Was my ancestor of Spanish heritage?
QI’ve been researching my family history since 1972, but there’s still one brick wall that I am keen to break down. Orlando Fountain was my great great grandfather. He was born in 1824 and married Frances Mew, a girl from Sussex, at the Church of St George the Martyr, Southwark, in 1848. It appears that Frances returned to her parents and died in August 1850, leaving the couple’s young daughter (my great grandmother) to be brought up by her grandparents. I don’t know what happened to Orlando.
There are family rumours that my great great grandfather was originally Spanish. I have the right ‘look’, so I’m desperate to know whether or not this is true. Is there any way that I can prove it? I’ve tried everything that I can think of. Evelyn Morrissey, via email
AI could not come up with any major breakthrough for you, but I’ve seen several possible things that may be worth following up. Firstly, I found the 1848 marriage record on ( ancestry.co.uk), which names Orlando’s father as Thomas Fountain, a bricklayer. I located a Thomas Fountain, bricklayer at Cranfield, Bedfordshire (not so far from London) on the 1841-1861 censuses, born c1800-01 in Cranfield. His wife, Seline/Serena/Colene, seems too young to be Orlando’s mother, but he could have been married before as she was 16 years younger than him. There is at least one possible previous marriage for him. FamilySearch ( familysearch.org) also shows several possible Thomas/‘AN Other’ couples baptising children in the 1820s, both in Bedfordshire and London, some with similarly unusual names.
I can find no Orlando Fountain in UK records other than the 1848 marriage, but there are numerous mentions of the name in the USA, which suggests that he may have gone there after deserting Frances and her daughter. FamilySearch indicates that most of these relate to a man born c1836 in Ohio, but it may be worth a closer look as he might have ‘adjusted’ information to cover up his past.
The name Orlando is of Italian origin but has been in use in England since at least the 16th century, and FamilySearch shows numerous Orlandos born in England 1800-1830. The use of non-biblical names became popular during the Enlightenment – particularly among nonconformist and humanist groups.
Try searching the Guardians’ minutes and other Poor Law material for Frances’ home parish and union in Sussex, as there may be background information there if the child required local support.
However, I would suggest you initially concentrate on finding a Thomas Fountain, bricklayer (there may be more than the one I found), making sure you check all marriages, baptisms and wills. Helen Whittle