Hello, I'm looking for information on my oldest known reletive, Richard Virgo.
I have it that he was married to Hester Hill in 1824 at St. Andrews church, Gloucestershire. They came to the US in 1841. I have no information on his parents or ancestors. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

Year: 1798
Month: Mar
Day: 18
Parents_Surname: VERGOE
Child_Forenames: Richard
Fathers_Forenames: Thomas
Mothers_Forenames: Sarah
Mothers_Surname: nee](Peters Spinster])
Residence:
Occupation:
Officiating_Minister: Charles Sandiford Vicar
Event: Baptism
Memoranda: [1]S[on] [2]b[or]n Feb[ruar]y 23
Notes: Blakeney Chapel. BT's show mother's forename as Mary
Register_Reference: P30 1 IN 1 Part 2
Page_Number: 479
Parish_Chapel: Awre

Year: 1784
Month: Jan
Day: 15
Grooms_Surname: VIRGO
Grooms_Forenames: Thomas
Grooms_Age:
Groom_Condition:
Grooms_Occupation:
Grooms_Residence: Blakeney
Grooms_Fathers_Surname:
Grooms_Fathers_Forenames:
Grooms_Fathers_Occupation:
Brides_Surname: PETERS
Brides_Forenames: Sarah
Brides_Age:
Brides_Condition:
Brides_Occupation:
Brides_Residence: Hundred of St Briavels
Brides_Fathers_Surname:
Brides_Fathers_Forenames:
Brides_Fathers_Occupation:
Licence_or_Banns: Licence
Date_of_Banns:
Signature_or_Mark: Both mark
Witness_1: R Williams
Witness_2: Mark of Edw[ar]d Peters
Other_Witnesses:
Officiating_Minister: P Ball vicar
Event: Marriage
Memoranda:
Notes:
Register_Reference: P227 IN 1/8
Page_Number: 572/3
Parish_Chapel: Newland

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Ἀριστοτέλης A Gloster Boy in the Forest of Dean ><((((*>

If you search the parish records on this site, you'll find the marriage of Richard Virgoe (spelt that way) to Hester Hill recorded as taking place at Awre in 1824. Exact spellings didn't matter so much when most people couldn't read or write.

The surname Virgoe or Virgo was fairly common in those parts, especially around Viney Hill and Blakeney which adjoin Awre, as you can again discover from the indexes on here. You might find it worth using the soundex facility when searching, so that it picks up both Virgo and Virgoe.

I have a George Virgo as a distant relative. He married Hilda May Sterrey, my maternal grandmother's sister, at Lydney in 1919. George Virgo is reputed by one of his living daughters in Lydney (of whom there are three) to have come from a family who owned some land at Brockhollands, between Lydney and Bream, but unfortunately I don't yet have any of George's ancestry.

There has recently been a long thread on here involving others searching for Virgo ancestors in the same area, so if you search back a short way in the forum index you may find a clue.

All the places I've just mentioned are within four or five miles of each other. It would be surprising if all these Virgos/Virgoes didn't match up somewhere back in the mists of time, so good luck with it.

FOD records, christening at Blakeney - children of Richard (occupation Blacksmith & also Labourer) & Hester and Ester VIRGO/VIRGOE

Stephen - 28 March 1826
Emily - 23 November 1830
Samuel - 19 June 1831
Richard - 18 August 1839 - address Old Furnace (Old Furnace area on Photo section of Blakeney FOD)

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? Richard VIRGO was a witness at this wedding

AWRE

7 December 1838

Thomas VIRGO (occupation Miner, address Old Furnace)

father: Thomas VIRGO (Quarryman ? confirms Richard's father, so ? is this is brother[/b]

married: Elizabeth BROOKS, (Minor) address Old Furnace

father: Thomas BROOKS (occupation - Waterman)

by banns

witnesses: Richard VIRGO + Thomas CADOGAN

? FOD records - baptism at Awre (Blakeney Chapel) - 22 January 1786, born 14 Jan - parents Thomas & Mary) Notes on Richard baptism gives mother's name as Sarah and Mary

siblings: christened at Awre (Blakeney Chapel - FOD records) - parents Thomas and Sarah (nee PETERS)

Joseph - 21 February 1796, James and Sarah christened the same day, 1 December 1793)

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The two witness at the wedding of Richard VIRGOE to Hester HILL, were Sarah HILL and Charles FENNELL.

By using the Advance Search for witnesses at weddings - at least one comes up so far

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AWRE - 3 September 1825

Edward RUCK of the FOD, married Sarah HILL

witnesses: Richard and Hester VIRGOE

FOD records have baptism - children, father Edward (occupation Blacksmith) & Sarah RUCK at Parkend

Louisa - 27 August 1826 - residence: Yorkley
Edward - 31 May 1829 - residence: Yorkley
Henry - 5 June 1831 - residence: Yorkley
Samuel - 25 January 1835 - residence: Whitecroft
Milanda - 18 June 1837 - residence: Whitecroft

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1841 Census, Dean Forest, Whitecroft

(Ancestry transcribed as LUCE)

RUCK

Edward - 35 - all born in County
Sarah - 35 (nee HILL - possibly Hester HILL's sister/cousin)
Edward - 12
Henry - 10
Summer (transcribed as) - looks like Samuell - age 5
Belinda - 3

1851 Census, West Dean
Whitecroft

RUCK

Edward - 50 - Blacksmith, born Little Dean
Sarah - 52 (c1799) - born Awre
Henry - 18 - Coal Miner, born Yorkley
Samuel - 16 - born Yorkley
Belinda - 13 - House Servant, born Yorkley
William - 8 - Scholar - born Whitecroft. ***

***

Gloucestershire BDM

http://ww3.gloucestershire.gov.uk/bmd/

William RUCK (mother's maiden name HILL) - 1842, Forest of Dean, Westbury on Severn, Newnham

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1861 Census
West Dean, Clearwell Meend

- Transcribed as RENCK

RUCK

Edward - 62 - Blackmsmith, born Little Dean
Sarah - 62 - born Awre
Samuel - 26 - Blacksmith, born West Dean
William - 18 - ditto
William Edward WALKINS - Grandson, age 9 - born Monmouth, Monmouthshire

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??
FOD records have a baptism at Awre

10 April 1803

Esther HILL - parents Thomas & Esther **(nee BROWN) born 11 March

Notes: B.T.s show date of baptism as 15 March

*** it may be the mother's name should read HANNAH (nee BROWN), as a Thomas HILL married a Hannah BROWN at Awre 8 May 1800, and a son James was christened at Awre 2 September 1804, parents Thomas HILL and Hannah, mother's maiden name BROWN). Another Son Thomas christened at Awre - 10 January 1813.

1841 Census Awre

HILL

James - 35 - labourer - all born in County
Mariam - 30
Hannah - 60
Walter - 6
Ann - 3
Jas - 1

FOD records - Marriage at Awre - 17 October 1833

James HILL married Mariam YEMM - with consent of parents

witnesses: Thomas HILL and Edw(ar)d RUCK (who married Sarah HILL)

Althouh the parish' appear to change, they could have been in the same house or area. Viney Hill Parish didn't register the first baptism until 1854, with marriages and burials even later. Prior to the establishment of All Saints, Viney Hill, they could have attended the local chapel in Blakeney, which was for some time simply a chapel of ease for Awre parish . . .

Same location, three different parishes . . .

previous thread - may need a bit of sorting!

http://www.forum.forest-of-dean.net/index.php?id=2542

previous thread - may need a bit of sorting!

Why ?

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Ἀριστοτέλης A Gloster Boy in the Forest of Dean ><((((*>