Lias and Hutchill in Hittisleigh, Devon

[lunarjan]

I am researching the Lias family for a friend, and have come across some anomalies!

William Lias, b 1821 in Hittisleigh, Devon, was a Royal Marine From 1839-1862.

He married Jane Couch in 1844, and in the 1851 census she is living with three daughters in East Stonehouse. William is not listed, so probably away on Military duties.

William seems to be one of 7 children born to Richard Lias and his wife Mary. However, William's baptism record lists his surname as Hutchill, and his parents are also listed as Hutchill in the 1841 census, although by the time of the 1851 census have the surname Lias.

At first I thought I must have muddled up two families, but Hittisleigh is a very small village, and I cannot find enough records to support two different families, it seems to me that for some unknown reason the surname was changed.

I wondered if perhaps Lias had been a maiden name somewhere in the family but no evidence of that as yet.

William's sister Mary (b1834), was Hutchell, in the 1841 census, yet by 1851 she is listed as Mary Ann Hatchel Lias, working as a servant in Throwleigh, Devon, and on her marriage record is Mary Ann Lias. I'm reasonably certain that these records all refer to the same person.

There is a possible older sister, Sarah, (b 1816) whose baptism record lists her as Lias.

Her brother Richard (b 1832), was Hutchell in 1841 and thereafter Lias.

Next brother George (b 1838) was Hutchell in 1841, Lias in 1851 then in 1861 is listed as George L. Hutchill. The "L" possibly stands for Lias?

Then Eli Lias, (b1840),  again Hutchill in 1841 and Lias thereafter. Named as Elias Lias on his burial record.

Elizabeth Lias, (b 1842), appears from the first time in the 1851 census.

I haven't been able to find all the baptism records for these children as yet, but in various records the parents are given as Richard and Mary, Hutchill or Lias.

I have a baptism record for Richard Hutchill, (b 1795) with that surname, parents William Hutchill and Jane. There is a marriage record for Richard Hutchill and Mary Millman in Sept 1816, and the daughter Sarah mentioned above was baptised in November that year, although surname Lias, so may not be their daughter, although her parents are given as Richard and Mary.

I'm feeling very confused! Can anyone throw any light on this family, please?

[lizdb]

MAybe it will become clearer when you home in on the parents, Richard and Mary.

Possible scenarios -
Richard Hutchill died when the children were little and MAry remarried to a Lias, and they took step dads name (some of the time)
Richard Hutchill was himself illegitimate, and alternated between Hutchill and Lias, one being mothers surname and one being fathers. This carried on into the next generation (I have seen this before)
Richard Hutchill didn't marry Mary Millman, but even if he did, he had children with a someone Lias.
Or some other scenario I haven't thought of

[lunarjan]

Thank you lizbd for your suggestions. It is possible that Richard had two wives, or at least two mothers for his children! Thus far I have only found one baptism record for him (as Richard Hutchill), in 1795, haven't found one at all for a Richard Lias, but neither can I find baptism records for most of his children, only William.
Something else has occurred to me-I have a record which states that in 1839 William ran away from his apprenticeship with William Haydon, a Farmer in Hittisleigh. But in that record his surname is Lias. Perhaps he changed it to spare his family, as anyone caught harbouring him would be prosecuted. He must have joined the Marines about then. But why would the rest of his family also change their name to Lias? In 1841 they were still Hutchell, but changed to Lias by 1851.
Quite a mystery!

[ijabz]

I was researching the Hutchill name and found it to be suprisingly rare and most of the records are for Drewsteighton, Cheriton Bishop and Hittsleigh, all three places that are only a few miles from each other in Devon.

Futhermore I found various Hutchill born 1793-1810 on FindMyPast and Ancestry with either their baptism record stating they are children of William Hutchill and Jane, or marriage records with William Hutchill as a witness so I believe them to be siblings and William and Jane their parents

Sarah 1793
Richard 1795
Anne 1804
Jane 1808
John 1810

and most interestingly there is a death record for John Lias Hutchell, 1887, Crediton. Age 80 so my theory is Lias comes from their mother Jane i.e Jane Lias

I cant find a marriage record for William Hutchill or Jane Lias, so perhaps they did not actually marry hence the liberal use of Lias in their descendents.

BTW I plan to add to wikitree when I have done more research, Anne Hutchill is already added please see https://www.wikitree.com/index.php?title=Hutchill-1&public=1
 

[lunarjan]

Thankyou ijabz for your comments.

I do agree that it's very likely that William Hutchell and Jane are the parents of the siblings which you list, and that very possibly Jane's surname is Lias.

A few extra comments on some of the children of Richard Hutchill Lias and Mary:-

Mary Ann Hutchill Lias, b 1834 in Cheriton Bishop. (All the other children were born in Hittisleigh). When she married in 1857 she used the surname Lias.

George Lias Hutchill,  married in 1860 as George Lias Hutchell. In 1861 George and family are recorded with the surname Hutchill, but he marries again in 1870 as Lias. Thereafter stays as Lias.

Elizabeth, b 1842 in Hittisleigh, appears as Hutchell in the 1851 census. In 1861 is married as Hurtzell Lias.

Now back to Richard Hutchill Lias.

In the 1851 census, he and his brother Eli (both recorded as Lias) are working at Whitethorn Farm for William Haydon. This is the farm from whence their brother William ran away in 1839 to join the Marines.

Richard's sibling John Lias Hutchill, b 1810 in Hittisleigh, is found in 1841 as John  Huchell, living at "Beneford", Colebrook, with wife Mary, son James, (Lias Hutchill) and  daughter Jane.
Also living there is a James Lias, b 1810 in Drewsteignton, wife Ann and daughter Mary.

John, Mary, James and Jane are still at "Beneford" in 1851, surname Hutchell.
Also still there are James and family, surname Hutchell. They have two more children, Sarah Jane and James. In 1861 and 1871 they revert to Lias.

It would seem likely that there is some relationship between John Lias Hutchill and James Lias. In 1871, James is now a widower, lodging with Samuel and Ann Lias. Samuel was born about 1812 in Cheriton Bishop.
Could Samuel be a brother of James? I can find no birth or baptism records for either of them.

This has taken hours to compose-my head is spinning! If you'd like a link to my Tree to see the information I've collected, I'd be happy to share it-I'd need an email address for you.



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[ijabz]

Thankyou that would be very helpful Ive sent you a personal message with my Email