Henry Bowden - Cornwall

[lisa lade]

Hi,

I hope somebody out there can help me as I am now going mad.

My Gt Gt Gt Grandfather was called Henry Bowden and was born in Cornwall around 1811. I found out this information from the 1851 census, but then he was living in Dorset.

My problem is that I can't read whereabouts he came from in Cornwall - it could be Gwennap but it is has been transcribed on Ancestry and other places as Dwennot - but I believe there is no such place.

He went on to marry Eliza Dibben in 1838 and continued to live in Dorset until his death in 1856.

I don't know what to do now - can anyone help or give me any advice. I live in the Midlands and Cornwall is a long way away to go to the records office.

Help!!!!

Thanks,
Lisa

[MarkJ]

Do you have any more information? You say he was born in about 1811, and living in Dorset by 1851. Do you know for instance when he moved from Cornwall? I did a very quick search for a Henry Bowden in the 1841 census for Cornwall, but nobody listed who was married to an Eliza who would fit the bill. So I suspect he left Cornwall before that time? Yep - I have checked the BMD and the marriage was in Wimborne, Dorset, so not in Cornwall.
Looking around the OPC site for Gwennap, there is one baptism entry which caught my eye -

Henry Martyn, s of William & Marjery BAWDEN, 26th Mar 1809

which may be a lead? Note the spelling of the surname, if Henry was perhaps not very literate, he may have had no idea as to the exact spelling of the name. With a strong Cornish accent, if Henry was married in Dorset, Bawden and Bowden would be easily confused by the priest.
If indeed this is the correct Henry, I would expect Marjery to possibly have been a Martyn before marriage - or certainly a female member of either parents' family

There is no place called Dwennot in Cornwall as far as I know and I would tend to go with Gwennap, although without seeing the original documents, it is hard to say. Unless the document was produced in Cornwall, I would think the clerk or whoever took the details may have found an accent from Gwennap or much of Cornwall, hard to understand - so they may have written exactly what they thought was said - and I suppose it *may* have sounded like Dwennot, but I can think of a few places which may sould a little like that if pronounced in a strong accent.

[ronnie]

Hi, saw your message. Further to the last reply, there is a marriage between William Bawden and Marjery Martin 7/9/1801 in Gwennap in the Phillimore Marriage Records. There were lots of Bawdens recorded in Gwennap- the records go up to 1812.
Let me know if you want any of the other Bawden marriages, and good luck with your search

Cheers Ronnie

[ronnie]

Hi, have re-read your thread this morning and realised Henry's father was Richard.There are 2 marriages for Richard Bawden in Gwennap.

Richard Bawden to Grace Powning 13/1/1798

Richard Bawden to Jane Launder of Perranzabuloe 17/11/1802.

Cheers Ronnie

[MarkJ]

Ah - you are right Ronnie! I missed that too. So the Gwennap entry I mentioned is not going to be the right one after all :(

[lisa lade]

Thank you everyone for your help.

I'll look into the Richard Bawden marriages and see if I can dig anything else up. Seeing as there were alot of Bawdens in Gwennap it seems to be quite likely that it was the place he came from.

If anyone else has any other info - or if you want to look at the census entry on ancestry it is: HO107/1854/F? - then perhaps someone may be able to read it and tell me the place!!!!

Thanks again,
Lisa