Ann Probert of Monmouth, England (General)

by Will MacCallum , Canada, Monday, February 21, 2005, 13:11 (7207 days ago)

I am looking for my ancestor Ann Probert (born c.1825).

Years ago, my great-grandmother told me about her grandmother Ann
Webster nee Probert. She said she was originally from Red Rock Farm,
Monmouth, England. She left home quite young and went to Brazil where
she was 'staying with' the family of an owner of a fleet of Tea
Clippers, whose name has only been remembered as 'Sir Charles', when she
met her future husband, James Henry Webster. He was part of the crew on
one of the Tea Clippers. She married him and sailed for a year or so
with him before settling in Liverpool, so my great-grandmother told me.

Recently I have uncovered some more information about our Ann Probert.
According to her March 23, 1850 Liverpool marriage certificate, her
father was James Probert, a farmer. According to the 1881 census, if we
trust that her age was correct, Ann was born in either 1825 or 1826 at
Coleford, Gloucestershire. This at first glance would seem to contradict
the oral family history, but that might be a hasty conclusion I think. I
hired a researcher in Gloucester to find a record of her birth or
baptism but there is no record of her in the Gloucester Records Office.

In looking carefully at my maps I see a Redbrook right on the old
Monmouthshire/Gloucestershire border. So I asked myself: might my
ancester have actually been from Red brook Farm, Monmouth, England? ( I
know it would be considered Wales now, but in the 19th century it was
part of England I believe) Could the name of the farm have been corrupted while being handed down orally?

It appeared though that Redbrook is considered to be in Gloucestershire.
Then I found the current address of a local genealogist Glynnis
Clark which is Glenvale, Redbrook, Monmouth, Wales. So it seems to me
that an address of Redbrook, Monmouth, England in the nineteenth century
is a real possibility.

Can anyone refute my conjecture by telling me where Red Rock Farm,
Monmouth, England was? If not, were there Proberts near Redbrook in the
19th century? The only James Probert I have found yet who could be Ann's
father was living at Scowles, Coleford, Gloucestershire in 1841 and
1851, which I understand is known for its red earth. Ann was not listed as living with this James in either census but she was probably old enough (at least 15) to have left home and been working (maybe in Brazil!) by 1841.

Also can anybody shed any light on who 'Sir Charles' the owner of a
fleet of Tea Clippers might have been? Has anybody heard of other young
women from the area going to Brazil of all places?

I would appreciate greatly any ideas or information you might have.