Where was my 3x great grandfather born? Henry couldn’t write and, therefore, probably couldn’t read, so woul be unable to correct any error
QI am trying to find out where my 3x great grandfather Joseph Howell was born and who his family were. According to the 1851 marriage certificate of his son Henry Howell, he was a rope maker. He possibly lived in Bristol. I also want to know why Henry ( born circa 1822 in Bristol) was recorded as John by the registrar ( minister?) when he married Harriett Hallewell on 11 June 1851 at Painswick Independent Chapel, Stroud District, when he had always been named Henry in the 1851-71 censuses. Chris Howell, by email
AStart by looking for Joseph at Bristol Archives ( bristolmuseums.org.uk/ bristol-archives/whats-at/
our- collections). It holds the Bristol and Avon Family History Society indexes of baptisms, marriages and burials, which might reveal Henry’s baptism in 1822 and potential siblings.
The John/Henry name mix up could be down to an error by the clerk. As he ‘made his mark’, Henry couldn’t write and, therefore, probably couldn’t read, so would be unable to correct any error. As the copy is a General Register Office (GRO) issue, it may be worth ordering the copy made at the time of marriage. The GRO issues are copies of these, so it could be that there was an error when this was sent in.
The local Gloucestershire BMD index lists an undated John Howell and Harriet Hallewell marriage at ww3. gloucestershire.gov.uk/bmd. I noticed that the ages on the census and years of birth are not accurate. It’s also worth checking for witnesses, in case they’re related.
Painswick Independent Chapel was part of the congregational union. Collection D6026/39 at Gloucestershire Archives has the records for Painswick including some ‘registers’, however a brief glance through the full catalogue entry shows that there are none for the period in which your ancestors may have been there.
Some of the nonconformist records are indexed on the Gloucestershire Archives Genealogical Database ( ww3. gloucestershire.gov.uk/
genealogy/ Search.aspx) and many before 1837 are available at ( www.bmdregisters.co.uk/
index.php) or on Ancestry. Details of nonconformist places of worship and their records can be found in National Index of Parish Registers Vol.2 Sources for Nonconformist Genealogy by DJ Steel, 1973. However, survival rates of nonconformist church records are not as good as for Anglican ones.
It’s possible that the minister took the register from place to place with him. It is worth finding out about the minister in office at the time of the wedding and searching out his history to see if he moved outside Gloucestershire. Then check with the archives for each county he covered in case they have the registers – try searching The National Archives’ Discovery catalogue. Occasionally ministers kept notebooks, which can hold a wealth of information so well worth seeking out. Lynne Cleaver