Polette Villette

[scottmathew]

If this Charles is Pullitt snr's father then there is only one census with an entry that doesn't just say France [the 1881].

1861 RG 9; Piece: 60; Folio: 43; Page: 32
Charles Villitt   40
Amy Villitt   34
Camille Villitt   8
All born France

1881 RG11; Piece: 124; Folio: 80; Page: 7 Westminster Union Workhouse

Does anyone have experience of French baptism records to look for Pollitt?

This is interesting, as I think both Charles and Amy were witnesses at the wedding of Polette Villette and Rebecca Hull in Westminster.

Is this record saying that the Charles Villette (or "Villitt" as it has been spelled here) was aged 40 in 1861 or 1881? I see the two dates at both the top and bottom of your post, respectively. If 40 in 1861, I think this is probably Polette's father, but if only 40 in 1881 - then no, definitely not, I'd say...as this would give him a birthdate as around the same kind of time as Polette.

[josey]

On the workhouse entries in 1880s he is born ca 1821. As Chempat pointed out this is too young to have a son [Pullitt snr] born 1837 or before [full age on marriage in 1858].

[scottmathew]

On the workhouse entries in 1880s he is born ca 1821. As Chempat pointed out this is too young to have a son [Pullitt snr] born 1837 or before [full age on marriage in 1858].

So this Charles was probably his brother then, I would think. And Amy his brother's wife. I'm going to have to go back to the original post in the Beginners' Forum, but I think Charles and Amy were the witnesses at Polette's marriage.

It would make sense for him to have his brother and sister-in-law as witnesses at his marriage, I guess, if his father Charles (who would seemingly be Charles "Senior") was still living back in France.
Perhaps Charles Snr never came to the UK, and only his sons Charles and Polette did.

[Lola5]

On the workhouse census of 1881 ,Westminster St James,where both Amy aged 52 , a tailoress and Charles 60 , a tailor are  living .
Her birthplace is given as Meadone France and his as Mendarne France.

There seems no such places but there is , possibly, a place in Brittany with a similar sounding name, Medon, and there were a lot of Villette families in Brittany but also in the Dordogne.

It would seem that a Charles Villette  possibly had two sons at least , Charles, born about 1821 (who married Amy in France and they had Camille before coming to England ) and  Polette born about 1837 a who married Rebecca Hull from Gretton.

This is supposition at present. Polette might have been a relative of Charles not necessarily a  much younger brother.

What is Polette,s father's occupation on the marriage certificate?

The Polette Villette arriving in England from Italy  was also a tailor if I remember rightly.
He may have come via Italy from France to England.

When leaving France people did not always take the most direct route.

Poulette , Rebecca,s husband my have needed to return to France and died there if you cannot fiind his death in England.

Where were both Poulette Villette  and Rebecca Hull in 1851?
Where is Rebecca buried


On 1891 census a Rebecca Villette, widow aged 63 ,cook, is at St James Uppingham.
In 1901, on 31 March she is still in Uppingham
On 1871 there is a Rebecca Villette, awidow aged 42 living atMarylebone St John, birthplace Northumberland.

If these are all the same Rebecca then she had the baby , Rebecca, in July 1866  at St Marylebone, baby died , then
mother gott well and moved up to Uppingham?
It may be you will need to join one of the paying sites to  sort some things out.

I could not have found my family without being a subscriber to various sites over the years though some of my  most valuable finds came via the kindness of those who searched for me in  record offices or on rootschat..

If you can establish where Polette came from then the mayor of the town might give you some help.
It is a strange name?
It may have come from a mother,s surname or a derivation of Paul.

[scottmathew]

Hi @Lola5

Thanks for your reply.

It would seem the Rebecca Villette at age 63 in 1891 living in "Uppingham" (which would have been the district Gretton in Northamptonshire came under) is, I would say, the same Rebecca Villette at age 42 in Marylebone in 1871.

Aged 42 at the time of the 1871 Census would mean this Rebecca Villette was born in 1829 or in 1828 and was coming up for 43 at some time in 1871. Rebecca at age 63 in 1891, would mean she was born in 1828 - I am not sure what the likelihood is that there was more than one Rebecca Villette born in the same year. Also, this info you have provided saying that she was at Marylebone St John in 1871 fits perfectly with the fact that she is absent from her brother's house in Gretton, Northamptonshire on the 1871 Census where her son was present at the time of that particular census.

Yes, it seems Rebecca Villette spent the 1860s/early 1870s at least going in between Gretton and London - seems she did so twice at least. Funny that Polette and Rebecca's son William went to go and live with his uncle, Rebecca's brother John Hull.

According to another user in the original thread over at the Beginners forum, Polette Villette's father Charles Villette's occupation is stated as "labourer" on Polette's marriage certificate/record to Rebecca Hull.

I'm sure the birthplace for Rebecca Hull on the 1871 Census is supposed to say Northamptonshire as opposed to Northumberland (I can see why the error was made, as both have "North" in their names!).

Thanks for your help, @Lola5. And yes, I agree; Polette is a very strange name and unusual I think even in France (I've looked on Google) but it is certainly French sounding.

The Charles and Amy Villette you mention were certainly part of Polette's family, as both these people were witnesses at Polette's marriage to Rebecca Hull. But as you rightly point out, Charles may not have been his brother but another type of relative. In my opinion, it is most likely that it was his brother, as Polette's father was called Charles and so Charles Villette (husband of Amy) was possibly the elder son of Charles Villette (Polette's father) and was named after him for that reason?

Going back to Rebecca, I did find a death record for her in the early 1900s the other night, I've forgotten on which website, which was recorded in "Uppingham" district, so I assume she died in Gretton and not in Marylebone or any other place in London.

It seems to me that Polette left London to go back to France for some reason, and when he did, rather than stay in London alone, Rebecca went back to Northamptonshire (sometime after 1871). Her death is recorded as "Rebecca Villette", so I guess she didn't re-marry after Polette left her (was it socially acceptable to do so in the 19th century?)

Things seem to be slowly but surely coming together. You've helped clarify/reinforce one or two things, so thank you for your help.

And I agree with you, there are so many people on this site who are passionate about researching other people's families and many of them have been really kind to me in helping me so far. Yourself included.

[joger]

Hello,
I join in and here is what I think after having read the threads :

Polette is very unprobable , it could be Polite ( pronounce it  "Poleete" a rare first name in France but it was given  , see here : https://www.geneanet.org/prenom/Polite  , zoom in on the plan)

The witness Charles Villette and his wife could be Polette 's relatives , but there birthplaces have been mistranscribed (Meadone, Mendarne, Mendaine aren't french towns but they have in common  : M??D??N.
I thought it could be Meudon but found only a Pierre Villette  born march 1837 to a Marie Barbe Villette , unmarried. I don't think either that Amy is the correct  firstname if she was born in France .

Have you found PW Villette's birth on Free BMD or GRO ?

[josey]

Bonjour et bienvenu, joger; I was hoping you found this thread as you have such a wide knowledge of French records 

[Lola5]

Could be Menton? Near Nice.
Near Italian border.

We seem now to have two threads so which one to reply to?

Also Polette could be Pallet? Lots of Pallet surnames in France.
Maybe a marriage between a male Villette and a female Pallet ? Wife's surname then used as first name for son?

All is possible.
Keep all possibilities in mind when searching.

[scottmathew]

Hello,
I join in and here is what I think after having read the threads :

Polette is very unprobable , it could be Polite ( pronounce it  "Poleete" a rare first name in France but it was given  , see here : https://www.geneanet.org/prenom/Polite  , zoom in on the plan)

The witness Charles Villette and his wife could be Polette 's relatives , but there birthplaces have been mistranscribed (Meadone, Mendarne, Mendaine aren't french towns but they have in common  : M??D??N.
I thought it could be Meudon but found only a Pierre Villette  born march 1837 to a Marie Barbe Villette , unmarried. I don't think either that Amy is the correct  firstname if she was born in France .

Have you found PW Villette's birth on Free BMD or GRO ?

Hi there. Thanks for your input. I also think "Polette" is incorrect, but it does appear this is how he spelled his own name during his marriage to Rebecca (somebody in previous thread posted an image of the signatures on the actual record). But we may have interpreted his joined-up handwriting incorrectly - it could indeed be "Polite" (or "Politte" with two t's?).

I found the birth of Polite's (as I will now refer to him) son P William Villette on the 1911 Census where it is shown as "Princess Street, London". With the help of other users here, I now believe this to have been a Princess Street in Haymarket, London. This certainly fits with the fact that he was baptised in Soho and that Polite Villette and Rebecca Hull were married at St James, Westminster. It's all the same area, so it does fit well.