James Harris - Peterchurch/Michaelchurch Escley

[Britgirl]

Darn it!
I located 12 contenders within a 10 mile radius of Michaelchurch Escley, and the only one who married a Harris was the Jane Gilbert you found, in Clodock.
But her James was found in the 1841 census in Wales, thus ruling him out again!

*bangs head against this brick wall*

[mazi]

well it might have worked   I am out of any more ideas, unless "james" and "judith" wanted to hide themselves.

I can only say that "james" must have had knowledge of Michaelchurch escley, its a remote hamlet in a remote part of herefordshire, not a name you could dream up or invent, from 70 miles away in Bath.  I need a satnav to find it today and I dont live that far away.

I still think he was brought up there, if not actually born there.

regards  mike

[Britgirl]

That James and Judith are pseudonyms is possible, but I would have thought moving to Bath would have provided enough anonimity in itself!

Some of my other Somerset families had daughters who went into service in Bath, and I wonder if that's what brought Judith there.
James must have had some agricultural experience, at least in workng with horses and cattle.
As he was an Ostler and a coachman in the late 1830s I wonder if it was that which brought him to Bath, where he was then impacted by the arrival of the train in the 1840s, which put coachmen out of work.

I'll do the same exercise, again maybe spreading the net wider and maybe within a range of Peterchurch, as he did also give that as his birthplace in one of the censuses.

[mazi]

 the welsh border is not far away, a trip to the market town of Hay would be easy, lots of pubs with a bad reputation in Hay   (well two ) 

mike

[JACK GEE]

Just wondering if any of the posters are still on the case?
My DNA is attached to William Cecil - Lord Burghley and the names Gilbert, Harris, Parry and Howells from the Shires of Hereford,Brecon, Gloucester and Monmouth. The places of Michaelchurch esckley, Vowchurch, Clodock, Walterstone, Alt yr ynus, Ganarew are implicated.

Cheers and stay safe
Jack Gee

[Britgirl]

Just wondering if any of the posters are still on the case?
My DNA is attached to William Cecil - Lord Burghley and the names Gilbert, Harris, Parry and Howells from the Shires of Hereford,Brecon, Gloucester and Monmouth. The places of Michaelchurch esckley, Vowchurch, Clodock, Walterstone, Alt yr ynus, Ganarew are implicated.

Cheers and stay safe
Jack Gee

Hi Jack,
I am indeed! I have still got no further since although a DNA match to another of James' sons looks interesting, as he disappeared after the age of 13. I don't think it's him *there were 2 born within a few years of each other), but got quite excited at the possibility of him being a cousin and their father's being brothers, especially as they were both living in the same village when they married and both gave their firstborn sons the same name, within a couple of months of each other.

So now I'm also looking for a William Harris born ca 1810, but who inconveniently died pre-1851 (not born in Somerset!), and possibly a Sarah Harris born around the same time who's husband was a witness to William's marriage and he at hers. Annoyingly she gives her place of birth as Freshford in Somerset!
Particularly frustrating is that the William Harris (son of Henry Harris & Jane Gilbert) seems to be alive and kicking in Herefordshire at the same time, thus ruling him out. 

Is your DNA on the Big Site? I keep checking but fear the key to this puzzle lies in the smaller segments of DNA which they've now removed! 

[JACK GEE]

Hi Britgirl,
thanks for your prompt reply.
My  DNA is on FTDNA under the William Cecil Lord Burghley Project.
To get a comparison they will need the DNA from a male Harris.
This is the link.
https://www.familytreedna.com/groups/cecil-cissell/about/background
Cheers
Jack Gee

[Britgirl]

Hi Britgirl,
thanks for your prompt reply.
My  DNA is on FTDNA under the William Cecil Lord Burghley Project.
To get a comparison they will need the DNA from a male Harris.
This is the link.
https://www.familytreedna.com/groups/cecil-cissell/about/background
Cheers
Jack Gee

My dad did a discounted Y-DNA test with FTDNA about 7 years ago at a genealogy convention, but to be honest I rarely check back there as it came back as just a string of data and ancestral paths and a match with a Hispanic sounding name!
Just had another look and there are 4 matches there now - 3 of which are Hispanic and the 4th with a Hispanic name as his earliest ancestor!
Seeing as I'm stuck in Somerset & the Welsh border they've been of little interest or use to me!

Would be good to connect with William Cecil though! My Dad is good with money - does that count?!