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