A-Z Challenge 2016: Z is for Zacharie Murch 1628

Zacharie Murch was baptised on 29 September 1628 in Hennock, Devon, England, the son of Hugh and Elizabeth Murch.  This seems straightforward and, if you were looking for a Zacharie, you probably feel confident that you have found the right one.

But look at the deaths, and your confidence slowly evaporates.

• Zacharye Murch died in 1648 in Hennock.  Could this be your man, aged only 20?  The parish burial register gives no indication of age
• Zacharie Murch died in 1674 in Hennock.  Could this be your man, aged only 46?  The parish burial register gives no indication of age
• Zacherie Murch died in 1677 in Hennock.  Could this be your man, aged only 49?  The parish burial register gives no indication of age

This is where a Surname Study would come in: they would ALL be 'your man'.  Even if you weren't running a Surname Study, my advice to you would be to write them ALL down.  Further research might show which one was which.

© 2016 Ros Haywood. All Rights Reserved

A-Z Challenge 2016: Y is for Young Child Murch

Have you read my 'C' post: 'C is for Child Murch buried 1750'?  It dealt with the sad circumstance where a 'child of Gideon Murch' was buried in 1750 without so much as a name - and of course, no gender either, so I don't even know if I'm mourning a 5 x great-uncle or a 5x great-aunt.

Well, it happened again - and to the same family. In 1754 another of Gideon and Elizabeth's children was buried (on 30 October).  Yet, once again, frustratingly it was given neither a name nor a gender:

(Yes, it's the same clerk as before.)  He does write 'infant' against somebody else's entry, so Gideon's 'young child' may not have been a new baby.  But that's all I know at the moment. *sigh*

© 2016 Ros Haywood. All Rights Reserved

A-Z Challenge 2016: W is for William Samuel Searle Murch 1853

William Samuel Searle Murch was born in 1853 in the Devonport area of Devon, England, to Edward Murch (a tailor) and his wife Catherine.  In the 1871 census, he is 17 and still living with his parents, working as a photographer, but later that same year he married Hannah Hoskin Remfry, also from the Devonport area.

In the 1881 census, William and Hannah had four children.  It is possible that the photography did not pay enough to keep a family of six, so William has changed his career, and is now a "Skilled Labourer in HM Keyham Yd".  Keyham Yard, also known as the North Yard or Steam Yard, was officially opened in 1853 and is part of the extensive Devonport dockyards.  The Yard was extended in 1895 by 118 acres, a 10-acre tidal basin and a 35-acre closed basin, and three huge docks which could accept the larger (war)ships being built.  The extension was opened in 1907.

Boundary stone for the Keyham Yard

But the Arts called again, and in the 1891 census, William is a teacher of music.  He and Hannah have added three children to the family, and are living in Monument Street, Devonport, although maybe the 'teacher of music' was merely a filler, because on the 1901 census William is back in the dockyards, working as a machine driller - a job which he continues in and is listed as having as far forward as the 1911 census.

William features in the Murch Surname Study.

© 2016 Ros Haywood. All Rights Reserved

A-Z Challenge 2016: V is for Violet Isabelle Murch 1897

Violet Isabelle Murch was baptised in Dawlish, Devon, England on 31 October 1897.  Her father, Henry Frederick Murch was a journeyman painter, and her mother was named Alice.  But by the 1901 census, Henry Frederick has died, and Alice is living as a widow, with three-year-old Violet Isabelle, with Alice's mother- and brother-in-law in Portland Place, Exeter.

Further research has shown that Henry died (aged only 27) and Violet was born in the same quarter.  Did he ever get to see his baby?

© 2016 Ros Haywood. All Rights Reserved

A-Z Challenge 2016: U is for Ulalia Murch buried 1651

Look at the image below, which comes from the burial register of Hennock, Devon.  It has been transcribed as 'Ulalia Murch'.  Do you agree that it is 'Ulalia'?  It was quite a favoured name in Devon in the 17th century, also being spelled Eulalia and Eulalie.

© 2016 Ros Haywood. All Rights Reserved

A-Z Challenge 2016: R is for Robert Murch 1687

Robert is my  7 x great grandfather.  He is also one of my ‘brick wall ancestors’.  A ‘brick wall ancestor’ is usually an end-of-line ancestor – the furthest back you can go on one particular line; you’ve looked and looked and looked, and you just can’t find a connection to go further back.  Robert lived in Ottery St Mary, Devon, England (I think).  He certainly married there: 24 December 1712 to Elizabeth Bastone (whose parents were Gideon and Mary Bastone).  He certainly had children there: Mary 1713, Elizabeth 1716, John 1718, Gideon 1721, Robert 1723, and Josiah 1725.

But as for his parents?  Well, there’s a Robert christened 22 February 1682, with parents Robert and Dorothy.  And there’s another Robert, with father Emanuell.  Which one do you think is ‘my’ Robert? Or should I just keep looking?

Robert features in the Murch Surname Study
.

© 2016 Ros Haywood. All Rights Reserved

A-Z Challenge 2016: P is for Phillis Emma Murch 1860-1863

You may have decided to read this post because you thought "That spelling is incorrect!  It should be 'Phyllis'!"  Welcome to the wonderful world of genealogy and family history, where spelling can get VERY creative, and you shouldn't dismiss a record because "it's not the way I spell it".

Phillis Emma Murch was born in the late spring or early summer of 1860 in the Colchester Registration District, Essex, England.  She died and was buried just before her third birthday, on 18 March 1863.  She may have lived a very short life, but she manages to teach us (as genealogists) something very important.  Many people in 1860 were illiterate, so the official who registered the name spelled it the way he thought it should be spelled, and maybe the parents didn't know that it was wrong.  How many times have you come across marriage certificates where both the bride and groom made an X instead of writing their name?

And it's not just way-back-when that it happened, either.  When my maternal grandfather went to register the birth of my mother, he had such a thick Devon accent that the registrar wrote him down as 'William Rupert Ball', when his name was actually 'William Hubert Ball' (and he wasn't illiterate).  One of my Haywood families was enumerated in the 1861 census as Howard.  I wonder if there were any thick accents in that crowd?  And one of the best is a lady who also features in the Murch Surname Study: Susaner Murch.  Yes, she is actually spelled 'Susaner'.  It happened in Devon - can't you just hear the accent?

Phillis/Phyllis features in the Murch Surname Study.

© 2016 Ros Haywood. All Rights Reserved

A-Z Challenge 2016: N is for Nelly Murch 1856

Nelly was registered as Ellen Murch in the December quarter of 1856 (October-November-December) in the South Molton Registration District, Devon, England.  I was quite prepared to look for a Helen, because Nelly/Nellie is often a pet name for Helen, but at the same time I know that some children were (and are) registered under what we would consider to be a pet name, such as Tom, or Ben.

On the 1871 census, Nelly is still at school, living with her parents in Parsonage Lane, South Molton.  Her father is listed as 'Carrier'- but it does not state what he carried!

From there, it is difficult to find her on the census, mainly because of her name.  On the 1881 census, there is an Ellen of the right age.  On the 1891 census, a Helen.  Or she may have got married and changed her surname (although I cannot find a record of a marriage for her).

So Nelly/Ellen/Helen remains a mystery.  But that's what genealogy is all about.  Mysteries, the thrill of the chase, and finally (and hopefully) the genealogist's 'Happy Dance' when you find the elusive record.

Nelly features in the Murch Surname Study.

© 2016 Ros Haywood. All Rights Reserved

A-Z Challenge 2016: H is for Hephzibah Murch 1840

Hephzibah Murch was born 9 January 1840 in Ottery St Mary, Devon, England to Samuel Murch and Johanna Yeates.  In the 1851 census, she is living with her parents and siblings in Yonder Street, Ottery St Mary, only five doors down from the Independent chapel, and is a lacemaker at the young age of 11.  She is still there in 1861, but is now a silk weaver.

Hephzibah married Charles Walter Bovett from Wellington in Somerset on 6 June 1862 in Ottery St Mary, and all eleven of her children were also born in Ottery St Mary.  The children didn't all stay in Ottery St Mary, however; Charlotte went to Wales, and Lucy went to Massachusetts!

If you are wondering where the name comes from: 'Hephzibah' is from the Bible.  She was the wife of Hezekiah, King of Judah, and was the mother of Manasseh.


Hephzibah Murch features in the Murch Surname Study, and can be found on WikiTree as Murch-110.

© 2016 Ros Haywood. All Rights Reserved

A-Z Challenge 2016: F is for Frederick Murch 1866

Frederick was born in 1866 in West Alvington, Devon, England to William Henry Murch and Jane Jarvis.  The seventh of ten children, the 1881 census finds him working as a messenger boy in a shoe shop in Willesden.  His father was a carpenter, his mother a dressmaker; older brother Charles was a stonemason. 

Every family member was born in Devon, where father William Henry had a farm of 140 acres and had 4 employees - so why did they move to London?

Frederick features in the Murch Surname Study.

© 2016 Ros Haywood. All Rights Reserved

A-Z Challenge 2016: C is for Child Murch buried 1750

No, this isn't some sort of weird-and-wonderful name in my family tree, but a rather sad tale.  Gideon Murch and his wife, Elizabeth, had eight children.  Or did they?  Gideon and Elizabeth were nonconformists, and records of their children's baptisms exist in the nonconformist registers.  However, a burial also occurs which makes me wonder if all of their first three children survived.

Gideon and Elizabeth were married in 1744 in Ottery St Mary, Devon, England.  Their first child, Elizabeth, arrived in 1745, followed by baby Samuel in 1748, and James in 1749.  But then there is a curious 1750 entry in the burial register: A child of Gideon Murch.  So who was it? Elizabeth, Samuel, or James (or even a sickly baby)?  The clerk at the time did not even leave a clue as to the gender of the buried child, and I have a dreadful feeling that the nonconformist graveyard in Ottery St Mary has been concreted over.  (Hopefully, someone can tell me otherwise).

So, somewhere, there is a poor little mite (boy or girl) who was buried under the name 'Child'.  Almost like those parents who register the birth of their child without having given it a name yet, so in the indexes it is down as 'Male' or 'Female'.  At least by modern 1822, the burial register said "infant son of Samuel and Mary Murch".

© 2016 Ros Haywood. All Rights Reserved