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I am trying to find the parents of my great-great grandmother, ANN HURST. Our family Bible says, "Ann Hurst (Pearce) - Whirl, Eng. Married at Bristol, Eng. and came to America, Marcellus, NY. in 1873. I assume Whirl is actually Worle. The Bible states Ann's husband as HENRY PEARCE - Milton, Somersetshire, Eng. Parish Kewstoke.

There is also a family story that Ann Hurst attended a school in Glastonbury at one time.

I have found the marriage register for "Harry" Pearce and ANN HARSE, 16 Sep 1840. Bristol, Temple, Gloucestershire, Eng. which lists her father as WILLIAM HARSE and Henry's father as SAMUEL PEARCE.

Based on census records Ann would have been born about 1817. I have searched for baptismal records for Ann without success.

In Banwell marriages I find a William Harse, widower, servant, 30 Sep 1842 marrying a Mary Jane Jewell, under-age, spinster, servant. His father is given as Samuel Pearce, laborer. This is the only place I can find a connection between the two families. Could Ann's father, a widower, be marrying for a second time with Ann's father-in-law standing for him in the place of his own father?

I would appreciate any clues or insights you can give me which might help me identify Ann's parents or the school she is said to have attended.

Comments ..

Submitted by Pat Hase on Sat, 05/12/2015 - 13:23

I sympathise with you over the confusion caused by HURST, HURSE, HARSE, HEARSE and even HASE! This is a name which often difficult to read in documents and on checking the original Banwell Parish Registers we have discovered that the marriage you were looking at for William HARSE should have read William PEARCE, widower, which makes sense of the father's name. Thank you for alerting us of this problem and it will be corrected.

Looking back, I see this reply to a previous enquiry in 2011 - have you discounted the William Foord HARSE mentioned then?

Submitted by Pat Hase on Tue, 08/12/2015 - 19:32

Looking again at the William Ford (or Foord) HARSE who was mentioned the earllier responses to this query I find that according to transcriptions online - I haven't seen the original records.

In 1816 he was married as William Foord HARSE in Bristol to Ann Day WALKER.
In 1819 in the Bristol Mirror, there is an advertisement for the sale of a house and land in Worle which was in the possession of Mr William Ford HARSE.
In our Worle Baptisms: 19th March 1819 Betty Ford d/o William & Ann HARSE
In 1820 another adverisement for the sale of property in Worle stating that William HARSE is the "tentant at will"
In our Kewstoke Baptisms: 24th March 1822 Mary HARSE d/o William Ford & Ann HARSE
He was buried as William Ford HARSE 24th March 1828, aged 31 at Ashcott in Somerset

Ashcott is very near to Glastonbury which would fit in with your family story that Ann HURST went to school in Glastonbury. This could be a possibility if the family moved from Worle and Kewstoke to Ashcott. All of this is very circumstantial and assumes that Ann HURST/HARSE was the daughter of William Foot HARSE who was a Farmer.but might be worth following up even if it is only to eliminate him as her father.

Submitted by on Wed, 23/12/2015 - 5:42

Thank you, Pat, for taking the time to answer my questions about possible parents of my great-great grandmother, ANN HURST. I will pursue the possiblity of William Ford Harse and Ann Day Walker, as you have suggested. Wishing you a Merry Christmas,

Carol Fincham

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