WILKES of Gloucestershire

[johnfw]

I am researching my founding ancestors in Australia and have reasonable records for the family of Charles and Mary Wilkes since their arrival in Australia in 1854 to the present.

Charles Wilkes married Mary Piggin at St.Martins in the Field Westminster in October 1842. They emigrated to Australia on Kate in 1854 as assisted migrants with sons Samual, William and Edwin, also Marys sister Eleanor Piggin.  The shipping records in Australia shows Charles birthplace to be St. Catherines Gloucester. His age on this shipping record is 31, which makes his birth date to be circa 1823.

His marriage detail shows father as Samual Wilkes Pinmaker. At the time of Charles marriage he was a Mason of College St. London and was also a Mason in Australia.

LDS IGI records list a Charles Wilkes birth at Berkeley Gloucester on 8 Dec 1821, also a marriage of a Samual Wilkes to Mary Warnham at Berkely on 25 Mar 1813.

Could the reference to Berkeley and St.Catherines be the same person or a wrong assumption.

My aim is to establish the correct detail for Charles and hopefully identify his siblings at this stage.

I need help or advice from someone with an interest in the Wilkes family or geographical knowledge of the Gloucester area of the 1800s.

[Chris in 1066Land]

Hi Johnfw

A few years ago when I was in the Guild of One Name Studies - one of the other members was researching Wilkes and I made an enquiry with him about my Sarah Wilkes in Gloucester - At that time he had 30,000 entries with the surname WILKES & Variants

The Guild of one-name studies web site is

www.one-name.org

Member 1299 - Mr Colin Edward Wilkes
                          17 Cavendish Drive
                          Waterlooville
                          Portsmouth
                          Hants. PO7 7PJ

If anyone should know the answer to your question - it has got to be him

Let me know how you get on

Chris in 1066Land (Hastings)

[johnfw]

Chris

Thanks for the info. I am spoilt by the luxury of internet and e-mail. I will have to build up the energy to contact the person mentioned by snail mail. In the meantime he along with other one-namers might join the media we are now using, it is a luxury to get such response without leaving the computer.

I can only wish that this site will provide such a source of information as I imagine it's potential to be.

[johnfw]

I have had the most valued response from Colin Wilkes mentioned above. I now seek the assistance of someone who might have access to The Gloucester Records Office. I have eliminated the Berkeley Wilkes connections mentioned in my previous post. Charles Wilkes' place of birth is almost certainly St Catherne's in 1823, I have his likely siblings born to Samuel Wilkes and Maria Holder. They are Ann 1811, William 1813, Samuel 1816, Edwin 1819, and Harriet 1821. To confirm this supposition the given names William, Samuel, Edwin and Charles continued in Australia for at least two more generations, along with the name Hickling as a given middle name.

I already have accessed the 1851 census records for Gloucester and am in the process of assimilating this information.

A lookup for the 1851 census of London Westminster might locate Charles Wilkes who was resident of either College Street or Tufton Street employed as a Stone Mason also Wife Mary Piggin.

John Wilkes

[johnfw]

I can now add that I have had a successful response from the Gloucester Records Office. I emailed them with regard my ancestor Charles Wilkes whom I believed baptized St Catherines Gloucester in 1823. He did not appear on IGI listings. I believed his siblings Ann 1811, William 1813, Samuel 1816, Edwin 1819 and Harriet 1821 to be correct with parents Samuel and Maria.

The records have now confirmed an entry in the baptism register for the parish of St Catherine of Charles Wilkes on 18th January 1823 with the correct parents Samuel and Maria, also Samuels occupation of 'Pinner' which I already had detail of.

I guess the IGI listings are not perfect and I am now pleased that I pursued the matter. I had been lead astray by some well meaning researchers in Australia who had unintentionally pointed me to a Charles Wilkes born in 1821 in Berkeley Gloucestershire, he also had parents Samuel and Mary, which was close.

I can only thank the staff of the Gloucester Records Office/Archives for such a result.

[Tralee]

Hi John my Gt Grandmother was a Wilkes and over the years i have made various notes on this family.I think that we share a common ancestor in one John Wilkes (a sergeweaver) who was made a freeman of the city of Gloucester in 1715.When someone is made a freeman it then passes down from father to son and i do believe that some of the Wilkes family are still freemen today.
I have notes on a William Wilkes a boot and shoe maker son of Samuel a pinmaker being made a freeman in 1835 then Samuel Wilkes a cordwainer son of Samuel a pinmaker being made a freeman in 1839and also Edwin a pinmaker son of Samuel in1840 .To be a freeman a man had to be at least 21 years old.
The records are kept at The Mayors Office, Gloucester City Council,North Warehouse, The Docks.Gloucester.GL1 2EP
email heretohelp@gloucester.gov.uk
Regards Mo  

[johnfw]

Hi Mo

I accept your suggested connection. My Charles Wilkes would have been the brother of William the bootmaker both being sons of Samuel and Maria. I have Samuels parents as Charles and Elizabeth Bradley m. 15 Jan 1765 in Tewkesbury.

Do you have the links between Charles Wilkes father of Samuel connecting to John Wilkes the sergeweaver.

I would be very happy to go back to this time if this is information is available.

[Tralee]

Hello John The only early records of the Wilkes family that i have looked at are the freemans records All will need checking as the work was done some years ago.
Anyway here they are Samuel Wilkes (pinmaker son of Charles)made a freeman in 1809. I am descended from William (pinmaker) brother of Samuel.Charles Wilkes (pinmaker) son of John (wiredrawer) made a freeman in 1785. John Wilkes (wiredrawer) was made a freeman in 1741 and then disfranchised in 1781 to enable him to give evidence in a case between the mercers company and James Hayward a non freeman John was readmitted in 1783.This John was the son of John Wilkes (sergeweaver)who was made a freeman in 1715 on his masters Jacob Lumbards copy.Regards Mo

[wmwilk]

HI John
This is great reading. My name is Warren Wilkes and my Grandfather was Charles Henry Wilkes from Glebe NSW . From reading your post I think you are the Grandson of Edwin Robert,my Grandfathers brother. You mention the Cheesemans in your post and Pas sister Rose  Australia  was married  to a Cheeseman.Hope to hear from you so I can update you on another side of the family

Regards Warren