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Sorry, did my sums wrong.  Arrived probably 1838 (though this is not certain) so would have been about 26.   My head must not have been screwed on properly last night.  I am considering joining the Suffolk group but uncertain whether it will benefit me.  Exchange rate is not wonderful at present.  Thinking about it.   Jennifer

Thank you both.  The problem with the data on Ancestry trees regarding James Garnham is that there is guesswork involved and no evidence other than a coincidence of dates - but the wrong geography. If I came across a Garnham family tree in Suffolk (particularly Ipswich) with a child (James) born about 1812 who is missing from that tree I would say we could be on to something .  Yes, James did marry Margaret Smyth/Smith.  His death certificates (yes, he has two, registered by two different relatives) both indicate native place Ipswich. Both certificates agree with his age being 57 when he died in 1869 = born 1812. Immigration records are really good here - usually showing parents' names - but James seems to have slipped between the cracks.  There is a possibility of DNA being useful in breaking down this brick wall - but we would be looking for matches many generations back - not impossible but unlikely.  If a DNA Garnham match came up in or near Suffolk we could start building a tree DOWN from that match and hopefully scoop James up along the way. We have used that technique before to solve a long-standing mystery ancestor and, as a result, are now in touch with distant cousins all over the world.  Thank you both again!  I will keep looking.  Jennifer

John Perry's will arrived.  I tried to attach it in case anyone is interested but it wouldn't load.  PM me if interested and I can email it or get it out there some other way.  The will mentions John's wife Hannah, daughter Hannah who married Thomas Slabe?, son George Perry, brother Richard Perry, witness Robert Perry, what appears to be a creditor Thomas Bagley.  There could be other names buried in the text which is very difficult to read.  I agree, it looks like there were two John Perrys and it will take some work to sort them out. My best guess is cousins or a similar level of relationship. I am almost certainly descended from the union of John Perry and Mary Tytherleigh.  I don't want to ignore the possibility that there was a second marriage of John to Hannah but the ages of the children don't synch.  I have more work to do, yes?  Jennifer

Thanks Trish, I am still working them out.  My line of descent goes: 
John 1782,
Thomas 1802,
George 1830,
George Donald 1858 (on the Isle of Wight)
and so on down the generations.   

John's sons Thomas (1802) and Heber (1816) left Somerset and settled on the Isle of Wight.  I suspect that Mary died (I have found a possible burial 1828 at Haselbury Plucknett - and I make conjecture that John then married Hannah.  I looked to see if the children of the possible two marriages of John were in sequence and it does work only if you allow Elizabeth to be a child of the first marriage (i.e. born 1817) and George ditto (1819) with Hanah (born 1826 not being a good fit if Mary died 1828 and Hanah being named after her mother.  I am thinking on my feet so I suspect that Mary did die, but later than 1828.  I will have to do more checking through bdm and see if I can find a baptism for Hannah. 

John is listed variously as a carrier or a labourer.  His father, Elias, was also a carrier.

Thank you for the help and introducing me to FreeReg! 

Jennifer

Many thanks, I'll have a look but I think it is another branch of the family. Still, I am gathering them in even if I don't see yet how they fit.  The Perrys look like an extended family which remained in situ in Haselbury Plucknett for quite a long time.  It is going to make DNA interesting if we can get meaningful results, which might be difficult given the number of generations back.  I do have quite a few generations further back recorded - but I have to work on the documentation.  John's wife, Mary, was a Tytherleigh and they have quite a history going back to the 1200s.  Not quite as interesting to me as the more recent generations.  Ta.  Jennifer