James born England
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MSH4-BTG
Illinois Soldiers Burial Places - https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QVY9-9TVS
Short death notice.
https://www.newspapers.com/clip/40426232/obituary_for_james_perkins_aged_75/
Sandra
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There is an anc tree - James Perkins 1830–1904
born 22 February 1830 - Edinburgh, Midlothian, Scotland
passed away 7 December 1904 - Sears, Rock Island County, Illinois.
Sandra
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Clutching at straws really - New Orleans Passenger List - James Perkins - 1830 - San Juan Del Norte, Nicaragua on the Texas. 19 February 1857. Steerage. Labourer.
Lack of passenger lists in that time frame :-\
Sandra
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This tree has some information on James, including two marriages, but not his parents:
https://www.familysearch.org/tree/person/details/L8RK-NXD
an obit attached to that tree says that a local post of the GAR attended the funeral and conducted services at the graveside. So likely James was in the Union Army during the US civil war.
I don't think GAR refers to the army during any other war, but I'm not positive. Anyway he'd be 60 or so by the time of the Spanish American War, so that would be out.
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Illinois Soldiers Burial Places - https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QVY9-9TVS
Sandra
Missed this when posting, -- gives his civil war unit.
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I didn't find him by searching the text of a county history of Mercer Co. Not surprising, since he was a coal miner.
https://archive.org/stream/historyofmercerc00merc/historyofmercerc00merc_djvu.txt
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Are there other Perkins in the area that might be siblings? Do their records tell you anything.
Where was that Civil War unit recruited from? The 89th Illinois Infantry. Any other Perkins there?
Probably too many in either case, since it is a common name, but maybe worth a try.
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The Scottish records are on a pay site, someone on rootschat might be willing to look, since you might have an exact date. I doubt they would notice this post though, in the US section with "England" in the title.