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England (Counties as in 1851-1901) => England => Wiltshire => Topic started by: HenryCR on Thursday 25 June 20 14:47 BST (UK)
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I asked a question about Christopher Ricketts, born about 1749, a few days ago and feel like this question can be developed a little now. Best guess for Christopher is that the records from that period are incomplete as there are no records for a Christopher being born at all. His marriage, the baptism of his eight children and his burial all provide strong evidence that he actually existed.
This question is about Stephen Ricketts, born ~1751 and married/buried in Castle Eaton. This is just 5 miles away from Broad Blunsdon where Christopher lived, so there is a good likelihood that they were related.
Stephen is on dozens of trees on the internet, as the son of Henry Ricketts and Joan Poulton. I haven't been able to find a source for his baptism, even though some trees state that it was the 15 Oct 1751 without sourcing it. Again, Stephen definitely existed as inter alia his son wrote an autobiography in which his parents are listed as Stephen and Mary Bavis in the endnotes. He also said that he was descended from the Poultons of Broadleaze on his fathers side, so it certainly seems very believable, if not provable.
I wonder if Stephen and Christopher may in fact have been brothers, or if maybe their fathers were brothers. Stephen's alleged father appears to have come from Kempsford, very close to both Broad Blunsdon and Castle Eaton but just over the border in Gloucestershire.
I have managed to trace two people who are potentially Stephen's decscendents in the hope of them taking Y-DNA tests, which should either disprove the theory or show that it is worthy of further investigation, but that is on the horizon for now. In any case, some sort of documentary evidence would be required.
Stephen Ricketts: https://www.ancestry.co.uk/family-tree/tree/111930837/family?cfpid=250091803259
Christopher Ricketts: https://www.ancestry.co.uk/family-tree/tree/4793792/family?cfpid=7017981075
Any insights from anyone please? I feel that I have exhausted my capabilities (and my reserves) with this.
Thank you,
Henry
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Here's the introduction to the account Stephen's sun wrote, and a link to the full account.
https://archive.org/details/wiltshirearchaeo60hage/page/120/mode/2up
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Broad Blunsdon is in the parish of Highworth.
http://www.archersoftware.co.uk/igi/
Castle Eaton coverage is less extensive.
Have you tried Wiltshire OPC?
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Hi, thank you. Yes, I have trawled the OPC quite extensively. I did find Christopher listed as one of five who were eleigible for jury duty in Bury Blunsdon in 1771 (no idea what made someone eligible, but it may be useful to look into that one).