John Paul - Feltmaker - Stepney

[defallowfield]

Good afternoon everyone,

I am looking for information on an ancestor of mine named John Paul. 

He was a feltmaker living in Webb's Square Spitalfields.

His wife was named Esther Denis and they married in 1721.

I know not when either of them were born or died.

There family became silk weavers.

This is a longshot but does anyone have any information that might take me back further?  My grandmother told me that that family came from France as Huguenot refugees but that might be just a family legend.

With kind regards,

Kir

[ciderdrinker]

Hello
It does sound like there might be a French connection.
i found a possible baptism at an Independent chapel in Stepney in Bull Lane
John Paul 7 Bef 1695 s of John and Martha Paul.
Brother Thomas also bapt there 10.11.1702

There is a PCC Will of a John Paul of Stepney 1733 of Bethnal Gardens.
Wife Mary
son Thomas and his wife Sussanna
Grandsons Thomas s of Thomas and John son of his son John.
It also name neices and in laws and goes on and on.
If it is the family he seems quite rich.

But in 1754 thre is another PCC Will
John Paul of Stepney gentleman
wife Martha Paul  gets the estate in Bridgwater Somerset as per our marriage settlement.
son Thomas Paul and daughter Ann Paul
I can't see a mention of John.

Ciderdrinker

[ShaunJ]

Have you been able to decipher the words after Esther's name in the register? Other entries in the register have "maid" or "widow"

[defallowfield]

Hello ciderdrinker,

Alas, I think that those records are for another family.  My Paul family were not, as far as I can make out, wealthy and those names are not found in the family.  John and Esther's children were Melchior (b.1724), John (1726-1734), Peter (1728-1738), and Charles (1731-).

Charles was my ancestor but I can't find when he married or when he died.  His wife was named Sarah.  He was a weaver and after his marriage moved to Bishopsgate having seventeen children!

They are a shadowy family in some respects although I can say that they were silk weavers right up into the late 19th century.

Kir

[defallowfield]

Hello Shaun,

Thank you for your help.  Yes I've seen that record.  The handwriting is difficult to decipher however there is another record of the marriage with much clearer handwriting, which states that John is a bachelor and Esther a spinster. Although this record says that John is a 'Hattmaker' so perhaps this person also had difficulty with the original document...

Kir

[horselydown86]

The last line looks to be:

...Esther Den(n)is spin^r married

[defallowfield]

I think you're right.  That's clever!

Thank you