Symes

[pyromancer]

Hello.....complete novice at this, so apologies if I'm in the wrong section.

Need some help.  Have managed to trace family back to 1760 and have hit a brick wall....! 

Am trying to find parents of John Symes (Marriage to Elizabeth Pitman 1670)......and any help gratefully received.

Thanks 

[Alexander.]

Hi pyromancer,

Welcome to RootsChat! 

For starters, it would be helpful to know what place these people were from - where was the marriage? I see a marriage between John Symes and Elizabeth Pitman in 1756 in Dorset. You mention 1760 and then 1670 - is that a typo?

Alexander

[Wiggy]

Hello Pyromancer and welcome to Rootschat.    

I hope you will find lots of help here - there are lots of very friendly, helpful people.

Just checking - I presume you mean 1760 for the marriage.  

Can you give an area/district  to search in?  County?   town??  Any other family members you already know.  Their children if you have them?

Snap Alexander

Wiggy

[pyromancer]

  oops - told you I was new at this...! - (Also blaming many hours of trawling through names, dates and birth places for my addled state)

John Symes and Elizabeth Pitman married 20 October 1756 in Powerstock, Dorset.  I have been able to trace the family back to then but can't get any further. 

I have no idea when John Symes was born, it could be any time between 1725-1738 (and this is just a guess), have no names of siblings and without a parents name or birth place listed anywhere, I'm not sure how to proceed. 

Was (optimistically) hoping that someone would recognise the names and steer me in the right direction.

Thanks   

[Wiggy]

Just repeating to you the questions people ask me when I ask for help 

. . . . . but if you have the family back this far, do you have children's names?   They often give a clue to parents names.

Wiggy     

 

[Wiggy]

in the Dorset registers there are several John Symes/Sims/Symmes showing for towns very close to Powerstock

- born in the correct time frame - so children's names might assist!   

Wiggy

[Wiggy]

Witnesses at the marriage mentioned by Alexander  - in 1756 - are Samuel and Henry Hine. 

I wonder if that surname means anything to you.


Wiggy

[B.E.]

There's a John SIMS b.1731 in Portisham (now Portesham) which is with walking distance of Poorstock (Powerstock) if you're in love!

I don't think it's unreasonable for SIMS to mutate to SYMES over then years. There's no marriage for John S*M*S in Portesham until 1777, but there's a John SYMES "killed by a plough" in 1748, which might unfortunately rule him out.

Unfortunately this is a pretty common name in West Dorset, so life might be a bit tricky! It seems there were several Symes-ish families in Portesham in the mid-eighteenth century.

[Wiggy]

There is another John Symes showing in Bridport - an even shorter walk for someone in love!!   
22 March 1726    parents Samuel and Joanna  and the record is also noted that they were dissenters!

In Abbotsbury in 1735  - not too far

1729 also in Portesham

In fact I found 6 within walking distance      

 1726.  parents as above

' 29, parents   Isaac  and Mary  Syms
   
 '30,  parents William and Sarah  Syms

 '31,  parents William and Mary Sims

 '35  parents Robert and Lydia Sims

 '37.   parents   Richard and Sarah Symmes

All have parish records to support them.

There is also one supposedly in Powerstock in 1731 - but no record showing to confirm this submitted entry.   This one shows as marrying Elizabeth Pitman also born supposedly Powerstock - no record showing to back this one either.  But the marriage is recorded.

Wiggy       




 - but if you could give some children's names it might help fix the family