DavidByrne
15-07-18, 11:39
Mary Carew was born in St Kew, Cornwall, on 17 Dec 1750, to John and Deborah Carew. An older brother, George, had been born in 1748, and a younger sister, Elizabeth was born a few years later in 1753. A baptism record exists for Mary, but George and Elizabeth are unsubstantiated "assertions" contained in various Ancestry family trees. Deborah Carew unfortunately died in April 1754, leaving Mary and her siblings without a mother. I can find no record of John subsequently remarrying.
Mary Hann appears in an Ancestry family tree as being born on EXACTLY the same date and in exactly the same location as Mary Carew, with her parents John Hann and Ann Welsman. Another version of the family tree lists her as BEING Mary Carew, but at the same time being a sibling within the Hann family with brothers and sisters bearing the Hann name. I contacted the owner of that tree, but he claimed no knowledge of how that came to be, other than stating that the Welsman history was "complicated". Frustratingly, one of those family trees is now no longer available.
Many Ancestry (and other) family trees show that a "Mary Carew", with the same birth date and place as above, married my forebear, Henry Cottrell, though there is no marriage certificate available. This had always intrigued me, as St Kew is some distance from the area around Exeter, where the Cottrell and Hann families lived. There were close links between the Cottrell and Hann families in Devon, with several instances of intermarriage.
My theory is this: that on the death of Deborah Carew in 1754, Mary Carew was adopted by, or at least sent to live with, the Hann family in Devon. There she went by the name of Mary Ann Hann, until her marriage to Henry Cottrell, which was done as Mary Carew. The children of that marriage included both a John Hann Cottrell and a Robert Carew Cottrell (my forbear). Robert in turn had a son who was also named John Hann Cottrell, which suggests that both the Hann and Carew names were significant in the Cottrell family history.
I've done some on-line research of the Devon Heritage Centre's records, and I've found reference to a "John Hann, Ann [presumably née Welsman] his wife from Sidbury" (this is where "my" Hann family were based), which appears to be a removal order for the family from Lympstone Parish (on the grounds of poverty - they would ordinarily be sent back to their "home" parish rather than become a burden on another). Many Removal Orders specify family members by name, so I'm very anxious to see this material.
Since I don't live in England (NZ in fact) it's not so easy to do this research, but I am planning to be in Exeter for a few days in early August, and will certainly be seeking access to this archive and a couple of others which may also have some relevance.
The advice I'm seeking from the Forum is, in order to maximise my chances of success, are there other records or areas of research that you could suggest I might try to solve this conundrum? Obviously I've exhausted to the best of my abilities the various BMD records, seeking in particular to find info on the alleged "Mary Ann Hann" who just happens to have the same details as Mary Carew, and anything relating to the marriage of Mary and Henry Cottrell - but without any success. The Devon archive includes Overseers' account books and Churchwardens' account books, and I'll certainly be looking carefully at those (and in particular for Sidbury and Lympstone parishes). But can any readers think of any other left-field ideas for research, bearing in mind we're talking about the 1750s?
I'm really hoping that I can "prove" my theory as it in turn opens up a long line of ancestors via the Carew family which has been reasonably well documented. And of course, residing in NZ, the chances of coming back to Exeter any time soon are not great. So any ideas, suggestions?
Mary Hann appears in an Ancestry family tree as being born on EXACTLY the same date and in exactly the same location as Mary Carew, with her parents John Hann and Ann Welsman. Another version of the family tree lists her as BEING Mary Carew, but at the same time being a sibling within the Hann family with brothers and sisters bearing the Hann name. I contacted the owner of that tree, but he claimed no knowledge of how that came to be, other than stating that the Welsman history was "complicated". Frustratingly, one of those family trees is now no longer available.
Many Ancestry (and other) family trees show that a "Mary Carew", with the same birth date and place as above, married my forebear, Henry Cottrell, though there is no marriage certificate available. This had always intrigued me, as St Kew is some distance from the area around Exeter, where the Cottrell and Hann families lived. There were close links between the Cottrell and Hann families in Devon, with several instances of intermarriage.
My theory is this: that on the death of Deborah Carew in 1754, Mary Carew was adopted by, or at least sent to live with, the Hann family in Devon. There she went by the name of Mary Ann Hann, until her marriage to Henry Cottrell, which was done as Mary Carew. The children of that marriage included both a John Hann Cottrell and a Robert Carew Cottrell (my forbear). Robert in turn had a son who was also named John Hann Cottrell, which suggests that both the Hann and Carew names were significant in the Cottrell family history.
I've done some on-line research of the Devon Heritage Centre's records, and I've found reference to a "John Hann, Ann [presumably née Welsman] his wife from Sidbury" (this is where "my" Hann family were based), which appears to be a removal order for the family from Lympstone Parish (on the grounds of poverty - they would ordinarily be sent back to their "home" parish rather than become a burden on another). Many Removal Orders specify family members by name, so I'm very anxious to see this material.
Since I don't live in England (NZ in fact) it's not so easy to do this research, but I am planning to be in Exeter for a few days in early August, and will certainly be seeking access to this archive and a couple of others which may also have some relevance.
The advice I'm seeking from the Forum is, in order to maximise my chances of success, are there other records or areas of research that you could suggest I might try to solve this conundrum? Obviously I've exhausted to the best of my abilities the various BMD records, seeking in particular to find info on the alleged "Mary Ann Hann" who just happens to have the same details as Mary Carew, and anything relating to the marriage of Mary and Henry Cottrell - but without any success. The Devon archive includes Overseers' account books and Churchwardens' account books, and I'll certainly be looking carefully at those (and in particular for Sidbury and Lympstone parishes). But can any readers think of any other left-field ideas for research, bearing in mind we're talking about the 1750s?
I'm really hoping that I can "prove" my theory as it in turn opens up a long line of ancestors via the Carew family which has been reasonably well documented. And of course, residing in NZ, the chances of coming back to Exeter any time soon are not great. So any ideas, suggestions?