William MELHUISH (b: 1786, Devon, UK)

[Jamesk10]

I am looking for more information on this person and to trace back the family ancestry further. The information I have obtained so far that I believe to be correct:

William Melhuish: born 1786 in Devon, England. Death date/place unknown.

Married: Sarah, birth/death details unknown, maiden/surname unknown.

Children: Ann, born 1821 in Devon, England. No more details known.
Harriet, born 1831 in Devon, England. No more details known.

Charlotte, born 1826 in Devon. No death date/place known. Unknown husband, presumed never to have married as Melhuish surname has carried down the family and this theory would link with census results where she is listed as 'head' of the household. Children of Frederick, born 1852 in Jersey, C.I. and Daniel, born 1858 in Devon, England.

[Gaie]

Hi again 

1841 Census
HO107 ~ Piece 222 ~ Book 1 ~ Folio 5 ~ Page 7
Higher Town, Halberton, Devon
William MELHUISH 55 Ag Lab
Sarah MELHUISH 50
Ann MELHUISH 20
Charlotte MELHUISH 15
Harriett MELHUISH 10
Hannah MELHUISH 8

next door:
Robert MELHUISH 25 Stay maker
Jane MELHUISH 25

all the above born in county.

1851 Census
HO107 ~ Piece 1888 ~ Folio 506 ~ Page 10
Halberton, Devon
William MELHUISH Head Married 69 Ag Lab, born Bradninch, Devon
Sarah MELHUISH Wife Married 65 Ag Lab's Wife, born Bradninch, Devon
Harriet MELHUISH Servant Unmarried 21 House Servant, born Halberton, Devon
Hannah MELHUISH Daughter Unmarried 18 Stay Maker, born Halberton, Devon

So Harriet may or may not be the daughter of William & Sarah.....

I can't see William or Sarah in the 1861/71 censuses.

However, There is a death for a Sarah Melhuish in Tiverton District (which includes Halberton and Bradninch), Mar Qtr 1853, Vol 5b Page 303, and 8 deaths for a William Melhuish in the Tiverton District between 1851-1861.

Kind regards
Gaie

[Gaie]

There is one death for a Charlotte Melhuish between 1861-1871 all locations:

Jun Qtr 1864, Tiverton, Vol 5b, Page 303

Have you found Frederick and Daniel in the 1871 census?

Kind regards
Gaie

[Gaie]

Possible marriage for Ann:

Sep Qtr 1843 Tiverton Vol 10 Page 391
BIDGOOD Caroline
CONABEER William
DICKER James
MELHUISH Ann

1861 Census
RG9 ~ Piece 33 ~ Folio 87 ~ Page 33
2 Little Camera(?) Place, St Luke, Chelsea, Middlesex
James DICKER Head Mar 42 House Keeper b Helerton (Halberton?) Devon
Ann DICKER Wife Mar 41 b Helerton (Halberton?) Devon
Mary DICKER Dau Unm 15 Linendraper Ap b Helerton (Halberton?) Devon
Ellen DICKER Dau 13 b Helerton (Halberton?) Devon
Harriet DICKER Dau 6 Scholar b Jersey (!)
Thomas DICKER Son 4 Scholar b Jersey (!)
Charles DICKER Son 1 b Jersey (!)

Now that's interesting, the Jersey births, where have we seen that before 

Kind regards
Gaie

[Gaie]

Tracing Robert and Jane who were living next door to William, Sarah and children in 1841:

1861 census
RG9 ~ Piece 30 ~ Folio 98 ~ Page 33
66 Church Street, St Luke, Chelsea, Middlesex
John MARGRIE Head  29 Farrier Master emp 2 men born Devon Shalldown
Hannah MARGRIE Wife 28 b Devon Halberton
Elizabeth MARGRIE Dau 2 b Middlesex Chelsea
Susan P A MARGRIE Dau 1 b Middlesex Chelsea
Robert MELHUISH Bro in Law Married 46 Hammerman to Farrier b Devon Bradninch

So Robert was possibly the son of William and Sarah.....

Marriage
Jun Qtr 1857 Chelsea Vol 1a Page 332
including
John MARGRIE
Hannah MELHUISH

1871 Census
RG10 ~ Piece 76 ~ Folio 78 ~ Page 20
56 Lucas Road West, Chelsea, Middlesex
Robert MELHUISH Head 56 Working Stationer b Devon Bradwich (sic)
Jane MELHUISH Wife 57 b Devon Halberton
Mary MELHUISH Dau 24 unm b Devon Halberton
John MELHUISH Son 22 unm b Devon Halberton

1851 Census
HO107 ~ Piece 1888 ~ Folio 506 ~ Page 111
Halberton, Devon
Jane MELHUISH Head Mar 37 Stay Maker b Devon Halberton
William MELHUISH Son 9 Scholar b Devon Halberton
Mary MELHUISH Dau 3 b Devon Halberton
John MELHUISH Son 2 b Devon Halberton
William POTTER Father in Law Widower 73 Ag Lab b Devon Burliscombe

I think the father in law bit is wrong in the context of Jane being Head of household; he was probably father in law to the absent Robert:

Marriage
Dec Qtr 1840 Tiverton Vol 10 Page 410
amongst others:
Robert MELHUISH
Jane POTTER

1861 Census
RG9 ~ Piece 1478 ~ Folio 118 ~ Page 13
Higher Town, Halberton, Devon
Jane MELHUISH Wife Mar 47 Stay maker b Devon Halberton
William MELHUISH Son 19 Tailor's apprentice b Devon Halberton
John MELHUISH Son 12 Scholar b Devon Halberton

Kind regards
Gaie

[Jamesk10]

Thanks muchly for all that information Gaie 

Took me a while to make sense of it all though!

Hopefully you'll agree that I have interpreted the information correctly, this is how I have taken it to be:

William Melhuish married Sarah (unknown surname) and had children of Robert, Ann, Charlotte, Hannah, and possibly Harriett.

It does seem strange that Hannah is listed as a servant not daughter on the census yet still has the surname of Melhuish.

Hannah married John Margrie (also b: Devon), and had daughters of Elizabeth and Susan. Not sure why they would have moved across the country to Middlesex but the Melhuish I originally traced back was born in Devon and married in Middlesex so I guess this is plausable.

Ann married James Dicker (also b: Halberton) and had children Mary & Ellen (both b: Halberton) and also children of Harriet, Thomas & Charles (all 3 b: Jersey). This would certainly make more sense of what seemed a random birthplace for Frederick Melhuish.

[Jamesk10]

Found some more information re: Charlotte Melhuish:

There is a death record for a Charlotte Melhuish in Sep 1877 in Tiverton, Devon.

There is also a 1881 census for a Charlotte Melhuish showing birth as abt 1825 (I have b: 1826) in Tiverton, Devon. There is also listed a George Melhuish (b: abt 1829) and George Melhuish (b: abt 1861) which I assume to be husband and son.

So seems there is another Charlotte Melhuish in the area.

[Jamesk10]

I now need to trace the Melhuish family back beyond William (b:1786) but cannot find any more information at the moment