Somerset & Dorset Pages - Number 3

Surname Index

A list of the surnames in the Surnames Interests Table below is arranged alphabetically. Just click on one that interests you and you will be taken to the appropriate place in the list.

ARTHUR* ATTWOOD*
BAKER* BALL* BATH* BENJAFIELD* BIDDLECOMBE* BISHOP* BOLSTER* BOWDITCH* BROWNING* BRYANT* BURCHELL* BURDGE* BURGE* BUTLER*
COLES* CONDUCT and Variants* COOMBES* COOK* CRABB* CRANE* CRANE* CRIBB* CRINE* CORPE*
DOYLE* DYTE*
EAMES* EASON*
FRANKS* FRENCH* FRENCH* FUDGE*
GALE* GOLDING* GOODING* GOODING*
HANN* HARDY* HASKELL* HEARD* HENDERSON* HOOPER* HUTCHINGS*
IMBER* IVAMAY* IVEMEYE*
LAWRENCE* LEWIS* LILLY*
MEAD(E)* MILLER* MULLINS*
NEWHOOK* NOBLE*
OLD* OSBORNE*
PALMER* PITTMAN* PLANK* PUGSLEY* PYNE
RANDELL* RAWLINGS* RECORD* ROUSELL* ROWSELL*
SCAMMELL(S)* SHEARS/SHIERS* SMITH*SPRAGUE* STENNER* STRODE* SUMMERS* SYMONDS*
TANSWELL* TRASK* TURNER*
VERNEY*
WATKINS* WEBB* WHITTLE* WILLET(T)S* WILLEY* WILMOTT* WRIGHT*

Return to [Surnames Page 1][Surnames Page 2][Surnames Page 4][Main Surnames Index Page]

Surname Interests

Family Queries

In seeking the surnames of ancestors, we have been given some more detailed information on queries about some member of the family. If you are interested or have some information about a query, please contact the researcher directly by email and provide any information you wish to exchange.

Ann Morse is looking for contacts about the following people:
Elijah SUMMERS and his wife Selina nee LEWIS who had 12 children: Ann has information about these people. Edmund MILLER and his wife Ann nee BUTLER who had 7 children all born in Ambury SOM. Robert ARTHUR and his wife Gree nee CORPE who had four children, Thomas, Ann, John (Ann Morse' ancestor), and Sarah. John later owned the Green Tree Inn in Bath SOM.

Walter Burdge is looking for information on ancestor JONATHAN BURDGE who was born in Somerset around 1640. He is thought to have emigrated by boat through Boston and travelled overland to Hempstead, Long Island, New York where he appears in Hempstead around 1678. Jonathan is the paternal head of the American branch, in which most of the Burdge families now living are descendants of one of his son David's three sons. Burdge families who came later to the USA were all from Somerset.
Walter notes that the surname spelling could be BURGE also. He is searching for the link to the Mother Country and would appreciate any help which can be offered.

Margaret Dyte-Graczyk is hoping that she may be able to learn more about the family background. Her GGF Arthur Dyte (a baker by trade) enlisted as a regular soldier at Plymouth, aged 18, on 21 Oct 1859 in the 29th Regiment of Foot, British Army. He served abroad in Malta (1865/7), Canada (1867/69), West Indies (1869/73).
He married Ann CRAFT 12 Mar 1869 in Toronto Ont., Canada. On 28 Jan 1878, the regimental roll of the Married Establishment shows Sergeant Major Dyte had five children, aged 9,7,4-11/12, 2-8/12 and 1-1/12. He was discharged to pension on 21 Oct 1880 at Worcester UK.
Three of the children later emigrated to Canada; LEONARD DYTE, FREDERICK DYTE and another brother. Margaret's GF Frederick Dyte continued his emigration to Buffalo NY from Canada. He married and had six children, the youngest Allan Dyte being Margaret's father, one of five sons. If the two other children (and maybe more!) of Arthur and Ann survived and had children, their families may still be in England. Margaret hopes to find them and discover more about her ancestors.

Henry Simmons is researching the name SPRAGUE in Upwey DOR. His ancestor was William SPRAGUE who was born about 1609 and married Milisaint EAMES. They had several children, Joanna, Anthony, John and Samuael who were born at Hingham, Mass., USA. Henry would like to trace William and his forebears. William's father is listed by some sources as Tristan but Henry comments that this seems unlikely. Any assistance would be appreciated.

Florence MacDonald has a problem because her IVAMY (IVEMEYE) ancestors made their homes in Trinity Bay, Newfoundland about 1750-1770. However, the parish records of St Paul's Anglican Parish at Trinity Bay have much information missing, not the least of which is a marriage for her 4xGGparents, George and Mary Ivamy. They may of course have married in England or elsewhere. George Ivamy may have travelled to Newfoundland with James PITTMAN of Crewkerne SOM, a brickmaker from this town, and another Ivamy brother. She had been searching in the Ringwood DOR region because a James Ivamy appeared to be the earliest Ivamy immigrant in the census of 1753 which specified the county of origin. He was living in Salmon Cove, Trinity Bay by 1753 with five daughters. There were many early Ivamy families in Trinity Bay about 1750. Florence would very much appreciate any help or suggestions which can be offered to assist in finding more about George and Mary Ivamy and their ancestors.

Edward Fudge is eager to find a connection in England through his ancestor Jacob FUDGE Sr who was born in 1723 in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. He is aware that there are many people with the surname Fudge living in SW England, such as in SOM, DOR, Avon, Hampshire and Wiltshire counties. Edward would appreciate contact with anyone who has information about people with this surname, in the period 1700-1725 particularly.

Neal Willetts would like to trace the ancestry of Richard Willets in Somerset. His connection with Richard Willets is that he is his 10xGGF in the direct male line. Although he knows the names of Richard's parents he has no other information. Richard emigrated to Massachusetts in 1640 and then in 1643 became a principal founder of Hempsteade, Long Island NY. The family name Willets was given to Willets Point which was the site of Richard's farm and a small lighthouse was located there. He married and had children and that is the start of Neal's family history. In England, Neal has only one other snippet of information relating to a George Willets who was some relation of Richard. George was brought before a Somerset county judge in 1639 to claim descent from the house of Mortimer, the mediaeval Earls of March. Neal would appreciate any help and advice which could be given.

David Lilly is most anxious to contact anyone who could give him more information about his LILLY ancestors. His GGF, James Charles Lilly, emigrated from England to Newfoundland possibly in the early 1800s but it is not known at this time whether he came from Cornwall, Devon, Dorset or Somerset. The name Lilly seems to appear in each of these counties. David can only trace his forebears back to a small settlement on the SW coast of Newfoundland, now a ghost town but on the map called East Bay. He knows that his GGF was buried in a small settlement called Pushthrough, also on the SW coast. His GF Leonard Lilly was born in 1910 in Newfoundland. He believes the period 1800-1910 will have a key to some of the family history but he would welcome any information from people interested in the name Lilly in Newfoundland or any of the four English counties mentioned, particularly if it appears to relate to a family connection of his GGF James Charles Lilly.

Norman B. Hardy is searching for information about his GGF Charles John Joseph Christopher HARDY who was born about 1810 at Bath SOM. CJJCH, a very distinctive name if ever there was one, was a portrait artist who emigrated to the United States in the early 1830s. Contact with anyone who has information about this man and his antecedents or can give some guidance in the search would be deeply appreciated.

Linda Carpenter is looking to extend her background on the HASKELL families. The Gillingham/Motcombe Haskells were blacksmiths. Both William and Mark worked as Under Keepers of royal forests and of game in those forests in the 1600s in separate locations around Gillingham. They were joint tenants in Motcombe from 1600 to 1610, during which time they paid an extra property tax for "forges".
William's widow remarried a John Stone, and she and her children by William Haskell sailed to the New World in 1636 to Salem, Massachusetts where one son, Roger Haskell, had a land grant. Linda would be interested in contacting researchers with an interest in this Haskell surname. The area which is mentioned here is an interesting one, right in the junction of three counties - Somerset, Dorset, and Wiltshire.

Judy Cockayne has family tree which starts with Charles STENNER, possibly born at St Decumens SOM in 1737, and goes through about seven generations to her. Her sources of the family tree come from the Somerset Record Office and from gravestones in the churchyard of St Andrews in Old Cleeve SOM where at least four of the Stenner generations lived. Aldred John STENNER poses something of a problem for Judy because he married quite young in London and was in the service of the Marquis of Anglesey as a butler in London. Judy is curious about his move from Old Cleeve or Williton SOM to London and how he got the position as butler. If anyone can help with information about this family and, particularly about Aldred who is her 2xGGF, she would be most grateful.

Bob Symonds would be interested to follow up branches of his SYMONDS family from Shobrooke near Crediton in Devon. His GGF George Symonds emigrated to Newfoundland from Shobrooke DEV in 1856. George had a brother James who was buried in Shobrooke and Bob, himself from Newfoundland, visited the grave of his GGUncle a couple of years ago. There are descendants of James still living in the Crediton area but he would welcome any information about other siblings or relations who may have moved into Dorset, especially if they have background on his GGF George Symonds.

Sally J. Holcombe, maiden name Bolster, is interested in researching ISAAC BOLSTER, her 6xGGF, and his ancestors. He went on trial and was transported to the Americas in July 1685 for "...waging war against the King..." in the Monmouth Rebellion of 1685. He died at Uxbridge MA USA in 1753. As Sally notes, he could not have been but a boy when he went to trial and was sent away overseas. It seems that he had a brother SAMSON BOLSTER who stayed in England. She would be most grateful for any information which can help her in her quest.

Roger Jackson continues to search for family history for the names HANN, BISHOP and GALE in Somerset and Dorset even though he has collected a great deal of information over the years, including making contact with a number of distant cousins.
It is thought that the HANN family came to Ham Hill SOM to help build Montacute House which, on OS maps, is shown as a selected place of tourist interest. Roger's 2xGGF John HANN (1817-1881) was a stone mason as was his father Edward Hann (1785-1814) before him. Later in the 19th Century, John HANN was part owner of Ham Hill Stone Company which had stone quarrying operations on Ham Hill SOM at Montacute. The concentration of Roger's family around Montacute can be seen in this short extract from his family tree:
Edward HANN (1753-1783) m. Martha EGLON (1755-1830)
Edward HANN (1785-1814) m. Ann SLADE (born Odcombe SOM and Edward's 2nd wife)
John HANN (1817-1891) m. Mary Ann COX (b. 1818/19 Wincanton SOM; d. 22 Jun 1878)
You can see photographs on the Web about his ancestors. He is fortunate indeed to have photographs of all 8 GGParents and 3 of his 2xGGParents. One picture of Isaac and Susan GALE was taken by his GF at their cottage in Powerstock in 1903. Below that picture, you can also see Roger's GGUncle William BISHOP (on the right, with a beard). William was at his stone quarry at Ham Hill near Montacute SOM. The HANN family were running another quarrying operation, while, in 1904, the biggest quarry was run by William's aunt, Elizabeth WILLIAMS nee BISHOP.

There is a family history at the following URL: Jackson family history

For those with a special interest in aviation history, Roger's father became an avid aeroplane spotter (not a train one!) at an early age. In his lifetime, he gathered a marvellous collection of photographs of historical interest and made a name for himself in aviation history. Roger has placed some of these photographs on his Web pages to which you are directed for further interest.

Even if you do not have some family history research which you would like to communicate to Roger Jackson, it would be very likely that you would want to see his aviation story and pictures and to exchange something with him as I did as Webmaster.

Kaye Lopez has problems in finding the marriage of Charles NEWHOOK to Elizabeth (no name found) about 1777. Charles Newhook was trained as a master shipbuilder, probably at Hamworthy near Poole DOR. It seems likely that Elizabeth was from a parish near Poole. Charles and Elizabeth emigrated to Trinity in Newfoundland about 1777. Kaye has not been able to find their marriage lines and would be most grateful if guidance could be provided.

Mr Shannon Rathbun would be very interested to find out more about his 12xGGF Sir John Palmer and his wife Elizabeth. They had two sons Walter and Abraham. The Palmer family moved to America in 1628, travelling it is thought on the "Speedwell", a sister ship of the "Mayflower". Shannon would be most interested to find out more about how John Palmer came to be knighted, when and for what duties and who dubbed him. Shannon thought this Webmaster was in the UK and was asking for help. Perhaps this is the best way we can assist him from Australia.

Brian Conduct has carried out some wide-ranging research on the following names: Conduct/Conduit/Cunditt and all variants in DOR, HAM and WIL; Cribb in DOR and HAM; Watkins in DOR, HAM and WIL; Shears/Shiers in HAM, WIL and DOR. He has many other names in his data bank for HAM, WIL, Channel Islands and France. He would be interested to make contact with others interested in these names which we have had to restrict to SOM and DOR as there are so many of those in other counties and places.

Mrs Johan (Jo) Daniels has a complicated Cook family history search on her hands and would welcome help in sorting out the story.
Jo Daniels' mother, Lucy Cook, was born to Ellen Cook on 23 Feb 1902 at the Union Workhouse at Wandsworth in London. A copy of her birth certificate, requested in 1967, shows Ellen Cook as giving birth to Ellen Mary (later known as Lucy), but no father's name is given with obvious connotations. Ellen Cook is noted as having been a domestic cook, living at Cannards Grave near Shepton Mallet SOM and would have been about 16 years of age.
Lucy was raised at Brick Cottages in Cannards Grave by John and Mary Cook who she thought were her parents. Early on, Lucy appears to have been called Topsy Smith for reasons unknown, in postcards from Ellen addressed to her. As of 1910, Ellen Cook sent a postcard in which she was called Lucy Cook, a name that she had always thought was her name. Eventually, a lady, a Mrs Pringle, who said she was an "aunt" living in Medora, North Dakota USA wrote to say that he would take Lucy. This "Auntie Pringle" as Lucy knew her was actually her blood mother Ellen (Nellie) nee Cook. Lucy did not discover this until just before Nellie died in 1937.
Jo met her mother's 94 year old cousin in 1983 in England who surprised them all by announcing that John Cook "were a nice man but he weren't Grampy Cook - Granny (Mary) married two John Cooks"! The first John Cook and Mary may have had the following children: Kate m. Tom Lansdown living at Wells or Wookey Hole SOM; Albert b.1875, m. Alice (Deacon?) living at Stanton Prior SOM; Richard b.1880, m. Eva Boobyer, lived at Trowbridge WIL; Ellen (Nellie, Jo's GM), worked at a high school in Wells as cook and later in Wimbourne - left UK after 1911 and was in North Dakota in 1916; Frank m. Johan and lived in Maesteg Wales, coal miner. It is not clear whether these children were actually born to John and Mary Cook as it was said that they often times took in children who had no homes to stay for one reason or another.
Jo Daniels comments that, to her knowledge, there is not any family member left alive who has information about this family. However, she would welcome any clues that any one might have about the family to get her away from her present stalemate. There is more to the story which it not possible to include here for lack of space.

Barb Dembinski has some problems sorting out information about her Somerset ancestors with surnames French, Rousell, Willey, Webb, Osborne and Doyle who were in the Merriott SOM area near Crewkerne. With such a list of surnames, she feels sure that there must be some of their descendants left in Somerset from whom she could get some useful background. She also expresses an interest in the reasons for the presence of French surnames in the Merriott area. [She has been given the lead to look at the history of Huguenot immigration and the weaving industry - JLS.] Can anyone help?
There are difficulties which arise from another aspect of Barb's complicated family history. She knows that some of her ancestors came from the North Petherton SOM area - Heard, Pugsley, Wright and Browning. William Henry Heard, born 1857 SOM, emigrated to Queensland AUS and so did Jane Wright. They were married in Queenland on 16 May 1886. WHH was a bricklayer and was working in Queensland when their first childMarian Annie Heard, Barb's GM, was born on 4 Oct 1887 at Cordelia near Ingham QLD. Another child Henry was born in 1889 but died in 1891. Whether this was the reason for their departure back to England is not known but further children were born in unknown places in England except for one daughter, Edith May, born in Bristol in 1897. The complications arise from the emigration of the family to the USA sometime after 1901. Barb has a lot of further patchy background which she would be delighted to share with anyone who is descended from these four families which were originally in Somerset and had a Queensland flavour too from the sugar growing district!

Gail Benjafield is searching for BENJAFIELD which is a rare surname indigenous to Dorset, according to Addison's Understanding English Surnames. The name arises just north of Gillingham DOR where Benjafield Farm still stands (OS Ref: ST 807 289). There was once a hamlet there, Bengerville.
Most individuals with this sturname still live in SOM and DOR, particularly in the towns mentioned above. Some are in London, 12 are in Canada, none in the USA, and a few in Australia.

Ollie Turner is looking for more information about Frederick James TURNER who had a butcher's shop at Cheltenham Road, Bristol c1880-1905. He only recently learnt that FJT was married twice. According to the 1891 Census, he was married to Ellen (no maiden name given) and they had four children. FJT remarried c1905 to Edith Masters and they emigrated to NZ. Ollie was recently sent a photo of FJT's butcher shop at Cheltenham Road, taken in about 1895. Apparently it is now a tattoo shop.
Note added 25 Sep 1997: FJT married Ellen c1883 and had children: Frederick N b1884, Herbert G b 1885, Ollive E b1887, Frank N b1889.
Ollie would appreciate any help which can be given about the Turner family, particularly about the four members of the first family.

Penny Linsenmayer is searching for information relating to Zachariah and Sarah SMITH who were born and married at or near Cheddar SOM. Their son Clement was born and baptised in Cheddar with his father listed as a farmer. Zachariah is listed in the 1837-38 Electoral Records, abode leasehold house and premises at Halbrook's, but not in the 1838-39 records. It is suspected that Zachariah died in 1838 but no burial record has been found for him. Sarah probably died between 1851 and 1861 as her name does not appear in the 1861 Census.
The 1841 Census record shows Sarah as remarried to James Evans with Clement residing with them at Cliffs Street, Cheddar. The 1851 and 1861 Census records Clement as head of household.
Clement, his wife and children emigrated to the State of Missouri USA sometime in the period 1866-1870. Penny would appreciate any help given in finding records for Zachariah and Sarah Smith or links to them.

Return to [Surnames Index above][Surnames Page 1][Surnames Page 2][Surnames Page 4][Surnames Page 5][Main Surnames Index Page]

This page has been developed and is maintained by John Symonds.
Prepared first on 28 March 1997. Modified 1 January 1998.