Author Topic: Helen Jemmett (formerly Innes) nee Coutts, born about 1796 in Aberdeen(shire?)  (Read 440 times)

Offline John Jemmett

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Hi All,

For years I have tried (and failed!) to find the parents and any siblings of my g-g-g-grandmother Helen Jemmett, who was born in Aberdeen(shire?) around 1796.  A family Bible shows she was born Helen Coutts in Aberdeen, and this is supported by the fact that a grandson had Coutts as a Christian name.

She married Francis Jemmett in St. Pancras, London in 1820 when she was a widow and known as Helen Innes (wrongly transcribed on “Ancestry” as Jones).  She and Francis raised a family of nine in Grenada, West Indies where Francis was a planter and later an estate owner and minor politician.  At least three of their sons were educated in England with, eventually, Benjamin graduating from Kings College, London in medicine and George from Durham having studied theology.

Helen died in London in 1860 and was buried at Hendon. Her death certificate shows she was 64 years old.  She left no will that I have found.

I have no idea who Helen’s parents were or whether she had any siblings.  Nor do I know anything about her first husband, Mr Innes!

Any information or help with this problem would be appreciated.

Thanks, John Jemmett

Offline MonicaL

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Re: Helen Jemmett (formerly Innes) nee Coutts, born about 1796 in Aberdeen(shire?)
« Reply #1 on: Friday 20 November 20 21:55 GMT (UK) »
John, one possible birth/christening for Helen in Aberdeen City:

Helen 03/03/1791

Parents are showing as a William Coutts and Margaret Hunter. Their marriage/banns show in 1786 www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XTJ2-Q4T
   
Two other entries for same parents are:

Alexander 22/11/1787
William 25/07/1789

Original images are available to view on www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk

Monica
Census information Crown Copyright, www.nationalarchives.gov.uk

Offline John Jemmett

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Re: Helen Jemmett (formerly Innes) nee Coutts, born about 1796 in Aberdeen(shire?)
« Reply #2 on: Friday 20 November 20 22:12 GMT (UK) »
Thanks for this Monica.  I’ve seen these Christenings before and haven’t followed them up as Helen’s age on her death certificate would need to be 5 years out for this to be the correct person.  Perhaps it’s worth a closer look.

Thank you, John

Offline MonicaL

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Re: Helen Jemmett (formerly Innes) nee Coutts, born about 1796 in Aberdeen(shire?)
« Reply #3 on: Friday 20 November 20 22:14 GMT (UK) »
Accuracy at that time was less of an issue really... ::)

Struggling so far to find anything further on this couple.

Monica
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Offline Forfarian

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Re: Helen Jemmett (formerly Innes) nee Coutts, born about 1796 in Aberdeen(shire?)
« Reply #4 on: Friday 20 November 20 23:47 GMT (UK) »
I see on Scotland's People a couple of wills of people named William Coutts in Aberdeen. One was a merchant, the other a cutler.

If any of the baptisms describe their father as a merchant or a cutler it might be worth a look at the will to see if it mentions Helen Coutts or Innes or Jemmett?
Never trust anything you find online (especially submitted trees and transcriptions on Ancestry, MyHeritage, FindMyPast and other commercial web sites) unless it's an image of an original document - and even then be wary because errors can and do occur.

Offline John Jemmett

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Re: Helen Jemmett (formerly Innes) nee Coutts, born about 1796 in Aberdeen(shire?)
« Reply #5 on: Saturday 21 November 20 09:37 GMT (UK) »
Thanks for your response.  I think I’ll have to make a renewed and broadened effort to trace the Coutts family in Aberdeen.  I don’t want to  be defeated!

Offline MonicaL

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Re: Helen Jemmett (formerly Innes) nee Coutts, born about 1796 in Aberdeen(shire?)
« Reply #6 on: Saturday 21 November 20 19:50 GMT (UK) »
From a newspaper death notice, the William Coutts who died in 1818, a merchant in Aberdeen, was 74 years old.

Monica
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Offline John Jemmett

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Re: Helen Jemmett (formerly Innes) nee Coutts, born about 1796 in Aberdeen(shire?)
« Reply #7 on: Saturday 21 November 20 21:09 GMT (UK) »
Thanks for this update.  I’ve had a look at the William Coutts wills you identified but they don’t include any useful information - but nothing that eliminates them either!

John