Sources of Information:
1. South Stoneham, Hampshire, England Parish Registers (FHL #1041741)
2. IGI
ALLEN (SMITH)
RESEARCH SUMMARY
Objective: Extend the pedigree of Ann Smith to the point of identifying her four grandparents.
Results:
Thorough search for Ann (Smith) Judd in the 1851 Census completed
Additional analysis of potentially ancestral marriages of Thomas Smith to Elisabeth conducted
Likely ancestral Thomas Smith christening found resulting in a pedigree extension of one generation.
Recommendations:
Additional research in the South Stoneham parish registers need to be done to uncover every Smith entry from 1730 to 1813; including christenings, marriages, burials, and witnesses to marriages, additional poor rate records and monumental inscriptions.
A will for Abraham should be sought in Hampshire probate records.
Search the Society of Friends (Quaker) records because of the seeming lack of children to Thomas and Elizabeth other than Ann and the use of names such as Abraham and Levi.
ALLEN (SMITH) RESEARCH REPORT
The objective of this research period was to extend the pedigree of Ann Smith to the point of identifying her four grandparents. Ann Smith's christening was located in South Stoneham in 1782, daughter of Thomas and Elizabeth Smith. Previous research had focused on attempting to determine if one of two Thomas Smith to Elizabeth marriages was correct. Research to this point was inconclusive.
To help identify Smith's to whom Thomas might be related, the Hampshire Marriage Index was searched by correspondence. A request for all Smith marriages from 1770 to 1782 resulted in a list of 302 male entries alone during that time [document #1]. The female marriages were not obtained. Obtaining copies of the Smith female marriage would be ideal but perhaps impractical.
At the same time, Judd, Judas and Simmons marriages were also sought from the index for the years 1765 to 1790 [document 2]. Further analysis on these marriages was not conducted at this point.
The list was then reviewed for all Thomas Smith to Elizabeth marriages. Five marriages were identified as follows:
Year Groom Bride Place
1771 Smith, Thomas to Simmons, Elizabeth Hamble
1772 Smith, Thomas to White, Elizabeth Portchester
1772 Smith, Thomas to Orpin, Elizabeth Portsea St. Mary
1778 Smith, Thomas to Judas, Elizabeth Southampton St. Michael
1779 Smith, Thomas to Mortemore, Elizabeth Portsea St. Mary
All Smith marriages in South Stoneham during this time period were also extracted as follows:
1776 Smith, George to Cleverly, Eleanor South Stoneham
1777 Smith, John to Lipscombe, Ann South Stoneham
1781 Smith, James to Harvey, Mary South Stoneham
1782 Smith, Andrew to Snugs, Patty South Stoneham
It was curious that none of the Smith male's names, including Thomas, were the same, creating the possibility that they were brothers.
As for the direction to take from here, there were two puzzling questions yet to be answered. First, what happened to Ann Smith Judd, when and where did she die? She was living with a son in the 1841 Census. Did she die in 1857 as family records stated? If so, could she be found in the 1851 Census confirming where she was born and providing us with her age? Second, if she was the daughter of Thomas and Elizabeth, it is very unlikely that they had just one child. If so, where were the christenings?
As for the marriage information above, the marriages to Elizabeth Simmons and Elizabeth had been research in some detail. The remaining three were all 10 to 14 miles east of South Stoneham. The original records of each needed to be reviewed in any case because a residence could be given in the record. Clearly a mention of South Stoneham would be important. After reviewing previous research, it was determined that the South Stoneham parish marriage registers had not been searched therefore each of the Smith marriages also needed to found in the original register for clues.
Whereas the entire 1851 Census for the county of Hampshire has been indexed, parish by parish, it was decided that the value of information gained by finding Ann Smith was worth the search. Most volumes were searched in their entirety. A map of Hampshire parishes was obtained and as parishes were searched, they were noted on the map. The entire southern two-thirds of Hampshire, including the Isle of Wight, were searched without finding and Ann Judd who was the appropriate age. The oldest was an Ann in South Stoneham age 57 who has already been identified as the wife of Edward. That Ann was born in Stiffkey, Norfolk.
The marriages as recorded above were reviewed next. First, the original entries for all Thomas Smith to Elizabeth marriages from 1770 to 1782 were checked [document 4]. Unfortunately, none of the marriages reference South Stoneham. The closest two marriages are the two that were analyzed during the past research project Thomas to Elizabeth Judas in Southampton and to Elizabeth Simmons in Hamble le Rice. A map of southern Hampshire was obtained to show the proximity of each of these to South Stoneham [document 5]. Based on distance alone, the Southampton marriage is the best. The possible Judas/Judd name connection also makes this intriguing.
The International Genealogical (IGI) was then checked for children to Thomas & Elizabeth Smith born in Hampshire between the years 1760 and 1800. A printout of this list revealed 33 christenings [document 6]. Five of these could be attributed to the one Ann Smith of South Stoneham although two of these recorded Ann's birthplace as Hamble with the same date as the South Stoneham entry. In other words, previous searches had attempted to put the two together. During the previous research period, Hamble parish register transcripts were searched without finding any children to Thomas Smith and Elizabeth Simmons. Clearly, the Hamble entries in the IGI were an error. A review of the remaining entries attempted to apply them to the marriages as follows:
Thomas Smith & Elizabeth Simmons Hamble 1771
- no children
Thomas Smith & Elizabeth White Porchester 1772
1) Thomas Smith chr. 24 Jan 1773 Porchester
2) Elizabeth Smith chr. 9 Oct 1774 Porchester
3) Sarah Smith chr. 26 Jan 1777 Porchester
Thomas Smith & Elizabeth Orpin Portsea St. Mary 1772
- no identifiable children
Thomas Smith & Elizabeth Judas Southampton St. Michael 1778
1) William Smith chr. 10 Nov 1783 Southampton St. Thomas
Thomas Smith & Elizabeth Mortemore Portsea St. Mary 1779
- no identifiable children
Portsea was an extremely transient place because it is a port town, which may explain why no children were found to these couples. Otherwise, she could fit into any of the families. Whereas no children are found to the Hamble le Rice couple, it would be strange for them to not have any children until Ann in 1782. She could have been born before William, son of Thomas Smith & Elizabeth Judas but if so, the family went back to Southampton for the christening of the next child leaving one to wonder why they went back and forth. She could also fit on the end of the Porchester family.
Using the Hampshire Burial Index, a list of the Smith burials in South Stoneham was obtained [document 7]. The burial for Thomas seems to be the one in 1824 at the age of 84. This puts his birth year at 1740, meaning he would be 42 at the time Ann is christened. Two possible burials are found for Elizabeth, one in 1800 and another in 1807. These burials were reviewed. Both Elizabeth Smith burials contained no additional information. The Thomas Smith burial added that his residence was Westend, which was the residence of the Judds.
Still, no connection could be made to any of the marriages making it virtually impossible to extend Elizabeth's line. However, a review of the Thomas Smith christenings in Hampshire was completed. A search of the IGI for a twenty nine year time period from 1735 to 1755 resulted in a list of 126 entries [document 8]. Of these, a few referred directly to a Thomas Smith, christened in 1740 in South Stoneham, son of Abraham Smith.
Continuing in the IGI, children to Abraham Smith, born/christened in Hampshire were sought. Three children in South Stoneham were listed, Abraham, Thomas and Francis [document 9]. A review of the parish registers referred to each of the three children exactly as recorded in the IGI. A copy of Thomas' christening was obtained [document 10]. Abraham is quite an unusual name for that time period. It was noted during the previous research period that John Smith proved a will in 1811 in which he left everything to his brother Levi. They were from Westend as well. Levi and Abraham are both unusual biblical names indicating a possible connection as well.
Abraham Smith marriages were also sought and a list of about 10 in Hampshire was retrieved on the same document. None of these were immediately identified as ancestral.
Next, a review of records available for South Stoneham parish was conducted. The Family History Library Catalog shows that parish records other than parish registers were available which might add to our understanding of the Smith family there. Records range from cemetery to taxation [document 11]. Of these, the church records were reviewed. Other than the parish registers, there was an excellent collection of Poor rate books ranging from 1677 to 1875 and Settlement examinations from 1778 to 1782 [document 12].
Poor rates are essentially a tax on the parish to pay for support of the poor. They list the annual contributions made by those were supposed to be able to pay. These were records were searched from 1783 to 1819 [document 13]. They were organized by tything or tithing, an area within the parish. Thomas Smith failed to show up until 1788 when he was in Bittern tithing. In 1814, he was in Allington tithing and remained there through 1819. During those last five years, he was consistently listed with a John Smith. Most of the other Smiths were in Shamblehurst tithing.
A search in both the FHLC and at Google.com attempted to locate a tithe map for all of South Stoneham parish. Only a map for the West End part of the parish was found and it was difficult to bring up because of the scale and so it was not printed. Knowing where Allington and Shamblehurst tithings were in relation to the rest of the parish would be helpful.
Lastly, the Settlement examinations for South Stoneham from 1778 to 1782 were searched. Settlement examinations were documents which all poor people to settle in a particular parish. They provide the names of the settlers including children in a family and ages and the parish they were coming from. The records do not survive on a consistent basis. This included about 20 documents in all for the above time period but no Smiths were found.
Due to time constraints, research was halted at this point. A great deal of time was spent this research period looking for Ann (Smith) Judd in the 1851 census. She was not found and it is very possible that she died before 1851 and that the year is wrong. She also could have left the mid and southern Hampshire area and gone elsewhere. It is likely that in the next year or so, the 1851 census will be imaged and indexed by one of the genealogical research companies like Ancestry and that she may be found then. In any case, we still believe that the christening of Ann in 1782 at South Stoneham is ancestral.
Also, it is likely that the christening of her father, Thomas, son of Abraham Smith is ancestral. Determining the correct marriage of Thomas Smith to Elizabeth is a difficult one. The difficulty arises mostly because of the commonness of the name. Additional research in the South Stoneham parish registers need to be done to uncover every Smith entry from 1730 to 1813. This is to include christenings, marriages, burials, and witnesses to marriages, additional poor rate records and monumental inscriptions. A will for Abraham should be sought in Hampshire probate records. It may also be wise to search the Society of Friends (Quaker) records because of the seeming lack of children to Thomas and Elizabeth other than Ann and the use of names such as Abraham and Levi. Another research project or two should allow these searches to be completed.
We hope you are pleased with the progress of this research period and look forward to continuing according to your direction.
DSP