Meletiah Davis, Gloucester

[greybird]

I have recently found my husband's g.g.grandfather Meletiah Davis (variously spelt as Melatiah and Mettetiah!) in the census records for Winkfield Berkshire. He seems to have been born c1799 in Gloucester (or Gloucestershire). His wife is Elizabeth, born in Frimley, Surrey.

I thought, with a first name like that, his birth would be easy to find, but I have drawn a blank. This is a faint hope that he might have cropped up in someone else's researches!

[Waitabit]

Perhaps greybird if you send for his death certificate, it may help somewhat.

Malatiah Davis age 67 ... Easthampstead 2c.. 292 Deaths Mar.1/4 1866


His name is not an easy one to search for birth or marriage. However in trying http://beta.familysearch.org/
this info came up.
William Peters.. 56 .. b1841 married Emily Holloway.. 52 . b.1845 at Byfleet,Surrey 25 Dec 1897

His Father William Peters..Her Father, Malatiah Davis .batch no. M01386-6

FreeBMD Marriages Sep 1861 Davis Emily + HOLLAWAY Stephen at Easthampstead 2c 655

Perhaps giving extra Family names to check for info on Malatiah?

[Waitabit]

Thereis a tree on Genes Reunited featuring Malatiah Davis. Is it connected to you?

Another tree member has several of the Davis girls on her tree.

[greybird]

Thank you Waitabit - I have also responded in a pm. I don't think that Malatiah could have been one of the alternative spellings I tried! I hadn't sent for his death cert. I have recently received his daughter's marriage cert, which is where I got his name from. I wasn't sure that the death cert would give me any more about his origins. You are right though that additional family names may open up new avenues. I should invest in more certificates, I think!

I very much appreciate your interest.

[Kevin Garrad]

There is also the marriage of his daughter Sara Anna Davis to Thos Fredk Selby-Hillier, 26th October 1874 at Trinity Church, Marylebone.

Melatiah Davis is a cordwainer, deceased.

Found this on the London Marriages & Banns, 1754 - 1921 (available on Anc***y)

[greybird]

Hi Kevin

and thank you too. This is definitely the same man. Every time I see his name written, the spelling is different. I would never have believed there could be so many permutations! My husband is descended from his daughter Elizabeth. I am wondering if any of the sister's marriage certificates would give me anything different to the information on hers? He really seems to have sprung from nowhere!

There were a couple of births in Gloucestershire with a similar Christian name, but not with the Davis surname. I even wondered if he might have changed his name for some reason, but if he did, wouldn't you think he would change Meletiah too?

[Sonia]

This is a very,very,very long shot for a connection ... but as you have so little to work with ...

Playing around with wild cards M*l*t* for the name I came across the following will for a woman M*l*t* Davies in Herefordshire, not too far from Gloucestershire.
Wonder if Maletiah might be an attempt to turn a 'surname-used-as-first-name' into a male first name, or someone not hearing/understanding the 'Mallet' turning it into a name they 'thought' they'd heard in the Old Testamant ...? Who knows ...it's certainly unusual ...!!

Will of Mallett or Mallet Davies otherwise Davis, Wife of Leominster, Herefordshire 17 October 1792 PROB 11/1223

This is from the PCC wills held at the National Archives (explained on website):
http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/d...line/wills.asp
Wills are downloadable for £3.50 so fairly easy to check out, even if only to eliminate.
1792 is too early to provide a direct link, but might suggest worth looking in Herefordshire as well as Glos?

HTH
Sonia

[Sonia]

1)
>>>> I wasn't sure that the death cert would give me any more about his origins.

Although it's UNlikely to give info re origins, this is one of the rare occasions when I'd suggest getting the death cert Just In Case it has something useful in it, such as a previous name.

2) Consider also a baptism as Malachi / Malakia, which got pronounced differently when he moved away to another area.

A mystery, this one ...
Good luck!
Sonia

[greybird]

Hello Sonia

and thank you very much for taking such an interest. I will certainly look at Herefordshire as well. I had difficulty with some sites using wildcards - some of them will only accept wildcards after the first three letters, which didn't help much in this case! Was yours from Ancestry? I have let my subscription lapse for that because of the expense. I think you are right about the death certificate - I shall order it today and hope for some enlightenment from it. Will update this when I get it.

Chris

[Sonia]

You've probably already googled the name Meletiah/Melatiah
In case not, it seems it WAS a genuine name in the Old Testament.

Bible Guide: Melatiah
("the Lord saved")
A Gibeonite, one of the men who repaired the walls of Jerusalem at the time of Nehemiah.
Neh 3:7

From online entries, it seems it was a bit more used (in Puritan families?) in the US in 17th/18th centuries than it was in the UK. The later entries in the U.S. seem to suggest it came to be used more often as a woman's name than a man's! Most searches in UK, e.g. National Archives catalogues, etc. return 0 hits! So it really wasn't common here.

My IGI searches are done on the free LDS site:
http://www.familysearch.org/eng/sear...lear_form=true
No, this doesn't support wildcards, so have to make several searches.
And actually the National Archives site also requires first 3 characters, so my post was a little misleading (sorry!)
Sonia