William Barber

[Quentin]

My 3xgt grandfather is William Barber, born abt 1795 Wickwar. I have not been able to find parents for him. If anyone can help I would so appreciate it. Thank you
Quentin

[janbooth]

Hello Quentin,

Looking at the 1851 census record for William & his wife Ruth, I note that their son John has a second forename of CULLIMORE so I think this could well be the marriage of William's parents from Phillimore's Marriage Index:

12 May 1783 at Wickwar Stephen BARBER, bachelor & Hannah CULLIMORE, spinster, by licence.

If the licence survives, you may get extra information about both Stephen & Hannah from it.

Gloucestershire Burial Index has the following burials which are likely to be relevant to you:

7 January 1843 at Wickwar Mr Stephen BARBER, aged 88
17 May 1851 at Wickwar Ruth BARBER, aged 19

1841 census of Wickwar (HO107/358/14, folio 24, page 10) shows:

Hill House Cottage

Stephen BARBER 85 Independent
Ursula MORGAN 40 F.S.

Both born in the county.

Janet

[janbooth]

Further to the above, Quentin, IGI Family Search have a baptismal record for Stephen BARBER. He was baptised on 31 May 1755 at Wickwar, parents Richard & Catherine BARBER. Gloucestershire Archives hold a will for a Richard BARBER of Wickwar dated 1786 which could make interesting reading for you if you obtained a copy.

Looks like the BARBER family go back a long way in Wickwar - The National Archives Documents Online site hold the will of a Stephen BARBER, Mercer, of Wickwar which is dated 28 March 1696 - sounds a likely connection given the christian name.

Now this is interesting. Doing a search through Phillimore's Marriage Index for BARBER marriages brings up a marriage at Tortworth on 23 October 1787 of a Stephen BARBER, widower of Wickwar & Elizabeth CULLIMORE, widow, by licence. Sounds as if Hannah died reasonably quickly after their marriage and he remarried, perhaps her sister in law??

HTH further

Janet

[Quentin]

Thank you Janet - I think that is a perfect match, as the name Cullimore has stayed in our family line through several generations. The marriage date is quite a few years before William's birth date so there are probably siblings for me to look for now. I am very grateful for your help - thanks so much.
Quentin

[janbooth]

Even more info. Family Search show two CULLIMORE families in Tortworth having children with the mother's name given as Elizabeth. A Joseph CULLIMORE who is still having children in 1790 so it cannot be his widow who married Stephen BARBER in 1787 and a John CULLIMORE whose last child was baptised in September 1783 making him a likely candidate. There is a will held at Gloucestershire Archives for a John CULLIMORE of Tortworth who died in 1784 - perhaps worth further investigation?

Janet

[Quentin]

Hi Janet, that is all great news for me to work on - thank you so much for your time and effort. I was really stuck. It is so frustrating when one has tried for ages just for a vital clue - you have made my day. Thanks a million. Regards. Quentin

[Quentin]

Hi Janet - have just been adding the info and I have a puzzle - If Hannah Cullimore and Stephen are the parents of William then his birthdate doesn't fit (abt 1795) because Stephen's second marriage to Elizabeth Cullimore was in 1787 and Hannah must have died before he could remarry. Am I missing something? Tks, Quentin.

[janbooth]

No, I wondered about that but assumed it was in dedication of his first wife. However, looking on the IGI Family Search website it shows a baptism for a William BARBER at Wickwar on 29 December 1784 parents Stephen & Hannah. No other children shown for this couple. Then 3 subsequent baptisms at Tortworth for Hannah on 30 September 1788, Sarah 4 January 1790 and Ann 21 January 1794, parents Stephen & Elizabeth.

Looking at census records for William & Ruth, the 1841 census shows him as born c1786. As this census should have ages rounded down to the nearest 5 years, this would fit in very well with a baptismal year of 1784 as shown by the IGI, thus making your William the son of Stephen & Hannah. Looking at the 1851 census record again, I think Ancestry have mistranscribed William's age. Magnifying the image shows his age as 66 which would give a birthdate of 1785. Bingo, age discrepancy solved! I wonder if poor Hannah died as a result of childbirth.

Janet

[Quentin]

Hi Janet
I agree about William's age - thank you for that - it fits a bit better now. I began to sift through IGI records to locate the John Cullimore who may be (?) the husband of Elizabeth and who left her widowed. I found a marriage for a John Cullimore to Elizabeth Hobbs on 17 Jan 1776, at St Nicholas, Bristol - the reason I mention that one is that the Hobbs' married the Barbers later on. (William's son Stephen married Mary Hobbs) This is a bit strange but John Cullimore married Elezebth Phillips on 5 Oct 1770, Tortworth and there is also a John Cullimore who married Elizabeth Phillips at Kingswood in 1778. There are an awful lot of "John Cullimores" in places like Alveston, Thornbury, Tytherington, Tortworth, and these areas all appear to be not too distant from Wickwar. I don't know if they are registration areas or towns etc. Thank you for opening up avenues for me to search - I am most grateful.
Regards, Quentin

[janbooth]

Glad to be of help. Good luck with your research into the CULLIMOREs and let me know if I can help further.

Janet