This is part II of message.
Richard Jarvis and Elizabeth Forster were married at Houghton-next-Harpley on 12 Jan 1790. The witnesses were William Jarvis and Richard Jarvis.
Elizabeth Jarvis died at the age of 67 years. She was buried on 15 Jul 1836.
Richard Jarvis died at the age of 82 years. He was buried on 27 Jun 1843.
Elizabeth’s parents were Henry Forster and Ann Johnson. You’ll see that her father’s name, Henry, was given to Richard and Elizabeth’s second son. The middle name of the first son, Wharton Johnson, was the maiden name of Elizabeth’s mother, Ann Johnson.
I’m not sure who Richard’s parents were. The Parish Registers mentioned a few Jarvis men of the previous generation:
1. John, who married Mary Bunting or Bunton 13 Sep 1763 (witnesses were Richard Rumball and Robert Johnson);
2. Richard, who married Mary Roice in 1762 and Grace Davy on 29 Oct 1792 (witnesses were Elizabeth Winkworth and William Jarvis); he died at the age of 76 and was buried 9 Apr 1812.
3. Richard, who was married to Ann, who were the parents of children Samuel (1751), Mary (1758-twin?) and Deborah (1758-twin?)
4. William, who married Mary Roice in and ; she died at the age of 67, and was buried in March 1792; he died a widower, at the age of 75, and was buried 31 Jul 1793.
Christopher’s father, Richard could not have been the son of John and Mary (#1). They were the parents of another Richard, who married Ann Drawater. Richard and Ann were the parents of the Richard Jarvis who was the father of my wife’s ancestor, Samuel. I suspect John and Mary’s son, Richard was a cousin to the Richard who was Christopher’s father. He may have been the Richard who was one of the witnesses to Richard and Elizabeth’s 1790 marriage.
I could not find a record of any children of Richard and Mary Jarvis (#2), which may indicate they were childless. Had they been Christopher’s grandparents (i.e. the parents of the Richard who married Elizabeth Forster), I would have expected one of Richard and Elizabeth’s sons (especially one of the earlier ones) to be named Richard. They had no son by that name. This leads me to say Richard and Mary (#2) were not Richard’s parents.
As for the possibility that Richard and Ann Jarvis (#3) were Richard’s parents, again I would rule them out because Richard and Elizabeth did not name a son Richard.
This leaves William and Mary Jarvis (#4). Richard and Elizabeth named their third son, William Robert. The second son was named for Elizabeth’s father (Henry Forster). The first son Wharton Johnson was likely named after someone on Elizabeth’s maternal side. When Elizabeth’s parents, Henry Forster and Ann Johnson were married on 9 Dec 1766, the witness was Wharton Johnson. I suspect he was Ann’s father, in which case Richard and Elizabeth named their first son for Elizabeth’s maternal grandfather. Another possibility is that the first son was named after an uncle of Elizabeth’s who also had the name Wharton Johnson (i.e. this Wharton Johnson would have been the son of the old Wharton Johnson, and a brother to Elizabeth’s mother Ann). There was a bachelor Wharton Johnson who was buried in Apr 1796. Having accounted for the names of Richard and Elizabeth’s first two sons, the question is why did they name their third son William? Could it be that was Richard’s father’s name? If so, that could have been the William who married Mary Roice.
The only other information I can offer is:
1. Based on the entries in the church registers for New Houghton (Houghton-next-Harpley), the Jarvis family appears to have arrived in Houghton shortly before February 1751 when Samuel, the son of Richard and Ann Jarvis was baptized. There was no record of a marriage between Richard and Ann, or any earlier entries for members of the Jarvis family.
2. Source: Rootsweb Mailing List, Norfolk, England, Date: Sat, 6 Jan 2001 22:37:55, From: "Patricia Mason" Subject: Re: Houghton & Walpole:
"Are the following , taken from private papers still at Houghton Hall any use? (References are those given in the 1994 Report of the Royal Commission on Historical Manuscripts on the Cholmondeley papers.)
M15 (only heads of house named)
1829 :
Cottage No3 Elizth JARVIS , one male 20-25, 1 female 45-50
Cottage No4 Richd JARVIS 2males under 5, 1male 5-10 ,1 male 25-30, 1 female under 5, 1female 5-10 , 1 female 25-30.
Cottage No10 Richard JARVIS 1 male 20-25, 1 male 60-65, 1female 55-60.
1832 (only heads of house named no details of others)
Cottage No3 Elizabeth JARVIS
Cottage No4 Christopher JARVIS
Cottage No4 Richard JARVIS jnr
Cottage NO9 Richard JARVIS snr
Cottage NO10 Widow R JARVIS.
1834 (sons & daughters counted are adult)
Widow JERVIS
Widow Betty JERVIS with one son Labourer
Christopher JERVIS , labourer, with wife & 6 children
Richd JERVIS & wife (aged*) Blacksmith with 1 grandchild, 2 sons labourers,
& 2 daughters (*ie old)
Widow JERVIS
Richd JERVIS , sawyer, & wife & 7 children."
I hope some of this is of help to you. If you’ve come cross anything else about the family, please let me know. By the way, what came of Christopher in Canada?
Michael Duffy
