3rd gt-grandfather

[Gordon163]

Hi,

My 3rd gt-grandfather, Francis Griffiths was baptised at Walwyn's Castle, Pembrokeshire in 1770. The family lived at Herbrandston, near Milford Haven.

The next we find of Francis is his marriage to Mary Pearce Tonkin in 1802 at Paul, Cornwall (near Penzance). The marriage record says that he is a member of the crew of HMS Hecate, which was a 12 gun brig sloop. Strangely, he uses the surname of Marrack, when he marries and also for the baptism of his first three children in 1804, 1807 and 1811. The online parish clerk at Madron, Cornwall tells me that Alexander Marrack was a wealthy merchant, who was a partner of a banker, named Richard Oxnam and they ran a fleet of some 18 vessels, which traded round the British coast and also in the West Indies. Alexander Marrack died in 1812 and Francis reverted to his birth surname of Griffiths for the baptism of Nathaniel in 1818, at Paul, and Mary in 1820,at Chepstow.

Francis retired from the Navy in 1820, aged 50, and received a pension from the Navy. The family had moved to Chepstow in 1820 for the birth of Mary.

I would be interested to find if there would be any records of Francis' service in the Royal Navy. In particular, it would be interesting to find out if he joined the Navy at Milford Haven or Penzance.

Hecate was sunk in 1809 to form part of the breakwater at Penzance harbour. So, Francis must have been on other ships after that.

Francis' wife's step uncle, Richard Pentreath, was master of a ship in Oxnam and Marrack's fleet and sailed regularly to the West Indies. Some of the ships in the fleet were purchased from the Admiralty, having been captured by the Navy. It would seem that Francis had been taught to sail by members of the family. He appears to have been treated as an adopted son by Alexander Marrack. So, I think that he may have been a boatswain in the Navy.

Any help would be much appreciated.

Gordon

[Andy J2022]

There are  a few references to a Francis Griffiths which could be him. There are couple of allotments of pay to an unnamed wife in ADM 27/8 at the National Archives; these are also available on Ancestry

Francis Griffiths; Ship's name: HMS San Josef; Pay book number: SB 795; Rank: Ordinary Seaman; Relation: Wife (name not stated); When Alloted: 1804; Remarks: discharged 1 June 1807 to HMS Ville De Paris.

Francis Griffiths; Ship's name: HMS San Josef; Pay book number: SB ; Rank: Quartergunner; Relation: Wife (name not stated); When Alloted: 1806;

. There's another Francis Griffith serving at around the same time who makes allotments of pay to his wife whose name is Margaret, so we can probably discount those entries.

The there's another entry in ADM 29/2/184 (TNA and Ancestry) which shows the following

Francis GRIFFITHS; Rating; Born: Milford; Age on entry: 23; Approximate dates served: 10 October 1803 -17 September 1808

but it is possible this is also a reference to the Francis who was married to Margaret or indeed another sailor altogether.

Probably lots more if you go on the TNA website and do a simple search for 'Francis Griffiths Royal Navy' and set the date range to something like 1785 to 1825.

Nothing turns up for the name Marrack.

[Andy J2022]

FindMyPast has an entry in the pension ledger for RNH Greenwich dated 1 July 1819 for a Francis Griffiths as an out-pensioner with a life pension (found in ADM 6/227/24). https://search.findmypast.co.uk/record/browse?id=gbm%2fadm6%2f280%2f00075

[Andy J2022]

The Francis Griffiths referred to above first applied for his pension on 17 Jun 1819. His details were: aged 50, with 21 years and 4 months service, having qualified for his pension in Feb 1815. The amount of his pension was calculated as £18 4s. Obviously the age fits your man but there is no other collateral evidence to confirm this is the right Francis.
Details FindMyPast: https://search.findmypast.co.uk/record/browse?id=gbm%2fadm6%2f227%2f00023 & https://search.findmypast.co.uk/record/browse?id=gbm%2fadm6%2f227%2f00024

[Gordon163]

Thanks very much for this information.

I found the information about pensions at Greenwich, which does tie in with his move to Chepstow just before his daughter was born. In the 1851 Census, it says that his wife (then a widow) was an 'annuitant'.

I also noted that there was at least one other Francis Griffiths serving at that time, He was at Trafalgar.

I'll try what you suggest with the National Archives - most helpful thankyou.

Gordon

[Jomot]

The image of the ADM 29/2/184 record shows he served as follows:

San Joseph: 10 Oct 1803 - 1 Jun 1807
Ville de Paris: 2 Jun 1807 - 16 Sep 1808
Caledonia: 17 Sep 1808 -

His age at entry might say 33, not 23, although the writing is poor (and see comment later)  The columns don't have headings, but Milford is written against his name.

I'm not sure you can rule out the records mentioning wife Margaret though, as a Francis Griffiths of the parish of St Ishmael married Margaret Sermon at Steynton in 1792.    They baptised a son, James, in 1793

St Ishmael is only about 5 miles from Walwyn's Castle, and Steynton is in Milford Haven.

Could be why he married under a different name?

If the pension records are 'your' Francis, then he completed with 21 years and 4 months service by 1815, meaning he joined c1794, which would coincide with the marriage to Margaret, and also the age of entry being 23.

[Gordon163]

Thanks for this.

I have just obtained the image for ADM 29/2/184.

Looking at the entries immediately above and below Francis, they are both men in their thirties and the way the 3 is formed strongly suggests, to me, that Francis was 33. There are several 2s nearby, which are formed quite differently and obviously by the same hand.

I note on Google maps that both Herbrandston and Steynton are given as Milford, both being about the same distance from Milford itself.

Gordon

[Gordon163]

Hi Jomot,

You may well be right in thinking that Francis was married to both women. There is no sign of any further children of Margaret and Francis, after James. She might have died in childbirth of another, or she may have left Francis, or vice versa. The use of a fake surname for Francis' 2nd marriage, might well explain the latter.

Looking at a map, I noticed that Herbrandston lies approximately halfway between St Ishmael's and Steynton. There appears to be only one baptism of Francis Griffiths c1770 in that area, although there was one in 1771 at Nevern, which is some distance away. Birth around 1770 is about right for a marriage in 1792.

Thanks for your help.

Gordon