Can anyone help myself and my friend in Utah to find Joseph Pearmain - we call him 'Top Joseph' the only information we have is his marriage to Martha Paget on the 22nd April 1793 at St. Leonard's Bridgnorth - Joseph was a Saddler and they lived on Raven Street, Bridgnorth, most of their lives - I have written to two Saddlers Guilds, but they have no trace of him - we would like to find his birth, and his death. Joseph and Martha had 12 children - Joseph (11th child) born 15th June 1812 - is our common ancestor. I would be thrilled to receive any information. Thank you. Margaret Horrocks.

Margaret, That's not quite all you know. You know he was alive in 1815 when the last child was born, and you should be able to deduce that he was not of the parish as there are no Pearmain christenings in the St Leonards batches. You should also know Martha's parents and grandparents as she was of the parish and there are lots of Pagett BDM events for siblings and relatives. At a brief look, I could only find ten children. Others only have nine. I also note that many were christened at ages 4 & 5, which distorts the birth distribution. However, none of that helps with the origins of Joseph. There are about 10 listed possibilities on IGI all outside Shropshire, and we don't know how many are not recorded or destroyed. If you look at each of the 10, you will see some died or married others, so they can be eliminated. That will leave a short list. Then it's a case of deciding which one is more likely. I'd favour choosing the nearest county which looks Warwickshire. One there also has a mother Sarah, which is the name given to Joseph and Martha's 3rd child. But that's not conclusive. Perhaps someone has access to St Leonard's PR's and can lookup the 1793 marriage to see if their is an age or parish for Joseph or perhaps a relative as a witness. There are loads of researchers for Pearmian of Bridgnorth on mailing lists and message boards as well as submitted trees on Rootsweb and Ancestry. A number even have descendants of Joseph & Martha. They should be studied closely for any clues. I'd even look for other Pearmian individuals born around 1770. As a teacher of genealogy, I feel there's more that can be done. But it's very labour intensive with minimum rewards for each hour invested. It's up to you if you have the time and patience. Peter in Sydney