Huguenots in Herefordshire?

[cimbrio]

Hello all,

I'm trying to find out if what I'm about to tell you has any factual basis.

I am descended from Montilion Cartwright and Sarah Watkins, who were married in Almeley, Herefordshire on 6 June 1772. Sarah was born in Almeley in 1752, the daughter of Philip Watkins and Dorothy Tringam (or Tringham/Stringham), who were themselves married in 1749 also in Almeley. Some years ago I used Familysearch.org to track a line of Almeley Tringams back to the early 1600's, earlier than the first major wave of refugees known as Huguenots came over to Britain.

I know Huguenots settled mainly in areas of London and the south-east but I was wondering if there were pockets of Huguenots in Herefordshire too. I once read (http://www.surnames.com/documented_websites/Yvonne/stringham_history.htm) there was a Huguenot family in England who later settled in America, but I haven't been able to find a link to Dorothy or her father John Tringam (married Dorothy Crowther in Almeley, 1714).

Even more bizarrely, I've come across a tree on Ancestry.co.uk where it mentions (without citing sources) that my ancestor Montilion/Montelion Cartwright coincidentally was also a Huguenot. Montilion was born in Kington in 1746, the son of William Cartwright and Mary Harper (or Harpur). Cartwright doesn't sound to me like a very French-sounding name so I'm not sure if there's any basis for the assumption that Montilion too was a Huguenot.

Can anyone shed any light on all this?

Thank you!
Cimbrio 

[garstonite]

IGI has his name on the marriage record as Mantillian - do you have his baptism record ?

my DIRECT line back to c 1709 in Eardisley ( I will check how far Eardisley is to Almeley )
William Stringham b c 1709 married Sarah Lewis b 1709 -married 1736... both born Eardisley
daughter Elizabeth Stringham baptised 6th January 1739 in Eardisley
she married Simon Merrick b 1728 Norton Canon ...
there direct descendant Mary Ann Merrick b 1852 Ocle Pychard came to Garston.Liverpool and married Daniel Oakes in 1873 - they had 11 children in Garston ...
so - I have done quite a lot of research on Stringham and have never associated the name with French Huguenots ??...to my knowledge Cartwright and Tringam /Tringham /Stringham are English names ....maybe another member will prove me wrong ...
William Stringham b about 1709 baptism record not there - but Sarah Lewis baptism is ...makes me wonder if William was born in Eardisley - marriage record states Eardisley

ADDED...Almeley to Eardisley is 2 miles ....makes me think somewhere along the line maybe your Tringam / Tringham may be also my Stringham family back around 1700 ...sadly I can`t find a record for my William Stringham b c1709 Eardisley
but
Tringam in Norton Canon -where the vast majority of my Merrick family are from - and where Elizabeth Stringham marries Simon Merrick ..??

[cimbrio]

Hi Garstonite,

Thanks for your message. I agree that Cartwright and Tringham/Stringham don't sound very French, but maybe there Huguenot connection (if indeed there was one) came through a maternal line...

How can you be sure that your William Stringham (b.c.1709) was born in Eardisley? If sarah Lewis was from there, it would have been quite normal for her to marry in her own local parish, but William may well have been from somewhere else.

I've found a William Stringham on the IGI database born in or around 1664. He's probably not the husband of Sara Lewis, but could well be her father-in-law? There are Tringham/Stringhams in various places in Herefordshire (including Hereford and Eardisley)... It's all quite confusing without being able to see the actual parish records - and the spelling variations don't help.

As for Montilion/Mantilian Cartwright was baptised on 20 March 1746 in Kington, Herefordshire. His parents were William Cartwright and Mary Harper/Harpur (possibly baptised 1 June 1721 in Kington). I have no more info on William Cartwright

[garstonite]

quote " How can you be sure that your William Stringham (b.c.1709) was born in Eardisley? If sarah Lewis was from there, it would have been quite normal for her to marry in her own local parish, but William may well have been from somewhere else"

I have him b c1709 Eardsley?  in my tree because Sarah Lewis was baptised 6th jan 1709 Eardsley and thus I have William as the same ....but with 4 question marks ...I feel if he was born Eardsley , his baptism would show like Sarah`s does ..so he probably wasn`t - but Eardsley ? is better than unknown - at least when I look at my tree it gives me an idea of the area he was from ....
you say you found a William c1664 -where was he baptised ??

[cimbrio]

Sorry, I must have written the wrong surname, I found a William Cartwright born in 1664 (in Pembridge, Heref.), not William Stringham. Sorry to have raised your hopes for a moment there!
https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/JQX3-59R

I'll carry on searching for these Tringhams/Stringhams and see if in the process I find out if they really were Huguenots...

[garstonite]

Thanks ...I will be watching with interest
cheers