Two Grace Hodges of St. Blazey 1830's

Research note for the St. Blazey Families Project by Wesley Johnston (last updated 26 May 2012)

Burial number 370 in the St. Blazey 1813-1839 burial register is Grace Hodge, abode Church Town, buried 17 Jan 1832, age 38 [thus born c 1794].

There was also a Grace who survived and appears in the 1851 and 1861 Tywardreath census, who appears to be the mother of the children baptized at St. Blazey to William and Grace Hodge. And she was born about the same time as the Grace who died.

Even after extensive research in the parish registers and censuses, I am still not certain that I have things right in my St. Blazey Families Project tree/database. Every time that I thought that I had figured things out, I realized that there was a single problem that simply could not conform to how I thought I had it figured out.

So I am documenting here what I have found in the search for these two Graces who both lived in St. Blazey at the same time and were of about the same age. See the conclusions section for how I have decided to carry these people in my database.

Contents

1 - Hodge Baptisms at St. Blazey and Tywardreath

2 - 1861 Census

3 - 1851 Census

4 - 1841 Census

5 - Marriages

6 - Baptism of Potential Graces

7 - Baptisms of Possible other Children of the St. Blazey-Tywardreath Graces

8 - Evaluation

9 - Conclusion

10 - Addendum 26 May 2012

Here are the baptisms of children of William and Grace Hodge at St. Blazey and Tywardreath. Note that the only Hodge baptisms in St. Blazey and Tywardreath to a mother named Grace were these children of William and Grace.

1826 Jan 8 - Thomas - St. Blazey - abode Church Town [https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-267-11049-200477-4?cc=1769414&wc=MMVH-V89:1150045410]

1828 Aug 10 - William - Tywardreath - abode Kilhallon Moor [https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-266-11062-200032-95?cc=1769414&wc=MMVH-KQL:n261041537]

1830 May 30 - Richard [buried 23 Nov 1830 St. Blazey, abode Church Town] - St. Blazey -abode Church Town [https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-267-11049-201414-35?cc=1769414&wc=MMVH-V83:1188659236]

1830 Dec 25 - Richard [buried 15 Jun 1835 Tywardreath, abode High Way https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-266-11062-200959-1?cc=1769414&wc=MMVH-K7M:145291282] - born 16 Dec 1830 - St. Blazey - abode Church Town [https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-267-11049-200528-98?cc=1769414&wc=MMVH-V83:1188659236]

1834 Dec 25 - George - St. Blazey - abode Church town [https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-267-11049-201851-10?cc=1769414&wc=MMVH-V83:1188659236]

1836 Sep 18 - Richard - St. Blazey - abode  St. Blazey ?Moor? [https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-267-11049-200253-30?cc=1769414&wc=MMVH-V83:1188659236]

http://search.ancestry.com/Browse/view.aspx?dbid=8767&path=Cornwall.Tywardreath.ALL.12.7

The 1861 Tywardreath census of Kilhallond Moors records William (65, Retired Miner, born St. Agnes) and Grace (65, born St. Agnes) and Thomas (35, unmarried, Miner, born Tywardreath).

http://search.ancestry.com/Browse/view.aspx?dbid=8767&path=Cornwall.Calstock.ALL.18.30

The 1861 Calstock census of Gunnislake records William (32, Copper Miner, born Tywardreath) and his wife Lavinia and their children.

I have not yet found George or Richard in the 1861 census.

3 - 1851 Census

http://search.ancestry.com/Browse/view.aspx?dbid=8860&path=Cornwall.Tywardreath.ALL.3f.24

The 1851 Tywardreath census of Kilhallond Moors records William (55, Copper Miner) and Grace (55) and Richard (14, Tailor). It shows Richard born in Tywardreath c 1837 and both William and Grace born at St. Agnes (c 1796 for each of them).

http://search.ancestry.com/Browse/view.aspx?dbid=8860&path=Cornwall.Calstock.ALL.2a.80

The  1851 Calstock census of Gunnislake records the two sons William (23, Copper Miner, born Tywardreath) and George (16, Copper Miner, St. Blazey) who I have ascribed to the surviving Grace. They are living in the home of the widow Anna Job and her son Jonathan as two of the four lodgers in the house. This distant location for the two brothers from St. Blazey and Tywardreath, especially for the 16-year-old George, provide some support for the argument that their mother was the other Grace who had died. However, at this time, I am carrying them as sons of the surviving Grace.

http://search.ancestry.com/Browse/view.aspx?dbid=8860&path=Cornwall.St+Austell.ALL.1l.36

http://search.ancestry.com/Browse/view.aspx?dbid=8860&path=Cornwall.St+Austell.ALL.1l.37

The 1851 census of Charlestown in St. Austell records the family of William (51, Small Farmer, born St. Austell) and Elizabeth (51, born Helston) that must also be kept separate, since this family has sons William (23, born St. Austell) and George (16, born St. Austell) of the exact same names and ages as the George and William who are Calstock. So this St. Austell family, which also can be found in the 1841 census ( http://search.ancestry.com/Browse/view.aspx?dbid=8978&path=Cornwall.St+Austell.ALL.20.4 ) is almost certainly NOT the family of a St. Blazey/Tywardreath) William whose wife Grace had died and he had remarried an Elizabeth. This must be considered because there was a 24 Mar 1834 Tywardreath William-Elizabeth (Trewartha) marriage [no indication of prior marital status of either one; witnesses George Beer & John Parsons: https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-1942-22650-21934-74?cc=1769414&wc=MMVH-K7C:n1076428743], but this marriage does not appear to be the one for the 1841/1851 St. Austell William and Elizabeth (who are probably the 14 Dec 1824 St. Austell marriage of William Hodge and Elizabeth Gluyas Bunny, although I have not researched this St. Austell family sufficiently to confirm that).

1861 and 1851 Conclusions

Both of the prior sons named Richard had died. Thus only Thomas Hodge is unaccounted for in the 1851 census.

So we know from the 1851 and 1861 censues that Thomas and Richard were definitely sons of the surviving Grace. But with William and George, it is uncertain.

4 - 1841 Census

I am as yet unable to locate any of the family in the 1841 census. Clearly the parents William and Grace and their sons Thomas and Richard were living in 1841, as were their possible sons (but also possibly the sons of the other Grace) William and George.

5 - Marriages

There were many brides named Grace who married husbands named Hodge in the period of the 1810's and 1820's. The Grace Hodge buried at St. Blazey 17 Jan 1832 at age 38 would have turned 18 in about 1811. Thus her prime marrying age would have been in the 1810's decade. Looking at just that decade, there are these many matching Cornwall marriages.

James HODGE Grace LUGG St Keverne 15 Apr 1813

Samuel HODGE Grace TOLL Menheniot 16 Jan 1810

Walter HODGE Grace BAWDEN St Austell 3 Nov 1810

William HODGE Grace STONE Calstock 26 Jan 1818 - he widower, she widow, witnesses Thomas Stone, Thomas ?Glanville? [https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-267-11852-58255-78?cc=1769414&wc=MMVH-JSF:n1189168910]

William HODGE Grace TRUAN Tywardreath 16 Jan 1818 - witnesses: Ephraim Truran, Grace Willcock [Banns: https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-1942-22650-22495-80?cc=1769414&wc=MMVH-K7H:n1340802058 === Marriage: https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-266-11062-200670-19?cc=1769414&wc=MMVH-K7C:n1076428743]

But since the St. Blazey baptisms of William and Grace begin with the 8 Jan 1826 baptism of Thomas, we must consider marriages for 1820-1825 as well:

Thomas HODGE Grace LADNER Falmouth 23 Apr 1825

Thomas HODGE Grace LAITY St Hilary 23 Dec 1820

Thomas HODGE Grace HOCKING St Martin in Meneage 29 Apr 1823

William HODGE Grace PRYOR Wendron 16 May 1820

Thus it seems likely that one of these 9 Graces was the one buried in 1832 and one of the 3 Graces who married a William was the St Agnes-born mother in the 1851 and 1861 Tywardreath censuses.

6 - Baptisms of Potential Graces

Grace Stone and Grace Truan were both married in Jan 1818. Both were probably born in the 1790's.

widow Grace Stone (married at Calstock)

Was there an earlier Stone-Grace marriage at Calstock? In all of Cornwall in all years, there were only three marriages of a husband with the surname Stone married to a bride with the given name Grace.

Humphry STONE Grace BUSSOW St Just in Penwith 8 Sep 1707

James STONE Grace WINNON Falmouth 15 Jul 1818

William STONE Grace NICHOLLS Madron 2 Nov 1803

Clearly the 1707 marriage was too early and the 15 Jul 1818 marriage too late. And the 1803 marriage is about as far as you can be from Calstock and still be in Cornwall. But were there any children baptized that would fit the 1803 marriage?

In all of Cornwall in all years, there was only one baptism of a child to William and Grace Stone, which was in 1872 and thus clearly not a child of the 1803 marriage.

With the proximity of Calstock to the Devon border, I suspect that Grace, widow Stone, wife of widower William Hodge, was probably born and first married in Devon.

There is no such candidate burial at Calstock. I have not attempted to search for him in adjacent parishes.

Grace Truan (married at Tywardreath)

There are unfortunately many surnames that could have been written down as Truan. There is no Grace with any variant of the name in the baptisms at Tywardreath, except one in the 1850's. There is none at all among the St. Blazey baptisms. However, the 1851 and 1861 Tywardreath censuses show both William and Grace Hodge born at St. Agnes. And there is indeed just one Grace who fits:

She would have been 54 in the 1851 census, which shows her as 55. So this does appear to be the Grace who married at Tywardreath.

There were three William Hodge baptisms at St. Agnes in the 1790's, but the only one who could appear with the same age as Grace in both the 1851 and 1861 censuses is

So it appears that we now have the Tywardreath-married couple identified.

Grace Hodge

There is the possibility that the 38-year-old Grace Hodge buried 17 Jan 1832 at St. Blazey was not a Grace who had married a Hodge but a Grace who was born a Hodge, in about 1794. There are three 1790's Grace Hodge baptisms in the CFHS database.

HODGE Grace Dau HODGE Edward William - Grace Crowan 28 Sep 1798

HODGE Grace Dau HODGE John - Johanna Morwenstow 30 Sep 1792

HODGE Grace Dau HODGE John - Elizabeth Redruth - St Uny 25 Dec 1793

The closest of these, Redruth, is still nearly 30 miles away from St. Blazey. While these cannot be ruled out, they cannot be ruled in either.

7 - Baptisms of Possible other Children of the St. Blazey-Tywardreath Graces

The Cornwall Family History Society Research Database hase only 46 William and Grace Hodge children's baptisms in all of Cornwall over all years. None are shown in Calstock.

Calstock Baptisms

I searched the CFHS Database with a broader search. The database has no baptisms of Hodge children of a mother named Grace nor any George Hodge born to any mother. There was a William Hodge, son of William and Ann, baptized 25 Dec 1823, but he would have been 28 in the 1851 census and thus clearly is not the 23-year-old William who gave his birthplace as Tywardreath (and did the same at age 32 in the 1861 census). So the Grace married 1818 at Calstock (see below) had no children born at Calstock.

Luxulyan Baptisms

Searching for children of William and Grace Hodge anywhere in Cornwall among the 46 baptisms for baptisms that could have come in the 1810's decade from an 1818 marriage, there were only two candidates: Luxulyan and St. Mellion.

Luxulyan adjoins St. Blazey and is near Tywardreath. And it turns out that there are three very good candidates for children of an 1818 marriage of William and Grace Hodge and that one of these probably died in Tywardreath at Kilhallon Moor.

HODGE Mary Ann Dau HODGE William - Grace Luxulyan 4 Jul 1819 - abode Prideaux Cottage [https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-267-11664-9466-11]

HODGE John Son HODGE William - Grace Luxulyan 7 Oct 1821 - abode Prideaux Cottage [https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-267-11664-20133-22]

This William appears to be the one who was buried at Tywardreath:

HODGE William 7 Jan 1827 3 Kilhalland Moor Tywardreath [https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-266-11062-200034-65]

So these children are very consistent with the 1818 Tywardreath marriage of the St. Agnes-born William and Grace who survived and appear in the 1851 and 1861 Tywardreath censuses.

St. Mellion Baptisms

St. Mellion is not near St. Blazey and Tywardreath, but it is less than 10 miles from both Calstock and Gunnislake. So it seems that these are good candidates for children of the William and Grace who married 1818 at Calstock. Note that FamilySearch does not have any images of St. Mellion parish registers.

HODGE Joannah Dau HODGE William - Grace St Mellion 7 Nov 1819

HODGE Mary Ann Dau HODGE William - Grace St Mellion 31 Mar 1822

HODGE John Son HODGE William - Grace St Mellion 16 Oct 1825

8 - Evaluation

This is the most difficult research puzzle that I have encountered in the St. Blazey Families Project.

Clearly Grace Truan who married at Tywardreath seems almost certainly to be the surviving Grace, having children baptized at Luxulyan, St. Blazey and Tywardreath.

But what of the Calstock Grace? In the absence of any direct connection, it would be easy to dismiss her as not being a candidate. And yet there is the solid fact that the two young St. Blazey-Tywardreath-born brothers William and George appear in Gunnislake in Calstock in 1851 (and William appears there in 1861). This certainly would conform to the two known William and George baptisms to a William and Grace moving back to their parents' home town after their parents had died or else their mother had died and their father remarried. And yet the William baptized in 1828 -- who must be the same one in Calstock in 1851 and 1861 -- was born at Kilhallond Moor, the exact place where the 1851 census shows Willam and Grace still living.

Was there some connection established between the two William-Grace families? Clearly St. Agnes is a very long way from Calstock. But the 1832 death of 38-year-old Grace Hodge at St. Blazey establishes another Grace there besides the St. Agnes one, and the one married at Calstock seems the only other candidate. But if they were living near each other at St. Blazey, then seeing that there was another same-named couple could have sparked an acquaintance. This is the only explanation that I can speculate for how the William born at the same Kilhallond Moor location where the St. Agnes-born William and Mary lived might wind up in Calstock. But even if there was this acquaintance, it still does not clarify which William and Grace were the parents of William and George.

9 - Conclusion

I have no definitive answers, but I must somehow represent these people in the database.

St. Blazey-Tywardreath Baptized Children

So I have chosen to represent all of the St. Blazey-Luxulyan-Tywardreath children as the children of William Hodge and Grace Truran. There is a very real possibility that the 1828 William and the 1834 George were children of William Hodge and the widow Grace Stone, who I am representing separately with their 3 children born at St. Mellion.

1832 Grace Hodge buried at St. Blazey

This is the most uncertain conclusion of all. But I have chosen to make the Grace married at Calstock to be the one buried at St. Blazey.

Further Work Needed

Clearly, more work is needed to resolve this problem. I am certainly open to new facts, as long as there is solid evidence. And I am not locked into the configuration that I have chosen to represent the families in my St. Blazey Families Project database. More sources are needed, beyond parish registers and censuses, in order to resolve this problem. Absolute proof may never be possible, but it should still be sought, since there may be some record somewhere that can provide it. But in the absence of absolute proof, a reasoned configuration that fits all of the known facts is the best that can be achieved.

10 - Addendum 26 May 2012

I have located the William Hodge-Grace Truran family in the 1841 census: http://search.ancestry.com/Browse/view.aspx?dbid=8978&path=Cornwall.St+Cleer.Lanlivery.12.8

They are living at Coombes Gate in St. Cleer with the family of Grace's brother Ephraim Truran (who is absent). Ephraim was a witness at the 1818 marriage of William and Grace in Tywardreath. His children were all born in St. Blazey, the first being John Truran in 1821, who is also listed in this 1841 census.

Oddly, but just as in the 1851 and 1861 censuses, only one of William and Grace (Truran) Hodge's children is listed with them: John, who was born at Luxulyan. So once again, there is the problem of tracking down the other children in the 1841 census and seeing who they are living with and where.

The bottom line is that this definitely confirms that Grace Truran is the mother of the son John born at Luxulyan, as well as Thomas and Richard who appear with the family in later censuses. William and George are still uncertain, although I continue to list them as children of Grace Truran.

I have also found the St. Mellion/Calstock William and Grace Hodge in the 1841 census: http://search.ancestry.com/Browse/view.aspx?dbid=8978&path=Cornwall.St+Mellion.ALL.8.6

So the Calstock-married Grace could not have been the one buried 1832 at St. Blazey. And I am carrying the 1832-buried Grace Hodge as a loner unlinked burial, since I can find no connection for her to any of the Hodge families at St. Blazey at that time.