Lone Motley

[John Gage]

Hi Everyone in Lincolnshire,
I have a 3rd great grandmother that I am at a loss to find her ancestry in spite of trawling through Baptism & Burial Indexes, IGI, Free-Reg, Lincs & Fenland Families, Roots, Ancestry, etc. All to no avail.
She is Sarah Motley, b. abt. 1791 in Welton, Lincs. (1851, 1861 Censuses and various Burial indexes), she married 1813 in Leverton, Lincs. John Dracas [1789-1874] (IGI and Parish Registers, Marriage Indexes) and died Mar. qtr. 1866, buried 01 Mar 1866 at Leverton. aged 75. (Free-BMD, LFHS Vol. 2 Burial Indexes, etc.). But no parents given.
Can anyone help or look her up?
Any effort would be murch appreciated.
Kindest Regards,
John Gage

[Mutley]

There is a Sarah Medley,
she was baptised at Ingham on 30 Jan 1791, parents William and Mary.
(England & Wales Christening Records, 1530-1906)

Name and place are close for that period of time.

[Geoff Everitt]

The IGI for Welton (by Lincoln) doesn't start till 1813. http:// freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~hughwallis/IGIBatchNumbers/CountyLincoln_%28S-Z%29.htm#PageTitle

FreeREG has several MEDLEYs there http:// freereg.rootsweb.com/cgi/Search.pl

Then there's Welton le Marsh and Welton le Wold of course

[John Gage]

Hi there to the three people who respnded and thanks for your input.
However my gut instinct tells me that Sarah did not travel all the way from the Lincoln area to the east coast, so I feel that Welton by Lincoln is probably but not definately out, I'm also dubious about Welton Le Wold, near Louth. My feeling is that the Welton she may have originated from is Welton Le Fen. My researches indicate that the movement of people at this time, into the Wainfleet to Bennington region does often include this Welton and not the other two. Although not definitive by any means, movement from West Lincs to East Lincs was less likely, though not the rule as I have a branch of my family who did exactly that. Movement North to South was more the case, but again less likely, Sarahs husband, John Dracass' family for instance, had moved from Old Clee, near Grimsby, to Leverton via West Keal and Hundleby. However I have found no Motley's in either Welton Le Wold or Welton Le Fen on IGI, Free-REG or Lincolnshire and Fenland Families, nor have I been able to find any in the Parish Register Indexes for Baptisms and Burials. Unfortunately I am not able to visit Lincs. Archives and check out the registers myself. Motley is a common name in this area and there are, with very few corruptions, many families with this name. Conningsby is a distinct possibility as it was quite common for families from there to move to the Leake area and thence to Leverton, via Stickford, Stickney and Sibsey
I have included below further details concerning Sarah, with the hope of answering your questions and to help clarify the situation:
Sarah Motley

Birth:
Censuses:
1841 aged 50 b. abt. 1791
1851 aged 60 b. abt. 1791, Welton
1861 aged 71 b. abt. 1790, Welton

Marriage:
IGI and Lincs. Marriage Index 1700-1837 Vol.1:
Married Leverton 1813 aged 22
(The only time her surname of Motley is mentioned)

Death:
National Burial Index:
Date of burial: 1 Mar 1866
Age at death: 75
Calculated year of birth: 1791

Closest dates and places of other possible Sarah's from IGI and Free-REG:
Sarah Motley
St Mary Leake Lincolnshire
BaptismDate 20 Aug 1792
Father William MOTLEY
MotherForename Sarah
FileNumber 5599
[Leake is just up the road from Leverton]
SARAH MOTTLOW
Christening: 05 NOV 1789 Candlesby, Lincoln, England
(No parents given)
[Candlesby is just over the hill from Welton]

[lbailey]

I'd be interested in confirming scribbled notes from my grandfather giving a John Dracas and Sarah Motley having children all born in Leverton as: Mary 1813, William 1816, Mark 1818, Elizabeth 1824, Sarah 1826 and John 1830. Any connections to yours and/or comments?

[Maggiemac]

There is this from the NBI


Sarah Dracas age 75 Buriel date 1st March 1866....St Helen, Leverton


Sorry ...you already have this,my mistake !!!

[John Gage]

I'd be interested in confirming scribbled notes from my grandfather giving a John Dracas and Sarah Motley having children all born in Leverton as: Mary 1813, William 1816, Mark 1818, Elizabeth 1824, Sarah 1826 and John 1830. Any connections to yours and/or comments?

Hi there,
Sorry I haven't responded before now, but I lost my contact details for B-G Forums, and didn't reconnect until now.
Yes I do have quite a bit about the Dracas(s) family as Jon and Sarah are my 3rd great grandparents.
If you would like to discuss this, please feel free to contact me at my e-mail address:
johngage907.net AT talktalk DOT net
Regards,
John Gage

[John Gage]

Hi there
To all those who have been looking at this thread or are likely to do so in the future.
Since posting it I have been trying to come up with some serious answers to my problem.
I now believe I have found Sarah Motleys parents, albeit with some reservation. I believe she may have been a daughter of William Motley and Sarah Patman. They were married at Leake (Old Leake) in 1789 and their 1st. child, a son, John was bapt. in 1790. Mary their 2nd. child in 1791 and then Sarah the 3rd. in 1792, 8 other children followed, all born at Leake. Hurns end where John Dracass, Sarahs future husband, lived is closer to Leake (half mile) than his home parish of Leverton is to Leake (upto 2 miles). A John Motley, presumably her brother, is the 1st. witness on Sarah and John's marriage (Parish Register). The names of John and Sarah's children do not help as those that are the same as the Motleys are also the same as those in the Dracass family with the exception of Sarah, which is a common Motley name but not in evidence with the Dracass family. But as this is the mothers name it is almost certainly given to a daughter because of that fact. Also I still have the uncomfortable fact that two censuses, 1851 and 1861, give Sarah's birth as Welton (almost certainly Welton Le Marsh, near Alford, the only other serious contender is Welton Le Wold, near Louth, but no Motleys are shown at either of these places). The only conclusion I can come up with is that Sarah's mother was visiting at Welton at the time Sarah's birth? In addition a Sarah Motley (b. abt. 1771) dies at a Bennington Bede house and is burried at Leverton in 1835 aged 64. This could well be Sarah's mother, she was a Patman, probanly a daughter of Robert and Sarah Patman of Leake. The rest of Sarah's possible siblings, flourish in and around Leverton amd the surrounding villages during this period.
So there you have it, Have I found Sarah's ancestry or not? I strongly feel that I have, but would welcome any other serious thoughts on the matter.
Best regards
Wolftone, John Gage

[John Gage]

Hi lbailey,
Sorry for the tardinaee of my reply, missed your not somehow.
Yes, they are all mine and all married and had families in and around the Leverton area. Elizabeth is my 2nd great grandmother, she is the only one to leave the area. She married William Merrill at Friskney and moved with him when he inherited hi fathers farm at winthorpe.
Regards
Wolftone - John Gage