surname "hoyton"

[alanjohn]

i've found that one of my missus distant relatives,Peter Jackson,married a Bethshua(bit unusual!)Hoyton,in Stoke Damerel,Plymouth.
I've also been told by the same kind soul that apparently Stoke Damerel was a bit notorious for Cornish marriages where things could be a bit sticky in Cornwall,i.e. underage brides.
Anyway i've been trying to find where she came from,their children were born in Probus,Cornwall.
I've found a few children where her name was spelt as Bathsheba as well.
Any ideas???

[Christine in Herts]

Does the spelling of HOYTON come from a certificate, a transcription listing or the parish register?

There are other names in the area which are phonetically similar, so this could be an error-at-source (e.g. I have a parish register image where the bride and her father have signed the surname clearly as ASHPOOL, but the clerk has written ASHPOLE, and that's what's in the GRO index.). Similar names include HORTON and HAWTON.

Christine

[Christine in Herts]

What sort of dates are we talking about, here?

Christine

[Christine in Herts]

This site might be useful:
Stoke Damerel OPC - Home Page

Christine

[KiteRunner]

The marriage is on the IGI, dated 27 Apr 1761. If you can get a look at the parish register entry then it should tell you what parish she was living in at the time of the wedding (not necessarily the same place she was born in, though). It will also give you the names of the witnesses, which may or may not help.

[Olde Crone Holden]

Stoke Damerel is one long way from Probus in Cornwall! A very long way just to nip off and get married.

As an underage marriage in 1761 would have meant the bride was less than 12 years old, it is rather unlikely. If she had wanted to marry without parental permission, there were plenty of other places much nearer to Probus to do it.

Are you absolutely sure it's the same couple? Neither Hoyton nor Jackson are very common Cornish names.

OC

[alanjohn]

Ill get in touch with the stoke damerel OPC,I've already been in touch with the OPC at Probus who was very helpful,and confirmed there was no marriage for a Peter Jackson/bethshua marriage in that parish.
As bethshua must be a pretty rare name i'm inclined to think it's the right marriage,and although their kids were born in Probus there's also no baptism for peter or bethshua in Probus,so they could have moved there from further up country,right?
They were married in apr 1761.Their son, peter,born 1766,is my missus fathers distant ancestor.
I got in touch with Plymouth local studies on Monday as well,and they're sending me a copy of the register,fingers crossed!
PS.I noticed on IGI there a quite a few hoytons,no bathshua though...

[alanjohn]

Had a look at the OPC website,it seems their records only go from about 1790 onwards,i'm going to email him in a few minutes though,just in case he can help a bit,
Alan

[Christine in Herts]

Just had a look at my 3 Towns CD.

Bethshua's name is transcribed as Bethshua HOYDEN.

In other respects, the info supplied is the same as the IGI: nothing extra, I'm afraid. Of course, that early, there wasn't necessarily so much info given - tho' there should be witnesses, of course.

[Christine in Herts]

The CD has a handful of grooms names of that type:
HOYTEN, HOYTON

Amongst the brides there are several HOTTONs (didn't look for those amongst the grooms) your HOYDEN, plus three HOYTENs.

Then, of course, there's HOUGHTON, HORTON, ...

Christine

[Olde Crone Holden]

Pretty certain the name is an attempt at Bathsheba!

Yes, they could have moved from Stoke Damerel to Probus....but why???? Even today, Probus is a nowhere place!

Do you have an occupation for him? One explanation for such an odd move could be that he worked for a family who had estates in both places. Another explanation could be that they were returning to family, of course.

OC

[KiteRunner]

Some of my ancestors and their rellies got married in strange places because a friend of the family was the vicar there - could that be the reason here?

[Olde Crone Holden]

Mmmm, that's interesting....just reading that other families in Probus came from Devon! Doesn't say why though.

And there are Hottons recorded there, too.

OC

[alanjohn]

I think Bathshua,and Bathsheba are the same,some of her children have the mother as Bathshua,and the later one's are Bathsheba.

Anyway,i got the copy of the parish register today,hooray!(and thankyou Plymouth local studies)

Her name on the register is spelt as,Hoyten(although it could be hoyden,but i don't think so),and as hoytan!

As for the marriage itself it looks like they were married in Stoke Damerel beacause Bathshua was from that parish,but Peter wasn't,i don't know how they would have got together living so far apart i guess he was up there for some reason.

The other thing, on the register it says Peter was of the "Cornish Mitha's,or,Milha's".Does that make sense to anyone,never heard of it before.

I can only make out one witness too,which seems to be Thos Cannon.

I'm just off to cook tea now,chicken,mmm.

Alan.

[Olde Crone Holden]

Alan

I assume what you have is a photocopy of the original register, yes? Can you put up the portion that says "Cornish Mithas" please?

(I am torn between Cornish Miners and Cornish Millhouse, the place, lol)

OC

[alanjohn]

This is the only bit i can attach,its the best i can manage under 19kb,hope this'll do,
Alan

[alanjohn]

MILITIA!
i got a bit of help here,i think you can make out the "mili" and "ia",i think that's it!
I was also told that plymouth was pretty much a military town back then being a fort more than anything else,interesting,eh?

[Olde Crone Holden]

Aha! I thought "militia, I bet it's militia" when I was cooking my tea, lol!

Well, that explains how they met. I would not, at first thought, have thought the militia would be stationed at Probus for any reason, but I know nothing of their movements. (There was a garrison for Officers in Truro, that I do know)

It might pay you to investigate the movements of the Cornish Militia (which suggests HE had a Cornish connection) and see if they went anywhere near Probus.

OC

[alanjohn]

Any suggestions for militia records?
I've been down the local studies centre at Redruth, they have a bit of info for about the 1800's but that's it unfortunately.
I tend to think he must have been stationed there for them to meet,just wondering why they would have settled in Probus though,as far as i can tell there were no Jackson's from the area,nearby,perhaps....?
Think i'll give Truro records centre a ring,see what they've got,
cheers Alan.

[alanjohn]

Just had a look at the national archives,and their suggestion is county records.
It seems there was a county conscription between 1758 and 1831,and poor law records also give evidence of maintenance for the children of the men.
I think it's going to be a trip to Truro for me!