Great x3 Uncle John Fisher

My Great x3 Uncle John (1866 - 1933) was an agricultural labourer, father of two, and the older brother of my Great Great Grandmother Alice Brownscombe Easterbrook (nee Fisher) (1868 - 1929).

John was born around October 1866 in the district of Barnstaple, Devon to Richard Fisher (about 20), an agricultural labourer and horseman on a farm, and Elizabeth 'Bessie/Betsy' Fisher (nee Brownscombe) (about 22), a work woman on a farm.

John was likely named after her paternal grandfather, also called John Fisher, who sadly passed away suddenly, due to an accident whilst turnip picking, earlier in 1866.

John was baptised on 2nd October 1866 in Challacombe, Devon. At the time, the family resided at Westland Cottage, Challacombe. John and his siblings spent their whole childhoods there, and their parents would live there for many years more. Their cottage was a real home for over sixty years! John's father Richard worked as a skilled farm labourer at the Smyth family farm at nearby Wistlandpound for over fifty years!

It seems John's father Richard was a lovely man. In a eulogy to Richard in the North Devon Journal on 15th August 1929, he is described as: "A man of a bright and happy nature, he had a smile and a kindly word for all".

John was the second of three children (two daughters and one son):

• Mary  1865 - between 1881 and 1929 (at least 16 years old)
• John  1866 - 1933 (66 years old)
• Alice Brownscombe  1868 - 1929  (60 years old)

1871 Census:

1881 Census:

From his teens, John worked as an agricultural labourer.

In his twenties, he bordered with fellow agricultural labourer Josiah Parker and his family at New Mills, Shirwell.

1891 Census:

In Apr/May/Jun 1892, John (25), an agricultural labourer, married Lucy Hutchings (about 27), formerly a dairy maid and then domestic cook, in the district of Barnstaple.

They had 2 children:

• Alfred Richard  1895
• Blanche Mary  1897 - 1925  (28 years old)

1901 Census:

On 1st May 1904, John's wife Lucy passed away, aged thirty-nine, in Lower Loxbore, in the district of Barnstaple. She was buried on 4th May 1904 in Loxhore.

John was left a widower, with two children - aged eight or nine and six.

1911 Census: 

His only son Alfred moved to Canada, aged eighteen, in 1913.

Alfred served in the Canadian army during the First World War. Thankfully he survived.

Alfred's Attestation Papers give a brief physical description of John's only son. At eighteen, Alfred was 5' 11 1/2'', had a dark complexion, dark brown hair and grey eyes. He was also a Methodist. Was John a Methodist too? Did Alfred look like his father?

Twelve years after his first wife's death, John remarried. In Jul/Aug/Sep 1916, John (49), an agricultural labourer, married Lilian Elizabeth Stribling (33 or 34), a dressmaker, in the district of Barnstaple.

1921 Census:

At some point in the 1920's, John, his second wife Lilian, daughter Blanche, son-in-law Albert, and young grandchildren moved to and lived at 23 Charles Street, Barnstaple.

On 24th July 1925, John's only daughter Blanche died, aged twenty-eight. She left behind two young children, Lucy (2) and Reginald 'Reggie' (not yet 1).

John, family and friends attended Blanche's funeral at United Methodist Church, Barnstaple, on 28th July 1925

From the North Devon Herald of 6th August 1925:

In 1929, John faced too more losses: his younger sister Alice and father Richard pass away.

And in 1932, his mother Bessie/Betsy pass away.

In Jan/Feb/Mar 1933, John himself passed away, aged 66, in the North Devon Infirmary.

He was buried on the 9th March 1933, in Loxhore Churchyard.

From the North Devon Journal of 9th March 1933:

Like his children, Alfred and Blanche, John was a methodist. He was a member of the church and superintended of the Sunday School. 

Whilst he was a farm labourer and carter earlier in life - for example in the employ of Mr Yendell at Loxhore Barton - he later ran a boot and shore repairing business in Brayford.

From the North Devon Journal of 16th March 1933:

John's son Alfred 'Alf' was living in Canada at time of his sister Blanche's death in 1925. The next year, he named his third daughter after his sister.

By the time of his father's death in 1933, Alfred was a driver on the Isle of Man.

John's widow Lilian, widowed son-in-law Albert, and grandchildren Lucy and Reggie, were still living at the family home of 23 Charles Street, Barnstaple, at the time of the 1939 Register.

Lilian outlived her husband by fourteen years. She passed away, aged sixty-four, in Jan/Feb/Mar 1947, Barnstaple.

Potential Great x3 Grandfather William Batchelor

My potential Great x3 Grandfather William (c 1822 - c 1862), was an agricultural labourer, father of eight, and the potential grandfather of my great grandfather William Batchelor (c 1882 - 1939).

(Several of my DNA matches on ancestry share the ancestors Mary Enoch and Benjamin Branson. It is most likely I am related to them via my great grandfather William Batchelor (c 1882 - 1939) and his father John Batchelor. Benjamin and Mary's daughter Fanny married a William Batchelor (c 1822 - 1850's) and had children - including a John Batchelor - so it is likely through this line, though I am yet to confirm just how they connect.)

William was born around 1822, in Little Bourton, Oxfordshire, to Robert Batchelor, a labourer, and Ann Batchelor.

William was baptised on 17th Ferbuary 1822, in Cropredy, Oxfordshire.

William was the eldest of two children:

• William  1822
• Catherine  1826

[There seems a possibility that William's mother was maybe called Sarah Ann: most of the time going by Sarah, but going by Ann on William and Catherine's baptism records. Because Robert and a Sarah (nee Townsend) have more kids in the village and on the 1841, 1851 and 1861 Census are literally a page over from William and his family, meaning they were very close neighbours. Plus I cannot find a marriage for a Robert and an Ann. However I cannot find a record where she goes by Sarah Ann. If the theory is correct, that would mean William and Catherine had more siblings:

• Mary  1815 
• George  1816
• Mercy  1818
• Mercy  1819
• Joseph  1820
• William  1822
• Evis  1824
• Catherine  1826
• James  1829
• Mary Ann  1835]

Sometime, possibly as a teenager, William moved about twenty miles north from his native Little Bourton, Oxfordshire, to Thurlaston, Warwickshire.

On 28th June 1840, William (about 19), an agricultural labourer, married Fanny Branson (about 25), a single mother of two, in the next village over from Thurlaston, in Dunchurch, Warwickshire.

1840 Marriage Certificate:

Fanny and William did not sign their names, leaving only their marks, implying they could not write.

At the time of their marriage, both Fanny and William were living in the village of Thurlaston, Warwickshire. Within a year, they settled 20 miles south in William's native Little Bourton, Oxfordshire.

Map of the local area

William and Fanny had eight children (3 daughters, 5 sons):

• Elizabeth  1840 - 1841 (about 2-3 months old)
• Elizabeth  1842
• Elijah  1845
• Sarah Ann  1847
• Levi  1849 
• Robert  1851
• Frederick  1855
• John  1857

Their eldest daughter Elizabeth passed away as a baby in 1841. On 19th January 1841, she was buried at St Mary the Virgin, Cropredy, Oxfordshire.

They gave their next daughter the same name.

All their children's births were registered in the district of Banbury, Oxfordshire. Censuses give their birthplace as the village of Little Bourton, Oxfordshire.

William and Fanny only had three of their children baptised: their eldest Elizabeth, Levi and their youngest John. All in Cropredy - a village less the two miles north of Little Bourton, where the family lived.

1841 Census:

In 1849, William's house in Little Bourton was sold. Being a poor labouring family, I assume they rented a small cottage - sadly it is called a 'hovel'.

From the Banbury Guardian of 8th November 1849:

William Batchelor was the only one of that name living in the village on the 1851 Census, so I assume this article from 2 years earlier is regarding their family home. However, William was not a junior and his father was called Robert.

1851 Census:

The 1851 Census describes William's step son John Branson as having impaired faculties and being a cripple. Fanny was likely the primary carer for her disabled son.

In Jul/Aug/Sep 1856, William's older step-son Owen (who lived with his maternal grandparents) passed away, aged twenty-three, in the district of Banbury, Oxfordshire. He was buried on 7th Sep 1856, at St John the Baptist, Upper Boddington, Northamptonshire.

There is a possible death registered for his disabled step-son John Branson in Oct/Nov/Dec 1856, in Banbury, Oxfordshire. [No age is given though]

1861 Census:

On the 1861 Census, Fanny is listed as married, but William is not present. On the 1871 Census, Fanny is listed as a widow. William passed away either in the 1860's or 1850's.

There are two deaths registered for William Batchelors in the district of Banbury, Oxfordshire: one in 1862, another in 1863. He would have been about forty. 

Her husband absent, Fanny worked in the fields. Their sons would go on to be agricultural labourers.

One of William and Fanny's daughters - likely Sarah Ann - had an illegitimate son called William Batchelor in Oct/Nov/Dec 1869, in Bourton. On the 1871 Census, William is listed as Fanny's son (very unlikely as she would have been in her mid fifties and her last child was born over a decade before) and on the 1881 Census, he is living with Levi and his wife, and listed as his nephew.

Potential Great x3 Grandmother Frances 'Fanny' Batchelor (nee Branson)

My potential Great x3 Grandmother Fanny (c 1815 - 1876), was a (pauper) field woman and housewife, mother of ten, and the potential grandmother of my great grandfather William Batchelor (c 1882 - 1939).

(Several of my DNA matches on ancestry share the ancestors Mary Enoch and Benjamin Branson. It is most likely I am related to them via my great grandfather William Batchelor (c 1882 - 1939) and his father John Batchelor. Benjamin and Mary's daughter Fanny married a William Batchelor (c 1822 - 1850's) and had children - including a John Batchelor - so it is likely through this line, though I am yet to confirm just how they connect.)

Fanny was born around 1815, in Lower Boddington, Northamptonshire, to Benjamin Branson (about 32), an agricultural labourer, and Mary Branson (nee Enoch) (about 28 - 32), a housewife.

Fanny was baptised on 24th December 1815, in Boddington, Northamptonshire.

Record of 1815 Baptism:

Fanny had one older half brother, Samuel, from her father Benjamin's first marriage, born around 1807.

Fanny was the third of seven children born to Benjamin and Mary (5 daughters, 2 sons):

• Ann  1811
• Elizabeth  1813
• Frances 'Fanny'  1815 
• Jane  1817 
• Mary Ann  1821 - 1821  (at least 6 months old)
• James  1823
• John  1825

Interestingly around 1821, Fanny's parents seem to have converted from Anglicanism to Roman Catholicism. On 9th May that year, Mary and their daughters were baptised into that faith in Overthorpe, Northamptonshire.

Overthorpe is nine miles south of Boddington. We do not know if the family had moved to Overthorpe or traveled there to go to the Catholic church.

Public Catholic worship had been legalised in Britain, only thirty years earlier, in 1791.

Record of 1821 Catholic baptism of Mary's family:

However, they later buried their daughter Mary and baptised their son John in the local Anglican church. Fanny herself would only baptise half of her children, but those she did where in the local Anglican church.

Fanny had two illegitimate sons before she married.

In 1833, when Fanny was about eighteen, she gave born to her eldest son, Owen Bliss Branson. Four years later, in 1837, Fanny, about twenty-two, gave birth to her second son John Branson. 

(The 1841 Census shows an Owen Bliss (about 30), a sheep dresser (shearer), living with his family, two miles away, in the next village over, Byfield, Northamptonshire. Owen married Eliza Robertson in Oct 1837, and she gave birth to their daughter Mary in Oct/Nov/Dec 1837. Eliza passed away in 1839. In January 1842, Owen was sentenced to twelve months imprisonment with hard labour, after stealing four of his uncle's sheep.

Did Fanny name her son after him? Was he the father of her eldest son/s?)

Both sons were baptised in Boddington. Owen would live with his grandparents, Benjamin and Mary; whilst John would stay on with Fanny after she married.

Owen's 1833 Baptism Record:

John's 1837 Baptism Record:

At some point between 1837 and 1840, Fanny, in her early twenties, moved over fifteen miles north from Lower Boddington, Northamptonshire to Thurlaston, Warwickshire.

On 28th June 1840, Fanny (about 25), single mother of two, married William Batchelor (about 19), an agricultural labourer, in the next village over, in Dunchurch, Warwickshire.

1840 Marriage Certificate:

Fanny and William did not sign their names, leaving only their marks, implying they could not write.

At the time of their marriage, both Fanny and William were living in the village of Thurlaston, Warwickshire. Within a year, they settled 20 miles south in William's native Little Bourton, Oxfordshire.

Map of the local area

Fanny and William had eight children (3 daughters, 5 sons):

• Elizabeth  1840 - 1841 (about 2-3 months old)
• Elizabeth  1842
• Elijah  1845
• Sarah Ann  1847
• Levi  1849 
• Robert  1851
• Frederick  1855
• John  1857

Their eldest daughter Elizabeth passed away as a baby in 1841. On 19th January 1841, she was buried at St Mary the Virgin, Cropredy, Oxfordshire.

They gave their next daughter the same name.

All their children's births were registered in the district of Banbury, Oxfordshire. Censuses give their birthplace as the village of Little Bourton, Oxfordshire.

Fanny and William only had three of their children baptised: their eldest Elizabeth, Levi and their youngest John. All in Cropredy - a village less the two miles north of Little Bourton, where the family lived.

1841 Census:

In 1847, Fanny's eldest illegitimate son Owen, aged about 14, was charged with stealing a tame duck and sentenced to a fortnight's imprisonment.

From the Northampton Mercury of 8th January 1848:

In 1849, Fanny and William's house in Little Bourton was sold. Being a poor labouring family, I assume they rented a small cottage - sadly it is called a 'hovel'.

From the Banbury Guardian of 8th November 1849:

Fanny's husband was the only William Batchelor living in the village on the 1851 Census, so I assume this article from 2 years earlier is regarding their family home.

1851 Census:

The 1851 Census describes Fanny's second illegitimate teenage son John Branson as having impaired faculties and being a cripple. Fanny was likely the primary carer for her disabled son.

In Jul/Aug/Sep 1856, Fanny's eldest illegitimate son Owen (who lived with her parents) passed away, aged twenty-three, in the district of Banbury, Oxfordshire. 

He was buried on 7th Sep 1856, at St John the Baptist, Upper Boddington, Northamptonshire.

There is a possible death registered for her disabled son John Branson in Oct/Nov/Dec 1856, in Banbury, Oxfordshire. [No age is given though]

1861 Census:

On the 1861 Census, Fanny is listed as married, but William is not present. On the 1871 Census, Fanny is listed as a widow. William passed away either in the 1860's or 1850's.

There are two deaths registered for William Batchelors in the district of Banbury, Oxfordshire: one in 1862, another in 1863.

Her husband absent, Fanny worked in the fields. Her sons would go on to be agricultural labourers.

One of Fanny's daughters - likely Sarah Ann - had an illegitimate son called William Batchelor in Oct/Nov/Dec 1869, in Bourton. On the 1871 Census, William is listed as Fanny's son (very unlikely as she would have been in her mid fifties and her last child was born over a decade before) and on the 1881 Census, he is living with Levi and his wife, and listed as his nephew.

1871 Census:

At the time of the 1871 Census, Fanny's married eldest daughter Elizabeth and her family lived next door.

In July 1876, Fanny passed away, aged about sixty-one, in the district of Banbury, Oxfordshire.

At the time of her death, she lived in Great Bourton, Oxfordshire.

On 15th July 1876, Fanny was buried in Great Bourton, Oxfordshire.

1876 Burial Record:

Potential Great x4 Grandmother Mary Branson (nee Enoch)

My potential Great x4 Grandmother Mary (c 1783-1787 - 1859), was a housewife, mother of seven, and the potential great grandmother of my great grandfather William Batchelor (c 1882 - 1939).

(Several of my DNA matches on ancestry share the ancestors Mary Enoch and her husband Benjamin Branson. It is most likely I am related to them via my great grandfather William Batchelor (c 1882 - 1939) and his father John Batchelor. Benjamin and Mary's daughter Fanny married a William Batchelor (c 1822 - 1850's) and had children - including a John Batchelor - so it is likely through this line, though I am yet to confirm just how they connect.)

Mary was born around 1783 - 1787, in Priors Marston, Warwickshire.

(Her age was given as 64 on the 1851 Census, imply a birth year of 1786 - 1787, with Priors Marston given as her place of birth on the same census. However, on her 1859 burial record, her age was given as 76, implying a birth year of 1782 - 1783.)

She was very likely baptised on 28th September 1788, in Priors Marston. This baptism record gives her parents names as Robert and Sarah.

Record of 1788 Baptism:

By looking for baptisms of other children born to Robert and Sarah, we see Mary likely had one younger sister called Jenny, who was also baptised in Priors Marston, in 1791.

On 19th November 1809, Mary (about 22 - 26) married widower and father of one Benjamin (about 25), an agricultural labourer of Lower Boddington, Northamptonshire, in her native Priors Marston, Warwickshire. 

Record of 1809 Marriage and Banns:

Though from different counties, their villages are only four miles apart.

Mary gained one step-son:

• Samuel  1807 -

Benjamin and Mary had seven children:

• Ann  1811
• Elizabeth  1813
• Frances 'Fanny'  1815 
• Jane  1817 
• Mary Ann  1821 - 1821  (at least 6 months old)
• James  1823
• John  1825

The couple's eldest daughters, Ann and Elizabeth, were baptised in their mother's native Prior Marston, implying the young family may have been living there around 1809 - 1813. 

Their next two daughters, Fanny and Jane, was baptised in their father's native Boddington, implying the family may have been living here around 1814 - 1817.

Interestingly around 1821, Benjamin and Mary seem to have converted from Anglicanism to Roman Catholicism. On 9th May that year, Mary and their daughters were baptised into that faith in Overthorpe, Northamptonshire.

Overthorpe is nine miles south of Boddington. We do not know if the family had moved to Overthorpe or traveled there to go to the Catholic church.

Public Catholic worship had been legalised in Britain, only thirty years earlier, in 1791.

Record of 1821 Catholic baptism of Mary's family:

In late 1821, Mary  and Benjamin loss their youngest daughter, Mary Ann. She was buried on 9th December 1821, in the Anglican church in Boddington. She was at least six months old.

In 1823, their next child - a first son called James - they again had baptised into the Catholic Church in Overthorpe.

Yet they baptised their next son John into the Church of England, back in Benjamin's native Boddington.

Their daughter Fanny had two illegitmate children before she married - Owen Bliss Branson in 1833 and John Branson in 1837. Both sons were baptised in Boddington. Owen would live with his grandparents, Benjamin and Mary.

The 1841 and 1851 Census show Mary and her family living in her husband's native Lower Boddington. All of Mary and Benjamin's children had left home to find work or marry by the time of the 1841 Census, apart from their teenage son James.

1841 Census: 

In 1847, Mary and Benjamin's grandson Owen was charged with stealing a tame duck and sentenced to a fortnight's imprisionment.

From the Northampton Mercury of 8th January 1848:

1851 Census:

Their nextdoor neighbour at the time of the 1851 Census was a Thomas Branson (31) and his young family. It is likely Thomas was a close relative of Benjamin.

In Apr/May/Jun 1855, Benjamin passed away, in the district of Banbury, Oxfordshire. He was buried on 30th June 1855, in St John the Baptist Churchyard, North Boddington, Northamptonshire. His age was given as seventy-two.

On 7th October 1859, Mary passed away, in Lower Boddington. Her age was given as seventy-six, implying a birth year of 1783.

Below is a map of Mary's local area. Her native Prior Marston, Warwickshire; then south four miles (just over the border) to her husband Benjamin's native Lower Boddington, Northamptonshire; then south again to Overthorpe, Northamptonshire, where Mary and their children were baptised in 1821. 

On this map you can see the county lines (in red), with Warwickshire on the top left, Northamptonshire on the right, and Oxfordshire on the bottom left. 

Potenial Great x4 Grandfather Benjamin Branson

My potential Great x4 Grandfather Benjamin (1783 - 1855), was an agricultural labourer, father of eight, and the potential great grandfather of my great grandfather William Batchelor (c 1882 - 1939).

(Several of my DNA matches on ancestry share the ancestors Benjamin Branson and his wife Mary Enoch. It is most likely I am related to them via my great grandfather William Batchelor (c 1882 - 1939) and his father John Batchelor. Benjamin and Mary's daughter Fanny married a William Batchelor (c 1822 - 1850's) and had children - including a John Batchelor - so it is likely through this line, though I am yet to confirm just how they connect.)

Benjamin was born around 1783, in Boddington, Northamptonshire. 

(His age was given as 67 on the 1851 Census, imply a birth year of 1783 - 1784, with Boddington given as place of birth on same census. On his 1855 burial record, his age was given as 72, implying a birth year of 1782 - 1783)

On 9th November 1806, Benjamin (about 22), a labourer, married Ann Lockton, in Aston Le Walls, Northamptonshire. Both was described as of that parish. Aston Le Walls is only just over a mile from Lower Boddington.

Record of 1806 Marriage and Banns:

Benjamin and Ann had one son:

• Samuel  1807

In early 1808, Benjamin's wife Ann passed away. She was buried on 24th March 1808, in Boddington, Northamptonshire.

Late the next year, Benjamin remarried.

On 19th November 1809, widower and father of one Benjamin (about 25) married Mary Enoch, in Priors Marston, Warwickshire. 

Record of 1809 Marriage and Banns:

Benjamin was described as of the parish of Lower Boddington, Northamptonshire; whilst Mary was of Priors Marston, Warwickshire. Though from different counties, their villages are only four miles apart.

Benjamin and Mary had seven children:

• Ann  1811
• Elizabeth  1813
• Frances 'Fanny'  1815 
• Jane  1817 
• Mary Ann  1821 - 1821  (at least 6 months old)
• James  1823
• John  1825

The couple's eldest daughters, Ann and Elizabeth, were baptised in their mother's native Prior Marston, implying the young family may have been living there around 1809 - 1813. 

Their next two daughters, Fanny and Jane, was baptised in their father's native Boddington, implying the family may have been living here around 1814 - 1817.

Interestingly around 1821, Benjamin and Mary seem to have converted from Anglicanism to Roman Catholicism. On 9th May that year, Mary and their daughters were baptised into that faith in Overthorpe, Northamptonshire.

Overthorpe is nine miles south of Boddington. We do not know if the family had moved to Overthorpe or traveled there to go to the Catholic church.

Public Catholic worship had been legalised in Britain, only thirty years earlier, in 1791.

Record of 1821 Catholic baptism of Benjamin's family:

In late 1821, Benjamin and Mary loss their youngest daughter, Mary Ann. She was buried on 9th December 1821, in the Anglican church in Boddington. She was at least six months old.

In 1823, their next child - a first son called James - they again had baptised into the Catholic Church in Overthorpe.

Yet they baptised their next son John into the Church of England, back in Benjamin's native Boddington.

Their daughter Fanny had two illegitmate children before she married - Owen Bliss Branson in 1833 and John Branson in 1837. Both sons were baptised in Boddington. Owen would live with his grandparents, Benjamin and Mary.

The 1841 and 1851 Census show Benjamin and his family living in his native Lower Boddington. All of his and Mary's children had left home to find work or marry by the time of the 1841 Census, apart from their teenage son James.

1841 Census: 

In 1847, Benjamin and Mary's grandson Owen was charged with stealing a tame duck and sentenced to a fortnight's imprisionment.

From the Northampton Mercury of 8th January 1848:

1851 Census:

Their nextdoor neighbour at the time of the 1851 Census was a Thomas Branson (31) and his young family. It is likely Thomas was a close relative of Benjamin.

In Apr/May/Jun 1855, Benjamin passed away, in the district of Banbury, Oxfordshire. He was buried on 30th June 1855, in St John the Baptist Churchyard, North Boddington, Northamptonshire. His age was given as seventy-two, implying a birth year of 1783.

1855 Burial Record:

Below is a map of Benjamin's local area. From his native Boddington, Northamptonshire; then one mile over to Aston le Walls where he married his first wife Ann in 1806; then up four miles (just over the border) to Priors Marston, Warwickshire, where he married his second wife Mary in 1809; then down to Overthorpe, Northamptonshire, where his wife and children was baptised in 1821. 

On this map you can see the county lines (in red), with Warwickshire on the top left, Northamptonshire on the right, and Oxfordshire on the bottom left. 

DNA Links to William Batchelor

As the paper trail for my Great Grandfather William Batchelor goes cold before 1923, I am taking a look at DNA matches - to see if any will tie into the Batchelor family further back.

I have been looking at matches shared by myself and my (half) aunt, as these have to be via our shared nearest ancestor (my grandmother, her mother), Bette. 

DNA cluster. DNA shared between me, my aunt and others.

Note the square of three squares in the centre showing Jennifer Wilson, Michael Thomas and Gwyneth Day share more DNA - we will come back to them

I have well researched my grandmother's maternal Devonshire genealogy, so can rule out any links to that side.

What I am left with should be individuals, who share DNA with myself via William Batchelor. How - I am yet to determine.

Here are some (so far unpromising) leads I found...

I found out that three DNA matches share the ancestors Edward William Herbert and Harriet Louisa Clark.

Implying I am related to one or both (if descended from them).

This line is in London in late 1800s.

I found out that eight DNA matches share the ancestors Thomas Peppiatt and Elizabeth Dock.

Implying I am related to one or both (if descended from them).

This line traces back to Buckinghamshire in the late 1700s.

I am also found that six DNA matches share the ancestors Henry Marcus Clark and Martha Annie 'Pattie' Day. 

Implying I am related to one or both (if descended from them).

This line is in Australia.

I also found out five DNA matches share the ancestors Robert Thomas Caskey and Mary Polly Dyer and/or William H Littlefield Dyer and Hannah Hopkins. 

Implying I am related to one or more (if descended from them).

These lines are firmly in America.

I also found out twelve DNA matches share the ancestors Christopher Lister Riding and Mary Ann Hale.

Implying I am related to one or both (if descended from them).

A further little look and Mary Ann Hale's maternal line is from Devon. She may simply be related to my Devon family just really far back and not the more midlandsy Batchelors.

A Promising Lead???

I also found out ten DNA matches share the ancestors, Benjamin Branson and Mary Enoch.

Implying I am related to one or both (if descended from them).

And that two DNA matches share the ancestors, James Townley and Sarah Hornsby.

Again implying I am related to one or both (if descended from them).

Another DNA cluster.

Note the large square overlapping Jennifer Wilson, Michael Thomas, Gywneth Day, Tabitha Brace and Louise Candy, showing they share more DNA. That's because they all descend from Benjamin Branson and Mary Enoch.

Of these matches noted above, Jennifer Wilson shares the most DNA with me: 44cm across 3 segments.

Ancestry roughly predicts her relationship to me (see yellow highlighted sections below). Estimating we share a great grandparent/s, great great parnent/s or great x3 grandparents. 

Gwyneth Day also shares DNA with me (37cm across 2 segments) and has similar relationship predictions to me. Gwyneth and Jennifer share the same great grandmother in Mary Ann Branson, so my connection to them is likely through Mary Ann.

Mary Ann Branson (1859 - 1906) lived in the village of Wootton Wawen, in Warwickshire. She married twice and had children between 1882 - 1902. If William was born around 1882, as later records imply, he would be the same generation as her children.

Also, Gwynth and Jennifer are both older than me - at the top end of the same generation as my mum, so seems a reasonably rough but intelligent guessimate that they would be the same level on the chart as my mum.

Going across right from my mum, the first yellow box we hit is 2nd Cousin Once Removed... If Gwyneth and Jennifer are my 2nd Cousins Once Removed, that would make Mary Ann the mother of William Batchelor. Though age wise this could be a possibility, she was married and recorded having other children then.

We go right to the next yellow box over... Puts them as my 3rd Cousins Once Removed, and Mary Ann as the sister of one of William's parents.

Or one more right across... If more distantly related to me, say a column over, and 4th Cousins Once Removed, that would make Mary Ann the first cousin of a parent of William. 

So I need to research: Mary Ann, her siblings, her parents, her grandparents, her uncles and aunts, and first cousins. 

That I also have DNA matches via other descendants of Mary Ann's parternal grandparents Benjamin Branson and Mary Enoch implies I need to look into Mary's patneral family: her father James, his siblings and their children.

Mary Ann was the youngest of five. Her father James was the youngest of eight. A rough first search puts it as Mary Ann having 28 first cousins just on her patneral side! Many of them were older than Mary Ann, meaning she would have been closer in age to their children.

As I am yet to see any Batchelors or variations of name, are we looking at William's Batchelor's maternal side here?

Not so fast!!!!!

Mary Branson indeed had a first cousin called John Batchelor. He was born in 1857, in Bourton, Oxfordshire. 

Our William was reported to be a 'native of Oxford'[shire] in a 1923 newspaper article and his 1928 marriage certificate gives his father's name as John.

A John Batchelor, born 1857, could indeed had a son as a young man, c 1882.

But can I find any connection in the records to this John Batchelor and our William Batchelor???

I have thus far traced John to the 1881 Census, when he was a young man, working as an ag lab, and staying with his older married sister Elizabeth Adams and her family in their native Little Bourton, Oxfordshire.

And now the trail goes cold. Why must the trail go cold?

Did he marry and father, or illegitimately father a son around this time? Perhaps called William? Too much to hope?

Hmm....

Trying to connect my William Batchelor to these Batchelors....

Tree of Fanny Branson and William Batchelor's children

On 4th November 1881, John and his friend James Dale were charged with being drunk and disorderly, and refusing to leave licensed premises at Bourton. (He was the only John Batchelor living in Bourton at the time of the 1881 Census, so we can be pretty certain this article is about him)

From the Banbury Guardian of 24th November 1881:

Right Sir, where have you gone? You're supposed to be having a son about now? If you did, that is.

Maybe you didn't. Maybe another family member had our William.

Hmm...

One of Fanny's daughters - most likely unmarried Sarah Ann - had an illegitimate son called William Batchelor in Oct/Nov/Dec 1869, in Bourton. On the 1871 Census, William is listed as Fanny's son (very unlikely as she would have been in her mid fifties and her last child was born over a decade before) and on the 1881 Census, he is living with Levi and his wife, and listed as his nephew.

Now three later records suggest our William was born around 1882. But this could be wrong, as a year of birth around then is not giving us much luck in the records.

The 1939 Census did give our William an October birthday: 1st October 1883.

More to think about...

Feel so close and yet so far

You'll get there one day

... (Update 10/10/2026)!!!

I ordered the birth certifate for William Batchelor born Oct/Nov/Dec 1869. He was indeed the illegitimate son of Sarah Ann Batchelor. 

But guess what!?

He was born on the 1st October!

...

My present theory, which DNA supports, is that this is our William. 

Being so much older than Dinah, he may have lied about his age - rounding it down and saying he was 20 years older than her and not over 30. But he still gave his birthday as the 1st October. 

Rather then admitting he was illegitmate when he married, he made up a name for his father. Or his father was a farmer called John, but he put Batchelor as his father's surname to match his own - again to hide the illegitimacy.

His own illegitimacy also explains why he might have been understanding of Dinah, who had had two illegitmate children.

The newspaper article in the 1920's did say William was 'a native of Oxford[shire]'.

-

William and his uncle John disappeared from censuses after 1881. We know William was a navvy by the 1920's. They may both have been working as navvies in this time. Navvies often lived in tempory camps, which Census takers failed to record.