I ordered the Marriage Certificate of William BLATCHFORD / Mary WATKINS with the hope that they match up should have that in about a week.

It will be very interesting to see if Mary has a father listed. There was many illegitimate children born in the area at that time including my great-grandfather Joseph Watkins and on the certificates the fathers name is left blank which makes it very hard for us to find our ancestors.

DNA testing is a way of determining if males share a common male ancestor as every father passes on his Y-chromosome to his sons. Our surnames usually pass that way also but not always as most of us are aware.

I've been DNA teasted and hope others from the Forest will do so in the future this way we may find out a lot more.

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1861 Census entry :-

RG9 / 1755
Township of East Dean Ecclesiastical District of Holy Trinity
Schedule no. 3
Address : Huntley

John Watkins Head Mar 51 Coalminer Born Herefordshire
Comfort Watkins Wife Mar 51 Monmouthshire
Esther Watkins Dau Unmar 21 Dressmaker Parish of Ruardean
James Watkins G.son 9 Parish of Ruardean
Mary Watkins G.dau 8 Parish of Ruardean
Henry Watkins G.son 6 Parish of Ruardean
Josiah Watkins G.son 2 East Dean
George Watkins G.son 2 East Dean

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Gloucestershire Records Office

1871 Census
East Dean
Holy Trinity

WATKINS:
John Head 60 M Collier Ruardean
Comfort Wife 62 M Bicknor Mons
James Grandson 19 U Collier East Dean
Mary Daughter 18 U East Dean
Henry Grandson 14 U East Dean
Job Grandson 4 U East Dean

Job (Joseph) is my great-grandfather

More information you can see on the FOD Message Board
http://forum.forest-of-dean.net/index.php?mode=thread&id=113

I believe that Mary A. the wife of William BLATCHFORD is Mary A. WATKINS a grand-daughter of John WATKINS.

Confirmed by the marriage certificate that the wife of William BLATCFORD is Mary WATKINS.

It appears that Mary WATKINS was born illegitimate abt 1853 and I am now looking for further clues of who the parents were. All I know of her is that she is the grandaughter of John WATKINS from earlier census information. On the marriage certificate she gives her fathers name as John WATKINS but I believe that name was entered for convenience.

If anybody has access to the 1891 and or 1901 Census I would be pleased if you could find any information on William and Mary BLATCHFORD who would be living at or near Ruardean.

I also suspect that that Mary WATKINS could possibly be the mother of my great-grandfather Joseph WATKINS born about 1867 East Dean. This is only a guess as Mary would only have been about 15 or 16 at the time but it is a possibility.

Thanks