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Research in Other Countries => Canada => Topic started by: Gene-ee-us on Friday 14 December 12 05:18 GMT (UK)
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I am looking for the parents of --or anything else about-- James Giles, believed to have been born in England in about 1797. There is some discussion in the family about whether he was from Devon, Somerset or possibly Kent, but we don't have any idea what town or parish it might have been.
He is known to have been in Newfoundland by 1827: He married Mary Ann Willey on 30 May 1827 in Burin, Newfoundland. Mary Ann seems to have been born about 1807 in Burin, but that's all we know of her.
They are thought to have been one of the original "planter" families on Sound Island in Placentia Bay. Their first child was born there in 1828, but it is thought that James may have been there as early as 1820.
James and Mary Ann had 11 known children, all born on Sound Island: Amelia, 1828; Hannah, 1829; Thomas, 1831 m. Elizabeth?; Susannah, 1832 m. Edmund Reid; Harriet, 1835 m. John Rodway; James C., 1838; Joseph Henry, 1840 m. Charlotte Anna Brinston; Mary Willey, 1844 m. Thomas Beck; Eliza Ann, 1845 m. Henry Beck; Francis, 1847; and Sophia, 1850 m. William Eddy.
I'd be grateful for anything anyone can tell me about the origins of James Giles and Mary Ann Willey -- or even any place to look for them!
Thanks.
Gene-ee-us
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Hi G -- try putting a post on the Devon board (with a link to this one to avoid duplication!) -- DOB7 there has access to parish records for Devon (which is notoriously hard to research pre-1837 because records are not available on line and must be purchased) and should be able to give you a hand at looking for James in that county.
... Actually, I see that even familysearch has a couple James Giles-s baptised in Devon in the mid-late 1790s, so identifying yours, even if he was from there, could be impossible.
But the one born in Broad Clyst is still there in later censuses, leaving one baptised in 1796 in Stoke Damerel (the Plymouth area) which would be a very reasonable source for someone who went to Nfld, as it is a seafaring/naval place. However, father's name Peter isn't reflected in your James's children's names.
https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/N5ZF-BH5
Peter and Elizabeth show as having one other child, Nancy, 1798, baptised at Morrice St Wesleyan in Devonport (also generally the Plymouth area):
https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/NPW2-2HD
and there's a 1794 Nancy Hibly(?) Giles
https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/FQZ5-BY3
also recorded as Nancy Shirbly(?) Giles
https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/JQYJ-9D9
(so it looks like the first one died)
... and there is another, Mary Ann 1789
https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/FWGR-8XW
https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/JMJN-P6V
Unfortunately, since they are girls, there is no point looking for them in 1841 as they would have different surnames.
It's always possible that your James went to Nfld as a child with family; you could try looking in Nfld records for any of those names too.
It would be a matter of trying to rule out a death/marriage/other presence in England later on, for any possible you identify.
And of course, as a quick search at familysearch.org shows, there were several James Giles-s born in Kent in the mid-late 1700s ...
(If your Mary Ann was from Nottinghamshire, we might be related, ;) (see my sig line) -- unlikely as a source of someone in Nfld unless her father was military maybe.
-- But, if that mangled name happened to be Sibl(e)y, well, we could still be related. The nest of Siblys from St Cleer, Cornwall, are mine, and I see my grx3 grandmother's brother Samuel is in Devon in 1851, and seems to have married in Stoke Damerel in 1795 ... and as a matter of fact, their sister Elizabeth born 1772 seems to have gone missing from marriages in Cornwall ... heh heh)
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Thanks Janey. i looked at the Family Search people but I couldn't identify "our" James. I'll give the Devon link a try (once I figure out how!). There aren't many Newfoundland records on-line so it might be a good excuse for a holiday. Otherwise, as you say, I will have to track down and eliminate all the other ones.
As for Mary Ann Willey, who knows where she came from? Her family was almost certainly English, but if she was born in Burin, we might never find her, as there are a lot of gaps in the records.
Thanks again for your help Janey.
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The Devon board I meant was the one right here at RootsChat. ;)
Just go to the main forum list and look under counties in England. If you post there, just include this link
http://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php?topic=627597
to this thread.
There is a forum at the Devon Family History Society site, but since you have DOB7 right here at RootsChat, there's probably no need to wander off!
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Thanks for the instructions -- I posted the link on the Devon board and I'll keep my fingers crossed :) I have been researching family history for a long time, but I haven't been much on RootsChat. I am always amazed by the generosity of genealogists.
Geneeeus
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Hi Everyone,
I am still looking for the origins of this James and Mary Ann. I have recently discovered that the source for this man's being from Somerset appears to be the book "Six Months of a Newfoundland Missionary's Journal," by Archdeacon Edward Wix. The Archdeacon states that, while on Sound Island, he stayed at "the tilt of Giles, a Somerset man." James and Mary Ann were the only Giles on the island at the time (approx 1835-37), so it had to be their house, but I'm not sure "Somerset man" should be taken as "gospel," since the book was written about two years after he returned from his trip.
I still don't know where the 1797 date came from, but it may be just a guess at the common genealogical "standard" of age 30 at first marriage (abt 1827) for men of his era. I have also found that the personal names of James and Mary Ann's daughters and granddaughters are fairly common in the Giles records in Kent, though practically non-existent among those in Devon and Somerset. Otherwise, I am no further ahead than last time.
Still hoping for one of the miracles that seem to be standard fare from the generosity of Roots Chat researchers.
Thanks,
Geneeeus
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james giles was baptized in 1797.place of birth is keynsham Somersetshire.his father is james giles born 1769 kensham.his mother is mary saunders born 1769 in keynsham.james giles sr.
father is francis giles born 1740 in kintbury Berkshire.james mother is grace quarmam.grace was
born 1740 ? in bitton Gloucester.francis father was john giles.john mother was anne canter.
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Thanks Donald! I have been looking for these people for years. I have seen these people in the records I searched, but wasn't able to determine if they were the right ones. Are you related to them?
Thanks again,
Myrna
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yes I am related.james & mary are my second great grand parents.i have found a lot of stuff on james giles .mary willey giles is my second great grand mother.she was married to Thomas beck.
she was my moms grand mother.
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Husband's ancestor was Mary Willey Giles' brother Thomas, b 1831 and married to an Elizabeth whose maiden name I haven't yet found. Thanks again for posting this.
Gene-ee-us
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myrna here is my family tree.i hope it is right
my parents Ronald Brinston 1908-1984
flora beck 1907-1996
my grand parents Wilson beck 1875-1955
mazaline Stacey 1877-1929
no.1 grand parents Thomas beck 1845-1910
mary willey giles 1844-1878
no.2 grand parents james giles 1797-1866
mary willey 1810 ?
no.3 grand parents james giles 1769-1818
mary saunders 1769-1816
no.4 grand parents francis giles 1740-
grace quarman 1740-
no.5 grand parents john giles 1710
anne canter
no.6 grand parents john giles 1673-
Rachel pennel
no.7 grand parents Thomas giles 1639
Elizabeth
no.8 grand parents john giles 1606
joan tendall
no.9 grand parents Robert giles 1565
alice tylman
if you finds anything wrong let me know thanks happy new year
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Thanks for all that information. I'm not suggesting your research is faulty. Just I was never able to figure out which James Giles was the right one. No one else I have talked to knew where the 1797 date came from, or which of the several James Giles born in Somerset that year was the one who married Mary Willey. For that matter, no one seemed to know where the Somerset information came from, either. This has been my sticking point, too. Based on the way he named his sons, I thought his father might have been called Thomas, though I suppose it could have been after Mary Ann's father, since we know even less about her! Also, the personal names of his children were much more common in Kent than in Somerset, so I wondered if the Somerset thing might be a red herring. Too bad his parents didn't have the foresight to name him Ulysses, or something else we could use to find the right guy 200 years later :)
Happy hunting,
Gene-ee-us