Thank you Margo. Where / how can I access the Parish Chest records and Bastardy Bonds? Best Wishes Frank On Aug 10, 2012, at 21:30, Margo Mckinstry <McKinstryMJ@familysearch.org> wrote: > Frank, > > You have actually done some very thorough research. As far as the name of the father, you may be right in assuming that Finmore was his surname but, of course, that is only a supposition at this point. I am assuming that you have James' original christening record and not just a transcription, in case the vicar added anything to the record. > > The best place to go for records of this sort is the Parish Chest records in the parish where James was born or in the parish where his mother resided, if that is different. The Parish Chest Records contain the business dealings of the parish such as paying the bell ringer, maintaining the roads and taking care of the poor. If the officers of the parish thought that they would have to financially help with James' upbringing, they could force Jane to tell them the name of the father so that they could assess him for the cost of James' care. These records are called "bastardy bonds". > > Another record source may be the apprenticeship records. But it seems you have already located and read these records. And make sure that you don't just obtain the transcription but, in fact, you get a copy of the originals so that you can make sure nothing was missed in the transcription. > > In my case my Martha Dilks had two children out of wedlock. I found the name of the father for her son William Gresley Dilks through bastardy bonds. It was William Gresley. Three years later, my ancestor Mary Ann was born but there is no such bastardy bond for her. Perhaps it is because her father was also William Gresley, but that is pure speculation on my part. > > I hope you have success with your research. > > Margo > British Research Consultant > FamilySearch > > -----Original Message----- > From: oxfordshire-bounces@rootsweb.com [mailto:oxfordshire-bounces@rootsweb.com] On Behalf Of Frank Carter > Sent: Tuesday, August 07, 2012 6:56 AM > To: OXFORDSHIRE@rootsweb.com > Subject: [OXF] FINMORE, BEST, HAYES, CARTER, ROUSE and LINDSEY/LINZEY > > I seem to have hit a brick wall researching my ancestor James Best FINMORE and any help or advice would be greatly appreciated. > > His birth details were difficult to find as he was known as James Best FINMORE throughout his life (and death) but I eventually found his baptism recorded under the name James Finmore BEST. The baptism took place in 1790 at Oxford St. Thomas. The mother was Jane BEST and the birth was recorded as 'base born' i.e. illegitimate, and no father is recorded. > > As James used the surname FINMORE throughout his life, and for christening his children, does this perhaps suggest that the father's surname was FINMORE? Any thoughts on how it might be possible to ascertain who was the father would be gratefully accepted. > > Other possibly relevant information is as follows: - > > There is a birth of an Edward BESST (sic) recorded to mother Jane in Oxford St. Thomas in 1788. It seems likely that Edward is James’s brother or half brother. > > James was apprenticed to Richard ROUSE, Cabinet Maker. His sponsor was an uncle, Thomas LINDSAY / LINDSEY, a sergeant in the Oxfordshire militia. A Thomas LINZEY married Elizabeth BEST in 1793 in Oxford St. Thomas. > > I searched for births of siblings named Jane and Elizabeth BEST of the right age and found Jane, born in Oxford Holywell in 1765 to Matthew and Jane, and sister Elizabeth born in 1768. There is also a brother William born in 1766. > There is a good probability that this is our Jane. > > James married Maria HAYES at Abingdon St. Helens in 1815. I have details of the subsequent census records and BMD information for the family and descendants. > > James died in 1841. > > Other records in the OFHS index which may or may not have connections are: - > • Matthias Best married Jane Mason in Oxford St. Aldates 30/09/1765 > • Jane Best died aged 39 in Oxford St. Mary Magdalen in 1804 > • Matthias and William Best, sons of Matthias died in Oxford St. Aldates > in 1767 > • Elizabeth Best died aged 74 in Oxford St. Giles in 1845 > > Thank you. > > Frank CARTER > Devon > > > > > > ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ > Oxfordshire FHS "wills library" is at http://wills.oxfordshirefhs.org.uk/ , with references to 47,347 people and 3,980 testators. Can you offer a will? > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to OXFORDSHIRE-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message > > ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ > Oxfordshire FHS "wills library" is at http://wills.oxfordshirefhs.org.uk/ , > with references to 47,347 people and 3,980 testators. Can you offer a will? > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to OXFORDSHIRE-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message
You could check the local record office to see if they have any records on the parish. And you will want to check any other existing business records like the vestry minutes as well. The suggestion of the quarter session records is also a good one. Another place to search for them would be to go to www.familysearch.org and click on the Catalog on the home page. Do a place-names search for the parish and possibly the diocese and county, to search for "Church Records" and "Court Records" to see what could be available. If there is something there, you can order it into your local LDS Family History Center. I hope others will add to this conversation. Margo -----Original Message----- From: oxfordshire-bounces@rootsweb.com [mailto:oxfordshire-bounces@rootsweb.com] On Behalf Of Frank Carter Sent: Monday, August 13, 2012 5:10 AM To: oxfordshire@rootsweb.com Subject: Re: [OXF] FINMORE, BEST, HAYES, CARTER, ROUSE and LINDSEY/LINZEY Thank you Margo. Where / how can I access the Parish Chest records and Bastardy Bonds? Best Wishes Frank On Aug 10, 2012, at 21:30, Margo Mckinstry <McKinstryMJ@familysearch.org> wrote: > Frank, > > You have actually done some very thorough research. As far as the name of the father, you may be right in assuming that Finmore was his surname but, of course, that is only a supposition at this point. I am assuming that you have James' original christening record and not just a transcription, in case the vicar added anything to the record. > > The best place to go for records of this sort is the Parish Chest records in the parish where James was born or in the parish where his mother resided, if that is different. The Parish Chest Records contain the business dealings of the parish such as paying the bell ringer, maintaining the roads and taking care of the poor. If the officers of the parish thought that they would have to financially help with James' upbringing, they could force Jane to tell them the name of the father so that they could assess him for the cost of James' care. These records are called "bastardy bonds". > > Another record source may be the apprenticeship records. But it seems you have already located and read these records. And make sure that you don't just obtain the transcription but, in fact, you get a copy of the originals so that you can make sure nothing was missed in the transcription. > > In my case my Martha Dilks had two children out of wedlock. I found the name of the father for her son William Gresley Dilks through bastardy bonds. It was William Gresley. Three years later, my ancestor Mary Ann was born but there is no such bastardy bond for her. Perhaps it is because her father was also William Gresley, but that is pure speculation on my part. > > I hope you have success with your research. > > Margo > British Research Consultant > FamilySearch > > -----Original Message----- > From: oxfordshire-bounces@rootsweb.com > [mailto:oxfordshire-bounces@rootsweb.com] On Behalf Of Frank Carter > Sent: Tuesday, August 07, 2012 6:56 AM > To: OXFORDSHIRE@rootsweb.com > Subject: [OXF] FINMORE, BEST, HAYES, CARTER, ROUSE and LINDSEY/LINZEY > > I seem to have hit a brick wall researching my ancestor James Best FINMORE and any help or advice would be greatly appreciated. > > His birth details were difficult to find as he was known as James Best FINMORE throughout his life (and death) but I eventually found his baptism recorded under the name James Finmore BEST. The baptism took place in 1790 at Oxford St. Thomas. The mother was Jane BEST and the birth was recorded as 'base born' i.e. illegitimate, and no father is recorded. > > As James used the surname FINMORE throughout his life, and for christening his children, does this perhaps suggest that the father's surname was FINMORE? Any thoughts on how it might be possible to ascertain who was the father would be gratefully accepted. > > Other possibly relevant information is as follows: - > > There is a birth of an Edward BESST (sic) recorded to mother Jane in Oxford St. Thomas in 1788. It seems likely that Edward is James’s brother or half brother. > > James was apprenticed to Richard ROUSE, Cabinet Maker. His sponsor was an uncle, Thomas LINDSAY / LINDSEY, a sergeant in the Oxfordshire militia. A Thomas LINZEY married Elizabeth BEST in 1793 in Oxford St. Thomas. > > I searched for births of siblings named Jane and Elizabeth BEST of the right age and found Jane, born in Oxford Holywell in 1765 to Matthew and Jane, and sister Elizabeth born in 1768. There is also a brother William born in 1766. > There is a good probability that this is our Jane. > > James married Maria HAYES at Abingdon St. Helens in 1815. I have details of the subsequent census records and BMD information for the family and descendants. > > James died in 1841. > > Other records in the OFHS index which may or may not have connections are: - > • Matthias Best married Jane Mason in Oxford St. Aldates 30/09/1765 > • Jane Best died aged 39 in Oxford St. Mary Magdalen in 1804 > • Matthias and William Best, sons of Matthias died in Oxford St. Aldates > in 1767 > • Elizabeth Best died aged 74 in Oxford St. Giles in 1845 > > Thank you. > > Frank CARTER > Devon > > > > > > ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ > Oxfordshire FHS "wills library" is at http://wills.oxfordshirefhs.org.uk/ , with references to 47,347 people and 3,980 testators. Can you offer a will? > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > OXFORDSHIRE-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without > the quotes in the subject and the body of the message > > ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ > Oxfordshire FHS "wills library" is at > http://wills.oxfordshirefhs.org.uk/ , with references to 47,347 people and 3,980 testators. Can you offer a will? > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > OXFORDSHIRE-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without > the quotes in the subject and the body of the message ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Oxfordshire FHS "wills library" is at http://wills.oxfordshirefhs.org.uk/ , with references to 47,347 people and 3,980 testators. Can you offer a will? ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to OXFORDSHIRE-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message
Many thanks Margo, Eve, Paul and Jean for your interesting and useful responses to my posting re. FINMORE et al. I have a tentative theory that needs more research to confirm or rule out, as follows: - Jane BEST, assuming it is the same Jane, had another child Edward BESST who was baptised two years before James, i.e. 1788, in the same parish, Oxford St. Thomas. I can find no marriage or death for this Edward BEST. However there is a death for an Edward FINMORE, aged 27, in 1815 at Oxford St. Peters. Therefore born around 1788. I can find no baptism for this Edward FINMORE. I wonder therefore if Edward BEST and Edward FINMORE are in fact the same person and Edward also adopted the surname FINMORE as did James. There is another death recorded for an Edward FINMORE in 1791 in the same parish. Could this be Edward's (and James's) father? All a little tenuous perhaps but worth exploring further. -----Original Message----- From: Margo Mckinstry Sent: Monday, August 13, 2012 2:54 PM To: oxfordshire@rootsweb.com Subject: Re: [OXF] FINMORE, BEST, HAYES, CARTER, ROUSE and LINDSEY/LINZEY You could check the local record office to see if they have any records on the parish. And you will want to check any other existing business records like the vestry minutes as well. The suggestion of the quarter session records is also a good one. Another place to search for them would be to go to www.familysearch.org and click on the Catalog on the home page. Do a place-names search for the parish and possibly the diocese and county, to search for "Church Records" and "Court Records" to see what could be available. If there is something there, you can order it into your local LDS Family History Center. I hope others will add to this conversation. Margo -----Original Message----- From: oxfordshire-bounces@rootsweb.com [mailto:oxfordshire-bounces@rootsweb.com] On Behalf Of Frank Carter Sent: Monday, August 13, 2012 5:10 AM To: oxfordshire@rootsweb.com Subject: Re: [OXF] FINMORE, BEST, HAYES, CARTER, ROUSE and LINDSEY/LINZEY Thank you Margo. Where / how can I access the Parish Chest records and Bastardy Bonds? Best Wishes Frank On Aug 10, 2012, at 21:30, Margo Mckinstry <McKinstryMJ@familysearch.org> wrote: > Frank, > > You have actually done some very thorough research. As far as the name of > the father, you may be right in assuming that Finmore was his surname but, > of course, that is only a supposition at this point. I am assuming that > you have James' original christening record and not just a transcription, > in case the vicar added anything to the record. > > The best place to go for records of this sort is the Parish Chest records > in the parish where James was born or in the parish where his mother > resided, if that is different. The Parish Chest Records contain the > business dealings of the parish such as paying the bell ringer, > maintaining the roads and taking care of the poor. If the officers of the > parish thought that they would have to financially help with James' > upbringing, they could force Jane to tell them the name of the father so > that they could assess him for the cost of James' care. These records are > called "bastardy bonds". > > Another record source may be the apprenticeship records. But it seems you > have already located and read these records. And make sure that you don't > just obtain the transcription but, in fact, you get a copy of the > originals so that you can make sure nothing was missed in the > transcription. > > In my case my Martha Dilks had two children out of wedlock. I found the > name of the father for her son William Gresley Dilks through bastardy > bonds. It was William Gresley. Three years later, my ancestor Mary Ann > was born but there is no such bastardy bond for her. Perhaps it is > because her father was also William Gresley, but that is pure speculation > on my part. > > I hope you have success with your research. > > Margo > British Research Consultant > FamilySearch > > -----Original Message----- > From: oxfordshire-bounces@rootsweb.com > [mailto:oxfordshire-bounces@rootsweb.com] On Behalf Of Frank Carter > Sent: Tuesday, August 07, 2012 6:56 AM > To: OXFORDSHIRE@rootsweb.com > Subject: [OXF] FINMORE, BEST, HAYES, CARTER, ROUSE and LINDSEY/LINZEY > > I seem to have hit a brick wall researching my ancestor James Best FINMORE > and any help or advice would be greatly appreciated. > > His birth details were difficult to find as he was known as James Best > FINMORE throughout his life (and death) but I eventually found his baptism > recorded under the name James Finmore BEST. The baptism took place in 1790 > at Oxford St. Thomas. The mother was Jane BEST and the birth was recorded > as 'base born' i.e. illegitimate, and no father is recorded. > > As James used the surname FINMORE throughout his life, and for christening > his children, does this perhaps suggest that the father's surname was > FINMORE? Any thoughts on how it might be possible to ascertain who was the > father would be gratefully accepted. > > Other possibly relevant information is as follows: - > > There is a birth of an Edward BESST (sic) recorded to mother Jane in > Oxford St. Thomas in 1788. It seems likely that Edward is James’s brother > or half brother. > > James was apprenticed to Richard ROUSE, Cabinet Maker. His sponsor was an > uncle, Thomas LINDSAY / LINDSEY, a sergeant in the Oxfordshire militia. A > Thomas LINZEY married Elizabeth BEST in 1793 in Oxford St. Thomas. > > I searched for births of siblings named Jane and Elizabeth BEST of the > right age and found Jane, born in Oxford Holywell in 1765 to Matthew and > Jane, and sister Elizabeth born in 1768. There is also a brother William > born in 1766. > There is a good probability that this is our Jane. > > James married Maria HAYES at Abingdon St. Helens in 1815. I have details > of the subsequent census records and BMD information for the family and > descendants. > > James died in 1841. > > Other records in the OFHS index which may or may not have connections > are: - > • Matthias Best married Jane Mason in Oxford St. Aldates 30/09/1765 > • Jane Best died aged 39 in Oxford St. Mary Magdalen in 1804 > • Matthias and William Best, sons of Matthias died in Oxford St. > Aldates > in 1767 > • Elizabeth Best died aged 74 in Oxford St. Giles in 1845 > > Thank you. > > Frank CARTER > Devon > > > > > > ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ > Oxfordshire FHS "wills library" is at http://wills.oxfordshirefhs.org.uk/ > , with references to 47,347 people and 3,980 testators. Can you offer a > will? > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > OXFORDSHIRE-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without > the quotes in the subject and the body of the message > > ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ > Oxfordshire FHS "wills library" is at > http://wills.oxfordshirefhs.org.uk/ , with references to 47,347 people and > 3,980 testators. Can you offer a will? > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > OXFORDSHIRE-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without > the quotes in the subject and the body of the message ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Oxfordshire FHS "wills library" is at http://wills.oxfordshirefhs.org.uk/ , with references to 47,347 people and 3,980 testators. Can you offer a will? ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to OXFORDSHIRE-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Oxfordshire FHS "wills library" is at http://wills.oxfordshirefhs.org.uk/ , with references to 47,347 people and 3,980 testators. Can you offer a will? ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to OXFORDSHIRE-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message