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George Duckham (1791 - 1848)

Posted by John Bennett on 28/2/2019, 10:42 am

Good Morning,
George Duckham served in the RN for more than 21 years, retiring on a pension in 1834.
His naval records state that he was born in Tiverton in 1791.
In 1814 he married Ann Govet(t) McKelvey in Plymouth and they had 4 children; John Govett Duckham, George Zacharia, Emily Elizabeth and Georgiana. All were born whilst father George was still in the RN. His records list all the ships he served on and his various ranks.
His 1812 Allotment record is allocated to his mother Elizabeth and the 1815 Allotment to his wife Ann.
In the 1841 census his dob is also quoted as 1791, but this could be inaccurate. He is listed as a shipwright and is of Devon origin.
I have searched for a relevant baptismal record and have found a 1777 Tiverton record for a George with parents John and Ann. The only record I have found with a mother Elizabeth is in 1792 in Finsbury. Neither of these appear to be my George.
George died in 1848 in Plymouth and his burial record also quotes his dob as 1791.
I have searched with FMP, Ancestry and Family Search without success.
Any suggestions for alternative sources of birth records would be gratefully received.

John Bennett

Re: George Duckham (1791 - 1848)

Posted by Judith on 1/3/2019, 8:09 am, in reply to "George Duckham (1791 - 1848)"

Have you tried non conformist records?

Re: George Duckham (1791 - 1848)

Posted by Judith on 1/3/2019, 8:18 am, in reply to "Re: George Duckham (1791 - 1848)"

I think that his mother was an Elizabeth who married a Duckham, she could have been a widow, with a baby, would look for marriages after 1791, in Tiverton and surrounding parishes, get her surname and work from there. Could be that George was always known by his new family name .Records not so efficient in those days.

Re: George Duckham (1791 - 1848)

Posted by Judith on 1/3/2019, 10:07 am, in reply to "Re: George Duckham (1791 - 1848)"

Found a marriage John Duckham married 12.12.1791 Elizabeth Whitear, could be a misspelling of her surname, as could not find a baptism of a George Whitear. Could be that they moved after the marriage and he was baptised later with other children.

Re: George Duckham (1791 - 1848)

Posted by John Bennett on 1/3/2019, 12:01 pm, in reply to "Re: George Duckham (1791 - 1848)"

Many thanks Judith & the OPC Coordinator,

I too have found the Duckham-Whitear marriage, significantly in 1791, and am intending to search deeper on that line.
There is a birth of a George to Elizabeth White which could be promising.

Regards,

John

Re: George Duckham (1791 - 1848)

Posted by Judith on 1/3/2019, 12:39 pm, in reply to "Re: George Duckham (1791 - 1848)"

Whitear not a common name in Devon, there are some in Hampshire I think. Might be worth looking at John Duckham and see if he has military connections. Another thing to do is look at births of a George, no surname on line on find my past, for 1791, and the list will give a blank in the space for fathers name. I found 3, Mortimore at Sandford, Shaddick at Bideford and White at Ipplepen.
Also look for deaths of a Whitear around 1790-1791 in case she was a widow.
A bit complicated I know, but all avenues should be checked out. Hope this helps.

Re: George Duckham (1791 - 1848)

Posted by John Bennett on 2/3/2019, 5:44 pm, in reply to "Re: George Duckham (1791 - 1848)"

Dear Judith,

Thank you for your further comments.
There are quite a few Whitear's in the Tiverton records.
I have found Elizabeth Whitear's birth in Sept. 1762 and her baptism on 12 Oct. Her parents were Zachary and Elizabeth. Significantly, George Duckham named his 2nd son, George Zacharia.

John Duckham was a seaman like his putative son George. John was an AB on the vessel Melampas in 1797 when he made an 'Allotment' to his wife Elizabeth (maybe George's mother) in Townend, Tiverton.
I believe that John Duckham was born in Dec 1763 and christened at St Peters, Tiverton on 26th Dec. I don't believe he married prior to his marriage to Elizabeth Whitear in Dec. 1791.

I believe that it is distinctly possible that Elizabeth Whitear had George as an illegitimate in the months before she married John Duckham in Dec. 1791. Elizabeth had 'form' in this regard as she gave birth to a son John in Sept. 1784, with the father curiously described as 'spurious'! Baby John died in July the following year and is buried at St Peters.

Having searched for a baptismal record for George Duckham/Whitear all over Devon and England, I have concluded that the record is lost or destroyed.
However the various pieces of circumstantial evidence I have uncovered gives me some confidence that his mother was indeed Elizabeth Whitear and that George assumed his stepfather's surname. Of course it is quite likely that John is actually his biological father.

Regards,

John

Re: George Duckham (1791 - 1848)

Posted by Judith on 3/3/2019, 10:14 am, in reply to "Re: George Duckham (1791 - 1848)"

Happy to help, I agree with you given the evidence you have gleaned.

Re: George Duckham (1791 - 1848)

Posted by OPC Co-ordinator on 28/2/2019, 6:41 pm, in reply to "George Duckham (1791 - 1848)"

Have you tried looking for other baptisms in Tiverton around that time with mother Elizabeth? That may give you a father's name to work with.

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