Thomas Prisk & Elizabeth Guy

[marion]

HI There, It is my understanding that my 3 x Gt Grandparents were Thomas Prisk and Elizabeth Guy who were married 4 MARCH 1807
ST. HILARY, CORNWALL...

I have no information on Elizabeth Guy such a her birth place date of birth or parents names and siblings if any..In saying that I dont have too much information on Thomas Prisk either apart from my 2 x GT Grandfathers information..

Sex: M
Birth: Abt 1811 William Prisk
Death: Before 1881


Any additional information would be greatly appreciated..


Marion

[Cornish Terrier]

Well Marion - I just do not know how we are going to do this!

I can find no sign of a baptism ANYWHERE for William Prisk which means at the moment that the link to Thomas Prisk and Elizabeth Guy cannot be proved.

There is a marriage at St Hilary for Thomas and Elizabeth on March 4th 1807. One of the witnesses was George Guy who may or may not be Elizabeth's father.

But I can find only one child to this family and that is Thomas baptised at St Hilary 13th March 1808.

There is no sign of any other child anywhere for this couple and I can also find no likely burials at the moment.

If Elizabeth was a daughter of George Guy then it looks likely that she may be originally from St Just.
If so then she would be one of two possible baptisms:-

Elizabeth d/o George and Mary bp. 16th January 1774
Elizabeth d/o George bp. 16th January 1775

But without some idea of her age then this is just pure speculation.

What do you have that led you to the conclusion that Thomas Prisk and Elizabeth Guy were the parents of your William?

Anything at all that you might have is going to be needed to sort this one out I think!

CT

[marion]

Good Evening CT, Hmmm, I have been going through all my information on Prisk in order to answer your question about what led me to the conclusion that Thomas Prisk and Elizabeth Guy were my 3 x Gt Grandparents. I think it was the OPC for Cornwall a good few years back when I needed some help with my Prisks...? In regards to Thomas baptised at St Hilary 13th March 1808 I only have this information on file...Possible Marriage...


Again from the OPC..
There were two Thomas Prisks who married at St Hilary at a time to make them a possible son of Thomas Prisk and Elizabeth Guy. The first was Thomas Hosking Prisk who married Susan Renfrey on 19 Feb 1832 and who is believed to be the son of Henry Prisk and Jennifer (Jane) Hosking. The other was Thomas Prisk who married Anne Michell on 5 Oct 1833, the person I find most likely to be the son of Thomas and Elizabeth.




I think CT this is one for the too hard basket and thats why I put it to one side...


Marion

[Cornish Terrier]

Well it is certainly going to be a 'fun' one to solve Marion!

I just had a look at the Ancestry Public Trees to see what 'interesting' items I might find and straight away I am confronted with absolute rubbish!!!

The first item I looked at claims that 'Captain Thomas Prisk' was born at St Hilary 13th March 1814 and that he was the son of Thomas Prisk and Elizabeth Guy.

Firstly - there is no Thomas Prisk in the records I have for St Hilary who was born/baptised 13th March 1814.

BUT there is Thomas Prisk baptised 13th March 1808 son of Thomas and Elizabeth!

Captain Thomas apparently died at Cobar, NSW in 1877.
He is supposed to have married Mary Rowe and there is a list of 12 children for him.

According to the West Briton Thomas Prisk of Tywardreath married Mary Rowe of St Blazey 24th August 1838 at the Registry Office at St Austell.

The bad fish from Denmark seem to be invading the Cornish waters again!

In 1841 'Captain' Thomas Prisk with wife Mary and two young children were at St Blazey with, I believe, the parents and siblings of Mary Rowe.
Thomas age then was recorded as 25 so he was probably born sometime between 1811 and 1816.

There were two other Thomas Prisks born around 1807-1811 in the St Hilary area. One married Ann Michell and the other married Susanna Renfrey and both are alive and kicking in Cornwall in 1851 - six years after Captain Thomas left for Australia!

But I think I have just found Thomas and Elizabeth in the 1851 Census.
They are indexed as 'Prish' but I will forgive the transcriber on this one because that is exactly what it looks like.

Thomas Prisk, head, mar, 67, black smith born St Hilary
Elizabeth do., wife, mar, 73, born St Ives

Now that is interesting so I will follow it up.

CT

CT

[marion]

Morning CT..Its pouring down with rain this morning and has been raining all night..Whats the weather like where you are? In regards to the trees on Ancestry I have learnt not to pay too much attention to them as with one click you can upload another members information without checking to see if it is correct..No Thankyou to that one but thankyou for checking..All I really know for sure about my Prisks is that my Gt Grandmother was Mary Ann Prisk and that she was the daughter of William Prisk a blacksmith by profession and Elizabeth Rowe being her Mother..All the other Prisk information that I do have which by the way is not very much relates to my Gt Grandmothers siblings..There are a lot of blank spaces on my tree for the Prisks and therefore I just cant seem to get past my Gt Gt Grandfather..Siblings well I don,t know as first I need to establish if he was infact the son of Thomas Prisk and Elizabeth Guy...I think if memory serves me correctly CT even the OPC way back thought getting past my Gt GT Grandfather would be an impossible task as there were too many Prisks at that time and a very common Cornish surname..

Marion

[Cornish Terrier]

No disrespect to any of the current OPCs but I think anyone who says 'too hard' in this game is letting themselves down.

And in this case others have been let down!

A way can even be found at least part way through the maze of Williams families in Cornwall!

No, the problem with Prisk is not the amount of them but rather where to find the information.
We have documented information telling us at least approximately where we should find some record of William Prisk - i.e. St Hilary about 1811/2 - but so far nothing can be found.

It is just a question of finding the relevant information and the next part of the mystery will be solved. And in hindsight it will appear to have been all so easy!

Now - we know from the 1851 Census that there was a Thomas Prisk living at St Hilary with wife Elizabeth and their ages suggest they were around the right age to be the parents of William and certainly of the Thomas Prisk who was baptised in 1808.

We also know from the 1851 Census that this elder Thomas was a blacksmith just as William was.
The younger Thomas was at St Just in 1851 and he also was a blacksmith so it could be considered that the trade was passed from father to his sons which is quite logical.

Some might call it coincidence but when coincidences start mounting up then they have to be considered possibilities ...... such as:-

The first child of William and Elizabeth Prisk was a son who was given the name William - most probably named for his father.
But then a second son appeared and was given the name - THOMAS.

From this I would deduce that the paternal grandfather was either a William or a Thomas. Given that Elizabeth Rowe appears almost certainly to have been the daughter of Perran Rowe then I think we need to look seriously at William or Thomas being the name of William Prisk's father.

Young Thomas did not survive very long and neither did the first daughter in the family who was named Elizabeth.
In this case the mother was also Elizabeth so it is difficult to make a link to either grandmother.
And after Elizabeth died another daughter was given the same name which certainly indicates some adherence to naming patterns.

A further clue to the name of the grandfather is that another son was also named Thomas. The name John was used in between but the fact that Thomas was used twice is certainly suggestive.

Another son was named Henry which appears to be a Prisk name in the St Hilary area.

So don't think IMPOSSIBLE ....... just think DIFFICULT!

CT

[Cornish Terrier]

Working on the possible link to Thomas and Elizabeth Prisk I have had a look to see what I could find that might match the 1851 Census record.

Thomas was age 67 in 1851 which leads me to the most likely match:-

Thomas son of William Prisk alias Flood and Grace baptised 21st August 1785 at St Hilary

William Prisk married Grace Oliver 26th October 1776 at Camborne

There was one son, William, baptised at Camborne before the family settled at St Hilary.
Of the six children baptised at St Hilary all but the last were recorded as children of William Prisk alias Flood.

William Prisk alias Flood age 50 buried 19th February 1807 at St Hilary

At this point I cannot find the reason for the alias but it does give something else to consider.

CT

[marion]

CT, not sure if any of this will be of any use but keeping in mind what you have said about the naming patterns I have decided to add all the information that I have on Prisk....



Eliza Prisk 1869
Elizabeth Prisk 1840
Elizabeth Prisk 1843
Jane Prisk 1850
Mary Ann Prisk 1854
Thomas Prisk 1784
Thomas Prisk 1849
Thomas Prisk 1871
Thomas Prisk 1808
William Prisk 1812
William Prisk 1834



Confirmed that my 2 x Gt Grandfather was William Prisk who married Elizabeth Rowe...

Notes in regards to William Prisk.....

Name: William PRISK
Given Name: William
Surname: Prisk
Sex: M
Birth: Abt 1811
Death: Before 1881
_UID: 03E45E8D115F4504954BF7A26058AD10792B

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1841 Census.......
Piece: HO107/144/3 Place: Penwith -Cornwall Enumeration District: 10
Civil Parish: St. Hilary Ecclesiastical Parish: -
Folio: 19 Page: 1
Address: Tregurtha



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Surname First name(s) Sex Age Occupation Where Born Remarks
PRISK William M 30 Copper Miner Cornwall
PRISK Elizabeth F 30 Cornwall
PRISK William M 7 Cornwall
PRISK Elizabeth F 8m Cornwall

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

1851 Census


Piece: HO107/1918 Place: Penzance -Cornwall Enumeration District: 2e
Civil Parish: St. Hilary Ecclesiastical Parish: -
Folio: 113 Page: 13 Schedule: 31
Address: Plaingwarry



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Surname First name(s) Rel Status Sex Age Occupation Where Born Remarks
PRISK William Head M M 40 Blacksmith Cornwall - St Hilary
PRISK Elizabeth Wife M F 37 Cornwall - Marazion
PRISK Elizabeth Dau U F 8 Scholar Cornwall - Marazion
PRISK John Son - M 6 Cornwall - Marazion
PRISK Thomas Son - M 3 Cornwall - Marazion
PRISK Jane Dau - F 8m Cornwall - Marazion
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

1861 Census....


Piece: RG9/1591 Place: Penzance -Cornwall Enumeration District: 3
Civil Parish: Marazion Ecclesiastical Parish: -
Folio: 49 Page: 7 Schedule: 27
Address: Back Lane



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Surname First name(s) Rel Status Sex Age Occupation Where Born Remarks
PRISK William Head M M 49 Mine Blacksmith Cornwall - Marazion
PRISK Elizabeth Wife M F 49 Cornwall - Marazion
PRISK Thomas Son - M 12 Mine Blacksmiths Assistant Cornwall - St Hilary
PRISK Jane Dau - F 10 Cornwall - St Hilary
PRISK Mary A Dau - F 6 Cornwall - St Hilary


----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1871 Census...
Piece: RG10/2337 Place: Marazion -Cornwall Enumeration District: 9
Civil Parish: St. Hilary Ecclesiastical Parish: -
Folio: 36 Page: 2 Schedule: 10
Address: Woodstock



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Surname First name(s) Rel Status Sex Age Occupation Where Born Remarks
PRISK William Head M M 60 Blacksmith Cornwall - St Hilary
PRISK Elizabeth Wife M F 58 Wife Cornwall - St Hilary
PRISK Mary Ann Dau U F 17 Usually Servant (Dom) Cornwall - St Hilary


Year of death 1881c....



My Gt Grandmother and her siblings.....


William Prisk born St Hilary 1834c....Nothing more found on William..

Elizabeth born 1840c St Hilary...No death recorded but followed by another Elizabeth born 1843 St Hilary...Notes taken from my tree...


Marriages - Details of record ID 324571:
Parish or Registration District: Hilary, St.
Date: 01-Dec 1860
GROOM: William Henry SEMMONS
Groom's age: 18
Groom's condition:
Groom's rank/profession: Miner
Groom's residence: Marazion
Father: William Simmons
Father's rank/profession: Miner
BRIDE: Elizabeth PRISK
Bride's age: 22
Bride's condition:
Bride's rank/profession: Mine Girl
Bride's residence: Marazion
Father: William Prisk
Father's rank/profession: Blacksmith
Banns(B) or Licence(L): Banns
Groom Signed(S) or Marked(M): M
Bride Signed(S) or Marked(M): M
Witness 1: Peter Henry Curtis
Witness 2: Richard Bennetts
Register notes:
Transcriber Notes: St Hilary Anglo Catholic Church


SEMMONS mistranscribed and should read Simmons...

Three sons born from this marriage William H born 1871 Briton Ferry Wales, John Thomas born 1874 FALMOUTH and Thomas James born 1879 Liverpool...


I have no death recorded for William Simmons father of the above but Elizabeth did have another son born Richard Huges SWANSEA West Glamorgan in 1884..The Father of Richard was Thomas Henry Huges born 1842 Cornwall..

After Elizabeth born 1843 I have Thomas born about 1849 St Hilary...Thomas married Eliza Andrewartha 1868 St Hilary..Not sure of the exact date but I have 11/17 Jan 1868 Banns ?

Two children born from this marriage..Eliza Jane Prisk born 1869 St Hilary and Thomas Henry Prisk born 1871 St Hilary...This Thomas must be who my Grandfather was named after CT?


After Thomas born 1849 we have Jane born about 1850 and Baptised 22/01/1853 St Hilary..

Notes on Jane..


Family Search Baptism........

103828-0 Indexing (Project) Batch Number
1595958 Source Film Number
Reference number 21

-----------------------------------------------------


Possible Marriage......?? I have no idea CT who Jane married but note the surname WEARNE..Hmmmm

Marriages Mar 1869 (>99%)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Andrew Nicholas Penzance 5c 413
Lawry Mary Jane Penzance 5c 413
Prisk Jane Penzance 5c 413
WEARNE John Penzance 5c 413


After Jane then comes my Gt Grandmother Mary Ann..


I do hope this has been of some help to you CT and that I have not confused the search in any way..As you can see I really know very little about my Prisks...

Marion

[Cornish Terrier]

Marion -

SEMMONS mistranscribed and should read Simmons...

Pure assumption! NEVER take for granted that things have been mistranscribed until you have seen the original documents.

In this case I would suggest that the trasncriber has copied exactly what they saw and the problem (if you can call it that) is in the name itself.

It is only a few hours ago that I was working on a family which included a similar name.

William SEMMENS Michell - mother's maiden name at marriage recorded as SEMENS.

When his daughter Ann married Christopher Ninnes he was recorded in her marriage record as William SYMON Michell.

Then there is the family of Peter and Jane S____s at St Ives -

In 1773 they are SEMENS
In 1783 they are SYMONDS
In 1787 they are SEMMENS

I have seen this same name as Simons, Symons, Simmons, Simmonds and more.

Even my own name is displayed in my database with AT LEAST 27 VARIATIONS!

So when you are looking for a name you should try to have in the back of your mind an idea of how that name might look when it is written down.

And you should also try to remember that it is often going to be written by someone other than the person themselves (given they can write in the first place! ).

Also remember that the person writing the name (e.g. Vicar, Clerk, Magistrate etc.) might not be from the same are.

Then add to the equation that the further West you go in Cornwall the more broad the accent became.

Not to forget that many names in Cornwall were not found elsewhere or if they were they were not common names in other parts.

With all that in mind now imagine that you are from Devon and someone at St Ives tells you there name and you have to write it down .......................

CT

[Cornish Terrier]

On a lighter note.

William Prisk of Woodstock age 64 was buried at St Hilary 26th December 1876

This is your William and remember that Woodstock was the abode of Mary Ann Prisk when she married Richard Davies.

The children as I have them:-

William bp. 14th December 1834 Marazion
Thomas bp. 20th November 1836 Marazion (buried 1st March 1838 at St Hilary 'of Tregurtha age 1')
Elizabeth bp. 13th January 1839 Marazion (died of Typhus Fever and buried at St Hilary 20th December 1839 'of Tregurtha age 1')
Elizabeth bp. 5th November 1840 Marazion
John born about 1844
Thomas bp. 20th October 1847 Marazion
Jane born St Hilary about 1850 and baptised 22nd January 1853 at Marazion
Henry bp. 22nd January 1853 Marazion (buried 21st May 1853 St Hilary 'of Pedangwarry age 8 months)
Mary Ann born 8th July 1854 and bp. 25th September 1854 Marazion

CT

[marion]

Pleased to hear its on a lighter note CT..Lol

Very many thanks once again for finding the death of my GT GT Grandfather William Prisk and I note the correct place being Woodstock..Also the Baptisms and birth place for his children..My tree and my Prisks are really starting to come together now..Point taken about the surname Simmons but a few years back now CT I was intouch with a fellow who had connections and was a direct link to Elizabeth Prisk through one of her sons fathered by the Simmons fellow...Other than that I agree with everything you have stated above...Have you been able to find the marriage for Jane Prisk as nothing found this end? Only of course when you have the time..


Have a nice day CT and many thanks once again..


Marion

[Cornish Terrier]

Unfortunately I have been unable to find anything more on Jane Prisk so far.

I cannot find any of those from the 1869 marriage in the 1871 Census so they may have all emigrated which will make it a little difficult.

If she married in 1869 Jane would have been about 19 and as I cannot seem to find her as a single girl in 1871 either then it might be her marriage.
But without further details I cannot be sure of whether this was a marriage to Andrew Nicholas or to John Wearne.

We can but keep trying!

CT

[marion]

No worries then CT and thankyou for looking...

Have a nice evening..


Marion

[annafhall48]

Hello CT & Marion - do you by any chance have an idea if there's any conn between:

Thos Prisk & Elizabeth (Guy) of St Hilary/Marazion whom you've been discussing and
Thos Prisk bc 1765, who married Ann Jennings Jul 24 1785 in Redruth Dist ?

I have Thos & Ann as the p's of John Prisk bpt Sep 25 1785 in Wendron.
And I have John Prisk and Elizabeth Rogers (bpt Apr 18 1785 dau of Thos & Elizabeth Rogers) as the poss p's of Ann Prisk bpt May 29, 1825 - who married Edward Bartle in Sept 1843. (They are my direct line ancestors.)
It appears that John died before 1841 census, and def bef 1851, where Eliz is a widow.

I've found a likely death match:
Day Month 17-Oct Year 1839
Parish Or Reg District Gwinear
Forename John
Surname PRISK
Age 54
Residence Treneath (Edw & Ann's son James was born in "Trenearth" 1843)
Transcriber Sharon Jones

(note: Edw & Ann's son James was born in "Trenearth" 1843)

also found:
FreeBMD
Deaths Dec Quarter 1839
John Prisk
Redruth 9-151

Thanks in advance for any info you might have!
(I also found a few interesting misc things related to the Prisk name. If you're interested pls let me know - they're too long to include here.) anna

[Cornish Terrier]

Hi Anna - I do't know about the parents of John Prisk at this stage but I agree that it was he who was buried at Gwinear in 1839.

You will find his widow Elizabeth still living at Trenerth in the 1841 Census with a number of her children including Ann who married Edward Bartle a couple of years later.

I am having difficulty finding Elizabeth in the 1851 Census but I think this will be her burial:-

Elizabeth Prisk of No Man's Land, Gwinear age 68 buried 20th April 1855 Gwinear

From these details we have John Prisk born about 1785 and Elizabeth (nee Rogers) born about 1786.

CT