Tweet
Distant twig on the family tree, but I hate loose ends!
This was going to be a plea for help but while sorting out the evidence I thought of an obvious search to do and found the answer so, instead, it serves as an illustration of how the obvious question can so easily be overlooked.
1871 Census, RG10/2440/80/2 (Evercreech, Somerset)
family of Joseph and Eliza Creed (the many Creed families of Evercreech are mostly in the tree already!)
near the bottom is Thurza Barnes, Widowed, aged 60, and her relationship to Joseph is given as 'Relative'.
I don't have any Barnes in the tree born within 50 years of TB so I wonder what her relationship is?
I've got Joseph and Eliza's 1861 entry and she doesn't feature.
So I track TB down in the 1861 Census at Wanstrow (2 children, b 1828 Evercreech, 1838 Wyke Champflower)
and 1851 at West Pennard (5 children of whom the 1861 pair are the first and last) with a couple of visitors with surnames Moody (b 1795 Evercreech, a married woman) and Gibbons (b 1808 Batcombe, unmarried) so I wonder if TB's maiden name was Moody [I still don't know but am no longer pursuing this point]
and 1841 at Wyke Champflower (6 children with the same first and last).
But it is clear that she was a widow even in 1841 (although the census return obviously doesn't say so). At this point I'm thinking she is an aunt of Joseph's or that the relationship is more complicated than it turns out to be so hard to describe for the census-taker.
So what's her maiden name? This was the wrong question to ask to unearth the relationship, but I didn't know this at the time!
I can't find a marriage of a Barnes man with a Thurza or Thirza in the 1820s or 1830s.
But then I think that her husband must have died between 1836 (birth of last child) and 1841 (census) so probably would be on BMD. Bingo! There is a William Barnes (also the name of her oldest son) who died in 1839q3 registered Wincanton District, right for Wyke.
Now on FreeReg I can find baptisms for the first four of the children which confirms William as the husband. The oldest daughter has Mullins as a middle name, so maybe that's TB's maiden name. Her name is spelt Theresa (3 times) or Thieza (once) or - from the census data - Thurza (twice) or Thirza (once). Clearly the same name but she was presumably illiterate and it is not easy to guess which spelling to use in searching!
Now I look for all William Barnes marriages in Somerset but there is no Theresa/Thurza etc.
Then I think of this forum and start to formulate the question.
Oh, I haven't looked for Joseph and Eliza's marriage, I guess about 1852, between the 1851 Census and the first child in 1854.
Ah, Joseph Creed and Eliza Barnes 1853 q1 Wells District.
Now I notice that TB has a daughter Eliza (1841 and 1851 census) the same age as Joseph's wife (1861, 1871 census) with a better accuracy than sometimes occurs!
So the 'Relation' in the 1871 Census is 'Mother-in-law'. If I'd looked up the 1853 marriage sooner I'd have saved an hour or two for other things. C'est la vie!
This was going to be a plea for help but while sorting out the evidence I thought of an obvious search to do and found the answer so, instead, it serves as an illustration of how the obvious question can so easily be overlooked.
1871 Census, RG10/2440/80/2 (Evercreech, Somerset)
family of Joseph and Eliza Creed (the many Creed families of Evercreech are mostly in the tree already!)
near the bottom is Thurza Barnes, Widowed, aged 60, and her relationship to Joseph is given as 'Relative'.
I don't have any Barnes in the tree born within 50 years of TB so I wonder what her relationship is?
I've got Joseph and Eliza's 1861 entry and she doesn't feature.
So I track TB down in the 1861 Census at Wanstrow (2 children, b 1828 Evercreech, 1838 Wyke Champflower)
and 1851 at West Pennard (5 children of whom the 1861 pair are the first and last) with a couple of visitors with surnames Moody (b 1795 Evercreech, a married woman) and Gibbons (b 1808 Batcombe, unmarried) so I wonder if TB's maiden name was Moody [I still don't know but am no longer pursuing this point]
and 1841 at Wyke Champflower (6 children with the same first and last).
But it is clear that she was a widow even in 1841 (although the census return obviously doesn't say so). At this point I'm thinking she is an aunt of Joseph's or that the relationship is more complicated than it turns out to be so hard to describe for the census-taker.
So what's her maiden name? This was the wrong question to ask to unearth the relationship, but I didn't know this at the time!
I can't find a marriage of a Barnes man with a Thurza or Thirza in the 1820s or 1830s.
But then I think that her husband must have died between 1836 (birth of last child) and 1841 (census) so probably would be on BMD. Bingo! There is a William Barnes (also the name of her oldest son) who died in 1839q3 registered Wincanton District, right for Wyke.
Now on FreeReg I can find baptisms for the first four of the children which confirms William as the husband. The oldest daughter has Mullins as a middle name, so maybe that's TB's maiden name. Her name is spelt Theresa (3 times) or Thieza (once) or - from the census data - Thurza (twice) or Thirza (once). Clearly the same name but she was presumably illiterate and it is not easy to guess which spelling to use in searching!
Now I look for all William Barnes marriages in Somerset but there is no Theresa/Thurza etc.
Then I think of this forum and start to formulate the question.
Oh, I haven't looked for Joseph and Eliza's marriage, I guess about 1852, between the 1851 Census and the first child in 1854.
Ah, Joseph Creed and Eliza Barnes 1853 q1 Wells District.
Now I notice that TB has a daughter Eliza (1841 and 1851 census) the same age as Joseph's wife (1861, 1871 census) with a better accuracy than sometimes occurs!
So the 'Relation' in the 1871 Census is 'Mother-in-law'. If I'd looked up the 1853 marriage sooner I'd have saved an hour or two for other things. C'est la vie!
Comment