My genealogy research diary. What changed, where, sometimes even why.
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Sunday, 20 September 2009

20th: How many Williams?

As part of the attention being given to descendants of Richard MATTERS and Patience PIKE at the moment, I reviewed their son William supposedly born Aug 1796 Bere Ferrers.
I had, from data originally supplied to me, and not independently checked, that there were two Williams in the family, one 1783 and another 1796, so I'd assumed the first had died.
Today I checked the family off against the Bere Ferrers baptisms and came to the conclusion that there was only one William, the 1783 one, who hadn't obviously died young (no burial up to 1805). So, I've deleted my second William from the family.
Thought I'd found him in Tavistock with wife Ann in a couple of census records, but eventually discounted that identification as he thought he was born Bridestow.

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Saturday, 1 March 2008

Feb 29, 2008: Lumburn Mill

A posting on the GenForum FUGE board elicited a prompt response and contact with two researchers of the name in Australia. Like me, they hadn't solved the problem of what happened to Samuel, Thomasin Ann and John Edwin, children of William FUGE and Mary Elizabeth HAMLEY, but were able to add several details, including most of the later baptisms and some exact marriage dates.
But even more interestingly, this contact has finally lead to exact identification of the Lumburn Mill.
I was swapping Tavistock Library stories with one of the FUGE researchers, telling her about how I'd been trying to identify where assorted mills were that Isaac DAWE had been (Newton, Mill Hill, Lifton and Lumburn).
She had also been trying to identify the Lumburn mill as one of the FUGE wives' families had been there from between 1851 and 1861, presumably following on from my Isaac DAWE who had died in 1851 or his son Isaac who had emigrated to Australia by 1857.
When I was in Devon in Aug 2006 I had followed the river up from Lumburn to Middle Lumburn to Higher Lumburn taking pics of likely buildings for the Lumburn Mill, the first being on the A390 out of Tavistock just past the Lumburn bridge.
As my map didn't show any great water source near to this first set, well past the bridge, I assumed it wasn't the mill and had turned off onto the B road to the right, so didn't get to see the front of the first set of buildings I'd snapped from the bridge side.
However, Eleanor's 2003 photo from the other side is an exact match with the family photo that we have marked "Lumburn House and Mill" with assorted well dressed Victorians outside. Obviously the water is either hidden, or has been diverted over the centuries.

Marriage cert of William MATTERS arrived. I had picked the right bride - Mary GRIBBIN (of Newquay, Tavistock), dtr of Edward. Haven't yet found her/them in 1841 and 1851.

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Tuesday, 12 February 2008

Feb 13, 2008: Further FAIRBAIRNs, more MATTERS

Continued updating the line of George and Janet (PURDIE) FAIRBAIRN.
Both that of their son Charles whose children ended up moving from Pennsylvania to Illinois, Washington State, California (and probably others).
And that of the New Zealand branch of their dtr Margaret who married John WILLIAMSON and 11 days later hopped on a boat to NZ (Three Bells, on the same voyage were the family of FAMILTONs who settled in Oamaru).
The other Archibald FAIRBAIRN chart updated - again.

Barb has provided details on how her friend Cathy connects back to Joseph MATTERS & Mary CUDLIP, and also provided a couple of useful web sites:
Washington State Digital Archives and a North Dakota Marriage License index

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Monday, 11 February 2008

Feb 10, 2008: The EYRE affair?

Obviously a good year for FAIRBAIRNs. Having recently added George FAIRBAIRN and Janet PURDIE into the extended FAIRBAIRN family, I had found most of their children in assorted records, but not the dtr Margaret. All was explained. Here in NZ, about 3/4 hr drive away, is a descendant who has just contacted me, Margaret and her new husband emigrated to NZ shortly after their marriage in Melrose, Rox. The other Archibald FAIRBAIRN chart updated. Newly acquired surnames include: WILLIAMSON, EYRE, STENHOUSE, BRADBURY, THORNTON, in Dunedin, Auckland, and Wellington.

I've also been contacted by a MATTERS descendant in Washington State. Not yet exactly sure how she connects back to Joseph MATTERS and Mary CUDLIP, but that's her line apparently.

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Tuesday, 14 August 2007

Aug 5th, 2007

5th: Brought the remainder of my website pages into the fold and changed the look/feel of the Paradise hosted pages. All of my pages are now generated using Second Site.
Contact from Brian S in Oz interested in the family of William & Eliza J MATTERS in North & South Dakota then Washington. His interest being William's wife, nee STEVENS/STEPHENS from Cornwall. William is one of the Devon MATTERS/METTERS descendants.

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