Looking for the Parent's of John Bassett

Article - 2 John Bassett of Madron (1790- 1868) 

The internet is scattered with possible candidates for the parents of John Bassett, there has been much copying and pasting over the years Ancestry.com has John descended from various couples.  Before the advent of DNA there was little one could do to refute the claims of others.  My fourth cousin, Marsha and I spent many hours together hours together pulling together what we knew to break down this brick wall, below is the results of our efforts.

Marriages Listed in the parish records 1754-1800 for Madron

Groom	Bride	Date	Witness 1	Witness 2	Location in record	Notes
William Bassett (signed with a mark)	Eleanor Sampson (signed with a mark)	1761  23 Jun	Witness James Bassett who signed his name	Witness Margery Grenfell made a mark	Page 45 Reg#578[i]	W.Bassett makes his mark
Bassett signature #1
James Bassett who signed his name	Magery Grenfell (signed with a mark)	1761   2 May	Witness William Bassett who signed his name	Witness Arthur Rich who signed his name	Page 46 Reg#183[ii]	Witness W. Bassett Signature No 2 (very clear)
Bassett signature #2
William Bassett (signed with a mark)	Jane Mathews (signed with a mark)	Banns Pub July 27, Aug 3 & 10  1783 Marr 13 sep 1783	Witness Sibion Thoastes? who signed his name	Witness Mathew Hoken who signed his name	Page 212 Reg#844[iii]	SignatureNo 3 (child like writing)
Bassett signature #3

Three William Bassetts are found in the Marriage Register in Madron during this period.  All three appear to be different people for the following reasons-

Comparing the William Bassett signatures, at least three different  William Bassett names have been identified based on the following reasoning

1.      The first William Bassett in March 1761 makes a mark  and in May 1761 at James Bassett wedding a W.Bassett signs his name as a witness very clearly (Signature  #2)– this indicates that it is most likely not the same person because even if he had learnt to write in the last 3 months it would not have been so accomplished.

2.      The first Willm Bassett in March 1761 makes a mark (Signature  #1)  and in 1783 another William Bassett (Signature  #3)   makes a very poor signature however they are not the same otherwise the second William Bassett(Signature  #2)  would have been identified as a widower as this would have been his second marriage

3.      Comparing the second William Bassett signature with the third William Bassett – (Signature No 2) Clearly not the same due to the visual difference in the signatures

Of those William Bassetts identified in Madron, there are only 2 suitable marriages

1.       William Bassett (signed with a mark) & Eleanor Sampson (signed with a mark) married by banns on 23 June  1761, however, this marriage is 29 years before John is christened, so it is unlikely that William and Eleanor are his parents

2.      William Bassett & Jane Matthews on 13 September 1783, -  the marriage between William Bassett & Jane Matthews in Madron did look very promising, however, DNA test has revealed that although this couple is related to the family they are not direct ancestors. [Unfortunately, I have not been given a copy of DNA results however I trust the confidential source that shared her conclusions with me]

Further afield
William Bassett	Mary Symons	12 July 1787	William Williams	Mary Symons	Transcribed John  Evans

The marriage between William Bassett & Mary Symons in Newlyn did produce a child named John Bassett baptised in St Issy, however, he died in an asylum in England.

John Bassett [son of William Bassett (1761-1831) & Mary Symons (1767-1832)]Christened  27 Mar 1788 in St Izzy, Cornwall who died 7^th Oct 1851 in Fairwater House, Taunton Somerset.  John was a lunatic confined to Fairwater House Lunatic Asylum for many years admitted July 1828 having previously been a patient at a similar establishment near Taunton, Fivehead House since 25 Oct 1822.  This was a wholesale move and transfer of licence from the one to the other asylum by the same surgeon/owner.  Private patient.  Cause of death peritonitis and effusion in the chest (Somerset RO 1/5/87)

Conclusion

Although we have not been able to establish who the parents of John Bassett are; the links between the Carbis[Johns wife's family] and Bassett families are very strong.  You can read more about the connections here.

Next week we will take a look at the effect that John's father in-laws-arrest had on John Bassett and his newly wed wife Martha Carbis.

Previous articles on John Bassett in this June 2017 series 

1. Article 1 -  Who is John Bassett?

Sources

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[i] FamilySearch, Banns of Marriage for  William Bassett & Eleanor Sampson "England, Cornwall Parish Registers, 1538-2010," database with images, Marriage banns, marriages, 1754-1800, Penzance Madron Cornwall, Cornwall Records Office, Truro  (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-267-12877-90083-27?cc=1769414  : 14 April 2015,  image 27 of 198.)

[ii] FamilySearch, Banns of Marriage for  James Bassett & Margery Grenfell  "England, Cornwall Parish Registers, 1538-2010," database with images, Marriage banns, marriages, 1754-1800, Penzance Madron Cornwall, Cornwall Records Office, Truro  (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-267-12877-95385-36?cc=1769414  : 14 April 2015,  image 28 of 198.)

[iii] FamilySearch, Banns of Marriage for  William Bassett & Jane Matthews "England, Cornwall Parish Registers, 1538-2010," database with images, Marriage banns, marriages, 1754-1800, Penzance Madron Cornwall, Cornwall Records Office, Truro  (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-267-12877-92229-15?cc=1769414 : 14 April 2015,  image 112 of 198.)