Bray Family
Harriett Bray
Harriett Bray was our great great grandmother on our mother's side.
She was born in 1823 and baptized on 28 September, 1823, St. Giles in the Heath , at that time a parish in Cornwall, England. St. Giles in the Heath is "a parish in Black Torrington Hundred, the Archdeaconry of Cornwall and the Diocese of Exeter. The parish was originally in Cornwall, and one of the few Cornish places on the east of the river Tamar, but is now part of the county of Devon. Its hamlets include Panson, Hoggadon, and Sitcott." from Genuki . Harriett Bray married Richard Pomeroy on March 24, 1846 in St. Pinnock, Cornwall, England. Their daughter, Emma Jane Pomeroy, was our great grandmother who emigrated to Pennsylvania. Our great grandmother Emma Jane Pomery's first child, by her husband Jacob Rosevear, was named for her mother, Harriett Bray Rosevear. Her birth is registered in Bootle, Lancashire and transcribed here through Free BMD. That child, I believe, died in infancy. A registration of death is available through the Free BMD website. My mother told me, sometime in the 1960's or early 1970's that Harriet Bray's father was a tailor. I don't know where she got her information. My best guess is from stories from her mother and grandmother. My mother's grandmother, Emma Jane, was Harriett Bray's daughter, so I trust the story. The birth records from mid 19th century Cornwall list a Harriet Bray born in 1823 to Hannah and William Bray, occupation "taylor". The date is right for a child who will later marry in 1846 and the father's name and occupation align with the story told to me. But, who was Hannah, Harriet's mother?
Searching the Cornish marriage banns database for William and Hannah between 1820 and 1830 lists only one marriage, a bann between a William Bray and Hannah Jago in October, 1827. This bann is four years after the birth of Harriett. Assuming that Hannah was at least 15 years old and possibly as old as 35 when Harriet was born I searched the baptism records for Hannah Jago between 1790 and 1810. Only one Hannah Jago is listed in birth records, born to Joanna Jago, possibly a pauper, in 1791. No father is listed. Searching for our matrilinear heritage continues outside of the Bray family. These births and marriages are outlined on the Matrilinear page. "It is likely that many Bray families have British origins, but the Bray surname also appears as native to Ireland and France. It has been suggested that some Irish Brays may have derived their surname from the O Breaghdha family of Munster who appeared in the writings of Giolla na Naomh O'Heerin (an Irish historian and bard who died in 1420). According to 'Annals of the Four Masters' (1442) O'Heerin also wrote that O'Broith, or O'Bree, was chief of the Magh Seadna. Contemporary historian Michael C. O'Laughlin ('The Book of Irish Families Great and Small') equates the surnames O'Bree and O Breaghdha with Bray. Bray as a native French surname can be found frequently on the Normandy/Picardy border in Pays de Bray. The Bray surname is also found historically in Saone-et-Loire in central France. " from the Bray Family DNA project, https://www.familytreedna.com/public/Bray/
Sources for information listed here include:
Cornwall Online Parish Clerks database (OPC) Free BMD (Birth, Marriage, Death) registrations England, Wales website. GENUKI, UK and Ireland genealogy website |
Bray Family Genealogy
Harriett Bray married Richard Pomeroy, 24 March, 1846, St. Pinnock. Banns recorded in Cornwall OPC database (see link below)
Children: Emma Jane William Bray, a tailor, married Hannah Jago, Oct. 1827, Lanreath (Banns recorded in Cornwall OPC database). Children: Maryann Woolridge, baptised 13 May, 1821, St. Giles in the Heath (from baptismal records in Cornwall OPC database). Harriet, born 1823, baptised 28 Sept. 1823, St. Giles in the Heath. (from baptismal records in Cornwall OPC database). The Jago surname with variant spellings Jago, Jagoe, Jeggo, Lago, etc. derives from the Welsh "lago", Cornish "Jago" meaning "James". From the Surname database. Records retrieved from the Cornwall Online Parish Clerks (OPC) website: https://www.opc-cornwall.org/index.php OPC database lists one Hannah Jago born between 1790-1810 http://www.cornwall-opc-database.org/search-database/more-info/?t=baptisms&id=3648103 More information about record 3648103 in the Baptisms database Day Month Year 1791 Parish Or Reg District Pelynt Forename Hannah Surname JAGO Sex dau Father Forename Mother Forename Joanna Residence Father Rank Profession Notes P. (pauper?) Transcriber Notes Furze Transcripts Transcriber Karen Duvall 4 Harriet Brays found in Cornwall OPC database: http://www.cornwall-opc-database.org/home/ in the estimated time period for her birth. How do I know which Harriet Bray and where she comes from? OPC database lists 4 Harriet Brays baptised between 1820-1830 (Harriet married 1846, minus 15 years old, minimum = 1831). http://www.cornwall-opc-database.org/search-database/baptisms/?year_from=1820&year_to=1830&soundex=1&forename1=harriet&multiname=1&surname1=bray&bf=Search Name Father Mother Year Parish Or Reg District Forename Surname Forename Forename 1823 Giles in the Heath, St. Harriet BRAY William Hannah 1824 Redruth Harriet BRAY Walter Elizabeth 1826 Mawgan in Pydar Harriet BRAY William Jane 1827 Gwennap Harriett BRAY Thomas Mary My mother told me (circa 1960’s) when explaining our family history that Harriet Bray’s father was a tailor. The OPC database lists only one Harriet Bray whose father was a tailor: http://www.cornwall-opc-database.org/search-database/more-info/?t=baptisms&id=1395661 More information about record 1395661 in the Baptisms database Day Month 28-SepYear 1823 Parish Or Reg District Giles in the Heath, St. Forename Harriet Surname BRAY Sex dau Father Forename William Mother Forename Hannah Residence St.Giles Father Rank Profession Taylor Notes Transcriber Notes Transcriber Christopher Cook The father and mother of Harriet Bray in this record are William and Hannah, Only one record is listed in OPC database for marriage between William and Hannah within the estimated time-frame: William Bray Tailor Married Hannah Jago, 21 Oct. 1827, Lanreath (Banns) http://www.cornwall-opc-database.org/search-database/more-info/?t=marriages&id=944626 Notice that William and Hannah were married 4 years after Harriet was baptised. http://www.cornwall-opc-database.org/search-database/more-info/?t=marriages&id=944626 More information about record 944626 in the Marriages database Day Month 21-Oct Year 1827 Parish Or Reg District Lanreath Groom Fn William Groom Sn BRAY Groom Age Groom Residence otp Groom Condition Groom Rank Profession Groom Signed / Marked (S/M) M Groom Father Name Groom Father Rank Profession Bride Fn Hannah Bride Sn JAGO Bride Age Bride Residence otp Bride Condition Bride Rank Profession Bride Signed / Marked (S/M) M Bride Father Name Bride Father Rank Profession Banns / Licence (B/L) B Witness Fn1 Joseph Witness Sn1 Bryant Witness Fn2 Samuel Witness Sn2 Willcock Other Information Transcriber Notes Transcriber John Evans The Bray Family on Family Tree DNA - Gene By Gene : https://www.familytreedna.com/public/Bray/ Bray Genealogy at Wikitree.com : http://www.wikitree.com/genealogy/BRAY Bray family name origins at Rootcellar.us : http://rootcellar.us/bray.htm |