Thomas Burge birth date/location and Parents

[vswank]

Hi Everyone.  I am new to Rootschat and am looking for some assistance in finding parents names and birth date and location for my ancestor Thomas Burge.

Here is what I know:
Thomas Burge born about 1811 (estimated from age at death)
Married Francis Ryall Taylor, Sept. 30, 1841 at St. Cuthberts, Wells, Somerset
First two children, Louisa Durnford Burge and John Thomas Burge baptized at St. John, Frome, Somerset.
By 1847 the family moved to Monmouthshire, Wales where their other two children, James Burge and Frances Elizabeth Burge were born and baptized.
Thomas emigrated to the United States sometime around 1880.
He died in Dec. 1887 in Missouri

His marriage record states his father was Thomas Burge a corn dealer.

Any help or quidance on where to look for him would be greatly appreciated.

[rosie99]

Welcome to rootschat

1851 census has Thomas Burge age 32 born Frome, Somerset

There is a baptism in Frome 23 May 1818 for a Thomas Burge with parents Thomas & Betty   

[vswank]

Thank you.  I originally had his date of birth as 1818, but changed it when I found his death.  I know that sometimes the censuses have the dates wrong.

Where can I find parish registers for Frome?

[rosie99]

Ancestry appear to have some images, I have not checked exactly what they have

[djm297]

Thomas Burge (widower)-marries Betty Vinnell  (spinster) 11 Nov 1813, at Frome, both were from Frome, and they were married by licence .

djm297

[vswank]

Thank you.  I am still trying to confirm that I have the correct Thomas Burge.  What other records should I look at to confirm this is the correct family?

[Jo Harding]

One excellent source of information is the Freereg site:

https://www.freereg.org.uk/

This has a number of baptisms for Thomas Burge in Frome and the surrounding area.

https://www.freereg.org.uk/search_queries/5e2acc2cf493fd6a19d4ea03?locale=en

I did a search for a baptism from 1810-1820. You might consider Stoke Lane as a possibility since this isn't that far from Frome. The only Thomas I can see who has a father by the name of Thomas, is the one baptised on 23/05/1818.

There are two Family Trees for Thomas Burge, b1811, on Ancestry. One has him born Frome and the other states he was born Wales. There are no sources for this information. It appears to be the same Thomas Burge as they both show he died in 1887 in Crawford County, Missouri. They both show his parents as Thomas Burge b1793, d1841, Stalbridge, Dorset and Mary Ann Hellier/Helliar, b1793 Henstridge, Somerset, d1768 Stalbridge, Dorset. They are shown as having had 7 children.

The trees also show the parents of Thomas Burge b1793, to be John Burge, bc1759 Stalbridge, Dorset, d1845, Sturminster, Dorset. Mother as Catherine Thorne b1758 Melcombe Regis, d1823, Stalbridge, Dorset. They are shown as having had 7 children.

The Burge line goes back beyond that to Matthew Burge born c1720, Stalbridge, Dorset.

You would need to check the information on these trees in order to verify it as there aren't sources given for this.

I have Burge in my family tree and they came from Trudoxhill and Nunney which aren't far from Frome.

Jo.

[vswank]

Thank you Jo for the tips with other areas to look at in FreeReg.  My main issue I think is that I feel my Thomas is the son of Thomas and Betty Burge in Frome, but other trees I have seen have him as the son of Thomas Burge and Mary Ann Hellier.  So far everything I have found places him Somerset in the areas of Frome and Wells.  I have not seen anything placing him in Dorset.

I have done some searching this weekend in Somerset and on FreeReg.  The following information seems to fit for my Thomas' parents, but I am still a little leery on it.  Let me know your thoughts and if this seems plausible.

Thomas Burge bap. 23 May 1818 son of Thomas and Betty Burge at St. John's, Frome

Marriage - St. John's, Frome between Thomas Burge, widower and Betty Vinnell, spinster both of this parish, 11 Nov. 1813 by license.

They also had a daughter named Ann bap. 5 Oct 1816 in St. John's, Frome.  There is a correction to the parish register in 1820 correcting the child's name from Thomas to Ann by Betty Burge.

Since Thomas was a widower in 1813 I started looking at other baptisms in St. John's prior to 1813.  I found a Thomas and Elizabeth who had 6 children baptized between 1794 and 1802.  I was unable to find a death for Elizabeth in St. Johns. between 1802 and 1813.  I did find another child baptized in St. Michael, Stoke Lane in 1790.  Plus a marriage for a Thomas Burge in Elizabeth Webb in 1789 in Stoke Lane.  I am wondering if this is my Thomas who was a widower in 1813.

I was unable to find a Betty Vinnell in Frome prior to her marriage to Thomas Burge. 

[vswank]

Sorry, my previous was posted prematurely.

I started searching for possible burials after 1818 for Thomas and Betty in Frome.  No luck in Frome but I did find a Thomas Burge buried 12 Aug 1840, age 74 years from Frome at St. James, Ashwick.  (this would make him born about 1766).  Then I found a Betty Burge buried 21 Feb 1841 age 67 years from Frome at St. James, Ashwick.  (this would make Betty born about 1774 which would make her about 44 at the time of birth for my Thomas born about 1818).  Plus I found a baptism for Betty Vinnell, 21 May 1774 in St. Johns, Frome.

Something tells me that the other trees might be wrong on Thomas b. 1818's parents.  Unfortunately, I am not 100 percent confident in my theory either.  Any thoughts any one else could provide would be greatly appreciated.  I am going to start researching the Dorset theory and see if I can come up with anything there.

Vicki