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My Pruett family are causing trouble.

Descendants of Joseph Pruett



1 Joseph Pruett

.. +Hester



. 2 Joseph Pruett b: Abt. 1816 in Hanham, Gloucestershire, England

..... +Mary Ann Fry b: November 1811 in Oldland, Gloucestershire, England



..... 3 Mary Ann Pruett b: Bef. November 11, 1835 in St George, Bristol, England

..... 3 Hanna Pruett b: Abt. 1832 in St George, Bristol, England

..... 3 Elizabeth Ann Pruett b: Bef. November 11, 1835 in St George, Bristol, England d: June 15, 1899 in Metcalfe Street, Wallsend, NSW, Australia Children: January 16, 1880 Four males, Three females living

......... +George James b: Abt. 1836 in St Phillips, Bristol, England d: June 25, 1911 in Hamilton, Newcastle, NSW, Australia m: 1854 in Glamorganshire, South Wales

..... 3 Mary Pruett b: Abt. 1847 in St George, Bristol, England

..... 3 Joseph Pruett b: Abt. 1852 in Hanham, Gloucestershire, England

I used to belong to the Bristol and Somerset list but somehow I've been cut off, probably by spam filtering.

My public email address is grdnosmond@yahoo.com.au.

Gordon.

Are These ancestors part of the lost colony? If you type in lost colony it lists all of the people missing.

Not from the Lost Colony.

They ended up in Newcastle...

That is Newcastle, Australia.

My Pruett family are causing trouble.

Descendants of Joseph Pruett

1 Joseph Pruett

.. +HesterPerhaps you need to be a local to remember the old stories - I was born in Hanham, and the **** Road Gang is still talked of in the pubs.

Firstly, to set the scene: Oldland, Bitton and Hanham are all within the Bitton district of Gloucestershire within five miles of each other. St Peter and St Jacob Without is a census district and parish covering the same villages. Oldland is just beyond Hanham on the road to Bath. Jeffries Hill is on the way out of Bristol just before you reach Hanham, and it's in St George's parish.

Joseph PRUETT married Hester BRITTON on 1815-04-16 by banns, both of this parish.

In August 1813, a Hester BRITTON stormed Bitton lock-up to try to rescue William LACEY who had been captured for stealing a loaf of bread from Sarah TOWNSEND at Oldland. He was one of the **** Road gang: "Then in August, William LACEY stole a loaf of bread from Sarah TOWNSEND at Oldland and was handed over to the parish constables. All hell broke loose. A mob stormed the Bitton Lock-up (which is still standing in Bitton High Street!) William POWE, Henry WILLIS, Samuel BRAIN, John FRY, Hester BRITTON, Hannah JONES, Sarah LACEY and Ambrose WILLIS made an abortive attempt at rescue and were in their turn arrested and sent for trial." - http://weldgen.tripod.com/bristol-history-com/id32.html

You'll notice the FRY in the story - your Mary Ann FRY was born eight years after these events (though see below regarding her date of birth). That gives us two matching surnames which might reduce the odds of coincidence, but I know I'm speculating throughout.

There's a Hester BRITTON born 1799 baptised 1808 aged 9 in Bitton, parents William BRITTON and Hester PETER - If this is the same that would make her sixteen when she married, and fourteen during the **** Road Gang ruckus (not an unlikely age). She's the only Hester BRITTON I can find in the district within a decade.

William James BRITTON married Hester PETER 1788-12-24 in St Marys, Bitton.

William BRITTON was born in 1764 in Bitton, and his parents were James BRITTON and Elizabeth WILLIS - that's a third surname matched to the **** Road story. He had three younger brothers, Henry, James and Joseph (born 1774, 1781 and 1781) and two sisters Mary and Nancy (baptised together in 1772). Joseph is buried in the Whitfield Tabernacle, which grew from the 18th century Methodist revival of which Bristol was a focus.

James BRITTON married Elizabeth WILLIS 1763-12-25 in St Marys, Bitton

James BRITTON was born in 1740 in Bitton, and his parents were Henry BRITTON and Ruth PALMER. He had an older sister, Betty (baptised 1739-02-06), younger brothers Henry, Thomas and Peter (baptised 1748, 1750 and 1759) and three sisters Ruth, Ann and Joan (baptised 1743, 1744 and 1755).

Henry BRITTON married Ruth PALMER 1737-04-23 in St Marys, Bitton.

Henry BRITTEN was born in 1718 in Bitton, and his parents were Daniel BRITTEN and Sarah JONES. He had an older brother, Daniel (baptised 1717), younger brothers Thomas, William and Richard (baptised 1722, 1725 and 1733) and two sisters Jane and Elizabeth (baptised 1728, 1733).

. 2 Joseph PRUETT b: Abt. 1816 in Hanham, Gloucestershire, England

..... +Mary Ann FRY b: November 1811 in Oldland, Gloucestershire, EnglandI wonder whether you could check her date of birth?

I have a baptism for Mary Ann FRY of Hanham on 1823.06.29 aged 1 year 8 months whose parents were Samuel FRY and Elizabeth BRITTON.

I'll assume that she's the same Mary Ann FRY but if your date of 1811 isn't a misprint then disregard this section entirely. Your correspondence on ROOTS-L with Josephine Jeremiah was titled "Mary Ann Fry, b 1821" which matches my date, and just like Josephine I can't find a birth for 1811 but I can for 1821. Obviously if you know why you've got 1811 there then the rest of this section is wrong, but I'd be interested in that case to know what you based it on.

Let me remind myself where we're going with this before I take it further. The two who emigrated in 1848 were George JAMES and Elizabeth PRUETT, who at that time were 12 and 13. Elizabeth at least was travelling without her parents, who stayed in Bristol. At some point they married each other.

I move on to the children of Joseph and Mary Ann, by far the trickiest bit of the puzzle. I think Joseph and Mary Ann were born in 1816 and 1821, that she was five years younger than he instead of five years older, and that she had her first child around the age of 12. That's not unknown in the early 19th century.

Be careful below, there are three generations with a Joseph PRUETT and I have no records of any of them. They're born pre-1800 and spelled PRUET, and 1816c and 1852 spelled PRUETT.

I think there are two households, one in Oldland and the offshoot in St George's Jeffries Hill. The first is Joseph PRUET(I) and Hester, the second is their son Joseph PRUETT(II) and Mary Ann.

Joseph PRUET(I) and Hester have five children, of whom I can see four baptised in Oldland:

Joseph PRUET/PRUETT(II) born 1816c.

Matilda PRUET baptised 1821.06.24

Thomas PRUET baptised 1821.07.08

Caroline PRUET baptised 1822.12.26

Robert PRUET baptised 1824.09.29

I have a second baptismal record for Caroline with the same date as Robert - five children, five baptismal records, four names one of which is repeated. I think the family confused the priest.

Now, the second household, Joseph PRUET/PRUETT(II) marries a somewhat young Mary Ann FRY and moves to St George:

Hanna PRUETT born 1832c

Mary Ann PRUETT born 1835

Elizabeth Ann PRUETT born 1835

Mary PRUETT born 1847

Joseph PRUETT(III) born 1852 (in Hanham)

Elizabeth PRUETT and her uncles Thomas PRUETT and Robert PRUETT all appear on the 1841 Census in St George's Jeffries Hill, which is why I think I can safely link the households despite the change Joseph(II) made in spelling his surname.

In 1848 Elizabeth PRUETT emigrates at the age of 13.

In the 1851 Census Mary Ann PRUETT and Mary PRUETT both appear in the parish of "St P & Jph", which I haven't located but I assume makes sense.

If that's made sense, then we can backtrack to Mary Ann FRY.

Mary Ann FRY was born in 1821 in Oldland, and her parents were Samuel FRY and Elizabeth WALTERS. Her sisters were Martha baptised 1816-08-18, William baptised 1819-10-10 aged 1 year 8 months, Samuel baptised 1825-05-29 aged 4 months, Sarah baptised 1830-07-25 and George baptised 1832-08-12.

Samuel FRY married Elizabeth WALTERS 1817-11-02 in St Marys, Bitton.

Samuel FRY was born in 1801c in Oldland, baptised 1813.09.05 aged 12, and his parents were John FRY and Betty STANDLEY. His two brothers John and Edward were baptised with him, aged 20 and 16.

gordonartist wrote:

. 2 Joseph Pruett b: Abt. 1816 in Hanham, Gloucestershire, England

..... +Mary Ann Fry b: November 1811 in Oldland, Gloucestershire, England






Given the birthdates of the children this might not be relevant but I have record of the marriage of Joseph Pruett to Mary Ann Fry on 03/03/1839 at St Mary's church Bitton - probably by the Rev Ellacombe

There's also a possible baptism at St Ann's church Oldland on 19/11/1820 but the parents were John Fry and Ann ?

HTH

Perfect - thank you. Good, we have the marriage record for Joseph PRUETT to Mary Ann FRY as well now, that firms it up a bit more.

Your Mary FRY baptised 1820-11-19 is on the 1851 Census as well, but we have no John FRY who married an Ann.

I think someone will need to check a couple of parish registers to sort out Mary Ann FRY. What was her mother Elizabeth's maiden name, BRITTON or WALTERS? Were her parents married on 1817-11-02 in Holy Trinity Kingswood or in St Marys Oldland?

I think the Holy Trinity Kingswood and 1841 Kingswood census records show:

William FRY bap: 1819-10-10 C41: 1821

Mary Ann FRY b: 1821 bap: 1823-06-29 C41: 1826

Samuel FRY 1825 bap: 1825-05-29 aged 4 months C41: 1831

Sarah FRY bap: 1830-07-25 Holy Trinity, Kingswood C41:1830

George FRY C41: 1831

Abraham FRY C41: 1836

Caroline FRY C41: 1838

and the Oldland baptisms for the family are:

Martha FRY bap: 1816-08-18

William FRY bap: 1819-10-10 aged 6 months

George FRY bap: 1832-08-12

Mary Ann FRY bap: 1832-08-12

There's something else to try to get straight too (though it could just be an error in my secondary sources) - what do the registers say of Mary Ann FRY's year of birth, since the 1841 census says she's only 15 giving 1826, the baptism record shows her born in 1821 and Gordon's original tree has her born in November 1811. It's quite possible that there are two Mary Ann FRYs under discussion, especially since she's supposed to be living in St George by the time of the 1841 census (St George and Kingswood share a boundary) and what I show here suggests that she was recorded in Kingswood.

I can see two 1851 census records (still in my secondary sources) in Oldland for Samuel FRY and Elizabeth, Ann FRY aged 21 and Joseph FRY aged 10. I haven't seen Ann anywhere else. Checking the originals is the only way to clear the fog.

Provisionally, this seems to be a draft around that area:

. John FRY

..... +Betty STANDLEY

..... John FRY b: 1793c bap: 1813-09-05 aged 20, one of the mob who stormed the Bitton Lock-up in August 1813

......... + Margaret

......... Solomon FRY bap: 1813-09-05, hatter

............. + Martha MAYS

............. Hannah FRY b: 1823 C41: of Dod Lane Oldland aged 18.

............. Harriet FRY bap: 1831-05-24

............. John FRY bap: 1831-05-24

............. Mary FRY bap: 1831-05-24

............. Thomas FRY b: 1839 bap: 1831-05-24 C41: of Dod Lane Oldland aged 12.

............. Elizabeth FRY b: 1836 bap: 1836-10-30 C41: of Dod Lane Oldland aged 4.

............. William FRY b: 1834c bap: 1837-07-02. C41: of Dod Lane Oldland aged 7. C51: aged 17. C71: grocer of Court Lane, Oldland age 37. C91: baker of Oldland Common aged 57. Died 1895-02-10 buried St Anne, Oldland

................. + Leah formerly BRITTON nee HACKER 1833c C71 C91: age 58, m: 1854-11-12 St George, both of Crews Hole (witnesses John COLLING Aaron FLOOK), died 1901

................. Solomon FRY b: 1860 C81: shoemaker of Court Lane, Oldland age 21

................. Adeline FRY died 1925, buried with her parents

......... John FRY b: 1816c bap: 1820-07-30 aged 4

......... Samuel FRY b: 1819 bap: 1820-07-30 aged 1 year 6 months d: 1821-07-30 buried St Mary.

..... Edward FRY b: 1797c bap: 1813-09-05 aged 16

..... Samuel FRY b: 1801c bap: 1813-09-05 aged 12. (NOTE 1)

......... + Elizabeth BRITTON or WALTERS 1817-11-02 in Holy Trinity Kingswood or St Mary, Bitton

......... Martha FRY bap: 1816-08-18 Oldland

......... William FRY b: 1819 bap: 1819-10-10 Oldland aged 6 months

......... Mary Ann FRY b: November 1811(?) 1821 bap: 1831-02-20 in Oldland, Gloucestershire, England - she's on Gordon's original post

......... George FRY bap: 1832-08-12 C41: aged 5 bur: St Mary 1844-03-07 age 12

......... Ann FRY b: 1835 C51: aged 17

......... Joseph FRY b: 1841 C51: aged 10



NOTE 1: Samuel FRY and 1817 is a heap of coincidences. There's a Samuel FRY died 1817 in a pit accident at Whittuck's Mine. There's a Samuel FRY bur: 1817 Bitton aged 16. It's possible, until a primary source check is made, that he's the Samuel FRY to whom this draft belongs, and everything from "+ Elizabeth BRITTON or WALTERS" belongs to a different family entirely, taking Mary Ann FRY with it.

Hello SPOT.

Your Comment.

I'll assume that she's the same Mary Ann FRY but if your date of 1811 isn't a misprint then disregard this section entirely. Your correspondence on ROOTS-L with Josephine Jeremiah was titled "Mary Ann Fry, b 1821" which matches my date, and just like Josephine I can't find a birth for 1811 but I can for 1821. Obviously if you know why you've got 1811 there then the rest of this section is wrong, but I'd be interested in that case to know what you based it on.”

My Comment. You are correct. This was an obvious error and I had marked it as such.

Your comment.

“Let me remind myself where we're going with this before I take it further. The two who emigrated in 1848 were George JAMES and Elizabeth PRUETT, who at that time were 12 and 13. Elizabeth at least was traveling without her parents, who stayed in Bristol. At some point they married each other.”

My Comment. I have George JAMES and Elizabeth PRUETT arriving on the “Corona” at Morpeth, Newcastle, Australia. The date was October 9 1879. My grandmother was named Florence Corona after the name of the ship.



A general Comment. I have Elizabeth PRUETT as “Barmaid. White Heart Inn, Bitton (Licenced Victualler George T Knight.)” in the 1851 census.

Your family as on second post.

There may be a clashing family having a Samuel FRY marrying Elizabeth BRITTON or WALTERS and having children

Martha Bapt. Oct 10 1816

William b 1819 Bapt Oct 10 1819

Mary Ann b 1811 Bapt Feb 20 1831

George b abt 1827 Bapt Aug 12 1832 Bur Mar 7 1844

Ann b 1835

Joseph b 1841

Note children spread over 25 years. Possible?

My family on my FTM

Samuel FRY marrying Elizabeth WALTERS or BRITTON and having children.

William b abt February 1818

Mary Ann b November 1821 [My Mary Ann]

Samuel Bapt May 29 1825

Sarah Bapt July 25 1830

George Bapt August 12 1832

Abraham b about 1836

Caroline b about 1838

Note children spread over 20 years. More likely.

The question I am asking. Is there two families here.

Take care.

Gordon.

I have just discovered that my maternal Ancestors are Joseph Pruett c1816 and Mary Fry.

His parents were Joseph Pruett and Hester Britton. They are my gg and ggggrandparents.

Their daughter Mary Pruett c1845 was born in Bristol but died in Ballarat, Victoria, Australia - she married George W Thompson in Ballarat and their son Percival Harvie (or Harrie) Thompson is grandfather.

Percival was born in Ballarat but died in Perth, Western Australia - and that is where my mother was born.

I would appreciate finding out more about this side of the family and whether or not this line goes back to Wales.

Kind regards

Stacey G

Western Australia

Hi Stacey, welcome to the site.

Your post will sit there for some months or years before the person you're hoping to discover finds this page through Google.

That's an ideal use of the thread but it might make it difficult for them to tell you they've seen your post, and you're not likely to check back. Either you could add your email address to the thread like Gordon did, or if you like we could forward any contact request to the email address you registered with.

I remember digging those records out for Gordon, it was quite a while ago. If you can refine or correct any of the information it would be interesting. The profanity filter went wrong suppressing the name of the C-o-c-k Road Gang, they're a famous part of Hanham's history. It's a pleasure to find another of their descendants.

Spot - thank you for the reply. I am happy to have my email passed onto any other descendants to make contact though Forum Garden.

As I have only just discovered this line I can't really correct any information provided at this stage - but I have a wonderful lady who is helping me with tracing my lineage (as my mother married a SMITH - so it hasn't been an easy find)!!!

This is exciting to actually discover some of my Irish connections as I had hit a brick wall at my grandparents - so hadn't been able to get back very far at all.

I was at the Easter Monday celebration of the Escape of the Fenians at a special Catalpa monument built in my hometown of Rockingham, Western Australian which is located - it is believed, at the exact location of where the Fenians rowed from shore to the waiting ship!

The Irish Ambassador to Australia attended and I did mention light heartedly that we ``could be related'' as I have just found that I am a descendant of the Pruetts and Conroys - a smart Alec piped in and said ``don't bother looking any further for THAT lot'' - so now I am more determined than ever to find the history of my Irish Ancestors - cheeky b-u-g-g-a-r!!!

The lady who is assisting me - Carolyn, just last week send through info saying that my relatives may have been part of the C-o-c-k Road Gang - so I am very interested in learning more about that part of history too.

Look forward to keeping in touch.

Cheers

Stacey G

Hi, This is a reply to an April post by Staceyg: Joseph Pruett (husband to Mary Fry) is my great great grandfather. Yes there is a Welsh connection since, after Mary died when her son Joseph was born, leaving him with three young children, he went to live in Wales for some time with William Fry (we guess Mary's brother) and Ann Elms, the servant/housekeeper. The two little girls were sent to boarding schools in South Wales and when he was old enough Joseph was sent to Clifton Down School in Bristol, where he was a classmate of Augustus John. The elder Joseph eventually remarried a lady call Patience and returned to live at The Elms in Bitton, an area of Bristol close to St George and Hanham.

Am happy to send you the family tree I put together for my the Pruetts and the Thatchers; it certainly includes Mary Pruett marrying a Thompson ... she did indeed go to Ballarat, and taught poor children of miners there and had 7 children. My cousin Julia has a photo of Lucy Thompson (Mary's daughter) and Hannah and the rest of the family at Conham House. If you would like this post an e-mail address we can send it to.

Thank you George - people do seem to have chewed on this thread for a long time. We've not seen Gordon for a few months but he does drop by.

I live on Clifton Down but I've no idea where the school you mention was located.

George Thatcher;1376448 wrote: Hi, This is a reply to an April post by Staceyg: Joseph Pruett (husband to Mary Fry) is my great great grandfather. Yes there is a Welsh connection since, after Mary died when her son Joseph was born, leaving him with three young children, he went to live in Wales for some time with William Fry (we guess Mary's brother) and Ann Elms, the servant/housekeeper. The two little girls were sent to boarding schools in South Wales and when he was old enough Joseph was sent to Clifton Down School in Bristol, where he was a classmate of Augustus John. The elder Joseph eventually remarried a lady call Patience and returned to live at The Elms in Bitton, an area of Bristol close to St George and Hanham.

Am happy to send you the family tree I put together for my the Pruetts and the Thatchers; it certainly includes Mary Pruett marrying a Thompson ... she did indeed go to Ballarat, and taught poor children of miners there and had 7 children. My cousin Julia has a photo of Lucy Thompson (Mary's daughter) and Hannah and the rest of the family at Conham House. If you would like this post an e-mail address we can send it to.


Excellent information, thank you for adding to the pool.

Do you still have any family connection to Bristol? My family originated in Hanham and we still have links to the area.

Hi Bryn ... tenuous links .. I lived in Hanham for the first 5 years of life ... all my Thatcher forebears came from Hanham, grandfather Aaron and his brother William George owning a Pennant stone quarry there at the turn of the 19th/20th century. The houses they built for themselves (Conham House, Lime House) still stand on Conham Hill, as does the Elms in Bitton. Are you connected by family to the Pruetts or just generally interested in these historical connections?

Hi spot ... I tried to e-mail you as I had a question about the information you had posted ... the e-mail may not have reached you so here it is:



One of my great-grandfathers was Joseph Pruett, Customs & Excise Officer, born 1851 and married to Rhoda Monk.

His father was also Joseph Pruett, born 1815; his mother Mary Fry, born (we believe) 1820/1821. All living in and around Bitton/St George/Hanham.

I'm contacting you about your post in April 2006 on Forum Garden, in which you've detailed the elder Joseph Pruetts children as:

Hanna PRUETT born 1832c

Mary Ann PRUETT born 1835

Elizabeth Ann PRUETT born 1835

Mary PRUETT born 1847

Joseph PRUETT(III) born 1852 (in Hanham)

We have information that is so close to all of this about our own ancestors that I'd guess it must be the same family.

However, we also have some fairly definite information on the age of Hanna(h) that puts her date of birth around 1842. We also know she (Hannah) married a John Brown who was a schoolmaster and that both eventually became headteachers in Scarborough.

I'm hoping this stuff may still be in your consciousness! You seem to have done a pretty thorough job in collating the information in your post; if there is a definite match here then your information is of great interest to us.

Is it possible that your Hanna information is incorrect? Or that the Hanna you've listed may have died young (as it seems the first Mary may have done), and for a second Hannah to have been born, not in your list?

I'd be delighted if you would share any relevant insights here so that I can determine if the two sets of information do relate to the same people with just a date confusion somewhere.

The senior Joseph Pruett in my family remarried after Mary Fry died, leaving him with three small children. His second wife was called Patience.

George Thatcher;1376454 wrote: Hi Bryn ... tenuous links .. I lived in Hanham for the first 5 years of life ... all my Thatcher forebears came from Hanham, grandfather Aaron and his brother William George owning a Pennant stone quarry there at the turn of the 19th/20th century. The houses they built for themselves (Conham House, Lime House) still stand on Conham Hill, as does the Elms in Bitton. Are you connected by family to the Pruetts or just generally interested in these historical connections?


Just general interest in the area and some information about the people of the area from past research.