Does anybody have a Jane GLASSON born 1799? in Crowan?

[shorty]

Hello Glasson Researchers!

I am looking for a Jane (or Jenny?) GLASSON born around 1799 (from headstone) somewhere in Cornwall. She married John(2) SHORT 6 Jan 1821 in the parish of Whitstone, north Cornwall, and they had a son John(3), baptized 25 April 1825 in Jacobstow parish. The family immigrated to Knox County Ohio, US, in 1837/38. I believe that John(2) is the son of John SHORT(1) and Mary PEARSE of Week St. Mary. No immigration records have been found, and naturalization records for John don't say anything about Jane's origins.

There is precious little information in the marriage record for Jane GLASSON and John SHORT; none of their family served as witnesses, and birthplaces are not listed. However, I know that GLASSON was not a north Cornwall name, and I suspect that she came from the south. Witnesses to the Banns were Henry PAYNTER and Anthony ARTHUR. The former was a farm owner in Whitstone Parish, and I suspect that John SHORT worked as a labourer on his farm. PAYNTER was the witness to several marriages during the early 1800's, both family and seemingly non-family. I suspect that Anthony ARTHUR was another labourer on the farm, as his occupation is listed as such in the birth record of his daughter, Sarah Ann, born 4 Nov 1821 in Whitstone. He married Susanna WARREN at Whitstone, 29 March 1821.

There does seem to be a connection between the ARTHUR family and GLASSON family in Crowan. Anthony ARTHUR was born to Anthony and Ann (WARREN) in 1797 (married at Crowan in 1793) there. I know from this website that there was a large GLASSON family in Crowan at that time. Could it be that Jane (Jenny) GLASSON is a cousin of Anthony ARTHUR or Susanna WARREN? The closest birth record that I have for Jane (from OPC) is in 1793 in Paul, to John and Constance, or as Jennifer in 1796, also in Paul, to Thomas and Jennifer. Obviously, this doesn't help much.

I am hoping that someone here has a firm grasp on GLASSON genealogy and can help me find my Jane!

Thanks,

Shorty

[Cornish Terrier]

This question has been raised somewhere before and I still have no answer except to say that she was neither of the two you have mentioned.

1. daughter of John and Constance (1793) married William Edge at Stoke Damerel, Devon, 12th May 1812
2. Jennifer daughter of Thomas and Elizabeth was buried at Madron 19th June 1799

The next nearest in my database was Jenifer daughter of Thomas and Elizabeth baptised at Gulval in 1802 but I believe it was she (as Jane) who married John Pool at Madron in 1837. At the time of marriage she was recorded as being age 38 and daughter of Thomas Glasson.

It would be worth checking to see if any Glasson family migrated to, or spent some time in, Devon around the late 1700s. It need only be a family who was there for a short time but it is a possibility given a lot of Devon records are not available.

CT

[shorty]

Hello CT,

Thanks for your reply. I had posted a similar query back in June, but as I have made no progress on the question since, I thought I'd give this another try!

As I am sure you know, documented dead-ends are better than question marks, so thanks for your information on the other Jane Glassons.

I have tried to search online for parish records for Devon, without much luck. There doesn't seem to be a comprehensive warehouse for the records online, like the OPC in Cornwall. Does anyone on this board have any leads or suggestions for finding Glassons in Devon?

Many Thanks,

Heather

[Cornish Terrier]

If you go to FamilySearch in the UK Collections you will find the 'England, Devon Parish Registers, 1538,1912' collection. This is far from complete but it does at least give something to work on.
I searched for 'Glasson' born Devon between 1790 and 1812 and the result was a list of 26 hits of which 3 were Gleason/Gleeson and one Glossian. The remainder were all Glasson/Glassin of which all were either marriages or burials and none was Jane or Jenifer. However this list does show the marriages of at least three of the children of George Glasson and Sarah Boase from Paul.
The last known child of George and Sarah baptised in Cornwall was Elizabeth Boase Glasson in 1798 and then it appears George died and was buried at Paul in 1802. George Glasson's mother was Jane Cornish and he also had a sister named Jane yet of the children baptised in Cornwall he did not give that name to a daughter. So it is within the realms of possibility that there may have been another child born in Devon.

This is merely hypothetical rambling of course but ....

On the other hand it is interesting to see the burial of Phillis Glasson in Devon in 1812. The FamilySearch record indicates Phillis was born in 1795 so her age is recorded as 17. And Phillis Boase Glasson, daughter of George and Sarah Glasson, was baptised at Paul 17th May 1795.
So we have one daughter buried in 1812 at the age of 17 and then at least three other children of George and Sarah married in Devon. Daughter Esther was baptised at Paul in 1785 and I am presuming it was she who married Richard Tarraway in Devon in 1805.

Food for thought!

The other option for Devon records is to try the Devon OPC. You could Google for it but it may be better to use GENUKI:-

genuki.cs.ncl.ac.uk/DEV/OPCproject.html

This link should give all the information showing what is available and it also has a list showing Parishes which have transcribed records available.

It is only a suggestion that Jane 'might' be another child of George and Sarah and if so she 'might' have been born in Devon. (She could belong to somebody else of course!) But it might be worth starting any Devon search by checking the group of Parishes in Devon that are within proximity of Whitstone.

CT

[shorty]

CT-

Thanks very much, these are all good suggestions. None of the Devon parish registers appear to be online at the OPC yet, so I'll start asking for look-ups. Do you know where in Devon the George & Sarah Glasson family were living?

[Deleted]

CT and Heather

The last known child of George and Sarah baptised in Cornwall was Elizabeth Boase Glasson in 1798 and then it appears George died and was buried at Paul in 1802. George Glasson's mother was Jane Cornish and he also had a sister named Jane yet of the children baptised in Cornwall he did not give that name to a daughter. So it is within the realms of possibility that there may have been another child born in Devon.

It has been recorded for quite some time that George and Sarah did in fact have a daughter named Jane. The baptism date of 18th May 1783 exists but tends not to have a place of birth. I inherited this information in my very early days and was ignorant then of the need for sources for my information. This Jane Cornish Glasson, born around 1783, married William Edye on the 12th May 1812 at Stoke Damerel. She is recorded as dying in 1860 at Penlee, Stoke.

That she existed is shown by her father's will of 1802:

Will of George Glasson of Paul
Written on the 6th November 1802.
Sons George and John - 300 pounds each, to be paid two years after the death.
Daughters Sarah Boase, Hester, Jane, Phillis Boase, and Elizabeth Boase - 200 pounds each when they attain the age of 21 years, or be married.
Wife Sarah - all the rest etc and sole executor.
Admon granted on the 24th May 1803 to son George (wife Sarah had died very soon after her husband George).

If the daughters are in age order as you might expect then it suggests that Jane was likely born after Hester and before Phillis - that is between 1785 and 1795. The 1851 census gives her age as 62 making her birth around 1788/89 and born in Devonport.

I am sure that her identity can be better shown but I do not have the time myself right now.  One point of interest however, there was a daughter Elizabeth born to George and Sarah in 1788 and another Elizabeth Boase born in 1798.. I cannot find a death for the first Elizabeth and her birth coincides with the expected birth of Jane.

Lannanta

[Deleted]

Heather

You mentioned the named perhaps being Jenny?? why is that?

This baptism exists:

Jenny 20/7/1790 1790 Budock William and Judith



Lannanta

[Cornish Terrier]

Lannanta - two points to keep in mind here:-

1. The scenario that Jane Glasson (married Whitstone 1821) might belong to George and Sarah from Paul is purely hypothetical and based largely on the fact that children of George and Sarah married and were buried in Devon during a similar period. I have no evidence whatsoever that there is a link so I am considering scenarios that might lead to the identity of Jane.

2. Findagrave has record of the gravestone of Jane (Glasson) Short in the Cemetery at Mount Vernon, Ohio, which states that Jane died at Mount Vernon 29th January 1868 at the age of 69. Dependent on the accuracy of this information the projected birth year for Jane would be about 1798.

You mentioned the named perhaps being Jenny?? why is that?

Whilst that baptism does exist 1790 is at least 8 years too early for the wife of John Short. The reference to 'Jenny' I would suggest originated in America But don't forget Jenny is a common name for Jennifer or Jane - and there is also the 'Cousin Jack', 'Cousin Jenny' factor to consider.

That George Glasson named daughter Jane in his Will confirms my suspicions that he would logically have used that name and it is unlikely to be coincidence that a Jane Cornish Glasson married in Devon in 1812.
Based on the naming order of the daughters in the Will and the year of marriage for Jane Cornish Glasson it is very possible that the 1788 baptism of Elizabeth at Paul might be in error - especially as no burial can be found prior to the baptism of Elizabeth Boase Glasson in 1798.

So the theory of Jane Glasson at Whitstone being linked to George and Sarah can now be disregarded and the search must continue for other possibilities.

Heather - the children of George and Sarah known to have married in Devon were all married at Stoke Damerel, Devonport. Devonport is on the South Coast of Devon and Whitstone in the North of Cornwall so that possible link may have been unlikely in any case.

CT

[shorty]

CT and Lannata,

Thanks very much for your efforts and this discussion! I had just found the marriage record for Jane Cornish Glasson on Familysearch, and I agree with both of you that this is not the Jane who married John Short at Whitstone and moved to America. At this point, I'm still at square one (albeit with a few Jane Glassons to cross off the list of possibilities).

What I do know about her is that she lived in Whitstone in 1821, and that her name was recorded as Jane Glasson on her marriage record, and in a biography of her son John Short in Ohio (The Centennial Biographical History of Columbus, Ohio, 1901). Her name is also given as Jane Short on her son's baptism record in Jacobstow, 25 April 1825, and on her headstone in Ohio. I was searching for "Jenny" in parish records in Cornwall because I couldn't find any suitable Janes.

Interestingly, but perhaps on a tangent, the same biography goes on to say "John Short was' born in Cornwall, England, April 26, 1826, a son of John and Jane (Glassen) Short, and came with his parents to Knox county, Ohio, in 1838, when he was twelve years old. The elder Short had prospered in his native land and brought with him sufiicient means to give him
rank as a capitalist."

John Short (Sr.) was apprenticed by the overseers of the poor at the age of 8 in 1802 and worked as a farm labourer as far as I can tell until immigrating- not particularly a capitalist. But if he was, could this broaden the range of where Jane could have grown up (his travels as a means for meeting Jane)? I know I'm grasping at straws here- any suggestions?

Thank Again- Heather

[Cornish Terrier]

But if he was, could this broaden the range of where Jane could have grown up (his travels as a means for meeting Jane)? I know I'm grasping at straws here- any suggestions?

Maybe it was the other way around - it could be that Jane was from elsewhere and employed as a servant at Whitstone.

Not sure if I have mentioned this before but have you considered that Jane may have been an illegitimate child and possibly baptised under a different surname?

CT

[shorty]

CT-

Jane having been a servant in Whitstone was my working hypothesis, but I have no documentation to support that assumption. However, the idea of her having been illegitimate is interesting- I have no evidence of any siblings. Even if I could find a Jane baptized in the area around 1798, it seems difficult to prove without a bastardy bond or some other documentation- would Glasson have been her alleged father's name?

Heather

[Cornish Terrier]

would Glasson have been her alleged father's name?

Not necessarily. Using hypothetical names she could have been baptised as 'Jane Glasson daughter of Mary Smith' or 'Jane daughter of Mary Smith, reputed father John Glasson' or 'Jenifer/Jenefer/Jenefor/Jennifer/Genipher (etc.) Glasson daughter of Mary Smith' and so on.

And she might never have been baptised at all!

That she was at Whitstone is still a problem given proximity to Devon and the lack of available Devon registers. But so too is the fact that the Glasson name was strange to the area.

How much research have you done into the Arthur Family? Perhaps some more work there might ferret out something of help if, as appears possible, Henry Arthur was connected with Crowan.

CT

[shorty]

Hello CT-

A search of baptisms and bastardy bonds on OPC does not turn up any new possibilities, unfortunately. I had suspected that she may not have been baptized, but hoped that wasn't the case.

So I went back to what I know about the family once in Ohio, USA, and discovered that Jane & John Short had a granddaughter (through their daughter Anne) named Elizabeth Jane. Might it be possible that the Jane Glasson married at Whitstone 1821 could have been named Elizabeth Jane, and had been known as Jane? If so, then there is a good match for her baptism in the OPC database: 11 Feb 1798 Elizabeth Glasson to Robert and Jane, Newlyn East. I can't find a marriage record that would fit this woman, nor a death record. Is this family known to you or Lannata?

Thanks!

Heather

[Deleted]

CT

If so, then there is a good match for her baptism in the OPC database: 11 Feb 1798 Elizabeth Glasson to Robert and Jane, Newlyn East. I can't find a marriage record that would fit this woman, nor a death record. Is this family known to you or Lannanta?

I believe she married William May in December 1819 in Newlyn East. The only concern I have is that one of her children was named Jane Glasson May and the other Richard Glasson May - no Robert.

Lannanta

[Cornish Terrier]

If so, then there is a good match for her baptism in the OPC database: 11 Feb 1798 Elizabeth Glasson to Robert and Jane, Newlyn East.

Whilst Lannanta has a problem with the marriage to William May there is another problem to consider - there is nothing to indicate that Elizabeth was ever known as anything but Elizabeth as she was baptised. I would be loathe to consider a link to Whitstone simply because a grandaughter via a daughter was given the name Elizabeth Jane. It is stretching possibilities a little far to have a child named for the mother's paternal grandmother especially when such common names as Elizabeth and Jane are used.

Lannanta - whilst William and Elizabeth May did not name a son Robert I don't think there is too much doubt that Elizabeth was the daughter of Robert Glasson and Jane Clemow.
The witnesses to the marriage were Francis Thomas Glasson and Susannah Glasson so Elizabeth had to be either the daughter of Robert and Eleanor (baptised 1784) or the daughter of Robert and Jane (baptised 1798). As her last child was baptised in 1839 it is very much unlikely that Elizabeth (Glasson) May was born before 1792.
With Robert and Jane as parents it means that the first witness was her uncle whilst the second witness could have been either her aunt or her sister.
I don't have any details about Elizabeth's brother Richard (bp. 1813) but if he died before 1839 then it is possible he was the inspiration for naming child Richard Glasson May.

CT