james hawkins minister (General)

by Jefff , West London, Middlesex, Sunday, June 05, 2011, 23:32 (4927 days ago) @ chieftain

Hi Chieftain, try this search technique using the extensive searchable Parish Records on this site. It's not very scientific but it's worked for me many times: you say James Hawkins is believed born about 1835 in Viney Hill area.

1. Search for the Baptism only of a James Hawkins in 1835 +/- 5 Years to play safe.
Gives following 3 "hits",
Year Surname First Name Event Parish/Chapel More detail
1839 HAWKINS James Baptism Coleford More detail
1834 HAWKINS James Baptism Parkend More detail
1837 HAWKINS James Charles Baptism Christchurch More detail

Most likely is 1834 Parkend, view "More Detail" gives:

Record_ID: 111824
Entry_Number: 674
Year: 1834
Month: Aug
Day: 31
Parents_Surname: HAWKINS
Child_Forenames: James
Fathers_Forenames: Thomas
Mothers_Forenames: Anne
Mothers_Surname:
Residence: Pillowell
Occupation: Collier
Officiating_Minister: Tho[ma]s Morgan Offg Minr
Event: Baptism
Memoranda:
Notes:
Register_Reference: P245 IN 1/9
Page_Number: 85
Parish_Chapel: Parkend
Soundex: H252

How's this look to you ?.
Possible correct date & place I think.
Note Baptism Records give Parent's Names, remember them for next step.

2. Now repeat this search for a possible sister Elizabeth Hawkins, to minimise false leads start off by assuming similar age and place. (personally I prefer to filter as little as possible, ticking "soundex" box, takes longer but more likely to succeed in case of spelling variations etc). Study each likely PR for matching parents.

So in your case search for the Baptism only of Elizabeth Hawkins baptised 1835 +/- 10 Years to play safe. Gives only 11 possibles, so easy to read their detailed PRs. Look for Parishes near Parkend/Viney Hill first.
Gives:

Record_ID: 49559
Entry_Number: 22
Year: 1837
Month: Jun
Day: 18
Parents_Surname: HAWKINS
Child_Forenames: Elizabeth
Fathers_Forenames: Thomas
Mothers_Forenames: Ann
Mothers_Surname:
Residence: Whitecroft
Occupation: Collier
Officiating_Minister: Henry Poole
Event: Baptism
Memoranda:
Notes:
Register_Reference: P245 IN 1/10
Page_Number: 3
Parish_Chapel: Parkend
Soundex: H252

To me this looks a good close match to James's Baptism above.

3. Await someone to point out the error due to the "madness in my method"... or hopefully not.
Hope this helps you now & in the future, happy hunting, Jeff.