James Michell d. 1734

[trencrom]

Appears to be the James Michell christened in 1665, father 's name George Michell. Died intestate in 1734. His son James (junior) was granted the administration of his estate.

Cannot find James' senior's marriage in surviving BTs. Does anyone know who his wife was?

I see that the will of a Robert Michell in 1724 includes a bequest of £10 to his "cousin Hannah Michell the younger of Zennor". This appears to be James senior's daughter of that name who was christened in 1701. James' junior's will dated 1738 also refers to his sister Hannah and other sisters Anne and Margaret. No mention is made of the testator's parents, so presumably both were deceased by that date.

If there was a Hannah the younger in 1724, presumably there was also a Hannah the elder. Could this have been James senior's wife? If so, in which local families did the given name Hannah occur prior to this time?

[Cornish Terrier]

You do like to keep me working!

This is another family I did some work on a few years ago and was left with some queries after having pieced the family together as best I could at the time.

First of all - the 1734 document is one I do not seem to have so would be interested in a transcript of it if I may.

Also - my BT information does not include the 1665 baptism of James MICHELL so I would like that detail.

Based on the information you have provided then this (from Phillimore & Taylor) would be James' parents:-

George MICHELL m. Emlin PHILLIPS at Zennor 22nd January 1645

At least, that is what I have surmised over the years.

Working through several Wills (or abstracts of) I had determined that George MICHELL had 9 known children - John, Margaret (m. Thomas FRENCH) and Emblen (all born before 1654) - Robert (Will 1704), George and James (all born after 1654), Jone (m. Thomas Treave) (probably born before 1661 and then Luce and Elizabeth.

I have details from a number of Michell Wills (of Zennor) which include the name 'Hannah' so will try to briefly outline them.

1738 - James Michell names sisters Anne, Margaret and HANNAH and the Will is witnessed by a George MICHELL.
I suspect this George to be the son of John and Luce Michell and I also suspect that Luce was probably the daughter of George and Emlin.
But that then leaves a query over John and his parentage.

1734 (proved 1741) Matthew Michell , gent, of Zennor mentions his 'kinswoman' Hannah Michell wife of John Freethy of Marazion.

1724 - Robert Michell, gent, of Zennor mentions 'cousin' Hanna Michell the younger of Zennor

1704 - Robert Michell DOES NOT mention anyone named Hannah but he does mention brothers George, James and John, sisters Margret FRENCH, Luce and Elizabeth and cousins JAMES MICHELL, Thomas TREVE and John TREVE. (Last mentioned is sister EMBLEN so, as this is an abstracted, I presume she was named executrix.)

Cousin James Michell is probably his nephew and son of brother James so your theory about Hannah would fit in here.

Another interesting Will is that of John Phillips of Zennor which was written in 1654.
He names "John son of George Michell" and the "his 3 daughters" (presumably John Michell's)

BUT this cannot be as John would not have yet been ten years old.
Therefore the reference to "his three daughters" means daughters of George MICHELL who was the son-in-law of John PHILLIPS.
This means that we know fur John Michell was born before 1654 and Margaret was probably before 1654 because she married in 1674.
It is now a matter of working out which two of the remaining Michell daughters were born prior to the writing of John Phillips Will.

BTW - I don't believe I have that 1701 baptism for Hannah either so would be pleased, also, to have those details.

Best I can do for now.

[trencrom]

Cornish terrier,
I agree that James senior appears to have been the son of the George who married Emblin Phillips.
I also understood John Phillip's will to be referring to three daughters of this George.

The Zennor BTs show that George had children James and Emblin christened in 7/2/1664/5 and 7/12/1667 respectively, and these were presumably his last children given that he was married in 1645.

The earliest of the Robert Michell wills is dated 1703, and the testator was a blacksmith. I have placed him as a son of George especially as he refers among others to a brother George and a sister Emblin, who was made his executrix. His “cosen” James Michell was left something (I could not make out the word in question) when he reached the age of twenty, with this James’ father to have the use of it until then. I have placed the younger James as the son of the older one, (i.e. the James son of James in the 1734 admin bond) but this is not actually stated as such in the will.
Hence I concluded that James son of James was born after 1683, hence in turn that James senior was married by that date.

The second of these wills was dated 1711, and the testator here was a yeoman. As there are bequests to various grandchildren, and none of the names in the earlier Robert Michell’s will reappear in this one, the testator in this instance appears to have been from another branch of the family, and was possibly an uncle of the Robert of 1703.

The will of the third Robert Michell, in 1724, includes as you say a bequest of £10 to his "cousin Hannah Michell the younger of Zennor". This Robert is presumably the Robert who was the son and executor of the testator of the 1711 will, as at present he would appear to me to be the only known candidate for him. This would in turn place the said Hannah as a daughter of either the George Michell or the James Michell (senior) mentioned in the will of the Robert of 1703. This seems confirmed by the Zennor BTS which record the christening of Hannah daughter of James on 5/10/1701.

[Cornish Terrier]

Thank you very, very much for this latest Michell information.
I will try and work a little more on it tonight if I get the chance and see if anything else 'comes to light'.

This seems proof that patience will, sooner or later, bring forth further information.

Keep up the good work and let's see what more it yields.

[Cornish Terrier]

A little more to consider:-

THOMAS MICHELL of Morvah

written: 1621 (nuncupative)
proved: 27 Feb 1621/2

eldest son: ROBERT MICHELL 1 butt of bees
sons: GEORGE & ISRAELL 1 lamb apiece
eldest daughter: JENNET PERRY 1 ewe
her 3 sons: GEORGE, THOMAS & JOHN 1 lamb apiece
youngest daughter: ABIGAYLE 1 butt of bees
her son: HANNIBALL 1 lamb
wife (not named) all the rest & executrix

no witnesses listed

Inventory taken 12 March 1621/2 by Mr. JOHN LANYON & JOHN RICHARDS. States
that Thomas died 5 March (sic).

AP/M/351
++++++++++

EDWARD MICHELL of Zennor

written: 9 Mar 1674/5 (nuncupative)
proved: 18 Feb 1675/6

mother: SYBILL MICHELL all

witnesses: JOHN USTICKE, RICHARD EDWARDS & others

Inventory taken 12 May 1675 by NICHOLAS BERYMAN & RALPH MICHELL

AP/M/1067
++++++++++

A GEORGE MITCHELL also left a Will that was proved (Zennor, I believe) 13th May 1747.
This fellow is the one I think buried at Zennor 16th November 1746.
Don't seem to have a copy of this Will and have not yet connected George anyway.
Seems logical, though, that he might belong in the relevant family.

He 'could' be the son of the elder George MICHELL and would have been well into his 80's when he died which is not impossible, even in those days.

There was a George Michell who married Elizabeth BENNETTS at Zennor 27th April 1695 who I have included as the son of George.

The George Mitchell of the 1747 Will, however, is probably more likely to have been the son of John and Luce Michell.

In this case he would be the man who married Elizabeth Christopher at Zennor 7th February 1712.

I really need to get several hours of total peace and quiet to go through all of this information again and to work, in conjunction, with the latest stuff you have provided.

Oh Dear - more sleepless days and nights.

[Cornish Terrier]

Now you have thrown a 'spanner in the works' for me.

Your latest information shows that James Michell was bp. in 1664 and Emblin in 1667.

James works ok with what I had previously surmised - but a 1667 baptism for Emblin throws my thinking right 'out of whack'.

I had decided that Emblin would have been one of the elder daughters based on the 'usual' naming patterns where she would have been among the first children.

It is possible, of course, that there was an earlier Emblin who died after her grandfather John Phillips and that the name was used for a later daughter.
But, on reflection, it may not necessarily have been the case given that 'George' did not appear in the family until at least three other children had been born.

It is obvious that John was the eldest son which suggests that he was named after (probably) one of two people -

1. The father of George Michell whose name has not previously been known.
2. The father of Emblin Michell who IS known to be John Phillips.

This brings me to the names of the daughters.

Joane was, apparently, the name of Emblin Phillips mother so it is logical that name should appear somewhere in the Michell family.
She was most likely born before 1661 (given she married in 1681) but had only two known children which means she could well have been born as one of the earlier children.

Margaret married in 1674 and had only one child (that I have found so far) so she would be one of the three daughters born before 1654.

This leaves, on current known children, either Luce or Elizabeth as the third daughter referred to by John Phillips in 1654.

Throwing this back in your direction for a while as I do need to get some sleep after a 'very big' day yesterday and then work tonight. (Been feeling a bit 'puffed' all day. )

Will try and check in on this one again tomorrow.

[Cornish Terrier]

Just one further point before I end this chapter for the night.

The terms 'younger' and 'elder' do not necessarily have to reflect a situation of 'parent and child' of the same name.

It is often seen where there are two people in a Parish of the same name who are not 'directly' related but are referred to in this manner to distinguish one from the other.

Will keep working on this for you.

[trencrom]

I agree re "younger" and elder", I have see this in a family in Madron in the 1630s, where the 'elder" was found to have been an uncle to his namesake.

it looks however like there was no earlier occurence of the name Hannah in the Michell family. It presumably therefore came from the mother's side -- i.e. James' wife. I see that James also had a daughter Anne, as her brother James junior's will of 1638 refers to his sisters Hannah, Anne and Margaret, and Anne’s two daughters Anne and Sarah, with Hannah being made the executrix. (This must be James junior, as there is no mention of children to the testator himself)

While as we know the name "Margaret" appears in the preceding generation of the Michell family, "Anne" does not, and hence presumably also came from the mother's side .

There is yet another daughter recorded to James in the BTs, but I cannot make the name out at present.

[Cornish Terrier]

Thanks Trencrom - am looking at all your latest notes now before deciding which direction to take for the night.

But I have a request regarding that name you cannot yet decipher as a child of James.

Is it possible that you might be able to scan the image of that entry and send it to me as an attachment via my normal email address.

That way I might be able to enhance the image myself to see if I can decipher it for you.

I have had a little practice over the years with those old documents so I am hoping it might help.

Will now check out your other notes and work from there.

[trencrom]

I have deciphered it since I last post here -- it is "Rachell", christened and buried both in 1709. No doubt also from thje mother's family?

[trencrom]

Cornish terrier,
Re the admon bond of James Michell in 1734 which you wanted information on:
The bondsmen were James Mitchell of Zennor, yeoman, George Mitchell of the same, yeoman, and William Harry of Penzance, blacksmith. All three men signed at the bottom of the page.
On 17 July 1734 the administration was granted to the abovebound James the natural and lawful son of James Mitchell late of Zennor intestate deceased.

[Cornish Terrier]

Thank you very much for that information and I will try and work on things as of (I think) about twelve hours from now.

It is time now for 'tucker' while I watch a movie and then get to bed.

Will be back after R&R and some further investigation.