Re: matlock records office look-ups done for all

[philaf]

Moira,

Can I please take you up on your very kind offer.

I am looking for the birth or baptism of George Fern or Ferns (or Fearn etc) b. abt 1809 (+/- 2) in Bonsall.

George was my 3x gt grandfather and died in Manchester in 1877.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

Phil Fern.

Marple, Cheshire.

[moiramount]

i am going on monday so will get back to you then.


moira

[philaf]

Thanks Moira,

A few more snippets that may help.

I suspect George may have had a sister, Sarah. In 1851 George's daughter, Ann, was a servant in the household of Robert Eaton Blackwall (of Wirksworth) in Manchester. Also a servant there was Sarah Fearn b. Bonsall abt 1795. (If not a sister of George - possibly an aunt or a cousin.)

In 1841 George was in Chorlton in Medlock, Manchester. The head of the household was Sarah Ferns b. abt 1768 not born in Lancashire. I think it's reasonable to suppose that she was his mother.

If it helps, George's children were (in dob order) Henry, Ann, John, Susannah. (There might have been an older son, William - he was, I suspect, an illegitimate child of George's wife, Sarah Gill but I have some inkling that George was his father.)

Many thanks again in anticipation.

Phil.

[moiramount]

hi philaf, i searched bonsall registers from 1807 to 1812 and found nothing then as i was scanning through later years i found this one, hope he's yours.

george fern baptised bonsall may 3rd 1816

parents joseph & sophia, joseph was a stone cutter.

i know its a bit late in years but if you have gone by a census for his age, they were usually way out.


moira

[philaf]

Moira,

Thanks, but I don't think that this is my George. I'm fairly certain that he was born well before 1816. All censuses and his age at death point to an earlier birth date. His son, Henry, was born in 1831 and he may have had an illegitimate son, William Gill, in 1826. He could have been born before 1807 I suppose.

Also George's wife, Sarah Gill, was born in 1800 so there would have been a 16 year age gap.

The names Joseph and Sophia are not familiar.

I'm sure there would be some connection with the George you found.

Thanks again.

Phil.

[philaf]

Moira,

I've recently made some progress on George Fern & his family.

I now know that George was one of the children of Henry Fern and (I think) Sarah Toplis.

George was one of at least 7 children to Henry and Sarah. Their first two children were Sarah (abt 1794) and Henry 15/02/1799 and were born in Bonsall. The next five children were born at Longwaybank: Tamar 30/9/1801; Joseph 1/06/1805; George 23/04/1808; James 9/09/1809 & Peter 19/09/1812.

My breakthrough was in Ancestry's release of the Probate index. I always believed that Sarah ~1794 was related to George as one of George's children was with Sarah in 1851.

I found the Probate Calendar record for Sarah. She died in Denbighshire in 1876 and named brother, James, as executor. I knew nothing of James but on searching on Ancestry I found him in Oldham as James Fearn. (One of the many variations of my surname.) His age and birthplace matched with the birth and baptism of James, sibling of my George!


I now know something of three of George's siblings. Sarah who never married. James who married twice and died in 1882 in Oldham. Joseph who lived and died in Bonsall in 1871.

I'm sure that my Fern family from Bonsall must have connections with all the other Bonsall Ferns but now need to find out more about George's father, Henry and mother, Sarah Toplis.

Phil.