Family secrets...

I've been having a great time perusing the scans of documents that have recently been put up on FamilySearch.org.  Out of curiosity, I looked up one of my ancestors.  According to stories I heard from the family, he'd died of the flu in 1919 (I'd always assumed he was caught up in the major pandemic).  But I could never figure out why his place of death was nowhere near where he and his family lived.  I think I've found the answer.

He didn't die of influenza.  He died of "exhaustion of acute mania" in an insane asylum, after being there for just over two weeks.  I suppose mental illness was one of those things that wasn't talked about back at that time.  I have my doubts as to whether anyone other than his wife even knew the truth; perhaps it was just easier for her to tell her children that their father had gotten ill with the flu and died.

It's a good illustration of why we need to be skeptical about stories that are passed down orally.  There are plenty of things that people might want to hide.  Unfortunately, unless we can find written records to determine what's actually true, these stories will keep getting passed along as the truth.

"Ann" as a surname? And a Bassingthwaighte disappointment...

I've been searching for my Pike ancestors, namely James Pike and his wife, Hester. The family lived in Alveston, Gloucestershire and all the children were born there. The only marriage that seemed plausible, however, was between James Pike and Hester Ann on 26 June 1811 in Bristol. I'm not sure if people from Alveston would have gone to Bristol to get married. If they did, though, and this is the correct couple, then I may have found a whole lot of new cousins.

There seem to be a lot of people with the Ann surname in the areas of Alveston and Olveston. These were such small places that everybody must have known the family!

Oh, and as for the Bassingthwaightes, I don't think they're related to me after all. I've found a more likely candidate for my Robert Johnson's wife (Mary Elseygood rather than Mary Bassingthwaighte), and now all the censuses make sense. There may still be a connection, as one of the children of Robert Johnson and Mary Bassingthwaighte was living with my Robert Johnson in 1841. Unfortunately, I don't know what the relationship was. (The two Robert Johnsons are perhaps cousins?)

The elusive "Mary" finally has a last name!

When your ancestors are from Ontario, Canada and Gloucestershire, England, you never think to look for a marriage in Kent, England!

I think I've got the right family here... I knew that my ancestor, George Pike, had married three times. His first wife was Elizabeth Screech/Screen. His third wife was Catherine McCarter. His second wife (my ancestor and -- as luck would have it -- the wife I had the least information about) was either Elizabeth Daniels (according to family stories) or someone named Mary (according to the 1861 Canadian census). On that census, there was a Hannah Daniels living next door. I thought it might be Mary's sister. Was the Daniels surname correct after all?

And then I found a marriage in early 1855 in Dover, Kent, England for a George Pike (widower) and a Mary Daniels (single). Judging by the fact that their first child was born in England in August of 1855, this could very well be the right family. This Mary Daniels also had a younger sister named Hannah (which would fit with the census information I found).

Just when you think you've hit brick walls all around, you get a break. I love finding ancestors!

Pike family of Gloucestershire and Somerset

I've recently been looking for Pikes in Gloucestershire and Somerset. My earliest known Pike ancestor raised his family in Alveston, Gloucestershire, but the censuses say he was born in North Petherton, Somerset sometime in the 1790s. There are a few Pikes listed in the IGI for North Petherton, but I can't find one the right age to be my James. The closest one seems to be a James Pike, son of James Pike and Sarah Parker, who was christened in 1782.

I also found a John Pike who was born in North Petherton around 1794, who raised his family in Olveston (just down the road from Alveston). I suspect that John and James may be related, but I have no idea how at the moment.