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England (Counties as in 1851-1901) => Nottinghamshire => England => Nottinghamshire Lookup Requests => Topic started by: elisbrown on Wednesday 04 September 24 15:52 BST (UK)
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Hello!
I am trying to find information on an ancestor of mine, Arthur Devereux. He married Betsy/Betsey/Betsie Blyton of Maplebeck, Nottinghamshire in April 1877 in Nottingham. I have found this record in the Civil Registration Marriage Index, which is a typed list and gives not much more information than that the date and name of the couple.
I am looking for more information on the marriage, specifically information on Arthur Devereux's origins. He is listed on various later censuses as being born sometime between 1832-1845 and was from Middlesex. I have found 2 or more boys with this name born in Middlesex around that time. Family lore is that he had an upper class accent, but it appears that he worked as a fruitier and later a gardener and a landscape architect after he left for the US, so the accent may have been adopted or affected.
In any case, I'm hoping that the marriage records might list parents for him.
Many thanks!
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Welcome to rootschat
The marriage index gives his name as Arthur Trafford Devereux :)
ADDED as you mention another Arthur bn Middlesex
There is an Arthur Devereux with the middle name Llewellyn who was born c1841 Islington, Middlesex. He married Louisa T Simmons in 1862 and appears with her and their children in 1871
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I wonder if he is your Arthur as the first child of your Arthur has middle name Llewellyn. That needs looking at :). Ignore that as Arthur L is still with his wife in 1891
I think your Arthur may have married in a registry office or registrar attended so you may need to purchase the certificate.
Marriage locator has this information - Sorry, we cannot locate the church for this marriage. The entry is located between entries for Nottingham RO/NC and Nottingham St Barnabas RC, both in RD Nottingham.
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There is an Arthur Devereux with the middle name Llewellyn who was born c1841 Islington, Middlesex. He married Louisa T Simmons in 1862 and appears with her and their children in 1871
Assume you mean this man?:
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VRF1-L5W
He is still in Camberwell with his wife and children in 1881:
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:Q277-74CW
Whereas this looks like OP's Arthur in Nottingham in 1881:
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:Q27K-VDLS
With wife Betsie and no children.
Apologies if I have made any mistakes, but I have the most awful cold. I probably shouldn't be researching but I'm bored and this seems interesting ;D
Queenie :)
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I did mean that one Queenie but found him 1891 but could not see him in 1881 so you are doing really well in spite of your cold ;D.
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Thank you, Rosie, for you words of encouragement. This cold cannot defeat me!! ;D
Also, I don't know if I am missing something, but I can only see 2 children born to his couple?
A boy, Robert Trafford Devereux, whose birth was registered in 1881 in Nottingham (yet I cannot find this on the GRO for some strange reason) and who was baptised in 1883 in the same place, and a girl, Helena, whose birth was registered in Philadelphia in 1885. Those are the only children with them on the 1900 census in the U.S. Are there more that died young?
Queenie :)
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He is on 1901 & 1911 also. Hastings, Sussex & Eastleigh, Hampshire
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Surname is spelt differently :)
DEVEREAX, ROBERT TRAFFORD BLYTON
GRO Reference: 1881 S Quarter in NOTTINGHAM Volume 07B Page 285
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So definitely not Arthur Llewellyn Devereaux bn 1841 Islington then, that is one that has been eliminated :)
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Surname is spelt differently :)
DEVEREAX, ROBERT TRAFFORD BLYTON
GRO Reference: 1881 S Quarter in NOTTINGHAM Volume 07B Page 285
Thank you for that; it was annoying me that I couldn't find it.
Trafford sounds like a surname to me, which makes me wonder:
1) If Trafford was a surname that was important to Arthur's parents, perhaps his mother's maiden name?
2) If Arthur was in fact born under the name Trafford, and then his mother remarried to a Devereux and he took on that surname?
Unfortunately, cannot find a marriage of a Trafford to a Devereux, trying a combination of spellings.
Queenie :)
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In 1910 USA he says he is 72.
In 1920 USA he is 88 and states he immigrated in 1861 and naturalised in 1869 ::) Betsie immigrated in 1887. His parents were English
ADDED - findagrave
Name Arthur Trafford Devereux
Birth Date 25 Jan 1832
Death Date 08 Dec 1926
Event Type Burial
Event Place Drexel Hill, Delaware, Pennsylvania, United States of America
Cemetery Arlington Cemetery
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19th August 1882 - Nottingham Journal
Legal and Public Notices
I hereby give notice that Arthur Trafford Devereux is not in my employ and is not authorised to receive moneys or transact business of any kind whatsoever on my account.
Josiah Swift
Florist and Market Gardener, Arnold and 14 Goldsmith Street, Nottingham
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Wow! You two have found quite a lot! (Apologies as well - I'm home with a cold and may not make a lot of sense)
I had also bumped into Arthur Llewellyn Devereux but they seem to be different people.
I am a descendant of Robert Trafford Devereux. As far as I know, there were just two children: Robert and Helena. I had also wondered if perhaps Arthur's mother was a Trafford and had him out of wedlock. Maybe the father was a Devereux, and so Arthur used the surname as his own? I found a fatherless baby Arthur Trafford baptised in Rainow in April 1845. Maybe that's him?
I have a feeling that the immigration records are not so reliable; the dates change and it appears that he was living in Nottingham around 1880.
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I think your Arthur may have married in a registry office or registrar attended so you may need to purchase the certificate.
Marriage locator has this information - Sorry, we cannot locate the church for this marriage. The entry is located between entries for Nottingham RO/NC and Nottingham St Barnabas RC, both in RD Nottingham.
Apologies - do you know how to find this office? I am located in New York and my Google searches are giving me locations in New Hampshire. ::)
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The 1883 Wrights directory of Nottingham has Arthur Tafford Devereux listed as a fruiterer, of Swift Bros, 10 Goldsmith street Nottingham.
This could be part of the reason for the declaration by Josiah Swift. Other records show Arthur already in the USA.
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The baptism record for Robert T. Devereux is from Jan 1883... maybe they left soon afterwards?
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Have you or has anyone else in your family taken a DNA test? Would be interesting to have a look for any possible 'Trafford' matches, if no obvious Devereux ones are forthcoming.
You may also have to just purchase a copy of the marriage certificate, as it unfortunately does not seem to be available to view on any of the major subscription sites.
Queenie :)
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I've just ordered a DNA test. My mother - granddaughter of Robert T Devereux - took one but wasn't able to make sense of the results. I'm hoping that mine is a little more clear.
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This could be part of the reason for the declaration by Josiah Swift. Other records show Arthur already in the USA.
I'm curious what you see showing him in the US. I have not found anything definitive.
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I was looking at the US census for 1900,1910 and 1920. Each one says his immigration year is 1861. On the same documents for Betsie, there is no date on 1900 census but 1910 says 1876 so before their marriage in Nottingham and 1920 says 1887.
Son’s christening record in Nottingham is Jan 21st 1883, and daughter born February 1885 in Pennsylvania, so probable final (?) move to US in that time frame.
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I have been emailing a common relative who says that Arthur said he'd come to the US during the Civil War (1861) and joined the army under an assumed name. He was also reported to have spent time traveling around the world, to India and Australia, before settling down. Arthur's daughter was also sure that he'd lied about his birth year and that he was 10 or so years older than he actually was (1842 vs 1832).
I'm not sure how to trace someone who used an assumed name...
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D N A
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Are there no parents named on his death certificate? It is indexed on Ancestry as Arthur J DEURENX.
Debra :)
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Hello... :)
Not much help in finding your request re a marriage for Arthur but it does seem you have an interesting ancestor ;D
Just in case these links help add anymore to what you already have and find your way back further....
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/69817552/helena-trafford-fentress
http://www.devereux.org/site/DocServer/HTDBio.pdf?docID=281
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Are there no parents named on his death certificate? It is indexed on Ancestry as Arthur J DEURENX.
Debra :)
Thank you for finding that!
I don't trust anything about this man... the parents listed have the same names as his children, which makes me suspicious. But it is a start!
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Thank you @Dizzifish!
I had read that bio on him from the Devereux website years ago. It quotes my grandfather, Clifford Scott. I suspect that the story is full of half-truths, but it may be a direction to go in. I mean, I don't think he's a direct descendant of Robert Devereux, Earl of Essex. And the pony express was only active from 1860-61, and it is not hard to look up the employee lists (and he's not on them that I can find). But it's worth looking at these leads, in any case. Thank you for that reminder!