Ann Brown

[nancyplum]

Hi, my 3x great grandfather, Joseph Brown, was born circa 1800 in what I assume is Shilvinghampton (2 different spellings in 1851 and 61 census), I haven't found a baptism and for a long time couldn't find his parents. However, one of his daughters is named Elizabeth Symes Brown and I made the assumption that his parents were John Brown and Jane Symes married 1799 in Portesham. For many years that's all the information I had on Joseph before 1841 until last week when I was looking through the non-conformist records on Ancestry. I wasn't searching for the Brown family but there on the page I spotted the Baptism of Joseph Brown Hounsell at Weymouth, his mother being Ann the daughter of John and Jane Brown. This starts me wondering if this could be a sister of my Joseph so I check the 1851 census and find her birthplace is Shilverton. I'm sure this must be the same family, what do you think?
Shirley

[dhhound]

Hi, yes, I think you are right and have also pointed me onto the right track for more research. Given the practice of naming children after grandparents, uncles and aunts that seems to have been prevalent then, I'd bet that JBH was named Joseph after his uncle, making ESB his cousin. 
It looks like an East Shilvinghampton and a West Shilvinghampton can still be found on the maps, just east of the Portesham area, but they look like just one farm and outbuildings in each case.  The OS map mentions 'village earthworks' between the two locations, so presumably that was the old village site.
I'd guess that in the early 19th century it would have been a hamlet in its own right, but had no church. OPC lists it as one of the hamlets in the parish of Portesham.