Avica the mysterious woman

[JAP]

Louise, did you get a reply from the Oxfordshire FHS about Bastardy Bonds?  It is difficult to determine from the Oxfordshire County Council site whether or not they hold such information relating to Fifield.  There is a good information leaflet but ....   It's at:
Click Here
However, it seems from other sections of the site that they will answer email requests as to whether or not they hold specific information and, for a charge, will photocopy and send  it.

I've just checked and you said that the fiche you purchased incorporated both the parish register and the bishop's transcript.  That's a pity - I was thinking it might just be the bishop's transcripts and that the actual register might hold more information (I once ordered in the film of a bishop's transcript and recorded the information in it; I was amazed recently when I was sent a copy of the parish register by another researcher - it had much more information!)

Valda, good analysis about the age discrepancy for Ann/Hannah - though it remains a niggle (ca 9 years even using the 'best' census age).  Especially as, in Fifield, there is an Ann when bap in 1773 (if this is the Ann who had John and 'Avica'), an Ann as mother of John in 1796, an Ann as mother of Avice in 1800, and then suddenly a Hannah as a witness in 1802.

I've still been trying to explain the name change of 'Avica' to Mary - especially why she was Mary on 6 June 1841 (census) but 'Avica' when little Eliza (born 20 Jun 1841) was registered, and when Eliza was christened in December.

Who decided on the name change and why - and was 'Avica' herself happy about it or not.  Whichever, no doubt husband John provided the information or filled out the census schedules from 1841-1881, and son John in 1891 - so 'Avica' herself wouldn't have had a say (and, being illiterate, couldn't check what was written).

But perhaps at the local church, the minister knew only too well that she was (the notorious?) 'Avica' WILSON (even if he couldn't spell it) and wasn't prepared to enter her name as Mary.

The Registrar too, might have known her, and have been unwilling to enter Mary.  Or, if 'Avica' herself wasn't happy about the name change, she - as informant (at least for Eliza) - might have given her real name?

It would certainly be good to know where the name WILSON came from.

JAP




 

[LouiseB31]

I guess that the Rootsweb Mariners-L could help with the "Jeand'acre" or whatever her name actually was.  And Lloyds Registers might help.

Cheers,

JAP
Louise, Google for ship jean d'acre!!
Click Here
Might Samuel have been aboard ...

Last time I tried this link nothing happened, but now that I am sorted out at home with my new lap top and a good quality access I am going over all the information again.

What a fantastic link you found. I have saved the photo of the painting to record with Samuel's entry on the family tree. This is absolutely marvellous. Well done!

[LouiseB31]

A couple of other things.

I have had the reply back about the wedding in 1832 but the email was deleted by accident and I have had to write back to my friend asking him to send it again. I didnt get a proper chance to read it so cannot tell you the facts but can say that John Finch was a widow so I have now added Hannah Jeacock and their children to my database.

- which gives me carte blanche to enquire further into the above named ship!

Avies Wilson was the name of the bride but I cannot recall if it said where they were from or any other detail - so hold your horses but dont get excited.

I enquired about bastardy bonds in Fifield but there are no poor relief papers still in existence I am afraid.

I have re-read the whole thread and realised that I have not picked up on the death certificate for Mary Finch in the 1890s which might give her two first names.

I have also not done anything about going back to Harbury parish registers although I have been through all of my friend's extracts that he made a few years ago. But they were only related to "Wilsons" so not much help.

The registers may help with learning more about Hannah and William Masters.

I will see if I can get them on fiche too.

I will let you know how I get on.

Best wishes

Louise

[JAP]

HMS Jean d'Acre

Here's some more information about another painting of the ship (though no picture of it this time):
" FRANK WATSONWOOD, (1862-1953), H.M.S. St. Jean D'Acre in the Tagus at Lisbon, signed, inscribed and dates 'Frand Wood 1908' (lower right) and 'H.M.S. St Jean D'Acre./Lisob Feb 1861.' (lower left), pencil and watercolour 11 1/2 x 17 1/4 in. (29.3x43.8cm).  Named for the great Syrian coastal fortress assaulted and captured by the Royal Navy in 1840, H.M.S. St. Jean D'Acre was originally ordered as a pure sailing ship in 1844 but never begun and cancelled the following year.  Re-ordered with auxiliary steam power in February 1851, she was laid down at Devonport that June and launched in March 1853 at a cost of GBP107,561.  A large two-decker measured at 3,253 tons, she was 238 feet long with a 55 1/2 foot beam and mounted 101 guns of varying calibre, notably 36-8in. muzzle loaders on her lower deck.  Fitted with 600nph. Penn engines, she achieved just over 11 knots on her trials and became a highly regarded ship throughout her career.  Initially attached to the 'Western Squadron', she then enjoyed the rare distinction of serving with both the Baltic and Black Sea fleets in 1855 during the two quite separate phases of the Crimean War.  Her final overseas posting was to the Mediterranean Fleet (1859-61) and this painting depicts her last call when homeward bound in February 1861 under Captain Thompson.  Thereafter paid off and laid up in reserve, she was sold to Castle's ship breakers in 1875.  Condition: Apart from 2 small repaired spots of foxing and some slight overall acid discolouration to the sky, the picture appears to be in good overall condition."
The link to the above is:
http://www.bermudianart.com/bank.html

JAP

[LouiseB31]

I have re-received the email from my friend concerning Avica's wedding. It goes as follows

"I visited the CRO in Warwick yesterday and had a look for your beloved Avica in the records of St Michaels.  I quickly found that on 01oct1832
 
John FINCH widower otp
married
Avies WILSON spinster
 
The ceremony was witnessed by two of the FINCH family.
 
Fortunately the record stated that they had been married by Banns (not by Licence) so I decided to have a dekko at the Banns to see what further info might be gleaned.
 
Unfortunately the Banns hadn't been microfilmed and so I gave up.
 
Fortunately, just as I started to pen these lines, it suddenly occurred to me that the Banns might be available in hard-copy in the CRO.  So if you can suppress your excitement, I'll make enquiries when I next go to Warwick."

So, John was described as local to Coventry (which we dont think he was, unless he left and came back again to Harbury, whereas Avica was not of this parish so could have been living anywhere. She was however a spinster which puts paid to the idea that she was Mr Wilson's widow.

I have not been able to track down any fiche or cd copies of Harbury Parish Registers as yet.

I have ordered Avica/Mary's death certificate.

Best wishes

Louise


PS the information about the ship is really great isn't it. Samuel must have been on board during the homeward journey Frank Watson Wood painted as the census in 1861 showed him in Cadiz Bay on her.  I wonder who he was married to and where she was at the time. Something else to get my teeth into. I would love to see this painting, I bet my father would too, we shall have to do some research.

[LouiseB31]

Hello

I forgot to say that Avica's death certificate turned up.

She died as Mary Finch on 19th March 1893 of bronchitis at the grand old age of 92. She is described as the widow of John Finch, farm labourer and the death was registered by her son John who was in attendance at the death.

They were living at Back 27, Alston Street, Ladywood, Birmingham.

There are no other clues and no "Avica" given as one of her forenames.

I have also heard from my Warwickshire friend Sid who informs me that there are no banns in existence today.

I am going to stop my search for Wilsons in the area because I am now convinced that Mr Wilson was Avica's father and that she chose to take his name rather than her mothers. He could have been anyone, Wilson being a fantastically common name.

Alternatively of course, Avica could have been brought up by some people called Wilson if her mother was in service elsewhere and took their name on, then passing it to her son.

But for those of you familiar with my other thread about Joseph Lister you will realise this is an avenue I simply refuse to go down again.

So it is decided, any lines back from Avica will be Simpson lines and I shall have to let the male line go.

Our only remaining unsolved mystery in this link then is to learn who Hannah Masters was before she married. This matters for two reasons
1. She seemed to have Avica's son William Wilson or Masters living or staying with her
2. She was born in Fifield, Oxfordshire, where Avica was born.

We had opined that she might be Avica's mother but it would have required some very artful lying about her age and a bit of a name change, so we were not quite convinced.

But then again, all my family, on both sides, have made a speciality out of changing their names and ages....

I had said I would try to get the Harbury parish registers on fiche to have a look at, I have not been able to do this.

I will however try and find time to go back to the library to have another look at the fiche for Fifield to see if there are any other potential Hannah/Ann women born in Fifield that might be a better match.

Best wishes

Louise

[LouiseB31]

Well there is good news and bad news

The good news is that a friend of mine lent me a microfiche viewer (I bet you all wish you had friends like mine) and I have spent some time looking at the fiche of Fifield births, marriages and deaths.

There were on average five or six children baptised in each year - that suggests a very small village to me. Probably marginally more were girls than boys so probably 3 girls a year were baptised in each year. They were called, almost without exception, Hannah, Ann, Mary and Elizabeth.

There were no other names worth mentioning in 50 years of baptisms from about 1750 to about 1800.

Many Hannahs and Anns were born to the same family and a check of the deaths did not show that the earlier daughter had died. I do not think that in this village the name was interchangeable.

So I surmise that Hannah Masters nee Unknown (correction, we know she was nee Simpson but somehow I forgot that when I wrote this post) was probably not Ann Simpson. But could of course have been Avica's (or Ann's) best friend, neighbour, other relative, and still they could have been related without being mother and daughter. I cannot speculate as to Hannah's identity as there were tens of Hannahs and tens of Anns born in the fifty years I looked at.

I am sure there was some connection though, a small village in common and the one a foster parent for the other's child.

Without my ever seeing the Harbury registers I do not think we shall progress with this

Regards

Louise

[Valda]

Just for the record John 'Symson' ag lab aged 49 was in Fifield on the 1851 census with his wife Sarah aged 46 - no children. They were the only Simpsons in the village. However in Hampton in Arden Warwickshire there was William Simpson an ag lab born circa 1785 Fifield and his daughter Elizabeth born circa 1826 in Hampton. There was also Amy Simpson born circa 1783 Fifield and unmarried staying with her blind pauper sister Ann Heritage born Fifield circa 1781. They were in Chilson and Pudlicott Oxfordshire.

Regards
Valda

[LouiseB31]

That is wonderful Valda, thank you very much.

I will enter the information onto my special database for census entries.

Isn't Heritage a fabulous surname

Regards

Louise