Genealogy Chat

Can anyone with local knowledge please tell me which would be the most likely parishes for shipbuilding, at that time.?...... I am trying to find a family who were in Beaulieu and had their last known child baptised there in 1816....- father was a blacksmith and I've been told that they could possibly have moved to Southampton for work...... Would St Marys and Northam be the best areas to search first?

Woolston, was where Vosper Thorneycroft were, and I believe still is. Husbands Shipyard was at Marchwood, (now gone), St Marys, and Northam could have been where Shipbuilders were living. Go into Google and find Southampton, this may give you some insight into the area for Shipbuilding, in 1880

Thank you for your reply Maureen. By 1841 Thomas,the blacksmith and his wife were with their son George in Whippingham, Isle of Wight. They died there. I have other family who lived in the St Marys, Southampton area after that. I'm clutching at straws really, hoping to be able to make a link between my GG grandfather Henry SHEATH and his possible father Thomas, as I can't find a baptism for Henry in Beaulieu, which he gives as his birthplace. Both men were blacksmiths Thomas and his wife Jane had children baptised in Beaulieu before and after Henry's birth c. 1812.....nice gap for him in the middle. I have followed the children's lives on the off chance that they changed names along the line and maybe one was infact Henry.... but No. Gwyn

Bucklers Hard about a mile from Beaulieu was a very well known ship building site. Thats back in the days of sailing ships of course. There was a ready supply of timber in the near-by New forest. Mick.

Thank you for your interest Mick. We went to Bucklers Hard last month as on some of his children's baptism entries, Thomas was shown to be a blacksmith 'of Bucklers Hard'. We found it interesting just how much shipbuilding went on there as it was such a quiet tranquil spot on the day we visited. An archivist told me that around the time that Thomas' last known child was baptised in Beaulieu, shipbuilding at B.H. was starting to go into decline and as I know that my 2 x Great grandfather was in Southampton by 1837, she suggested that possibly the whole family moved to Southampton. I wondered if I could find a late baptism for my relative, - hence the question of where best to search. I am deperate to find parents for Henry...... I've been looking for over 10 years. Gwyn

A blacksmith is a blacksmith so he is not tied to shipbuilding. The railways were using a lot of smiths by 1843 (I have not checked when the IOW got its first line) but probably about that time. Agricultural machinery was coming in too in quite a big way and that needed smiths too. Clive

Thanks for your thoughts Clive. Apparently a blacksmith at Bucklers Hard would have made the nails for securing the timbers. It is known that a blacksmith worked just a few yards from the river. I understand what you are saying though and I've no proof that the men worked on ships although Beaulieu, Bucklers Hard and Whippingham ( near Cowes) are all near the coast. Having found no proof that Thomas is Henry's father, I am persuing different routes to find some evidence. Gwyn

I would be amazed if he only made nails. Some of the ironwork in a ship would be cast but a lot would be wrought. Who made the tools for the shipwrights (bit too early for them to be factory made I think)? Who made and maintained steam engines? Screw propellors were in use by 1804 (not by the British Navy may I point out!). Clive

You're right. There were shipwright tools in the museum at Bucklers Hard and I did wonder if Thomas had made them.... Are you in Hampshire? You seem to know it well. Gwyn

As it happens I do live in Southern Hampshire. Please remember that in the early 1800s nearly everything of any weight was moved by water. So called 'coasters' were the size of many of todays yachts. An ox cart was slow, needed a lot of oxen to move it, could only move one ton. A large dinghy can do that! Canals spread like wildfire because they could move 60 tons pulled by one horse - and a horse moved quicker and further in a day than an ox!! Clive

Hi found this info on bucklers hard they built frigates there Old Hampshire Mapped -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Brookes's Gazetteer Hampshire Entries (7) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Bucklers Hard Beaulieu River ship building frigate previous Bucklers-hard, a village in Hampshire, on Beaulieu river, 9m SSW Southampton. The inhabitants are principally employed in ship-building; and many frigates have been built here. next -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Brookes's Hampshire 1815, contents General index (to Old Hampshire Mapped) Old Hampshire Mapped -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- © Martin and Jean Norgate: 2003 email:- [email protected] Old Hampshire Gazetteer, Old Hampshire Mapped and other projects on CD Geography Department, Portsmouth University

Have a look at the PortCities website - beautiful site with lovely pics and info. http://www.plimsoll.org/

vospers was started up in 1871 in portsmouth at camber docks J I thorney craft built ships in woolston southampton in the late 1800's the two companies merge in the 1960's

Just a thought, there was also Ship building in the Isle of Wight. Seem to have memories of ship building at Cowes, and Bembridge.

Thank you all for your input. I've had a quick browse at the sites mentioned....so much to see there so I will take a more thorough look. I am building a picture of Thomas' life and that of his children but sadly, at the moment I am no nearer to finding out where he came from or if indeed he is 'mine'. Gwyn

Beryl It was kind of you to search there...thank you. There is no proof that Thomas came from the Isle of Wight as unfortunately he died before the 1851 census. The IGI shows many SHEATH records for Whippingham so on the strength of that, my husband and I spent days searching the Record Office in Newport hoping to find the baptism of Henry and we have built up a data base of early Sheath people. Interestingly many share common given names and we found several blacksmiths.....but still lack the elusive proof. I do wish Henry had married later in the year, instead of April 1837, as his marriage certificate may have helped. Gwyn