Family History

7 Mar 2005

This entry has been converted from an older document and may contain formatting errors.

I was flicking through some copies of certificates when I noticed that the informant for the birth of John Dineen in 1849 was a Timothy Collins, described as “occupier”. This is unusual and suggests that the Dineens were lodging with someone, perhaps a relative. Later on I spent a few minutes on Ancestry searching for Dineens in Monmouthshire in the 1871 census. Purely by chance I came across this entry:

1871               3 Plymouth Farm, Tredegar, Bedwelty (RG10_5321_5324-0119)
Name               Relation      Condition Age Occupation Where Born
Thomas Collins     Head          Mar           54    Contractor     Ireland
Johanna Collins    Wife          Mar           45                   Ireland
Agnes Collins      Dau                         14    Scholar        Llangynidr, Breconshire
Cecilia Collins    Dau                         11                   Llangynidr, Breconshire
Catherine Dinnen Sister in law Wid             64    Annuitant      Ireland
Daniel Dinnen      Nephew        Unm           43    Labourer       Ireland

Catherine Dineen must be Johanna’s sister or once have been married to Johanna’s brother. Daniel is probably Catherine’s son. Catherine would have been born around 1807. My Daniel Dineen ancestor was probably born around 1811, both in Ireland. Perhaps Catherine married my ancestors brother in the 1820s. Later, in the 1830s when the Dineens moved to Wales, my ancestor Daniel lodged with the Collins family in Caerleon. The relationship could be:

 Scenario 1: Catherine married Johanna's brother
<:vspace>
                                   |
               .-----------------------------------.
               |           |                       |
  Thomas = Johanna       Daniel = Mary            ???? = Catherine
  COLLINS     XXX        DINEEN | NIGHAN       DINNEN/ |     ?????
                                 |             DINEEN   |
                                 |                      |
                       John (+Bridget and others)     Daniel
<:vspace>

or,

 Scenario 2: Johanna and Catherine are sisters
<:vspace>
                        |                         |
                 .-----------.            .---------------.
                 |           |            |                 |
  Thomas   = Johanna      Catherine = ????          Daniel = Mary
  COLLINS      XXX          XXX      | DINNEN/      DINEEN | NIGHAN
                                     | DINEEN               |
                                     |                      |
                                   Daniel                 John
                                               (+Bridget and others)
<:vspace>

I wondered about the term annuitant and found the following on the web:

Annuitant

 The term annuitant could describe someone on an annual allowance as well as someone receiving
 annual income from an investment. Often however, it was also used for institutionalized pensioners.

Boarder

 a person who shares the dinner table with the family.

Lodger

 a person who has separate accomodation to the householder.

Lunatic

 a mentally ill person with periods of lucidity.

Imbecile

 persons who have fallen in later life into a state of chronic dementia.

Idiot

 persons who suffer from congenital mental deficiency.

Scholar

 from 1861 onwards a child was described as a scholar if he/she was over 5 and receiving daily
 schooling or regular tuition at home. There was no definition of the latter. In 1871 the census officials
 in London broke the confidentiality pledge and divulged the names of all children 3-13 and their
 parents (with addresses) to the London School Board to help enforce compulsory education.

Dressmaker

 the occupation of 'dressmaker' was commonly given by prostitutes.

In-Law

 terms such as Brother and Brother-in-Law were used interchangeably and somewhat unreliably.
 Likewise Sister and Sister-in-Law.

Tew, Facer, Rogers, Cody

This weekend Steph’s Mum and Dad visited and we got to talking about family history. Here’s what they told us:

 Anastasia Cody's mother was a McDonald of Sleet
 David Alock's father was William Alcock. he had siblings Rhona who is the same age as Bernice and
 looks just like her, Sheila and Michael.
 The Dunmores had a blast furnaceman in the family who lived in Nether Heyford and then moved to
 Corby
 Amos Rogers married Mary Facer. Mary's mother as Mary Rhymell from Tring and Farnham. Her
 father lived Wavendon. His father was a butcher and had another son who went to London
 Unversity and ended up as a teacher in Wales. This teacher had a daughter and a son named after
 him who became a coach builder. The family were orphaned and the son returned to Wavendon?
 There was some discussion of the Clarke family, on the Dunmore side of the family.
 Amos Rogers' sister was Blanche Mabel who had a twin, Lionel. Blanche Mabel had a baby who had
 an operation on its eyes and died shortly after.
 Blanche had a birthday book with lots of family information which Linda now has.
 Linda's grandmother Mary had a brother called Alfred who went to Canada.
 There was a Facer who was a judge and went to South Africa or Canada
 Barry's cousin David thinks that the Cody family are related to Bill Cody the famous cowboy
 David also believed that the Alcocks came from a line of master wheelwrights

Rogers

We looked for Alfred Rogers’ family in 1901 (he is Amos Rogers’ father):

1901             Spencer Road, Rushden (RG13_1440_1441-0316)
Name             Relation Condition Age Occupation                                 Where Born
Alfred Rogers    Head        Mar           53    Dairyman (milk) - own             London
                                                 account
Sarah Rogers     Wife        Mar           52                                      Northants,
                                                                                   Rushden
Wilfred          Son         S             17    Milkman - at home                 Northants,
Rogers                                                                             Rushden
Ada Rogers       Dau         S             18    At home                           Northants,
                                                                                   Rushden
Mabel Rogers     Dau         S             15    At home                           Northants,
                                                                                   Rushden

Facer

We tried looking for Mary Facer, Amos’s future wife in the 1901 census. We think she would be in her late teens and living in Bedfordshire. We found a likely candidate in Bedford, St. Peter working as a housemaid to George Brown, a retired consul:

1901          2 Pembury Avenue, St Peter, Bedford (RG13_1487_1489-0368)
Name          Relation Condition Age Occupation                            Where Born
Mary Facer Serv.          S              20       Housemaid - domestic Beds, Houghton Conquest

We looked in the 1891 census to see if we could find her living with her parents. We found:

1891              Houghton Conquest, Bedford (RG12_1257_1260-0607)
Name              Relation Condition Age Occupation                    Where Born
Thomas Facer      Head         M              52     Farm labourer Bedford, Houghton Conquest
Catherine Facer Wife           M              47                       Bedford, Houghton Conquest
Mark Facer        Son          S              16     Farm labourer Bedford, Houghton Conquest
John Facer        Son          S              13     Farm labourer Bedford, Houghton Conquest
Emily Facer       Dau          S              9      Scholar           Bedford, Houghton Conquest
Mary Facer        Dau                         8      Schola            Bedford, Houghton Conquest

This doesn’t look like the right Mary Facer since we believe our Mary’s mother was Mary Rhymell. We carried on looking in the 1891 census for a Mary Facer aged around 10. There was a Mary Facer aged 12 in Cheadle, Stockport with mother Mary:

1891               15 Albert Street, Cheadle, Stockport, Cheshire
                   (RG12_2799_2800-0237)
Name               Relation        Condition         Age   Occupation         Where Born
George Facer       Head            Mar               36    Plasterer          Warwickshire, Rugby
Mary Facer         Wife            Mar               35    Cotton Weaver      Lancashire Manchester
Mary A Facer       Dau                               12                       Cheshire Stockport
Elizabeth H        Dau                               11                       Cheadle, Stockport
Facer
Walter H           Visitor         S                 35    C. ??????rier      Warwickshire, Rugby
Clayson

Cheshire is a long way from Rushden so if this is the right Mary Facer, why did she move so far away? There is another 12 year old Mary Ann Facer in Bletchley but her parent’s names were James and Ellen. We also found a 14 year old Mary E Facer in Bradwell, Bucks with a mother Mary:

   1891                 142 Top Street, Bradwell, Bucks (RG12_1148_1150-0223)
   Name                 Relation Condition Age Occupation                         Where Born
   Alfred Facer         Head           Mar           44    Railway coach          Bucks, Wavendon
                                                           finisher
   Mary A Facer         Wife           Mar           43                           Herts Tring
   Mary E Facer         Dau                      14     Assistant at home      Burnley
   Alfred E Facer       Son                      12     Scholar                Bucks New
                                                                               Bradwell
   Alice Facer          Neice                    11     Scholar                Caersws Wales
   Raymond R            Son                      7      Scholar                Bucks New
   Facer                                                                       Bradwell
   Blanche M Facer Dau                           1                             Bucks New
                                                                               Bradwell
   Lionel E Facer       Dau                      1                             Bucks New
                                                                               Bradwell
 . . . quoted from RG12-1149-37-45 ()

This family matches up with the information Barry and Linda gave us. We followed this family in the other censuses. In 1901, they were still in Bradwell

   1901              37 High Street, Bradwell, Bucks (RG13_1359_1361-0053)
   Name              Relation Condition Age Occupation                      Where Born
   Alfred Facer      Head         Mar       54        Railway carriage      Bucks, Wavendon
                                                      finisher
   Mary A Facer Wife              Mar       55                              Herts, Tring
   Mary E Facer Dau               S         24        Drapers Assistant     Lancs, Burnley
   Alfred E Facer Son             S         22        Engine filler         Bucks, Stantonbury
   Raymond R         Son          S         17        Railway wagon         Bucks, Stantonbury
   Facer                                              finisher
   William F         Nephew       S         16        Railway wagon         Montgomoryshire
   Facer                                              maker                 Caersws
   Mabel B Facer Dau                        11                              Bucks, Stantonbury
   Lionel E Facer Son                       11                              Bucks, Stantonbury
 . . . quoted from RG13-1359-26-20 ()

They were in Bradwell in 1881 too:

   1881               142 Top Street, Bradwell, Bucks (RG11_1477_1482-0224)
   Name               Relation Condition Age           Occupation               Where Born
   Alfred Facer       Head         Mar       34        Railway carriage         Bucks, Wavendon
                                                       finisher
   Mary A Facer       Wife         Mar       35                                 Herts, Tring
   Clara A Facer      Dau                    5         Scholar                  Yorks,
                                                                                Mexborough
   Mary E Facer       Dau                    4         Scholar                  Lancs, Burnley
   Alfred E Facer Son                        2                                  Bucks, Bradwell
   William H          Son                    2mos                               Bucks, Bradwell
   Facer
 . . . quoted from RG11-1478-41-53 ()

We looked for Alfred in 1871 but could not immediately find him. We looked for all Alfreds born in Wavendon as well but there were no matches. We also looked for all people aged 23, 24 or 25 born in Wavendon and all Alfreds aged 23, 24 or 25 born in Bucks. We looked in Wales but he wasn’t there either. However we came across a William F Facer born in Wavendon, then living in Caersws, Montgomeryshire:

1871               Priv? School Caersws, Llanwrog (RG10_5608_5613-0527)
Name               Relation Condition Age               Occupation          Where Born
William F Facer    Head        Mar              26      Schoolmaster        Wavendon, Bucks
Mary Facer         Wife        Mar              23      Schoolmasters wife Llandinam, Montg.
Mary Eliza Facer Dau           Unm.             5mos Schoolmaster's dau Llanwrog, Montg.

This surely has to be a close relative, perhaps a brother of Alfred Facer. We looked for Facers living in Wavendon in 1871 in the hopes of finding other members of Alfred’s family. We found three Facer families:

1871              Grocers Shop, Wavendon, Bucks (RG10_1418_1420-0109)
Name              Relation Condition Age Occupation                    Where Born
William F Facer Head           Mar           53        Butcher         Wavendon, Bucks
Fanny Facer       Wife         Mar           57        Butcher's wife Brington Northants
Harriet Facer     Dau          Unm           28        Dressmaker      Wavendon, Bucks
Elizabeth Facer Dau            Unm           23        Butcher's dau Wavendon, Bucks

and another William living in a grocers shop

1871            Grocers Shop, Wavendon, Bucks (RG10_1418_1420-0105)
Name            Relation Condition Age Occupation Where Born
William Facer Head           Mar           49        Grocer          Wavendon Bucks
Eliza Facer     Wife         Mar           50        Grocer's wife Diddington Oxon(?)

and, finally, an Andrew Facer:

1871            Cross Inn, Wavendon, Bucks (RG10_1418_1420-0105)
Name            Relation Condition Age Occupation Where Born
Andrew Facer Head           Unm           20         Blacksmith     Wavendon, Bucks

We also came across an Amos Facer living in Old Bradwell:

1871              Old Bradwell, Bucks (RG10_1416_1418-0126)
Name              Relation Condition Age                Occupation      Where Born
Amos Facer        Head         Mar          23          Farm labourer Wavendon, Bucks
Anna Facer        Wife         Mar          21          Lacemaker       Wavendon, Bucks
Elizabeth Facer Dau                         2                           Wavendon, Bucks
Charles Facer     Son                       10mos                       Wavendon, Bucks
Anna Facer        Visitor      Unm          27          Lacemaker       Wavendon, Bucks

During our 1871 search we found:

an Alfred Facer aged 29, living in St. Pancras, born in Gogton(?) Northants. His wife was Charlotte
and he had two children Alfred J and Emma E
an Alfred Facer aged 30, living in Swinton Yorks, born in Leicester. His wife was Frances, 28, and he
had a daughter Florence Annie aged 2
an Alfred Facer aged 31, living as a lodger in Fladbury Worcestershhire, born in Sheriffs Lench,
Worcs.
an Alfred Facer aged 33, living in Marylebone, London, a bookseller's collector, born Middlesex
Strand. His wife was Mary A Facer, aged 32 born Dorking in Surrey. He had a daughter Alice R,
aged 6

Rymell

We looked for Mary Rymell in the 1871 census. She was working as a servant to a Fanny Clarke who had many servants and a lord and lady as visitors. There was also an Elizabeth Rymell, quite possibly Mary’s sister

   1871                The Firs, Frimley, Surrey
   Name                Relation Condition Age Occupation                 Where Born
   Mary A Rymell       Serv        Unm          25     General Servant Tring Herts
   Elizabeth Rymell Serv           Unm          21     General Servant Tring Herts
 . . . quoted from RG10-820-84-24 ()

How did Alfred and Mary meet? We checked the IGI for marriages of Mary Rymells and found a likely candidate:

 Marriage of Mary Anne Rymell to Alfred Facer, 28 Dec 1874, Frimley, Surrey

The GRO reference is:

 Mary Anne Rymell, DEC QTR 1874, Farnham, Hampshire/ Surrey, vol 2a, page 144

also, an Elizabeth Rymell married in 1872:

 Marriage of Elizabeth Rymell to William Boon, 13 Oct 1872, Carshalton, Surrey

We looked for other Rymells born in Hertfordshire - there was only one family:

1871                   The Firs, Watford, Hertfordshire (RG10_1380_1382-0263)
Name                   Relation Condition Age          Occupation             Where Born Notes
George Rymill          Head        Mar          35     Printer - compositor Oxford
Fanny Rymill           Wife        Mar          36     Printer's wife         Tring, Herts
George Rymill          Son                      9      Scholar                Watford, Herts Deaf
William C Rymill       Son                      7      Scholar                Bushey, Herts
John Rymill            Son                      5      Scholar                Bushey, Herts
Alice Rymill           Dau                      2                             Bushey, Herts
Clara Rymill           Dau                      5mos                          Watford Herts
William Pangbourne Lodger          Unm          50     Carpenter & Joiner    Tring Herts       Deaf