I
ian_george
Guest
Hi
I've been trying to figure out a tricky little bend in my family tree and I'm just about stumped, so I thought I would create a post to request help and maybe find some distant / not so distant relations.
The point that's confusing me is to do with my great grandmother Harriet Rudd George (nee Clarke) and her father William Rudd Clarke.
Harriet Rudd Clarke was born in Christ Church NZ in 1858 and her sister Adelaide was born there in 1866. Harriet shows up in Shenstone, Staffs census record for 1881, but not earlier. Adelaide shows up in Claverley, Shrops census record as living with her grandparents (William Harriman Perry and Sarah Perry) in 1871 and then Shenstone with the rest of her family in 1881.
William Rudd Clarke was born in Bridgnorth, Shrops in 1825 and appears in Morville, Shrops census records for 1841/51/61 living on the farm of his aunt -- Martha Rudd (born 1797, Morville, Shrops). He doesn't appear in census records at all in 1871 (possibly in New Zealand?) and then appears back with his family in Shenstone 1881.
Since William was not living with his mother and father in 1841, I can't figure out who his parents were.
Census records show an Elizabeth Clarke (b 1782 Morville, Shrops) as sister of Martha Rudd and living on her farm at Morville in 1861 and they appear to show Elizabeth as a visitor with another sister Sarah Brown (nee. Rudd?, b 1793 Morville, Shrops) at Oldbury, Shrops in 1851.
There is also a nephew of Martha Rudd living with her in 1861 -- John Claude Hall (b 1817 Morville Shrops) and a possible mother (Fanny Hall b 1779 Kensington Middlesex) for John Claude living with Sarah Brown in 1851.
I am interested in finding out who William Rudd Clarke's (b Bridgnorth, Shrops 1825) mother and father were and when they were born / where.
Was his mother one of the Rudd sisters or was she born with a different name and her 2 sisters married Rudds? I can't find any record of Clarke-Rudd marriages in Shropshire, but maybe that's just lack of experience or lack of access.
I am also interested in unravelling the New Zealand mystery -- why Harriet Rudd Clarke and Adelaide Ann Clarke were both born there but then Adelaide apparently came back earlier than the rest of her family (sometime before 1871 rather than sometime between 1871 & 1881).
I do know that Adelaide's mother was Adelaide Ann Perry (b 1835 West Bromwich Staffs and daughter of William Harriman Perry and Sarah Perry) and she is apparently missing from UK census records for 1861 & 1871 (assumably in NZ), but William Rudd Clarke clearly appears in all except the 1871 records. Adelaide Perry was apparently a school teacher or governess of some kind.
I see that there are dozens of Rudds in Shropshire area parochial records for 1780-1810 time zone and there was apparently a Vicar Rudd at some point. It almost seems that the name Rudd was used as a point of pride among everyone in that family line in the last century -- kind of like everyone with any distant connection calls themselves a Kennedy nowadays.
I know this is a long shot -- and a long posting, but any information that anyone might be able to provide would be deeply appreciated
Ian (Rudd) George
I've been trying to figure out a tricky little bend in my family tree and I'm just about stumped, so I thought I would create a post to request help and maybe find some distant / not so distant relations.
The point that's confusing me is to do with my great grandmother Harriet Rudd George (nee Clarke) and her father William Rudd Clarke.
Harriet Rudd Clarke was born in Christ Church NZ in 1858 and her sister Adelaide was born there in 1866. Harriet shows up in Shenstone, Staffs census record for 1881, but not earlier. Adelaide shows up in Claverley, Shrops census record as living with her grandparents (William Harriman Perry and Sarah Perry) in 1871 and then Shenstone with the rest of her family in 1881.
William Rudd Clarke was born in Bridgnorth, Shrops in 1825 and appears in Morville, Shrops census records for 1841/51/61 living on the farm of his aunt -- Martha Rudd (born 1797, Morville, Shrops). He doesn't appear in census records at all in 1871 (possibly in New Zealand?) and then appears back with his family in Shenstone 1881.
Since William was not living with his mother and father in 1841, I can't figure out who his parents were.
Census records show an Elizabeth Clarke (b 1782 Morville, Shrops) as sister of Martha Rudd and living on her farm at Morville in 1861 and they appear to show Elizabeth as a visitor with another sister Sarah Brown (nee. Rudd?, b 1793 Morville, Shrops) at Oldbury, Shrops in 1851.
There is also a nephew of Martha Rudd living with her in 1861 -- John Claude Hall (b 1817 Morville Shrops) and a possible mother (Fanny Hall b 1779 Kensington Middlesex) for John Claude living with Sarah Brown in 1851.
I am interested in finding out who William Rudd Clarke's (b Bridgnorth, Shrops 1825) mother and father were and when they were born / where.
Was his mother one of the Rudd sisters or was she born with a different name and her 2 sisters married Rudds? I can't find any record of Clarke-Rudd marriages in Shropshire, but maybe that's just lack of experience or lack of access.
I am also interested in unravelling the New Zealand mystery -- why Harriet Rudd Clarke and Adelaide Ann Clarke were both born there but then Adelaide apparently came back earlier than the rest of her family (sometime before 1871 rather than sometime between 1871 & 1881).
I do know that Adelaide's mother was Adelaide Ann Perry (b 1835 West Bromwich Staffs and daughter of William Harriman Perry and Sarah Perry) and she is apparently missing from UK census records for 1861 & 1871 (assumably in NZ), but William Rudd Clarke clearly appears in all except the 1871 records. Adelaide Perry was apparently a school teacher or governess of some kind.
I see that there are dozens of Rudds in Shropshire area parochial records for 1780-1810 time zone and there was apparently a Vicar Rudd at some point. It almost seems that the name Rudd was used as a point of pride among everyone in that family line in the last century -- kind of like everyone with any distant connection calls themselves a Kennedy nowadays.
I know this is a long shot -- and a long posting, but any information that anyone might be able to provide would be deeply appreciated
Ian (Rudd) George
-- even though I've never lived there myself.