Avica the mysterious woman

[Valda]

I don't know that the Martins were not living together. All that the census says is they were not together that one night. Bakers can sometimes be caught away from home on census night because they worked nights - so the census records their night shift, not where they were sleeping during the day. Perhaps they were in the process of moving residences?

The Vicar of Harbury (maybe new and enthusiastic or under pressure from the growing Methodist influence) might have walked his parish and checked who was and wasn't baptised and whipped them all in for the following Sunday.

I think it a 'tad' unlikely that William Masters on a trip to Fifield (would there be any reason for him to go there) was swept off his feet by a chance encounter with a local mother of two illegitimate children, albeit that John was 16 in 1812 and Avice 12, so not a great financial responsibility. I would think it more likely both children were home in Fifield looked after by relatives and Hannah/Ann was away working as a servant in the area (possibly how she got into trouble in the first place).

Regards
Valda

P.S. Budbrooke is about 4 or 5 parishes away from Harbury to the West, as Staverton in Northants is in the opposite direction 4 or 5 parishes aways from Harbury to the east. Northamptonshire has the worse coverage on the IGI of any county  - about 3% according to the figures I have. Budbrooke is covered by the IGI up to 1876 from the start of the registers.
Stephen Masters born Staverton circa 1803 is on the 1861 census  in Staverton and in Southam Warwickshire in 1851. No show for Stephen Masters baptised Budbrooke on either census. No Wilsons born Budbrooke either and according to the IGI none baptised there since 1730.

[LouiseB31]

Ladies, please let me rush right in here.

FORGET BUDBROOKE!

It is a red herring of huge proportions.

I spent ten years working on a possible link between the two Stephens, assuming they were one and the same, but became they certain they are two different men.

The bastardy bond says my Stephen is from Staverton so I searched their parish records in person myself in Northamptonshire about five years ago.

I found lots of Masters in the parish registers.

I believe I am descended from Thomas Masters, who died in Staverton 28 April 1767 and was married to Anne (who died 27 August 1741 in Staverton).

One of their five children, Thomas Masters, was christened in Staverton, Northants 30 December 1734, died in Staverton 26 February 1806, married Elizabeth Wafforn, the 31 October 1755 in Staverton (died 19 October 1782 in Staverton).

They had 7 children, one of whom, Thomas Masters, was christened in Staverton 21 January 1760, married Ann Watson, 30 January 1777 in Staverton.

They had nine children, one of whom, Stephen Masters, was christened in Staverton, Northants 5 September 1805, died in Staverton 10 April 1892, married Ann Shearsby, 14 November 1825 in Fenny Compton.

Stephen and Ann lived for a while in Shuckborough which is in the same registration district of Southam as Harbury is. I dont think Ann ever knew about young William because they had three sons from memory, one of which was another William.

The Stephen who married Elizabeth Dyke (Zyke was a mis-transcription) and who is the son of Job and Ann is a different chap. Many people have tried to make them the same one, but I really am happy that they are not.

We may never know what drew William Masters to the shamed Miss Simpson, unless it was the same thing that drew Mr Hayward and Mr Wilson...

I will be back in touch when I know more

Regards and best wishes

Louise

[Valda]

I'd already checked out Stephen Masters of Staveley when I read your first message, in case he provided any avenues, which he didn't from the records I was able to access.

My interest in him remains his connection to William Masters and your brief outline of Stephen's direct descent didn't help me place him.

However when confronted with loose ends I always have a tendency to want to tidy them up, or clear them away.
The other Stephen is not in the burial records for Budbrooke on the National index, or anywhere in Warwickshire on the index. This may be him from the civil registration

MASTERS, Stephen 1840 June Deaths Warwick Warwickshire

I think with a Bastardy Bond against him and money going out to support his illegitimate son, Stephen's wife Ann probaly did know about her husband's indiscretion. These were small communities. Everybody knew everybody else's business and everybody's family connections. I imagine Ann had no choice but to be pragmatic.

I don't know in the early part of the C19th having an illegitmate child was quite as shaming as it was in the period of greatest morality, the first half of the C20th. William was born in the Georgian period anyway, but Victorian morality as we read about it in books was to do with the middles classes and the church. The middle classes had property and money to send down to their legitimate descendants and needed to protect that. Village life on the other hand was closer to nature and the countryside was not chaperoned, though usually a marriage followed on for most village couples. Ann Simpson was unlucky twice. How much she shared all of her history with William....?  Stephen was the character in the story who committed the sin, because he of course was an adulterer.
Regards
Valda

[LouiseB31]

This is just a quick post to tell you that I think I have worked out the relationship between Stephen Masters, father of Avica’s son William Wilson, and William Masters, who may have been looking after William Wilson/Masters in 1841.

The following information is all taken from the parish registers that I saw myself in Northampton about 5 years ago or so. I have all the dates and facts but haven't bored you with what you don't need to know - unless you decide you do of course.

Thomas and Anne Masters, who arrived in Staverton in the early 1700s as far as I can tell, had five children, two of which were boys, William and Thomas.

William married Ann, not in Staverton, whilst Thomas married Elizabeth Wafforn in Staverton.

Each of these couples had a son named Thomas.

William and Ann’s son Thomas was baptised in 1758 in Staverton.
Thomas and Elizabeth’s son Thomas was baptised in 1760 in Staverton.

One of these Thomas’s married Ann Watson in 1777 in Staverton

The other Thomas married Lucy Norton in 1786 in Staverton.

There is no way of working out which is which unfortunately.

Thomas and Lucy had a son William in 1787 – the man on the 1841 census aged 50 (rounded to the nearest half decade).

Thomas and Ann had a son Stephen in 1805 (their youngest) – the father of Avica’s son William.

So, William and Stephen are second cousins (sharing the same great-grandfather, whichever fathers they have) but will have known each other well, being of the same generation, albeit 18 years apart and brought up in the same village.

Stephen did also have an older brother named William, baptised 1779 but he appears on the 1851 census in Dunchurch aged 72 with his wife Mary so he cannot be the man that left Hannah a widow in the same census in Harbury.
Incidentally, in 1851 Stephen’s own census entry is as follows

1851 census, Southam, Warwickshire         
Hounds Lane, Upper and Lower Shuckborough, Southam, Warwickshire                           
Name   Age   Position   Occupation   Place of birth      
Stephen Masters   46  Head   Shepherd   Staverton      
Anne Masters   50  Wife   Fenny Compton    
William Masters   16 Son   Farm Labourer Staverton
Thomas Rathhman   35 Lodger Farm Labourer Burdingbury   
      
I have posted my cheque for the Fifield fiche and asked about bastardy bonds, although I don’t suppose they have any in the FHS. I will have to write to the county record office about that I expect.

Best wishes

Louise

[LouiseB31]

And my second post concerns the other Steven Masters - from Budbrooke - I usually distinguish him by using a "v" instead of a "ph"

My records show he was baptised 4/10/1801 in Budbrook the son of Job Masters and Ann nee Horton. I had recorded his death in Hatton, Warwickshire in 1840.

Job was the illegitimate son of Sarah Masters baptised 1772 in Budbrooke.

Sarah was the daughter of Joseph Masters and his cousin Sarah nee Avery, baptised in 1743 in Budbrooke.

Joseph was the son of John Masters and Sarah, baptised in 1707 in Budbrooke.

John was the son of Jacobi and Mariae Masters, baptised in 1675 in Budbrooke.

Jacobi Masters was the son of James Masters and Alice nee Avery, baptised in 1642 in Budbrooke.

I have not been able to tie in the Thomas who arrived in Staverton with wife Ann with any suitable offspring of any of these couples unfortunately, so they remain two different families.

It is rather a shame because I researched them thoroughly, in co-operation with lots of their descendants,  for years before finding out that my Stephen was a different person altogether!

Regards Louise

[JAP]

Sorry Louise (and Valda) about dragging the red herring across the trail - especially one which had thrown genealogical hound Louise off the scent so thoroughly in the past   If only the Staverton records had been in the IGI.  However, it has been very interesting to read the whole story - so there was a side benefit; thank you Louise.

One is used to everyone being called William or George or similar names but having two chaps called by the less common name of Stephen around the area at the same time does seem a little unfair - and sheer cruelty to genealogists when one is in the IGI and one not...  Then again, the descendants of the other Stephen must have benefited enormously from your research.

Anticipating the next instalment ...

Regards,

JAP

[LouiseB31]

Just a snippet really

This is a paraphrase of the bastardy bond as written by my dear friend Sid Masters - who is descended from the Budbrooke lot but still helps me out with research in Warwick record office from time to time. I do have the original.

"Stephen did beget a child on Avica's body.

After the Church Wardens noticed that Avica was heavy with child, they ruled that poor old Stephen should immediately cough up four pounds nine shillings towards Avica's lying-in costs and a further six shillings to defray the costs of the Bastardy Examination.

And as if that wasn't enough, Stephen was ordered to pay two shillings per week starting immediately and continuing until the unborn child was no longer chargeable to the parish of Harbury.  And poor  Avica was ordered to pay one shilling per week during this same period. "

Obviously he is taking Stephen's side, tongue in cheek I hope.

Anyway it is interesting to see what it all cost back in 1826

Regards

Louise

[LouiseB31]

Update on Avica the mysterious woman

I went to Liverpool central library at the weekend with the Fifield fiche that I bought from the Oxfordshire Family History Society. It covers a transcript of all baptisms, marriages and burials from the early 1700s to 1965, it incorporates the parish register and the bishop’s transcript.

I recorded every Simpson entry but because there were only a few it was easy to make the relationships between the individuals.

Baptisms

1800, August 3rd
Avice, Daughter of Ann Simpson, illegitimate (Our Avica we believe)

1796 Sept 4th
John Hayard (sic) Simpson, illegitimate son of Ann

1786 24th Sept
William Simpson, son of William and Susannah

1784 8th Feb
Elizabeth Simpson daughter of William

1779 17th October
Richard Simpson son of William

1777 5th October
Emy (sic) daughter of William Simpson

1775 15th October
James, son of William Simpson

1773 27th June
Ann*, daughter of William Simpson and Susannah (*Avica’s mother)

1749 25th August
William*, son of James and Mary Simpson (*Avica’s grandfather)

Marriages

1802 Jan 10th
James Simpson (Avica’s uncle) m Elizabeth Brain of Bruern Grange
Witnesses Hannah Simpson (Avica’s mother?) and Richard Betman

Burials

30th Jan 1819
Susannah Simpson aged 72 years (Avica’s grandmother)

2nd May 1809
William Simpson  (Avica’s grandfather probably, rather than Uncle)

12th September 1797
Mary Simpson (Possibly Avica’s great grandmother or more likely another female relative)

26th April 1771
Mary Simpson (More likely to be Avica’s great grandmother or another female relative)

16th June 1762
James Simpson (Avica’s great grandfather)

14th Feb 1747
Ann Simpson daughter of James and Mary (Avica’s grandfather’s sister)

I am still waiting to hear from my friend about the wedding entry for 1832 in Coventry between Avica Wilson and John Finch.

I suppose we are right, that Avica Wilson is really Avica Simpson is really Mary Finch? No, we are, we are, surely we are.

Regards and best wishes

Louise

[Valda]

There is an age adjustment there from the best age (given on the 1861 census) and the baptism in 1773. She may have adjusted her age to bring it more in line with her husband's and it would account for why she only had one child in Harbury, as she would actually have been around 41 at her birth. It also means she lived to a quite advanced age, but then so did her daughter.
However a bastardy bond from Fifield, preferably with the surname Wilson attached to it would tie it up securely, but I think perhaps that is a little too much to hope for.

Regards
Valda