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Hello Everyone,

I believe I have confirmed the parentage and family of the 1767 Thomas Wilson. A will for Thomas Wilson of Donisthorpe, dated May 1, 1809, (probated in April 1812), includes the following:
•Six surviving children in total.
•Son, William Wilson, receives the majority of the estate.
•Daughter, Lidia Roughton.
•Son, Thomas Wilson.
•Daughter, Ann Wilson, receives rent from a house in Barton under Needwood.
•Daughter, Mary Litherland
•Daughter, Jane Orgill
•Grandson, John Brooks
•Granddaughter, Ann Roughton
•Grandson, William Wilson, not yet age 14.
•Son-in-law, John Brooks of Netherseal, will executor, along with William Wilson.

This Thomas Wilson probably died in Netherseal, where he was buried December 22, 1811. The children listed in the will all align with the following Wilson children:
•Ann: Baptized February 7, 1763, in Netherseal, and buried in Netherseal, February 9, 1763, dau of Thomas and Ann.
•Elizabeth: Baptized April 29, 1764, in Netherseal, dau of Thomas and Ann. Married John Brooks November 20, 1788, in Church Gresley (same date as her sister, Lydia). Buried in Netherseal on October 26, 1791.
•Thomas: Baptized June 26, 1767, of Donisthorpe, but recorded in Stretton en le Field, son of Thomas and Mary
•Lydia: Baptized December 28, 1769, of Donisthorpe, but recorded in Stretton en le Field, dau of Thomas and Mary. Married John Roughton, in Church Gresley, November 20, 1788, (same date as her sister, Elizabeth) at the age of 19, per the marriage license, Thomas Wilson Farmer of Gresley attested he was her father. Buried October 15, 1809, Measham, Leicestershire.
•Anne: Baptized October 19, 1772, Donisthorpe, but recorded in Stretton en le Field, dau of Thomas and Mary. Unmarried as of 1809.
•Mary: Baptized January 1, 1775, in Netherseal, dau of Thomas and Ann.  Married Samuel Litherland, Abbleby Magna, January 21, 1806. Buried December 13, 1846, in Appleby, age 73.
•William: Baptized January 27, 1777, in Netherseal, son of Thomas and Ann; Married Sarah Morgan October 26, 1808, in Church Gresley; Buried July 7, 1848, Church Gresley
•Jane: Baptized June 20, 1779, in Netherseal, dau of Thomas and Ann. Married Thomas Orgill, Church Gresley Sept. 12, 1801. Buried October 19, 1827, Church Gresley.

All of these children are included in the will, except the first Ann, who died soon after birth, and Elizabeth, who died in 1791, but whose husband and son were included. William Wilson, who died in 1848, also included most of these same people and more in his will, thereby helping to verify the family structure.

Thomas Wilson is almost certainly the Thomas Wilson who married Anne Mosely, May 11, 1761, in Church Gresley. She was buried March 30, 1803, in Netherseal.

The only challenge I have here is that the records for Thomas’ three children who were baptized in Donisthorpe all say their mother’s name was Mary, while all of the other children, baptized in Netherseal, were the children of Thomas and Ann. I have been unable to locate any marriage or death records to indicate Thomas had been widowed and remarried to someone named Mary, or remarried again to another Ann. This leads me to believe the Stretton-en-le-Field parish record book was incorrect in stating the mother’s name was Mary, when it should have been Ann. I have nothing to back that up either way. No matter what though, the records are clear that these children, including the Thomas born in 1767, are all of the same family and children of Thomas who died in 1811.

I have yet to determine the origins of their parents, Thomas Wilson and Ann Mosely.  If any of you are still researching this family and have any thoughts or additions to all of this, please let me know.

Regards,
Jon

Hello,

Does anyone know if any of the land grant documents from James I, Charles I or Charles II (about 1611 - 1667) still exist, and if so, where they can be found? I am studying the early ownership of a number of townlands in Tyrone and I was thinking perhaps the actual grant documents might hold more information than the abstracts that I am finding. Is there any chance these might be safely held in Scotland or Ireland, as opposed to burned in Dublin in 1922?

Thank you.

I'm not so sure the records you have here will be of much help as they are Catholic church records. Unfortunately, the vast majority of Irish records were destroyed, so you will be limited. I'm not seeing much of anyone named James or Richard Dobbins in findmypast after the 1780s. There are quite a few Mary Daniels, but she may or may not be their sister. I didn't look too deep into the Registry of Deeds, but there was no James or Richard in what I did review. Vincent family will abstracts mention the Dobbins relatives, so perhaps more can be found by looking at that family further. The lack of records in Ireland doesn't mean too much, given the loss of records there, but one would expect at least some mention somewhere. You are right, this might take a while. I would suggest organizing and writing up everything you find, both Irish and English, and then add new hints in as they come up.

I am hoping to complete a write-up of my research on the Dobbins family in the coming weeks. Once that is complete I will send it off to you. I can say that there is quite a bit of information available out there, going pretty far back, but I still have a number of big gaps that I cannot yet fill in.

Another route to look into would be Rev. Richard Vincent. He was very closely associated with the Dobbins family, far more than just his daughter, Elizabeth, marrying James Dobbins. Perhaps John named his first son after his grandfather. It's possible other members of the Vincent family had some connections and made mention of John somewhere.

I am descended from Sarah Dobbins, daughter of the elder Rev. James Dobbins of Kilmore. In all of my research I have found only two siblings for her - Rev. Lindsay Dobbins and Rev. James Dobbins (assumed father of John).

As for Eleanor Singleton, an Ellinor Singleton was baptized on June 21, 1760, in Whitbeck, Cumberland. Perhaps it is she or a close relative with the same name who married John Dobbins.

Thank you for the replies and insights.

Unfortunately, I have been unable to locate the actual will, and I am assuming it no longer exists. The reference to his cousin is found in a Bentham abstract. I am assuming the will was written by a lawyer as the testator himself was rather wealthy and had come from a prominent family - his father had been a wealthy merchant and land owner in Dublin, his uncle had been Archbishop of Armagh and his cousin/nephew was Curate of Donaghmore in Co. Tyrone at the time the will was written. The cousin/nephew appears to have been the sole heir.

I have since found through additional research that it would be very unlikely that the testator was a full brother of the heir's mother, but could definitely be a half-brother.