When searching for the parents of someone with a common name, one must work through multiple search returns. One example is the 2x-great-grandfather of my husband, Thomas Davey.
I started with his marriage to Mary Nicholas on 21 May 1832 at St. Agnes in Cornwall, England. This was from an entry in the 1859 published bible owned by Thomas and Mary Davey. His birth was also recorded in the bible as 3 September 1807.[1] There is no mention of his parents.
Two Thomas Daveys
The FamilySearch collection entitled “Birth,
Marriage, & Death, England, Cornwall Parish Registers, 1538-2010” returned
two results for Thomas Davey, baptized in 1807.
Both baptisms occurred after Thomas’ birth in September 1807 so either record could be for him, or neither of them. Let’s analyze them.
Thomas Davey, son of James and Elizabeth (Thomas-1)
The Thomas-1 was baptized on 9 November 1897 in Camborne
Parish, but no birth date is listed. The parents in this record are listed as
James Davey and Elizabeth Davey. There is an image, but it is a derivative baptism
record from Camborne.[2]
Checking the catalog at FamilySearch, only the Bishop Transcripts are available for Camborne for this period. This is clearly where the Devon and Cornwall Record Society got the information for their book.[3] The bishop's transcript is also considered a derivative source as transcription errors could have been introduced.
The only information on both the derivative sources gives the names of Thomas-1 as James and Elizabeth. Elizabeth’s surname is not named.
Thomas, son of John and Elizabeth (Thomas-2)
Thomas-2 was baptized on 27 September in Crowan Parish. This
entry gives the birthdate of 13 September 1807.[4]
This record is an original source and does not name the mother’s surname.
Analysis
So which record is for 2x-great-grandfather, Thomas Davey,
born 3 September 1807? The record for Thomas-2, born on 13 September, cannot be
dismissed. The bible record may be incorrect. We do not know who filled out the
bible. It is likely Thomas or his wife Mary. We do not know who made the
transcript of the bible entries. Thomas Davey’s birthdate of 3 September could
have been mis-transcribed.
Thomas-1, who was baptized on 9 November in Camborne, has no birth date listed. Since we do not have the original baptism record for Thomas-1, we do not know if the transcript was abbreviated and omitted the birthdate. Or if the transcriber made any errors.
The bible record gives no parish birthplace, only a place for the marriage, which was in St. Agnes. Searching in the St. Agnes parish registers, no record for Thomas Davey was found between 1807 and 1808.[5] So, it is possible that one of the Thomas Daveys we have found could be our Thomas Davey.
The locations of St. Agnes, Camborne, and Crowan parishes were located on a map. The map below shows the locations of Camborne and Crowan in relationship to St. Agnes. Neither of them is close. However, there were many mines in this area and many of the men worked in the mines. Thomas was a blacksmith. It is possible that his parents moved from mine to mine when there was work.
The red pin is Crowan
Sometimes marriage records give the names of the groom and bride’s parents. Thomas Davey married Mary Nicholas on 23 May 1832 in St. Agnes Parish. However, no parents' names were listed.[6]
Conclusion
At this point, the names of Thomas Davey’s parents are
unknown. Further research is needed. Perhaps I can locate some of Thomas’
siblings and their records might help me: such as baptism or marriage records. baptism
records. If Thomas Davey was a blacksmith, perhaps his father was, too. Looking for records that might give the occupation of the father of Thomas-1 or Thomas-2 might be helpful.
Through careful analysis of the same-named people, we can avoid getting our family lineage mixed up.
#52Ancestors-Week 35: All Mixed Up
This is my seventh year working on this
year-long prompt, hosted by Amy Johnson Crow (https://www.amyjohnsoncrow.com/) at Generations Cafe.
I write each week in one of my two blogs, either Mam-ma’s Southern Family or My Trails into the Past. I have enjoyed writing about my children’s ancestors in new and exciting ways.
[1] Copy
of the transcript of family information from bible (Moore, Wilstch, Keyes &
Co, Cincinnati, 1859), from George J. Gorrell to author. Thomas and Mary were
great-grandparents of George through father, Joseph Norman Gorrell &
Matilda Davey. Matilda Davey was daughter of Frederick H. Davey & Matilda
Wollenweber. Frederick Davey was youngest child of Thomas and Mary Davey.
[2] “England,
Cornwall Parish Registers, 1538-2010,” FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HY-DCXS-7KP
: accessed 27 Aug 2024) > Cornwall > Camborne > Baptism, marriages,
burials, 1776-1837 > image 55 of 274, Baptism, p. 523, 1807, Camborne, Thomas
Davey; The Register of Marriages, Baptisms & Burials of the Parish of
Camborne Co. Carnwall AD 1538-1837 (The Devon and Cornwall Record Society,
1943).
[3]
Camborne, Cornwall, England, Copy of the Register of Baptisms for the parish of
Camborne from 13 May 1807 to the 25 May 1808, 1807, Thomas Davey, 9 Nov, FamilySearch
(https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QSQ-G93K-JG9M
: accessed 27 Aug 2024), IGN 005749255, image 100 of 214.
[4] “England,
Cornwall Parish Registers, 1538-2010,” FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HT-6QW7-TP6
: accessed 27 Aug 2024) > Cornwall > Crowan > Baptisms, marriages,
burials, 1743-1812 > image 123 of 130, baptism, p. 175, 1807, Thomas Davey;
original records County Museum, Truro, Cornwall, at the Cornwall Record Office..
[5] Cornwall,
England, St. Agnes Parish, baptisms 1807-1808, pp. 138-147, FamilySearch
(https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HT-DYMW-HWQ),
IGN 004279987, item 5, images 98-106.
[6] "England,
Cornwall Parish Registers, 1538-1900," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org : accessed 16 May
2012), Cornwall, St. Agnes, , p 274, Thomas Davey and Mary Nicholas, 23 May
1832; citing Cornwall Church of England, Parish Registers, Cornwall Record
Office, Truro, Cornwall, England, Marriages, 1813-1900.
Followed along on your analysis and without more research there's no way to distinguish between these men of the same name. Within you luck with the siblings!
ReplyDeleteAll those same names definitely make it tough. I'm working through my husband's Woodruff lines (of which he has 3) and every generation had many children with the same repeating names. Some were only a year or two apart in age, so three Samuels born c1715, 1717 and 1719 who lived in the same area present a challenge!
ReplyDelete