Genealogy Chat

Im at a brickwall and need some advice that might help me break through it......any advice would be much appreciated. Im stuck on a.... CHARLES GEORGE SHEPHEARD (SHEPHARD). I know he married a SARAH MATTA on 23/Mar/1862 In Plymouth, Devon. I also know of 1 definate son, FRANCIS HENRY SHEPHEARD b. 21/Mar/1867 in King Street, Plymouth Devon. Possibly there was a son William and a daughter Elizabeth. I know of all of this from birth and marriage certs that I have but ive yet to find Charles and his family on any census so im not sure of where or when he was born. On his marriage cert it says hes 'of age' and a blacksmith. His father is George Shephard also a blacksmith. A relative tried to help and looked at the 1871 census in Plymouth library for him but as its not name or even street indexed it was like searching for a needle in a haystack. They eventually managed to find the address that the son FRANCIS was born at in 1867 but by then another family was living there. Has anybody got any ideas how i might be able to find the family and that of his father George? They were both blacksmiths so im wondering whether there were any sort of trade directories for places in the 1870s?...... Any help would be brilliant.... thanks Demelza.

Don't know if this is what you are looking for but I found a Francis Shepheard on the 1891 census for Stoke Damerel, Devon. He was aged 24 which would fit with your date for him. It reads like this: Francis Shepheard Head of Household Age 24 Coal Porter (Employee) born Devonport,Devon Rachel Shepheard Wife Age 20 Born Co. Durham, hartlepool Alice Daughter Age 4 Scholar born Devonport, Devon Edith Daughter Age 1 born Devonport, Devon The address was 16 William Street, Stoke Demeral, Devon Look on (http://)freecen(.)rootsweb(.)com/cgi/search(.)pl or just try Freecen and find the devon census. hope its what you need. Good luck Pam

Hi Demelza, You could try the University of Leicester's historicaldirectories.org It's fully searchable and you get to see images of pages rather than a transcript. They have directories from 1850 for all over the country, and it's being updated every week. Otherwise you could try the Devon record office, most record offices have old county postal and trade directories, or they could point you in the right direction. Best wishes, Carole

Pam, Thanks for that but ive got Francis and all his family. Im looking for any siblings of his and his parents. Ive only ever managed to find Francis on a census with his wife and children and what i really need is to find him on a census as a child with his parents. All I know are his parents names from his birth cert and their marriage cert, and none of this tells me where they were from or their ages, only that they were of age. His father was a blacksmith, Charles George Shepheard (shephard) but thats all I know, really need to find him on a census with Francis as a child to know where he was born and when. Think I might be stuck on this for a while!! Thanks for looking.

Hi Demelza Just a thought, but if there is (must be) such a thing as a Devon Family History Society, it may well be worth contacting them. The FHS's tend to be the ones who do the indexing of their county's censuses. Good luck. Maz. XX

Try this site which I have found really useful in searching for rellies and information in Devon. (http://)freepages(.)genealogy(.)rootswe(.)com/~terryw/ Think there is also some pages from business directories on there too. Pam

Hi again Demelza, On the 1881 census for Stoke Damerel there's, Sarah Sheppard - housekeeper - widow - 40 - born St. Austell, Cornwall Francis Shepperd - son - 9 - scholar - born Devonport Elizabeth Shepperd - daughter - 14 - scholar - born Plymouth William Shepperd - son - 15- bargeboy - born Devonport Living at 3 Ordnance Court, Stoke Damerel RG11/2209/60 page 35 Is this them do you think? I know the age for Francis is a bit out, but this could b a transcription error Carole

Carole, Yes i think thats the right family.....ive got a copy of it already. I think they got francis and his sisters birth dates the wrong way round. I think i may have found the mothers family...but i still cant connect Francis to his father.....think the only answer is to find him on the 1871. Thanks for looking and the help. Demelza.

19 Hampton St Census Place Plymouth Charles The Martyr, Devon, England Family History Library Film 1341527 Public Records Office Reference RG11 Piece / Folio 2192 / 105 CHARLES AND KATE SHEPHEARD 24 COULD BE BROTHER?1881 WEBSITE