TIPPINS/MORTIMORE - West Dean, C19 (General)

by Kirsty Hooper , Sunday, August 27, 2006, 23:28 (6663 days ago)

Hi everyone - I've just come back to the site (and genealogy) after a bit of a break and what a wonderful resource. Thank you, David!

I've been working on my Forest ancestry for several years now and have several well established lines - WORGAN, PREEST, BAGLIN, HARRIS, HEATH, HILL, THOMAS - all in West Dean. Just last week, looking at another line, I found what I think is a Forest connection - and I would love to hear from anybody who can help me prove whether it is or not.

My g-g-g-grandmother Elizabeth MORTIMER/MORTIMORE was born in Upper Knowle, Bristol in 1844 and came to the Forest (so I thought) after marrying Alfred HARRIS in Stratford upon Avon in 1865 (Alfred was the author of the diary that's been discussed here before). I've found her family in Bristol in 1851, but only her father was still there in 1861 - no sign of the rest. Elizabeth's mother was born Ann TIPPINS, in about 1817 in Gloucestershire, and I know TIPPINS is a Forest name, so in some desperation I checked the West Dean 1861 census - and found a James MORTIMORE, right name and age for Elizabeth's brother, lodging with George and Ann TIPPINS in Parkend (next door to William and Ann TIPPINS). This James seems to have stayed in the village and married - I found him again in 1871 and 1881, with a family. I also discovered (thanks to this site!) that Alfred and Elizabeth HARRIS witnessed a marriage between Mary Jane MORTIMORE and James BAND at Bream in 1866.

My question, then, is whether anybody can help me make a link between my Ann TIPPINS, born about 1817 (according to the 1851 census), and the TIPPINS family with whom this James MORTIMORE is lodging. Could Ann (bc 1817) have been a younger sister of William and George, or even William's daughter? (I notice from later censuses that they were originally from Monmouthshire)

I'd also love to hear from anyone with related interests!
Kirsty