MITCHELL/MICHELL? family

[geoffreyhyoung]

i know Iv'e looked! That is what makes it so difficult but interesting at the same time. My favoured line is the one that leadsback to Perranuthnoe but I just have a nagging doubt I'm missing something. Am now starting with James1845 and working back as thoroughly as I can but the jump from James 1813 to John 1771 but still unsure. The other strangething is that a Mitchell family legend had an Irish connection but I just think this is fantasy.

[Sandymc47]

Hi again,

The gap between John and James is not that large. Its only 40 years.  John could have
been married before and as soon as the wife died they were generally married within
a year as they had children to look after.  Maybe its because he was a widower you
are finding it hard to fill that gap?  It doesnt help when they dont put the wifes name
on these records it makes me laugh as its as if the woman wasnt that important. Poor
wife. I wouldnt give up hope of finding your way through it can take years sometimes.
At least the information on line is so much better now than when I started about 6
years ago.
After writing that I looked at the census as you hadnt mentioned going forward to
then go backwards.  In the 1841 census James born 1813 is with Eliza in Market Place
parish of St Hilary, with Henry 3 and a James aged 1 born 1840.  In 1851 census James is a widower
living with a housekeeper called Mary Ford, Henry 14, James 7 William John aged 6 weeks.
All down as being born in Marazion. A few gaps there so probably the children had died.
I think the mix up you are having is the Parish and the District. They are all within a
few miles of each other and I would presume it just depended when or where the scribe
was sent from. As mentioned before it didnt take time to get someone in to look after
the kids otherwise they couldnt go to work.
I noticed that James 1844 married Grace at Penzance which is 3 miles away.  Miles were
nothing in those days, it was a brisk walk down the road.
Try and keep an open mind  You can make mistakes then something later on it works
out again. Hope it goes well going backwards.

regards Sandymc

[geoffreyhyoung]

thanks. Yes I am beginning to realise that distances on the map of Cornwall arn't that great. At first look I was relating it to here in Yorkshire but when you look they are all within a few miles of each other. I take what you mean about walking. In the 19th Cent James Mitchell who lived in Cleveland at that time would have walked 3 miles to work and then another 2 miles underground in the mine to the face. Puts us into perspective really. Thinking about john, I suppose born in 1771 married 1793 is pretty much ok. It is just the seemingly long gap to a first child in 1799 which is odd. Maybe John was called up into the army. Again thanks for your encouragement.
On James and Grace's marriage in 1864 I have obtained a copy cetificate and they were marriedin the register office at Penzance as you said. Would that mean they were living in sin as it were or maybe they were non conformists.

[John915]

Good evening,

Try this site, Ian has thousands of mitchells and it's variant spellings. www.devon-mitchells.co.uk

John915

[geoffreyhyoung]

Thanks.Have just had a quick look and theres lots of info. Will start searching for my lot!

[Nick Hamilton-Peters]

Geoffrey H Young, There is a site that might be of interest to you, Google "Devon Mitchells" and you will find lots of information, including John & Anne. It has been put together by numerous people, through the guy that runs the site. Give it a try.

[Nick Hamilton-Peters]

Hi Geoffrey, I've just come across your query on RootsChat, ref. James Michell and Grace Johns. They had 9 children, all born in Yorkshire, except the last one, Mabel who was born in Nottinghamshire. James parents were James Michell and Eliza Bawden, he had a second wife Mary Ford. The reason you have the Mitchell connection is mainly due to how the name is heard by whoever registers the family. They were definitely Michell's when they left Cornwall, but all the kids are listed as Mitchell when born 'Up North'. Hope that helps a bit. Google a site called Mitchells of Devon, you'll find some more info on there.