1820's St Agnes Isaac Butsons sons of Isaac Butsons

Research note by Wesley Johnston, begun 24 Sep 2018, last updated 24 Sep 2018

https://www.ancestry.com/mediaui-viewer/collection/1030/tree/12001386/person/1578499455/media/d042bfef-3502-4589-ae54-ea7ae2225af8?_phsrc=bca1436&usePUBJs=true

The Problem

Two men named Isaac BUTSON had sons named Isaac BUTSON born in the parish of St. Agnes, Corwnall, in the late 1820's. Many online trees confuse these two sons. This research note gathers the relevant information and establishes the correct parent-spouse connections of these two Isaac BUTSONs.

The Baptisms

The baptisms clearly state the parents of each Isaac. The following includes the maiden names of the mothers, which are not in the baptisms but were obtained from marriage records.

1831 Dec 25 (born 1826 May 2) - son of Isaac BUTSON and Esther RULE == see the image at familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-266-12873-294184-43?cc=1769414&wc=MMVH-VHF:n912013570 -- NOTE that this Isaac was the second Isaac born to this couple. The first died at Silverwell at age 1 and was buried at St. Agnes 2 Feb 1823.

1829 Aug 8 - son of Isaac BUTSON and Dinah BARKLA == see the image at familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-266-12873-298646-4?cc=1769414&wc=MMVH-VHF:n912013570 -- NOTE that this Isaac was baptized at the same time as his sister Mary BUTSON

Note that yet another Isaac BUTSON was baptized 1 Jul 1827 at St. Agnes, but he was the son of John BUTSON and Elizabeth TYZZER.

The Destinations and Deaths

The 1829 Isaac BUTSON (son of Isaac BUTSON and Diana BARKLA) went to Australia, where his 1884 death record (registration number 240) explicitly shows his mother as Dinah BARKLA, which solidly establishes him as the 1829 Isaac. The 1851 census of Mithian in St Agnes parish shows him living with his parents Isaac and Diana. He sailed to Australia on the "Golden Era" in 1854, a 25-year-old miner. At this time, I do not know if he married or had children. There is no evidence that he ever returned to Britain after arriving in Australia.

The 1826 Isaac BUTSON (baptized in 1831, son of Isaac BUTSON and Esther RULE) lived with his parents in the 1841 census of Peterville in St. Agnes parish. He married Elizabeth Jane PARNELL at St. Mewan, Cornwall 11 Jul 1848, and the 1851 census of Peterville in St. Agnes parish shows them living there with their 7-month-old daughter Mary A. BUTSON. Steady work must have been very hard to find. Their daughter Emma BUTSON was born 1 Feb 1859 at Jericho in Redruth parish. The 1861 census (which is the first census showing Elizabeth Jane as just Jane) has them at Riley Terrace in Cleator, Cumberland, with the correct birth places and ages and oldest child Mary. The 1871 census has them at Spennymoor in Whitworth, Durham. Finally, Isaac BUTSON sailed in 1879 to New York, paving the way for the arrival of the arrival (in 1882 per their son Isaac BUTSON 1877-1960 who gave that arrival date in the 1900 census of Reynoldsville, Pennsylvania) of the family where they settled in Pennsylvania. The last UK census to include the family was the 1881 census of Greenhill at Dawdon, Durham which shows their son John BUTSON (born on the Isle of Man) as the head of the house with his mother Jane BUTSON, sisters Ellen and Esther BUTSON 2-year-old brother Isaac BUTSON.

NOTE that the 1827 Isaac BUTSON (son of John BUTSON and Elizabeth TYZZER) also lived at St. Mewan. The 1851 census of the village of Sticker in the parish of St. Mewan shows him as the unmarried 24-year-old tin miner lodging with the family of William CLARK.

Conclusions

The 1829 Isaac BUTSON was the son of Isaac BUTSON and Diana BARKLA. He went to Australia in 1854 and died there in 1884, apparently never returning to Britain. This is very certain. Nothing is known of him having a spouse or children.

The 1826 Isaac BUTSON was baptized 1831, son of Isaac BUTSON and Esther RULE. He married Elizabeth Jane PARNELL at St. Mewan in 1848. They moved many times, living longest in Durham, before going to Pennsylvania, he first in 1879 and the rest of the family in 1882. This is a complex series of events. The birth, baptism, marriage and UK censuses are nearly certain. Their ages and birth places and records of their children at the various later locations confirm that it is indeed the same highly mobile family, eventually settling in Pennsylvania.