Elizabeth Tinney and Elizabeth Cory - the Two Wives of William Harris (1755 - 1807) Part 1: The Side Track

Cornwall (Map from Wikipedia) 

The convenience of having a second wife with the same name as the first must surely outweigh any disadvantage. And so it may have been for (my) four-times great-grandfather William Harris. 

For the record: 

John Harris (1717-?) married Mary Luxon (1720 - ?) 

their son William Harris (1755 - 1807) married 2nd Elizabeth Cory (1750 - 1814) 

their son James Hodge Harris (1789 - 1865) married Grace Adams (1792 - 1862) 

their son William Harris (1823 - 1899) married Mary Herd (1825 - 1888) 

and they are our founding NZ ancestors. 

I decided to do some research on the life and times of William and his two wives, Elizabeth Tinney and Elizabeth Cory as there seems to be errors in some family trees I've researched, and some descendants' branches may have been attached to the wrong wife. So this is an attempt to sort out who is descended from whom.  But I got a bit sidetracked and ended up doing a lot of research on what was happening in the parish of St Gennys at the time of William and his parents' life there. Hopefully, you will find it as fascinating as I did that our ancestors certainly were living in interesting times.  Part 2 will move on to William and his wives. 

〰 〰 〰 〰

William Harris was the son of John Harris and Mary Luxon who married at St. Gennys, Cornwall, on 12th November 1741. His baptism was economically recorded as Wm., son of John Harris on Sunday 30th March, 1755, also at St Gennys, Cornwall. There is no record of his exact date of birth, which would have been near the time of his baptism,  as his age at death was recorded in the St Gennys parish burial records (2nd December, 1807)  as 52 years. This confirms his year of birth as 1755. 

Entry in St Gennys parish register for John Harris and Mary Luxon's marriage, November 12, 1741
 

A snapshot of the entry in the St. Gennys Parish register.  Wm Harris, son of John Harris 

There is a gap in one set of records of  the St Gennys parish baptism register between December 1741 and 1746, which could explain the lack of evidence of any recorded births for John and Mary Harris in the early years of their marriage. However, according to Cornwall OPC records,  there were 23 baptisms in St Gennys between 1742 and 1745 - but still not a single Harris amongst them.

Note: During this time, there were 2 sets of records  - the actual parish records and the Bishop's Transcripts - in Cornwall's case, the Bishop of Exeter's transcripts. From 1597 each parish was required to send to the bishop, within a month after Easter, a copy of all entries made in the parish register during the preceding year. These copies are known as bishops' transcripts. Errors and omissions in copying were inevitable. 

 But still no evidence of any children for John and Mary during this time in St Gennys  - or even any neighbouring parishes. Possible reasons for this could be: difficulty conceiving or maintaining a pregnancy, or John could have gone elsewhere for work, leaving Mary behind, the records may have been lost or yet to be transcribed, or they chose  - by whatever means available - not to have a large number of children. 

The St Gennys Parish Baptism record ending at December 1741 and noting that records were left out to 1746. 

The first entry after the gap between 1741 and 1746 is - coincidentally enough - John son of John and Mary Harris, baptised April 1, 1746. This surely must be our John and Mary's son, and our yet-to-be-born William's older brother? John Harris married Magdalene Honey (1750 - 1822) 

St Gennys Parish Baptism entry for John Harris, son of John and Mary, 1746. 

Location of St Gennys in Cornwall (Google Maps)

 

St Gennys today 

The parish of Saint Gennys was in north Cornwall, bordered by the neighbouring parishes of Poundstock, Jacobstow, Otterham and St Juliot, and covered about 14 square kilometres off the north Cornish coast.  The parish was physically divided by a stream which enters the coast at at Crackington Haven, where a small port was used mainly for importing of coal and limestone  and exportimng slate until it fell into disuse in the 19th century.  Further inland is more rugged, with high hills and deep valleys. In the time of our ancestors, it was a fairly remote area, north of the main route into Cornwall via Launceston and Bodmin.  The less-travelled route via Stratton and Camelford just passed though the south-eastern parish boundary. 

Most income was derived from agriculture, with slate quarrying, mining, and associated trades and craft work also important means of livelihood.  There is no evidence of how John and Mary Harris lived or worked, but it could be safely assumed they were agricultural labourers or miners. The parish had no village centre, rather people lived in small communities or collections of farms. In 1740, there were about 80 families in the parish. The population had peaked by 1831 with 760 persons living in 138 homes, but by 1891 had shrunk to 430 persons in 97 homes. 

The parish church is partly Norman. 

 From 1732 to 1782 - the time of our William and his family - the vicar of St Gennys was George Thomson, whose faith was deepened by a dream he experienced early in his ministry there. Thomson was fervent  in his preaching, and  he extended his ministry to neighbouring parishes until his clerical brethren complained of his "circumforaneous vociferations"  to the bishop of Exeter who duly admonished him. The neighbouring parish vicars noted that they had no dissenters in their communities  "apart from those who go by the name of Methodists, chiefly encouraged and abetted and taught by a neighbouring clergyman, the Vicar of St Gennys"

The history of Methodism in Cornwall begins with this  Reverend George Thomson from our very own ancestral parish of St Gennys. He believed that one’s faith alone could bring them salvation. This was also the view held by both John and Charles Wesley  and became a central message of Methodism. The brothers visited St Gennys around eight times between them and became good friends with George, although eventually  became estranged when George Thomson moved to a Calvinistic view. George wrote many hymns, which were published anonymously during his lifetime.  I'm not sure if any of them are used currently, or if any music exists for them. 

George Thomson  was also well acquainted with the Anglican cleric and evangelist George Whitefield (1714-1770), another of the founders of Methodism and the evangelical movement, who preached at St Gennys at least twice.  This would also have been in the time of John and Mary Harris,  who would no doubt have been in the congregation of this Christian celebrity of his times.  Whitefield's eloquent oratory skills and charismatic personality helped spark the spiritual revival known as "the Great Awakening" throughout Britain, Scotland, Ireland, Wales, and  North America where Whitefield visited seven times - including holding the biggest outdoor assembly in America (23,000 people) to that date. 

An extract from The Life of Rev. George Whitefield. Vol.2
On Saturday, November 12 [1743], Whitefield accompanied Mr. [George]Thomson to his rectory at St. Gennys, Cornwall, where he seems to have remained a fortnight. Hence the following:

“St. Gennys, November 25, 1743.

“I am glad that the Lord inclined my heart to come hither. He has been with us of a truth. How did His stately steps appear in the sanctuary last Lord’s-day! Many, many prayers were put up, by the worthy rector and others, for an outpouring of God’s blessed Spirit. They were answered. Arrows of conviction fled so thick and so fast, and such a universal weeping prevailed from one end of the congregation to the other, that good Mr. Thompson could not help going from seat to seat, to encourage and comfort the wounded souls. The Oxonian’s father was almost struck dumb; and the young Oxonian’s crest was so lowered, that I believe he will never venture to preach an unknown Christ, or to deal in the false commerce of unfelt truths.

“I could enlarge, but I must away to Bideford, just to give Satan another stroke, and bid my Christian friends farewell; and then return the way I came, namely, through Exeter, Wellington, and Bristol, to the great metropolis.”

And again in 1750:
"Having preached twelve times, in six days, at Plymouth, Whitefield set out for Cornwall, accompanied by two clergymen, the Rev. G. Thompson, of St. Gennys, and the Rev. Mr. Grigg, who had come to Plymouth purposely to be his escort. On Sunday, the 4th of March, the church at St. Gennys presented a scene such as was not often witnessed. Whitefield writes: “Four of Mr. Wesley’s preachers were present, and also four clergymen in their gowns and cassocks—Mr. Bennet (aged fourscore), Mr. Thompson, Mr. Grigg, and myself. It was a glorious day of the Son of man"  

On 10th March, 1750, he wrote in his diary,"Mr. Thompson is mighty hearty, and is gone to his parish in a gospel flame.” 

On one of John Wesley's visits to St Gennys in 1753, (possibly his last visit for some time) he wrote in his journal (on August 12th, 1753):  

'I never saw so many people in this church; nor did I ever speak so plainly to them. They hear; but when will they feel? Oh, what can man do toward raising either dead bodies or dead souls!' 

It is highly likely that our John and Mary Harris would have been in this congregation. 

In spite of not seeing each other for nearly thirty years, John Wesley was conveniently handy in nearby Camelford  when George Thomson was dying, and it must show the degree of esteem in which the vicar of St Gennys Parish was held, that his old friend should have made haste to visit him on his deathbed to administer the Sacrament. 

John Wesley's Journal:

Tuesday, September 3rd, 1782: 'I preached in the street at Camelford. Being informed here that my old friend Mr. Thompson, rector of St. Gennys, was near death, and had expressed a particular desire to see me, I judged no time was to be lost. So borrowing the best horse I could find, I set out, and rode as fast as I could… I found Mr. Thompson just alive, but quite sensible. It seemed to me as if none in the house but himself was very glad to see me. He had many doubts concerning his final state, and rather feared than desired to die, so that my whole business was to comfort him and to increase and confirm his confidence in God. He desired me to administer the Lord's Supper, which I willingly did; and I left him much happier than I found him, calmly waiting till his change should come.'

John and Mary Harris and family would have been well within the reach and influence of early Methodism in Cornwall. These must have been stirring times for them. It is tempting to speculate the impact that Thomson's, Whitefield's  and the Wesleys' preaching had on the Harrises  and their descendants.

George Whitefield preaching outdoors. John Collet/Getty Images 

And now, back to William and his two wives - in the next instalment. Feel free to contact me if you have any further information I could add to this - or if you find anything that needs correcting. 

(1) From Family Search Film # 004564297, image 26/374

Written how it's Heard / Hurd/ Herd / Yard - In search of the family of Mary Harris, born Yard.

Our NANA GERT maintained a life-long attachment to her Cornish ancestral roots and, although no locations were ever mentioned, she frequently talked of her family being from Cornwall.  One of my most exciting  discoveries was to find details of the ancestry of her grandmother MARY HARRIS (understood to have been born HEARD).

 MARY's maiden and married name are quite common in Cornwall, and with the incredibly helpful clues from the details on MARY and WILLIAM HARRIS's marriage registration details and the dates and names in the single remaining page of MARY's prayer book, I set out to find her background. 

This post is about MARY HEARD's family and her ancestry, and my cyber-journey to find these details. 

To summarise the previous post about MARY, her maiden name is clearly identified as HEARD  in her prayer book, and her location in 1838 is placed in the vicinity of  Meadrose Sunday School (established after cross-referencing the unclear writing with locations in Cornwall). Her birthdate, probably in her own handwriting, is established as July 1st, 1825, giving her age when she received her book as 13.  At a later date, obviously after her marriage,  WILLIAM HARRIS's name is added, and his date of birth is given as October 1st, 1823. 

Page from the prayerbook of MARY HARRIS born HEARD 

Snapshot of entry in the Warbstow parish register of the marriage of WILLIAM HARRIS and MARY HEARD.

From the  most wonderfully comprehensive Cornwall OPC website  which transcribes and publishes the details from parish registers in Cornwall,  I had  found the marriage details of WILLIAM HARRIS and MARY HEARD, which established details of both WILLIAM's and MARY's fathers. 

Details from the Warbstow parish register: 

1847  marriage solemnised at the parish church in the parish of Warbstow, in the county of Cornwall. 

Entry number 43: May 2nd, William HARRIS, of full age, bachelor, servant, at Trevillan, son of JAMES HARRIS, labourer, married MARY HEARD, spinster, no given profession, from Penwillan, daughter of RICHARD HEARD, labourer. 

The marriage took place after banns had been read, although I can find no record of the banns.  The marriage was solemnised by the curate (name currently unreadable) and was witnessed by Richard Hawke (signed) and William (possibly) Burdon.   Note that MARY signed her own name, and WILLIAM was - at that stage - illiterate and could only leave his mark. 

I can find no mention of Penwillan anywhere, and assume it was the name of a small farm. 

So back to the beginning... After spending literally hours unsuccessfully looking for the baptism details of MARY HEARD  born in 1825 - with a father called RICHARD - I tried a different approach, and searched all the births of 1825, and discovered a MARY YARD (with a father called RICHARD), who must be our MARY. Maybe it was the way it was pronounced? 

From that information, I was able to find RICHARD's marriage details. 

According to MARY's personal details in her prayer book, she was born on July 1st, 1825, (Friday). Parish records indicate that she was baptised on Sunday 14th August. 
Baptism records give her parents as Richard  - a labourer - and Jane,  and their residence is Treliggo, St Teath.  Nowadays, it's called Treligga and more information and photos can be found here and here. 

Treligga today. 

All St Teath Baptisms 1813 - 1911

The Harris Connection (Part 2) Mary Harris born Mary Heard

This is an ongoing and cumulative account of all the information I can find about Mary Harris (born Mary Heard). Please feel free to copy, confirm or clarify any details. Check out other blog posts about my Harris family information, and do check out the Descendants of William and Mary Harris Facebook page. 

Mary Heard was born on July 1, 1825. The evidence for this is a small page from her (prayer of Bible?) book, the page below being all that survives of it. The inscription says: 

Mary Heard's book. A reward given by the Meadrose Sunday School, August 12th, 1838.  

She would have been 13 years old at this stage.  At the bottom is added:

 Mary Heard was born July 1st 1825.  

 Later, obviously after her marriage, she has added: 

William Harris, born October 1, 1823. 

From this, we can assume that Mary was literate - possibly through her attendance at Sunday School which locates her in Meadrose, in the parish of St Teath (rhymes with breath) in 1838. (Meadrose is also found spelled Medrose and Meathrose.)

Detail from photo of Mary and William. Mary appears to be holding a small book, conceivably the same size as the page  above.  

 I wonder if this page is from the book she appears to be holding in the photo of William and her together? (See previous blog post). 

In 1847, Mary signed her own name in the Warbstow parish marriage register (where William is only able to make a mark and is obviously illiterate). More on this later. The marriage certificate also identifies Mary's father as Richard Heard. 

William and Mary's entry in the Warbstow marriage register. Click on the photo to enlarge it.

A few things to ponder:
Mary's name in the marriage register does not appear to be the same handwriting as the inscription in the page of the book, and the M in the Mary Heard at the top of the page is a different style to the M in her name at the bottom of the page, with her birth date. 

Interesting links for further information: 
1. Parochial and family history of the parishes of St. Teath and Temple, in the county of Cornwall
by Maclean, John, Sir, 1811-1895.  

2. St Teath Village Website 

3. Medrose St - Delabole (Google Maps)

4. A comprehensive report on the Delabole area (2002) assessing it for its historic value and conservation. Lots of interesting information, including a reference to the Harris family (ours?) commemorated in the church at St. Teath.  Covers the history of Medrose.

5. St.Teath Marriages  1754 - 1837 listed by year (Look for 1817 Richard Yard (sic) marriage to Jane Hoskin - Mary's parents).

The Adams Family Connection Part 3: We find Rebecca - and Her Brother's Family.

Just after deciding that I'd exhausted all possible leads to confirm any more details about REBECCA ADAMS's  family details - other than her daughter GRACE who joined the HARRIS family by marrying JAMES (see previous two  posts) -  I had a lightbulb moment 💡and thought, why not try researching the ADAMS family details of my My Heritage  correspondent, James A,  and see if I can find any connection there.   

James A  suggests that the 1% DNA that connects us comes through the ADAMS surname which appears in both our family trees at a similar distance in time.  I wondered if this could be a little coincidental in that it's not a particularly uncommon name; however, it was an obvious avenue to explore. And we had to be related somehow - if not  through the ADAMS family, then who? 

So, with these details of James A's (from USA) ancestors, I set forth: 

CATHERINE ADAMS (born 1801) married John LAMERTON (1795 - 1876) from CORNWALL. 

On the My Heritage site, I searched their names, and the first entry that came up was CATHERINE LAMERTON (born ADAMS) baptised November 5, 1801, in CORNWALL! So far so good. 

And not only just Cornwall, but the parish of St Winnows which is an approximate distance of 24 miles from REBECCA's last confirmed sighting in the parish of TREWEN. (Although Google maps estimates it's an approximate 8 hour walking distance - depending on the starting and end points within each parish - it puts both families in a credible distance of each other.) 

 And, I have already found  a REBECCA ADAMS born in St Winnow who was a contender for being the mother of GRACE (see previous post for details). So all I had to do was join the dots . . . and eliminate the spare Rebeccas I'd found along the way. 

OK, so here's the pathway: 

James A from USA's ancestors CATHERINE ADAMS and JOHN LAMERTON married on 27 February 1819 in the Quethiock parish. Both were residents of that parish at the time of their marriage. 

There is a JOHN LAMERTON  baptised 15th February 1795, according to the  Cornwall Parish Register, and this seems most the most likely contender for the above-mentioned John.  His parents were WILLIAM and JANE LAMERTON (born Garland) and they married in Quethiock in 1784. 

From the My Heritage site details, CATHERINE was born in St Winnow parish, to the parents of JOSEPH (Jo. according to Ancestry.Com records) and ANN ADAMS,  and was baptised on 5 November 1801. 

The most likely parish records for CATHERINE's parents were JOSEPH ADAMS of Lanlivery  marrying ANN CREGOE on 5th June, 1799, in the parish of Gerrans,  which is bewilderingly far from Lanlivery  - a nine hour walk minimum. It seems ANN was a sojourner in the Gerrans Parish - which is odd as there was an ANN CREGO baptised there 25th November, 1770.  Plus an ANN  CREGO died there in 1772, and another in 1796, and another ANN CREGOE married PETER HILL (both of the Gerrans parish) in 1799 also.  Confusing, for sure, but in the absence of any other evidence, I'm going to assume these are CATHERINE's parents. 

Note both JOSEPH and ANN were literate enough to be able to sign their names in the marriage register - which is interesting as REBECCA probably wasn't literate because her daughter GRACE only put a mark on hers. 

CATHERINE's birth date and details did not fit easily with being a sister or daughter of our REBECCA, but I wondered if Catherine's father, JOSEPH ADAMS, could be REBECCA's brother, and our connection was at least another generation back?  (This had been surmised by my USA correspondent, JAMES A, but I needed to find the evidence.) 

Which I have done!

(See previous post for the complete ADAMS family line up.) Joseph Adams, baptised 28 November, 1775, At St Winnow,  was the eighth (recorded) child of THOMAS ADAMS and MARY CHELEY, married at St Winnows in 1763.  REBECCA Adams was THOMAS and MARY's fifth (recorded) child and, therefore, JOSEPH's sister and CATHERINE ADAMS's aunt.  

The connection has been found at St Winnow.

St Winnow

The indisputable confirming evidence (which helps sift out all the non-related Josephs, Rebeccas, Catherines and Thomases) is the DNA connection identified between JAMES A in USA  and me in New Zealand.  Yay for science.  
*Waves to Cousin JAMES A👋👋* across the oceans and generations. Thanks so much for contacting me to consider our connection. I would never have found our REBECCA without your details. 

How  cool that these families  of JOSEPH ADAMS and ANN CREGO can be reconnected after over 250 years. 

I guess this is what you call a family reunion!

The Adams Family Connection, Part 2: In search of Rebecca Adams

This post is as much about the process and detective work of finding out information as it is about the actual facts and information discovered.  Some of the information is repeated from the previous post, as I'm trying to dig a little deeper to find out as much as possible from the few facts I have discovered. Bear with me . . . 

I've been trying to find out a bit more about REBECCA ADAMS and WILLIAM PETHERICK - the most likely source of the PETHERICK in GRACE ADAM's middle name. 

The banns were read in the Trewen Parish three times for WILLIAM and REBECCA's marriage (June 17th, July 1st, July 15th, 1892 - see previous post).  I wonder if church services were being  held fortnightly at this time, otherwise why would there have been a fortnight's gap between each reading?  There is evidence of other fortnightly banns published in the Trewen parish register over the following few years, and  some with a fair gap between the banns and the actual marriage; e.g., the banns were published in the same parish of Trewen for Benjamin Bennet and Grace Bath on October 6th, 20th and November 3rd, 1793, and the marriage (next entry in the register) took place on 14th July 1794. 

Parish Church of Saint Michael in the hamlet of Trewen

The Family Search site records, however, incorrectly indicate that WILLIAM PETHERICK did marry RECBECCA ADAMS on July 15th, 1792,  and an image of the parish register is available * (see previous post for image),  but the 15th July is just the date of the final reading of the banns, not a marriage, and the image is the record of only the banns being called. There are no marriage details. 

The book in the image seems to be both the Trewen banns and marriage register,  and it is clear that there was no marriage  between REBECCA and WILLIAM at a later date as there are no entries to confirm this.  As you can see (if you skim through the book from page to page  on the Family Search site) there is no possibility that the marriage details could have been lost or damaged.  There wasn't that much matrimonial activity in the parish church at Trewen over the decade, it seems, so it is easy to see it's just not there.  It is also unlikely that they shifted parishes to be married, as - remember - baby GRACE ADAMS appeared fairly soon after the last reading of the banns and was baptised in the same parish of Trewen.  Even so, I checked  WILLIAM's parish of Treneglos, and while there were three recorded marriages between June and December, 1792,  there was no record of WILLIAM and REBECCA's.  

A general search of both names in all Cornwall parishes throws up no further evidence of their marriage - at any date.  

Neither is there any evidence of poor WILLIAM expiring between the last calling of the banns  and the birth of GRACE.   There are several William Pethericks in the neighbouring parishes  who could fit in the likely timeframe of age and location, and I've tried tracking their marriages and deaths to eliminate any obvious non-contenders, but it is probably impossible to be sure of which - if any - is GRACE's father - and, therefore, our ancestor as well. Maybe he did a runner . . . Maybe someone didn't forever hold their peace and gave a good reason why William and Rebecca shouldn't marry? 

Interestingly, although there is no mention of any father's details in the baptism register*, GRACE is not identified as illegitimate.  Although, I wonder if PETHERICK is actually intended to be GRACE's surname rather than her middle name.  I wonder if there was an expectation that the marriage would go ahead,  and GRACE would very soon be a legitimate PETHERICK. Whatever the reason - and GRACE herself may never have been aware that it was the name on her baptism registration - PETHERICK did not appear in the record of GRACE's  marriage to JAMES HARRIS. 

As you can see from the 1792 calendar,  if the banns were read fortnightly (with the final one being July 15 ),  on that basis, the next services would have been Sunday 29th July,  and Sunday 12th August - the date of GRACE's actual baptism.  There's nothing to say that GRACE wasn't born during the period of the banns being called; however, it is also feasible that she could have been born in late July  to early August, and that Sunday 12th was the the date of the next available church service - and, therefore, her baptism. 

In the small parish of Trewen, REBECCA and WILLIAM and their circumstances would have been known by most people, so there would most likely  be an expectation that a marriage would be the obvious consequence of a pregnancy, and there was no doubt over the paternity of the child. Presumably. So, what happened? 

Illegitimacy in England was not particularly common, but rose from about 3% in 1750 to about 7% by 1840 (when about one third of the women were pregnant at marriage). Records of baptisms of illegitimate children are usually found in parish registers, with  fathers' names occasionally recorded - or they can be surmised when records of a subsequent marriage appear soon after.  Labels such as base born,  bastard   and even "merrily begotten" could be added in place of the father's name - often depending on the  whim or moral judgment of the clerk recording the details.  Before 1834, it was the responsibility of the parish to pay for the upkeep of its  illegitimate children, and the authorities would certainly do their best to establish the identity of the father so that he could be charged with paying for the maintenance of the said child.  Parishes were unwilling to maintain those from outside the parish,and they were often moved on,  but in our case, REBECCA was of the Trewen parish. There does not seem to be any (accessible?) record of any bastardy bonds under either name, so what happened to WILLIAM still remains a mystery. And how did she support herself and baby GRACE?   REBECCA must have ben illiterate, as daughter GRACE must also have been to have signed her marriage registration with a X.  Therefore, it can safely be assumed that they were not wealthy. 

So, back to finding more about REBECCA. Working on a process of elimination, I discovered a few possible candidates. I'm including their details in case you, dear reader, do any research on REBECCA, and I hope this may save you some time and tears. 

(1) 
Rebecca Adams, born Luxulyan, 5 April, 1779, to John and Mary Adams. 
Rebecca Adams, died Luxulyan, 17 October, 1779  (no further details - feasibly the same Rebecca?) 
Rebecca Adams, married Lanlivery, 12 December 1800, to William Littleton (and died 1810). I found the marriage information in an online family tree which gave this Rebecca's birth details as 5 April 1779, Luxulyan, which is less than an hour's walk from Lanlivery and is the adjacent parish. Assuming the family tree is correct, then the Rebecca that died in 1779 is not the one born in 1779. Or this family tree made a mistake with the baptism details.  Either way, this is clearly not our Rebecca.  

(2)
Rebecca Adams, born 22 July 1770, St Mellion, (about 5 hours' walk  from Trewen) to John and Grace (Ooooh, mother called Grace is a hopeful sign!) On further investigation,  
the only marriage of a John Adams and Grace that I can find in an acceptable  time frame and location is at Altarnun Parish  (about a 6 hour walk from St Mellion) on January 9th, 1749. On the Family Search site, this throws up a family tree for John and Grace. *

 It's quite comprehensive, and (from Cornwall Parish Records) has John baptised in St Mellion in 1729, and Grace Herring (Haring elsewhere) baptised at Altarnun in 1727 or 1728.  

There are baptism records of the following children to John and Grace Adams, in the parishes of St Mellion and Pillaton (a 45 minute walk between): 

1750 (7th December) - Mary Adams (parents' residence given as Pentillie Quay), St Mellion 

1752 (26th July) - Grace Adams (parents' residence given as Pentillie Quay), St Mellion, 

1755 (2nd May) - Elizabeth Adams, St Mellion

1761 (19th Feb) - Catherine Adams, St Mellion, 

1763 (3 January) - Jane Adams¹, St Mellion 

1766 (21 February) - Susanna Adams, Pillaton

1770 (22 July) - Rebecca Adams - St Mellion  

This could be our Rebecca - it would make her 22 at the birth of Grace, but I need more evidence. Both Mary and Susanna (likely to be from the above family) produced children with no baptism records of a father:  Mary,  at age 25, with daughter Elizabeth,  in 1775 (Pillarton Parish),  and Susanna, at age 27, with son Peter Jope (Adams) in 1793 (identified as base child) in the  approximate 45 minute walk away parish of St Dominick. It seems Susanna eventually married the father. . .Peter Jope, and went on to produce at least 15 further children, including one set of twins and two Richards.  It's not inconceivable (couldn't resist that) that our REBECCA could be in this family, as  there seems to be a bit of a pattern of daughters being "no better than they ought". Susanna, signed her marriage register with a X which seems to fit the illiterate nature of this side of our Cornish ancestors at the time. 

Just when I thought I'd run out of other possibilities, I located another Rebekah Adams in St Winnow. 

(3) Rebekah Adams, born St Winnow c. 1771, which would give her an age of about 21 at the time of GRACE"s birth. Family Search * give the details of Rebekah Adams baptised 1st January, 1771, at the parish of St Winnow, with only the father's name (Thomas) given. 

There is a Thomas Adams who married Mary Cheley in the parish of St Winnow in 1763, (Cornwall Parish Records) and this looks like a probable contender for Rebecca's mother. He - or the parish clerk - doesn't seem overly inclined  to include the mother's name, as there clearly was one. 

Further research on this Adams family reveals the baptism dates of the family of Thomas and Mary Adams of St Winnow. Note - Online Cornwall Parish registers don't appear to have these details yet, but they can be found on Family Search.

1764 (6 March) Charity Adams, daughter of Tho. and Mary

1765 (26 November) Catherine Adams, daughter of Thomas and Mary
1767 (10 February) Mary, daughter of Tho. and Mary  

1768 (26 December) unnamed child of Thomas Jnr Adams died. 

1769 (5 January) unnamed child of Thomas Jnr Adams died 

1769 (4 April) Thomas Adams, son of Thomas (note: no mention of mother from here on.)

1771 (1 January) Rebekah Adams, daughter of Thomas Adams 

1772 (29 September) Catherine Adams, daughter of Thomas(note: second Catherine)
1774 (4 April) Henry Adams, son of Thomas Adams 
1775 (28 November) Joseph Adams, son of Thomas Adams 
1778 (7 April) John Adams, son of Thomas Adams 
1779 (30 August) Mary Adams, daughter of Thomas Adams 

Interesting to note that the mother (Mary) is included in the parents' details up to 1767, but only Thomas is attributed with the parenthood for the  rest.  So many pregnancies for poor Mary and she doesn't even get recognised in the register. It's probably more to do with the parish clerk or writer of the records than Thomas's information, but it would be interesting to see the original documents when they eventually come on line, just to  see if there was a change of writer.   Note also, the burials of the two unnamed children were fairly close together - less than two weeks - and the fact that there are two further children named Catherine and Mary strongly suggests that the deaths were of their two youngest children at that time: Catherine and Mary.  It can be surmised that their deaths were connected and may have been something contagious - or mid-winter related.  Note also that Thomas is identified as Thomas Jnr. I wonder if his father was Thomas Senior and was still in the district? 

4. There is a (most likely our) REBECCA ADAMS whose banns were published in Trewen Parish in late 1799 / early 1800 (see previous post) to ROBERT HANCOCK - possibly the father of REBECCA's short-lived baby ANN in October 1800 -  but there is no further confirmed  information to be found for either. 

5. There is a photo image of a marriage *licence between PETER DARTON of St Stephens by Saltash and REBECCA ADAMS, (sojourner) in the same parish in 1805, but again - no  further information.  If this is our REBECCA, by a long shot, she certainly would have been a bit of a recidivist fiancee.. . 

I've tried to find connections  and confirmations through sister Lynn's Ancestry.com DNA matches and my My Heritage DNA matches, but while there are plenty of leads to Cornwall and the same family names and parishes, there has been no Eureka! moments yet. Funnily enough, I've found  DNA matches who have connections to the Littleton family name  of the not-our-Rebecca in Lanlivery - but I can't find a common name yet.  

So, although I am no closer to finding out who our REBECCA ADAMS was,  I know who she definitely wasn't and who she might possibly  be. Which is a bit closer than I was this time last week. And I'm certainly getting to know my way round the parishes and local family names. 

Next blog post  - the search continues . . . 

 🔍🔍🔍🔍 🔎🔎🔎🔎

* You will need a (free) Family Search account to access this information. 

¹ Note that there are two separate entries for  the baptism of Jane Adams  of St Mellion (John and Grace's daughter) in the Cornwall Parish records - one is for her baptism on 3 January, 1763, as a son! The other is for Jane Adams (John and Grace's daughter) born 3 June, 1763, as a daughter.  I feel this is a transcribing issue as these seem to have been transcribed twice by two separate people. As you can see from all these daughters, it may have been a bit of wishful thinking on the parents' behalf!

Map of Cornwall parishes

The Adams Family Connection: Grace Harris - born Adams (1792 - 1862)

I recently received a message from a  DNA match (My Heritage) who surmised I  was probably connected  to him through the ADAMS name, as that name appeared in each of our family trees.  It's a fairly common name, so it could be a coincidence; however, it was worth investigating.  

Our nearest ADAMS is the mother of our founding NZ HARRIS ancestor WILLIAM HARRIS (1823 - 1899) who, with his wife MARY HEARD (1825 - 1888), arrived here from Cornwall in 1857.

WILLIAM's parents were JAMES HODGE HARRIS (1789 - 1865) and GRACE ADAMS (1792 - 1862).  (Note that both William's parents were still living when he left for New Zealand.) I'm not sure where the HODGE comes from - an area for further research. 

According to their marriage certificate  (see below) JAMES  was from the St Juliot Parish and  Grace was a sojourner of that parish.  A sojourner  means someone who is a temporary resident, but in parish register context it has more precise meaning. 

The Hardwicke Act (introduced in 1754) required  all marriages to take place in a licensed parish church in the parish of the participating parties.  Also, from 1754, a pre-printed marriage register was used, as per image below, with spaces for required information so that the records became more consistent and uniform.  

Banns (notices of intention to marry) were read publicly on three separate Sundays prior to the wedding so that those wishing to object had the opportunity.  Objectors would most likely be parents of minors (under the age of 21) or previous spouses of either party.  

To be considered "of this parish" a party had to be resident there for more than three weeks.  Banns could be avoided by obtaining a special licence to marry in a parish outside that of the bride or groom's usual residence, although it was still possible for someone to call an objection at the beginning of the service. Even so, taking up residence in lodgings to avoid the necessity for banns fees  was frowned upon,  and the word “sojourner” was added to the entry to indicate that they had met the letter of the law but didn't really belong.

Apart from employment, other reasons for being a sojourner could be a deliberate attempt to avoid publicity of an impending marriage - including  the likelihood of parental or community disapproval, or disclosure of information likely to embarrass either party or cause them to reneg on the arrangement, or a pre-nuptual pregnancy wanted to be kept discreet.  And sometimes, if the parties resided in two separate parishes, one moved the the parish of the other for the three weeks prior to the wedding to save the doubling of fees for the banns to be read in both home parishes.  

It seems, however, that JAMES and GRACE's wedding banns were announced - according to the register. There is no other known record of them being announced , although these were often recorded separately and may not have been transcribed yet - I can find no record of any banns for anyone from the parish of St Juliot, let alone our JAMES and GRACE.  

Parental consent was not required, as JAMES was approximately 29 and GRACE was approximately 26.  

Parish Church at St Juliot 

Note that both JAMES and GRACE were illiterate and could only sign the register with a cross.  Quite amazing when you consider the academic achievements of their descendants! 

Who else was at the wedding?
The officiating minister  was a curate called WILLIAM PITT BRAY   On my brief research, there appears to have been at least two reverends called William Pitt Bray, as  dates for births and deaths don't quite line up with his location at the wedding ceremony; however, I'm fairly certain that this WILLIAM PITT BRAY was born 1769 in St Teath and died 1846, at Lesnewth, aged 75.  He married MARGARET PARSONS.  He is buried in Altarnun Churchyard. There is many a witness  called WILLIAM BRAY to other local weddings, and although there is more than one William Bray,  it is entirely feasable that he was on hand to witness many a wedding. 

Interestingly, at  the marriage of JAMES HARRIS's parents (WILLIAM HARRIS and ELIZABETH TENNEY) in 1776 at nearby St Gennys, one of the witnesses was called WILLIAM BRAY - possibly the father of the above-mentioned WILLIAM PITT BRAY? 

Witness 1  was ARTHUR JEWELL  who would have been about 51 years old at the time. He was likely to have been born in the nearby parish of Whitstone, in 1767.  In 1795, he was living at Treneglos and married (at age 28)  Ann Trewyn from Lesnewth.  He died, aged 67, in 1834 at his residence  at Tresparret, in the parish of St Juliot. He was able to write his own name in the register. 

Witness 2 was JOSEPH KEELS, was likely to have been JOSEPH KIELES, born in the nearby  parish of Minster, 1773 (and aged about 45 at the time of the wedding), or JOSEPH KEILES, also born in the parish of Minster, in 1775 (and aged about 43 at the time of the wedding). Joseph must have been on hand at the parish church as a witness quite regularly as he occurs three times on the six entries in the two-page spread of the register photo. He is able to write his own name. 

JEWELL and KEELS (and all their variants) were both common names in this area at this time. 

Finding out more about GRACE . . . 
I wonder why she was a sojourner in the parish of St Juliot? 

It was difficult finding  information on GRACE ADAMS - there are a few of them, of course, and who's to say which one could be ours; however, her death information (11 November, 1862, as GRACE HARRIS ) gives her age at 71,  which takes her birth year to 1791-1792. 

This narrowed it down to one . . . So, looking at the births of 1790 - 1795  there was only one GRACE ADAMS, who was born in Trewen, a feasibly close parish to St Juliot. GRACE PETHERICK ADAMS was baptised on 12th August, 1792, in the parish of Trewen.  

I then found both JAMES and GRACE HARRIS in the 1861 Census*  - one year before Grace's death.  This was a huge help in confirming her birth details.   In 1861, JAMES and GRACE were living in Marshgate, in the parish of St Juliott (sic). JAMES' age was given as 72, his parish of birth was given as St Ginnis (sic)(St Gennys),  and his occupation was a highway labourer (at 72 years old! No pensions, of course.) GRACE's age was given as 70, and her occupation was a highway labourer's wife, and her parish of birth was given as Trewen.  Her given age and her parish of birth tee up very nicely with the birth records above.  

The PETHERICK is interesting and could possibly give a clue  to other family connections.  It is not an uncommon name locally. The only other details given is that her mother's name was REBECCA - presumably ADAMS.  But ... no father's name?    Could this mean she was illegitimate? Could this be why she was  a sojourner in another parish for her marriage?   

After much futile searching of the Cornish parish records, I had a lucky breakthrough on the Family Search website - finding the banns for the marriage of REBECCA ADAMS and WILLIAM PETHERICK - and there's the connection! 

The banns of the marriage between WILLIAM PETHERICK  of the parish of Treneglos, and REBECCA ADAMS, of this parish (Trewen) were published on the Sundays of  June 17th,  July 1 and July 15th 1792. (Note  that these were  announced over three fortnights rather than three weeks).  We can therefore assume that GRACE PETHERICK ADAMS was WILLIAM PETHERICK's daughter. 

Now, given that REBECCA and WILLIAM's daughter GRACE  was baptised on 12th August 1792, (do the maths),  I'm wondering if the wedding actually took place, as I have yet to find any record of it. 

 -  If baby GRACE  ADAMS is baptised under her mother's name only, had REBECCA  and WILLIAM actually married in time? 

 - And if they did, why did GRACE use ADAMS as a surname in her marriage details (and not include the PETHERICK middle name)?

And just when I thought I'd found out everything I could . . . I found another child born to REBECCA ADAMS. 

I 

ANN ADAMS, daughter of REBECCA ADAMS, was born October 5th, 1800, in the parish of Trewen - which strongly suggests that this is the child of our REBECCA ADAMS, and is GRACE ADAMS's sister.

Spurred on by this exciting discovery, I went in search of what happened to ANN ADAMS. 

It didn't take long to find out.  It seems that baby ANN died  within a day of being born as she was buried two days later on the 7th October. 

How amazing that the death of a baby 218 years ago -  and who I've only known about for ten minutes - could leave me feeling so sad. I wonder how long it's been since anyone has known or thought about baby ANN.  

But it also raises further questions: Note the absence of a father's name, and note, also, the complete absence of reference to WILLIAM PETHERICK.  Curiouser and curiouser. So who was ANN's father, I wonder? 

Further research turned up this : the banns  between ROBERT HANCOCK and REBECCA ADAMS published several Sundays by FRANCIS BEDFORD . (See below) Note this appears to be the same FRANCIS BEDFORD who recorded REBECCA' s first banns to WILLIAM PETHERICK, ANN's baptism, and the banns between ROBERT HANCOCK and REBECCA. 

There is no date for the banns for REBECCA and ROBERT, although we can estimate it was between the 5th June 1799 (from the last banns on the previous page of the register) and February  - March 1800 (from the dates of the next couples'  entry in the register). It's probable that baby ANN arrived within the respectable time of a 1799 or January 1800 marriage, although she's still registered under the surname ADAMS.  No mention of ROBERT - and no evidence yet of any marriage. A second non-marriage for REBECCA? 

Could someone, perhaps, have objected to the wedding? 

And, I can find no other mention of ROBERT HANCOCK,  REBECCA - including their deaths or burial -  or any further children they may have had. 

It has been compellingly interesting researching GRACE and REBECCA,  and I fell upon every new shred of evidence with the feeling of finding a long-lost relative - which, I guess, I was! My research asks as many questions as it answers, and I will continue to look for further details and to find out more about their lives in the context of the history of Cornwall. I'm certainly finding my way around the local parishes! 

There must be hundreds - if not more - of REBECCA  and GRACE's descendants. I wonder if anyone of them have found the same information that I have, or if they've got more details.  I'd love to hear from you! 

Meanwhile, I'll add more as I find it. 

Summary: 

William PETHERICK - Rebecca ADAMS 

↓

 Grace ADAMS 

married James HARRIS

↓

William HARRIS  

married Mary HEARD

↓

Richard HARRIS  

married Annie LEATHART 

↓ 

Gertie HARRIS  

married HJA (Jim ) NAYSMITH 

↓

JH (Harris) NAYSMITH  

married TE (Elaine)BARKER 

↓

My generation 

Note: This is a direct line of ancestry and does not include siblings of any generation. 

*1861 Census details: Class: RG 9; Piece: 1515; Folio: 50; Page: 4; GSU roll: 542824

Link to page via Ancestry.com