Mary Ann MEEARS, the oldest child of George and Sarah Ann was born 15 November 1829 in Birmingham, Warwickshire, England just one year after their marriage. Her baptism took place the following month 7 December 1829. The christening record is listed in the Bishop's Transcripts at the Parish of Saint Martin’s, Birmingham. They were living on Park Street and her father was listed as a labourer. If you look closely at the page you can see that from December 1st to the 7th the name Mary Ann was listed 4 times in
this parish record. It must have been a very popular name at the time.By the time Mary Ann is 12 years old and is listed as Mary in the census taken on 6 June 1841, the family is living in Batheaston, Somerset, England. She has four living sisters who are Elizabeth, Sarah, Jane, and Emma. Her father, George, is listed as a Railroad labourer, and her family has moved several times. Note on the two records shown that the last name is listed as Meears and Meers. These are only two of the variant spellings that are found in the records as I tracked this family.
I’ll continue the life of Mary Ann in my next blog. She continues to lead her family with a variety of firsts.
Great images of the records for the story!
ReplyDeleteThe church records provide some great information. I visited an aunt 140 years after the birth of your relative. I am sure the community has changed, but the weather is quite gloomy still.
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