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Topics - Fishing4Fishers

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1
England / Use of surname aliases
« on: Tuesday 21 July 20 21:05 BST (UK)  »
I recently found an ancestor's Last Will and Testament dated in 1793 where he describes himself as "Thomas Roberts otherwise Hayward of Ampney Crucis" and leaves the bulk of his estate, "Two Freehold Messuages or Tenements" to one of his sons, "David Roberts otherwise Hayward."  Earlier records that apparently pertain to this same family (I haven't proven the link, but they are in the same two villages, Ampney Crucis and Down Ampney) use the surnames Roberts alias Hayward, or Hayward alias Roberts.  Is there anyone out there with genealogical expertise in old English records that can tell me why this use of aliases occurs in what appears to be multiple generations?  Does it have to do with preserving inheritance to land?  This is not a wealthy family. 

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The Common Room / Abbreviation "B.B." in church baptismal records
« on: Thursday 11 August 16 21:18 BST (UK)  »
In looking for a birth record for a child named Mary born in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, in or around 1804, I found a Mary Brooks Skiner (Skinner?), christened 25 March 1804 in Cheltenham, no father's name, mother's name Sarah Skiner.  After the mother's name are the initials "B.B."  Can anyone tell me what those initials stand for?  They don't appear after any other baptismal entries except those where only a mother's name is listed, with no father's name.  Is this some sort of designation indicating the child was illegitimate?  I think this Mary may be the one who married my ancestor William Fisher, as census records indicate his wife Mary was born about 1804 in Cheltenham.  I found a marriage record for a William Fisher of Littleworth and a Mary Brooks of Littleworth, who were married at Hempstead (a hamlet that is/was part of the city of Gloucester) on 25 March 1822, and that date seems to line up with the date of birth I have for the first known child of "my" William and Mary Fisher, a daughter named Sarah, born about 1824 in Cheltenham.

3
Gloucestershire / FISHER family in Cirencester/Cheltenham/Prestbury/Bishop's Cleeve
« on: Saturday 31 May 14 03:04 BST (UK)  »
I'm looking for information regarding the family of WILLIAM FISHER who was born in Cirencester in about 1791.  At the time of the 1841 Census, he was residing in Cheltenham and had a wife, Mary, born about 1803.  He had the following known children, all born in Cheltenham: 

1.  Sarah, b. ca. 1825, who married William Ralph.
2.  Hester Boyd, b. ca. 1827, who married Thomas Hulbert/Hubbert.
3.   Robert Boyd, born Dec. 1828, who married 1st Mary Durham, 2nd Sarah Nichols, 3rd Elizabeth Galliers, and emigrated to Iowa in the USA in the early 1870s.
4.   Hannah Jane, b. ca. 1834, who married William Henry Randall
5.   George, b. ca. 1838

William Fisher's occupation was listed in the census records as "carpenter" or "formerly carpenter."  I believe he may have had a brother (or possibly uncle) Joseph Fisher, who was also a carpenter, and that they were in business together and built some homes in the Portland Square area of Cheltenham.  William Fisher's father may have also been William, as I found an ad in a 1796 newspaper about the opening of a new theater in Cirencester that had been built by a William Fisher.  (Carpenter/builder appears to have been the primary occupation in this branch of the Fisher family.)   I believe William (b. ca. 1791) may have died about 1868 in Cheltenham.

I have also speculated that there may be a tie-in to a Boyd family, due to two of William's children being given the middle name "Boyd" (Robert Boyd and Hester Boyd).

I also found an article in a Logansport, Indiana, USA newspaper from August 1897 indicating that Robert Boyd Fisher (oldest son of William) and W. J. Fisher (Robert Boyd Fisher's oldest son by his first marriage) had inherited an estate in England worth $40,000. The article stated that the inheritance was the accumulation of W. J. Fisher's great-aunt and uncle -- no names given -- and that Robert Boyd Fisher had sailed to England to see about the inheritance.  (I found a ship passenger list indicating Robert Boyd Fisher returned to the USA in September of 1897.)  I would love to figure out exactly who it was that left this inheritance! 

I am hoping to make contact with any living descendants of this Fisher family and/or anyone who can provide additional information. 

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