Research Forum

Have had this email from Mike DEMACK

"Have been exploring the family name, DEMACK, for some years and accumulated much from Ancestry.Co.uk. The name is very unusal and I gather may come from Mediteranean area originally - no proof - there are many based in North West ( Manchester Preston and Chorley ).

I have tried to link the two groups with those in Weston etc unsuccessfully apart from a decline in agriculture and a move to the north west to secure work in the mills in the19th Century,

Please pass details on  to anyone who may be interested."

He can be contacted here

If you enter these surnames under our Members' Surname Interest section  you may attract other people researching the same name in the same area during the same timespan.  I can see that we have members researching CLARK(E) and TRIPP so you might like to contract them directly.

Your request here for help under the Research Forum is a little too vague to give a detailed response.  If you can give more information about the individual people you are researching and any problems you have encountered researching them we will try to help you.   The names you mentioned, apart from DEMACK, are fairly common in this part of Somerset.

There are DEMACKS in my family tree.

On 6 April 1840 one Henry DEMACK married Ann COOME (my 1st cousin 3x removed) in Bristol.  They subsequently moved to Locking and had 3 children, Oliver (b. 1840 - registered in Q3!), Joseph (b. 1844) and Henry (b. 1847).  All three baptisms are recorded in the church records for Locking.

The 1841 census shows a family of Demacks in Locking.  That consists of Samuel (a farmer) and Hannah who are Henry's parents, Henry and Ann, a male possibly aged 19, a female possibly aged 15 and a male child.  The census transcription on Ancestry.co.uk is very poor so it is difficult to be more certain about the latter names or ages, although the name of the infant does not appear to be Oliver.

The 1851 census, however, is much easier to read.Henry, Anne, who has now acquired an 'e' in her name, and the three boys are living as one family, and Henry is described as "Clark of the Church".

The family is still together in the 1861 census; Henry is now described as a "Farmer of 84 acres" (possibly having taken over the farm run by his father in 1841) and they have acquired a 24 year old domestic servant.

Oliver married Harriet MARSHALL (whose maiden name may be CLARK), a 37 year old widow, on 8 March 1871 in St. John's, W-s-M.  I have found 2 children, Oliver and Ada Beatrice.

Joseph is a bit of a mystery (to me at least).  In the 1891 census he is living with his widowed mother and his brother Joseph in Locking.  Along with them is a 28 year old woman named Mary HEAL (b. in Cheddar) and a 1 year old boy named Fred HEAL (b. in Locking).  Mary is described as a "Dairywoman" and she and Fred are listed as Boarders.  In the 1901 census I found a Mary A DEMOCK (sic), aged 36, b. Cheddar and a son Fred, aged 11, b. Locking, living in W-s-M.  Interestingly, the baptism records for Locking have an entry on 8 December 1895 for Frederick HALE, son of Mary, a single woman.

I have made the small step of thinking that these are the same people: however, there is no record af any marriage entered into between Mary and Joseph (!) so I may be mistaken.  I have not ruled out that Joseph was in fact the father of Frederick and, subsequent to his death in October 1895, Mary moved away to W-s-M and simply changed their surnames to imply that they had been married.

I am still investigating Henry jnr. and descendants of Oliver and Joseph, who will be my cousins of a distant sort.

Henry snr. died in 1885 and Ann(e) in 1897. Oliver died in 1893 and Joseph in 1895.  All four are buried at the church at Locking, along with a few others, presumably of the same family.

As ever, I am very grateful for all the transcription work put in by the Society.  Without that, my records would be more sparse and less accurate so my thanks go to all concerned.

Jill - if you would like to know more, feel free to contact me via the Society.

Thanks for your comment Nic

Harriet (Clark) Marshall is my link with the Demack surname, so like you, that makes me some sort of distant cousin.  I was aware of their marriage, but not the name of the church.  I have done some research on Oliver Demack’s parents but not his siblings (Joseph & Henry), perhaps I should at some point, as I’m particularly interested in Oliver (& Oliver jnr’s) career progression into the Wines & Spirits trade, as they may have followed their brother into this trade at some point.  My direct ancestors are the ‘Clark’s’ from Shipham (post 1830s), and they migrated to Bristol., where several of them became publicans.  Despite the distance they did keep in touch.

 My interest in my WSM ancestors stems from the fact that around 1902., my paternal grandfather (and his siblings), became orphans  and were ‘farmed out’ for a number of years, until about 1908., most probably to an extended family member. So apart from a longstanding interest in my family history, I am particularly keen to establish which of those extended family ancestors may of been in a position to care for them during these ‘missing years’.

Reference Harriet: yes her maiden name was Clark.(b: Shipham). She married a Henry Marshall in 1852.,  a co-worker at an Inn in Axbridge.  I’ve found two children from that  1^st marriage:  a William Tripp Marshall., b Barton St David, & Mary Ann Marshall., b WSM.  Harriet’s 1^st husband, Henry Marshall died 24^th October, 1868.  He was described as an ‘Innkeeper’ at the time of his death. 

 Like you I’ve found 2 children from Harriet’s 2^nd marriage to Oliver Demack: Oliver jnr & Ada Beatrice, although, again, I didn’t know where they were buried.

1. Oliver Demack jnr(1873-1940)., appears to have followed his father into the Wines & Spirits trade. He married a Winifred Charlotte Clothier (1872-1929), They appear to have had two children: Gladys May Demack (1897-1988), and Maxwell Demack (1903-1988)

Gladys married a Raymond Farrar (1890-1972). I haven’t found any children from this marriage, so far.  Their son Maxwell married a Coris Mary Clark (1904-1994). **Coris’s father was Harriet (Clark) Demack’s nephew. Maxwell & Coris may have had a daughter: Ann., born 1933 (not verified).

 2. Ada Beatrice Demack (1876-  ) Probably married an Ernest A Harris in Reg District ofAxbridge in the 4^th quarter of 1901..  The 1911., Census shows two children: Doris(5yr), and May(3yrs). Ernest was a ‘Grocer’s Assistant’. The family then lived at 83 Clevedon Rd, WSM.

Thanks again Nic., I'm sure I will be contact over the coming months   Regards Jill 

Dear Nicola

I've just picked up your message, thank you so much for responding. I'm very tired right now, but I will get back to you as soon as I can.  Regards,  Jill 

Hi Nicola.  By my reckoning we are 4th cousins 2x removed.

I have been looking into the family of Ada Beatrice DEMACK, Oliver's brother.  I've found her marriage, to Ernest Alfred HARRIS in W-s-M in 1901 and the subsequent birth of 2 children, Doris, born in 1905 and Harriett born in 1908.  According to the 1911 census, they were living at 83 Clevedon Road in W-s-M with a 64 year old woman named Emily YATES, described as being of "Private Means".  It also shows that Ernest and Ada had a third child who had died.

I haven't been able to find out anything about Ernest or the 2 girls after 1911 (apart from the fact that Ernest served in WW1), or about the third child who died sometime prior to 1911 and I wonder if you have any information to help fill the gaps in my family tree.  The children are my 4th cousins.

I would also like to know if Audrey married.

If any of this relates to living people and you would prefer not to make it public, please feel free to email me via the society.

Hi my 4th great grandfather was John Tripp, we think of Yatton, about 6 miles north of Shipham. He was possibly the son of William and Ann and baptised at Yatton 24th April 1759. A John Tripp was married to Mary Chidee at Yatton in 1781, they had a son, William in 1782, but then Mary was burried in 1787. We think John remarried to Sarah (who is our ancestor) and they had two childeren - Elizabeth who lived from 1803 to 1818 and Charles born 1810 who was to have two children - a Charles and a Samuel still in Yatton. Does any of this match your records? Woud be good if it does. Best wishes, Ray Shorto

The William TRIPP in my Ancestry lived 1697-1783 in Shipham with wife Elizabeth Stenning. I have their daughter as Elizabeth baptized 13 Sept 1740. She was a single woman when son Charles was born 1763. He married Mary Day 28 June 1784. I haven’t been able identify Mary Day’s parents. My Mary Tripp b 17 Nov 1784 (probably baptismal date) so their first child. She was my great grandfather’s grandmother but he would not have known her as he was born in Canada & as a child moved to Iowa, USA. I believe most of my info is from the parish records of St Leonard’s church in Shipham. Doesn’t look like we share ancestors in those generations.