Sarah Meears Amerson (1835-1878)

Parish church of Ombersley, Worcetershire, page 182, no. 1453.

Sarah was the daughter who stayed; she was the only child of George and Sarah Ann Gibson Meears who chose to live out her life in England. All other family members emigrated to the USA.

 Sarah “Meers” was born 20 September 1835, according the Bristol Road Branch Records for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.[i]  This record includes her baptism date of 21 October 1851, and is the earliest birth record found-- and was created in her life time.  The first primary source was made by L.H. Burrows, curate, of the Ombersley parish in Worcester solemnizing her baptism 18 October 1835.[ii] Her abode was listed as Hadley.  Her father, George, was listed as a labourer and her mother as Sarah. The last name was spelled Meers just as it was in the LDS branch record.

Sarah was five years old when her sister, Emma, was born in Batheaston, Somersetshire. This meant that George, Sarah Ann--the mother, and the four girls moved from Hadley before Emma’s birth. The 6 June 1841 census listed Sarah and noted George’s occupation as railway labourer.[iii] This might have accounted for the move since there was great growth in the rail industry at this time period in England.  Sarah Meears was listed as a six year old in that census even though her birthday was still two months away. 

On 30 March 1851 the family was living on Upper Bishop Street in Birmingham but Sarah is not listed in the household that day.[iv] A search in the 1851 census was unfruitful.  She was 15 and could have been working out as a servant.  This assumption was further supported by the report in in the Bristol Road Branch Records that listed her as a dress maker.[v] This source recorded her baptism 21 October 1851 by Henry Cooper, a priest, and confirmation 22 October 1851, by Elder Henry Brides. It is the only record for her in the 1850s.  She was again counted with the family 7 April 1861 in the census record and was still working as a dress maker.[vi]

Later in that year, on 22 December 1861, Sarah married John William Amerson in All Saints parish, Birmingham, Warwickshire.[vii] A FreeBMD search in the marriage index showed records for both John and Sarah on the same volume and page for the 4^th Quarter of 1861.[viii] The marriage record was ordered and received from the General Register Office (GRO). The marriage, after banns, was of John William Amerson, 22, bachelor, commercial clerk residing on Sherlock Street whose father was John Amerson, a miller, to Sarah Meears who was 25, a spinster, and draper’s assistant, also residing at Sherlock Street whose father was George Meears who worked in agriculture.[ix] The marriage record was signed by the couple and witnessed by George Kenitson and Sarah’s sister, Emma Meears. 

Note: Sarah was 26 years old and 4 ½ years older than her husband when they married. (There was also a Sherlock Street address in the 1861 census listing for Sarah’s sister, Selena Meears, who was a servant in the Thomas Hancock household.)

Certified copy of an entry of Marriage, General Register Office, 22 Dec. 1861, John William Amerson & Sarah Meears

A search for the Amerson family in the later census records found them 2 April 1871 in Edgbaston, on 80 Bristol Road.10 John was a 31 year old corn merchant born in Olney, Buckinghamshire.  Sarah, wife, 35 and a son, William G. Amerson, 8, born Birmingham, Warwickshire were also listed with a servant, Anne Parks.[x]

1871 England census, Warwickshire, Edgbaston, district 7, page 11, schedule 42, John W. Amerson household.

John was listed as a widower in the 1881 census.[xi] Consequently a search in FreeBMD found Sarah Amerson's death listed in 4^th Quarter, 1878, in King’s Norton records.[xii]  The certified copy of the entry of death was ordered from the GRO.  Upon arrival it revealed death in the sub-district of Edgbaston in the counties of Warwick and Worcester where death occurred 18 December 1878.[xiii] They resided at 93 Belgrave Road, Edgbaston, Warwick. Sarah Amerson was the 44 year old wife of John William Amerson, a corn merchant.  The informant was William Amerson, her sixteen year old son, who was present at the death at their home.

Certified copy of an entry of death, General Register Office, Edgbaston, Warwickshire, 18 December 1878

[i] Sarah Meers, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Bristol Road Branch, British Mission, Record of Members, 1852-1857,  item 1, Branch Register, page 22, number 4, FHL film 86988.

[ii] Sarah Meers christened 18 October 1835, Church of England, Bishop’s Transcripts for Ombersley, 1608-1876, Baptisms and burials, 1820-1838, page 182, no. 1353, FHL film 350594.

[iii] Sarah Meears in the George Meears household, Batheaston, Somerset, England 1841 census, district 1, folio 11, page 14, line 13, Batheaston Street, www.ancestry.com, accessed 9 September 2011.

[iv] George and Sarah A. Meers household, 1851 England census, Warwick, Birmingham, St Martin, district 8, folio 208, page 4, householder 43, Upper Bishop St., accessed 11 October 2011.

[v] Bristol Road Branch, item 1, Branch Register, page 22, number 4, FHL film 86988.

[vi] Sarah Meears, daughter in Sarah Ann Meears household, St. Martin, Birmingham, Warwickshire, England 1861 census, district 11, folio 22, page 37, household 184, www.ancestry.com, accessed 7 September 2011.

[vii] John William Amerson and Sarah Meears marriage 22 December 1861, All Saints, Birmingham, Warwick, England, “England Marriages, 1538-1973,” index; batch number M07142-3, FHL film 1520008  (FamilySearch, https://www.familysearch.org): accessed  October 2011.

[viii] John William Amerson and Sarah Meears marriage, 1861,Q4 Dec, A, page 31 and 1861, Q4 Dec, M, page 82, England & Wales, Free BMD Marriage Index: 1837-1983, vol. 6d, page 19, www.freebmd.org.uk, accessed 5 March 2012.

[ix] John William Amerson and Sarah Meears marriage entry on 22 December 1861, citing 6d/19/316, All Saints parish, Birmingham, Warwick; General Registry Office, Southport, England.

[x] John W. and Sarah Amerson household, Edgbaston, Warwickshire, England 1871 census, district 7, page 11, schedule 42, 80 Bristol Road, www.ancestry.com, accessed 12 October 2011.

[xi] John W. Anderson household, St Martin, Birmingham, Warwickshire, England 1881 census, district 5, page 42, schedule 235, www.ancestry.com, accessed 21 October 2011.

[xii] Sarah Amerson death entry, “England & Wales, Free BMD Death Index: 1837-1983,” A, Q4 1878,  page 5, column 2, www.ancestry.com, accessed 12 October 2011. 

[xiii] Sarah Amerson death entry, 18 December 1878, citing 6c/332/132, Kings Norton registration district, Edgbaston sub-district, Counties of Warwick and Worcester; General Registry Office, Southport, England.

Eliza Meears, 1834-1835, just a baby!

“Burials in the Parish of Ombersley in the County of Worcester in the Year 1835.   Page 108, No. 863 Name: Eliza Mears   Abode: Hadley   When Buried: May 28th   Age: 1   By whom the Ceremony was performed: L. H. Burrows, Curate.”[i] 

Bishop's Transcripts, Burial record, Parish church of Ombersley, Worcester, 28 May 1835, see full page below.

Eliza MEEARS was listed in only one record and her surname was spelled Mears.  The Ombersley parish record listed her abode as Hadley upon her burial 28 May 1835 at age one.

The curate, L.H. Burrows, is the same man who had listed christenings for her siblings, Elizabeth [28 July 1833], Sarah [18 October 1835], and Jane [7 January 1838] in the Ombersley parish records.  

Page 108, Bishop's Transcripts for Ombersley parish burials, 28 May 1835, No. 863, Eliza Mears

A search was performed in the Ombersley parish records for any record using the Meears surname [under any of its variant spellings]  for the years 1833 to 1840 because these were the years George and Sarah Ann Gibson Meears lived with their family in that area. We know they had moved to Batheaston in Somersetshire by 9 September 1840 when their daughter Emma was born.  

The only records listed under the Meears surname for the 1833-1840 period of time were connected with their family. Thus, it was concluded that Eliza Mears of Hadley was the daughter of George and Sarah Ann Gibson Meears and had died as an infant.

It is important to note that this child did live. There is often an effort to combine her records with those of her sister, Elizabeth, who was listed as Eliza on the Amazon’s manifest when she emigrated. Elizabeth was born 3 July 1833 and lived a full life, married Thomas Sunderland Hawkins, and had descendants. Elizabeth Meears Hawkins died in Mexico 20 March 1901. See the previous blog.  

[i] Eliza Meers burial 28 May 1835, Church of England. Parish church of Ombersley (Worcestershire) (Main Author), Bishop’s Transcripts, Baptisms and burials, 1820-1838, page 108, no. 863, FHL film 350594.

Elizabeth Meears Hawkins 1833-1901 continued… Born in England – Died in Mexico

In the February 16^th blog we were able to trace Betsey from her birth in Ombersley in 1833, thru her appearance in the 7 April 1861English census records.

 

Amazon

 Elizabeth’s life then moved abroad as she emigrated with her mother and siblings. They arrived in New York on 20 July 1863 aboard the Amazon.[i]

There was not much published about the Amazon.  I found this picture on Tall Ships of Atlantic Canada. This site is a virtual exhibition and educational website produced by the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia.[ii]  This ship was built in 1861 and its’ name later changed.  This Amazon is the only ship I have found functioning in the correct time period; it is possibly the ship the Meears family traveled on.

Elizabeth Meears Hawkins

Narrative information about Elizabeth’s life has not been found so church and census records were used to piece together her life.  Her marriage and sealing to Thomas Hawkins were performed on 28 May 1864 in the Endowment House, in Salt Lake City, Utah. This was also the date she received her initiatory and endowment ordinances.[iii]

It became apparent that she was part of a polygamous marriage when she appeared in the census, 21 Jul 1870, in the 14^th Ward, Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah, with her two children, Elizabeth and David. They lived next door to Thomas and his first wife, Hariet Hawkins, who had six children.[iv]

1870 US census, Salt Lake City, Ward 14, 21 July 1870, Elizabeth Hawkins and children

She was living in Lehi, Utah with Thomas, who was working as a tin smith, and their four  children, Elizabeth, David, Alma and Louisa on 3 June 1880.[v]  There was another wife, Sarah, and her four children living in the same household. 

1880 US census, Lehi, Utah, Enumeration District 87, 3 June 1880, Thomas Hawkins household

Elizabeth Meears Hawkins from Ancestry Trees

Elizabeth and her family did not appear in any other US records and might have moved to Mexico before the 1900 US census was taken.  The Mormon colonies in Mexico were believed to have been settled when the federal government tried to curb polygamy by making it a felony.  Since the Hawkins families were participating in the practice, they could have been among the first colonists that located near the Sierra Madre Mountains in northern Mexico in 1885. 

She was living in Colonia Juarez, Galeana, Chihuahua, Mexico when she died on 20 March 1901 at the age of 67. She was buried there the next day.[vi]

---

[i] Sarah Mears and family, New York Passenger Lists, 1820-1957, Amazon, 20 July 1863, passengers 369-375, 391, www.ancestry.com, accessed 28 November 2011; Sarah Ann Mears family emigration record 20 June 1863, Record of Members, Birmingham, Warwickshire Branch, item 4, page 83, FHL film 86981.

[ii] http://www.atlantictallships.ca/gallery.php?action=display&ID=616&OutputType=PortraitsByShip&lang=e accessed 27 February 2012.

[iii] Elizabeth Meears, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, IGI, batch 6940194, FHL film 035130; Thomas Hawkins sealing to Elizabeth Mears, 28 May 1864, EHOUS, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, IGI, FHL film 183395, page 325, reference 6699.

[iv] Elizabeth Hawkins household, Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah Territory, US 1870 census, ward 14, page 14, lines 15-17, dwelling 99, household 29, www.ancestry.com, accessed 21 October 2011.

[v] Thomas and Elizabeth Hawkins household, Lehi, Utah, Utah , US 1880 census, ed 87, page 6B, lines 34-43, dwelling 44, household 45, www.ancestry.com, accessed 21 October 2011.

[vi] Thomas and Elizabeth Hawkins family, Record of members, 1887-1948, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Juárez Ward), Library number 26365, FHL microfilm 35130, lines 167-175; Elizabeth Hawkins burial Colonia Juarez created by TB, findagrave.com, accessed November 2011.

Smith Farm Apples

One of the reasons I chose to create a blog for the George and Sarah Ann Gibson Meears family was because I was unable to find documentation on the family.  I was also sad to find very little narrative history even after I had begun to find sources. I had always been told that Aunt Norma left her files to her son, Glen Smith, in Lehi.  In order to make the podcast I went to visit him and spent several hours at his home.  He allowed me to copy a history of Oliver Smith that was written by Mary Pulley.  This told of the farm that Jane and Oliver Smith created South of American Fork and West of Pleasant Grove.  Today it is being divided up and sold. Much of the property is condominiums.  I asked my father to travel there with me and tell me some of his memories. This is a recording of Ronald Glen Smith telling his experience as a child on the farm of William T. Smith.  This was the original Oliver and Jane Meears Smith family farm that is told about in the life story written by Mary Pulley. To listen to the podcast please see the right sidebar.

Elizabeth "Betsey" Meears or is it Mears, Meers, or Miers?

Bishop's Transcripts for Ombersley 1833

"Betsey" MEEARS was born on 3 July 1833 in Ombersley, Worcestershire, England. Her christening on the 28^th of July listed her as Elizabeth, daughter of George and Sarah Miers of Hadley.[1] 

Her baptism ceremony was performed by L. H. Burrows, Curate. Starting with this record on July 28^th 1833 through January of 1838 he was the recorder of all entries for the family found in the Ombersley parish records. These entries were made while the family resided in Hadley. Google Maps shows this to be a small hamlet 1.2 miles away from Ombersley. It is about a 23 minute walk.

Since Elizabeth’s birth was four years before the Public Records Office started collecting official records, we are lucky to have this clear record of her birth. Note the variant spelling of the family surname in this record. They were listed as Meears most frequently but also as Meers, Mears, and now Miers. 

1841 England - Batheaston, district 1, folio 11, page 14

When Elizabeth was age seven, her family had moved to Batheaston, Somerset, England as recorded 6 June 1841on the census record. They had lived there at least six months since her newest sister, Emma, was listed as having been born in the county of Somerset on the record. Today this move is an 82 mile car ride or 70 mile walk. It was possible that they moved by rail since her father, George, was listed as a railway worker in the census.[2]

The family had moved to Birmingham when seventeen-year-old Betsey and her sisters, Emma and Selina, were baptized 17 September 1850. It was recorded in the Bristol Road Branch records that she was baptized by a priest named Thomas Hawkins, who became her future husband. They were all confirmed members of the LDS Church the next day, 18 September 1850.

1851 England - St Martin, district 8, folio 208, page 4, householder 43

Elizabeth worked as a shoe binder and lived on Upper Bishop Street, St Martin, Birmingham, Warwickshire when listed in the 30 March 1851 census. This census was the most complete of all the family listings found in research. It included her parents, George and Sarah Meers and their children: Mary A; Elizabeth; Jane; Emma; Selena; George; and Louisa. Missing are Eliza, who died in infancy, and Sarah who has as yet not been found in the census records that year.[3] [Sarah may have been off working but was listed with them again on 7 April 1861 in the family census record.] 

 Birmingham, St. Martins, district 11, folio 22, page 37, household 184

Elizabeth’s occupation had changed to book binding in the 1861census. She was also listed as a book binder in the Bristol Road Branch Records previously mentioned. The family seems to be very industrious in both these records.  It appeared they were all working toward immigration to the United States.  Father, George, and Mary Ann had both emigrated prior to 1861.[4]

Elizabeth will follow them in the next blog….

---

[1] Elizabeth Miers christened 28 July 1833, Bishop’s Transcripts for Ombersley, 1608-1876, Baptisms and burials, 1820-1838, page 159, no. 1267, FHL film 350594.

[2] Elizabeth Meears in George Meears household, Batheaston, Somerset, England 1841 census, district 1, folio 11, page 14, line 15, Batheaston Street, www.ancestry.com, accessed 9 September 2011. 

[3] Elizabeth Meers, daughter in George and Sarah A. Meers household, St. Martin, Birmingham, Warwick, England 1851 census, district 8, folio 208, page 4, householder 43, Upper Bishop St., accessed 11 October 2011. 

[4] Elizabeth Meears, daughter in Sarah Ann Meears household, St. Martin, Birmingham, Warwickshire, England 1861 census, district 11, folio 22, page 37, household 184, www.ancestry.com, accessed 7 September 2011.

Mary Ann Meears Taysum (1829-1891)...

Twenty-year-old Mary Ann Meears was baptized and confirmed a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on 19 September 1850, just two days after sisters, Elizabeth, Emma, and Selina.  Their father preceded them when he joined the LDS church in January of 1848 and was followed by their mother in March the following year.

1851 England, Birmingham, St Martin, district 8, folio 208, page 4

Sarah A., Mary Ann and Elizabeth were listed as shoe binders in the 1851 English census. The other girls were listed “at home” on Upper Bishop Street. Brother George was the only family member listed as a scholar while father, George, labored at agriculture. The birth place listings revealed the variety of homes the family had lived in since  their parent's marriage in Birmingham; moving first to Ombersley, Worcestershire; then to Bath, Somersetshire; back to Warwickshire at Solihull; and finally by 1851 back to the city of Birmingham.[1]

At the age of 25, Mary Ann was the first member to go to Zion. She traveled in the Richard Ballantyne Company with the group of ten that included her future in laws, Thomas and Alice Hinton Taysum and their children Nathaniel and Mary Ann [having the same name probably created confusion]. They arrived in the valley 25 Sep 1855.[2]

It must have been a lonely first for Mary Ann when she wed Andrew James Taysum on September 4, 1857 in the Endowment House with all of her family still residing in England.

Mary Ann was the first member of the Meears family found in a United States census. She appeared with her husband Andrew who worked as a plasterer, and their two children, Alice and Rolla George. They were found in Great Salt Lake City listed as the Teysum family 25 July 1860. [3]

1870 - Andrew Payson, SLC, UT,  ward 20, page 18,

Mary was housekeeping for Andrew and their six children: Alice; Rolla; Alonzo; Louisa; Mary; and Andrew on 23 June 1870. The record was hard to find because the census taker recorded Payson as the surname.[4] Andrew was working as a brick mason showing $1,000 in real estate and $500 in personal estate which made them comparatively wealthy in that time in their neighborhood.

1880 SLC, UT, ed 50,  pg 6, A.J. Taysum household 

Mary Ann was still at home with all eight of her children on 2 June 1880. [5]  A.J. was listed as a plasterer. Their sons,  Rollo and A. F., are listed as compositors. The dictionary lists that occupation as one who sets written material into type.

Our Mother- M.A. Taysum

She died of nervous prostration at the age of 61, on 4 June 1891, and was buried on the 7^th in the Salt Lake City Cemetery.[6] The photo of the headstone was taken February 2, 2012 and shows just how fast evidence of a life can be erased. Hopefully someday the descendants of her eight children will find more of her life to share beyond the bare bones of these statistics.

[1] Mary A. Meers, daughter in George and Sarah A. Meers household, St. Martin, Birmingham, Warwick, England 1851 census, district 8, folio 208, page 4, householder 43, Upper Bishop St., www.ancestry.com, accessed 11 October 2011.

[2] Mary Ann Mears traveled to Utah in 1855, Mormon Pioneer Overland Travel, 1847-1868, accessed via http://lds.org/churchhistory/library/pioneercompany, 16 October 2011.

[3] Mary A Teysum, Great Salt Lake City, Great Salt Lake, Utah Territory, 1860 US census, ward 20, page 206, lines 36-39, dwelling 1533, household 33, www.ancestry.com, accessed 21 October 2011.

[4] Andrew and Mary Payson household, Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah Territory, US 1870 census, ward 20, page 18, lines 33-40, dwelling 129, household 29, www.ancestry.com, accessed 21 October 2011

[5] A.J. and Mary A. Taysum household, Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah, US 1880 census, ed 50, page 6, lines 41-50, dwelling 52, household 56, www.ancestry.com, accessed 21 October 2011

[6] Mary Ann Taysum record of death, “Utah, Salt Lake County Death Records, 1908-1949,” page 27, line 1067, digital folder number 004139839, images 56, 57, www.familysearch.org, accessed 6 November 2011.

Mary Ann Meears Born 15 Nov.1829 in Birmingham

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 1^st to the 7^th 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.