PATRICK surname

[BeccaH]

Hi Trish!  Wow, thank you so much for all the help!  That is all extremely interesting - the idea of them changing their name had actually occurred to me when I'd failed to find them on the census, although I'd dismissed it as much too farfetched... but maybe not!  If this is true, it's by far the most interesting story I've found in my family tree.  And the really odd thing is that older members of my family were very insistent (before I did my research and found the marriage certificate of James Mills and Frances PATRICK) that Frances' maiden name was Glover - I have no idea where that came from, but if they were changing the name, it puts the story in an interesting light...

Can I just clarify one thing?  When you say you found Henry Patrick on the 1840 marriage, do you mean the one between James Patrick and Mary Ann Puxley?  I assumed so, but I just wanted to be completely sure.

Again, thanks for all your help!

Diddy, yes, there seems to have been a scattering of Patricks across Norfolk and Suffolk - I would assume that if we went back far enough, they'd probably all be related, but I have no idea how far back we'd have to go for that!

[Annette7]

Bear in mind that James Watts bc.1807 Denton, Norfolk and if he was indeed the son of Henry Patrick and Mary Watts since they didn't marry until 1814 he would legally have been a Watts being born prior to the marriage.

Unfortunately, there is apparently a gap in the original baptisms for Denton on familysearch between 1708 and 1808!

Annette

 

[BeccaH]

Thanks for the pointer, Annette!  I don't think that James Watts b.1807 can be the James Watts appearing on the 1851 census though, as he was only 34 in 1851 (not sure if that is a typo by Trish or a mistranscription, but I'm looking at the original document now, and it clearly says 34 - this also fits with his age on the 1861 census) which would have him born in around 1817, ten years later, and after the Patrick/Watts marriage.  So I don't think we're looking at an earlier child of Mary Ann Watts... Although that James is probably a relative of hers - perhaps even a considerably younger brother.

I still have a lot more research to do on this family, I can see that...

[trish1120]

Just bookmarking as I need to look over all this again

[trish1120]

It was a typo on my part as the 1851 census has James Watts born c 1817, Denton, Norfolk, sorry. All the Childrens names/POB etc match plus Wife is a Mary in 1851. Also James Occp is the same.

The 1841 census for Ann Pattrick seems tto be Mary Ann nee Watts.

Emma PATRICK Christened 07 June 1829, Aldburgh, Norfolk, Parents HENRY Patrick and Anne WATTS
(Familysearch.Org)

James PATRICK, Father HENRY Patrick, married Mary Ann PUXLEY, age 27 (birth c 1813), Father TIMOTHY Puxley, 27 October 1840, Bassingham, Norfolk.
(F/S.Org)

Trish

[trish1120]

There is a Henry Patrick age 45, birth c 1791, transported on the "Moffatt"
1836 to NSW.

It may be worth trying to follow up on him to see where he was Covicted.

EDIT Convicted at Norfolk, Term Life; under Pattrick

[BeccaH]

Trish, I can only say thank you once again for all this amazing information!  It really does seem like this Henry Patrick/Pattrick was the father of James, linking up the fact that his father's name was Henry with the marriage record of Henry and the note about being transported...

I would have to visit the Norfolk Record Office to look for more details about his conviction, but following your lead, I have found a record for him in Australia!  The convict muster of those arriving on the Moffatt lists Henry Pattrick, 45, a farm servant from Norfolk, Protestant, able to read and write, married, no former convictions but convicted for life for stealing cattle.  It even gives a physical description of him, including his height in feet and inches.  This is the most detail I have ever found about an ancestor, so very exciting to see!  I suspect that certain older members of my family are going to be slightly shocked though...

The only thing that does not match up is James changing his name to Watts - it would be easy to say that it was through shame at his father's crime, but Henry was transported in 1836, and in 1850 James was still living in Norfolk under his own name because his son Samuel was baptised then.  The change must have taken place between Samuel's baptism, and the taking of the census in 1851, around fifteen years after Henry's transportation, which suggests that James had a different reason for this...

Also interesting that when Frances got married in 1866, she used her real name, and gave her father's name as James PATRICK. 

[trish1120]

I cant explain the name change but everything else sems to add up.

Trish

[Annette7]

According to Alburgh parish records (familysearch) Henry and Ann (always shown as Ann as on the census) had the following children:

George bp.7/5/1815, bur.21/7/1821
Samuel bp.21/9/1817
William bp.25/7/1819
Charles bp.16/9/1821, bur.12/1/1829
Robert b.2/11/1823, bp.24/.10/1824
Edward b.10/11/1826, bp.12/8/1827
Emma b.24/1/1829, bp.7/6/1829
Anna bc.1831

What I keep coming back to is that James Patrick/Watts states on the census that he was born in Denton, Norfolk and states this more than once.   All other children of Henry and Ann are born/baptised in Alburgh hence, since he later reverts to the name Watts, my thinking that he was born before the marriage.

The closest I can find is a James Watson, bp.5/9/1813 Denton, son of Anne Watson - this was the year before Henry Patrick married Mary Ann Watts.
Watts/Watson entries both come up on a search at Denton on familysearch hence me finding it - should this really read Watts?   We know that Mary Ann is referred to as Ann on baptisms of her other children and the census.

Annette