Records of Gloucester Assizes (General)
by lesleyr 
, London, Friday, April 24, 2015, 18:23 (3511 days ago)
Hello,
On 18 October 1842 a James Whittington aged 32 was acquitted of Larceny at Gloucester Assizes. Under the column headed 'Degree of Instruction' is written what looks like 'Imp'. There were 3 men with that name and age. I only have the Ancestry record but I wondered if there were any other records of the trial in existence that I could consult and which might give me a clue as to which James it was.
Thank you
Lesley
Records of Gloucester Assizes
by Mike Pinchin , Bedford, England, Friday, April 24, 2015, 19:19 (3511 days ago) @ lesleyr
BNA Cheltenham Chronicle – Thursday 27 October 1842
GLOUCESTERSHIRE MICHAELMAS SESSIONS
James WHITTINGTON, 32, was charged with stealing, at Dymock, an iron pot, the property of Richard WHITEHOUSE., several persons were called, all of whom gave him a good character. Acquitted.
Identical report in the Gloucester Journal Saturday 22 October 1842. Sessions commenced on "Tuesday last".
Records of Gloucester Assizes
by lesleyr , London, Sunday, April 26, 2015, 20:03 (3509 days ago) @ Mike Pinchin
Thank you Mike.
I was hoping that there would be a resource that gives his village or other clues.
Lesley
Records of Gloucester Assizes
by Mike Pinchin , Bedford, England, Sunday, April 26, 2015, 20:13 (3509 days ago) @ lesleyr
If you use the link to the genealogical database here,
http://www.gloucestershire.gov.uk/archives/familyhistory
and search for James WHITTINGTON in the relevant year you will find a reference to his committal which mentions English Bicknor as the home parish.
Records of Gloucester Assizes - James Whittington
by lesleyr , London, Sunday, April 26, 2015, 22:34 (3509 days ago) @ Mike Pinchin
Thank you again.
Now that I have a parish (English Bicknor), I may be able to find which James Whittington was acquitted at the assizes in 1842.
A year earlier, at the 1841 census, the three men of named James Whittington were living in different places: Joyford; Coalway and Lydbrook. So my next question is - were any of those places in the parish of English Bicknor?
Lesley
Records of Gloucester Assizes - James Whittington
by shepway , Monday, April 27, 2015, 08:56 (3508 days ago) @ lesleyr
You can definitely exclude the Coalway connection.
If you look at the 1841 Census returns the Joyford family is resident in the Parish of English Bicknor. James at Lydbrook is in The Hundred of St Briavels (Extra Parochial Land).
That said prior to 1851 part of Lydbrook was in English Bicknor Parish and when checking for baptisms James resident at Lydbrook was baptised at English Bicknor and born in 1810 i.e. he is the exact age given in the Assize Records where as the other two were born earlier and married by 1841.
Finding the marriage of James of Lydbrook was not straightforward but thanks to the Glos BMD database we are able to track it through the children where mother's maiden name is given as HORSHAM and we know from Census that her forename is Hannah. This leads us to this marriage:
Marriages Jun 1845
Horsham Hannah Wheatenhurst 11 661
WELLINGTON James Wheatenhurst 11 661
Groom Surname Groom Forename Bride Surname Bride Forename District Parish Building Year Register Entry
WELLINGTON James HORSHAM Hannah Stroud Eastington St Michael and All Angels 1845 C15/1 82
There is an image of the marriage on Ancestry and James' father is given as Thomas deceased and James' Residence is Forest of Dean.
Mike
Records of Gloucester Assizes - James Whittington
by lesleyr , London, Sunday, May 03, 2015, 19:49 (3502 days ago) @ shepway
Hello
I don't think we can be certain as to which James was the one at Gloucester Assizes, even with the information given at Gloucester that the accused was a collier (which could have been a coal miner or wood collier)and came from English Bicknor. Here's where I think we are:
1. The James living in Coalway can be disregarded because that is not in the parish of English Bicknor. He was described as a labourer at the 1841 census.
2. My ancestor James who married Harriet Hale in 1834 was a wood collier at the 1841 census and living in Joyford which was part of the parish of English Bicknor. So he would fit.
3. The James who married Hannah Horsham in 1845 could have been the one who was a single coal miner in 1841 and living in Lydbrook, which might have been in the parish of English Bicknor at that time. So he would fit.
My problem is that my ancestor James 2 (above),disappeared after 1841 (or 1842 if he was the one at Gloucester Assizes) and his family ended up in Monmouth Workhouse in 1843. I have no baptism for him or any other records and because he disappeared from the records I thought that James 2 and James 3 could have been the same especially because there were 3 James Whittingtons in 1841.
Lesley
Records of Gloucester Assizes - James Whittington
by Mike Pinchin , Bedford, England, Tuesday, May 05, 2015, 20:08 (3500 days ago) @ lesleyr
Is this them in GR 1851?
Newland, Incline(?)
Harriett WHITTINGTON, Head, Mar, 36, Laundress Pauper, b. Glos. Newland
Lucy, Dau, U, 14, b. Glos. Newland
James, Son, 11, Collier, b. Glos. Newland
Eliza, Dau, 9, b. Glos. Newland
William, Son, 6, b. Monmouth
If so, not very far away and from the BNA Hereford Times – Saturday 22 October 1853
Coleford Petty Sessions
ASSAULT.- Mary Ann HAWKINS, a single woman, residing at Poolgreen, near Coleford, appeared to a summons charging her with having, on the 7th instant, assaulted Harriet WHITTINGTON, a married woman of the same place……………………..
…………………………….Cross-examined {i.e. Harriet} by Mr ROBERTS, solicitor, Coleford: My husband has been transported for ten years; a man named Daniel DESMOND comes to my house sometimes ………………………………..
This might be worth following up although, on a cursory search, I didn’t spot any references to a James WHITTINGTON being tried or receiving such a sentence. The article does not mention the husband’s name.
Immediately under this is a report of a Jas WHITTINGTON, labourer, of Poolway {adjacent to Poolgreen} summoned to answer a charge of assault precipitated by some straying fowls. Case dismissed. I suppose this could have been Harriet’s son?
Records of Gloucester Assizes - James Whittington
by lesleyr , London, Wednesday, May 06, 2015, 18:13 (3499 days ago) @ Mike Pinchin
Hello Mike
That is very interesting. Yes, Harriet Whittington was the one living in Newland Incline with her family in 1851.
I had wondered if her husband James had been transported because he just disappears after 1841/2, but I have not previously found any records to substantiate this. The newspaper report looks promising. Are the records of the Hereford Times and any other local papers available online?
Harriet's son James could have been the one accused of assault. He would have been about 13 at the time.
Thank you for your help,
Lesley
Records of Gloucester Assizes - James Whittington
by Mike Pinchin , Bedford, England, Wednesday, May 06, 2015, 20:36 (3499 days ago) @ lesleyr
The British Newspaper Archive is available on-line here:-
http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/
It is possible to free-search it but full details are available only on subscription. The major local papers such as the Gloucester Citizen, Gloucester Journal and those from Cheltenham are included but some of the smaller, even more local, publications are not. It is usually worth searching Herefordshire and Worcestershire papers too since they often recorded events in the Forest.
The rest of this particular article is concerned with what precipitated the alleged assault and the sentence. I can download it if of interest.
Records of Gloucester Assizes - James Whittington
by Dee , Sunday, May 10, 2015, 18:03 (3495 days ago) @ lesleyr
Hi Lesley
I see you are still on the trail of our ancestor James WHITTINGTON. I had found a baptism, in the FOD database, for a James WHITTINGTON son of Thomas WHITTINGTON for 7th May 1809, English Bicknor and had thought that this could be a possible contender. I also found a marriage for Thomas WHITTINGTON and Eleanor LAWRENCE 30 November 1790 in Newland Parish.
On Ancestry, there is someone researching Thomas and Eleanor and they have uploaded a death certificate for Eleanor who died in English Bicknor at mid-day on the 8th October 1838. The informant was Anne WHITTINGTON, her daughter-in-law of Lydbrook. I believe that Anne was the wife of Thomas WHITTINGTON nee BROWN.
We know that there three men named James WHITTINGTON living in different places: Joyford; Coalway and Lydbrook, and you have suggested that the James who married Hannah HORSHAM in 1845 could have been the one who was a single coal miner in 1841 and living in Lydbrook.
Therefore, could Eleanor WHITTINGTON have been his mother and perhaps we can exclude this baptism as being our ancestor?
Dee
Records of Gloucester Assizes - James Whittington
by lesleyr , London, Sunday, May 10, 2015, 21:45 (3495 days ago) @ Dee
Hello Dee
Good to hear from you again. I was the one who probably caused the muddle in the first place. I could not find my James Whittington (the one who married Harriet Hale) after the 1841 census. Thinking there were only 2 men with that name and age, and knowing one married a Mary Ann and emigrated to New Zealand, I concluded that my ancestor musthave been the same one who later married Hannah Horsham. However another member of the forum contacted me (off the forum) to say that there was another James Whittington/Wittington in the area in 1841, making 3 with the same name in the same area with the same age. By a process of elimination, the James who married Hannah Horsham was the one whose father was called Thomas (see marriage certificate) and that leads to a marriage between Thomas and Eleanor Lawrence. So I have conceded that my ancestor is not the child of Thomas and Eleanor but the third James. So we have three James Whittingtons all born in Gloucestershire (1841 census) but only two baptisms that I can find.
Mike of the forum has found a reference to a possible assault on Harriet Whittington which was reported in the newspaper. Harriet is reported to have stated that her husband had been transported for 10 years. I have not followed that up yet but it may be why Harriet's husband James Whittington disappeared after 1841.
Lesley