Completed Bitton Parish Records - Esther/Hester Parker 1770s

[billnkempsey]

In the 1851 census for St Fagans in Glamorgan, my 4xg grandmother Esther Harding nee Parker appears with age 78 and birthplace 'Gloucester Bitton', suggesting a birth year of 1773. Various other records suggest a birth year as late as 1779.

FamilySearch only suggests two records for Esther/Hester Parker in Bitton, a birth and a death in 1777. The parents also lost their first daughter but reused the name for the second, and so my Esther might be the second of that name.

Any chance someone can check that there are two births for Esther/Hester Parker in Bitton? Most likely, the birth/death in 1777 and the second birth in 1778 or 1779?

Many thanks for reading this far!

Bill

[emeltom]

I can find a baptism for a Hester Parker in Bitton 16 March 1777, parents William and Hester. There is also a burial for the same date. No other Hester/Esther found in the 1770s or 1780s.

[billnkempsey]

Hi Emeltom,

Thanks for that. Those are clearly the ones FamilySearch has. At least we can confirm those.

Can I stretch a friendship and ask if William and Hester have any baptisms in '78 or '79? (On one occasion I've had a later child use the name of a child who'd died earlier, even though they had been baptised with a different name.)

But, in any case, many thanks for taking the time to help.

Cheers

Bill

[billnkempsey]

Just had another idea. It is just possible that the child buried on that day was not the one baptised? An earlier Hester might have died and then my Hester was baptised??

[emeltom]

I can find the following baptisms for children with parents William and Heaster

Mary  August 1770
Mary 5 January 1772
William 19 June 1774

Burials
Mary 10 January 1771
Mary 8 October 1772

Regarding the Hester baptism and burial it is highly likely that it is the same child.

[billnkempsey]

That's what I feared, and yes, I really believe that was the same poor child in 1777.

I suppose they must have baptised my Hester somewhere else, but returned to Bitton so she treated it as her home Parish??

Many thanks.

[ciderdrinker]

Hi
Have you considered that Hester buried 16.3.1777 is the mother?
There seems to be no more children after Hester bapt 16.3.1777.Did Mom die in childbirth?.
The burial doesn't actually say ,adult,child or age.

Just found William's Will 1806 and he names daughter Hester Harding wife of Abraham Harding  1/9th of his estate. Made 27th Feb 1806.
He has a new wife Sarah Parker
Children besides Hester -Joseph ,Richard ,John ,Samuel, Robert and William .Daughters Nancy wife of Francis Stone and Hester wife of Abraham Harding.
Son in law Robert Britain
Granddaughter Betty Shirts
It says he lives in the hamlet of Odland ,Bitton.He was buried 29th May 1806.

William and Sarah's children -Betsey 17.6.1782,Joseph 10.8.1784 ,Nancy 25.12.1787,Richard 3.1.1790 ,Elizabeth 26.12.1792-23.2.1798 ,and Dinah 5.6.1796-14.2.1797
And may be Angel 4.6.1787 -30.4.1797 bt the dates clash a bit with Nancy.
It looks like William Parker married Sarah Brittain 18.4.1781 at Bristol St Phillip and St Jacob  by licence.

Robert Britten bapt 9.8.1777 s of Soloman and Sarah Britten at Bitton.A possible for the step son.


Ciderdrinker

[emeltom]

Good thought re the burial being the mother. Don't know why that didn't occur to me.

[billnkempsey]

And likewise, a too common occurrence at the time. (Hope it wasn't one of those gloomy ones with the child baptised over their mother's coffin. Seen a couple of those in the records.) I think we have the solution. With no more births, it must have been the mother who died.

On to the next generation now.

Thank you all so much for your help!

Cheers

Bill