I have been at a brick wall with my 3 x G Grandparents Joseph & Mary Redding for the last 16 years mainly because they are Irish.
About 6 months ago I found a marriage certificate for my 3 x G Aunt (Mary’s sister). I was really excited as it listed her father’s name and assumed this was also Mary’s father and thought I could get a lot further with my research but sadly not.
The only information I have about Joseph Redding is his name and occupation which was Land Steward. Yesterday whilst browsing marriage records I found a record for a marriage between Joseph Redding and Mary Bachelor which would be the right marriage year, birth year of Mary and general area but the maiden name and father’s name is different than her sisters. The thing that really piqued my interest with this record is that Joseph’s occupation is listed as Steward. I could have sworn that I had ruled out Mary Bachelor before many years ago when I first started research but I can’t remember how. I cannot find a birth record for either Mary or her sister. Can anyone give me any ideas how I can prove or disprove whether Mary Bachelor is my 3 x G Grandmother?
Hello Redmore
A 'Steward' of Land was a most important occupation, some were Solicitors or had Legal knowledge.
They were usually responsible for the managing of Large Estates for the Lord of the Manor or Local Landowner.
An ancestor of mine was a Bailiff responsible for accounts and worked under a Steward on a Forest Estate between the Steward and the Copyholders / Leaseholders / Tenants.
What is his place location and year when he gives his occupation as Steward?
Some Estate records survive which can be quite scant, whilst others are massive collections and highly detailed. Just the sub-heading paper indexes of some collections take up small volume/s.
The Lord or Landowner might have held Land in many Counties and some are now in many County Archive collections today, or occasionally some records still with Landowners descendants.
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If he was a Steward at death of a fair size to large Estate and his employer an amiable chap with his employees, it is possible a Steward's funeral would get a small paragraph or report in the local newspaper?
Mark
