This is another interesting example of a
family whose surname changed over time. I was initially contacted to find information
about the family of a Samuel Williams and his wife, Catherine. The first thing
I found was that most of their children were baptized in Plympton St Mary Parish
under the surname Lewis (Figure 3).
Samuel and Catherine had eleven children
between 1817 and 1839. Samuel was a miner and the family moved around Cornwall
and Devon a great deal, presumably for work. The children were baptized with
both the Williams and Lewis surnames, as shown below. The surnames are as it
shown in the baptism registers.
Baptism
Date
|
Forenames
|
Surname
|
Residence
|
Parish
of Baptism
|
12 Jan 1817
|
Samuel
|
Williams
|
Albaston,
Cornwall
|
Calstock,
Cornwall
|
1 Aug 1819
|
Solomon
|
Williams
|
Churchtown,
Cornwall
|
St. Issey,
Cornwall
|
17 Feb 1822
|
Martha
|
Lewis (1)
|
Holmbush,
Cornwall
|
Climsland,
Cornwall
|
25 Dec 1823
|
John
|
Lewis (2) (3)
|
Ridgeway, Devon
|
Plympton St.
Mary, Devon
|
13 May 1827
|
Joseph
|
Lewis (2) (4)
|
Colebrook, Devon
|
Plympton St.
Mary, Devon
|
13 May 1827
|
Benjamin
|
Lewis (2) (5)
|
Colebrook, Devon
|
Plympton St.
Mary, Devon
|
10 May 1829
|
Robert
|
Lewis (2)
|
Colebrook, Devon
|
Plympton St.
Mary, Devon
|
11 Mar 1832
|
Mary Ann
|
Lewis (2)
|
Colebrook, Devon
|
Plympton St.
Mary, Devon
|
2 Aug 1835
|
Caroline
|
Williams Lewis
|
Lutton, Devon
|
Plympton St.
Mary, Devon
|
4 June 1837
|
Martha Williams
|
Lewis (2)
|
Lutton, Devon
|
Plympton St.
Mary, Devon
|
8 Sep 1839
|
Samuel Lewis (6)
|
Williams (7)
|
North Filham,
Devon
|
Ugborough,
Devon
|
(1)
Martha died in 1825, at age 3 years, and was in Plympton St. Mary parish buried
as Martha Lewis Williams.
(2)
In the baptism register the father’s forenames are shown as Samuel Williams.
(3)
John died in 1825, at age 1 year, and was buried in Plympton St. Mary parish as
John Lewis Williams.
(4)
Joseph died in 1828, at age 1 year, and was buried in Plympton St. Mary parish
as Joseph Williams Lewis.
(5)
Benjamin died in 1827, at age 8 weeks, and was buried in Plympton St. Mary
parish as Benjamin Williams.
(6)
This child appears to be recorded on 1841 census as George. A brother named Samuel,
born in 1817, was still alive in 1839 so the name on baptism register entry may
be in error. There is no good match on the civil birth register for a child of
the names of either Samuel Williams or Samuel Lewis. The birth of a George
Lewis was registered in the September quarter of 1839 in the Totnes
Registration District (which includes Ugborough parish) that could be this child.
(7)
In the baptism record the father’s name shown as Samuel Lewis.
It is noteworthy that where only Lewis
appears as the surname on the Plympton St. Mary parish baptism entries,
Williams appears as part of Samuel’s forenames.
The confusion did not stop with the baptism
entries. The family also mixed the use of their surnames on censuses. In 1841
and 1851 they were shown with the surname of Williams; in 1861 as
Williams-Lewis; and in 1871 as just Lewis.
1841 to 1871 English census records showing
Samuel Williams-Lewis family
|
Of interest on the census records in the
birth place listed for Samuel. In 1851 it was recorded as Marton, Cornwall; in
1861 as Morton, Devon; and in 1871 as Martin, Devon. The similarity of place
names, other than the county, is important in tracing his actual birthplace. From
the age given on the censuses Samuel’s birth year is calculated as being late
1790 to early 1791.
A marriage was recorded on 5 October 1791,
in Merton, Devon, between Willmotte Williams, aged 22, and George Lewis, aged
72. George died in 1799 and Wilmotte Lewis married William Bartlett later the
same year. The location and surnames suggest this could have been Samuel’s
mother. It seems likely that he was born to Willmotte Williams prior to her
first marriage and he later used both his mother’s and stepfather’s surnames,
finally settling on the latter. Unfortunately no baptism record has yet been
found for Samuel so none of these assumptions can be demonstrated.
Both Samuel and Catherine were using the
name of Lewis at the time of their deaths, as shown on their death certificates
and in the burial register of Plympton St. Mary parish.
The children of Samuel and Catharine also
used a number of different names on census and marriage records which I will
discuss in my next post.
Census records are the property of The National Archives
and published under their Open Government License. Images were downloaded
from Ancestry.
Wayne Shepheard is a volunteer with the Online Parish Clerk
program, handling four parishes in Devon,
England. He serves as the Editor of Chinook,
the quarterly journal of the Alberta Family
Histories Society. Wayne also provides genealogical consulting services
through his business, Family
History Facilitated.
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