Search 09/03/1998
Dear Kevin,
Thank you for the letter of confirmation and instruction which arrived the day we set off on a week's Holiday to the Canary Isles. Everything arrived safely! It made very interesting reading. You are very lucky to have so much information.
I began by searching the Somerset records as I was already booked in there. I found a marriage of Joseph and Elizabeth in Yeovil. I enclose a photo copy. Shall I PC all main events in the direct line? Also married in Yeovil in 1829 was Hannah Percy to Wm Cook. I see no connection at the moment but it's always best to make a note. I found another m. in the index. 1813 Richard Pearcey to Mary Pearce at Stoke ST Gegory. From the Somerset IGI there are also some Percy marriages in W. Buckland, including that of a Joseph.
From the 1851 census I found at Maperton, near the Dorest border,
William John 42 a Curate MA. St John Cambridge born Sherborne.
His wife Mary 28, born Charleton Horethorn, again on the border.
His daughter Mary Ann Victoria aged 9 born Bristol,
a son Wm John Edward aged 8 born Dorset,
a daughter Elizabeth Louisa Maria aged 5
and a son Charles James Hugh Algernon aged 1. The last two born Maperton.
There is also a sister-in-law, Elizabeth Baker, unmarried, 37 acting as governess. The proverbial Victorian poor relation. The rest of the household, a nursemaid, a coachman and a cook! Your relations were not poor.
There was also an indenture, DD/X/AR4. Mr Penny of Yeovil, Gent. and Mr Richd Peircey of Bourton, Dorest Gent, dated 1732. It concerned a property in Wincanton, again near the Somerset border.
John the surveyor and auctioneer, also had property in Somerset.
From the wills you sent I found the burials of 1891 Mary Ann Percy aged 48 and 1892 Benjamin Watts Percy aged 55. Both at Holy Trinity, Yeovil. From their age at death we now know who they are and can relate them to the Dear Cousins letter. I do hope someone replied before Aunt Elizabeth died.
Two days later I was in Dorset where I spent 5hrs on the Percy/Pursey family. You were quite right about Thomas, he is your ancestor. Some of the later Sherborne registers have been indexed, and in the burials I found the following:-
| 1814 | Elizabeth | aged 3 months | Ap 11 |
| 1823 | Ann | 35 | 5 May |
| 1826 | Ann | 60 | 10 Oct |
| 1828 | Ann | 76 | 24 Mch |
| 1828 | Joseph | 69 | 10 Oct |
| 1830 | John | 68 | 12 Feb |
| 1831 | Ann | 74 | 25 May |
| 1832 | Thomas Pitman Percy | 77 | 3 Feb |
| 1833 | William Richard | 6 weeks | 24 Ap |
| 1834 | Hannah | 28 | 24 Jan |
| 1837 | William John | 6 | 17 Ap |
So having worked out their ages I took out micro film R/677 and checked out a couple of them.
1759 Joseph Pursey so Thomas and Rebecca baptised.
1762 John as above.
I decided I was on the right track and started to look at this register from 1750.
These are Pursey bapt unless otherwise stated.
| 1752 | Thomas so Thos & Rebecca | buried | |
| 1753 | Ann | ||
| 1754 | Thomas Pitman Percy | ||
| 1765 | Rebecca bapt and | buried |
And then in 1772 I found William Pursey buried. There was no age given. He was an adult or parents would have been given, but whether Thomas' brother parent or cousin I cannot tell. I turned back to 1740 hoping for more children and a marriage but found only the baptism of the first Thomas in 1749. I was rushing to beat the clock at this point so may have missed the marriage. Also missing is the baptism of Daniel, I will have a more leisurely look next time. Do you want any of these photo-copied? If not would you prefer complete dates?
At the beginning of the day, when I was checking indices I also noted the baptisms and marriages as follows;-
| Baptisms | ||
| 1814 | Elizabeth do Joseph & Elizabeth | Carpenter |
| 1816 | as above | |
| 1824 | James so of Joseph & Ann |
Coach or van driver (coach and horses I understand but van?) |
| I do not know who this is at all | ||
| 1831 | Elizabeth Lewis do Richd & Hannah | Carp |
| 1833 | Wm. Richard as above | |
| 1835 | Benjamin Watts so Daniel & Ann | Carp |
Marriages in Alphabetical order
| 1831 | Amelia m. Geo Bishop |
| 1835 | Dan m. Ann Watts |
| 1787 | John m. Ann Snook |
| 1819 | Joseph m. Esther Pearce |
| 1749 |
Mary m. Wm Ring |
| 1803 | Mary m. Geo Mills |
| 1815 | Mary m. Rbt Shepherd wid |
| 1831 | Richard m Hannah Lewis |
| 1781 | Thomas Pitman Percey m Ann Barnard |
In the 1851 census I found in the same house Elizabeth wid. (of Jospeh and mother of Joseph Hewlet) aged 76, Richd 52 so above no wife, Eliza. 20 (do Hannah who died 1834), Mary Ann 9 (do unknown wife) (Did she marry her cousin Benj. W).
In another house Elizabeth 66 and James 56. The other Perceys seem to have moved out of Sherborne. I wonder if the house Ben and Mary Ann were living in, in Yeovil was the one which had belonged to Eliz. Hewlett's mother?
I still have 3 hrs to do for you, but I thought you would like to know how things are progressing. I think next I will order out Matthew's will. I tried last time but was told it was in a bundle of 120 and they were not indexed! I don't suppose it will take me three hours to find it and it might prove invaluable.
Enclosed is a rough family tree. I've made one or two assumptions, and some people are not in. The van-driver for example. It's all very intriguing. Why did Joseph get nothing in the will yet still emigrate with so much money? In the first Thomas's will a similar situation appears, yet the sons are all very rich. I suppose money is spent on their education and establishing them in a profession.
We spent some time in N.Z. last year visiting my cousins whom I had not met. My uncles emigrated in the early 1920's. We exchanged copies of old family photos and bits of lore and gossip and I have now taken the Wilkinsons back to mid C 18. All three live on the North Island, the two girls married and living near Hamilton. Garry has moved since we were there and is further south. We visited Napier while we were there - it poured with rain. Hurricane Gavin was on its way. But we spent a very happy six weeks there and I would like to go again, preferably by sea.
Yours sincerely
Di Clements
P.S. What were the names of the other brothers who were sent down south in 1615?