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Does anyone hold these and would consider doing a look up for me please?.............................Do they contain any parish records for Bristol?...... I am trying to find a Martha Simpkins. Born about 1804/6............When she got married in 1824, she was living Redcross lane/street? Bristol...............Don't know if she was born Bristol, and need to discover her family and where they originated. Thankyou. Jen

Jen I have the Bristol & Avon baptisms disk at home. I will check back on this thread tonight and if nobody else has done it for you already, I will do a search and let you know. Regards Athena

Thanks Athena, I appreciate it. Jen

Jen Hope I'm not treading on anyone's toes by replying. Sorry, I couldn't find a baptism for Martha Simpkins. I found a marriage for a Martha Simkins (without the 'p') to Charles Brandon but it was on the 30 June 1822 at Holy Trinity Church, Stapleton. Is this the correct marriage? Carol

Carol, I think you may have knocked out the first brick in one of my two brick walls.............this is so fantastic, I hardly dare believe it! She did marry Charles Brandon, my gg grandfather, though on IGI it records in 1824 and not 1822. You have found the name of the church they married at, and last but not least, the only sighting anyone has had of Martha prior to her marriage was that she was probably born in Oldland, which I found is only a couple of villages/districts from Stapleton. They lived in Bristol and raised their family there yet according to the 1871 census, she was born at Redcross Lane Bristol........which I suppose was probably another mistranscription by the enumerator, because if she had have been, why would she travel to Stapleton to marry?? So possibly the sighting for her in Oldland was the right one. I just have to figure out how to match them together now, as the only family I have found in Oldland, shows no evidence of Martha! I so appreciate this Carol.......how lucky for me that you read this thread. Thankyou! Jen

Red Cross St was in the parish of St Philip and St Jacob. Stapleton is only a couple of miles from there. Nicky

Hi Jen I'm going to be a big let down now because having just dug out the Bristol Diocese baptisms disk I can see that it will be of no use to you because they start from 1813 onwards. Such a shame because it covers Oldland, Stapleton and also there is a Redland Green on there (could this be the Redcross Lane that was mistranscribed?). Anyway, sorry about that - haven't used it in so long that I had forgotten the years covered. If there are any others you need looking up, anything after 1813 - just let me know. Regards - Athena

Wondering if I could ask you to look for a baptism c 1825 St Paul's Bristol Harriet Keate parents William and Sarah. Thanks Nicky

Nicola, Thanks yes, I have them in the census' under St Philips & St Jacob and going off what Anthea is saying about Redland green, I suppose anything is/was possible then! Athena, Thanks again for your help, I appreciate it, you have given me something else to think about, but all these little pieces will one day make a complete jigsaw.............I hope. You have all certainly helped me move another step forward. Thankyou all. Jen

Nicky Sorry, couldn't find a Harriet Keate. There are these children born to a William and Sarah Keate at St Pauls Ann - 22.11.1818 Eliza - 25.12.1821 Samuel - 30.05.1819 William - 5.11.1815 There is also a Mary Keate baptised at Temple on 17.11.1813 whose parents were William and Sarah. Carol

Just so you're not all left wondering, I have one family by the name of Simkins which I found on Genuki under the district of Oldland, on the Glos 1851 census, under Minchinhampton. They are at number 59 on the list. The details are as follows............... Mary widow 50 Druggist & Grocer Avening. John 25 Druggist & Grocer Avening. William 21 Druggist & Grocer Minchinhampton. Mary 17 Minchinhampton. According to a previous look up kindly done some time ago by another member.............Martha's parents (under the spelling of the name Simkins), were John & Mary. This would not appear to fit timewise as the mother Mary would appear to have been born about 1801, whereas Martha would have been born around 1803! Which begs the question was she really born at Redcross Lane Bristol after all? And if so, where are her family? I feel I am probably missing an awful lot of clues here somewhere along the line...............so if anyone comes back to this thread, I would appreciate any thoughts or suggestions you may have on the evidence here please. If Martha was born at Redcross Lane Bristol, why would she marry at Stapleton............unless she did have family out that way (Stapleton, Oldland areas), whom I have yet to discover? An awful lot to get one's head around but, I would be grateful for any leads or help. Thankyou. Jen

Carol, Thanks for looking. They're all her siblings. Jen, just looked up a relo in 1901 living in the ward of St Philip and Jacob ecclestistical parish Holy Trinity ! Don't know if that helps or hinders! Nicky

Jen Just to add something else. The 1861 census says that Martha was born at St Phillips, Bristol. Carol

Nicola, spotted Holy Trinity church, though don't know why it was registered under Stapleton, unless it came under that district? Jen

Carol, I think the most sensible thing to do at this point would be to contact Bristol FHS and pay the £2 fee for a proper search of her baptism details. Otherwise, I will just keep on going round and round in circles lol! Thanks again everyone for your invaluable input. Jen

Jen I'm sorry, I don't know how I missed this first time round. Just looked at my CD again and found the baptism. I think it was the year that put me out. Martha Simkins - 17.7.1814 Oldland - Age 11 years. Parents John and Mary. Carol

Carol, yes that's exactly the same one which was found for me some time ago and after checking out the Oldland records on Genuki, the above family was the only one I could find? No Father present (John) But dates appear to be way off beam..........so can't figure it out at all? Jen

Jen The baptism for Martha is obviously the correct one. Being baptised at aged 11 makes her born in 1803. I don't think Mary the Druggist can be the correct one. John and Mary would have been born around 1783, making them approaching 70 in 1851. Perhaps they were not still alive at that time, or maybe John died and Mary married again. Carol

Exactly my feeling about this too Carol. Certainly no way is this the correct family for Martha. It's quite possible then that she was one her own at the time of her marriage at only 18/19 years old. Do you think it would be possible to track down some info on her parents Carol, possibly through Bristol FHS? Jen

Jen I looked for a marriage between John and Mary but unfortunately couldn't find one. Simkins doesn't appear to have been a very common name in Bristol at that time and there are only five marriages in total with the variation in spelling Simkin/Simkins/Simpkins. BUT - I did find a burial for a John Simpkin aged 55 on 5 Feb 1830 at St Mary Redcliffe. This puts his birth date at 1775 which is about right for your John. Carol