Matrilinear Family Tracings
Tracing family relationships through the matrilineal line, from mother to mother, understands that women pass specific genetic characters to their children directly and unchanged from generation to generation. This matrilineal inheritance comes to us from our mothers in a part of their genetic code embedded in mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA). These characters are passed on to us directly, unchanged, and only from our mothers. Men and women both inherit mitochondrial DNA from their mother but only the female can pass the mitochondrial DNA on directly to her offspring.
Identifying the women, our grandmothers and great-grandmothers, within the genealogical 'tree' can be difficult because woman historically took the surname of their husband at marriage. The inheritance from our mothers and their mothers is hidden behind this patrilinear assumption. It becomes increasingly difficult to identify their mothers and grandmothers in the opacity of written records. Uncovering this inheritance in the documented record (birth and marriage records) depends on the completeness of the record keepers and / or some logical association of dates and places that become the circumstantial evidence pointing to the very core of our history.
Starting from what we know: our mother, grandmother and great-grandmother.
Our mother, Joyce Wood, was born to Harriet and Forrest Wood. Her birth certificate is on file in Broome County, New York.
Her mother, Harriet, whose maiden name was Rosevear, was born to Emma Jane and Jacob Rosevear in England. Her birth was registered at Bootle in Lancashire.
Her mother, Emma Jane, whose maiden name was Pomery, was born to Harriet and Richard Pomery in Liskeard, Cornwall. Her birth registration and the registrations of the women before her can be found in the transcribed parish records available online at the Cornwall Online Parish Clerks (OPC) website.
Harriet Pomery's maiden name was Bray. Her mother, Hanna, married William Bray, a tailor.
Identifying the women, our grandmothers and great-grandmothers, within the genealogical 'tree' can be difficult because woman historically took the surname of their husband at marriage. The inheritance from our mothers and their mothers is hidden behind this patrilinear assumption. It becomes increasingly difficult to identify their mothers and grandmothers in the opacity of written records. Uncovering this inheritance in the documented record (birth and marriage records) depends on the completeness of the record keepers and / or some logical association of dates and places that become the circumstantial evidence pointing to the very core of our history.
Starting from what we know: our mother, grandmother and great-grandmother.
Our mother, Joyce Wood, was born to Harriet and Forrest Wood. Her birth certificate is on file in Broome County, New York.
Her mother, Harriet, whose maiden name was Rosevear, was born to Emma Jane and Jacob Rosevear in England. Her birth was registered at Bootle in Lancashire.
Her mother, Emma Jane, whose maiden name was Pomery, was born to Harriet and Richard Pomery in Liskeard, Cornwall. Her birth registration and the registrations of the women before her can be found in the transcribed parish records available online at the Cornwall Online Parish Clerks (OPC) website.
Harriet Pomery's maiden name was Bray. Her mother, Hanna, married William Bray, a tailor.
Jago
Who was Hannah, Harriet Bray's mother?
Harriet Bray, born 1823, baptised 28 Sept. 1823, St. Giles in the Heath. The baptismal records transcribed in Cornwall OPC database list only Harriet's mother's first name, Hannah, not her maiden surname.
Searching the Cornish marriage banns database for William Bray 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. This Hannah would have been 32 years old when Harriet was born. This particular baptism record also includes a field "Transcriber Notes: Furze Transcripts". This information will be helpful with other records, as I assume the "Furze Transcripts" are a set of related records.
Harriet Bray, born 1823, baptised 28 Sept. 1823, St. Giles in the Heath. The baptismal records transcribed in Cornwall OPC database list only Harriet's mother's first name, Hannah, not her maiden surname.
Searching the Cornish marriage banns database for William Bray 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. This Hannah would have been 32 years old when Harriet was born. This particular baptism record also includes a field "Transcriber Notes: Furze Transcripts". This information will be helpful with other records, as I assume the "Furze Transcripts" are a set of related records.
Treneman
Searching the baptismal records for Joanna Jago between 1760 and 1780 returns a daughter Joanna to John Jago and Mary, registered in the parish of Pelynt in 1765. This record also includes Transcriber Notes "Furze Transcripts". The marriage database returned a record of marriage between John Jago and Mary Treneman in 1765 in the Parish of Liskeard, the same year Joanna Jago was born. Liskeard is 8.5 miles north of Pelynt. This Mary Treneman is very likely Joanna's mother listed on her birth register. There is also a record for a Joanna Jago born to William and Ann Jago at Talland in 1763. The parishes of Talland and Pelynt are only 3 miles apart. I suspect that the baptismal registration of of Joanna Jago listing her parents as John and Mary is somehow related to the baptismal registration of Hannah Jago, listing Joanna as mother, because both records include a Transcriber Note naming "Furze Transcripts". In the early 20th century W. Martin Furze transcribed several Cornish parish registers from the 15th to the 19th century. The possibility that records included in these transcriptions might bear some relation would be based in the location of the parish; a stronger association for records included than records not included. This is my assumption.
Mary Treneman's baptismal registration in Liskeard in 1742 lists William Treneman and Temperance as her parents,. This date is 23 years before Joanna's birth and so we might reasonably conclude this to be Joanna's mother.
Mary Treneman's baptismal registration in Liskeard in 1742 lists William Treneman and Temperance as her parents,. This date is 23 years before Joanna's birth and so we might reasonably conclude this to be Joanna's mother.
Collin (or Collins or Colling)
Temperance Collin (also listed as Colling and Collins) is registered as the bride of William Trenaman (note different spelling of Treneman) in April, 1740 (or 1741) in St. Keyne. Both William and Temperence are listed from the Parish of Liskeard. The marriage record of Mary Treneman, Temperance's daughter (see above), to John Jago includes a witness: Henry Collings. I suspect that Henry Collings is related to Temperance Collin (or Collings). There are (at this writing in 2022) no records of birth or baptism for Temperance Collin, Colling or Collins. I am unable to discover who her mother might have been (yet).
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
Cornwall Online Parish Clerks database (OPC)
Free BMD (Birth, Marriage, Death) registrations England, Wales website.
GENUKI, UK and Ireland genealogy website