I finally decided to write another post! This one in order to correct several errors I’ve found in other people’s online trees about an ancestor of mine…

Thomas Ray was my gr-grandfather on my Dad’s paternal line. He was born on 12 May 1840 in Salisbury, Wiltshire. His original birth record states that he was the illegitimate son of Ellen, a single woman. He was baptized on 3 Jun 1840 at St. Edmund’s parish church in Salisbury. In the 1841 census, Ellen and Thomas are living with her uncle William Ray and his wife Maria on Blue Boar Row in Salisbury. William was a barber for many years. Ellen died on 2 Oct 1844 in Salisbury, having never married. Thomas continued to live with William and Maria. Maria died in early 1848. At this point, Thomas, only 7 years old, had lost his mother AND the only other mother-figure he had ever known. In the 1851 census, Thomas is still living with his gr-uncle William Ray in Salisbury.

Now, given that Thomas was at this point 11 years old and an orphan, and that his uncle could not have been a wealthy man, I would expect Thomas to have been apprenticed about the age of 14. In fact, he spent his life in the shoe-making trade, so most likely he was apprenticed to a master shoemaker about 1854. Now, in 1855, there is a record of Thomas and one John Woodlands having stolen some property belonging to a Richard Thatcher. According to the 1851 census, Richard lived about 2 streets away from William and Thomas on Catherine Street in St. Thomas parish, Salisbury and was a master boot maker, employing 3 men. It isn’t a stretch to assume this was the man Thomas was serving his apprenticeship with. In the same census, John Woodlands owned a tannery and was a harness maker who lived in Alderbury, nearby. So, it’s also not a stretch to assume that John may have been Richard’s leather supplier, and met Thomas in his shop. The item stolen was a pair of boots worth 10 shillings. Both John and Thomas were convicted and sentenced – John got 3 months hard labor and Thomas got 6 months hard labor.

William Ray, Thomas’ gr-uncle, died in the last quarter of 1858. In the 1861 census, Thomas is working as a bootmaker’s assistant in the shop of George Sydenham, in St. Thomas parish of Salisbury. On 4 Jan 1863, he married Mary Ann Elizabeth Smith, of Cambridgeshire, the daughter of Simon and his wife Mary A. Burnham. Mary had been working as an assistant milliner in St. Thomas parish, boarding at the home of Adolphus Cockett and his family on Oatmeal Row. They married in St. Thomas parish in Salisbury.

Now, as to the errors I’ve found. There seems to be a persistent desire to claim William as Thomas’ father, and Ellen as having unknown parentage. This is refuted by the documents available. Thomas’ birth clearly states that his mother was unmarried, and her name was Ellen Ray. Also, the 1851 census lists Thomas as William’s nephew – in fact he was his gr-nephew. William and Maria Mitchell were married on 6 May 1811, in Salisbury, Wiltshire. They had 3 children. The first, named William Mitchell Ray, was born in March 1812. Anna Maria was born in May 1813. And William Henry was born in Mar 1815. As the name William was re-used, it can be assumed the first William died young. There is no further record of either of the other 2 children, so they may also have died young. Before marrying Maria, he had an illegitimate child with May Simmons, of St. Martin parish, in 1810. Now, as to Ellen’s parents… For her to have been a Ray, and William to have been her uncle, her father must have been one of his brothers. Records show that William was born to Francis Robert Ray and his wife Susannah Lester on 15 Jul 1782 in Salisbury, Wiltshire. Other records available from Salisbury show that he had 2 older sisters (Susannah and Mary Ann) and one older brother (Francis Robert, Jr.). Francis Jr. was born in May 1774, and married Ellen Ellen (yes, that’s really her name – though she was sometimes called Helen) on 2 Sep 1793. They had at least 7 children: sons Francis Ellen, Joseph Ellen, Robert, Raymond, and Richard and daughters Marie and Ellen (also sometimes called Helen). Ellen’s birth is recorded as 18 Mar 1813. Ellen’s mother Ellen died when she was only 3 years old, on 21 Aug 1816 in Salisbury, and Francis Jr. (William’s elder brother) died on 29 Mar 1820. At the time of his death Francis, Jr. was living on Blue Boar Row – the same street William, Maria, Ellen, and Thomas are living on in the 1841 census. In the 1841 census, her age is given as 25, but in that census ages were rounded down to the nearest 5 year increment. As she was about 28, the census would have shown her age as 25. And finally, there is Ellen’s death record. She died on 2 Oct 1844 in Salisbury, and on that record it states she was a spinster. So, given the amount of documentation available, it is clear that William Ray was Ellen’s father Francis Robert Ray, Jr.’s kid brother, that Ellen lived with him and his wife after her father’s death in 1820, and that after Ellen’s death in 1844 William and his wife Maria continued to raise Ellen’s illegitimate son Thomas, and that William raised him after his wife Maria’s death with the help of a housekeeper (as shown on the 1851 census).

Edit: June 2022. Just to let everyone know, it turns out the Maria in the 1841 census is NOT William’s wife Maria (maiden name Mitchell) – it’s Ellen’s sister Maria Ray, who was born on 9 Oct 1796! Her actual age would have been 44, but with the age rounding on that census age 40 would be correct for her. And this sister Maria is the one who died in early 1848. Which means William’s wife Maria must have died prior to 1841 (census) and after the birth of William Henry Ray (Mar 1815). So William, who had lost his wife and 3 children took on the responsibility of his 2 orphaned nieces and his gr-nephew…

© Deborah Ray and archivecookie.com, 2022