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Hi Wendy,

I know the area quite well as my grandfather was from Burbage and I visit every so often still.  I'm also the OPC for Easton Royal,Milton Lilbourne and Wootton Rivers.  I had a look at the marriage of William and Mary Hillier you mentioned. Not easy!  Hillier's a very common name in the Pewsey Vale (Grandad Alf's mother was a Hillier).  I found four marriages from 1784 to 1793 which could be possible. Two in 1793 I disregarded as unlikely as they appear to have children within a year of the marriage in their marital village. These were William Hillier and Mary Brice in Collingbourne Ducis and William and Mary Cooper in Upavon.  The third pair,William Hillier and Mary Gee in 1784 in Bromham, don't appear to have children unless they move away from the wedding place. The fourth is the more probable pair. These are William Hillier and Mary Neate in Bishops Cannings on 12 Sep 1785.  Both were of the parish. They appear to have a son Thomas nine months after the marriage in Bromham. It's possible that they then moved to Wilcot but cannot be proved.  George Hillier,as you know,was baptised in Wilcot on 1 Aug 1791. His parents are listed as living in West Stowell. West Stowell is a hamlet that's part of Wilcot.  He appears to be their only child there.

I think it likely that William Hillier,the father,was baptised in Wilcot on 5 Dec 1769,the son of John and Mary of West Stowell.  They also had a son John baptised in Wilcot on 18 Jul 1771 and a daughter Mary (19 Sep 1775). Mary is the likely mother of the illegitimate girl Sarah in 1799.

So Mary Neate is the best choice so far but not necessarily the right one. I've been through all the William Hillier/Hilliard/Helliers etc married to a Mary in the surrounding area so unless William's bride was from over the nearby border with Berkshire or they married in a non-con chapel, we're stuck with her at the moment. 

Sorry I can't be of more help. Good luck!

Regards,

Linda

Thanks very much for your reply and information about The Cottage.  Fascinating stuff!  I was trying to trace the Daniels family who had lived there at one time and, fortunately, managed to trace a relative of the family who could help me through another route. I'll pass on your information about the property, if I may.  My contact never lived there herself but I'm sure she would be as interested as I was.  A ghost,indeed!
 

Hi Wentworth,

Thanks for that. It has rather opened up a can of worms! I see that your post came from FindMyPast.  I was using Ancestry to try to find Thomas and Maria.  I tried them by name in Wiltshire in 1841. No joy,so I input Manningford Bohune into the 1841 census collection and up it came.  I went through every name and there were no Baileys listed so I presumed that was that. 

It would appear that Ancestry has missed the first two pages of the Manningford Bohune 1841 census and heaven knows where the other pages are after pages three and four!  Their census starts with John and Emma Ogland who you will see at the top of the page after that featuring the Baileys on FindMyPast.  It makes one wonder how many times this may have happened and could explain the non-appearance of a number of people on our trees.

Interesting stuff.

Linda

My pleasure.  Pleased that you like the Wiltshire OPC site too. It's first rate and we're all volunteers.   I'm the online parish clerk for three Pewsey Vale villages and know the Manningfords well.  My 3 x great grandmother Anna Roberts was born there. I don't have any Manningford or Pewsey Baileys in my tree,although my 6 x great aunt,a farmer's daughter from Burbage,  married a Bailey from the Chute branch.

I have access to a fair amount of bmds for the Pewsey Vale area and,also,my husband's family's line in Downton.  Let me know if I can look up anything for you.