Grace Brock

I've had a lot of trouble finding a marriage between John STILING and Grace FREED and thought it was due to the lack of  Devon records on the IGI.  Thanks to the selection of Devon Parish records on findmypast, I find it's possibly because it was mistranscribed or that Grace FREED is actually Grace BROCK:

I can imagine how Brock and Freed could look similar in faded, pre-regency period handwriting.
This was one of three John STILINGs that came up in the search but the only one with a Grace for a bride. 
Their oldest child was born in 1811 so the dates also fit.
Oh, how I wish I could see the original record right now.

Calendar of the Dead

Ancestry have now released the National Probate Calendar (1861-1941) which is almost like an index to wills.  A distant relative who has worked with me on my STILING line gave me the heads up and I checked it out:

STILING John 9 October.

The Will of John Stiling late of Tiverton in the County of Devon Yeoman deceased who died 3 February 1862 at Tiverton aforesaid was proved at Exeter by the oath of Edward Stiling of the Parish of Tiverton aforesaid Yeoman the Son one of the Executors.

Effects under £600.

[handwritten underneath] Resworn at the Stamp Office Feb 1865 under £450.

I believe this to be my John STILING for the following reasons:

• he dropped off the census after 1861
• wife declared a widow on the 1871 census
• recorded living at Tiverton since 1811 (son Edward's birth)
• has son Edward STILING
• farmer (yeoman) since 1841 census

This is the first time I had even come close to a death date for John STILING so I was very pleased indeed to see this entry.

I used ancestry to look further into the son mentioned, Edward STILING and found what appears to be his will too. The entry contained: formerly of Barton but late of Tiverton Farmer died 16 Feb 1873 at Tiverton - Elizabeth Daw, widow, his sister executrix.

Not only do I have a death date but also a daughter of John that I was unaware of until now.

Next Steps:

• Obtain a copy of John & Edward STILING's wills

Pub Crawl

Inside the Hare & Hounds, Witheridge c1940s

image via Historical Witheridge

On the night of the 1861 census, in the Devonshire village of Witheridge, 14 year old Drusilla WREFORD was recorded as head of the household and her occupation as 'Innkeeper ?' (note the question mark). Also in the household were 4 siblings aged 7 and under (including my direct ancestor, Augusta Harriet), and a 17 year old servant, Emily CHERITON. Their parents, George and Harriet, were nowhere to be seen. I knew they weren't dead, as George WREFORD and his family emigrated to New Zealand in 1864. So where were they?

12 Fore Street, Witheridge - 1861 census

This remained a mystery for some time until a chance search led me to discover that George WREFORD was in jail for bankruptcy at the time (you can read my post about that discovery here and here). I still haven't been able to locate the parents on the 1861 census but I'm still keen to find out more about the business.

George was recorded on bankruptcy notices as an innkeeper, butcher and farmer but I haven't been able to discover which inn George (and Drusilla) was keeping.

On my last visit to Witheridge (I've been twice), I picked up the 'Witheridge Village Trail & Local Walks' pamphlet which mapped some of the pubs (old and current) in the village.  Armed with this pamphlet, I used Google Maps to pinpoint the pub locations.

Witheridge Pub Locations

Assuming the family lived in/above the inn being kept, the map indicates the pub was the Hare and Hounds (in Fore Street).  According to the pamphlet, "it burnt out in 1995 and was rebuilt".  I was able to find this picture of the Hare & Hounds Inn circa 1955 from the excellent Historical Witheridge site:

Here is a picture of Fore Street today from a similar location and perspective via Google Street View:

I'm now in the process of trying to find a directory closer to 1861 which will hopefully attach George's name to the correct pub.

UPDATE
I have found evidence that they actually kept the Commercial Inn - see post here

Next Steps:

• 
  
  check for 1860 directories
• 
  
  obtain a copy of  'Researching Brewery and Publican Ancestors' by Simon Fowler for more information

The Wrong Stilings

I've certainly been very busy with genealogy the last week or so. 

The most significant discovery is that I am now quite sure that the Broadhembury STILINGs are not directly linked to me. (Click the link to see my previous Stiling posts, or click Stiling in the right sidebar). The John STILING farming at Lane End Farm is not Harriet STILING's father. I discovered this by making contact with other people researching the Broadhembury John STILING on Ancestry.co.uk. 

Devon has not allowed the LDS to film their parish records and so most baptisms from Devon are not available on the IGI.  This has meant that I have not yet seen Harriet's baptismal entry but instead have accepted information given to me by a relative over 10 years ago (until I can check the records for myself) which states her mother was Grace FREED.  When I first searched the 1841 census (via microfilm) all those years ago, the Broadhembury John STILING was the closest match I found.  I then decided it was possible Grace had died and this wife, Mary could have been a second wife.  However, the other (very helpful) people researching this family had no knowledge of a first wife (Grace) or of a daughter called Harriet.

John STILING on Harriet's marriage record

I decided to recheck all my sources.  Harriet's marriage certificate lists her father as John STILING, a farmer, so I searched the census again with Ancestry.co.uk, including spelling variants.  Still no joy.  The Broadhembury STILINGS were still the only likely option.  I then went through my digital folders and came across a file called 'Stilings on the 1841 census'.  I had another look and this time saw a John and Grace STILING in the Tiverton area (how I'd not noticed that before is beyond me).  I searched for them in this area and sure enough John and Grace topped the list!  They had been transcribed as Steling.  Someone seems to have originally recorded the name as Styling and someone's attempt to correct it allowed it to be misread as Steling.

Another John STILING farmer - this time at West Barton Farm near Tiverton

I am more confident that these are my STILINGS - not only because of the wife, Grace but also because they reside in the Tiverton area which is where I found Harriet working as a servant on the 1841 census and her location at the time of her marriage.  However, until I see the birth records, I have no hard evidence that Grace is, in fact, Harriet's mother and that this is MY family, as she never appears with her parents on a census.

Next Steps: 

• Visit Devon library to locate Harriet's baptism entry in the parish records.

Tombstone Tuesday - Broadhembury Stilings

Broadhembury Church

While in Devon I paid a visit to the lovely village of Broadhembury. I had hopes of finding the graves of my STILING forebears to give me some new leads - this wasn't to be. I did however, find the graves of some other Stilings. These Stilings are bound to be related somewhere along the line so I post these photos of their gravestones to help out distant family members who may be looking for these guys.

Affectionate Remembrance of

Thomas Stiling

Died Sep 18th 1848

Aged 38 years

[...] in death

ALSO Jane his wife

Died March 26 1875

Aged 75 years

Thy Will Be Done

ALSO John their son

Died November 27 1892

Aged 63 years

In Loving Memory

Of

William Stiling

Who died March 20 1865

Aged 43 years

*note* - These inscriptions were extremely difficult to read. Most of the last one was deciphered through touch and educated guesswork so may not be entirely accurate.

Marriage Entries VS Marriage Certificates

I have been writing a lot about my WREFORDs lately, particularly with regard to George WREFORD and his bankruptcy woes. However, his wife would have also been sharing these worries with him. Also missing from the 1861 census, perhaps she had travelled to Exeter for his court hearing.

In 1845, Harriotte STILING married George WREFORD in Cove Chapel (in the Pitt quarter of the parish of Tiverton). Both lived in Tiverton at the time and both of their fathers were farmers. I know this (and their father's names) because of the information recorded on their marriage certifcate.

This is a copy of their marriage ordered from the General Register Office (my first ever certificate ordered):

George WREFORD and Harriet STILING marriage certificate - 1845

A lot of people assume that the signatures on these certificates are those of their ancestors when first starting in genealogy. However, this is only a 'Certified Copy of an Entry of Marriage' (as stated on top of the document). Someone (with authority) has basically just copied the information into another book.

This is the actual entry for their marriage in the Cove Chapel parish registers:

George WREFORD and Harriet STILING Marriage Entry - 1845

There is no difference in the information given except I now have the actual signatures of George WREFORD, Harriotte STILING and her father John STILING!

A Philip CHAVE was also witness to the marriage - he may be a relative, close friend or just someone there on the day.

You may think, why bother?
Well, sometimes the information can differ from the copy but I have to admit, it gives me a little thrill to see the actual signatures. In the absence of photographs or other memorabilia, it can be as close as you may get to 'touching' your ancestor. I can imagine having access to the actual parish register book they would have written in would be even more thrilling. It may be sad but I'm sure other family historians out there know what I'm talking about.

NOTE: I remember reading somewhere that an X (or mark) as a signature didn't always mean the person was illiterate. Sometimes women especially would use an X so as not to show up their new husband.

I like to visit places which played parts in my ancestors' lives so we drove up to Cove through very narrow, winding hillside roads. I believe this photo is of Cove Chapel. It is fenced off with a PRIVATE sign right next to someone's home so we stuck around long enough just to get this photo. I have been unable to find much information on Cove Chapel so if I'm incorrect, please let me know.

Cove Chapel, Tiverton parish as it was August 2009