Just joined!

[paulsmeraldi]

Good morning from New Jersey. I'm researching Paul family and found British-Genealogy by accident. My great grandfather came from England. Unfortunately I can't find exactly from where - I think Dowlish Wake (but that's not written in stone)! I just know I'm going to find my answers from this site. It looks great. Looking forward to your support!

[Geoffers]

Welcome and good luck with your research.

Do you have anything else to go on - when your family emigrated? What they did for a living? How many left England and did they all end up in the same place?

Geoffers

[paulsmeraldi]

Geoffers, I know very little. Charles Stevenson Paul came out of England in 1890 - and settled in New Jersey (that's why I'm here and not there). His father's name was George and his mother's name was Charlotte (maiden name unknown). On Ancestry the only George and Charlotte Paul are from Dowlish Wake. That's why I made that town my starting point. Other than that, I know nothing more of Great grandfather Charles. Any suggestions as to where to go from here!

[kentish kate]

Hi there welcome on board.Everyone here is really helpful good luck with your searches.|cheers|

[paulsmeraldi]

Kentish, The Paul family thanks you. It's nice to be wanted! I just posted for the first time to the surname board. Hoping for the best.

[Peter Goodey]

When was he born (even approximately)? Did he emigrate with his parents or alone?

[paulsmeraldi]

Peter, Charles Stevenson Paul was born (we think) November 9, 1863. I can tell you quite a bit about him after he got here, but nothing of his previous life. I really don't know if he came alone because I can't find any of his family to search by coming in the "back door".

[Peter Goodey]

I can tell you quite a bit about him after he got here

That's good. But it's important to emphasise that you really must ransack all the archives at your end before spending too much effort on his English roots. What about immigration records? Is there really no record of him entering the USA?

By the way be cautious about making any assumptions based on a stated father's name. It can be misleading. At the moment I would treat George as hearsay ;).

After you've got immigration records, if any, it may be worth checking Britiah emigration records. See "Passenger lists leaving UK" on find my past.

[paulsmeraldi]

Peter, Didn't know about find my past. Thanks for the tip. According to Charles Stevenson Paul's death certificate his father is George and his mother is Charlotte. I also got his Declaration of Intentions (to become a U.S. citizen) and his final Petition. All that has is the date he was sworn and that he came from England. I had hoped it would have listed the town - but no luck. Thanks again for the help. Off to find my past!!

[MarkJ]

Having a nose around myself.
There is a marriage on FreeBMD which *may* be interesting -
George Paul
Charlotte Earney

Fordingbridge district, volume 2b page 1059
December qtr 1862

Fordingbridge is in Hampshire.

No trace of any birth in the general timescale in Hampshire for a Charles, so if these are the right people, they presumably moved. There are several Charles births in the Somerset area - notably a few around Chard, which is close to your suggested village. Like Peter, I would not take anything for granted - this is likely to be a case of noting down each and every possible person and working through them to eliminate those who can be followed through censuses or marriages etc. Then, when you have a limited number left, you may be able to work on those more intensively.
With only a limited amount of details, tracing people can be difficult - but very rewarding if you do succeed!

Mark

[paulsmeraldi]

Mark, Did you hear me scream!! It's worth a shot for me to pursue that line. I got Charles' parents from his death certificate but can't find the name of the informant that knew definately that these are his parents. Thanks again for the "push".

[MarkJ]

No problem :) I would still treat that as a "possible lead" rather than fact. Yes, it is a starting point, but it will need a fair bit of work to prove or disprove things.
Fordingbridge is a fair way from Chard area, but depending on their employment etc, people did move around quite a lot.
Do you know what your Charles did for a living? That in itself may prove useful - he may have remained in the same sort of work all his life for example or perhaps even followed the same trade as his father - which would again provide possible leads.

Where did you get the date of birth from? Family knowledge? Does the death certificate state an age? Again, be wary - you sometimes find the information is provided by someone with a minimal knowledge of the person.

Originally, I was looking for a Stevenson/Paul marriage, with Charles having that middle name. That is often how things work in the West Country as you may have seen on another thread in the forum today. None were forthcoming though - but it is possible that the Stevenson name came from a female grandparent, so it may be worth looking for a marriage between a Stevenson and an Earney - but again, it is very much a shot in the dark.

Mark

[paulsmeraldi]

Mark, Just a quick followup. I went to the FreeBMD site. It looks extremely promising. It says that George and Charlotte married December, 1862. It fits. Charles Stevenson Paul was born November 9, 1863 - possibly Charlotte's first born. The site also gave me a name and email address of a person possibly researching the same line. I just emailed "Breezy" in hopes of obtaining a bit more information. Thanks again. Deb

[MarkJ]

I hope it pays off for you :)
Yes, the marriage details do look interesting - the timescale is quite believeable.
If we could find George and Charlotte on the 1871 census somewhere, then that would give another very good indicator. I tried the 1881, but found nothing which matched - there was a George widowed and living on his own, but I didn't look at each and every hit I must admit.

Cheers,
Mark

A little extra - The 1881 census seems devoid of Charles Paul entries which would fit the bill, but there is a Charles PAULL, listed as a Gunner in the Royal Marine Artillery at Portsea, Hampshire. He is shown as being born at Crewkerne about 1861, which is in Somerset. Bearing in mind that there is a widowed George also listed on the 1881 and no sign of any Charlotte or variant, then *possibly* those may be the people? But it is very tentative - I would not base my tree on that without a lot more proof.
What was Charles' employment?

Mark

[paulsmeraldi]

Mark, I'm thrilled. You really did make my day. It's a start. A ways to go but at least I have a direction now. If and when "Breezy" gets back to me I'll let you know if this person can help. As you probably read from my emails, I'm from New Jersey. A major industry in Trenton was Trenton pottery. According to the 1900, 1910 and 1920 census, Charles worked in the pottery. He's listed as a decorator of the pottery. I don't know what that means. When I was a kid in the early 1950's the pottery made toilets, sinks, bathtubs, etc. How would you decorate a bathtub - unless decorate has a different meaning within the pottery world than what I'm imagining. Thanks again. Deb

[MarkJ]

Decorating pottery would be adding patterns etc. Perhaps earlier in the companys life they made smaller pottery - jugs, cups etc?
It probably doesn't help with identifying the correct Charles though I think.
See what "Breezy" comes up with - it may lead you to the correct family :)
If not - well, it eliminates another bit of the puzzle!

Cheers,
Mark

[Geoffers]

Mark, Just a quick followup. I went to the FreeBMD site. It looks extremely promising. It says that George and Charlotte married December, 1862. It fits. Charles Stevenson Paul was born November 9, 1863 - possibly Charlotte's first born. The site also gave me a name and email address of a person possibly researching the same line. I just emailed "Breezy" in hopes of obtaining a bit more information. Thanks again. Deb

I think you may find that 'Breezy' is just the person who transcribed the entry, he/she may no be researching the name.

You may be able to confirm the useful lead provided by Mark, by searching the 1871 census to see if you can identify the family.

How certain are you that Charles was born with the middle name of Stevenson? I only ask because a sibling branch of my family emigrated and one member acquired an additional forename which turned out to the surname of a first wife who was previously unknown.

When searching for people in 19th century records, do remember that standards of spelling were not the same as they are today. Surnames can have several variant spellings up to the start of the 20th century. So do check for PAUL, PAULE, PAULL, PULL and anything else that seems possible.

Geoffers

[paulsmeraldi]

Geoffers, I think you might be right about Breezy being the transcriber only. I got a copy of Charles' death certificate from here in New Jersey. It is spelt out fully as Charles Stevenson Paul. I've encountered the different spellings of the surname several times already. You would think something plain and simple would have so many variations. I like that idea of pursuing the 1871 census fully. Thanks for the help. This B-G site is really good for the soul. Deb