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Is there anyone out there who could help me find birth and marriage records for my 3x great grandparents, Ann Fenwick born about 1797 and Richard Johnson (could be of similar age?? ) They were born almost certainly in NE England, most likely Durham or thereabouts.
(I now know that Richard was born in 1788)
Ann's father was John Fenwick.
She and Richard had two sons: Richard Simpson Johnson, born in Durham in 1832 and Thomas born in 1834/5 also in Durham.
(I now know that they had 8 children, between 1821 and 1834)
Richard senior must have died before 1839 ( I now know that Richard died in 1835) when Ann Fenwick now Johnson, a widow, married Thomas Clark of Church St. Durham, sexton of St Oswald's Parish Church and a mason.
The 1841 census shows that Richard and Thomas lived in the Clark household , but kept their Johnson name.
Ann died before the 1851 census and Richard's sons went to live elsewhere. ( I now know that they went to live with their married sister, Jane Coxon)
The above information has been extracted from the 1841 and '51 census records and from the marriage certificates of Ann and Thomas Clark and also son, Richard Simpson Johnson.
But now I am in the area pre civil registration, but post LDS records, so I am not making any progress and I am running short of ideas on what to do next.
I am sure there is a wealth of information lurking in the Durham University archives and at the County Records Office but I live abroad for most of the year and even though I am in the UK at present, I am in Kent: rather a long way from Durham!
I would be over the moon if anyone was to come up with Ann and Richard's birth and marriage dates but even guidance on how to proceed would be most welcome.
Thank you for your time.
Carole

There's this Ann Fenwick on the BVRI discs which is close but is it her?

FENWICK, Ann Christening
Gender: Female
Birth Date: 25 Feb 1797
Christening Date: 14 May 1797 Recorded in: Monkwearmouth, Durham, England
Father: John FENWICK
Mother: Martha
Source: FHL Film 1514532 Dates: 1778 - 1798

Ann Fenwick Pedigree
Female


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Event(s):
Birth: 04 JUN 1797 Brancepeth, Durham, England

Christening:
Death:
Burial:


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Parents:
Father: John Fenwick Family
Mother: Mary Emmerson


This came from the IGI.

Nicky

RICHARD JOHNSON Pedigree
Male


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Event(s):
Birth: 20 MAR 1797

Christening: 06 APR 1797 South Shields, Durham, England

Death:
Burial:


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Parents:
Father: WILLIAM JOHNSON Family
Mother: ANN

Also from the IGI.

Nicky

Thanks Nicky
I had found the Brancepeth entry too and it is certainly a strong contender but there are at least two others equally possible; an Ann Fenwick in Whickham, Durham: and another in Monkwearmouth. .... I am relatively new to all this and I just don't have the experience to know where to go to find the definitive evidence??
Carole

Carole,
The information I gave you is just what fitted in with the information you had given on your thread, unless you can narrow down your search to the correct area of Durham, I can see this being an uphill struggle to locate the correct Richard and Ann.......and unfortunatly Johnson is quite a common name., Is the area the family is in on the 1841 and1851 census any help? or the church where Ann remarried, do you have marriage details for the sons?......all these pieces of information may help you locate the correct people.
Good luck with your search.

Nicky

Deaths Jun 1894 (>99%)
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Johnson Richard Simpson 65 Durham 10a 190

Just got this from freeBMD........if this is the son and the age is correct, that would make him born around 1829. There are 4 Richard Simpson Johnson entries in Durham.......a birth in 1859
a marriage in 1882, and a birth in 1886,, and the death I`ve already given you details of.....these may all be worth looking in to.

Nicky

Hi Nicky
I have bought quite a few certificates and I do have quite a lot of information on Johnsons between 1831 and 1910. I feel really bad about you putting in a great deal of effort unnecessarily, so I think I had better open my tree for you so you can see what I already have.
As far as the Richard Simpson Johnsons are concerned, there are at least five of them. Born 1940- my cousin; born 1911- my uncle; born 1886- my grandfather; born 1859- my great grandfather; born 1831- my great great grandfather: and my 3x great grandfather now turns out to be a Richard but I don't know about the Simpson?

I was put onto a very interesting resource today. It is an experimental site and they hope for feedback so they can refine it. It isn't perfect but it has images of some Parish records online. I looked at 300 pages of Durham records this afternoon and I have been able to pinpoint exactly, baptism dates for Richard and for Thomas Johnson.(see my tree)
http://labs.familysearch.org
Carole

Carole,
Don`t feel that I have been putting in a great deal of effort on your behalf, I just looked at the freeBMD site to see if there was any additional info that may help you, it really was nothing. Thats great that you have been able to pinpoint Richard and Thomas.......looks like its all starting to fall in to place. Will take a look at your tree.

Nicky

I think I MAY have found another child for Ann(e) Fenwick and Richard Johnson, possibly two?

A Jane Johnson married Thomas Telford in 1840. They appear on the 1841 census living in a house with their infant son Thomas and a fourteen year old called Mary Johnson ( that census doesn't give relationships but she could have been Jane's sister?? .. ) I intend to send for Jane's marriage cert, to check out if her father was Richard.

Jane was widowed and went on to marry George Coxon in 1848.

In 1851, the Johnson boys, Richard and Thomas were lodging in the house of George and Jane Coxon

Their mother Ann(e) Fenwick / Johnson / Clark, is dead by now.

I therefore strongly suspect that the boys have moved in with their sister Jane. ... just as I think Mary might have done when their mother married Thomas Clark in 1839??

Jane has called her daughter Ann(e) ... after her mother I wonder??

Not too far fetched is it? I have back up for most of the information.

If it is true then Richard and Ann married pre - 1821
Jane Johnson was born about 1821
(Mary Johnson was born about1827) not sure about this one?
Richard Johnson was born in 1831
Thomas Johnson was born in 1834

Carole

More to build on!
I have had a busy day.

Johnson siblings:-

Jane Johnson- born 19th Oct 1821; baptised 29th Dec 1822

John Johnson- born 9th Dec 1822; baptised 29th Dec 1822.

Margaret Johnson- born 17th Aug 1824; baptised 25th Sept 1824.

Mary Anne Johnson- born 23 May 1827; baptised 20 May 1828.

John (1822) buried 20 May 1828, age 6 (the same day his sister was baptised. Odd!! )

Isabella Johnson- born 3rd Feb 1829; baptised 31st Mar 1829

another John Johnson- this time an infant buried on 31st Mar 1829. (Had they been twins? Strange to have a baptism and a funeral on the same day .. AGAIN!!

Isabella buried 4th June 1833, age 4.

Richard Johnson 1831

Thomas Johnson 1834

But the best news of all ... Richard Johnson - their father - was buried on the 30th April 1835, age 47.
So, he was born in 1788.

Now maybe we can find where he came from .. but not tonight!

Carole

Glad to see its all coming together Carole......its funny how 1 minute you can be totally stuck.....then a tiny bit of progress takes you on in leaps and bounds.

Good luck with it all.

Nicky

Carole

Sorry I am unable to help with your enquiry but had a question instead:

I was wondering about the new site you mentioned as I live in Australia and so have very limited access to parish records. Do they have other counties an is it available to any one

Regards Mabel

Hello Mabel

It is fairly new to me but so far I have found it brilliant and I have found ancestors I had almost given up on!

It's an experimental, innovative site and it has its faults but they appreciate feedback.

AND IT IS FREE!!! All they require is your email address.

The areas covered in the UK are limited to the counties of:- Durham, Northumberland, parts of Yorkshire, Cumberland and Cheshire; some images from as early as 1538.
I don't know about the rest of the World. I haven't tried.

Have a play but it does take a bit of getting used to.

http://labs.familysearch.org/

Carole