Monday, September 29, 2025

September Update: Canadian Theses, Irish Wills, FindMyPast Fridays, and the Lloyd George Domesday Land Records (etc!)

This post is another one of those "summaries" covering a few of the recent databases that have come to my attention, since I'm still not back into systematically working on the one-name study.

Marilyn M Astle posted on the Guild Facebook Group about the online availability of Canadian Theses.1 It appears that this collaborative project between Canadian Universities and the Library and Archives of Canada celebrates its 60th anniversary this year. I was pleasantly surprised to find there were fifty four results relating to people with the surname PARRY.

The topics covered by their work are wide-ranging, as one might expect, but since the database is available to anyone who wants to look at it, and most of the authors are probably still living, I don't intend to research them, or to write much more about the information. However, it did amuse me to see one relating to the "Interactions of chemical and biological control agents for the integrated control of dandelion in turf." 

Controlling dandelions? Never! (I think that must be my RAF 'BRAT'2 upbringing showing through!)

During August, a question had been asked on the Guild's mailing list about Irish Wills and Probates.  This resulted in several web sites being suggested and I finally had a chance to look at some of them this month.

Will Calendars covering the period from 1858-1965 are available on the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland (PRONI) site.3 I initially made the mistake of just carrying out a surname search, which gave me thirty two results, followed by a first name search, which picked up another five entries involving the name.

But, once I started looking at the details for each entry, I realized it was better to search with the term in the "Full Abstract" box instead. That produced fifty five results, since it now included executors with the name, rather than just the deceased.

There was also one entry relating to a person described as "of Parry Sound Ontario Canada," which I can obviously discount as not relevant to the one-name study. However, although this particular individual did have an address in Belfast, as well, it highlights the fact that several of the entries mentioned places outside of Northern Ireland. I still need to look to see how those people connect to information from elsewhere, but I did recognize a couple of the names, so should be able to match up a few details.

As well as the PRONI site, I looked at the "Calendars of Wills and Administrations 1858 - 1920" that are available on the National Archives of Ireland site.4 On this site, you can (need to!) search either under the name of the deceased, or under the name of the executor/beneficiary. So I ended up carrying out four separate searches this time, since, once again, I thought I'd collect details of anyone using "Parry" as a first name, as well as a surname.

This is a table to summarize the numbers of entries obtained through the various search methods:

 

Deceased

Executor/Beneficiary

Surname

7 (but 2 = duplicated, so only 5 individuals)

11 (only 2 of which were also in the ‘Deceased’ entries)

Forename

2

1

Again, there are entries with connections outside of Ireland, for example, where the death and/or an initial grant of probate took place in England, but was "resealed" at the Principal Registry, in Dublin.

As well as the link to the Calendars section on the National Archives of Ireland, one of the responses to the original question had given the link to the Genealogy section of the site.5 From that, I discovered there were other databases available, eg censuses, tithes, marriage licences, valuation office records, shipping agreements and crew lists, as well as other probate records, in some cases going back to the late 1590s.

I did start to extract some details from these, for example, there were 42 entries for people with the surname PARRY in the "Prerogative and diocesan copies of some wills and indexes to others, 1596 – 1858." However, when I searched using Parry as a first name, I discovered there seem to be some inconsistencies in the data, in that, out of the three PARRY Bishops of Ossory (Benjamin PARRY 1678, John PARRY 1677, and Thomas PARRY, 1679,) only two appear under the surname search, while all three appear under the first name search (with the surname as Ossory). I also discovered a potential 'missing entry' in the marriages database, because a "Lucy PARRY" just happened to appear on the same page image as one of the other PARRYs, but did not appear among the search results.

It's obvious I need to spend more time investigating these various databases, and the best methods for searching them, so I have decided that Ireland would be better tackled as a 'mini project,' when I can just focus on all the records available for that area. I therefore didn't follow up another link which had been suggested, the "Family Search – PRO Ireland records (indexes)" - especially since, being Family Search, it will probably also lead me to other information relating to Ireland.

So that's now on the (ever-growing) ToDo list.

When I was researching for my previous post, on the 80th Anniversary of VJ Day, one of the names I was looking for appeared in an Ancestry database called, "UK, Postal Service Appointment Books, 1737-1969." I thought this might be quite an interesting source of information for adding detail to individuals' lives, so stopped to extract all of the PARRYs in the Index. In this case, I initially searched for exact surname, producing 995 results, but I then tried searching on exact keyword (with nothing in the first or last names). This produced 1006 results, the additional eleven all being entries with "Parry" as a first name.

I don't normally used the keyword search on Ancestry like that since, with some databases - for example, where 'Parry' might occur as part of an address - it could result in many irrelevant results. But this, and the earlier probate examples, demonstrate that, sometimes, it is worth trying different methods of searching.

The Postal Service information has now gone into an Excel spreadsheet, which is my preferred starting point for any set of data. This, of course, can cause me problems when dates are included in the results, since Excel deals with pre- and post- 1900 dates differently, and sorting on the dates can be a 'nightmare'. With a smallish spreadsheet, it's not too much trouble, even with my low level of skill in using formulas, to resolve the issue by adding a 'database date' (of the format "yyyymmdd"). However, with over a thousand entries in this sheet, it seems like that could be more difficult, and time consuming, than usual, so I might need to investigate some of the formulas that I haven't yet mastered!

Or, as was suggested at the recent Warwickshire Guild members meeting, perhaps I should see if this is the sort of task 'AI' can accomplish for me. ('AI' being yet another tool that I know little about, but other genealogists seem to be making good use of it.)

Either way, I think I have some 'studying' to do before I will be able to draw many conclusions from the post office data, although I have identified that the earliest entry is for a Mr Thomas PARRY, who was appointed as a junior clerk at the "Bye and Cross Road Letter Office" on the 3rd May 1769, and the latest was a Christine PARRY, appointed to the "External Telecommunications Executive" in January 1968.

I usually rely on receiving weekly emails from the genealogy sites, to inform me about updates to their databases but, having had to search through past emails (and 'the bin') in order to find some recent items that I was sure had been mentioned, I have now bookmarked the relevant pages of each site.6

One of the recent databases mentioned by FindMyPast was their "Military Service Memorial Collection." This includes "588,288 military records, spanning almost 400 years, from the English Civil War to modern conflicts like the Iraq War." Among the memorials is the one in Hereford Cathedral, which lists the Herefordshire men who died in the South African War 1899-1902. My great grandfather's brother, Thomas PARRY, appears on there, so this reminded me that, with my website still not available online, neither is my father's account of researching this Thomas. I've just checked whether I can add a pdf of the web page to this post - but it seems one can't do that with Blogger. The file would need to be somewhere else, such as on Google Drive, and just a link to it added here. Since I have sometimes had difficulty downloading other people's files, when they have used that method, and I don't want to inflict it on others, I guess this is another incentive to try and get my website back up and running! ☺ 

There have been a few other databases updated on both FindMyPast and Ancestry, but I'm just going to mention one more, which was on TheGenealogist. This company is gradually adding the "Lloyd George Domesday Land Records." The most recent county added was Sussex, but the notification reminded me that they have already included Bedfordshire. And this prompted me to dig out some photographs I had taken of a gravestone, which is in the cemetery at Potton, Bedfordshire, relating to a Thomas PARRY, his wife, Louisa Elizabeth, and their daughter, Sarah Elizabeth.


I have now carried out some research on the family, which I was going to include in this post but, since I found more than I anticipated, I think they can have a post all to themselves.

(That solves the topic for October, doesn't it! ☺)

 

Notes and Sources

1. Canadian Theses: https://recherche-collection-search.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/Help/theses

2. BRATs and the relevance of the dandelion: The acronym "BRAT" originally stood for "British Regiment Attached Traveler" but later came to be used as a description for military children. The dandelion has been adopted as the flower of the military child. As the RAF Families Federation puts it:

Dandelions are hardy plants which put down strong roots almost anywhere the wind carries them. It’s a survivor and blooms in a broad range of climates.

Military children may bloom wherever the wind takes them. They can have strong roots, planted swiftly and surely. They’re often ready to fly in the breeze to new adventures, new lands and new friends.                            

[https://www.raf-ff.org.uk/education/month-of-the-military-child/]

The thesis title brought back memories of groups of us children playing together on the RAF camps, (including in the monsoon drains, occasionally at the same time as those were being sprayed with some "chemical cloud" to kill off any mosquitos!)

3. Link to Will Calendars on the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland (PRONI): https://apps.proni.gov.uk/WillsCalendar_IE/WillsSearch.aspx

4. Link to Will Calendars on the National Archives of Ireland: https://willcalendars.nationalarchives.ie/search/cwa/home.jsp

5. Link to the Genealogy section of the National Archives of Ireland: https://genealogy.nationalarchives.ie/


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Friday, August 15, 2025

August 15th, 2025 - The 80th Anniversary of VJ Day

 I'm ashamed to admit it, but I was a bit slow remembering that today is the commemoration of the 80th anniversary of VJ Day.1

I imagine my Mum, in particular, would have had something to say about that, both as an ex-service woman (post war), but also because one of her aunts was later married to a man who had been a rubber planter, and who, I believe, spent much of the war imprisoned in Changi Prison, on Singapore.

Thinking about the day, there didn't seem to be an obvious way of easily identifying servicemen who might have been involved. But the news today reminded me about the "Calling Blighty" films, short films, made by servicemen in the Far East, between 1944-1946, as messages home to their families.2 

On searching the database, I discovered a recording of a Joseph PARRY, from Thatto Heath, Lancashire.3

I might be duplicating research already carried out by the team (since it isn't that difficult to trace some people, these days.) But I thought I would see what I could find out about Joseph.

From the film, as well as mention of his Mum and Dad, we get the names of "Flo", "Davy", "Ronnie", "Ruth", and "Mary". [If I'm hearing them correctly.]

His service number is given on the site, 1731832, but no regiment, or rank. 

My first port of call was the National Archives, from which I learnt that Joseph's records are closed until 20354:


However, as you can see, the entry does give his date of birth, 6 September 1919.  

Using this, I can see that there are at least nine trees on Ancestry for him, although some have the usual issues, such as place names allocated to the USA, a lack of information about vital events, and also several of them are private. 

I am going to ignore the trees to start with, and just see what I can find out using the information I have.

I started with just his name, and the keyword of his service number.  That found me two records in each of FindMyPast and Ancestry

From FindMyPast

First name(s) Joseph
Last name Parry
Service number 1731832
Regiment The Royal Regiment Of Artillery
Year 1940
Country Great Britain
View the original source View the record's source 
Original source Royal Artillery Attestations 1883-1942
Record set World War 2 Allies Collection
Category Military, armed forces & conflict
Subcategory Second World War
Collections from Americas, Australasia, Great Britain, Ireland, UK None

First name(s) Joseph
Last name Parry
Birth year -
Birth place -
Age -
Attestation year 1940
Service number 1731832
Former service number -
Record set Royal Artillery Attestations 1883-1942
Category Military, armed forces & conflict
Subcategory Regimental & Service Records
Collections from Great Britain, UK None


Since his attestation was in 1940, he, unfortunately, appears in the later books, which (according to the description on FindMyPast) give less information than the earlier ones, namely just:
 
Army number
Full name/s
Details of transfer to other Corps or cause of becoming non-effective (including date)

And any abbreviations need looking up in the King's regulations, which were published in 1914, 1923, and 1940.

In Joseph's entry, the last column shows "Field 1/9/44 (7028A)" (in red), "17/10/46 Z/T"(in blue), and "(FIELD BRANCH)" stamped in purple ink.  Under his name there is also "134/113" (written like a fraction).  

I'm not going to stop to find the relevant King's Regulations now, as I would like to post this today. But I might come back to the abbreviations later.

From Ancestry

A card appears for Joseph in the database, "UK, World War II Royal Artillery Tracer Cards, 1939-1948", which comes from the Royal Artillery Museum; Salisbury Plain, Larkhill, Wiltshire.  These cards were used by the Royal Artillery, in order to show where a soldier was, at any particular time.

There are a lot more abbreviations on this one, which, again, I'm not going to try to identify straight away. But from the card, there is the information that Joseph enlisted on 12/12/1940, and his unit was the "304, EA A/TK Regt." There is then a date, "1/9/44", in what looks to be the same ink. Above the "unit" is written "BY5/44", in blue.

Underneath that, are several lines in blue:

216/45 302 (EA F Regt 18/7/45
254/45 Depot RA 24/10/45
Release
Unit 93/46 [?]hist (&) 10/7/46
Release
1484/46 Z/T Ris: 17/10/46

And, finally, more in black

48/Recs/53 DiscPara 234-11, 20/4/53
Docs IY/E Lib

The second record on Ancestry is from the database "UK, British Army World War II Medal Cards, 1939-1945." Unfortunately, the actual image is only available on Fold3, which I don't have a subscription for, so I am using Ancestry's transcription, since it provides some useful details:

Name Joseph Parry
Rank Lance Bombardier
Birth Date 1919
Award Date 15 Apr 1950
Discharge Date 17 Oct 1946
Applicant's Delivery Address 498. Sutton Heath Rd Thatto Heath St Helens Lancs
Service Group Number 33
Class of Release A
Service Number 1731832
Regiment 304. (E A) Regt. Field, (R. A.)
Stars/Medals Issued 1939-45; Burma; Defence; War

Since Joseph did not enlist until 1940, he will appear in the 1939 Register - at this point, I returned to the pedigrees on Ancestry, since I had noticed, in the listing of the nine trees, that a couple of them did include the 1939 Register.

And, yes, following up the image for those entries does show a PARRY family who live at 498 Sutton Heath Road, St Helens.5

Not all of the family are visible, which indicates some might even still be alive. But the visible entries are:
Sarah PARRY, 9 May 1891, M, Unpaid Domestic Duties
Florence PARRY, (later to become CROSS), 3 Aug 1923, S, Greengrocery Shop Assistant
Joseph PARRY, 6 Sep 1919 S Coal miner (Haulage) Below 
[There are four "officially closed" records below this]

According to the pedigrees, Joseph married a Ruth Mildred SMITH, in 1946, and he died in 1996.  I suspect his future wife might be the "Ruth" mentioned in the film.

As well as Florence, who was visible on the 1939 Register, several trees show a sibling "May" (b.1928). But no other siblings, which is disappointing, since I had been going to stop at this point.
But now I 'need' to find out who else Joseph was referring to in the film. ☺

So, first I'm trying FindMyPast, in case other names have been uncovered in their version of the 1939 Register. 

It turns out one of the four has - Ronald, born 8 March 1925. So that's probably "Ronnie."

The Ancestry trees indicated that the maiden name for Sarah, Joseph's mother, was "Phillips". So I started by checking the GRO Index for births of the known children, to confirm that maiden name, and found the following entries:

Joseph: GRO Reference: 1919  D Quarter in PRESCOT  Volume 08B  Page 1547
Florence: GRO Reference: 1923  S Quarter in PRESCOT  Volume 08B  Page 1419
Ronald: GRO Reference: 1925  M Quarter in PRESCOT  Volume 08B  Page 1308

Since I can find these three entries, which match to the information I have, I'm going to narrow down the search to just the Prescot district, and include the mother's maiden name, to see who else I can find over the years after June 1917, when Sarah PHILLIPS married James PARRY.

Unfortunately, PARRY is a 'frequently occurring' surname so, even narrowing the search terms down like that, produces several 'extras', who are unlikely to be relevant:

Robert: GRO Reference: 1915  D Quarter in PRESCOT  Volume 08B  Page 1388 
Lily: GRO Reference: 1917  D Quarter in PRESCOT  Volume 08B  Page 1131
Robert Lloyd: GRO Reference: 1919  J Quarter in PRESCOT  Volume 08B  Page 1116
[Joseph fits here 1919] 
Albert Charles: GRO Reference: 1921  S Quarter in PRESCOT  Volume 08B  Page 1484
[Florence fits here 1923]
[Ronald fits here 1925]
Muriel: GRO Reference: 1926  S Quarter in PRESCOT  Volume 08B  Page 1347
Thomas: GRO Reference: 1928  S Quarter in PRESCOT  Volume 08B  Page 1150
May: GRO Reference: 1928  D Quarter in PRESCOT  Volume 08B  Page 1209
Donald: GRO Reference: 1931  S Quarter in PRESCOT  Volume 08B  Page 1273 
Hilda; GRO Reference: 1933  S Quarter in PRESCOT  Volume 08B  Page 1172

The first three entries can be discounted, Robert Lloyd's birth being too close to Joseph's birth, and the previous two not being shown in the 1921 census, which I later looked at.6

The "females 1927+/-2 years" search results showed four entries without the mother's maiden name, along with one having the maiden name "HORNBY" (which seems a bit strange!) 

The "males 1932+/-2 years" search results showed eight entries without the mother's maiden name, one of which was a David. ("Davy" seemed to be one of the people Joseph named in the film.)

The "females 1932+/-2 years" search results also showed eight entries without the mother's maiden name.

There is an issue on the GRO site, in the later years, with regard to showing the mother's maiden names. The site also doesn't contain birth entries between 1934 - 1984.

So, I resorted to FreeBMD.  That just gave me the same people as above (with the exception of the Thomas in 1928, who wasn't found, for some reason). However, it did allow me to identify that the mother's maiden name of the "David" was MATTHEWS, so he isn't relevant. 

From the trees on Ancestry, and the 1921 census for the PARRY family, I know Sarah had been married before, her first husband, Peter TWIST, dying at Gallipoli.7 The 1921 census shows two children from the first marriage, Peter b. 1912, and Gladys b. 1914 - but those names don't seem to relate to the people named by Joseph in the film.

So I think I am reaching the end of what I can easily discover today.  One last attempt - any newspaper references to the PARRY family in Thatto Heath? (No)

So, quickly rechecking before posting - and I realise that, whereas Ancestry normally seem to batch together all the trees relating to a particular person, the set of nine trees I'd found earlier on Ancestry are not the only suggested ones - there is another batch, of five trees.  These indicate that the birth registrations for Muriel, and for Donald, possibly belong to the same family, and that there is then another, "unknown" daughter.

Have I misheard some of the names? Or might they be other people, rather than his siblings, that Joseph is naming?

It is very tempting, given the price of pdf birth certificates these days, to purchase those in order to resolve the issue, one way or the other.

But I am going to resist the temptation, and call it a day.  It only remains for me, over the next day or so, to contact all of the tree owners, to see if they are aware of the "Calling Blighty" films, and the possibility that one of their relatives - maybe even an ancestor - is shown in one.  

I hope I have done him justice.


Notes and Sources
1. VJ Day and the 80th Anniversary: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victory_over_Japan_Day
A Government site, marking the VE Day and VJ Day anniversaries https://ve-vjday80.gov.uk/



4. Joseph PARRY: National Archives result https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C20049000

5. 1939 Register entry: 1939 Register reference: RG 101/4607G

6. 1921 Census reference: RG 15/18047, ED 48, Sch 174; Book: 18047

7. Peter TWIST, on CWGC site: https://www.cwgc.org/find-records/find-war-dead/casualty-details/683686/peter-twist/



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Half way through August already! (July's news - and more sidetracks! :-) )

Much of my research time during July was spent creating posts for one of my other blogs. So this post was going to be one of those 'last minute' entries, sneaking in just before the end of the month, containing a round up of a few PARRY references that I have come across recently, along with information about some databases that have been mentioned on mailing lists, and which have turned out to contain relevant references.

But things are rarely that simple, and the day (and month!) passed by, with the post still unfinished.

So here we are, the middle of August and I have failed at my goal of writing (at least) one post each month throughout 2025.

Maybe next year..... ☺

But failure is no reason to stop 'practicing' so, to continue with posting something:

Here are some of the databases that came to my attention over the month:

Records for the Home Guard (WW2) for Durham are now available at the TNA and on the Genealogist site. The Home Guard (initially called the "Local Defence Volunteers") existed from 1940-1945.1

From my first glance, I was going to say there are fifteen PARRYs - but then I realised that a couple of them appear more than once so, to be correct, there are fifteen results, covering thirteen men. The 'duplications' appear to be because two of them served in two different battalions.

Their birth dates range from 1894 - 1926, which I thought was quite interesting.  National Service in the UK operated from 1939-19602 and, after a short period in 1939, when it only affected men aged 20-22 years old, the age range was increased to 18-41 years. In 1942, the upper age limit for men was then extended to 51 years.

So, some of the PARRYs would have been too old to be conscripted at the start of the war, and others too young. I'm assuming, at the moment, that those in the middle age range were either working in 'reserved' occupations, or had been rejected for active service as being medically unfit. 

But that would be an interesting follow-up activity to carry out, checking the enrolment forms at the TNA (available for free when signed in) to see what additional information about the men can be discovered. (But I won't sidetrack to do that now, or this post will never get finished!) 

Another database, "French register of deceased persons since 1970"

Somehow, the site https://arbre.app/insee came to my attention.  This is a site produced by an individual (Florian Cassayre), using data from INSEE, which is the French "National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies."3

There are 350 results when I search for PARRYs, and it is possible to download the results. 

Unfortunately, the site interface has 'crashed' several times, initially when I clicked on the settings button, to see what was there, and then again after I downloaded the results. So I'm not sure how stable it currently is - but it could be a useful site for anyone with French ancestry (or who is doing a one-name study.) (Or even just tracing people who disappeared across the channel - I've just found several potential entries for one of my other surnames, NAYLOR, including people who were born in the UK but died in France.)

The "statistics" tab shows a distribution of entries for the surname:

As well as graphs of annual births for the surname:




And also deaths: 




[The births graph shows less entries in the later years, since most of those people will still be alive, and therefore their information will not yet be included in the database.]  

I haven't read all the details about the site but assume it might be updated in the future, as more data gets released. 

A third site that came to my attention was the Oxfordshire Family History Society's database of "Transcribed Wills."4

There are four PARRYs currently mentioned in this, from three Wills:

In 1704, a William PARRY, Jr, was a witness to the Will of a William BOULTER of Kingham.

In 1740, a Barbara PARRY, of Standlake, received £20 from the Will of James TUCKEY of Cassington.  Barbara has been identified as "nee TUCKEY", although the Will doesn't specifically state that.

And then, in 1740, an Elizabeth PARRY, and an Isaac PARRY, are both listed as close relatives of a Thomas KILLINGWORTH, of St Martin in the Fields, Middlesex, Elizabeth being his sister, and Isaac his brother-in-law.  They each received £10, to purchase mourning dress.

As is often the case, probate entries, such as these, can provide useful details, which then lead to further information.  For example,  a possible baptism for Barbara TUCKEY can be found in Standlake, Oxfordshire, on 5 Nov 1707, daughter of a Richard TUCKEY (Ancestry). According to a couple of pedigrees on Ancestry, her marriage (to a Thomas PERRY, rather than PARRY) took place in Oxford, on 11 Aug 1730 - although the pedigrees show no source for that.  

However, FindMyPast has the "Oxfordshire Marriage Bonds 1634-1849" database, which does include the marriage (only as "1730," not the full date).  That marriage index can also be found on a page of the Whipple One-Name Study site.5 The database is only a transcription, no images, but the index shows Elizabeth's spouse as a Thomas PERRY, so that probate entry can now be identified as "potentially" not relevant to the PARRY study. (But the marriage index did turn up two other potential PARRY entries though - an Elizabeth PARRY of Abingdon, Berkshire,  marrying a John WRIGHT of Culham, in 1723, and Ann PARRY of Oxford, marrying a William STEEL, of Woodeaton, in 1830. So, lost one, gained two! ☺)

I had better luck following up the Elizabeth KILLINGWORTH. Again, her potential baptism can be identified using pedigrees on Ancestry (30 January 1724, Wootton, Oxfordshire). Her marriage to Isaac PARRY appears in the "England, Select Marriages, 1538-1973" on Ancestry, as having taken place on 5 Sep 1760, at Saint Martin In The Fields, Westminster.  This time, there are also images available, under "St Martin-In-The-Fields, 1757-1762", in the "Westminster, London, England, Church of England Marriages and Banns, 1754-1935" database.  And Isaac is very clearly written as a PARRY (and Elizabeth's surname is spelt KILLINWORTH.)

Finally, the sidetrack - this is a bit of a 'meander' along the route my research went!

As I mentioned at the start of this post, much of my time recently has been taken up with other research - but even in doing that, I came across some PARRYs. (They do get everywhere. ☺)

These two are not 'previously unknown' PARRYs.  In fact, they are quite well known ones. 

But it's always interesting to come across new sources (although disappointing when one also finds errors in them!)

I've been looking into the progresses of Queen Elizabeth I and, in particular, her progresses to Coventry and Kenilworth. And I have known for some years that at least two PARRYs were servants of the Queen, both from before she came to the throne:

The first, Thomas PARRY (c.1515-1560), held various offices, including that of the Princess Elizabeth's "cofferer", responsible for paying her household expenses.6 The reference I came across was the 1823 version of the book about the Queen's Progresses, by John Nichols7

This contains an abstract of "The Accompte of THOMAS PARRY" - so I then went down a 'rabbit hole', trying to make sense of some of the quantities. For example, under "The Bakehouse and Pantrye", there were five payments for wheat, totaling 80 quarters of wheat, which I gather was about 160 stones, or 2240lb8

Thomas also paid for supplies to "The Buttery and Cellar", but I struggled to find 'sensible' conversions for these, since the list includes "10 dole of beer" at £10 3s, but the "dole" doesn't seem to be a measurement - it just refers to beer given out as charity. 

Another entry showed the purchase of "10 ton 1 pipe of beer" for £10 3s, the same cost as the 'dole' entry. So my assumption is that, that was likely to be the same quantity purchased in the 'dole' entry, as well.  

But whether the "10 dole of Gaskoine wine" at £80 was also 10 tons, I have no idea!

And yesterday, writing this up, I discovered that Thomas Parry's account of the Princess's household expenses, which covered the period from 1 October 1851 to 30 September 1852, was published by the Camden Society, in 1853 (after the Nichols' publication) and it is available in the Internet Archive.9

So, from that, I now know that there were actually over twenty entries relating to wheat, rather than just the five quoted in Nichols - and a lot more alcohol!

Clearly, I need to do more work to understand the account book.

The second PARRY I had found a reference to, still in Nichols, was Blanche PARRY (c1507 - 1590), one of Elizabeth's gentlewomen, and also keeper of the Queen's Jewels.10

Again, there is a lot of information available about Blanche, who was one of the Herefordshire PARRYs. But this reference initially sent me searching through the various versions of Nichols' work, looking at the listings of New Year gifts to, and from, the Queen.

I also came across the site https://tudorsdynasty.com/elizabeths-ladies/, which has some information, not just about Blanche, but also about the wife of the Thomas Parry above, Anne Rede, and the wife of their son, another Thomas Parry, Dorothy Brooke. Both of these women also served the Queen.

At least that site doesn't refer to any connection between Blanche PARRY, and Thomas PARRY. 

However, following up the various references mentioned on the site, led me to discover a doctoral thesis, by Charlotte Merton, concerning "The Women Who Served Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth: ladies, gentlewomen and maids of the Privy Chamber, 1553–1603."  This is available online.11

I'm looking forward to reading this - partly because it is a topic of interest. but also because it does have over forty references to the surname PARRY.  

However, I spotted that, on page 33, the thesis refers to Thomas PARRY (the husband of Anne Reade) as being the brother of Blanche PARRY.

No, they were *not* siblings.

That reminded me of another book I was looking at recently, which also contains an error, regarding their relationship - page 61 of "The Masters of the Revels and Elizabeth I's Court Theatre"12 refers to Blanche as being the wife of Thomas.

No, they were *not* married to each other.

Thomas PARRY was the son of Henry VAUGHAN of Tretower, Breconshire, who was the son of Sir Thomas VAUGHAN, the son of Robert VAUGHAN.

Yes, there is a reason for listing several generations - I often think it is interesting that Thomas took the surname PARRY (from his father's first name of Henry/Harry), in accordance with the Welsh patronymic style, despite the VAUGHANs having been using the English naming system (of a fixed surname), for several generations.  

Bearing in mind that this was at a time when many of the Welsh who were involved with the Royal court in England would have been doing exactly the opposite, particularly following the "Laws in Wales Acts" of 1535 and 1542.

So I often wonder, "Why?"

Blanche PARRY was the daughter of Henry Myles of Newcourt, in Bacton, Herefordshire. 

Again, her surname comes from the Welsh patronymic system - but her family had still been using that system over previous generations, with her line tracing from Griffith ap Henry, down through Henry ap Griffith, Myele Parrie, and then her father, Harry Myles, as you can see in the "Parry's of Golden Valley" pedigree at https://freepages.rootsweb.com/~parryresearch/family/gvfull.htm. 

Blanche never married, serving Elizabeth from the time of Elizabeth's birth in 1533, until Blanche's death in 1590. 

Although the various VAUGHAN and PARRY families in that border area of Herefordshire and Breconshire did intermarry (frequently!) there doesn't seem to be a close link between the two specific families of Thomas and Blanch. 

One day, I hope to get back to working on the early pedigrees, but that's enough sidetracking for now!


Notes and Sources

2. Conscription in the UK: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conscription_in_the_United_Kingdom

3. INSEE, the French "National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies.": 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Institut_national_de_la_statistique_et_des_%C3%A9tudes_%C3%A9conomiques

4. Oxfordshire Family History Society's database of "Transcribed Wills":
http://wills.oxfordshirefhs.org.uk/index.html

5. Oxford Marriage Bonds, in the Whipple One-Name Study site: https://whipple.one-name.net/oxford/3_alpha_by_grooms_parish.pdf

6. Thomas PARRY, Cofferer to Queen Elizabeth I: 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Parry_(Comptroller_of_the_Household) 

7. John Nichols: "The progresses and public processions of Queen Elizabeth. : Among which are interspersed other solemnities, public expenditures, and remarkable events during the reign of that illustrious princess. Collected from original manuscripts, scarce pamphlets, corporation records, parochial registers, &c., &c. Illustrated, with historical notes" available on the Internet Archives, at

https://archive.org/details/progressespublic01nich/page/n10/mode/1up?  

9. The Camden publication of Thomas Parry's account of the Princess's household expenses: "Household expenses of the Princess Elizabeth during her residence at Hatfield, October 1, 1551, to September 30, 1552," available from the Internet Archive  https://archive.org/details/householdexpense00elizrich/page/n11/mode/2up 

10. Blanche PARRY (c1507 - 1590): Wikipedia page at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blanche_Parry 

There is also a book specifically about Blanche, written by Ruth Richardson, ‘Mistress Blanche, Queen Elizabeth I’s Confidante’.  Ruth's website can be found at https://www.blancheparry.com/index.shtml

11. Charlotte Merton's 1992 Thesis: "The Women Who Served Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth: ladies, gentlewomen and maids of the Privy Chamber, 1553–1603." available online - or, at least, it was a few days ago!

I downloaded the thesis from the University of Cambridge repository, 
https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/items/373daa8b-6592-4796-ae95-25c9ce922988  However, the service is currently (18 August 2025) showing as "503 Service Unavailable". Hopefully, it is just a temporary issue.

12. "The Masters of the Revels and Elizabeth I's Court Theatre", W. R. Streitberger, Oxford University Press, 26 Feb 2016. The book is searchable on Google books, but it is not possible to view whole pages. https://books.google.co.uk/books/about/The_Masters_of_the_Revels_and_Elizabeth.html?id=SQd-CwAAQBAJ&redir_esc=y





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Sunday, June 29, 2025

The Funeral, in 1918, of Hubert PARRY (aka Charles Hubert Hastings PARRY)

 [This is a continuation of my post about the Guild of One-Name Studies' Education Seminar in June, since that post was becoming quite long.]

I'm sure I say this after every seminar, or the Conference, but one of the best features about attending Guild events is the opportunity to meet up with other members.  It was good to catch up with a few of the Warwickshire contingent face-to-face at the seminar, rather than just via our zoom meetings.  It was also lovely to see members from elsewhere around the country, some of whom I have known for over twenty years now.

And I'm always grateful when one of them has taken the trouble to record a PARRY that they've come across.  

So, thank you to Bob Cumberbatch for this photograph of the grave of Hubert PARRY, from St Paul's Cathedral, in London.


Although frequently known as Hubert, this is actually Sir Charles Hubert Hastings PARRY.  As a non-musician, I hesitate to even comment about the contribution to music that he made, but I do hope readers will at least recognise the song, "Jerusalem", which comes from a poem by William Blake, called "And did those feet in ancient time," that Hubert set to music.

I don't normally spend much time researching, or trying to write about, "famous" PARRYs.  There is already so much information available about them, there seems little point in rehashing it.  But I did look at Hubert's family tree some years ago, after reading the book "The Parrys of the Golden Vale."1

The "Golden Vale" is the Golden Valley in Herefordshire, from where a particular PARRY family originated, which had several 'high profile' members, such as Blanch PARRY, lady in waiting to Queen Elizabeth I.  Since my own family trace back to the border area of South Wales with Herefordshire, and I've always found the Elizabethan period interesting, the book was worth reading.

Some of Hubert's relatives claimed descent from this Herefordshire family - but there was a lack of genealogical evidence.  The claim seems to have mainly been based on the family owning some items with the relevant coat of arms on. But, at the same time, they thought their great grandfather had tried to hide his parentage.

Now, that seems an interesting contradiction, hiding one's parentage, while at the same time displaying a coat of arms.  

Unless, of course, the two don't match. ☺ 

It is some years since I researched the family, so perhaps it is time I took another look, in case there is more information available on them now.

But, to go with Bob's photograph, I thought I would transcribe a newspaper report of Hubert's funeral, along with some other tributes to him from the same newspaper2.  As you can see, there was a very impressive list of attendees.

The Late Sir Hubert Parry. 

BURIED IN ST. PAUL'S CATHEDRAL. 

The funeral of Sir Hubert Parry, Bt.. C.V.O., D.C.L., Mus.Doc. Director of the Royal College of Music, took place on Wednesday afternoon at St. Paul's Cathedral. in the presence of a large congregation. The officiating clergy were the Archdeacon of London, Canon Alexander, and Canon Newbolt. With Sir Walter Parratt presiding at the organ, in the absence, through ill-health, of Mr. Charles Macpherson, there were present as conductors Major H. Walford Davis (organist to the Temple Church) and Dr. H. P. Allen, Professor of Music at Oxford University, the last-named conducting a performance of the dead composer's six-part unaccompanied motet, " There as an old belief." The hymn was " Brief life is here our portion," and to this succeeded Stanford's setting of "I heard a voice from heaven."  In addition to Bach's choral prelude. " Jesu, priceless Treasure," which, ere the service began, the organist coupled with Parry's " As pants the hart," there was heard Bach's " Passion " chorale, " Commit thy ways to Jesus." Last of all came the choral prelude for organ which Parry founded upon Croft's "Ye boundless realms of joy," and the service closed with the Benediction pronounced by the Arch-bishop of Canterbury. 

The King was represented by Mr. Harry Verney, Queen Alexandra was represented by Earl Howe, the Prince of Wales by the Hon. Sir Sidney Greville, and Princess Louise, Duchess of Argyll, by Colonel Vernor Chater. The Lord Mayor and Sheriffs of London were present in State, attended by the Macebearer and the Swordbearer, and occupied seats in the choir. 

The family mourners included: Lady Maud Parry (the widow), Mr. Arthur Ponsonby, M.P. and Mrs. Ponsonby (son-in-law and daughter) Mr. H. Plunket Greene and Mrs. Plunket Greene (son-in-law and daughter) and their children, Mrs. E. T. Cripps and Master William Cripps (Cirencester), Lady Mary von Hugel, the Dowager Countess of Pembroke. the Countess of Pembroke. Lady Herbert. the Misses Gambier Parry, Mr. T. Gambier Parry, Mr. Mark Parry, Mr. and Mrs. Sidney Parry, Lieut. Richard Gambier Parry, Miss Joan Gambier Parry, Mr. and Mrs. Oxley Parker, the Hon. Mrs. Ernest Gambier Parry, the Hon. George Herbert, and Mr. Sidney Herbert. Major E. Gambier Parry was prevented by illness from attending the funeral. 

Nine boys from Eton College acted as pall-bearers, headed by the Keeper of the Field, which Sir Hubert Parry formerly was, with four Oppidans and four Collegers. They were Mr. S. S. Burt, K.S., Mr. G. W. Wrangham, K.S., Mr. W. L. Runciman, K.S., Mr. O. G. Bowlby, K.S., Mr. C. V. N. H. Hely-Hutchinson, K.S., the Hon. Charles Baillie-Hamilton (captain of the Oppidans), Mr. D. O'B. E. ffrensh-Blake, Mr. H. M. Strickland-Constable, and Lord Morven Cavendish-Bentinck. 

Among those present in the congregation were: Earl Beauchamp (Lord Lieutenant of Gloucestershire), the Headmaster of Eton, Sir Charles Villiers Stanford (representing the Vice- Chancellor of Cambridge University), Lord and Lady Rayleigh, Lord Stanmore, Lady Delia Peel, the Hon. Lady Reid, Clara Lady Vincent, Sir Edward Poynter, Sir Alexander Mackenzie, Lord Muir Mackenzie, Lord Stuart of Wortley, Mr. Justice Younger, the Dean of Windsor, Canon Edgar Sheppard, Sub-Dean of the Chapels Royal, the Archdeacon of Salisbury, Lady Cynthia Colville, Lady Olga Montagu, the Hon. Norah Dawnay, Lady Parratt, Sir Frederic Cowen, Mr. Landon Ronald, Miss Muriel Foster, Sir Charles Nicholson, M.P. Sir George Donaldson, Sir Homewood Crawford, the Hon. Robert Lyttelton, Sir Francis Champneys, Sir Charles Metcalf, Sir Ernest Palmer, Mr. Lionel Benson, Dr. C. Harford Lloyd, Mr. Montague Muir Mackenzie, Mr. Howard Morley, Mr. Bruce Richmond, Sir Robert Morant, General Sir Desmond O'Callaghan, Sir Walter Raleigh, Dr. Robert Bridges, Sir Sidney Colvin, Mr. Adolphus Liddell, Mrs. Andrew Lang. Sir George Greenwood, M.P., Sir Louis Mallet, Sir William Richmond, Sir Edward and Lady Elgar. Sir Frederick Bridge, Mrs. George Lillie Craik (representing members of the Fynes-Clinton family), Mr. Basil H. Philpott (Chapel Royal, Hampton Court), Prof. H. H. Turner, Mr. Leonard S. Lush Mr. Arthur F. Hill, Dr. R. M. Going, Dr. Gerald Harper. Mr. Herman Klein (representing the music critics' circle of the Institute of Journalists), Mr. C. Partridge, an old member of the choir at Highnam, Canon Park, Mr. W. H. Morgan, Mr. and Mrs. A. W. Eels (Highnam), Mr. Fred Haine and Mr. and Mrs. King (Over), Mr. J. H. Jones (Gloucester), and Mr. Arthur Grove. There were also present representatives from the Royal Academy of Music, Associated Board R.A.M. and R.C.M., Guildhall School of Music, Trinity College of Music, Royal Choral Society, Royal Philharmonic Society. Royal College of Organists, Bach Choir, Royal Albert Hall Corporation Handel Society, Royal Society of Musicians, People's Concert Society, Musical Association, Music in War-time, Incorporated Society of Musicians, Worshipful Company of Musicians, National Orchestral Association, Staff Sight Singing College, Tonic Sol-fa College, Elizabethan Madrigal Society, Society of British Composers, Cambridge University Musical Society, Cambridge University Musical Club, Welsh Folk Song Society, Three Choirs Festival, Kneller Hall (Royal Military School of Music), Bristol Madrigal Society, Bristol Musical Society, Oxford University Musical Club, Royal College of Music Union Royal College of Music Magazine, Royal Academy of Arts, Oxford University, Cambridge University, London University, Trinity College, Dublin (Dr. P. C. Buck), Oxford University Dramatic Society, Royal Geographical Society, Royal Yacht Society, the Literary Society, the Society of Authors, Queen Alexandra's House, Windsor and Eton Choral Society, and the Professional Classes War Relief Council. 
The Archdeacon of Bristol was unavoidably absent. 


I found myself comparing it to the funeral report I transcribed in December, for the "Lonely Soldier." What a difference!

Following the report of the funeral, the newspaper carried several other articles concerning Hubert PARRY, and events at the time, so I transcribed them as well, since they add to the picture of his life, beyond his music. 


MEMORIAL SERVICE AT HIGHNAM. 
The morning service on Sunday at the Holy Innnocents' Church, Highnam, was of a special Character, memorial being made thereat of the late Sir Hubert Parry. The lessons were taken from Ecclesiasticus, c. 44, and I. Corinthians, c. 15 and the Psalm chosen was the 90th, from the burial office; further portions of that service being read at the end of matins. The Vicar (Canon Park) preached from II. Samuel, c 3, v. 38. his sermon taking the form of an affectionate tribute to the late squire and patron of the church. Additional strength was given to the choir by the welcome presence of Messrs. Rose. F. Trigg, G. Clarke and R. Morgan (the last two being home on leave). Sir H. Parry's exquisite setting to Tennyson's poem "Sunset and Evening Star" and his fine tune to "The roseate hues of early dawn" were sung, and at the close of the service Mr. W. H. Morgan played Beethoven's Funeral March. The service altogether was of a singularly touching as well as appropriate character, and gave expression to the deep feelings of those present at it, for Highnam people fully realise that by the death of Sir H. Parry they have lost not only a great man from their midst, but also one who was a true and genuine friend to all in the parish. Two beautiful laurel wreaths, the gifts respectively of the Staff at Highnam Court Estate and Mr. Morgan and the Choir, were placed on and near that seat in the chancel which the late squire always occupied at public worship.  In view of the fact that Sir H. Parry's remains were not to be laid in the church- yard, and also because the Vicar and other leading representatives of the parish had arranged 
to attend the public funeral in London on Wednesday, no memorial service could be held on that afternoon at Highnam ; hence it was decided that Sunday morning was the most suitable time for the remembrance to be made of the deceased in his own parish. Wreaths from Highnam were sent from the Vicarage, the servants, and the school teachers and children. 

HIS MAJESTY'S SYMPATHY. 
Mr. Muir Mackenzie, hon. secretary of the Royal College of Music. bas receiving (sic) the following letter from Lord Stamfordham :- " Your letter of the 8th inst. announcing the death of Sir Hubert Parry has been laid before the King. His Majesty has received the sad news with deep regret. He regarded Sir Hubert as an old friend, and in his Majesty's successive positions of President and Patron of the College he had opportunity to realise how much it possessed in its gifted and beloved director.
The King commands me to convey to the members of the Council the expression of his true sympathy in the irreparable loss which they and the Institution have sustained." 

WORK FOR MUSICIANS IN DISTRESS. 
Sir Homewood Crawford writes to "The Times " :-In the various obituary notices which I have read no mention is made of the splendid war work done by Sir Hubert Parry to help to relieve distress in the musical world attributable to the war. Shortly after war broke out the Professional Classes War Relief Council was formed. Sir Hubert Parry, with several other leaders of the musical profession were invited to join the Council, of which the Lord Mayor for the time being is the president. and the Archbishop of Canterbury and Cardinal Bourne vice-presidents. Major Darwin acting as chairman. Committees were at once set up to deal with the various spheres of the Council's work and Sir Hubert Parry readily accepted the chairmanship of the Music in War-time Committee. For upwards of four years Sir Hubert Parry gave the Committee the benefit of his valuable services, presiding over all committee meetings, and personally investigating and supervising every detail of the work entrusted to the Committee. When I state that the Joint Committee of the British Red Cross Society and the Order of St. John have left to our Committee the organisation of hospital concerts throughout England and Wales it will be readily understood that the task has not been light. Moreover. the alleviation of distress among hundreds of musicians has necessarily involved the Committee—and especially their chairman—in much arduous and anxious work. Sir Hubert Parry never spared himself, and I owe it to his revered memory to make known publicly the increased indebtedness under which the musical profession remains for the never-ending interest taken by him in its welfare.  I need hardly say that the important and useful work of the Committee will continue with, if possible, increased vigour, so that the wants of musicians in real distress may not go unrelieved. 

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Saturday, June 28, 2025

The Guild's Education Seminar at Bearley

 The Guild of One-Name Studies held another seminar this month, at Bearley Village Hall, near Stratford-upon-Avon.  Entitled "The Best Days of Your Life", the sessions focused on education and, as usual, there was a good variety in the talks.

Once the welcome and administrative information was dealt with, the day kicked off with a fascinating talk by Taresh Solanki, "William's Schoolmaster", giving us an insight into the education William Shakespeare, and other pupils in the 16c, might have experienced.  Since Taresh was dressed for the part, and 'in character' it was easy to imagine being in the classroom at that time, and I think a visit to "Shakespeare’s Schoolroom & Guildhall" might be one of my future activities!1

Following this, we watched one of the videos from the Schoolroom, "The Prefects Table in Shakespeare's Schoolroom".2  This reminded me of a project carried out by the Coventry Family History Society, recording the names inscribed on the desks of the old Grammar School there.3  

Such carvings really are "unusual" name rich sources, but wouldn't it be amazing to find someone with your research surname on one of them? 

Which is actually something I did, when I followed up one of the other suggestions for unusual sources - checking the various displays within the village hall.  One of these is a set of tiles of "Residents and Friends of Bearley at the Millenium" and, among those, I found a PARRY family!




After a short break, Margaret Roberts told us about the changing role and experience of the teacher, covering teacher training from the Edwardian period up until the "swinging sixties", with a particular focus on the Cheshire Training College, in Crewe. The early segregation of the sexes there reminded me of how, even in the 1970s, at my secondary school, there were certain subjects only available if you were of the 'right' gender, and how, for assembly, boys and girls sat in different halves of the school hall (something I probably recall more vividly because three of us made the mistake of going down the boys' side in our first year! :-) )

Alison Boulton then shared with us the research carried out by Denise Bright, on Moorfield School for Girls, in Plymouth.  The records for this school were lost, after it closed in the early 1960s, and Denise has done an amazing job in managing to identify over a thousand of the pupils who attended between 1850 - 1962, in what was a fairly small school.

 After the usual, excellent, buffet lunch, Val Brenton spoke about how to trace teachers in the family, using examples from the records relating to two particular teachers.  I noted the need to dig a bit deeper, when finding someone recorded as a "teacher", or a "certified teacher" in records, such as censuses.  It turns out that there were various methods for becoming certified, and even a headteacher might just be described as a "teacher" at times. 

The FANS principle, of researching "friends, acquaintances, and neighbours" can also be of importance, especially when researching spinster teachers, who often went to stay with a variety of relatives. Again, I was reminded of a couple of cases I have come across - one, an elderly "aunt" of my Dad who, I gather, lived with my grandparents, when my Dad and his siblings were growing up, before moving on to stay with someone else. The second, an "Eleanor Agnes Plant", whose gravestone is in the London Road Cemetery, in Coventry, and who is someone I researched because the inscription intrigued me, since the stone was put up by her cousin:


Transcription:

In loving memory
Of
My dear cousin
Eleanor Agnes Plant
Who died October 12th 1912.
“He giveth his beloved sleep”

Born in Salford, Lancashire, but seemingly (based on census entries) brought up by her uncle and aunt in Leicester, rather than by her father and his second wife, Eleanor is recorded variously as a "Teacher of music", "Private governess (teacher)" and as a "Governess", before finally living on her own private means.4

I haven't investigated her potential teaching qualifications, since I was more interested in the cousin relationship (and music can be a "special case" when it comes to teaching qualifications, anyway.)  But she seems to be a possible example of this principle of spinster teachers who lived with relatives, once they no longer worked.

Having heard all about records relating to teachers, Claire Moore then gave us an introduction to school and education records, and the information we might find for pupils, which included a brief history of schooling, and of different types of schools, such as the National, Reformatory, Industrial, and Ragged schools.

After a short quiz based on exam questions from the 1800s (no, I couldn't list all the main towns along the south coast, from Dover to Falmouth, either,) the seminar finished with three more 'Tales from the Schoolroom', by Margaret and Alison, which covered an example of a child study by one of the trainee teachers at the Crewe College, the education of the deaf and dumb, and finally, information about the sporting activities of the female teaching students during the Edwardian period.  

I seem to have written more than I originally intended to, about the seminar itself, and about the thoughts that came to mind during it. So I'm going to stop here and then write a separate post, to follow up on something not directly related to the seminar contents.


Notes and references:

1. Shakespeare’s Schoolroom & Guildhall: https://www.shakespearesschoolroom.org/

2. Back to School videos by Shakespeare's Schoolroom & Guildhall: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLdJwy6CrVaSlc2EcZQQXF_TcdMYK2sEQp

3. Coventry Family History Society pdf of the Graffiti in the Old Grammar School can be accessed from https://www.covfhs.org/records/

4. Census entries relating to Eleanor Agnes Plant:

1861 census RG9/2293/88/2 
4 Napier Terrace, Lutterworth Road, St Mary, Leicester
First name(s), Last name, Relationship, Marital status, Sex, Age, Birth year, Occupation, Birth place
James Plant, Head, Married, Male, 42, 1819, Manufacturer of fancy hosiery employing 20 hands, Leicester, Leicestershire, England
Mary J Plant, Wife, Married, Female, 35, 1826, -, Leicester, Leicestershire, England
Eleanor A Plant, Niece, Unmarried, Female, 10, 1851, Scholar, Salford, Lancashire, England
Eliza Dester, Servant, Unmarried, Female, 20, 1841, Housemaid, Leicester, Leicestershire, England

1871 census RG10/3282/39/20
40 West Street, Leicester
First name(s), Last name, Relationship, Marital status, Sex, Age, Birth year, Occupation, Birth place
James Plant, Head, -, Male, 51, 1820, Manufacturer (abt 50 hands), Leicester, England
Mary E Plant, Wife, -, Female, 42, 1829, wife, Leicester, England
Eleanor A Plant, Niece, -, Female, 20, 1851, Teacher of Music, Manchester, England
Florence M Plant, Niece, -, Female, 9, 1862, Scholar, Leicester, England
Mary Allen Servant, -, Female, 19, 1852, Domestic serv., Leicester Gt Glenn, England

1881 census RG11/3173/39/26
40 West Street, Leicester
First name(s), Last name, Relationship, Marital status, Sex, Age, Birth year, Occupation, Birth place
James Plant, Head, Married, Male, 62, 1819, Geological surveyor, Leicester, Leicestershire, England
Mary Elizabeth Plant, Wife, Married, Female, 55, 1826, -, Leicester, Leicestershire, England
Eleanor Agnes Plant, Niece, Single, Female, 28, 1853, Private governess (teacher), Manchester, Lancashire, England
Florence Mary Plant, Niece, Single, Female, 19, 1862, Private clerk, Leicester, Leicestershire, England
Mary Tradsham, Servant, Single, Female, 18, 1863, Domestic servant, Coalville, Leicestershire, England

1891 census RG12/2536/39/20
40 West Street, Leicester
First name(s), Last name, Relationship, Marital status, Sex, Age, Birth year, Occupation, Birth place
James Plant, Head, Married, Male, 72, 1819, Retired surveyor, Leicester, Leicestershire, England
Mary E Plant, Wife, Married, Female, 62, 1829, -, Leicester, Leicestershire, England
Eleanor A Plant, Niece, Single, Female, 34, 1857, Governess, Salford, Lancashire, England
Florence M Plant, Niece, Single, Female, 26, 1865, Governess, Leicester, Leicestershire, England
Jane, Price Servant, Single, Female, 32, 1859, General servant domestic, Ilkeston, Derbyshire, England

1901 census RG13/5297/36/20 
2 Stanley Crescent, Holyhead, Anglesey
First name(s), Last name, Relationship, Marital status, Sex, Age, Birth year, Occupation, Birth place
Margaret Prytherch, Sister, Single, Female, 49, 1852, Lodging house keeper, Llanynghenedl, Anglesey, Wales
Mary Prytherch, Sister, Single, Female, 52, 1849, Lodging house keeper, Llanynghenedl, Anglesey, Wales
Jane Prytherch, Sister, Single, Female, 43, 1858, Milliner & fancy drapery, Holyhead, Anglesey, Wales
Eleanor A Plant, Visitor, Single, Female, 45, 1856, Living on own means, Salford, Lancashire, England
David O Owen, Boarder, Single, Male, 19, 1882, Bank apprentice, Caernarvonshire, Wales

1911 census Ref RG14PN18523 RG78PN1110 RD390 SD1 ED13 SN44
Living at 6 Grosvenor-road Coventry
Florence Mary Marston, Head, 43, widow [says “none” under the “children born alive to current marriage”], Private means, Leicestershire, Leicester
Eleanor Agnes Plant, Cousin, 56, Single, Private means, Lancashire, Salford
Florence Underhill, servant, 38, Single, General servant domestic, Warwickshire, Leamington

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Saturday, May 31, 2025

Activities in May - an unexpected PARRY sighting, and a visit to an ancestral village in Herefordshire.

The 'unexpected' PARRY sighting

A one-name study researches the genealogy, and family history, of all the people with that surname.  

Although that does not necessarily mean collecting every mention of the name (an impossibility for a frequently occurring surname, such as PARRY, in these days of the internet), I still love coming across references to the surname in unexpected places, and will always try to 'capture' those.

And so it was earlier this month, while I was enjoying a lovely day out at the RHS Malvern Spring Festival.1 

I'd decided to listen to a talk by Alan Titchmarsh and, since the main theatre area was full, was sitting out in the overflow, ready to watch the talk via a large screen.  On the screen, various adverts were cycling through beforehand. 

Suddenly, up popped an advert for PARRYS of Malvern, a jewellery company!

I was so surprised, the advert had been replaced by the time I got my camera out. So I then had to sit through all of Alan's talk, and several cycles of adverts, before I finally managed to obtain a photograph:


It felt like an "added bonus" to an already wonderful day.

Herefordshire

Following the show, I spent a few days in Herefordshire, so that I could attend some events that were being held as part of the Herefordshire Histories Festival2.  There were several that were of interest to me, but I focused on just a couple of them, in particular. One of these was the event in St Mary’s Church, Walterstone, entitled "From Walterstone to New York."3

This was an exhibition about a David Price, who emigrated to America in the 1840s. But the event was also aimed at attracting visitors "who are exploring the history of their own families or local properties or past life in Walterstone in general." 

And that description certainly fits me!

Walterstone is part of an area known as Ewyas Lacy4, which is in the south west corner of Herefordshire, bordering Monmouthshire and Breconshire.  This border area is a "hot spot" for PARRY families - and Walterstone is one of the villages that some of my own ancestors lived in, as they moved around the area.

Next door to the church is a pub called the Carpenters Arms.  During the 1800s, and early 1900s, the owners of this pub were a PARRY family and, although I have not found any blood relationships between that PARRY family and my own, the two families definitely knew each other since, in 1911, my 2xgreat grandfather, Thomas PARRY, made John PARRY of the Carpenters Arms, one of the executors of his Will:


The keen-eyed among you will notice that my Thomas PARRY had a son who was also called John PARRY - but they were definitely two different Johns.

I shall write more, both about my Thomas PARRY, and about the Carpenter's Arms PARRYs, in my next post but, since it is already the last day of May, and I'm trying to stick to my aim of at least one post per month, that's all for now.


Notes and References

1. The RHS Malvern Spring Festival: https://www.rhs.org.uk/shows-events/malvern-spring-festival

2.The Herefordshire Histories Festival: https://herefordshirehistories.org/

3. Exhibition "From Walterstone to New York.": https://herefordshirehistories.org/walterstone-to-new_york/

4. Ewyas Lacy: https://www.ewyaslacy.org.uk/doc.php?d=rs_home_sub1




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