Dear All I'm trying to track down my great-grandfather, Williams Henry SIMS. He was married in Llanhilith, Monmouthshire on the 11th August 1902 to Emily Susan Monks CORDY and gives his father's name as John and his age as 27. I'm having trouble tracing William any further back than this. According to family legend Emily and William had met when younger and William had an additional middle name: William Henry Edny SIMS Emily was born in Fishponds, Gloucestershire, and the CORDY family have been pretty well-documented in the Fishponds/Mangotsfield/Stapleton area for generations by Adrian Sheppard (fh.sheppardfamily.us). I have found a William Sims (father John) of the right age in the 1881 Census in Mynyddylwyn, Monmouthshire. But I'm more interested (from the point of view of this list at least) in a William Henry Sims (father either John Henry or John Hendy Sims) in the 1891 Census at Mangotsfield, also born in Mangotsfield. Although I can find the family in other census' I can't seem to find William Henry, nor can I find the registration of his birth (For reference: Q1 1875 Clifton 6a 174 (father William Henry), Q1 1873 Cheltenham 1873 6a 441, Q1 1874 Monmouth 11a 19, Q3 1878 Barton Regis 6a 151 (father not John according to the GRO)). I'm wondering if there is SKS on this list who might have access to the Mangotsfield Parish Registers for the right period who could check for a baptism. ... and also if there is someone with, perhaps, a better knack for searching who can find William Henry in other census' I've contacted (through Genes Reunited) someone descended from a cousin of John Hendy Sims and their family moved to Llanhilith following work (which is encouraging) but they don't know anything about my William Henry. Hendy is a family name on their side which might account for the strange "Edny" of my family legend. Many thanks for any help with this brick wall! Louise

Hi Louise, In the 1881 census that you found John with son William SIMS, John's wife (and presumably William's mother) was Martha and there were other children Samuel aged 18, John aged 16, Sarah aged 12, Clara aged 7. Martha is listed as being born Bruton Somerset. In 1891, I found a Martha SIMS with children Samuel aged 27, Clara aged 17 and William aged 15. Martha is a widow and born Bruton Somerset. William is a Coal miner born Monmouthshire. They are living in Hengoed Glamorgan. So this would appear to be the same family in both censuses. I also found this family in 1871 living in Somerset which ties in with some of the children's birthplaces. Transcriptions of 1871, 1881 and 1791 appear below. This is a possible death of John SIMS in 1881 Surname First name(s) Age District Vol Page Deaths Jun 1888 SIMS John 63 Bedwelty 11a 80 As far as finding the John Hendy SIMMS and family in 1881, I found them transcribed as - wait for it - BOBB !!! The transcriptions for 1881 and 1891 also appear below. There is no doubt it is the same family. Hope this helps. Let me know if you would like census images. Cheers Dallas 1871 England Census about Martha Sims Name: Martha Sims Age: 35 Estimated birth year: abt 1836 Relation: Wife Spouse's name: John Gender: Female Where born: Bruton, Somerset, England Civil parish: Somerton Ecclesiastical parish: Bath and Wells Town: Somerton County/Island: Somerset Country: England Registration district: Langport Sub-registration district: Somerton ED, institution, or vessel: 3 Neighbors: View others on page Household schedule number: 99 Household Members: Name Age Dae Buby 1 month Emley Sims 4 John Sims 47 John Sims 5 Martha Sims 35 Martha Sims 9 Samuel Sims 7 Sarah Sims 2 1891 Wales Census about William Sims Name: William Sims Age: 15 Estimated birth year: abt 1876 Relation: Son Mother's name: Martha Gender: Male Where born: Kenr Bchis, Monmouthshire, Wales Civil parish: Gelligaer Ecclesiastical parish: Gelligaer Town: Hengoed County/Island: Glamorgan Country: Wales Registration district: Merthyr Tydfil Sub-registration district: Gelligaer ED, institution, or vessel: 12 Neighbors: View others on page Household Members: Name Age Clara Sims 17 Martha Sims 54 Samuel Sims 27 William Sims 15 Source Citation: Class: RG12; Piece: 4432; Folio 129; Page 10; GSU roll: 6099542. THE BOBB FAMILY in 1881 1881 England Census about Alice Bobb Name: Alice Bobb Age: 2 Estimated birth year: abt 1879 Relation: Daughter Father's name: John Mother's name: Mary Gender: Female Where born: Mangotsfield, Gloucestershire, England Civil parish: Bitton - Oldland County/Island: Gloucestershire Country: England Street address: Upper Soundwell Education: Employment status: View image Registration district: Keynsham Sub-registration district: Oldland ED, institution, or vessel: 8 Neighbors: View others on page Household Members: Name Age Alice Bobb 2 David Bobb 7 George Bobb 1 John Bobb 39 Mary Bobb 29 Mary Bobb 4 William Bobb 5 THE SIMMS family in 1891 1891 England Census about Alice Sims Name: Alice Sims Age: 13 Estimated birth year: abt 1878 Relation: Daughter Father's name: John Hendy Mother's name: Mary Ann Gender: Female Where born: Mangotsfield, Gloucestershire, England Civil parish: Mangotsfield Ecclesiastical parish: St James Town: Mangotsfield County/Island: Gloucestershire Country: England Street address: Occupation: Condition as to marriage: Education: Employment status: View image Registration district: Keynsham Sub-registration district: Oldland ED, institution, or vessel: 5 Neighbors: View others on page Household Members: Name Age Alice Sims 13 David John Sims 18 Fred Sims 7 George Sims 11 Henry Sims 4 John Hendy Sims 49 Kate Sims 6 Mary Ann Sims 38 Mary Ann Sims 14 Sarah Ann Sims 2 Sydney Sims 9 William Henry Sims 15 -----Original Message----- From: Louise Dennis [mailto:lad@csc.liv.ac.uk] Sent: Wednesday, 11 April 2007 8:08 PM To: GLOUCESTER@rootsweb.com Subject: [GLS] Williams Henry SIMS (b.~1875, Mangotsfield) Dear All I'm trying to track down my great-grandfather, Williams Henry SIMS. He was married in Llanhilith, Monmouthshire on the 11th August 1902 to Emily Susan Monks CORDY and gives his father's name as John and his age as 27. I'm having trouble tracing William any further back than this. According to family legend Emily and William had met when younger and William had an additional middle name: William Henry Edny SIMS Emily was born in Fishponds, Gloucestershire, and the CORDY family have been pretty well-documented in the Fishponds/Mangotsfield/Stapleton area for generations by Adrian Sheppard (fh.sheppardfamily.us). I have found a William Sims (father John) of the right age in the 1881 Census in Mynyddylwyn, Monmouthshire. But I'm more interested (from the point of view of this list at least) in a William Henry Sims (father either John Henry or John Hendy Sims) in the 1891 Census at Mangotsfield, also born in Mangotsfield. Although I can find the family in other census' I can't seem to find William Henry, nor can I find the registration of his birth (For reference: Q1 1875 Clifton 6a 174 (father William Henry), Q1 1873 Cheltenham 1873 6a 441, Q1 1874 Monmouth 11a 19, Q3 1878 Barton Regis 6a 151 (father not John according to the GRO)). I'm wondering if there is SKS on this list who might have access to the Mangotsfield Parish Registers for the right period who could check for a baptism. ... and also if there is someone with, perhaps, a better knack for searching who can find William Henry in other census' I've contacted (through Genes Reunited) someone descended from a cousin of John Hendy Sims and their family moved to Llanhilith following work (which is encouraging) but they don't know anything about my William Henry. Hendy is a family name on their side which might account for the strange "Edny" of my family legend. Many thanks for any help with this brick wall! Louise _____________________________________________ Browse the list archives at: http://archiver.rootsweb.com/th/index/GLOUCESTER/ Keyword search - any or all lists: http://archiver.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/search ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to GLOUCESTER-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message