I am trying to find information upon a Susan, or Susannah, Beauchamp born about 1813, and married to Elijah Button in 1834 in Kilmersdon, Somerset. I have checked the parish records but can find no indication of a christening, although other Beauchamps are listed. I understand that there are other families with Huguenot connections in the area and was wondering about a possible connection here. There also seems to be a connection with the Forest of Dean. Any information gratefully received, as hit a brick wall. Please feel free to email.

References to the English aid lists for Huguenots post 1685 indicate two persons with the surname BEAUCHAMP, but there is little information on their descendants. It seems unlikely that this Louis or Pierre would be relevant to your research. Given the numerous examples of this surname, it is obvious that there must be other sources and from what I’ve seen, these may include Norman possibilities.

Breaking a brick wall requires a re-examination of the data at a greater level of detail. What documents and what sources have you used to substantiate the research you have done so far? Who are these other Beauchamps you refer to in the registers? Do you have other listings for 1800-1820? Do they fit into families and what is their history? Is there family history to be found in the documentation? Kilmersdon appears to have good documentary sources, if that is the correct location. And if it is not, then unfortunately one is often hard pressed to find indications of the actual place of residence.

The presence of the surname BEACHIM in the few extracted listings for Kilmersdon brings up the topic of spelling variations. What have you found in this area? Sound is often a more reliable indicator. Sometimes spelling is all over the place.

Regards,
KA

Hi KA

Thank you for the help. I have only been researching for about one year, off and on, and have had to start with no experience and very little information.

I have managed to trace my great grandfather William Pepworth who married Susan Annie Button on the 31 Aug 1901. I have a copy of the marriage certificate. Her father is recorded as Frederick Button. I have traced back via the census records of 1881, to a Frederick Button born in Kilmersdon around 1856. This would be the weak link and I need to get extra source information to confirm that this is the correct Frederick Button, although I can find no alternatives and census records are consistent. I have ordered the birth certificate in the hope this will help. His father and mother are recorded as Elijah and Susan, Kilmersdon Somerset. I then undertook a search of the Kilmersdon parish files available on the web and was able to find their marriage date (25.12.1834). Susan’s maiden name is recorded as Beauchamp. Again I searched the parish records for a baptism, and was able to find Elijah Button and trace his family further back, but found nothing on Susan (possibly Suzannah). Census records place her birth year as 1813 in Kilmersdon. The Kilmersdon records include:
1826 - John Beauchamp, son of Zebedee and Harriet (also LDS marriage record 1826)
1836 - Richard Beauchamp, son of Isaac and Ann
1837 - Alfred Beauchamp, son of Isaac and Ann
There are also Beacham records for this period, including a Zebedee but as I can trace separate birth and marriage entries I do not think this is the same person.

It is possible that Zebedee and Isaac are siblings of Susan, but I am unable to find details of their parentage, despite some info being available on the LDS. I have also searched the LDS for Susan (or Suzannah) beauchamp and variants of spelling and can only find a pedigree record completed by another ancestry member who also could not trace this particular lady back. I think you are right in that it is highly unlikely that they are huguenots, more is a pity.

Is there anything else I can try?

Thank you
JAP

What have you done in researching census information? Do you have a good source of census data? Ancestry has only partial listings, but approximately 60 listings for BEAUCHAMP in Somerset 1841 are enough to warrant further investigations.
http://www.ancestry.com/search

Additional census details will help establish family groups and familial locations, if not in Kilmersdon itself, then somewhere nearby. Such locations may be significant. The census lists an Isaac BEAUCHAMP <1786> but I found no corresponding person in the LDS listings. This is no surprise as it is known that only a small portion of the LDS films have been transcribed into internet listings. Much of the data for Kilmersdon itself is apparently not transcribed. Susan’s marriage and that of Isaac and Anne Miles also in 1834, although they are IGIs, are also contributed information. And while they are quite probably accurate, they do not provide the documentary source that one finds with the extracted listings. Because the IGIs were previously open to contributed data, it is important to check the source information. It has only been recently, though perhaps before the start of your investigations, that the IGIs were closed and contributed data now goes to the pedigree files.

Your data beginning with John in 1826 is still a bit outside the time frame for Susan <1813> or perhaps Zebedee BEACHAM <1810>. What is the reason that you have nothing in Kilmersdon before 1826? Ideally in this so-called information age, one would take the most likely prospects from the census listings and cross match them with information from the corresponding parish registers. In reality it is more of a matter of finding what steps are necessary to gain access to these data sources. Have you tried the Somerset Record Office in Taunton?

Regards,
KA

Hi KA

The main research has been on the Beauchamp name through the census records available through ancestry and the Kilmersdon parish records available on line. I had not realised the limitations of these sources and need to go back and examine the other Beauchamps in Somerset. I am sorry for my ignorance here but the earliest census which I seem to be able to access through ancestry is 1841. As Susan was married in 1837 I would not be able to locate her home in early life through this route. Did each parish undertake its own census before this date? I have checked the parish baptism and marriage records for her family, with no luck. The census records do not appear to be with these records. (URL http://kilmersdon-radstock.org.uk/kilsom/mar-c/id54.htm). However as you point out there may well be a different spelling, so I need to go back and exam the possible combinations, Beacham does seem highly probable

I think that I definitely need to visit the Taunton record office, is there any advice you can give to maximise the effectiveness of the time spent there? Thank you again for your advice.
JAP

To start where you left off – perhaps one of the things to do is to familiarize yourself with the available data and as you said: re-examine the Beauchamps of Somerset. The 1841 census listings are the earliest, so you won’t find Susan before he marriage. However there is a small group of BEAUCHAMP listings for those that were born before 1800. Unfortunately, my limited access to the database does not show all the necessary information on locations that would allow these listings to be sorted into family groups or indicate places of birth. If Susan is born in Kilmersdon and married there in 1834, it is still more likely that her family is there seven years later. However if she doesn’t connect to one of the local families, then finding her as an immigrant is generally a more difficult proposition. So the question is a matter of which family lines can be established from the 1841 and 1851 census listings and what are their locations and their origins. Then do what you can to either verify or eliminate the more interesting of these possibilities.

While some apparently are willing to equate genealogical investigation and surname research, it seems to me that when you have to do it yourself, good genealogy depends on the discovery of the correct ancestral location and the existence of relevant documentation. It is at this latter stage that you can best use your knowledge of spelling variations. Can’t go after every BEACHAM. BEACHEM, BEACHIM and BEACHUM in the county. BEACHAMP and BOECHAMP also exist there in the 1841 census. We really don’t need another way to spell it, BEAUCHAMP works fine. Although sometimes it helps to try various versions of a name, since each search engine has its peculiarities. But ultimately good genealogy comes down to the discovery of relevant documentation. Thus a look in the LDS library, a place search in the library catalog, can turn up potential references. Under church records, the documentation of Kilmersdon begins very early, but I did not see all of these documents used as references in the IGIs. I can not find IGI references for Francis, Isaac, John, Reuben or Richard BEAUCHAMP, who are listed in the 1841 census. On the other hand, depending on your ease of access to the records office, you might just go straight to the source and see how that works. I am not a Somerset researcher and can not advise you very well with any specifics, but perhaps some of these general comments are useful.

Regards,
KA

Many thanks indeed for taking the time, it is much appreciated. As a novice researcher it can all be a bit daunting, and I just had not realised some of the problems with the source information. The Somerset record office is a reasonable drive away and I will book some time off work and go in over the next 2 weeks. I have never utilised a records office before. I will concentrate on the specific names and see what I can find. If you are interested I will post any significant findings. If I can help with research in the Devon/Somerset/Wiltshire areas, including the scheduled Taunton visit, please let me know.

The strategy of fixing locations seems to make good sense, as I have noticed from my albeit limited research that there was not the significant mobility, both social and geographical, that we can find today (not to say this did not happen though). I also fully agree with the need to obtain documentary evidence.

I hope you don’t mind if I ask a question about research upon another lineage which is really proving very difficult and I just have no idea of how to take this forward. It is regarding my maternal grandmother. I have managed to find out her name, which was difficult enough as my grandfather and her were apparently never married. I just cannot trace her line back at all, drawing a consistent blank on all documentation. Her name was Albertha Victoria Stone, with her partner being Kenneth Llewellyn Clatworthy (born Pontypridd 13.06.1915, died Aug 1993). They had 2 children, my mother, Eleanor Llewellyn and Leonard Kenneth Clatworthy. I was told that she left them due to difficult circumstances when my mum was about 10 (around 1954). However I have now learnt to take most family information with a degree of skepticism. My mother passed away some years ago, and unfortunately my uncle is extremely unwell, so I have no family source of information to utilise. I have tried now for months to find out information so I would be grateful for any help.
Regards
JAP

As far as the records office, I suggest that the operative motivation is to see what they’ve got. Obviously the parish register is excellent for starters. However the imposition of limitations on the spelling of a surname could be problematic, as BOECHAMP and BACHEM in Somerset demonstrate in the 1841 census. Without having any specific locations within the Somerset data, I’m flying half blind here, so we’ll see what the registers have to say. Perhaps you’ll find a number of generations and a new brick wall – or a Norman castle wall.

In some ways all genealogy is similar. It relies on information that comes from memory or, when that fails, from documentation. And when that fails, the trail ends regardless of the date. So in each case one begins with copies or various other interpretations of available data in a particular case. It is also important to know the originating source of the data as far as that is possible. In many cases various genealogical databases do not extract or post data in recent parts of the post-1900 era because of privacy concerns. So in this case, re: A. V. STONE, direct documentation may be the only way. And yet you say that you have continually drawn a blank on all documentation for her. Your investigations may be recent, but it’s hard to see what they lack as to being thorough going. That makes it kind of tough. The standard list of documentary possibilities for most persons is rather short and for her, even shorter. Is there any information on her from the births of her children? Can she be found in a census transcription?

Regards,
KA

Records office is booked in for a visit next Friday, all day. I will let you know the outcome. Now wondering if I should go pre-armed with the odd trebuchet...apparently I am only allowed a pencil, but they say the pen (not allowed!) is mightier than the sword. Really looking forward to doing the research.

I can understand the problems associated with privacy when looking for relatives of the post-1900 era. To be honest I am not too sure how thorough my investigations have been. I have exhausted all the sources I can think of, but this may in no way be comprehensive. Can I ask what census records post 1911 are generally available?

The relationships are a little complicated and I also have to bear in mind the privacy of my 2 living uncles as this is an open forum. My mum had an elder half brother born in 1937 (same father (Kenneth Llewellyn Clatworthy) different mother (Amy Elizabeth, maiden name Rose) - they were married). Eleanor, my mum is actually listed 4 times in the registry of births, under Stone and Clatworthy on both occasions. As she was born in Paddington in 1940, I understand that the records were destroyed during the Blitz and presumably later reconstructed. I decided not to purchase this birth certificate as it became rather confusing as to which GRO reference to give. I have purchased the certificates for her full and half brothers, and it is from this source that I have obtained my maternal grandmothers name A V Stone. I do not know what happened to Amy Elizabeth Clatworthy. If the documentary records cannot be followed for Albertha Victoria then the only hope is to try and track down my other uncle. He was in the merchant navy for many years, did not really settle well into a sedentary life and last I was aware was roaming the countryside in a very nice caravan and 4by4. Great person but exceedingly difficult to find, but he may well be the key as being a little older he may remember what happened. Hope this make sense, if it does not please say.

regards
JAP

Well you’re certainly on your way with the BEAUCHAMP investigation and we’ll see if it can grow legs. Besides the pencil, do they let you have a scrap of paper? Or do you have to take notes on your shirt cuff? At least they let you in, so that’s something. And if they don’t charge an arm and a leg, then no harm, no foul. You may have to hide your notes in your shoe.

I have no personal connections with modern English research, so any suggestions are just an application of general principles. It doesn’t take into account, as your question suggests, that census data subsequent to 1911 has not been released. I don’t know if that means that 1921 is totally unavailable or not. As they say, the devil is in the details. Knowledge of an ancestral location will show you what documentation is or is not available at that location. The next part of the process involves jumping through the hoops in order to gain access to the documentation – when that is possible. While following the specifics of your investigations, you become your own expert.

Regards,
KA