Where does my line end?

[Valda]

Adrian

I might have expected more in the parish register then baseborn child if the mother Elizabeth was actually the wife of Paul and openly cuckolding her husband Paul and blantantly committing adultery - a sin in the eyes of the church - she would have broken the 7th commandment so might as her punishment face something like excommunication from the church - punished for a sin in a local church court. You might also expect her to be shunned in the village and life to become very difficult for her there and yet by 1813 Elizabeth the wife of Paul, has another child with husband Paul.

There is no evidence from the parish register that William, who was baptised in 1809, had an adultress for a mother. Therefore she could just as easily have been a single Elizabeth Hemens (in which case 'I can find no other Elisabeth of a the right age' - does this mean you've checked for a woman aged anywhere between 16ish and up to at a pinch 45?). If the child William was in fact born in Bishop Compton or grew up there, his illegitimacy might be the reason he was not baptised there - his mother working as a servant in Winscombe/his father from Winscombe...
Have you checked the poor law records for Bishop Compton?
'I can find no Hemens in the Compton Bishop registers'
Does this include the marriage records for Bishop Compton for an Elizabeth later marrying there after William's baptism or indeed in Winscombe or an adjacent parish?
Where does your William first surface prior to the 1841 census in Winscombe? Where did he marry? Who were the witnesses at his marriage?

Regards

Valda

[Adrian Smith]

Hello Valda,

Like you I am now becoming convinced that Elisabeth, Williams Mother is not the same Elisabeth that was married to Paul. 

You asked about William's marriage; here are the details:


St. James the Great, Winscombe Somerset
otp William HEMENS 26 Apr 1830 UPSHALL Bethia otp
Witnesses
Thomas ALLAN?   Harriet HANCOCK   John ELLIS

The next reference to William that I have found is the Winscome 1841 census.

William HEMMENS   32
Bethia HEMMENS   
Elizabeth HEMMENS   
George HEMMENS   6

I can't find William or Bethia in 1851 but in 1861 they are in Winscombe.  This is where we find his birth place recorded as Compton.

I'm not sure where this leaves me 

Regards,

Adrian.

 

[glenclare]

HI,

I think I have found William and family in 1851.
The family is William, Birthia, and son George age 16. They are living in Banwell, Somerset and are farmers.

Class: HO107; Piece: 1936; Folio: 662; Page: 30;

Hope this might be of help,
Glen

[Valda]

Have you checked the Bishop Compton registers for any mention of Hemens before and after William's DOB looking for the possibility of William's mother's marriage (and also in Winscombe)?

Regards

Valda

[Adrian Smith]

Hi Valda,

I've checked the Compton Bishop records at

http://www.origins.plus.com/comptonbishopintro.htm [thanks Steve & Morya].  No mention of Elisabeth in either Baptisms or Marriages.

Winscombe has no female Hemens marriage after 1777.

I have found a Wedmore record for BETTY HEMENS
Christening:     13 OCT 1781 and her mother HESTER in IGI - a tentative candidate but sadly no link to William.

I'll keep digging.

Adrian.
   

[Valda]

The time span is a bit limited for Compton Bishop parish registers on the site you mention.

Compton Bishop Christenings 1716-1767
Compton Bishop Marriages 1754-1812

if he and his mother returned to Bishop Compton and she later remarried there, or if she was born there.

There is a potential baptism in Winscombe for a 'Lizzie Hemens'

2 Jan 1776 Lissy? d   Sarah MASTERS by William HEMENS 

William and Sarah do seem to be a consistent pairing

13 Sep 1764 John s   Sarah MASTERS a base child
burial 22 Sep 1764 John MASTERS son of Sarah MASTERS
15 Sep 1765 Thomas s   Sarah MASTERS a base child
25 Oct 1766 Paul s   Sarah MASTERS base born
16 Apr 1769 Hester d   Sarah MASTERS
18 Nov 1773 Enoch s   Sarah MASTERS
9 Mar 1778 David s   Sarah MASTERS by William HEMENS
22 Aug 1779 Matthew s   Sarah MASTERS by William HEMENS
burial 28 Oct 1780 Matthew MASTERS son of Sarah MASTERS a base child
15 Mar 1783 Joseph s   Sarah MASTERS son of William HEMENS
 
Sarah had a son called Paul - have you found Paul Hemens baptism - the one who married Elizabeth and was having children in the early C19th in Winscombe and then disappeared?

Regards

Valda

[Adrian Smith]

Valda,

Many thanks for your encouragement and hard work on this little problem.

I have found a couple of candidates in Winscombe:

Paull [sic] 8 April 1765 s Nathan & Elizabeth Hemens
Paul 2 June 1758 s William & Elizabeth Hemens

Kind regards,

Adrian.

[Valda]

Winscombe burial

22 Nov 1760 Paul HEMENS son of Wm & Elizabeth

First male child in traditional naming patterns is usually named after the paternal grandfather - not everyone followed traditional naming patterns so it isn't conclusive but this is Paul and Elizabeth's first child in the Winscombe baptism register - which also not be their first child just the first one in Winscombe. Do you know when they married?

Baptism
20 Oct 1793 William s Paul Betty HEMENS

Somerset Record Office hold this record

Estate Duty Wills for hemmens
Hemmens Paul 1830 Winscombe

Regards

Valda