Daily Archives: February 21, 2011

Solving A Mystery; Finding Another Story In The Stones

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After I published this post this morning, I found more information from 1861 through the Cornwall Online Census Project which lists, Thomas as age 33, a Tailor and Grocer, and his wife Sophia age 29. What is especially interesting to me as a Harper, is that Mary Harper, age 49 and a Dressmaker, is a boarder in their home.

Church Village Grocer's Shop,1,Thomas Olver Rich,Head,M,33,,Tailor & Grocer,Cornwall,,
,,,Sophia Rich,Wife,M,,29,,Ladock Cornwall,,
,,,Thomas Olver Rich,Son,U,3,,,Cornwall,,
,,,Mary Sophia Rich,Dau,U,,1,,Cornwall,,
,,,Elizabeth Jane Rich,Dau,U,,1,, Cornwall,,
,,,George Green,Ap,U,18,,Appren.To Tailor,St Breward Cornwall,,
,,,Ellen Pengelly,Serv,U,,16,House Serv,Blisland Cornwall,,
,,,Mary Harper,Boardr,U,,49,Dressmaker,St Cleer Cornwall,,

Sophia died in 1865 and by the 1871 census, Thomas, age 42 was married to Ellen age 26, listed below along with some children from his first marriage and Headly, his 9 month old child with Ellen.

Grocers Shop,1,Thomas Olver Rich,Head,M,42,,Mercer/grocer/frmr 100acr 1man,Cornwall,,
,,,Ellen Rich,Wife,M,,26,Farmers Wife,Cornwall,,
,,,Thomas Olver Rich,Son,S,13,,Farmers Son,Cornwall,,
,,,Mary Sophia Rich,Dau,S,,11,Scholar, Cornwall,,
,,,Elizabeth Jane Rich,Dau,S,,11,Scholar, Cornwall,,
,,,Matthew John Rich,Son,S,9,,Scholar,Cornwall,,
,,,Nehemiah Rich,Son,S,7,,Scholar,Cornwall,,
,,,Headly Rich,Son,S,9m,,,Cornwall,,
,,,John Reynolds,Servnt,S,29,,Tailor,Redruth Cornwall,,
,,,Susanna Sleeman,Servnt,S,,18,Dom Srvnt,St Kew Cornwall,,

The most interesting part of this story is that Thomas did marry a Pengelly, but it was not his first wife as the ancestry sites imply. If you check the listing for 1861 and 1871, in 1861 there was a 16 year servant, Ellen Pengelly living in the house and by 1871 ten years later there was a Ellen (now Rich) age 26 living in the house. Unless I am mistaken, it appears Thomas married his house servant, Ellen sometime after his first wife died.

Doing a bit more research on different ancestry sites, it looks as if people researching their family history from this line will be led to believe that they are related to the Pengelly side which is only true for the children who came later and not the first six children that Thomas had with Sophia. Since the only information I have found for wife and mother is listed as, unknown: PENGELLY, there may be some confusion cleared up today.

UPDATE: I had to come back and share this once I discovered it. It looks from the census data below as if Thomas fathered two sets of twin girls, one with each wife. Also interesting to note is the Rich family lived in the house which stands next to the pub and dates from the seventeenth century. The Rich family used to own the pub and I wonder if Harold Rich is descended from Thomas Olver Rich.

What do you think?

Written In Stone; Stories From The Churchyard

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I find a story almost every time I look around our village churchyard and recently, I noticed two gravestones that made me think about the lives of the three people buried there.

Look at the gravestone to the left.

Now look at the gravestone to the right.

The gravestone in front of the window is connected to the one you are looking past from behind. The two stones face each other directly divided only by the path that runs between them.

Sophia Rich, was the first wife of Thomas Olver Rich. You would not know this if searching online as a popular ancestry site has her listed as unknown, but notes her maiden name may have been Pengelly, a name you see a lot in Cornwall. As you can see from her gravestone, she was not a Pengelly, but the daughter of John and Elizabeth Crowle.

Sophia died at 34 in 1865. She left Thomas with the six children I mentioned earlier, with the youngest being born only six months before her death. There was a sweet inscription on her gravestone.

A virtuous Wife in prime of life,

By death is snatched away;

Her soul is blest, and gone to rest,

Her flesh is gone to clay.

She’s left behind a Husband kind,

Three daughter’s and three sons;

May they prepare to meet her where,

True joys are to be won.

 

Across the path next to the window, Thomas shares a grave with wife number two. Thomas lived another fifty years without Sophia and later remarried a woman listed simply as Ellen on the gravestone they share. The ancestry site lists the names of his six children with Sophia along with the names of the children he had with his second wife, Ellen. It looks as if he fathered a total of ten or eleven children. (one of his later children with Ellen is missing a name) Ellen has little listed other than her age and the date of her death which tells me that there was at least a 17 year age difference between Thomas and Ellen. Her name is not on the ancestry site either even though you can see the names of her children.

A final interesting note, the house we live in sits on land that was purchased by a local builder in 1993 from a woman who had bought it with her first husband when her last name was Rich.

(Remember you can double-click on any of these photos to enlarge)