Part 572sd – Smith Robertson Genealogy – GGG-Grandmother Mary Ann (née Doret) Smith – Food For Thought – Part 3

Good Day,

The new puppy, Radar, aka Raydy, is a hoot to walk. He believes that he has to catch every lizard and bug on the ground and on every tree. Today, all of a sudden he began jumping up a good three feet into the air. He was trying to catch dragonflies. And the next thing he was trotting, ever so proud, with a white feather in his mouth. All I can do is laugh and smile. We have a master-dragonfly-catch-and-leaper-feather-slayer living in our home…

Today’s discussion is about the actual documentation that I have found in the research and search for the genealogy and history of my ggg-grandmother Mary Ann (née Doret) Smith. This is Part 3 of my discussion; following Part 570sd and Part 571sd.

The information and data that I have discovered to this point elaborates that she was a landowner and an owner of slaves. GGG-Grandmother Mary Ann may have been illiterate. And she most definitely had personal and business relationships with ggg-grandfather James Smith.

GGG-Grandmother Mary Ann Doret and GGG-Grandfather James did have seven children before they were married on 11 December 1832 at Good Hope in the Parish of Saint George, in Grenada. At this point I have not discovered or unearthed whether they did or did not have any additional children.

This third part of my dialogue about ggg-grandmother Mary Ann (née Doret) Smith pertains to the factual and physical documentation that I have discovered concerning her business acumen and dealings.

From the Grenada Registers of Records, one Indenture written 10 May 1821 and entered 26 May 1824 on Page 136 it appears that ggg-grandfather James Smith is in contract to sell a Lot of Land to one, Catherine Baillie. This Lot of Land is bounded “on the East by lands of Mary Ann Doret…” See Part 432s and Part 437s. (Note the re-occurrence of the Baillie surname.)

From the Slave Registers of Former British Colonial Dependencies, 1812-1834, database, online with Ancestry.co.uk, I discovered a number of individual references to ggg-grandmother Mary Ann Doret as an owner. Documentation included from the years 1817, 1821, 1824, 1825, 1827, 1828, 1829, and 1830. The original documents are kept at The National Archives in Kew, England. Two pieces of the total Grenada Collection; Pieces 264 and 266 are not included in the Ancestry.co.uk online database.

There are two types of documents specific to ggg-grandmother Mary Ann Doret before she is married to ggg-grandfather James Smith. One document is “A List of Slaves belonging or with lawful Po∫se∫sion of Mary Anne Doret of the Parish of Saint Georges Proprietre∫s” and the other is an “Annual Return of the Increase and Decrease of Slaves belonging to Mary Ann Doret of the Parish of St. George for the Year (indicated)”. In all occasions ggg-grandmother Mary Ann Doret signs the Lists or the Annual Returns with her “X” mark. In 1817 it appears that ggg-grandfather James Smith is a witness to her mark.

In 1832 the “Annual Return of the Increase and Decrease of Slaves belonging to James of the Parish of Saint George for the Year 1832” includes the explanation of the numbers increase “By Marriage with Mary Ann Doret”. The Lists for 1833 and 1834 are registered to both ggg-grandparents James and Mary Ann Smith.

If you have any pertinent and additional information, data, and tales of ggg-grandmother Mary Ann (née Doret) Smith, I certainly would appreciate hearing of them.

And I continue my search.

Enjoy,

Jim

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Part 571sd – Smith Robertson Genealogy – GGG-Grandmother Mary Ann (née Doret) Smith – Food For Thought – Part 2

Good Day,

To continue with my discussion and from my previous Post, Part 570sd, regarding the search for the genealogy and ancestry of my ggg-grandmother Mary Ann (née Doret) Smith, I now present statements, family tales and thoughts that I have gathered.

From my search and research it is extremely important to collect all details, written and by word-of-mouth as one never knows where or when some iota of truth and evidence may be revealed.

The following points are written as I did either receive and record.

• James Smith married Eugenie Grandsol of Martinique.
• James Smith of Glasgow and Madame Doree of Martinique.
• James Smith of Glasgow (Seaman from Glasgow), Married in St. Kitts and had one family there; he then proceeded to Martinique and acquired a Madame Doree (whom he presumably married!) and they had four children.
• James Smith, a Shipwright/Seaman from Glasgow (West Coast) Scotland UK, came to the West Indies in the late 18th Century. He was a Ship’s Carpenter. He married in St. Christopher (Kitts) W.I. and had one family there?? 1793/6? He married Mdm. Mary Anne Dorette and they had the following children: Thomas (b. 15/11/1820); Harry (5/3/1818); Sophia?
• Born in 1765, James Smith lived to the ripe old age of 95. In 1805 he married Madame Dore.
• Mary Ann Doret was James Smith’s housekeeper.
• Mary Ann Doret was from Martinique.
• James Smith acquired Madame Doret.
• Madame Doret may have been of African descent.

In my latest reading and from pages 90 and 91 of Douglas J. Hamilton’s book Scotland, the Caribbean and the Atlantic World, 1750-1820; Manchester University Press, 2005, I have learned the following:

“James Baillie lived in Grenada throughout the 1770s, and ran the Hermitage Estate as well as building up his trading empire. His most important connection in the island was with Alexander Campbell, who was also a close friend of the speaker of the assembly, Ninian Home…

…Baillie’s personal connections with both St. Kitts and St. Vincent ensured that both islands remained part of his company’s network, to which were added Grenada, Nevis, Martinique and, to a lesser extent, Antigua and Barbadoes by the end of the century. The expansion into Martinique, in particular, demonstrated a real willingness on Baillie’s part to seize new opportunity as they presented themselves. Martinique was a French Colony occupied by British forces between 1794 and 1802, when it was returned after the Treaty of Amiens.”

My Smith Transcription Project of the Indentures from the Grenada Registers of Records includes references to James Baillie, Alexander Campbell, and Ninian Home.

The time frames, the people, and the locations certainly indicate that possible truth about ggg-grandmother Mary Ann’s origins and possible ancestry.

Food for thought?

In my next discussion I will present that which I have learned about ggg-grandmother Mary Ann (née Doret) Smith from my Transcription Project.

Stay tuned,

Enjoy,

Jim

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Part 570sd – Smith Robertson Genealogy – GGG-Grandmother Mary Ann (née Doret) Smith – Food For Thought

Good Day,

When I first arrived on the genealogy scene a few years back, I learned very quickly that to find out information of one's ancestors one, that is me, had to ask a lot of questions. And I did… and did I ever get a lot of answers.

Some have been answers that make sense. And some of the answers just did provide the exact bit of information, about a long-gone ancestor.

Case in point, and this is the study which I am attempting to create and write about. Beginning with this Posting, I would like to find out who is and was my ggg-grandmother Mary Ann (née Doret) Smith. GGG-Grandmother Mary Ann (née Doret) was the wife of my ggg-grandfather James Smith and the mother of his, at last count, seven children.

In order to relay that which I have found, heard, received, and discovered, I have decided to write a couple of Posts to A Genealogy Hunt. The following is pertinent and documented information that I have, to date, discovered about ggg-grandmother Mary Ann.

To start, here is the list of the possible children of ggg-grandmother Mary Ann (née Doret) and ggg-grandfather James Smith. The dates included could be either the registered birth date or the registered baptism date, or both.

• 17 March 1812 – Birth; 10 June 1814 – Baptism – Daughter: Eley Smith
• 20 March 1815 – Birth; 23 April 1815 – Baptism – Son: James Smith (my gg-grandfather). GGG-Grandmother Mary Ann’s surname is entered as Doral.
• 3 March 1818 – Birth; 1 January 1819 – Baptism – Son: Henry Smith. GGG-Grandmother Mary Ann’s surname is entered as Dorette.
• 5 November 1820 – Birth; 1 January 1822 – Baptism – Son: Thomas Smith. GGG-Grandmother Mary Ann’s surname is entered as Dorette.

I have not been able to find either birth or baptism registrations for the following, but their names are included in ggg-grandfather James’ 1842 Last Will and Testament. (See Part 347s.) The additional children include:

• George Smith – Son. Mentioned in ggg-grandfather James Smith’s 1842 Last Will and Testament.
• Sophia (née Smith) Ventour – Daughter. Mentioned in ggg-grandfather James Smith’s 1842 Last Will and Testament.
• Mary Ann (née Smith) Steele – Daughter. Mentioned in ggg-grandfather James Smith’s 1842 Last Will and Testament.

GGG-Grandparents James Smith and Mary Ann (née Doret) were married at Good Hope in Grenada 11 December 1832. (See Part 62s for my discussion of the 1825 Ventour, 1832 Smith, and 1832 Steele marriages.)

(The inserted map is of the island of Grenada with a marker at the location of Good Hope Estate.)

It is based on the order of bequests in ggg-grandfather James’ 1842 LWT, the dates of the above-mentioned marriages, and the birth and baptism dates that I have placed the children of ggg-grandparents James’ and Mary Ann’s in the following order.

1. GG-Grandaunt Eley Smith;
2. GG-Granduncle George Smith;
3. GG-Grandaunt Sophia (née Smith) Ventour;
4. GG-Grandaunt Mary Ann (née Smith) Steele;
5. GG-Grandfather James Smith;
6. GG-Granduncle Henry Smith; and
7. GG-Granduncle Thomas Smith

Please note as I discover more and more data and documentation I will adjust my records and my logic accordingly.

I do have the documentation for the above-mentioned events and occasions. I have also touched on them in previous discussions on A Genealogy Hunt. You can use the “Search This Blog” function in the right hand column to view previous Postings.

If you have any comments, questions, information, and data please feel free to contact me. You can also comment directly to this posting on A Genealogy Hunt.

Enjoy,

Jim

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Part 569s - Smith Robertson Genealogy - An Updated Richard Oliver Descendant Chart

Good Day,

Today feels like the first day of Fall.  We have opened all the windows of the house. The humidity is down... way down, and I can, without the meteorological mumbo-jumbo probably ascertain that the "wetness" in the air is being sucked out by the churnings of Katia, Lee, Maria, and Nate. Hell, Florida is in the corridor of "sucked-out-air-ology". That's my weather prognostication for today.

Anyway, I have been discussing details and points, with Richard of Sydney, regarding the descendants and ancestors of his gg-grandfather Richard Oliver Smith. As this Smith Family Line is of interest to me and my research for the genealogy of my ggg-grandfather James Smith, it is important that this conversation carry on in order to turn over every and any "genealogy" rock that may provide the next hint and clue.

In doing so, I have added and adjusted some details and data on my Richard Oliver Descendant Chart.

Please be aware that this information is "not set in gold" and there is always a chance that the information may change based on new and current data and sources.

Thanks Richard.

If you have any comments or questions please feel free to contact me or state your point of view.

Enjoy,

Jim

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Part 568s – Smith Robertson Genealogy – 1816 Richard Oliver Smith Serves Divorce Papers

Good Day,

Yesterday I went through Internet and telephone withdrawal… The Central Florida Hub for Bright House went down. And I had to ask myself the question, “What did I do before ‘reflective’ communication?” I use the term ‘reflective’ in a very liberal way, because after about an hour of no Bright House and everything being down, I realized that the only satisfaction or maybe, ego-stroking, that truly exists is the fact that I “make up” a receptive audience to the writings of my Blog and emails.

I continue with the search and the research of my genealogy and ancestry. Most recently I have been in discussion with Richard of Sydney in New South Wales, Australia. His gg-grandfather was Richard Oliver Smith. I have been following the Richard Oliver Smith line in the search of a possible connection to my ggg-grandfather James Smith. You can see my Richard Oliver Descendant Chart under the Analysis Heading at the top of the page.

(The inserted map is courtesy of the Government of New South Wales Website.)

Based on Richard’s research, he his discovered some tremendous accompanying information of his gg-grandfather Richard Oliver Smith and his first wife, Harriet (née Gee). Richard Oliver Smith and Harriet Gee were married on 21 August 1806 in the Old Church, St. Pancras in London. They were later divorced when Richard Oliver presented a special request based on some extraordinary encounters on Harriet’s part. Richard Oliver Smith later married Mary Broderip on 18 August 1819 in St. Cuthbert Church, Wells, England.

Pardon my limited legal understanding but… this divorce and marriage annulment seems somewhat confusing. If supposedly Harriet (née Gee) Smith is the party at fault, and from what I read, why did Richard Oliver Smith have to pay alimony? Just asking.

Here are copies of the images of the Divorce document Reference 57 George III c57HL/po/pg/1/1817/57G3n135 Richard obtained at the Parliamentary Archives, Houses of Parliament, London.

Here is Richard’s transcription –

Soit fait comme il est désiré

Humbly sheweth and complains
unto your Most Excellent Majesty your
true and faithful subject Richard Oliver
Smith late of Douglas in the Isle of Man
but now of Grays Inn in the County of
Middlesex Esquire That on or about
the Twenty first Day of August in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight
hundred and six your said Subject was
married to Harriet Smith his now Wife
then Harriet Gee Spinster and your
said Subject and the said Harriet Gee
cohabited together as Husband and Wife
from the time of their said Marriage
until the period next therein after was
mentioned and had Issue of the said
Marriage one Child a Daughter who is
now living That in the Month of January
One thousand eight hundred and fourteen
the said Harriet Smith your said Subject’s

Wife entered into and carried on an
unlawful familiarity and adulterous
conversation with The Reverend Thomas
Orpen Stewart of Douglas in the said Isle
of Man That your said Subject in the
Month of February One thousand eight
hundred and fourteen brought this Action
in the Court of Common Law in the
said Isle of Man against the said
Thomas Orpen Stewart for such Criminal
Intercourse and adulterous Conversation
and did on the Thirteenth Day of
∫∫ebruary One thousand eight hundred and

sixteen obtain a Verdict in such Court
in the said Action for the Sum of One
thousand pounds Damages a∫se∫sed for
your said Subject by a Jury of the said
Isle and your said Subject afterwards
obtained judgment in the said Action for
the said sum of One thousand Pounds
Damages with the Costs of Suit That the
said Thomas Orpen Stewart having
thereupon traversed or appealed from the
said Verdict and Judgment to the House
of Keys in the said Isle such Appeal
came on to be heard before the said
House on the Twenty ninth Day of
October One thousand eight hundred and
sixteen when the said House was of
Opinion that the said Verdict so traversed or
appealed from and bearing date the
Thirteenth Day of ∫∫ebruary One thousand
eight hundred and sixteen ought to be
varied and the said House was of
Opinion that your said Subject the
Respondent ought to recover from said
Thomas Orpen Stewart the Appellant the
sum of ∫∫ive hundred Pounds British

Damages with Costs That your said
Subject instituted a Suit in the Ecclesiastical
Court of Sodor and Mann against the said
Harriet for a Divorce and Separation from
Bed and Board and mutual Cohabitation
for the said Adultery and on the ∫∫ourteenth
Day of October One thousand eight
hundred and sixteen obtained a Definitive
Decree or Sentence of Divorce from Bed and
Board and mutual Cohabitation against
the said Harriet for Adultery committed
by her with the said Thomas Orpen
Stewart and the said Court did thereby
(according to the Custom and Jurisdiction
of the said Court) give and allow the
said Harriet Smith your said Subject’s
Wife towards her Maintenance and
Support the Sum of Eighty Pounds
according to the Currency of Great
Britain for each year as Alimony the
said allowance of Eighty Pounds British
to commence on the Sixteenth Day of the
then Instant October and to be paid to her
by Quarterly Payments in Advance to
continue Yearly and every Year during
the natural Life of the said Harriet
Smith That the said Harriet your said

Subject’s Wife hath by her Adulterous
Conduct dissolved the Bond of Marriage
on her part and your said Subject of
deprived of the Comforts of Matrimony
and may be liable to have a spurious
I∫sue imposed upon him to succeed to
Estate and ∫∫ortune unle∫s the said
Marriage between Your said Subject
of the said Harriet his Wife be declared
void and annulled by the Authority of
Parliament May it therefore please Your
Majesty out of your Princely Goodne∫s
and in compa∫sion to Your said Subject’s
Misfortune and Calamity that it may be
Enacted AND be it ENACTED by the
King’s Most Excellent Majesty by and
with the Advice and Consent of the Lords
Spiritual and Temporal and Commons in
this present Parliament A∫sembled and by
the Authority of the same That the Bond
of Matrimony between the said Richard
Oliver Smith and the said Harriet his
Wife be violated and broken by the
manifest and open Adultery of the said

Harriet be and the same is hereby from
henceforth wholly di∫solved annulled
vacated and made void to all Intents
Effects Constructions and Purposes whatsoever
and that it shall and may be lawful to
and for the said Richard Oliver Smith at
any time or times thereafter to contract
Matrimony and to marry (in the life-time
of the said Harriet as if she was actually
dead) with any woman or women he
might lawfully marry in case the said
Harriet was not living and that such
Matrimony when duly had and celebrated
shall be a good and lawful Marriage
or Marriages and shall be so adjudged
deemed and taken in all Courts and to all
Intents Constructions and Purposes whatsoever
and that and every the Child and
Children born in such Matrimony shall
be deemed adjudged and taken to be born
in lawful Wedlock and shall be legitimate
and inheritable to and shall inherit the
Lands Tenements and Hereditaments of
the said Richard Oliver Smith and all other
Lands Tenements and Hereditaments from
and by their Father Mother and other
Ancestors and Relations in like Manner
and ∫∫orm as any other Child or Children

born in lawful Matrimony should could and
or might inherit or be inheritable unto
according to the Laws and Courses of
Inheritance used in the Realm or in
any of His Majesty’s Dominions thereinto
belonging and also shall and may have
and enjoy all Honors Privileges
Proemminences Benefits Advantages Claims
and Demands in as full ample and beneficial
manner as any other Child or Children
born in lawful Wedlock may have or
claim by the Laws and Customs of this
Realm or of any of His Majesty’s Dominions
thereunto belonging AND be it further
ENACTED that the said Richard Oliver
Smith shall be entitled to be Tenant by the
Curtesy of the Lands Tenements and
Inheritance of such Wife or Wives as he
shall hereafter marry and that such Wife
or Wives as he shall so hereafter marry
shall (unle∫s barred by a Jointure or otherwise
be entitled to Dower ∫∫reehold and Thirds
at Common Law or by Custom or otherwise
of and in such Lands Tenements and
Hereditaments whereof the said Richard

Oliver Smith shall be seized of such Estate
whereof she or they shall be dowable or
any Husband or Wife respectively may or
might claim have or enjoy and that the
Child or Children born in such Marriage or
Marriages shall and may derive and make
Title by Descent Remainder Limitation or
otherwise to and from any of his her or
their Ancestors or Coliateral Relations as
any other Child or Children born in lawful
Wedlock may do any Law Restraint
Prohibition Ordinance Canon Constitution
Prescription Usage or Custom had made
constituted or used to the contrary notwith
standing AND be it further ENACTED
that the said Harriet Smith shall be as
she is hereby barred and excluded of as
from all Dower ∫∫reehold and Thirds at
the Common Law by Custom or otherwise
and all other Claims and Demands of in
or out of any Lands Tenements or
Hereditaments whereof or whereto the
said Richard Oliver Smith previous to and
at the time of his Marriage with the
said Harriet was now is or since his
said Marriage hath been or at any time

hereafter shall or may be seized of or
entitled for any Estate of Inheritance or
other Estate whatsoever and of and from
all Claims and Demands in to upon or
out of the Goods Chattels and Personal
Estate and Effects which the said Richard
Oliver Smith now is or at any time or
times hereafter shall be po∫se∫sed of or
entitled unto other than and except so
far as relates to the said Yearly Sum
of Eighty Pounds by the said Decree of
the said Ecclesiastical Court of the Bishop
of Sodor and Mann allowed and ordered to
be paid by the said Richard Oliver Smith
to the said Harriet as Alimony during
her natural Life as aforesaid which said
Sum of Eighty Pounds shall remain due and
continue payable from and after the
Pa∫sing of this Act for and during the
natural Life of the said Harriet Smith
in like manner and to and for the said
Purposes as is ordered and directed in
and by the said Decree of the said
Ecclesiastical Court AND be it further
ENACTED and DECLARED that the said

Richard Oliver Smith and all Persons
claiming or to claim by from or under him
is are and shall for ever be barred and
excluded of and from all Rights Claims
Titles or Interests of in to or out of any
Lands Tenements and Hereditaments and
other Estates Real Personal Estate and _____
and all Goods Chattels Personal Estate
Ornaments of the Person and Effects
whatsoever which the said Harriet Smith
now is or shall or may at any time or
times hereafter acquire or become seized
or po∫se∫sed of or entitled to by Descent
Gift Devise Purchase or otherwise howsoever
during the Estate and Interest of the said
Harriet Smith her Heirs Executors
Administrators and A∫signs therein respectively
and that the said Harriet Smith her
Heirs Executors and Administrators shall
and may hold and enjoy the same and
every of them for all her and their
Estate and Interest therein for her and
their own proper Use Benefit and
Advantage exclusive of the said Richard
Oliver Smith his Heirs Executors and
Administrators and all and every other
Person or Persons whomsoever claiming or
to claim by from or under him.

Soit baillé aux Commons

Thanks Richard.

Enjoy.

Jim

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Part 567p – Smith Robertson Genealogy – The Parker Project – 1787 GGGG-Grandfather William Parker and His Family, Maybe?

Good Morning,

Well, all 24 legs are quiet right now. The morning walks and feeding has gone without a hitch. Why is it that the smallest one, Tinker… the ‘leven-pounder, believes that she has to have the loudest, shrillest, and eardrum-piercing yelp at the feeding? Scuttling between the leg-forest of the others she seems to be wailing the fact that I am going to miss her. In another life she succeeded admirably in her classes with Pavlov and Maslow.

Yesterday I began capturing the Parker birth, marriage, and burial registration information from The Registers of the Parish Church of Linton-In-Craven, Co. York. Two Volumes, 1562-1812. These derivative sources are the publications of the Yorkshire Parish Register Society as edited by the Reverend F.A.C. Share, Rector of Linton as published in 1900 and 1903. The online versions are collectively 530 pages.

What exactly is a derivative source in genealogy? These are the definitions that I have chanced upon.

The National Genealogy Society provides an astute definition in just a few words.

Derivative Source - Material based upon an original source; abstracts, compilations, databases, indexes, transcripts are examples of derivative sources.

Steve Danko on his Steve’s Genealogy Blog tweaks the definition with just a few changes of words, but in effect relays the same.

DERIVATIVE SOURCE: a record which is generated based on information in an Original Record and is not an Exact Image of the Original Record. Derivative Sources include Transcriptions, Abstracts, and Compiled Sources.

This definition of a Derivative Source considers Duplicate Originals and Official Copies to be Derivative Sources, unless those sources are Exact Images. Some Derivative Sources are also Original Records. For example, a certified vital record that is a transcript rather than an Exact Image is an Original Record, but is also a Derivative Source.

And on that note, the information from the Linton-In-Craven Parish Registers publications can be deemed derivative sources. But I can tell you that, having discovered the 1900 and 1903 publications, my task of transcribing is certainly much, much easier. Thank you, Reverend Share.

My task in my Parker Project certainly becomes much less of a visual struggle.

Well last night, after reviewing a number of the Parker Register entries I believe that I can logically fit my gggg-grandfather William Parker. In Part 553p I introduced the 24 June 1787 Baptism Registration of gggg-grandfather William from Page 383 of Volume II of “The Registers of the Parish Church of Linton-In-Craven…”. He was the son of ggggg-grandfather William Parker of Grassington.

All-things-being-equal I can plausibly fit gggg-grandfather William into a Parker Family that does reflect a possible and credible relationship.

The work and research in my Parker Project continues.

Enjoy,

Jim

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Part 566p – Smith Robertson Genealogy – Record Number of Visits – GGGG-Grandfather William Parker – Ancient Names of A Location

Good morning,

Well I guess we did it! A Genealogy Hunt hits an all-time high of Visits and Page Views in August. Not bad for a journal blog which doesn't offer anything for free or any type of unrestricted genealogy research. A Genealogy Hunt is my journal of my journey into my ancestral past. According to SiteMeter, total Visits for the month equaled a record 1,063 and Page Views totaled 1,923. Google Blogger Stats shows a different total of 4,030 Pageviews for the month. Don't ask me why there are differences in Page Views, but both reflect a positive trend, and I'll certainly accept that.

In my search for the origins of the ancestry of gggg-grandfather William Parker who was christened 24 June 1787 at Grassington in Linton Parish, Yorkshire, England, I believe there may be a breakthrough to the research. No, I'm not saying that I have discovered and made links to his ancestors, albeit my ancestors, but it might come down to a discussion of semantics and archaic usage of names and places.

On my William Parker Worksheet I have discovered 12 Linton–in –Craven Parish entries that refer to the locations: Gris; Griston; and Grisington. Also there are entries that include Grassington and Hebden. Clive and Colin in Yorkshire have been discussing the issue of these location names, especially a nonexistent Griston in Yorkshire versus the actual Griston in Norfolk. Per Colin "It would seem that Gris, Griston and Grassington are all local dialect name for Grassington…”

This definitely makes sense as from the 12 applicable Register entries there is a span of approximately 40 years. My question was a simple one. Why would a single parish register record a local inhabitant as a person of from a distant location for a period of that many years? Was he a person that was never considered a member of the local community? The application of the archaic labels for the location of Grassington makes one hell of a lot of sense.

And so as the earliest William Parker record dated 1693 I need now to examine the Linton-in-Craven Parish Register for earlier Parker entries.

Enjoy,

Jim

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