RootsChat.Com

I have just completed transcription of 1830-1885 baptisms for Turton in Lancashire.  During that period I have watched a fairly unusual surname evolve.  Of course it is possible that three different families arrived and departed without overlapping, but I believe not; and it is also possible that different clerics had divergent opinions about spelling the name.  What began as Melladieu (odd enough to begin with, in a rural parish) in 1831 to 1836, became Mellody during the 1850s and 1860s, finally being recorded as Mellray or Mellery from 1872 onwards.  It's as though each new generation wanted a change.

I wonder where Melladieu originated?

We know that until about 1875 most B & D registration was achieved by registrars trawling for it (proactively) rather than individuals visiting an office and reporting.  Presumably when travel was slow and limited that was the most likely way to make it work.

My recent discovery (from the new GRO index) of an unknown sibling for my gt-grandfather showed that this did not always happen.  Twins were born in 1842 in Devon and registered by the father the next day.  Sadly one died after five days, and that was registered in the same way just two days later.  That would have meant a two-mile trip into Ashburton, assuming there was a registry there - or if there wasn't, a lot further to Newton Abbot.  I suppose it may have been market day or something, but it shows remarkable respect for authority?

On the baptism registers for Turton that I am transcribing I have come across two fathers apparently named Turner Turner and (more oddly) Fish Fish.  Does this mean that they only carry a family name (or perhaps are unwilling to reveal a given name) and the cleric was obliged to fill in a 'father's name' to show he was properly married to the mother?

I have found different parents for Elizabeth Anderson born 25.9.1825, bap. 25.12.1827 in Auckland, Co.Durham.  Both sources say her father was Robert.  One says her mother was Ann; the other source claims Deborah, also saying that Elizabeth was baptised with her brothers Matthew and Robert.

The marriage to Deborah was at Paddington on 21.3.1822, which all seems very consistent.  Robert seems to have been born in 1766 and Deborah about 20 years later, also consistent with the children ceasing in 1830.  The other Robert (married to Ann) is reported to be much younger; I suspect this is false information as it claims the same birth and baptism dates.

Does anyone have access to the original Auckland church register, who might settle this question?

As some will remember, I have been transcribing baptisms for a rural parish near Bolton Lancs for 1770 to 1840 (so far).  It was an upland area with moorland and streams suitable for powering mills.  As I proceed it has been interesting to see what changes and what doesn't.  Some of my observations:

In 1770 more than half the fathers were Weavers, with the remainder farmers, chapmen, blacksmiths, wheelwrights and a few other normal occupations.  By 1790 whitsters and printers were appearing, to process the output of the looms (whitster = whitener, i.e. bleacher), and there was even one Excise Officer.  A little later most of the printers were described as Calico printers.  By 1840 there are a great number of plain Labourers, which would commonly be Ag.Labs, but may have been mill workers, and the word Bleacher appears for the first time.

At the beginning the registers showed only 15 to 20 family names (with few exceptions), some fairly unusual (Rostron, Mayoh) and others simply local (Entwisle, Bradshaw, Bury).  By 1840 those were still there, but with plenty of incomers to join in the calico printing and other mechanised processes.

In 1770 baptisms for unmarried mothers were rare, about 2-3 percent.  By 1840 the rate was up to 7 percent, and the mother's occupation was almost exclusively Weaver.  I'm not sure whether that means they were all mill girls (there are still plenty of farmers on the register) or whether Weaver was the standard occupation offered in those circumstances.  Any suggestions?