Genealogy Chat

Something keeps going round in my head! My William Pearce whom you must all be sick of by now says in the censuses that he was born in a, London.(twice)b, Bentley Heath Essex, (twice)c, Essex(twice).Two sides of the family say he came from Cornwall but I cannot substantiate this. Now, Bentley Heath is not in Essex as William says but was then in Middlesex and is now in Herts thanks to boundary changes. There is no record of his birth in Bentley Heath in nearby parishes or non-conformist records. However, there must surely be some truth in it because I had never heard of Bentley Heath and had to Google it. It is near South Mimms and consists of only a few houses. When William was born it had about 8/10 houses, no church, no school, nothing. Surely he would not have heard of such a miniscule place if he was not born there,( not being able to Google it then!!) He couldn't have made it up could he? Does anyone know this area, was it more important then ,was it on a busy route then, from where to where. This man will rive me insane!! Chris

I imagine that someone's birthplace on a census, which will have been given by a member of his household, is more accurate than what a later family member says. Generally speaking, the nearer the census is to the person's birth then the more accurate it is likely to be. So how many censuses is William on and does he ever give a different birthplace? Why should you doubt it? nell

Hi Little Nell This is what the censues say;- 1851Parish unknown London (William living in lodgings in Northampton) 1861 Bentley Heath( William married and living in Northampton) 1871Essex 1881 Bentley Heath 1891 London 1901 London I doubt the Bentley Heath because I paid a researcher at Herts record office to look through nearby parish records for Williams baptism and they could not find it. Someone has checked the 1841 census and hearth tax records for the area and no Pearce (his father according to his marriage cert was called Charles) I have checked the genealogist site for London 1841 and not found William. He was not in Northampton in 1841. I really really want to find his birth detail and his mothers name but as I said, with no real communication how would he have heard of a teeny little hamlet if he wasn't born there unless the family was passing through. Chris

Hi I used to live about 3 miles from South Mimms & I've never heard of it! Penny

Bentley Priory (now RAF) is on Stanmore Heath/Common, just near Bushey Heath... perhaps that might repay some research? Or is Bentley a mistranscription of Bushey? Bushey Heath was largely part of the parish of Bushey until late C19, so baptisms would (probably) have been at St James Church. Bushey Museum has photo-copies of all the St James parish registers which have been lodged. Christine

Its the nearest hamlet to Wrotham Park whereMichael Winner made an advert but I can't remember what for!! There is a church there now but it was not built when William was born. Anyway, if Penny hadn't heard of it how could William if he wasn't born there?

Thanks Christine, will look into it. The census definitely says Bentley but who knows who gave the info to the census taker. I keep thinking perhaps William was out at the time and his wife was scratching her head thinking ''Where was that place he said?'' Chris

what year was he born? Trying to find him on ancestry! Penny Is it Ventry Heath in 1861?

South Mimms is on the A1 which for centuries has been the main route from London to the North East.

Certainly South Mimms (on Great North Road) is further East than Stanmore area. You could try straining your eyes with http://www.old-maps.*co.uk/ (remove *) Trouble is, it's really intriguing. Just sad that the link from Get-a-map seems to have disappeared. Christine

Hi thanks to everyone. Penny, yes it is Ventry Heath on 1861, I think original says Bentley but transcription says Ventry, someone looked it up for me. William was born abt 1832. He was 19 in 1851 so could have been born late 1831. His father was Charles, on marriage cert Charles was down as a bricklayer. He was not a witness at the marrige. I do not know where Charles was or where he was born I've combed Family Search for William with Charles as a father in that area to no avail. I keep giving up then going back to it! Chris PS. William is supposed to have walked to Norhampton to find work, as I say two sides of the familysay it was from Cornwall but no- one seems to have any evidence. If he walked from Bentley Heath maybe he took other members of the family with him Maybe some stopped off on the way (imagination running riot here) I looked at Google map and the easiest way is via the M1 which fits in with me having just found a Charles Pearce who died in 1863 in Newport Pagnell but if they went up the A1 they wouldnt hit Newport Pagnell would they (yes, I do know the M1 wasn't there the but was it built on an old route)

Have you tried the parish records in South mimms? I think they are held at the Middx Records office. Penny

Hi Penny,Parish records of St Giles church South Mimms have been searched, still no William! Chris

Oh OK :-( I'll keep thinking! Penny

THANK YOU!

Hi I know where Bently Heath farm is, it is in Barnet and runs along the M25 towards south Mims. Friends of the family owned it for a little while but have since sold it a couple of years back.

Thanks John, I suppose he could have been born on a farm, Bentley Heath farm rather than just in Bentley Heath village. More things to think about. Chris

Ignore the story about walking from Cornwall. That's just confusing the issue. Bentley Heath is very small so only someone who comes from there would know about it. BUT William does seem a bit confused about it. The census asks where people were born, which is not always the same as where they were baptised. Perhaps William was born there but his family moved away when he was little. He may have been baptised in his grandparents' parish church somewhere else, or maybe he wasn't baptised and his parents were non-conformist (or Catholic). Alternatively, perhaps he was born elsewhere but the family moved to Bentley Heath when he was a child and its the first place he can recall living in. I am sure there must be some connection for him to be so specific about it on two separate censuses. Perhaps you could try seeing if there's a mention of any Pearces around the area in the poor records. Hope you find the answer! nell

Thank you Little Nell. I think you have clarified some things that were going on in my mind. I do not believe the Cornwall story, its just that two different uncles are sure of it. Maybe there is a Cornwall link from even further back. Pearce is a fairly common name in Cornwall. Anyway I'm sure you are right about possibly being baptised elsewhere or living there later. I think I need to do some wider research Love again Chris

Perhaps the two different uncles got the story from the same person! Of course, its possible there is some connection somewhere. But a lot of stories I was told have turned out to be completely untrue or only very loosely right. nell