Locating the family through their children's baptisms

Article - 4 John Bassett of Madron (1790- 1868) 

Last week I examined John and Martha’s move away from their birth places as they followed the coastline to Perranuthnoe where the first born was baptised.  This week I will attempt to trace the couple’s whereabouts using available church records

Figure 1 (2017). Google.co.uk. Retrieved 20 June 2017, from https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@50.1433691,-5.4454541,11676m/data=!3m1!1e3

The first place that we can locate the couple is In Perranuthnoe where their first born John is baptised.

Figure 2 St. Piran's and St. Michael's church, Perranuthnoe cc-by-sa/2.0 - © Jonathan Billinger - geograph.org.uk/photo/748333

1.       John Bassett was baptised 13 November 1814 Perranuthnoe, Cornwall.  The family were living in Perran at the time.[i]  John was buried as an infant on 17 March 1815 in St Hilary, Cornwall, the family were living in "Rudgeon in this parish" (maybe it should be Rosudgeon)at the time.[ii]

They don't appear to have stayed long in Perranuthnoe as soon after their baby, John was born we find him being buried at the age of one, on 3 October 1816 in St Hilary, Cornwall.  This is the same parish that their second child was baptised.  St Hilary is a neighbouring inland parish to Perranuthnoe.  The family were living in a tenement called Roseudgeon for both events.   Roseudgeon is a mining village serving the nearby Halamanning and Croft Gothal mines. The couple were possibly there for John to find work in the mines. 

Figure 3 The Church of St Hilary at St Hilary, Cornwall, cc-by-sa/2.0 - © Peter Wood - geograph.org.uk/p/5384820

2.       William Bassett was baptised in a private ceremony on 3 October 1816 St Hilary, Cornwall, the family were living in Rosudgeon , St. Hilary.[iii]

Their third child was baptised in the Germoe Parish Church a parish that shares boundaries with St Hilary.  Their fourth child was baptised in the Breage Parish Church.  Breage which is on the eastern border of St Hilary which it shares with Germoe, however, it doesn’t appear that family have moved as they are still in Percolly.

Figure 4 St Germoe's Church cc-by-sa/2.0 - © Sheila Russell - geograph.org.uk/p/174293

3.       John Bassett was baptised 25 June 1820 Germoe, Cornwall, the family were living in ‘Park Holly’ [this could be Percolly, where the next child Francis was born].[iv]

Figure 5 Breage: St. Breaca's Church eastern aspect cc-by-sa/2.0 - © Michael Garlick - geograph.org.uk/p/4676629

4.       Francis Basset was baptised 8 October 1823 Breage, Cornwall, the family were living in Percolly [difficult to read].[v]  Francis was buried at the age of 15 on 2 October 1839 in Breage, Cornwall.  [At the time of his death he was living in “Trescown [difficult to read] Common” [Trescowe Common?] at the time of his death; however, he may not have been living with his parents as he was 15.[vi]]

By 1826 the family were living in Trethewey/ Trethaway, possibly in the parish of Germoe. 

5.  Anne Bassett was baptised 17 October 1826 Germoe, Cornwall, the family were living in Trewey[?] [Possibly a variant of Trethewey][vii]

       

        6.   Martha Basset was baptised 28 December 1828 Germoe, Cornwall, the family were living in Trethaway.[viii]  [note There are a number of places in Cornwall with this or similar spellings. There is/was one in Germoe.]

Then the family then move to Godolphin, between 1829 and 1833

7. James Bassett was baptised in a private ceremony on 7 May 1833 Breage, Cornwall, the family were living in Godolphin Downs. [ix] James was buried on 18 May 1833 in Breage, Cornwall, the family were still living at Godolphin at the time[x] [note that for burial  James' age is given as "1". Other burials by the same vicar give age as "infant", so James baptism may have been performed so soon after his birth]

8. James Bassett was baptised 5 October 1834 Breage, Cornwall, the family were living at Godolphin.[xi]

9. Samuel Bassett was baptised 25 December 1838 Germoe, Cornwall, the family were still living at Godolphin. [xii]  He died before 1841 possibly in 1839.[xiii]

The family were possibly living in Godolphin, Breage by then, near the St Hilary side, the children were christened in  St Hilary which is surrounded “on the east by Breage and Germoe, on the south by Perranuthnoe.”[xiv] 

In summary looking at where the children were christened, the family moved from place to place in the following order:-

• Rosudgeon, Perranuthnoe, Cornwall, at least from the birth of their first and second child after which they possibly moved to Percolly/'Park Holly'. As the second baptism was a private ceremony it may have been out of their town parish.
• Percolly/'Park Holly' for the next two children [note Park Holly could be the same as Percolly said quickly the syllables almost sound the same and depending on who was doing the recording]
• Trethewey/Trethaway for the next two
• Godolphin Downs/ Godolphin for the last 3 at least until 1838 when Samuel was born

Previous articles on John Bassett in this June 2017 series 

1.                   Article 1 -  Who is John Bassett?

2.                   Article 2 - Looking for the Parents of John Bassett.

3.                   Article 3 - Living in the wake of family disaster

Can you help?  Do you recognise these people or places? It would be so interesting to learn more about their lives.  

Next week I will take a look at the censuses for the family begining in 1841.

Acknowledgements

Thanks to

Heather Brown of BassettByLines who contributed her thoughts on my original transcriptions of Parish records.

Sources

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[i] FamilySearch, Baptism of John Bassett baptised 13 November 1814, Perranuthnoe Church Parish Register, Cornwall England, p.6  "England, Cornwall Parish Registers, 1538-2010," database with images, Baptisms Perranuthnoe Cornwall, 1813-1837, Cornwall Records Office, Truro  [annotated by minister as Copy 1]; https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HY-DCP3-NBN?cc=1769414&wc=3CBC-DPG%3A138123201%2C140492201%2C138123203, Accessed 14 April 2015 (image 7 of 53).

[ii] FamilySearch, Burial of John Bassett buried  17 March 1815 St Hilary Church Parish Register, Cornwall England, p. 12  "England, Cornwall Parish Registers, 1538-2010," database with images, Burials St Hilary Cornwall 1813-1845, Cornwall Records Office, Truro. https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HT-XK5Q-L13?cc=1769414&wc=3CBH-BZ7%3A138123201%2C141471801%2C139429401. Accessed 14 April 2015), Image 9 of 105)

[iii] FamilySearch, Baptism of William Bassett baptised 3 October 1816 St Hilary Church Parish Register, Cornwall England, p.28   "England, Cornwall Parish Registers, 1538-2010," database with images, St Hilary Cornwall Baptisms, 1813-1837 Cornwall Records Office, Truro. https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HT-XK5Q-LTM?cc=1769414&wc=3CBH-BZQ%3A138123201%2C141471801%2C138123203.  Accessed  14 April 2015 (image 20 of 108)

[iv] FamilySearch, Baptism of John Bassett baptised 25 June 1820, Germoe Church Parish Register Cornwall England p.30. "England, Cornwall Parish Registers, 1538-2010," database with images, Baptisms Germoe Cornwall 1813-1831, Cornwall Records Office, Truro.  https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HT-6QZW-4VY?cc=1769414&wc=3CB4-FMZ%3A138123201%2C138780501%2C138780502. Accessed 14 April 2015.  (Image 18 of 53)

[v] FamilySearch, Baptism of Francis Basset baptised 8 October 1823 Breage Church Parish Register, Cornwall England p.138. "England, Cornwall Parish Registers, 1538-2010," database with images, Baptisms Breage Cornwall 1813-1827, Cornwall Records Office, Truro. https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HT-6SRQ-WLX?cc=1769414&wc=3CB4-ZNL%3A138123201%2C138287901%2C138287902. Accessed  14 April 2015 (image 78 of 110).

[vi] FamilySearch, Francis Bassett buried 2 October 1839 Breage Church Register Cornwall p.42. "England, Cornwall Parish Registers, 1538-2010," database with images, Burials Breage Cornwall 1836-1861, Cornwall Records Office, Truro.  https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33S7-9R79-9SMC?cc=1769414&wc=3CB7-RM7%3A138123201%2C138287901%2C138313201.  Accessed 14 April 2015. (image 23 of 159)

[vii] FamilySearch, Baptism of Anne Bassett baptised 17 October 1826 Germoe Church register, Cornwall p.68. "England, Cornwall Parish Registers, 1538-2010," database with images, Baptisms Germoe Cornwall 1813-1831, Cornwall Records Office, Truro.  https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HT-6QZ7-PYL?cc=1769414&wc=3CB4-FMZ%3A138123201%2C138780501%2C138780502 Accessed  14 April 2015. (image 37 of 53).

[viii] FamilySearch, Baptism of Martha Basset baptised 28 December 1828 Germoe Church register, Cornwall, p.83. "England, Cornwall Parish Registers, 1538-2010," database with images, Baptisms Germoe Cornwall 1813-1831, Cornwall Records Office, Truro.  https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HT-6QZ7-TDY?cc=1769414&wc=3CB4-FMZ%3A138123201%2C138780501%2C138780502. Accessed  14 April 2015. (image 44 of 53)

[ix] FamilySearch, Baptism of  James Bassett baptised in a private ceremony on 7 May 1833 Breage Church Register, Cornwall. P.116 "England, Cornwall Parish Registers, 1538-2010," database with images, Baptisms Breage Cornwall 1827-1839, Cornwall Records Office, Truro. https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HT-6SRQ-HS5?cc=1769414&wc=3CB4-C6V%3A138123201%2C138287901%2C138291501.  Accessed 14 April 2015. (image 60 of 140)

[x] FamilySearch, Burial of James Bassett  buried 18 May 1833, Breage Church parish register, Cornwall England, p.158. "England, Cornwall Parish Registers, 1538-2010," database with images, Burials Breage Cornwall 1813-1836, Cornwall Records Office, Truro. https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HT-6SR3-B2M?cc=1769414&wc=3CB7-RMC%3A138123201%2C138287901%2C138307101.  Accessed  14 April 2015 (image 84 of 210)

[xi] FamilySearch, Baptism of  James Bassett baptised 5 October 1834 Breage Church Register, Cornwall, p.149. "England, Cornwall Parish Registers, 1538-2010," database with images, Baptisms Breage Cornwall 1827-1839, Cornwall Records Office, Truro https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HT-6SRQ-MTF?cc=1769414&wc=3CB4-C6V%3A138123201%2C138287901%2C138291501.  Accessed 14 April 2015. (image 76 of 140)

[xii] FamilySearch, Baptism of Samuel Bassett baptised 25 December 1838 Germoe Church Register, Cornwall, p.171. "England, Cornwall Parish Registers, 1538-2010," database with images, Baptisms Germoe Cornwall 1831-1895, Cornwall Records Office, Truro https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HT-6QZW-451?cc=1769414&wc=3CB4-FM4%3A138123201%2C138780501%2C138782301.   Accessed 14 April 2015. (image 37 of 145)

[xiii] Note a search was conducted on the FreeBDM for a Sammuel Bassett between Sep 1837 and Dec 1841 for the County of Cornwall, this was the only Sammuel to be found.  It is possible that this is our Sammuel as we think he died before the 1841 Census.  Will need to obtain the death certificate to verify.  A wider search for all of England did show up a few more Sammuels however none seemed to be as likely to be ours as this one.  "FreeBMD England and Wales, Civil Registration Index: 1837-1900" (The Trustees of FreeBMD [database online] Provo, UT: Ancestry.com, 2001.), Deaths; Quarter: Jun; Year: 1839; District: Helston; Vol: 9; Page: 74. 

[xiv] GENUKI: St Hilary, Cornwall. (2017). Genuki.org.uk. Retrieved 20 June 2017, from http://www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/CON/StHilary

Martha's Convict Connections - hiding the truth

Martha Carbis is my 3 x great grandmother.  On her Australian death certificate it states that her father’s name was Richard Carbis and his occupation ‘mariner’. Her Mother‘s name was Ann maiden name unknown.[i]   Martha married my 3 x great grandfather John Bassett  in 1812 in Paul, Cornwall.[ii]

As death certificates are not a reliable source of information, other clues were sought to verify Martha’s parent’s names. On inspection of the Banns entry it was noted that one of the witnesses on the Banns was a Daniel Drew.

Further research was then conducted to try and find a Carbis man who married a woman whose maiden name was Drew. Eventually a William Carbis who married an Ann Drew was located.[iii]  Amongst their children was a Martha Carbis who had the same year of birth as my 3 x great grandmother.

William Carbis and Ann Drew had five children, all were baptised in the Paul Parish Church

1. Ann Drew CARBIS 14 Nov 1784[iv]
2. William Carbice 10^th May 1789[v]
3. Martha CARBENCE 7^th October 1792[vi]
4. Martha CARBIS 5^th October 1794[vii] (my 3xgreatgrandmother)
5. Richard CARBIS 17^th August 1797[viii]

 

Figure 1 Steve Rigg, The Parish Church of St Pol de Leon, 2005.   Source Wikimedia Commons. Accessed 13 September 2016. http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/34895 © Copyright (CC BY-SA 2.0) 

The idea that my 3 x greatgrandmother Martha’s father was William Carbis rather than Richard Carbis is supported by the following 3 points: 

1.       The change of her father’s Christian name was an attempt to hide family Convict connections.
A family story through the generations was that one of the early Bassett brothers (which generation this concerned was not clear) was charged for horse stealing in Cornwall but managed to escape to France/America and was never caught. Following this lead led us to look for some evidence of criminal activity.
The real story turned out to be much more interesting than the family legend after all.

In an article that appeared in The West Briton and Cornwall Advertiser   on the 7th April 1815 and another in the Royal Gazette on the 22nd April 1815 it appears that William Carbis  was involved in sheep stealing.
William Carbis, sen., William Carbis jun., and Francis Bassett, (a father, son and son-in-law), were indicted for stealing two ewe sheep belonging to Miss Borlase, of Madron, in December 1812
"The bill" was found by the Grand Jury in the Crown Bar during the Lent Assizes in 1813. However the proceedings were suspended as the accused had absconded. According to a report in the "West Briton & Cornwall Advertiser", when the constables went to arrest them they were unable to execute their warrants, as all three men had gone to sea. 

Figure 2 Richard Croft, Aerial view of Paul and Mousehole, 2010. Source Wikimedia Commons. Accessed 13 September 2016. http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/1961122 © Copyright (CC BY-SA 2.0)

Based on the newspaper story we were able to link Martha with her family as demonstrated below through their connections with William Carbis (in the newspaper referred as William Carbis sen.)  and his five children with his wife Ann Drew the 3 connections are confirmed.

It is hard to know if this was her father’s first foray into criminal activity. Martha was married 9 months before this event took place  and perhaps the shame was so great for Martha that she changed her father’s name, using her youngest brother’s first name to conceal her relationship? The white lie helped to distance hers from her father’s misdeeds (?). Once in Australia people were unaware of the families criminal and convict connections and only a vague tale of horse theft remained attributed to no-one in particular as a small reminder of what had been left behind. 

2.       Naming Patterns of the times as explained below were common practice between 1700 and 1875. Both the Carbis and Bassett families seem to have used them as evidenced by certain names recurring down through the generations. By using these patterns in tracing back from the children of John Bassett and Martha Carbis it is quite possible that John’s fathers name is William Bassett and as confirmed Martha’s fathers name is William.

Naming Patterns 1700-1875[ix]
The first Son was named after the fathers father (Marthas oldest son is John)
Second son named after mothers father (Marthas second son is William)
Third son named after the father
Fourth son named after fathers eldest brother
First daughter named after mothers mother
Second daughter named after fathers mother
Third daughter named after mother
Fourth daughter named after mothers eldest sister
Exceptions to the pattern occur when the naming system produced a duplication of names.
In that case, the name was taken from the next on the list.
Another break in the pattern could be caused by a death.
If a child died in infancy, then the parents would name the subsequent new born the same name 

3.    The informant for the death certificate was not a family member, and would not have knowledge of the background of Martha Bassett nee Carbis. 

Based on the above evidence I have come to the conclusion that Martha’s parents were most likely William Carbis and Ann Drew of the Paul Parish, Cornwall.

Links

Learn more about Martha’s Ancestral family

• ·         To see clippings of the baptismal records for the children Click here 
• ·         To find out more details about Martha’s fathers life after being transported to Australia in 1816 Click here 

Edit History

1. This article was originally published in Familytreecircles on 23 Oct 2007 at   (and was updated on 13/09/2016)
2. A shorter extract was also published on my blog here on Saturday, 12 January 2013 

Sources

Images

Figure 1 - Steve Rigg, The Parish Church of St Pol de Leon, 2005   Source Wikimedia Commons. Accessed 13 September 2016. http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/34895 © Copyright (CC BY-SA 2.0)

Figure 2 - Richard Croft, Aerial view of Paul and Mousehole, 2010. Source Wikimedia Commons. Accessed 13 September 2016. http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/1961122 © Copyright (CC BY-SA 2.0)

Documents

[i] Death certificate of Martha Bassett, died 20 march 1882, Registrar if Births, Deaths and Marriages Victoria, 1295/1882

[ii] FamilySearch, Marriage Banns for John Bassett & Martha Carbis, married 15 March 1812 St Paul’s Church, "England, Cornwall Parish Registers, 1538-2010," Marriage banns, marriages, 1754-1813, Paul, Cornwall, Cornwall Records Office, Truro. Accessed 14 April 2015 (image 141 of 143, https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-266-11130-159580-8?cc=1769414)

[iii] FamilySearch, Marriage Banns for William Carbis & Anne Drew, married 29 September 1783, St Paul’s Church, "England, Cornwall Parish Registers, 1538-2010," Marriage banns, marriages, 1754-1813, Paul, Cornwall, Cornwall Records Office, Truro. Accessed 14 April 2015 (image 65 of 143, https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-266-11130-158740-54?cc=1769414 )

[iv] FamilySearch, Baptism of Anne Drew Carbis baptised 14^th November 1784, St Paul’s Church, "England, Cornwall and Devon Parish Registers, 1538-2010," Baptisms, burials, Paul , Cornwall 1776-1812, Cornwall Records Office, Truro Accessed 14 April 2015 (image 13 of 82, https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-266-11597-137203-30?cc=1769414)

[v] FamilySearch, Baptism of William Carbice baptised 10^th May 1789, St Paul’s Church, "England, Cornwall and Devon Parish Registers, 1538-2010," Baptisms, burials, Paul , Cornwall 1776-1812, Cornwall Records Office, Truro Accessed 14 April 2015 (image 18 of 82 at https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-266-11597-140471-83?cc=1769414)

[vi] FamilySearch, Baptism of Martha Carbice baptised 7^th October 1792 St Paul’s Church, "England, Cornwall and Devon Parish Registers, 1538-2010," Baptisms, burials, Paul , Cornwall 1776-1812, Cornwall Records Office, Truro Accessed 14 April 2015 (image 21 of 82 at https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-266-11597-146403-25?cc=1769414)

[vii] FamilySearch, Baptism of Martha Carbis baptised 5^th October 1794 St Paul’s Church, "England, Cornwall and Devon Parish Registers, 1538-2010," Baptisms, burials, Paul , Cornwall 1776-1812, Cornwall Records Office, Truro Accessed 14 April 2015 ( image 26 of 82 at https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-266-11597-144620-24?cc=1769414)

[viii] FamilySearch, Baptism of Richard Carbis baptised 17^th August 1797 St Paul’s Church, "England, Cornwall and Devon Parish Registers, 1538-2010," Baptisms, burials, Paul , Cornwall 1776-1812, Cornwall Records Office, Truro Accessed 14 April 2015 (image 30 of 82 at https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HT-DTJ7-DXZ?i=29&wc=3CBW-PYM%3A138123201%2C140206301%2C1582895306%3Fcc%3D1769414&cc=1769414)

[ix] Baxter, Angus. 1983. Tracing your origins: a complete guide to discovering your English, Welsh, Scottish & Irish ancestors. North Ryde [N.S.W]: Methuen Australia.. 

Baptismal Records for the children of William Carbis & Ann Drew

William Carbis & Anne Drew were married on 29 September 1783 in Paul, Cornwall, England. Together they had five children. Their 3rd child died tragically at only eleven months of measles.

Baptismal record for Anne Drew daughter of William and Ann Carbis

"England, Cornwall and Devon Parish Registers, 1538-2010," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-266-11597-137203-30?cc=1769414 : accessed 24 May 2016), Cornwall > Paul > Baptisms, burials, 1776-1812 > image 13 of 82; Cornwall Records Office, Truro. Entry for Anne Drew Carbis

Baptismal record for William son of William and Ann Carbice

"England, Cornwall and Devon Parish Registers, 1538-2010," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-266-11597-140471-83?cc=1769414 : accessed 24 May 2016), Cornwall > Paul > Baptisms, burials, 1776-1812 > image 18 of 82; Cornwall Records Office, Truro. Entry for William Carbice

Baptismal record for Martha daughter of William and Martha Carbice

"England, Cornwall and Devon Parish Registers, 1538-2010," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-266-11597-146403-25?cc=1769414 : accessed 24 May 2016), Cornwall > Paul > Baptisms, burials, 1776-1812 > image 21 of 82; Cornwall Records Office, Truro. Entry for Martha Carbice

Burial record for Martha daughter of William and Ann Carbis

"England, Cornwall and Devon Parish Registers, 1538-2010," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-266-11597-144074-36?cc=1769414  : accessed 24 May 2016), Cornwall > Paul > Baptisms, burials, 1776-1812 > image 64 of 82; Cornwall Records Office, Truro. Entry of burial record for Martha daughter of William and Ann Carbis.

Baptismal record for Martha daughter of William and Ann Carbis

"England, Cornwall and Devon Parish Registers, 1538-2010," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-266-11597-144620-24?cc=1769414 : accessed 24 May 2016), Cornwall > Paul > Baptisms, burials, 1776-1812 > image 26 of 82; Cornwall Records Office, Truro.

Baptismal record for Richard son of William and Ann Carbis

"England, Cornwall and Devon Parish Registers, 1538-2010," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-266-11597-146230-26?cc=1769414  : accessed 24 May 2016), Cornwall > Paul > Baptisms, burials, 1776-1812 > image 30 of 82; Cornwall Records Office, Truro.

Research Notes:-

1. All the above records were found in a single volume of the Parish registers for Paul entitled “Baptisms, burials, 1776-1812”.  There is one other volume that could potentially offer further baptisms for the family, the volume is entitled “Baptisms, marriages, burials, 1694-1775”.  Both of these registers can be found on line at FamilySearch - https://familysearch.org and are free to access.
2. There are two couples during this period of time that have the Christian names William and Anne.  The family of William & Ann(e) listed above use the surname of Carbis or Carbice, as both parents were unable to write (based on the lack of a signature on their marriage record) this would explain the variable spelling.  The other couple listed are William and Ann Carter, a sample entry is show below

Baptismal record for Francis son of William and Ann Carter

"England, Cornwall and Devon Parish Registers, 1538-2010," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-266-11597-138266-37?cc=1769414  : accessed 24 May 2016), Cornwall > Paul > Baptisms, burials, 1776-1812 > image 29 of 82; Cornwall Records Office, Truro.

It is important to make sure that the families are not confused which could easily happen as some of the entries are so faded.

Do you recognize anyone in this Carbis family?  Leave a comment and let me know.