Hello everyone I have questions concerning an ancestors place of birth in 1790. This ancestor stated on two consecutive census returns that his place of birth was Wellington, Somerset. At the time of his marriage, in Wellington, he is identified as a sojourner. At this time I can't positively identify his baptism in any Wellington transcripts. I have sent for birth registries for three people of the same name born in that time frame and none seem to fit. His descendants have been relatively easy to trace and I have met several cousins in the process! I'm hoping that there is something I've missed with parish or municipal boundaries or something that only the 'locals' may be aware of. My questions are as follows; Is it possible that parish boundaries were different at that time in Wellington? Are there small villages near Wellington that may have been considered a part of Wellington? Any help is greatly appreciated. Mike

[email protected] wrote: > I have questions concerning an ancestors place of birth in 1790. This > ancestor stated on two consecutive census returns that his place of > birth was Wellington, Somerset. At the time of his marriage, in > Wellington, he is identified as a sojourner. A sojourner was someone who was temporarily resident in a place so Wellington would not have been his place of birth, nor necessarily his parish either. Have you had a look on FreeREG to see if your man is listed there. Select Somerset as the county but not a place. It could be worth adding Gloucestershire, Wiltshire, Devon, Dorset and Cornwall as well. IIRC, FreeREG is updated every month so if he's not there now, try again next month. If you put your man's name on the list, maybe someone will be able to find him or perhaps connect with him in some way. The IGI might also prove a finding aid, but be very careful with any patron submissions. They can vary from total accuracy to pure fiction. -- Charani (UK) OPC for Walton, Greinton and Clutton, SOM Asst OPC for Ashcott and Shapwick, SOM http://wsom-opc.org.uk http://www.savethegurkhas.co.uk/

It was (and in some families still is) common for the first child to be Baptised/Christened in the home Parish of the mother. A child could be born in Wellington and his baptism or christening might take place in Taunton if that was the home Parish of his mother. It would appear that at marriage he was not ordinarily resident in Wellington, hence his description as a sojourner. Another possibilty reharding baptism/christening. His parents may have been non-conformists. Somerset at this time (and still today) had/has many non-con churches and chapels. Jim http://www.payman.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk OPC HORNINGSHAM and CORSLEY (Wilts) OPC MILTON CLEVEDON (Somerset) FreeReg Co-ord Wiltshire Hundreds Manager Dorset, Devon, Wilts & Gloucs ----- Original Message ----- From: <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Monday, February 14, 2011 10:53 AM Subject: [ENG-SOM] Parish or place of birth > Hello everyone > I have questions concerning an ancestors place of birth in 1790. This > ancestor stated on two consecutive census returns that his place of > birth was Wellington, Somerset. At the time of his marriage, in > Wellington, he is identified as a sojourner. At this time I can't > positively identify his baptism in any Wellington transcripts. I have > sent for birth registries for three people of the same name born in that > time frame and none seem to fit. His descendants have been relatively > easy to trace and I have met several cousins in the process! I'm hoping > that there is something I've missed with parish or municipal boundaries > or something that only the 'locals' may be aware of. > > My questions are as follows; Is it possible that parish boundaries > were different at that time in Wellington? > Are there small villages near > Wellington that may have been considered a part of Wellington? > > Any help is greatly appreciated. > > Mike > > > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > [email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' without the > quotes in the subject and the body of the message