New discoveries on N H Pearce my Gt Grandfather

Nathaniel Hurrell Pearce is my Great Grandfather -- I have a few photographs of him, and he has always fascinated me.  Maybe it's the name -- (he always uses Hurrell as his middle name),  or maybe it's the fact that with photos I could visualize him and his life.  But it turns out, I couldn't have imagined his interests and involvement in his community.

I've been able to amass a good collection of documents and information on him over time -- and just today stumbled across almost 20 different articles in the Torquay newspapers relating to him. Clearly he was an active member of his community and church.

I knew he was a Shoemaker by trade, and had moved from Eastern Cornwall to Torquay, Devon around 1877 or so.  A second cousin gave me this photo of him, with a group of Sunday School teachers, taken somewhere in Torquay -- so I knew he was involved in his church. 

I had found a few articles previously regarding the death of a son in 1881 in Torquay, where Nathaniel is noted as a Shoemaker.

In the latest articles I've found, he is a prominent community member in the Ellacombe area of Torquay,  is a member and Honorary Librarian for the Torquay Liberal Club, and a member of the YMCA Literary and Debating Society.  He also served in lay minister and Sunday School capacities for the Market Street Primitive Methodist Church in Torquay.  He wrote a very eloquent letter to the editor of the Torquay Times in 1907, regarding another Methodist Chuch member. 

He was also noted as delivering several speeches at both the Literary Society and Church events.

All of this is quite surprising, considering he was born in a small village in St Ive, Cornwall and worked independently as a Shoemaker.  It seems he had a keen sense of duty, was educated more than I thought, and was dedicated to his religion.   It makes me quite proud to discover that I had an ancestor who was involved in his community and church, more so than I ever imagined.

Faherty of Tullyvrick, Oughterard

So, I'm chasing my GG Grandmother Kate Faherty.  For years I thought her name was Flaherty and had no idea where she was from.  Recent messages from 2 different cousins confirm the name was FAHERTY and the family was from Camp Street, Oughterard (which is Faugh West in the Census districts).

I posted her details on the Oughterard Heritage webpage and got an interesting response, showing that there were Faherty children with Patrick Toole as a baptismal sponsor (he was Kate Faherty's husband) -- so this makes sense that he is acting as a baptismal sponsor to his wife's nieces/nephews.  These children are from Tullyvrick, which is just outside of Oughterard near Lough Corrib.

Griffith’s Valuations for 1855 http://www.askaboutireland.ie has a record of a John Faherty being the owner of a garden and buildings in Barrack Street, Oughterard in the townland of Fough West. The house is occupied by Arthur Evans as tenant. This appears to be the only “Faherty” name there which is now known as “Camp Street”.
In the townland of Tullavrick, Oughterard there is a John Faherty recorded as having land to the value of £7.0.0 and buildings valued at £0.10.0.
Kilcummin parish records show a marriage between a John Faherty and a Mary Anne Molloy on October 24th 1842. No address! Witnesses: John Guinan and Mary Heraghty
Children with parents as above:
Margaret Faherty, Baptism September 9th 1852.
Sponsors: Patrick Toole and Ellen Molloy

Michael Faherty, baptism September 22nd 1859.
Sponsors: Patrick Toole and Mary Faherty.
No addresses for either.

It's possible that the family migrated into "town", and Camp Street has Faherty's living there by 1901 Census.

I checked my Ancestry DNA matches and found a connection to a person who descends from a Faherty of Tullyvrick -- so this makes me think I'm on the right track.

Also, a cousin who is now deceased once told us that our GG Grandmother was Mary Molloy -- she had her married to another line of the family, but now I think she may have gotten that confused, but there was a grain of truth somewhere, and the Molloy family relates to the Faherty's.  There is also some connection to McGauley/McGawley families in Tullyvrick.

Still sorting out all the families that I've found records for in Tullyvrick, but I somewhat suspect that based on naming patterns, Kate Faherty's father may be a John Faherty.

Stay tuned......

5 more generations!!! Skipwith Family of Lincolnshire

I get lots of Ancestry notifications, and usually do a cursory glance at them......well, last night I saw in my email a notification of new comments (not hints) on my Family Tree.

The comment was on my SIMON family -- which had been a dead end.  My GGG Grandmother was Jane Simon.  She was the mother of Jane Mell who married Michael Toulson.

All I knew was that Jane married William Mell in North Cockerington in 1805, had a son Thomas there in 1806, and then for an unknown reason, they moved to Aunsby, where my GG Grandmother Jane Mell was born in 1809.   Aunsby is quite a distance from North Cockerington, so I suspect he must have moved for a job (possibly a Farm Bailiff or some such).

Jane Simon was my dead end -- common name in the northern part of Lincolnshire, where I wasn't as familiar with the villages and families.   Luckily, the comment on my Family Tree said:

First name(s) Jane

Last name Symonds

Sex Female

Baptism date 19 Dec 1772

Baptism year 1772

County Lincolnshire

Place Alvingham

Mother's first name(s) Rebecca

Father's first name(s) William

Aha!!! The name should be Symonds!! And the village of Alvingham is the next village north of North Cockerington. These villages are very small, so there aren't alot of families to sort out! A genealogist's dream!

The second comment on my tree gave me hints as to the parents William and Rebecca:

William Symon married Rebecca Burman (1762) widow of John Burman, maiden name Skipwith (1st marriage 1760)

OMG, what a bonanza of new names and clues! I started on the SKIPWITH name, as that seemed easiest to follow, and quickly found SIX generations of SKIPWITH's --- going back to 1535 in Theddlethorpe All Saints, Lincolnshire. The family had lived in this area of North East Lincolnshire between the North Sea and the Wolds of Lincolnshire for almost 250 years (that I can document).

And Rebecca's father Thomas Skipwith is actually memorialized in the Alvingham Cemetery with a headstone (a rarity in my family that never seemed to have money to leave a headstone!). Thomas lived to the age of 93! He was born in 1711 and died in 1803. I descend from his first wife, and after her death he remarried and was married for 60 years to his second wife! A remarkable life for that time period!

Now to work on the siblings of the Skipwith's and flesh them all out. There is a famous Skipwith' family that originated in Skipwith, Yorkshire and relocated to Lincolnshire in the 14th Century. At first glance I don't see a connection with my branch (of course, I'm the poor relation!) -- but will keep searching.

And also, need to see if I can make any headway on William Symond's, Rebecca Skipwith's husband.