Current family branches
At the outset, it is clear that the family has a problem with nomenclature – it has insisted on recycling the same Christian names. I admit my own guilt in this. On reflection, I realize that it is extremely difficult to construct family trees if both of the parents’ names are not clearly spelt out and similarly named couples are not clearly differentiated. In ages past, this was rarely the case. In Devon we find a world full of Johns, Thomas’s, Williams, Elizabeths, Marys and Annes – and it can be very difficult to identify and assign a “John son of John” to his family tree without supporting evidence.
As an example, I now know that the Thomas Pinsent (1754 – 1841) who married Ann Ball in North Bovey and had a daughter, Anna Thomasin Croat Pinsent (1777 – 1799) shortly thereafter was born in Moretonhampstead. For a long time that was far from clear. He was one of three Thomases born in 1754 and it took careful reading of the complete marriage record to see that he belonged to a Devonport family and not to the Hennock branch. On the Hennock side, it took additional supporting evidence to show that their Thomas Pinsent (1754 – 1785) died on H.M.S. Exeter, possible as a casualty of war, and that his cousin, the third Thomas born that year, Thomas (1754 – 1762) died young.
The Devonport and Hennock families lived in the same area and they clearly knew each other. The Anna mentioned above was later to marry Joseph Pinsent (1770 – 1835) the deceased sailor’s nephew in one of several instances of cross-family marriage. When Anna died, Joseph married her cousin, Elizabeth Pinsent (1777 – 1809). The occasional usage of names such as Andrew, Peter, Joseph, Grace, Ursula and Thomasin has been much appreciated!
Data and more Data
Early parish records on their own rarely provide enough information to build a definitive family tree but other sources may provide useful insights. It may be possible to recognize an individual in an anecdotal references and determine his or her position in a family from that. The database now includes a copious amount of data (in text file format) that documents stray references to individuals and recognizable families. The sources include Census and Land Tax records – that conveniently show where people lived, and with whom. They also include Electoral rolls that list members of a given household over a certain age. Similarly, City and Telephone Directories provide insight into who was living where and commonly with whom – or they did until everybody went on-line.
Wills, Military and Immigration records, and also ship manifests are less systematic in their coverage of the overall population but they too can provide the information needed to identify someone and place them in his or her family. It all helps. Court papers and Land transfer documents can be exceedingly useful one-off items. Sir William Pynsent (who we met earlier) was particularly litigious and he and his family appear to have spent much of their time (and their wealth) in the Court of Chancery squabbling over debts, bequests and land ownership issues.
Newspapers are another extremely useful source of one-off items; whether they refer to obituaries, marriages, meetings, court cases, cricket scores or, in the case of William Swain Pinsent (1843 – 1920), awards won for “best cock (Dorking Cock) in show”. Anecdotal items in newspapers provide considerable insight into peoples’ lives – as long as they can be identified. I admit to being stumped by widespread references to “Mr. and Mrs. Pinsent”. They certainly got around.