Perry Indenture

[miggs 191]

Hi,
I have inherited some research from 1946 to the present day. The days of evidence obtained by visiting the records offices and churches etc. I have been helping over the past ten years so have got some idea of what I am doing.

I have found a reference to "intermarriage".Does that just mean marrying ?

She was my great grandmother and in her early life had a daughter that she kept until the child was about fourteen. I have the birth cert and the mother's name is partly changed .She names herself Parker and the fathers name James William Parker. In the indenture he is James William Perry and she is Mary Sarah Sissons Parker (formerly Percy).This is from around the 1871 census when the whole family can not be found any where else in the country.They appear to have changed their name probably because of the baby who may be illegitimate.I can find no record of a marriage.Also,in varying indentures she refers to herself as a spinster and a widow .She has two half sisters and she also refers to the fact that she is the only true child of John Perry.

How easy was it to give false information during the 1860s and 70s? How easy was it to change your name on census records ? She was the only surviving Perry through three or four generations and so was to inherit the money and lands of William Clare The Coroner of Devizes.She inherited.

They appear to always use the same solicitor.Could the solicitor be complacent in the declarations ?
They must have known she could not be a spinster and a widow !

Any hints or ideas gratefully accepted !

My thoughts without proof are that she had a liaison with a cousin ,the baby Lilian was born,they moved away to avoid the shame and when the child went to a residential school they moved back to Devizes.

[CaroleW]

"intermarriage".Does that just mean marrying ?

No quite - it can mean a marriage between close relatives or it can also mean a marriage between people of a different race or religion

[miggs 191]

Thank you CarolW,

So if an indenture said"widow of the one part ".
Then "15th October 1865 she intermarried with James William Perry who died in the year1868"
Her name was Perry. It sounds as if she was married ? We know there was a daughter whom we thought was illegitimate.In the 1871 census the whole family are no where to be found.I have searched the country.It took months ! I then find a family with some of the correct christian names but all the places of births and ages are accurate.I take a risk and send for the granddaughter's birth cert.Up it comes with the name Mary Sarah Sissons Parker and James William Parker the supposed father. I can not find a marriage ! Its the Sissons bit that gives it away.On the birth cert Parker and Perry are also partly recorded and crossed out.Looks as if they were all going under an assumed name .Why ? So now I wonder if Mary married her cousin James William Perry and why would they want to keep it a secret. It is made worse by the fact that later she calls herself a spinster !
I have inherited mounds of research going back to 1946 ,a lot which is probably irreplaceable today. But this bit was the part I was working on with my Aunt of 104 who has sadly just died.

So, challenge  to find if Mary Sarah Sissons Perry married James William Perry and if not who is he?
Later,when she married John Biggs Banks she calls herself a spinster. Why did she lie ?
The whole thing revolves around inheritance so I think I have answered my own question !

Thank you for taking the time to read this.All suggestions gratefully received !           

[CaroleW]

Hi

It may be better if you gave us some specific details about them so we can get a better picture and hopefully come up with an answer for you.

What was the birth surname of Mary Sarah - where and when was she born?

Who were her parents?

"15th October 1865 she intermarried with James William Perry who died in the year1868"

Firstly - there is no marriage in the December qtr 1865 for a James William Perry although there are several for just James.  None are to a "Mary Sarah"

There is no 1868 death for a James William Perry

If this info is from the notes - is there a marriage cert or death cert to support it?

I take a risk and send for the granddaughter's birth cert.Up it comes with the name Mary Sarah Sissons Parker and James William Parker

Whose birth cert was this (full name) and what was the date and place of birth?

Is Mary Sarah shown as nee Sissons or nee anything?  It is usual on a birth cert to show the mothers maiden name if the couple are married

[miggs 191]

Thank You !   
 I have posted lots on Roots Chat over the last couple of years.

She was Mary Sarah Sissons Perry Father John of The Pelican and at the time of her birth running a grocer's business in Devizes and Mother Louisa Elizabeth Maslen giving place of birth as Covent Garden.John and Louisa were married in Devizes at St John's. Mary was born in 1848 in Devizes.Her father took off to London and acquired a second 'wife' and had two more children. This woman was Matilda Imison much his junior ! Later all the children and both women appear to live together in Potterne Wiltshire !
There is much documentation as a large amount of money (property and shares) was left to the Perry family of Devizes. It appears that Mary's Father John Perry was determined to get his inheritance and there are many solicitors legal documents swearing to this that and the other with many contradictions. The family can be tracked through the census records from 1841 to 1911 but 1871 is missing.This is where it appears that the child we thought illegitimate turns up.She can also be tracked through the census records and her marriage and death.

Why would the family move to Watlington where the child Lilian was born 9/9/1866?

Why does the birth cert say James William Parker father ?

Why does the mother's name say Mary Sarah Sissons Parker formerly Perry (crossed out) and Percy written in (incidentally Percy is the name on the 1871 census !)

And then why does the indenture say she intermarried James William Perry 15/10/1865 ? and then Mary Sarah Sissons Perry declares she is a widow.

It's the same solicitor !!!!!

Can't they see something is not right ?

It appears that the father is trying to get the inheritance for his first legitimate daughter,Mary Sarah Sissons Perry who much later marries John Biggs Banks legally,I hope!!!

Thank you for reading this.I have tried to give as many facts as I can but it is such a tangled web probably of lies!

Just to make it even worse a brother to Mary Sarah Sissons Perry pops up ! Named William Neate Perry Neate ! Found him in Somerset but apart from the solicitors legal documents I can't find how he is a brother!

And to top it all Mary Sarah Sissons Perry Inherits because another cousin jumped ship off the coast of Natal and is declared dead (I have the documents) presumed eaten by sharks !!!

You couldn't make it up if you tried ! And of course by 1895 all the property ,shares and money had gone.

PS We know Lilian the illegitimate daughter is correct as she is registered as L.C . The C stands for Clare the surname of the coroner of Devizes who left them the money in the first place.


Many thanks for reading this.I do know it rambles on but don't know how else to explain it. The above questions are the bits I would like an answer to but I have a feeling even the solicitors were lying .

[CaroleW]

Why does the birth cert say James William Parker father ?

Who reported the birth - Mary or somebody else?

Presumably the registrar accepted whatever details were given when the birth was registered.

[miggs 191]

Hi Carol,
Yes , Mary the mother reported the birth.

My suspicion is that her father ,John Perry,was with her and it was he who "pulled the strings" so to speak.
Legal documents show that the child was cared for by the family but when Mary married she gave her £300.It is at this point that contact appears to be lost. The child Lilian marries in Reading and moves to Hampshire where she died around 1930.

It is very sad because John's illegitimate children are still living with their half sister in 1901 census.

I suppose that I have to be satisfied with the paper research and to come to terms with the obvious fact that I will never know why.
 I have the copy of the indenture sitting in front of me so shall go back and reread it for the third time.I shall try and find James William Perry. I know the perry's intermarried cousin to cousin so should be able to work it out. Also think a trip to the Chippenham records office may be of use as there are piles of documents relating to this case there and I know my Aunt of 104 would not have them all copied as she thought it a waste of money ! You never know what could be there!

Thank you for your support.
I am like a dog with a bone !