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Dee-jay, that “date of birth” for Thomas was probably a mistranscription for “date of baptism”.

I have been corresponding with Ian, and he has found a possible alternate baptism for James Gill, son of John and Isabella, at St Sidwell, Exeter, in Oct 1810! Have you seen it and ruled it out?

I emailed you a couple of days ago about our DNA project, but the email bounced. Could you try emailing me, please?

jeanffrench

I am very confident I have the right James Gill, born Dec 1822 at Churchstanton, as indicated by a 1944 letter from my grandfather, and also James Gill's 1913 headstone at Derby. Thanks for including the information from the parish registers, but I already had it as I had transcribed it from the original registers in 1981. I have been researching this family for a long time! 😀 I recorded James Gill's parents as William and MARIA. His mother was named Mary only twice, both times in 1825 when her son Tom was baptised and when she herself was buried. My Gills lived in Churchstanton until sometime between 1835 when William witnessed his stepson's marriage, and 1841 when William and Mary were living at Clayhidon. In 1851 and 1861 William was at Wellington with his son William, and died there in 1863 aged 72. As Churchstanton was such a small parish, it seems likely that all Gills before 1841 were the same family. Some time later another family of Gills, blacksmiths, started living at Churchstanton, but I have not been able to connect them to my Gills. Are you connected to these later Gills, or the earlier ones?

There was a Coast Guard Station at Ballyheigue, near Tarbert, Co Kerry. My GG Uncle, a Coast Guard, was living at Ballyheigue from at least 1873 to 1876. According to his Coast Guard file at the National Archives, Kew, the name of his station was "Valiant", Ballyheigue.

See links at http://genuki.cs.ncl.ac.uk/DEV/Churchstanton/

My ancestors married at the "Baptist Chapel Fair Ground, Wakefield" on 31 Jan 1870, according to the "rites and ceremonies of the Baptists by certificate by me Henry Hardin Minister". John Whitaker, Registrar, was a witness in addition to the friend and relative of the couple. The groom's sister married at the same place, ie the "Baptist Chapel Fair Ground, Wakefield", on 10 Jun 1867.

I  see an entry in the "Yorkshire Returns of the 1851 Census of Religious Worship" online for the "Baptist Chapel, Top of Fairground, Wakefield. erected 1844."  On the other hand, the Wikipedia entry for Wakefield says "the Baptists opened a chapel in George Street in 1844."  White's 1837 Directory for Yorkshire West Riding says that "the Fair Ground, where the fortnight Cattle fairs are held, is a spacious area on the west side of Wakefield."

My questions follow.  Is the Fairground the same place as the Baptist Chapel in George Street, and did the Baptists continue to use the old name for the location of their Chapel? If not, why were couples being married at the Fairground as late as 1870, when there must have been a Chapel where the ceremony could be held? Can anyone point to the location of the Fairground on a modern map, if it is not the same place as the Baptist Chapel in George St.

Many thanks, Jean