Mark Hall Shearn - Conclusion and Recommendations

Mark Hall Shearn Baptism 1800

Conclusion and Recommendations

This is the sixth and final installment of Generation Two of our two-generation study and our thirteenth and final installment overall. This generation is concerned with Mark Hall Shearn born 1800 in Midsomer Norton, Somerset, England and his family. The first generation was concerned with Mark’s son Charles Hall Shearn born 1830 in Radstock, Somerset, England. If you like, you can also read the previous installments:

  1. Two Generations Son / Father
  2. Short Marriage Short Life
  3. Building a Life Together
  4. Long and Prosperous Marriage
  5. Career and Will
  6. Children of Charles Hall Shearn
  7. Charles Hall Shearn Conclusion and Recommendations
  8. Mark Hall Shearn - Father of Charles Hall Shearn
  9. Children of Mark Hall Shearn and Sarah Ann Parfitt Part 1
  10. Children of Mark Hall Shearn and Sarah Ann Parfitt Part 2
  11. The Family Together and The Disappearance of Mark Hall Shearn
  12. The Reappearance of Mark Hall (Shearn) with Ellen Booth Gittoe

Conclusion – Generation Two

The research objectives were completed except for the birth of Sarah Parfitt, her divorce from Mark, if there was one, and the marriage of Mark Hall and Ellen Booth Hall née Gittoe, again if there was one. No records were found for either a divorce from Sarah Parfitt or a marriage to Ellen Booth Gittoe. Mark Hall Shearn was born in 1800, as was his wife, Sarah Ann Parfitt. They married in 1823 and had five children together Samuel George Shearn, Phebe Shearn, Charles Hall Shearn, Elizabeth Parfitt Shearn, and Mary Parfitt Shearn. Mark Hall was a farmer at Woodborough, Radstock, Somerset. The younger children of Mark Hall and Sarah Shearn née Parfitt grew up without a father. They lived in Wellow, Somerset apparently until Mark Hall Shearn left his family. Sarah Shearn née Parfitt and the children managed together with help from Sarah’s parents, perhaps Sarah’s siblings and other kin, and probably Mark’s mother.

No records were found for either a divorce from Sarah Parfitt or a marriage to Ellen Booth Gittoe.

Recommendations for Future Research – Generation Two

  • Research how did Sarah Ann Parfitt Shearn come to have a boarding house in Bristol?
  • It would take some very special documents to prove, but is it likely that Charles Hall Shearn learned to run a boarding house, or the idea to have one, from his mother and whoever taught her?
  • Did Mark Hall know his sisters immigrated to Canada? Search for border crossing records for each.
  • Find United States immigration records for Mark and Ellen.
  • Did Mark Hall ever really marry Ellen Gittoe? Find a marriage record.
  • Who was Ellen Gittoe?
  • Find a birth record for Ellen Gittoe.
  • Find a marriage record for Mark Hall and Ellen Hall, or exhaust all options to be sure there was not one, as much as is possible.

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Christopher Hall

Christopher is an owner, a genealogy researcher, a family history consultant, writer, former college instructor, software engineer, and author. He has a bachelor's degree from the University of Illinois and a master's degree from Union Institute & University. He has a certificate in Family History Research from Brigham Young University - Idaho and is a member of the Association of Professional Genealogists. He has done genealogical research in the U.S., Canada, England, Germany, Scotland, and Ireland. He loves working with clients, digging into records old and new, paleography, genetic genealogical research, and traveling to the places where his and your ancestors lived. He finds writing reports and family narratives fun. He has been a software engineer for over 25 years. He takes pleasure in designing and building creative and useful websites and mobile apps.