Update on Gellender(s) — Jersey and Newcastle roots after all!
Hi everyone — just popping back with an update (and a heartfelt thank you for your patience!).
It turns out I was initially chasing two different Gellender families — one in Jersey in the 1700s and one in Newcastle in the 1800s — and for a while, I thought they were unrelated. I also dragged poor Aberdeen into it as a red herring, based on a dodgy online tree! So sorry for that mix-up — I know better than to trust unsourced info, but we’ve all been there. 😅
I was helping my friend Sophie Gellender, whose modern family is definitely from Newcastle, and I originally thought she must be from the later English Gellender line (James William Gellender & Ada Caroline Peel, m.1882). But with some deeper digging, we've now traced Sophie’s direct ancestry back to:
James Gellender (b. early 1800s), who married Mary Aubin (b. 1832, likely in Jersey)
Given the names and dates, it’s now looking very likely that this James is a descendant of William Ernest Gellender, baptised in St Helier, Jersey in 1755, son of James Gellenders & Ada Caroline — the very line I had initially thought was just a detour.
So it’s come full circle — Sophie really does descend from the Jersey Gellenders, just a few generations later than I first suspected.
Thanks again for your kindness and support — I so appreciate this community and your willingness to help a confused (but persistent!) amateur like me.
Warm wishes,
Chrissy
