Stuck with the Smiths again!

[Hobbit Frodo]

Yes I was wondering about the ages bit...I think the New Foundland thing seems unlikely to be my gang as they really don't seem the adventurous type. It's interesting to see what close links there are between Poole and NFLD as I never realised before.

I did wonder whether perhaps the NFLD Viney woman had a sister back in Dorset who married another of the Smith family. Bit of a long shot in some ways but not a total impossibility - families did seem to marry off brothers and sisters quite a bit as far as I've noticed so far!

All interesting stuff. Thanks again for all your help and thoughts on the matter. You're right, I need to concentrate on something reasonably concrete and work on from there!

[toni*]

have you tried here?

http://www.dorsetfhs.org.uk/

they may have a searchable database

[nanny jan]

Hi,

Dorset FHS have transcribed many parish registers and these can be searched at the Treetops research centre in Fleets Lane.

They also have access to various other databases.


Nanny Jan

[toni*]

some christenings to consider



 Diana Churchill 5 Apr 1767 Turnworth, d/o James & Elizabeth

 Diana Baker 9 Oct 1768 Toller Fratrum, d/o William & Elizabeth

 Diana Barnes 31 Dec 1766 Symondsbury, d/o Thomas & Alice

 Diana Fiford 27 Mar 1768 Horton, d/o Richard & Ann

 Diana Hiscock 27 Mar 1768 Shaftesbury, d/o John

 Diana Stickland 28 May 1768 Tolpuddle,

Diana Rawles 21 Apr 1765 Turners Puddle, d/o Thomas

 Diana Rebeck 22 Apr 1765 Cranborne, d/o John

 Diana Child 9 Dec 1770 Godmanstone, d/o Robert & Diana

 Diana Jeans 21 Jan 1764 Stalbridge,  d/o Joseph & Mary

 Diana Mortimy 4 Jul 1764 Cranborne, d/o George

 Diana Whiffen 20 May 1764 Shapwick, d/o James and Hellen[sic] 


added

i have looked for marriages for these and found some possibles but can't positively identify them

[toni*]

I don’t think too much emphasise should be put on the Viney name yes it may well be her mmn. Equally however it could the name of a friend, colleague, god parent, someone with high standing within the community, a benefactor or could have been passed down from generations previous
One thing though is if she was married previously to a Viney I don’t think she would have used Viney in the name because this is effectively naming the child after the deceased husband.

[toni*]

We are a bit too early for tithe maps but have you considered this:


 land tax records 1780- 1832 The land tax was a national tax levied on landowners from the 1690s. Only one complete set of returns for 1798 survives for England and Wales (in the National Archives), but many returns are available in local record offices. The returns (or 'duplicates' as they are often known) were made for each township and record the names of owners and occupiers and the sum to which they were assessed.
(book, 1873 Return of Owners of Land)
Land Tax Records should be held at the County Record Office however they are not all there and are not always are complete. TNA can help to locate documents relating tot a particular manor so it would help if the Manor is known, - Manorial Document Register (MDR) a card index in the man search room at TNA is listed by name of manor and includes information about what documents have survived and where they can be found (not at TNA) some of the index cards have been put online, (Yorkshire, Wales, Middlesex, Surrey, Norfolk, Cumberland, Westmorland, Isle of Wight Hampshire and Furness (now Cumbria)) www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/mdr/ also try www.a2a.org.uk

 
 

[RRYFS]

Looking at the Dorset FHS records, I can see both the burials which Toni found. I cannot find the marriage in the same set of records from the DFHS transcriptions. There are two possible Poole baptisms for John Smiths:

7th August 1765, son of John and Jane

23rd April 1769, son of Robert and Jane

Searching the same source for Dianas doesn't find any for Poole, though there is a Diana Ford in Kinson in 1773.

How sure are you of the marriage info? I would have expected to find it in the records if it was at St James.

[toni*]

i am not very good with the geography of Dorset or the land
was there coal mines in Dorset or where would John have been working as a coalmeter?

i wonder also if they or at least Diana came from elsewhere i think having a look for other smith births with parents as john & Diana might be something worth doing

[RRYFS]

No coal in Dorset - too early for railways? Presumably something to do with domestic coal?