RootsChat.Com

Hi ,
Thanks for your reply -  i can see the case for a stay or reprieve of some kind in regards to pregnancy but that would not account for Littleton Lewis'  reprieve .
There is no indication he was in any kind of military service yet the idea of  "benefit of clergy" is interesting as although i do not believe  my chap was a Churchman himself , he did have a long line of clergy further back in his family .
However - if i understand correctly  the benefit of Clergy  would have been claimed before any  trial in a criminal court ?
Although there were many crimes back then that were captital offenses the vast majority were commuted  , mostly i thought to transportation ....perhaps not .
What intrigues me about this particular  situation is the contrast in punishments - i don't suppose there is a chance of finding a trial record or convict record which might help with further details ?

I looked for any other newspaper report of this case but this is the only record that can come up with .

Hello ,
I wonder if anyone can help or  have any knowledge of  the surname  BLEWIS  aka LEWIS - particularly  in the era 1600 - 1750  ?
I'm aware of the book "Welsh Surnames"  by TJ & P Morgan which comments -
"...the surname Lewis  was in use before the patronymic system was discontinued - it is difficult to understand why "ab-Lewis" did not result in a surname - "Blewis" ."

I find this observation  intriguing as i'm researching my LEWIS family  back to  Lydbury North in Shropshire - where a Richard Lewis md Anne Ambler in  1712 .
I have found 4 children bn to this couple  -
Brian 1713 
Frances 1715
Littleton 1717
Mary 1719
But the odd thing is that the surname recorded  for the 2nd & 3rd  baptisms was written as "BLEWIS " and not Lewis.
I  had assumed this was  perhaps  done in error  as never hearing of this name before but  further research  has shown a  small cluster of "Blewis's"  in this era ,  mainly in close proximity in New Radnor   near the border with Herefordshire where there  appears  to be a  few  baptisms of the same Radnor  family of a Hugh & Martha BLEWIS   in Kington  Hereford -  likewise this is  close to Lydbury in Shropshire .

In the Morgan's book they noted only a very few examples of the name Blewis further to the above quote and it seems to me that there actually were ( though not many ) more instances of  this surname  in this era and  more in later years .

Would anybody have any thoughts on this  naming issue - it seems very logical that the name would  have evolved from "ab Lewis"  but suffice to say  i have yet to work out whether my Richard  was  actually  a  Lewis or  a Blewis .
Although  i understand that the name Lewis  evolved from Llewelyn & variants.
Incidentally ,  the name Littleton /Lyttleton  is  significant  and repe ats  in the family line  , so  it seems highly likely there is a connection somewhere to a branch of the family of that name .
Richard 's wife Anne Ambler  was the daughter of Rev Brian Ambler  the vicar of Lydbury North who has connections to sites in  Mongomeryshire  , but i've found no  Littleton link to the Ambler family .

I wonder if this kind of confusion  between BLEWIS  & LEWIS  has been found by any other researchers  at any time ?
Sorry for the length of this post , but if you can help have any  thoughts  or  advice on this i would greatly appreciate it .

Kind regards

Thank you for  the further replies .
I'm afraid i  would probably fall foul of the mods to post the  "full"  story regarding this family and my research into them - but suffice to say it leads into my family research in London /Essex  areas where it  has been a longstanding brick wall  .
However the key elements pertaining to this particular family in Sheffield and which relates to my original post are these -

1. a family called Lewis that i have traced to Sheffield area ( have found marriage/ births etc to back up the following )-
i have them in the 1871 census -
West Sheffield St Peter Ed 1,  Hous/Sch 76, piece 4676 Folio 12 Page 17
59/61 West Bar
Thomas Lewis   HD  32 Commercial Porter  Manchester Lancs
Mary J           30 Wife   Wife  Sheffield Yorks
Wm H            11 Son
Mary J            6 Dau
Thomas          1 Son
John Carr     24  Drapers Ass   
Susannah       25  Wife    Matlock Derbyshire
John W  Carr   2  son
Ruth  Carr     3  mths
Albert Smith  29 Lodger  Commercial Porter 
( all bn Sheffield Yorks unless stated )

The same family appears in 1881 as -
Noth Sheffield   St Philips  Ed  17 , Piece 4646 , Folio 18 , Page No 29

9 Burn Tree Lane
John C Lewis   HD  34  Warehouseman 
Mary J Wife  Wife   40
Wm H   21   Son
Mary J  17  Dau
Fanny   10   Dau
Ada  8  Dau
Matha  5  Dau
Wm  Maxwell  36 Lodger  Commercial Traveller   London
Thos Lewis  12  Son
Arthur  Lewis  1 1/2   Son
( all  listed as bn Sheffield York unless stated )

As can be seen this is the same  woman and children as per  previous census  (with further subsequent children  ) . The main problem is the Hd  details  clearly indicate   a different man from her previous husband Thomas Lewis .
The facts as  found are these -   
Thomas Lewis and  Mary J Carr  md  Mar Q 1859  Sheffield 
The John Carr  living with them  in 1871 is Mary Jane's brother  and his wife etc
Thomas Lewis  is not deceased by 1881 as he is found away from his family living in Liverpool as a Hotel Porter in that year  and this is also confirmed by the 1891 census which shows him with his eldest son William Henry -

Ecclesall Bierlow  Ed 5  Piece  2802 , Folio  80 , Page No  12
Eldon St 
William Lewis   30  Hd  Silversmith 
Elizabeth   28  Wife   Liverpool Lancs
Edith  6      Dau
Thomas Lewis  55  Father    Widower  Hotel Servant  Manchester Lancs
Arthur Lewis   11  Brother 

Thomas Lewis burial detail from Sheffield Indexers -
LEWIS, Thomas (Hotel Porter, age 60).
     Died at Ecclesall Union; Buried on January 4, 1897 in Consecrated ground;
     Grave Number 24, Section Z5 of Burngreave Cemetery, Sheffield.
     Parent or Next of Kin if Available: . Remarks: 28417.

I have much more details on this family inc the children found in subsequent census etc but the key points are these -

Thomas & Mary J Lewis appear together in 1861 /71 census but would seem are not together  by 1881  as she is now living with another (mysterious ) man named John C Lewis .
There appears to be no  man found before or after this 1881 entry (birth & census etc) that matches this man's stated details .
Although  Thomas Lewis is listed as a widower in 1891 census there appears no death record matching his wife Mary Jane in the years 1881-1891 ( or later in fact )
Similarly the rest of the family  appear nowhere to be found in the 1891 census year , the only elements of the family found in that year are as listed above (eldest son Wm H , his father Thomas & younger brother Arthur ).
John C Lewis , Mary J Lewis and all 4 Lewis dau's disappear from further census - only the son Thomas Lewis  who is  also missing in  1891 census but  reappears  1901/1911 in Manchester   with his wife .

What i was trying to do in my original post was to try for any records between the 1871-81 years which might give further  detail on this family -  most particularly  the elusive  John C Lewis and if he is listed at the addresses with Mary Jane   earlier in order to indicate how long he has been on the scene with the family.

I could list much more  to back up the above so to speak but one last point to make is that i cannot find anything more on females in this family after the 1881 census -the only record that  shows up is a  baptisms in 1895 April 17

Frank Lewis, s/o George and Ada DAVIES, 54 Sturge St
Edith, d/o William Henry and Elizabeth Ann LEWIS, 54 Sturge
St
This shows the elder son William Henry Lewis  & younger sister Ada Lewis  - both listed at the same address.
The  problem here  is that there is no known marriage record for a George Davies & Ada Lewis & the Bcert for the  child Frank Lewis  shows him bn 31 March  1895  and registered on 26th April 1895 .
Informant Ada Lewis (mother )  54 Sturge St  Sheffield  - no father given .
However the actual Baptism record for Frank Lewis stated the parents as George & Ada Davies  his occupation  " Steward " - the indication being that the child Frank is illegitimate .
This part of the tale leads onto my other family research in London Essex areas so probably not relevant to this thread  but suffice to say it is a major headache .

Apologies for the length of this post  ( but you did ask LOL )  i realise it does appear complicated but i tried my best to keep relevant to the subject  and in some kind of  order .
If anyone has any thoughts  i'm  very open to any theories or suggestions .

Thanks for reading

Eden



   

Hello ,

I'm trying to find  about Electoral Registers records for Sheffield area  circ 1871-1891 era - would anyone know if these records exist and if they have been indexed and available to search ?
Unfortunately i'm not local to the area  and kind  of hoping they might have been transcribed and online somewhere ?
 
Any help or suggestions much appreciated

Eden