Did Thomas Pittard really marry sisters

1646 Map of Somerset

My mother-in-law visited recently and I had a lot of pleasure in showing her what I found over the

last year on Find My Past for her recent immigrant ancestry.  Her grandmother, Elizabeth Pittard, was born in Martock, Somerset, England.  Thanks to finds on FMP we not only broke down a wall but have a lead on a new possible line.

There is a family story, like there always is, that goes along with this ancestress.  Elizabeth’s mother died when she was very young.  The story passed down was that her father married her mother Ann’s sister, Jane, after her death.  Growing up the joke was that even though they were half siblings the children were really full siblings since their mothers were sisters.  Got that?

Well from her Grandmother Elizabeth’s wedding certificate I discovered her mother’s name was Ann Tatchell.  The name was confirmed with her certificate of marriage to Thomas Pittard which I ordered from the UK.  I was very excited, except that there was no father listed for Ann.  Questions began to percolate in my head.

To make matters worse, I also ordered Thomas Pittard’s death certificate from the state of New York.  His wife’s name was Jane Talwood.  I don’t know about you, but Tatchell and Talwood are not very similar. If these women were siblings, wouldn’t they have the same surname?  Once again, the maiden name was confirmed when I found their record of marriage on FMP listing Thomas Pittard as a widower and Jane Talwood as a spinster.  Yeah, the questions were now even bigger.

What the heck was going on here?!  At best these 2 women are ½ sisters.  Could the women have considered themselves sisters for some reason now unknown to us?  Most interesting, Jane has a father listed on her marriage record but Ann does not.  I did notice there was a Jane Tatchell listed as a witness on her marriage record.  Now, who is this woman?

While talking about my finds with a friend who does a lot of UK research I was informed that if there was no father listed it was more than likely that Ann was born out of wedlock.  Well, now I have a scandal and I have to keep digging!  It also got me thinking, could the mysterious Jane Tatchell be her mother.

In the UK, as in the US, sometimes the easiest way to trace people at first is through the Census Records.  I knew that Ann was born and married in the same general area according to all the records I had.  With that in mind I went back 10 years from her married Census Records (1871 contained Thomas, Ann and daughter Elizabeth) and found her on the 1861 census with a woman named Jane.  Jane Tatchell was listed as an unmarried head of house employed as a glove maker with 3 daughters Ann 11, Eliza 7 and Sarah 4. 

1861 England and Wales Census

Then I went back 10 more years.  Ann should be 1 in the 1851 census and maybe we can solve this riddle.  I find a Jane Tatchell in the same town and employed as a glove maker, the occupation listed from before.  However, there are other people now too.  18-year-old Jane is living in the household of John Tatchell, a 33 widower, who is listed as her father and a slew of siblings.  There is no Ann though, but maybe she has not been born yet.

1851 England and Wales Census

Things get a bit murkier when we follow this Jane forward in time.  In 1871 she is in the same town, with the same job and we find Eliza and Sarah 10 years older.  Jane is now listed as a widow and is still employed as a glove maker.  There are now a total of 4 children: Eliza 15, Sarah 13, Masen 8 and John 4.  What I found most interesting is that the children were born in different places in Somerset, Wales or Dorset.  Jane was not located on the 1881 census and, while I don’t have the document yet, I did find a Jane Tatchell listed on a death index from the 1^st quarter of 1880 for the town she last lived.

1871 England and Wales Census

Now what do I do?  Was she a widow?  Was she a woman who had bad luck and loved the boys?  On a lark I looked to see if I could find a marriage record for her in the town she lived.  There was a Jane Tatchell listed in an index from 1858 marrying a Simeon Eglon.  However, I have no proof that was her.  There were also several Mary Janes and Eliza Janes who all married in that area.  I have a feeling there were Tatchells everywhere!

This little puzzle is just another reason why I need to make a trip overseas.  I wonder how much more I could find in person.  On that note, if you have any research ideas, thoughts or comments let me know.  I am not used to doing research for people in this location and at this point I need some help.

Fearless Females: Brick walls

Brick walls go hand in hand with female ancestors and I am sure many of you can relate. There are many little stubby branches off of my main tree trunk because I have the name of a woman and as of yet no clue to her identity before marriage. These lost heritages, sometimes due to the lack of importance placed on woman at those times, make my mind go numb on occasion. 

photo credit: Malenkov in Exile
via photopin cc

I have written on this blog repeatedly about the walls I have encounter through my scant three years of research.  I have even celebrated with you as I have watched a wall crumble down and I was able to watch new branches develop on my tree.  Those celebrations are fewer now, but I am still determined to make them happen.  Even if it takes my whole life.

But that is just it, isn't it? This is now my life’s endeavor. I am also sure it is yours as well.

I want to know more about the people who came before me.  I want to pass that knowledge on.  Not just to my descendants, but to the world. There are stories to be told, lives to be shared, and walls to be scaled. I know that some may never be breached, but that is no reason not to try.  Right?

Below are my most frustrating female brick walls, on my and my husband’s lines.  The ones that, well, let’s just say bug me the most.  They needle me when I try to sleep. I hear them whispering to me from my computer. Come find me… you know you want to… Maybe, just maybe someone out there has the key to unlocking their secrets.

While a person is more than just facts and figures, I didn't want this post to go on for pages and pages so stuck to the basics.  Yes, I only listed a few tid-bits but you and I both know there is more to these women.  If I am lucky there will be follow up posts with stories of discovery and stories of them in the future.

Philena L. Brown

She is my husband's 4th great-grandmother.  Born abt 1810 in Maine and died bef 1880 in Swanville, Waldo County, Maine.  She married twice: James Cunningham and Joshiah Emmerson.  Her sister Mary married James's brother William, also in the Swanville / Belfast, Maine area.  There are family rumors are that the Brown sisters were of Scottish decent after a stop over for a couple generations in Northern Ireland, eventually making their way to New England.

Margaret Ann Brundage

She is my husband's 2nd great-grandmother.  Born 25 Dec 1851 in Illinois, died 15 March 1930 in Portland, Washington, and is buried in Pioneer Cemetery.  She married Stephen Crabb 8 feb 1872 in Putnam, Missouri.  They traveled west to the Washington Territory and were among the first settlers in their area of the future Washington State.

Jane DeVault

She is my 3rd great-grandmother, and most of the following information was given to me (with documents and sources!) by a recently found cousin.  Thank you Sue!  Born 7 May 1830 in Harrison County, Ohio and died 5 Jan 1910 in Lost River Township, Martin County, Indiana.  From her death certificate I know her father's name was Strausbaugh and she was buried in Waggoner Cemetery.  She married Andrew Jackson Davisson in Ohio about 1853.

Mary Amelia Dishinger

She is my 3^rd great-grandmother.  Born 11 December 1835 in Baden-Wurttemburg and died 21 November 1921 in Washington, Daviess County, Indiana.  She arrived in this country with her parents, who are unknown to me, and settled in Dubois County, Indiana about 1847.  Mary, or Amelia as she went by both names, married another German immigrant, John Miller, in 1855 at Jasper, Dubois County, Indiana. 

Dorothy Ann Jent

She is my 5th great-grandmother.  Born 1742 at St. Mary's, Maryland and died in 1812 at Nelson County, Kentucky.  She married Rodolphus Norris in 1765 at St. Mary's, Maryland.

Eliza Johnson

She is my 3rd great-grandmother.  Born in Indiana abt 1842 and died before 1900, perhaps all in Orange County.  She married Willis Mayfield Freeman 7 Feb 1861 in Orange County, Indiana.

Maria or Mary Meier/Meyer

She is my husband's 3rd great grandmother.  Born 1853 in Germany and died 30 April 1900 in New York, New York.  She married twice: Augustus Heinritz and Emil Jahnke.  You can read a post about her and my discoveries here.  

Sally Padgett

She is my 5th great-grandmother.  Born abt 1757 in Maryland and died 1817 in Port Tobacco, Charles County, Maryland.  She married Edward Arvin (Harvin/Harbin/Harben) abt 1785.

Agatha Reichter

She is my 3^rd great-grandmother.  Born about 1822 in Baden-Wurttemburg and died before 1900 in Indiana (most likely Dubois or Daviess County).  She married Hubert Negle (Nagley/Nagali/Naigly) 19 May 1855 at St. Celestine Church in Dubois County, Indiana. 

Mary Rice

She is my 5^th great-grandmother.  Born abt 1770 on a plantation in Tennessee and died in Harrison County, Indiana 24 June 1835.  She married 5 times: Job Poteet (a Frenchman), Mr. Whitaker, Eliasen Goodwin, and Mr. McCaslin (I list them as Mr. because I don't have a first name for them).  You can read a letter written about her at this post.

Isabella "Bella" Ruddy

She is my husband's 3rd great-grandmother.  Born abt 1838 in Ireland and died between 1920 and 1930 most likely in Hartford, Connecticut or Westchester, New York.  She married James Bennett either in Ireland or in New York City.  

Ann Tachell

She is my husband's 2nd great-grandmother.  Born 1846 in Coates, Sommerset, England and died before 1874 in Wales (most likely in Llwynypia, Glamorgan, Wales).  She married Thomas Pittard before 1869 most likely in Somerset.  Thomas went on to marry her younger sister Jane Tachell after Ann's death.  Thomas and Jane immigrated to the United States with their and Ann's children through New York in 1883.