Generation Two of our two-generation study concerns the family of Mark Hall Shearn. The first generation was Charles Hall Shearn born 1830 in Radstock, Somerset, England. Mark Hall Shearn was his father.
This is installment ten of our on-going two-generation study. If you like, please see any or all of the first nine parts:
- Two Generations Son / Father
- Short Marriage Short Life
- Building a Life Together
- Long and Prosperous Marriage
- Career and Will
- Children of Charles Hall Shearn
- Charles Hall Shearn - Conclusion and Recommendations
- Mark Hall Shearn - Father of Charles Hall Shearn
- Children of Mark Hall Shearn and Sarah Ann Parfitt - Part 1
Charles Hall Shearn
Charles Hall Shearn was addressed previously beginning with his first marriage. This section will begin with his birth and continue through the 1851 census. Charles was born about 1830.[1] As with all of Mark Hall and Sarah’s children, that was before civil registration began in England and Wales in 1837. Therefore the births were not recorded by the government. The church record of Charles’ christening showed his birth date was 26 April 1830, and he was christened on 30 November 1830 at the Wesleyan Chapel in Midsomer Norton. The family lived on Woodborough Farm in the parish of Wellow in Somerset. His father, Mark Hall Shearn, was a farmer. Charles’ mother was Sarah daughter of James and Mary Parfitt. Charles was christened Charles Orlando Hall Shearn. The Shearn family baptized their child in a Wesleyan chapel which is non-conformist, not Church of England. Interestingly, the search for a christening record turned up a Church of England baptism for Charles and three of his siblings in 1833, more discussion on that further on.[2]
Charles lived with his mother Sarah and three of his siblings in the home of his maternal grandparents James and Mary Parfitt in 1841.[3] The family lived in Midsomer Norton, Somerset. Charles was 11 years old. Ten years later, in 1851 Charles Hall Shearn was working as a servant in Malpas, Wales in the home of the wife of a nail manufacturer, Mary Cordes.[4] He was a groom, a stable hand. Charles was 20 years old. Considering his life of service, with the knowledge that he served at Roderic House, Hyde Park Gardens, Berkeley Square, and Bowood and the relative nearness of Monmouthshire to Somerset and just across the bay from Bristol, it is not unlikely that this is Charles Hall Shearn son of Mark Hall Shearn and Sarah Parfitt. The members of the Cordes household were
| Name | Relationship | Married | Sex | Age | Occupation | Birth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mary Cordes | Head | Married | F | 47 | Nail Manufacture's Wife | - |
| Thomas Cordes | Son | Unmarried | M | 24 | Clarke | Surrey, England |
| Sarah Turner | Servant | Unmarried | F | 22 | House Srvt | Somerset, England |
| Emma Stevans | Servant | Unmarried | F | 22 | Cook | Gloucestershire, England |
| Agnes C Shepperd | Servant | Unmarried | F | 24 | Ladies Maid | Somerset, England |
| Charles H Shearn | Servant | Unmarried | M | 20 | Groom | Somerset, England |
While this may not have been Charles’ first job in service, it is currently the first one for which a record was obtained. The remainder of the record of Charles Hall Shearn and his family has been explored above.
- Elizabeth Parfitt Shearn
Elizabeth Parfitt Shearn was born 1 June 1831 in Midsomer Norton, Somerset.[5] She was baptized at the Wesleyan Chapel in Midsomer Norton, Somerset on 21st August 1831. She was the daughter of farmer Mark Hall Shearn of Woodborough Farm in the parish of Wellow. Her mother was Sarah, Mark Hall’s wife, who was the daughter of James and Mary Parfitt. By 1841, Elizabeth was in the census with her mother and siblings living at her grandparents’ home in Midsomer Norton.[6] Elizabeth was 10 years old. The 1841 and other census records will be addressed in greater detail further on.
In 1851 Elizabeth remained with her mother and siblings in Bristol.[7] Her mother, Sarah, was keeping a lodging house. Elizabeth was 19 years old and working as a milliner, a hat maker. One of the lodgers was Arthur Holmes. He was 22 years old. In 1852 the pair was married at St Paul, Bristol on 22 May 1852.[8] Both were of age and lived in the parish. Arthur was a gentlemen as was his father Gervas King Holmes. Elizabeth was a spinster, and her father, Mark Shearn, was a farmer. The couple was married by license. Samuel George Shearn, probably Elizabeth’s brother, was a witness along with Anne Watson.
By 1856 the couple had their first child, Arthur James Alfred Holmes.[9] Arthur was baptized in the Anglican Church in Midsomer Norton, Somerset on 27 July 1856. The family lived in Bristol, and Arthur, the child’s father, was a grocer. The couple would have at least two more children, but they would do so in Canada. The family emigrated from England to Canada before 1858 because their second and third children, both sons, were born in Canada. Elizabeth and Arthur provided a home for not only their children, but also for Elizabeth’s sisters. Elizabeth died of arterio sclercosis and myocarditis in Parry Sound, Ontario on 31 May 1918 at the age of 87 years.[10]
- Mary Parfitt Shearn
Mary Parfitt Shearn was the youngest child of Mark Hall Shearn and Sarah Ann Parfitt. Mary was baptized in the Church of England in Midsomer Norton, Somerset on 29 December 1833.[11] The record showed Mark Hall Shearn was a farmer from Wellow, Somerset. In 1841, Mary was with her mother and siblings in the home of her maternal grandparents.[12] Mary was 8 years old. In 1851, she was 18 years old living with her mother and siblings in Bristol at the lodging house.[13] Like her sister Phebe, Mary never married. Mary was not working. In 1861, Mary had left England for Canada where she lived in Cobourg, Northumberland with her sister Elizabeth and Elizabeth’s husband and child. Mary died of arterio sclerosis in Parry Sound, Ontario, Canada on 6 November 1917.[14] She was 86 years old.
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Sources
[1] "Register of Baptisms At the Wesleyan Chapel In Midsomer Norton, Somerset From 1801 To 1837," Non-Parochial BMDs, 1581-1970, database, TheGenealogist.co.uk (TheGenealogist.co.uk : 26 May 2020), Charles Orlando Hall Shearn, document 48.[2] "Somerset, England, Church of England Baptisms, 1813-1914," database, Ancestry (www.ancestry.com : accessed 22 May 2020), Charles Shearn, document 42.
[3] 1841 census of England, Somersetshire, Midsomer Norton, Enumeration District 1, folio 11, page 14, line 14, Sarah Parfitt, Elizabeth Parfitt Shearn, Charles Hall Shearn, Samuel George Shearn, Mary Shearn, James Parfitt, Mary Parfitt; imaged, “1841 England Census,” database, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 18 June 2020); 1841 Census Returns of England and Wales, The National Archives of England, Kew, document 80.
[4] 1851 England, Wales & Scotland Census, Monmouthshire, Newport, Enumeration District 1, folio 215, page 12, Charles Hall Shearn; imaged, “1851 England, Wales & Scotland Census,” database, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 6 July 2020); 1851 England, Wales & Scotland Census, The National Archives of England, Kew, document 59.
[5] 1841 census of England, Somersetshire, Midsomer Norton, Enumeration District 1, folio 11, page 14, line 14, Sarah Parfitt, Elizabeth Parfitt Shearn, Charles Hall Shearn, Samuel George Shearn, Mary Shearn, James Parfitt, Mary Parfitt; imaged, “1841 England Census,” database, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 18 June 2020); 1841 Census Returns of England and Wales, The National Archives of England, Kew, document 80.
[6] 1841 census of England, Somersetshire, Midsomer Norton, Enumeration District 1, folio 11, page 14, line 14, Sarah Parfitt, Elizabeth Parfitt Shearn, Charles Hall Shearn, Samuel George Shearn, Mary Shearn, James Parfitt, Mary Parfitt; imaged, “1841 England Census,” database, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 18 June 2020); 1841 Census Returns of England and Wales, The National Archives of England, Kew, document 80.
[7] 1851 census of England, Gloucestershire, Bristol, Enumeration District Bristol, HO107, 1949, Sarah Shearn, Samuel Geo Shearn, Elizabeth Shearn, Mary Shearn, Arthur L Holmes, Emily Gould, John McKenzie; imaged, “1851 England Census,” database, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 1 July 2020); 1851 Census Returns of England and Wales, The National Archives of England, Kew, document 75.
[8] "Bristol, England, Church of England Marriages and Banns, 1754-1935," database, Ancestry (www.ancestry.com : accessed 6 July 2020), Elizabeth Parfitt Shearn and Arthur Lionel Holmes, marriage, 22 May 1852, document 81.
[9] "Somerset, England, Church of England Baptisms, 1813-1914," database, Ancestry (www.ancestry.com : accessed 6 July 2020), Arthur James Alfred Holmes, baptism, 27 July 1856, document 82.
[10] "Ontario, Canada, Deaths and Deaths Overseas, 1869-1947," database, Ancestry (www.ancestry.com : accessed 6 July 2020), Elizabeth Shearn Holmes, death, 31 May 1918, Parry Sound, Ontario, Canada, document 83.
[11] "Somerset, England, Church of England Baptisms, 1813-1914," database, Ancestry (www.ancestry.com : accessed 6 July 2020), Mary Parfitt Shearn, baptism, 29 December 1833, document 84.
[12] 1841 census of England, Somersetshire, Midsomer Norton, Enumeration District 1, folio 11, page 14, line 14, Sarah Parfitt, Elizabeth Parfitt Shearn, Charles Hall Shearn, Samuel George Shearn, Mary Shearn, James Parfitt, Mary Parfitt; imaged, “1841 England Census,” database, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 18 June 2020); 1841 Census Returns of England and Wales, The National Archives of England, Kew, document 80.
[13] 1851 census of England, Gloucestershire, Bristol, Enumeration District Bristol, HO107, 1949, Sarah Shearn, Samuel Geo Shearn, Elizabeth Shearn, Mary Shearn, Arthur L Holmes, Emily Gould, John McKenzie; imaged, “1851 England Census,” database, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 1 July 2020); 1851 Census Returns of England and Wales, The National Archives of England, Kew, document 75.
[14] "Ontario, Canada, Deaths and Deaths Overseas, 1869-1947," database, Ancestry (www.ancestry.com : accessed 6 July 2020), Mary Parfitt Shearn, death, 6 November 1917, document 87.
