Shepton Mallett and the Jarvis Family 'old research'

[familysleuth]

I have a puzzle here which concerns 'old research'. The particular person I am researching is Thomas Jarvis, who (according to the 1851 census) was born in Shepton Mallet. A great deal of research has been done on this Jarvis family, generated by the subsequent family of one of Thomas's sons, George Jarvis who was an early Mormon convert and travelled to Utah. Where his father came from is also said to be the recollection of George Jarvis himself. Thomas Jarvis subsequently settled in Harlow, and married Elizabeth Billings (no date for this).

Currently I have a fascinating Familysearch film out, the 'Pearl Jarvis Augustus Collection'. This is my 2nd time borrowing the film, because it is so large, and not indexed, but separated into sections which correspond to the paperwork generated by various researchers from the 1950's onward.

Despite careful reading (and I am still doing this, I have the film for a few more weeks) I have found no 'records' - that is no copy, or actual reference to the parish record which was sighted - to a baptism for Thomas Jarvis which is supposed to have taken place in Shepton Mallett, apparently the Parish Church of St Peter and St Paul. Thomas's birth is quoted as the 29th May 1789. His parents were apparently John Jervis (Jarvis) and Elizabeth Sarah Payne.

Some siblings of Thomas are quoted in the original research by Margaret Overton, who wrote a book called the 'George Jarvis and Joseph George De Friez genealogy'. But I can't find most of them either - the only Jarvis child which matches is Martha, baptised 27 August 1788 from freeReg. there are no records available for the time on familysearch.

So - the question is- where did this date for a baptism for Thomas Jervis (Jarvis) come from? It is possible that it was a non-conformist Church, but alas, I can't find records for them either.

Family research is a fluid thing, and some of the original research of Margaret Overton has been amended over time. Unfortunately the research outcomes over some 50 years exist side by side, making it ...... VERY difficult to untangle. I'm looking for actual records. (My direct ancestor is one of Thomas Jarvis's sons, Mark Jarvis and I have a just about everything I can get on him!).

Is there anyone who has researched Shepton Mallet and has extra information about baptisms for the period prior to 1800? I would be very grateful for any direction on this!

[KGarrad]

FreeReg say they have Shepton Mallet, St Peter & St Paul, registers from 1635-1901?

Have you tried looking there?


See here for coverage - and scroll down for Shepton Mallet:
http://www.freereg.org.uk/parishes/som/s.shtml#

Finally,be aware that the baptism may have taken place NEAR Shepton Mallet? I have ancestors baptised in Evercreech, who consistently state their birthplace as Shepton Mallet?!

[familysleuth]

Yes, I did look; and found one baptism which in date, is consistent with one of the siblings of Thomas - apparently his sister Martha. However I did not find others which would belong to that family. I am in the process of looking at the surrounding villages and towns. nothing has come up so far though....thanks for your reply! I have just emailed another researcher of the Jarvis family, hoping that they may be able to clarify where the dates for Thomas and his siblings came from.

[warncoort]

Have you contacted Somerset OPC?They have a clerk for Shepton Mallett.

[Jo Harding]

Hello familysleuth,

Have you anything else about Thomas Jarvis which confirms his year of birth as c1789? Is he shown on census returns, or does his marriage and/or burial support a date of birth c1789?

There is a search facility on the Somerset OPC site:

http://wsom-opc.org.uk/

The baptisms on Freereg show that a John and Elizabeth Jarvis/Jarves baptised children in Doulting in 1776 to 1787. Doulting is close to Shepton Mallet, about 3-4 miles at the most.

21/07/1776, John, son of John and Sarah Jarvis.
26/02/1778, Elizabeth, daughter of John and Sarah Jarvis.
10/10/1779, David, son of John and Sarah Jarvis.
08/02/1781, Sarah, daughter of John and Sarah Jarvis.
29/02/1784 William, son of John and Sarah JARVES.
14/01/1787 Martha, daughter of John and Elizabeth Jarves

There is a burial of Martha Jarvis in Shepton Mallet on 26/05/1787. She is shown as aged 6 months.
Another burial in Shepton Mallet for Betty Jervis in 28/05/1788. She is shown as aged 10.

These tend to link the baptisms in Doulting with the family in Shepton Mallet.

There is a marriage of John Jarvis to Sarah Pierce in Binegar in 01/01/1770. Both shown as OTP and By Banns.

Did Sarah die and John remarry? No trace of a burial for Sarah, or subsequent remarriage unfortunately.

It doesn't help you find Thomas Jarvis but may give some clues as to his family line.

Jo.

[familysleuth]

Hi Jo, it is very kind of you to reply to me. Apparently the only record for John Jarvis which exists is a Mormon Church record set down in 1877, which was the recollection of George Jarvis of his father's birth date, and, presumably, his father's siblings. Thomas himself consistently placed his birthplace in the 1851 and 1861 censuses as Shepton Mallett, so in the absence of any other information refuting it, it seems reasonable that he was indeed born there, or near there. My scanning of the film got to a point last saturday where I was able to find a few key letters, the results of professional research in the 1970's, and the Doulting births are indeed, some of the family of John Jarvis and his wife Elizabeth, John having previously been married to a woman called Sarah, who died in childbirth. So the search goes on - no baptism has been found for Thomas, and the researcher in the 1970's concluded that his father John (an Innkeeper, and a rather restless man and possibly one who quarrelled with others) refused on principle to have him baptised. This could be true, but it appears the baptismal entries are sketchy, with large gaps where no-one died or was born (which is unlikely) so the clerk may not have been rigorous in recording data. I know that there is more contemporary research going on, and I am hoping to hook up with one of the people who is re-examining the Jarvis ancestry. It would be excellent to feel more confident about dates and places!

[Jo Harding]

It is an unfortunate fact that the parish registers for the Somerset villages and towns in that area are incomplete, some worse than others. Not only did some records not survive but in those days, the tendency was for the vicar to put the details of baptism, marriage etc on a slip of paper which went in his pocket. Should this have been mislaid, then the entry in the registers couldn't succeed.

There were many non conformist chapels and churches in Shepton Mallet then so it is possible that Thomas was baptised in one of these. This site gives an outline of the ones that were there then:

http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/ian.sage/PR/pr_index_pt.html#S

http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/ian.sage/PR/pr_index.html

My view is that it is more likely Thomas wasn't baptised for reasons you have given, or that the entry in the PRs did not survive if it was made in the first place.

Do you know anything about the inn John Jarvis kept in Doulting, or Shepton Mallet? There are excellent local history books on both places which may yield more information on the family. Let me know if you want me to post details.

Jo.

[familysleuth]

Thankyou again Jo. I may take you up on that information about the inns - I am attaching a portion of the results from a professional research in 1979 - the genealogist has some interesting speculations, but stops short of naming inns that John may have owned. Perhaps  can find more out about this time in his life. Best Wishes!

[Jo Harding]

There haven't been many inns in the Doulting area as far as I am aware. There is The Poacher's Pocket: http://poacherspocketchelynch.co.uk/ This is at Chelynch, part of Doulting but outside the main village. The one I would have suggested is The Knatchbull Arms:

http://www.theknatchbull.co.uk/

There is quite a bit of history written up about Doulting. The church, dedicated to St Aldhelm, is of great interest. It has links to the Paget family who lived at Cranmore Hall close by. There are other features of interest there, including St Aldhelm's Well.

A local historian has written books on the area which contain old photos. There is a book specifically on Doulting by John Seal as well.

http://books.google.co.uk/books/about/Doulting.html?id=IVnIYgEACAAJ&redir_esc=y

I write with some knowledge on the village, having ancestors from there as well.

Jo.