RootsChat.Com
England (Counties as in 1851-1901) => England => Topic started by: Numan on Wednesday 21 April 10 13:41 BST (UK)
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Hi all. I have been exploring all the ways I can think of to get any more info on my
GGGrandfather
Nicholas Banfield b.1846
I only know from US 1880 census, he was born in 'England'.
And that he probably arrived in US abt.1867.
Please, can anyone help me, or tell me, how do I know where to start to look in England?
I have searched passenger lists, 1870 censuses from so many counties in PA, W.Virginia, Ohio, New York,-even michigan(there's a family connection there in later years)-death notices, marriage lists, cemetary lists, newspaper items...anything I could on all surnames connected to him, hoping somehow to get a glimmer of how he got to the US. And 'from where in England'?, to know where to start to look for his roots there.
I've also tried every spelling of 'Nickolos,Nickolas,Nikolos,Nicholas' in my searches...
And all the Banfield families I do find all over the Us in 1880 or prior (family search included) don't seem to have any connection to him at all.
If I can't find his port of entry how am I ever going to find even what county in England he was born in?
please can someone help me? I am at a complete loss where to go with this.
Thanks ahead for anything!
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There were no births in the name of Nicholas Banfield or variations, registered in England between 1841 and 1850.
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a couple of chaps of that name, but 10 years older in the 1851/61 census (Cornwall area)
what was his occupation in 1880?
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There were no births in the name of Nicholas Banfield or variations, registered in England between 1841 and 1850.
I agree with that but note that one of the quarters (June, I think) for 1846 is missing from Freebmd. However I looked at the GRO index and Nicholas wasn't registered in that missing quarter either.
There is a concentration of Banfield families in SW corner of England, but also some around London and elsewhere at that time.
No Nicholas Banfield/Bandfield on IGI at that time either.
Nicholas is an unusual name for England at that time, so should make finding him easier
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http://pilot.familysearch.org/recordsearch/start.html
- in the 1870 census there is a Nicholas "Banefield", 26, a coal digger b. England, in "Lower Turkeyfoot, Somerset, Pennsylvania"
Unfortunately he is listed as a lodger and there are no obvious family around - probably worth looking at all those b. England in the area, though, and seeing if you can trace any of them back more easily, just to see if there was a big move from one particular part of England to that particular part of PA.
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Wow, thanks for the replies. But do you see my dilemma?
One of his children say 'Great Britain', so maybe his birthplace wasn't England.
maybe he just assumed the name Nicholas, if he didn't like his given name.
i don't know where to go from here.
His occupation was 'Salesman', if I remember right-1880 census
I was writing another reply , and i had a sudden feline visitor jump half into my lap/half on the keyboard, and I lost it....
So if you see a similar reply somewhere, like this one from me...that's the one i lost.
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1851
HO107 P1909 F206 P7 TA crown copyright
Thomas Banfield 43 Farmer of 5 acres, (looks like) Limburner St Michael Carhayes Cornwall
Ann Banfield 40 Gorran Cornwall
Nicholas " 16 Ag Lab Veryan Cornwall
Emma Jane " 13 Ag Lab
Eliza " 9 Scholar
Richard " 7 Scholar
Ellen " 5
Original " (!) son 4
Phillippa Ann " 1
Sue
PS Just realised this would make him born in 1836??
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Yes, Thank-you, I did 'accidently' find (from reading randon censuses in the western PA area, and I had started with the southwest)
that Lower Turkeyfoot, Somerset Co, Nicholas
'Barnfield', as it was written where I found it.
That was 5 years ago, and I just kept reading tons and tons of censuses, hoping to find some connection...
I have many names, female banfields too, that 'might' have 'some little connection' written down, from all my searches...nothing connected, or as in this coaldigger, wrong age.
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Did he name his father on his marriage cert- any clues in what he named his children as to his parents names? Do US death certs name parents?
Carol
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Uuumm
In 1841 there are two, one born 1836, Veryan the other 1838 Ludgvan Cornwall.
After that one or the other appear
in 1851 as above
1861 the other one
1871 Not sure which one, but farm lab born Grampound
1881 the Veryan one is on the'Bessie' (vessels) as an officer ....
Sue
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Hi
Have you requested a search in Beaver County vital records for his marriage to Annie to see what details that might hold, or his children's births to see whether Nicholas was his full name.
1880 census Freedom Beaver County
Nickolos Banfield 34 Laborer born in England , father and mother born England
Annie C. Banfield 21 Keeping House Born Ireland, father and mother born Ireland
Henry T. Banfield 5 Son born Pennsylvania, father born England, mother born Ireland
Mary E. Banfield 3 Daughter born Pennsylvania, father born England, mother born Ireland
Jane Banfield 1 born Pennsylvania, father born England, mother born Ireland
Regards
Valda
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How do you "know" his age? If for example, his wife was much younger than he was, it may have suited him to knock 10 years off his age. I think that's more likely than him renaming himself "Nicholas", which is a fairly unusual name
It's interesting he lived in Somerset Co, as Somerset is in the south west of England and presumably immigrants from Somerset, England had given the county its name
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No, I don't know that he told his age correctly, so he could have been the "barnfield- coaldigger' from Somerset Co.
The only place i am sure he lived was Freedom, Beaver Co, PA., from the 1880 census.
Someone else could have put his age down wrong, even his wife.
I've tried to get a death cert on him, and a marriage on him and Hannah(Annie), but to no avail.
Pa is just the hardest place to get paper from.
I did get their youngest child's Delayed Birth Certificate', which had Nicholas' wife's maiden full name on it, but said he was deceased.
She states she had 8 children, but I have only found 4-luckily one being my GGrandmother.
PA could not give me birth records on any of them, as PA did not keep those records at the time.
No death records either. His wife remarried by 1896/7-no divorce or death for Nicholas can I find.
I have a marriage certificate for Nicholas' daughter, 1896, but the 'parents' names are just written in by clerk as 'Nicholas and Hannah Banfield'.
Children's names I know are
Henry T
Mary E.
Jane Hannah (Jennie)
Alexander Boyd
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Does anyone think maybe it was Wales or Scotland that Nicholas came from?
Also, another lead I had gotten was that there was a 'name change' in Massachusetts, of a George N. Lucian
to:
George Nicholas Banfield.
I was told it was in 1780-1892
I am still working on where to get documentation of this-maybe more info on the paperwork.
I have looked up Lucian everywhere too, and have gotten nowhere.
Thanks for all the help! There's going to be an answer to this, somehow!
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When I saw that one of the children was called Alexander Boyd- I thought of Scotland.
But the rest don't sound very Scottish :(
Carol
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Nicholas Banfield's wife- Annie C.
states her name as Hannah in the 1900, (I think), US census, when she's remarried in abt. 1897 to Albert G. McClure....
When I got the Delayed Birth Certificate for her youngest son, Alexander Boyd b.1888, dated 1942 (I believe I am remembering this correctly)...Hannah aka Annie C. writes: 'mother's maiden name-Hannah Boyd Courtney' Birthplace Ballymoney Ireland.
I suspect Hannah's own mother's maiden name was Boyd.
Was that the name you thought of Scotland with? The Boyd part?
But I've been trying to get leads on her too, after her arrival in US 1970-she's just as much of a dilemma as Nicholas!!!!!!!!!
I'm in a tough spot with these two!
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Both the Alexander and the Boyd....not sure if Boyd might be more Irish now ::)
Carol
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Hi
Beaver County courthouse didn't have a record of the marriage? My understanding is U.S. marriage records are at local not state level.
What information did Nicholas' naturalization records give?
http://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php?topic=448403.msg3107937;topicseen
Regards
Valda
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yes, beaver co Courthouse has marriage records 1886-present (but they couldn't find Hannah's second marriage to McClure in 1897)
births & deaths 1893-1906
after 1906 B&D records are in New Castle.
I've been recently advised by an online PA fellow genealogy 'junkie' to try the History center in Beaver Falls-they might have something.
The same man says church records before those dates are really all PA has to offer.
he's going to Freedom in June, and might have time to do a little more looking for me.
There was a report of a naturlization record for a Nicholas Banfield age 37 in 1867, but I sent for the document anyway-I was told that I wrote to the wrong place.
i haven't found a new place to send for it yet!
this has definitely been a tuff one!
It seems like what's real and true I can verify easily...and then it all comes to a standstill.
Thank-you all, for all your help-as you know, every little bit does help.
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Hi
Cameron County Prothonotary / Clerk of Courts has Court Records from 1863 and is located at Cameron County Courthouse, 20 East Fifth Street, Emporium, PA 15834; (814) 486-3355 .
The prothonotary has been the clerk of court of common pleas since 1707. Court records here include divorces, naturalizations, peddlers' licenses, registration of attorneys, oaths of county officers, equity, sheriff's sales, juror lists, some tax records, and some civil court records. Other court records are with the clerk of courts
Cameron County is not adjacent to Beaver though
Regards
Valda
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Regarding your question as to whether Nicholas could have been Welsh; the English and Welsh Births, Deaths and Marriages from 1837 are all together (on Freebdm and at the General Register Office) and the English and Welsh census records are also together on sites like Ancestry etc. so from that point of view, it makes no difference whether he was born in England or Wales. The Scottish records are on Scotlands People. However, someone born in Scotland or Wales would never knowingly put England down as his birthplace.
The Irish records are fairly sparse and difficult to access and virtually no census returns nor official BMD's exist for the date you want. Tracing much more about Annie will be well nigh impossible I should think. All of us with Irish ancestors are in the same position :'(
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Thanks, all of you so much for all the feed-back.it is just so nice sometimes to hear any ideas.
As far as Nicholas being from other than England:
I thought maybe if someone who didn't understand, was giving the details for the census, and heard he came from 'Great Britain',- well, they may have mistakenly said England...
About the Cameron County not bordering Beaver Co- a short (weeks ago) while ,
...that man from wesrtern PA had sent me a site that had all the addresses/tel #'s of all PA's courthouses.
My plan is to start with Beaver again (mabe they missed something), and call and write to all the bordering ourthouses, (but including Cameron CO, as it seems to have had a lot of activity those years) and just seek out any and all documents I can get on any of my mystery people.
I just haven't started working on it yet-a few other things came up in my life that interrupted my genealogy search-you know, appt's, grandchildren, shopping, etc...hahaha!
Also like I said, that History center is worth a try too. The list of offices and what records they have was sent to me in 2005, for Beaver County, and there is also a Prothonotary on that list. But if I remember correctly, I still had to go thru her at the Register of wills office, and she would help me or direct me further.
I am not going to give up, that is probably all I know for sure.
Thanks for the advice about how difficult it might be to nail down Hannah in Ireland, as well. it's best to realize that even if I find her entry port, and emigration port, the search still might not get any easier.
I have also tried to look into the 'inlaw' surnames, as they may have our family surnames in their tree.
I'm waiting to hear from my cousin in PA, who is going to give it another shot and see if our one last Aunt can remember anything else-bless her heart, she's lost all her 5 sisters (including mine and my cousin's mothers), and she's still letting us bug her about the past.
again, thanks----
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Hi,
I am at present researching the Banfield family There are Nicholas Banfield`s included in this tree. Also a Nicholas Oates Banfield The familys came from Cornwall and in 1881 came to the Rhondda Valley Penrhiwfer Glamorgan to live.
Hope this helps
Best wishes
Heddwch
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://pilot.familysearch.org/recordsearch/start.html
- in the 1870 census there is a Nicholas "Banefield", 26, a coal digger b. England, in "Lower Turkeyfoot, Somerset, Pennsylvania"
This was their occupation Coal miners Name is Banfield lots of Miners emigrated to Pennsylvania