WILLIAMS of Great Torrington

[ard]

Looking to connect with others who are WILLIAMS families from Great Torrington, Devon (especially early 19th century)
LYNE; HARDING are surnames that are connected.

ard

[slightlyfoxed]

Check out Genuki and the on- line parish records for Great Torrington.
regards
Foxy

[peggypatch]

Do you mean Great Torrington as in the town or Great Torrington as in the sub-district? If you do mean the sub-district then I have Williams from the 18th & 19th century from the village of Winkleigh, which comes within that sub-district. Any good to you?

[ard]

Thanks foxy for the genuki tip. I'll check it out.

Thank you too, Peggypatch, for responding. This is what I'm working with: Rebecca WILLIAMS, my gg grandmother, was born at Great Torrington around 1814. She apparently had a brother Roger born there in around 1825.

Cornwall census information for Rebecca and Roger (who later lived with her family) had Torrington and later Great Torrington as place of birth , so I'm guessing it is the district (I didn't know there was also a town).

When Rebecca was around 20 and married a LYNE and had a son John. I think by 1841 she was already a widow and living at Culley Ford, Frithelstock, which is apparently part of Great Torrington. A few years later she married again (John HARDING) and lived in Cornwall.

A member submitted IGI record for Rebecca (if she's the correct one) says her parents were Richard and Ann. 

A Rootschat member sent me possible baptismal information for Roger from her transcription of Great Torrington baptisms 1823-1828:
15 Aug 1824: Roger Cock WILLIAMS son of John & Mary, Labourer of Torrington.
22 Aug 1824: Eliza Ann WILLIAMS dau of John & Mary, Joiner of Torrington. Born in Prince Edward Island, N. America 13th February 1823
29 Apr 1827: Mary WILLIAMS dau of John & Mary, Labourer of Torrington.

So the parents names don't match but I cannot be sure either the information for Rebecca or Roger are for "my" Rebecca and/or Roger.

So that's where I'm at. I guess you would be better placed to say if what you have would be good for me!!

cheers,

ard

[peggypatch]

Hi Ard,

Unfortunately, I don't know of any link between your Williams and mine, as my tree covers the same timespan, but in different villages.

I would say you are looking at the town of Great Torrington rather than the district simply because the districts only came into the frame after civil registration began in 1837, before that date people would only have talked of the parish/town or city that they were born in.

I wouldn't take too much notice of the IGI entry if I were you, there are so many errors and leaps of faith on it these days that I don't believe anything I see on it until it has been checked against the original.

The baptisms from the Torrington register are interesting. The entry of Roger Cock Williams is a good indication that his parents were John Williams & Mary (formerly Cock) have you looked for a marriage between these two? As you say though you have no proof that this is your Roger. The second baptism just a week or so later and the different occupation of the father suggests that just to muddy the waters there were two different John & Mary's having kids in the town at the same time (the second lot having just returned from America). The third baptism in 1827 seems to be the first couple again.

Have you been able to search the Great Torrington register for 1814 to see whether Rebecca is there? If not and you aren't able to get someone on this site to do a free lookup for you, I would write to the Devonshire Record Office and ask them to have a look for her, it shouldn't cost too much to do a simple look up like that. Fingers crossed they'll come back with Rebecca being baptised there in 1814, the daughter of John & Mary (formerly Cock), that would tie this up neatly wouldn't it, but knowing this game it won't be so simple!!
Good luck

[ard]

Indeed! My experience is that when information ties in neatly, it should be viewed as highly suspect! There are plently of puzzle pieces that are seemingly a perfect fit, only to be revealed later as belonging to a different picture.

Thanks for your information and suggestions. Anything helps, really. I'll just keep plugging along!

cheers,

ard