James

We would like to be able to help but have you any idea about where in Somerset Jesse JAMES was living?

The Jesse James I'm after was born 1816 or 1817 in Cheddar and died in 1880 in Axbridge (wife Sarah Morris). I have found the St. Andrews burial notation for him but cannot find a birth/baptismal notation.  I'm most interested in finding his parents' names to continue the tree.  His son Jesse James was born 1867 Cheddar and died in Little Eaton Derbyshire in 1912 (you so graciously gave me that information quite a while ago-thanks again!). 

Thanks Alun!

Hi Karen,

I checked out the Cheddar baptisms but looked to see if he was baptised as an adult and found the following entries which I think you may find helpful (or not).

9th Nov 1847 Jessy son of Jessy and Sarah JAMES.  JAMES commonly called BROOKS.

22nd May 1814 Jesse son of Jesse BROOKS  and Sarah.

16th Jul 1817 Jesse son of Jesse BROOKS  and Sarah

There is a marriage between Jesse Brooks and Sarah Ven in 1802 Cheddar.

Regards,

Elizabeth

When Karen asked this question before - see here for the replies then - Dave Erasmus also suggested these possible alias names for Jesse JAMES when he married Sarah NORRIS in 1844 in Cheddar.   Unfortunately this marriage certificate does not give names for fathers for either bride or groom.  Certainly seems to require a bit more research here.

Thanks Pat.  See my reply to Elizabeth.

Thanks Elizabeth.  I have seen those entries before but the 'alias Brooks' has thrown me off.  Have also seen 'Weeks' as an alias.  I'm completely perplexed as to the 'alias'.....a common occurence at that time, or something to do with being on the wrong side of the law...??  I have also discovered a notation through Shepton Mallet Gaol that a Jesse James B: 1812 was confined 18 Dec 1873 for assaulting his wife Sarah. Not sure if this is my Jesse James but I have his DOB anywhere from 1813 to 1817 from various documents.

I sympathise with your need to find the parents of Jesse JAMES.

First of all - the term alias does not necessarily mean that they are hiding from the law- it is often used when a child is illegitimate and brought up by their mother's new husband taking his name or perhaps they are told who their real father is and take that surname.

It is interesting that neither Jesse nor Sarah gave a father's name when they marry, although it looks as if Sarah NORRIS was the daughter of Isaac and Mercy NORRIS (nee BATH) who were married in Farrington Gurney 21st Sept 1824.

In this case if you follow all the baptisms on our transcriptions for children of Jesse and Sarah JAMES in the Cheddar parish registers after their marriage in 1844 you will find 9 children - four of whom are entered as JAMES commonly known as BROOKS.  The first 6 children all died as children, (see Burial Records) leaving just Isaac Norris JAMES (1859), Hannah JAMES (1864) and Jesse JAMES (1867) living. 

However on the 1871 census a daughter Elizabeth is mentioned - Similarly there is a son Robert with them on the 1851 census, aged 10 months. There are christenings for both of these but with parents’ names given as Jesse and Jane JAMES and in Robert's case the surname is JAMES alias TUCKER!  Perhaps Sarah was known as Sarah Jane?  So it looks as if there could have been 11 children.

On a slightly different tack - on the 1st Oct 1832 there was a marriage in Cheddar of an Eliza WEEKS alias BROOKS to Uriah DAY which was witnessed by a Jesse JAMES.  According to the 1851 census Eliza was born in Cheddar in 1813 - could she be a sister to your Jesse JAMES?  On July 11th 1813 there is a christening in Cheddar of an Eliza WEEKS d/o Hannah WEEKS (no father mentioned)

There is also a marriage on the 19th Aug 1854 of a widower, Robert BROOKS, aged 64, to a widow Hannah TUCKER , aged 60 who gives her father’s name as George WEEKS.

Looking at the 1841 and 1851 censuses you will find that Hannah was previously the wife of a James TUCKER.

There is a marriage (on the CD available from Bristol & Avon FHS for Bristol Marriages) for a James TUCKER to a Hannah WEEKS on the 5th Nov 1819 at St Mary Redcliffe in Bristol.  It was not unusual for people to travel to Bristol to get married at this time.

From our transcriptions of Cheddar Baptisms there are christenings for 6 children on James & Hannah TUCKER (4 on the same day!) but their birth years can be assumed from the census entries starting in 1820

Member, Colin Middle has suggested to me that Jesse JAMES might have been christened as Jesse James WEEKS and simply dropped the WEEKS.  Just to add another red herring - there was a James WEEKS who was christened in Chew Magna on the 11th May 1817 as the natural son of Hannah WEEKS from Bishop Sutton.  No mention of the name Jesse though.

I would think that the Jesse JAMES who assaulted his wife Sarah in Cheddar was most likely your Jesse JAMES - ages can be very approximate on documents like this.

I realise that there is a lot of information here which might be confusing but it might be worth your while to reconstruct the JAMES, WEEKS, BROOKS & TUCKER families in Cheddar to see if there are any more clues.  The overseers’ accounts for Cheddar might also be helpful especially if any of the families sought help from the parish.  If you consult your local LDS Family History Centre they might be able to get those records for you.

If anyone else has any ideas please add them!

Hi Antipodean James.....

My husband is related to him through Jesse's son Jesse 1867-1912.   However, there are twists and turns, as you may have read....some notations have 'commonly called Weeks', alias Brooks. One person has suggested that he may have dropped his original last name, which could have been Weeks or Brooks and used James as the last name.  I have yet to sort through all the Cheddar baptisms of Weeks and Brooks.....a daunting task.  A cousin, who we had never been in contact with, in England, had responded to my original history queries mentioning he had the great-grandfather's birth certificate and thought he was born in Dorset.  He was to scan these documents and send to me but unfortunately I have not heard back since last Christmas, even after sending subsequent e-mails. Have put my research for this on hold for now since new information could essentially alter my entire effort.  If I do hear and get this information I will let you know.  

Best wishes,

Karen

Thanks Shaun. A very convoluted mystery.  In your ancestry research do you have Sarah Morris 1826-1894 as Jesse's wife?  The one child Issac's middle name is Norris and usually the wife's maiden name was sometimes added to a child's name, so have thought his wife could have been a Sarah Norris, however, it is one letter different than Morris so perhaps a transcription error...?  Will have to re-check and confirm or deny.  Still trying to untangle the Weeks/Brooks/Turner/James web...if there is one.  Will keep you informed if I am successful.

Karen

Where did you find her name given as Sarah MORRIS?  When the Banns were called in Winscombe her name is clearly given as NORRIS and his as Jesse Weeks BROOKS (of Cheddar).  When the Banns were called at Cheddar the entry reads Jessy WEEKS alias Jessy BROOKS and Sarah NORRIS.  The transcription from the Marriage record at Cheddar on our site gives her name as Sarah NORRIS.  The GRO index also gives her surname as NORRIS.