Two Steps Forward and One Step Back...

My previous post was about William Perry, servant then schoolmaster, son of John Perry, gentleman, living at Marylebone at the time of his marriage in 1840, then moving to Louth, Lincolnshire with his wife Mary Ann (nee Smith), before dying some time between 1847 and the 1851 census. So what of his widow Mary Ann Perry. We do know a bit more about her family, the Smiths.

Mary Ann Smith was born in 1810 or 1811 (going by the ages in successive censuses and age on her death certificate) in Hammersmith, Middlesex. Her father (as named on her marriage certificate) was Samuel Smith, truss maker.

She had a sister, Sarah Smith, who was born 1812 or 1813 in Hammersmith.

Mary Ann's marriage was witnessed by Harriet Smith, likely her other known sister Harriet Smith who was born 1822 or 1823 at Epsom in Surrey.

Mary Ann Smith was one of my great great great grandmothers. A couple of years ago I discovered that her sister Sarah Smith was also one of my great great great grandmothers.

The provenance follows.

My great great grandfather, William Henry Perry, pharmaceutical chemist, was born 15 November 1842 at Louth Lincolnshire, and was christened there on 11 December 1842. He was the son of William Perry and Mary Ann Smith. As noted, Mary Ann Smith's father was Samuel Smith, truss maker.

On 23 August 1870 William Henry Perry married my great great grandmother, Martha Harriet Loveday.

Martha Harriet Loveday was born 8 November 1846 at Surrey Street, Croydon, Surrey, and christened 16 December 1846 at St John the Baptist Church, Croydon. She was the daughter of Samuel Loveday, servant and later coffee house keeper, and his wife Sarah Smith.

Samuel Loveday and Sarah Smith had married 31 March 1842 at Lewisham Parish Church in Kent. From the marriage certificate Samuel Loveday's father was William Loveday, shoe maker. Sarah Smith's father was Samuel Smith, truss maker. The marriage was witnessed by James Loveday and Martha Loveday. They might have been brother and sister to Samuel Loveday.

When I saw the marriage certificates of Mary Ann Smith and Sarah Smith, and the presence of Samuel Smith, truss maker, on both of them, I suspected that William Henry Perry and Martha Harriet Loveday might have been cousins, both being grandchildren of Samuel Smith, truss maker and his wife. I could not be certain, as Smith is not an uncommon name, and I knew of two fairly contemporary Samuel Smiths who were truss makers.

For Martha's family, I knew that Samuel and Sarah Loveday (Sarah is shown at left) had at least six children born at Croydon, Surrey:

Sarah Elizabeth Loveday (1843-1847);
Benjamin James Loveday (1845-1891);
Martha Harriet Loveday (1846-1919);
Samuel Henry Loveday (1848-1849);
Samuel George Loveday (b. 1852);
Henry Loveday (b. 1857).


The confirmation that William and Martha were cousins came with the 1861 census. At 21 Market Place, Louth, Lincolnshire was listed the household of Mary Ann Perry, aged 50, widow, "Dealer in Glass China and Other Miscellaneous".

Also there was her sister Harriet Smith, aged 38, unmarried, School Mistress.

Then were listed Mary Ann's children: Wm Henry, 18, Apprentice (Chemist); Mary Ann, 16, Pupil Teacher; Emily, 14, "No Occupation"; and George Fred, 13, Errand Boy.

The next listings for Mary Ann Perry's household, were three Loveday males all described as "Nephew" and all born at Croydon, Surrey: Benjamin J., 16, occupation given as "Royal Navy"; Samuel G., 9, Scholar; and Henry, aged 3, with occupation understandably left blank.

These of course matched Martha Loveday's brothers. Martha herself, aged 14, was in the household of her parents at 21 Surrey Street in Croydon, the only child in the listing.

Her father's information was that he was aged 40, and a "Keeper of Coffee Dining Room", being born in Devonshire, at Uffculum (Uffcombe). His wife Sarah was aged 49.

So, from this I had narrowed the number of ancestors in that line, with two great great great grandmothers being sisters, so I only had two trace one family. However, that family was surnamed Smith...as noted above, not the most uncommon name!

William Perry (died between 1847 and 1851) - A Brick Wall

Well, having outlined some progresses made in my family tree research and blogging about the bits and pieces I have found, time for the dreaded genealogical "brick walls", where you get to a certain point and cannot go further. I have a few of those.

One of them is the family of a great great great grandfather, William Perry.

Thus far I have learned that William Perry was living in St Marylebone in London and was a servant and a bachelor when he married Mary Ann Smith, spinster, on 23 December 1840. He was a bachelor at the time of marriage.

Of his family up to the point of marriage I know that his father was John Perry, who was a "Gentleman" (a rank or profession that seems to cover a multitude of possibilities). One of the witnesses to his marriage was a "Thomas Perry", who may have been a brother, or uncle, or cousin.

By 1842 William and Mary Ann Perry had moved to Louth in Lincolnshire where William became a schoolmaster and Mary Ann a schoolmistress. Their four children were born at Louth: William Henry (1842-1908); Mary Ann (b. 1844); Emily (1846-1908); and George Frederick (1847-1881).

William Perry died by the time of the 1851 census when his wife Mary Ann was listed as a widow. He does not seem to have died in the Louth district, and there were several men named William Perry who died between 1847 and 1851.

That he died before the 1851 census means that his birthplace was not recorded in a census. I cannot locate a William and Mary Perry in the 1841 census that would seem to fit this couple, nor do I know exactly when they made the move to Louth, nor where they lived immediately after marriage (i.e. the 1841 census year). Not sure where to go from there. As he was a schoolmaster, perhaps there might be records for the school, although I do not know if this was at Louth. As I said, a brick wall.

I do know slightly more about his wife's Smith family, which given the pervasiveness of Smiths in England I think is quite something, although the brick wall soon looms for that family too. It also brought up an incidence of cousinal intermarriage.