Who Do You Think You Are USA - Edie Falco

[kiterunner]

Tonight on BBC1 at 23:35. Star of "Nurse Jackie".

[kiterunner]

Well, that was interesting. I hope OC watched it as part of it was filmed in Cornwall!

I was particularly interested in the bit about her ancestor being orphaned with her mother dying when she was very young and her father being a master mariner who died on a voyage, because my 2xg-grandmother had much the same story.

There seemed to be quite a few research steps missed out but no doubt they did actually check each step behind the scenes. It was annoying that the assumption that the girl was an orphan because she was with her grandmother on the 1841 census turned out to be true - since her father was a master mariner, he could easily just have been at sea on census night!

[Shona]

It was a good one. I remember her from The Sopranos.

[kiterunner]

They never did explain what kind of Sister her ancestor Catherine / Kathryn was, did they?

[Shona]

No. But being the curious sort, I found out she was a Sister with the Corning Foundation for Christian Work which was founded in Albany.

[kiterunner]

This is the first episode of this series that has really made me want to do some more research on the people they mentioned!

Here is Charles Childs Brown's baptism record:
LMA records ancestry (http://search.ancestry.co.uk/iexec?htx=View&r=5538&dbid=1558&iid=31547_213206-00348&fn=Charles+Childs&ln=Brown&st=d&ssrc=&pid=6623714)

9 Oct 1853 Chiswick St Nicholas, Charles Childs born 16 Aug 1853, son of William Bifield and Catherine, surname Brown, abode Hammersmith, occupation builder.

[kiterunner]

No. But being the curious sort, I found out she was a Sister with the Corning Foundation for Christian Work which was founded in Albany.

Thanks for that info, Shona!

[Shona]

This is interesting...

Talbert Hotel, Penzance

The Hotel is part of a Georgian Terrace of houses which were originally built in 1830 by Harrods Investment Corporation as homes for the merchant sea captains who sailed the world in search of exotic goods for Harrods discerning clientele.

The original owner, Ralph Sheldon Kindly, was lost at sea in his quest for such treasures.

http://west-penwith.org.uk/wpeninn2.htm

[kiterunner]

Built just about the time that Catherine was born, then.

[Shona]

Here is Charles Childs Brown's baptism record:
LMA records ancestry (http://search.ancestry.co.uk/iexec?htx=View&r=5538&dbid=1558&iid=31547_213206-00348&fn=Charles+Childs&ln=Brown&st=d&ssrc=&pid=6623714)

9 Oct 1853 Chiswick St Nicholas, Charles Childs born 16 Aug 1853, son of William Bifield and Catherine, surname Brown, abode Hammersmith, occupation builder.

What do you make of this? It seems that Charles Childs Brown's parents, William Bifield Brown and Catherine Kindley, married in Australia in 1850!

http://search.ancestry.co.uk/cgi-bin/sse.dll?db=ausmarrindex&so=2&pcat=ROOT_CATEGORY&rank=1&new=1&MSAV=1&msT=1&gss=angs-g&gsfn=william&gsfn_x=NN&gsln=brown&gsln_x=NN&gskw=bifield&gskw_x=1&cpxt=1&catBucket=rstp&uidh=fpy&cp=2

[kiterunner]

They certainly seem to have travelled around! Here they are in Canada in 1861:
http://search.ancestry.co.uk/iexec?htx=View&r=5538&dbid=1570&iid=4391538_00988&fn=William+Bifield&ln=Brown&st=d&ssrc=&pid=797526307

William Bifield Brown Clerk 33 married born England
Kate Brown age 26 married born England
Charles Childs Brown 8 born England

[Shona]

Oh! Now William Bifield Brown, Kate and Charles Childs Brown are in Canada in 1861.

http://search.ancestry.co.uk/iexec?htx=View&r=5538&dbid=1570&iid=4391538_00988&fn=William+Bifield&ln=Brown&st=d&ssrc=&pid=797526307

William Bifield Brown, 31, clerk, b England
Kate Brown, wife, 26, b England
Charles Childs Brown, 8, b England
John Hall, 64, gentleman, b England
David Wm Coward, 21, clerk, b England
Mary Bulger, 20, domestic, b Ireland

[kiterunner]

Snap, Shona! I think the Gentleman is John Fall, not Hall.

[Shona]

We cross-posted, Kite!

I've been checking out Kate Brown nee Kindley's father, Ralph Sheldon Kindley.

He seems to have been born in North Shields and married three times.

1 1824 married Sarah Holley, St Dunstan's and All Saints, Stepney.
2 1826 married Dorothy Childs in Penzance.
3 1834 married Jane Berryman in Madron, Penzance.

[kiterunner]

They could have made a whole series out of this episode!

[Shona]

It gets better...

On Rootsweb someone has transcribed marriage notices from Cornish newspapers.

30 JUNE 1848, Friday

At the Registrar's Office, Redruth, to Saturday last, MR. W. PENROSE, builder, to DOROTHY, second daughter of the late CAPT. R. S. KINDLEY, of Penzance.

At Camborne, on Monday last, MR. J. UNWIN, merchant, of London, to Amelia, second daughter of MR. JOHN ROWE, builder, of Penzance.

At St. Erth, on Wednesday last, MR. JOHN POLGLASE, to MISS JULIANNA TONKIN, of Hayle.

At Madron, on the 21st instant, CAPT. NEWMAN, of the schooner "President," of Scilly, to URSULA MUMFORD, second daughter of MR. RICHARD ROWE, builder, Penzance; on the 22nd, MR. J. RICHARDS, of Truro, to KATE, youngest daughter of the late CAPT. R. S. KINDLEY, of Penzance; and on Saturday, MR. WILLIAM DASH, baker, to LOUISA, daughter of MR. B. DREW, hatter, both of Penzance.

[Shona]

So whatever happened to Kate Kindley's first husband, Mr J Richards?

[kiterunner]

There are some public trees on ancestry which have this as the family in 1870 in the USA:
1870 US census (http://search.ancestry.co.uk/iexec?htx=View&r=5538&dbid=7163&iid=4268783_00246&fn=Kate&ln=Brown&st=r&ssrc=pt_t3967610_p6061839153_kpidz0q3d6061839153z0 q26pgz0q3d32768z0q26pgplz0q3dpid&pid=11535277)
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Brown, William 39 Bookkeeper born England
Kate 35 Keeping House born Spain
Carlos 16 Printer born England.

Then on the 1900 census Sister Katharine is born at sea, father born Spain, mother born England. Widow age 63, born May 1837. And it says she has had no children.
1900 US census (http://search.ancestry.co.uk/iexec?htx=View&r=5538&dbid=7602&iid=004114739_00198&fn=Katharine&ln=&st=r&ssrc=pt_t3967610_p6061839153_kpidz0q3d6061839153z0 q26pgz0q3d32768z0q26pgplz0q3dpid&pid=67270520) :confused:
(Unlike the UK 1911 census which only asks about children born to the current marriage, the US 1900 one doesn't mention that, just says "Mother of how many children". ) Or did she not count Charles in that column because he was dead by then?

Anyway, I wonder where she was really born! They did make a lot out of that "at sea" on the programme, but her birthplace seems to be different on each census.

[kiterunner]

And there is some interesting info on here:
http://www.birdchildsandgoldsmith.com/acatalog/Childs_History.html

And something written by William Bifield Brown:
http://trove.nla.gov.au/work/33841603?q=creator%3A%22Brown%2C+William%22&l-decade=185&c=book&versionId=41639077

[Shona]

Thanks for those links. There is a lot more to this family history than was revealed in 30 mins of TV. I hope the producers revealed the bigger picture to Edie.

[kiterunner]

So whatever happened to Kate Kindley's first husband, Mr J Richards?

According to the site that I posted a link to in post #19, he may never have existed, or if he did, they didn't get married! They reckon she and her sister invented the marriages.