Treasure Chest Thursday: Found the Land Again! And Lost It! Again!

Looking for lost land can be frustrating.  Did it exist?  Was it lost due to no taxes paid?  Was it demolished?  No, wait.  Obviously, the land itself existed and still does.  Who owns it now?

For years, I have been trying to determine what happened to the land in Hanover Row, Portsea, England.  This land that was mentioned in my immigrant's 1795 will.  This land, that was also mentioned in an 1842 will of John SYMMONS in Portsea.

I've seen maps and determined from kind helpmates over the pond that Hanover Row was demolished in 1874.  Now, that is an interesting date.  Why?

Just in the last week or so, I found yet another will from a grandson of the 1795 will of John SIMMONS.  This grandson, Charles William SIMMONS (1801-1874), will is written in 1871 and it specifically mentions the land in Portsea that he had inherited from his father.  By the way, his father was William SIMMONS (d. 1825), appointed by the President, yes, President George WASHINGTON as the accountant for the War Department.

Charles W Simmons, Probated Will in CA

But back to Charles---  his will is written in 1871 while he is still living in Boone Co, Iowa.  It is not probated until 1874, when he dies in Lower Lake, Lake, CA.

Close up of will documenting the land in question

For whatever reason, Charles thinks he has a share of the land in Portsea and another treasure trove in San Domingo, where his maternal grandfather, Jean Baptiste BERTRAND de LaSTRANGE de LaPOINTE was supposedly given something by the French government after some Revolution?  Boy, do I have homework to do!

I still can't find out what happened to the land in Portsea!  I guess I need to feel the dirt to finally find it!  Who authorized demolishing of Hanover Row?  Who agreed?  Or was it just done?

Ahh, genealogy.  Guess I need to sift that dirt through my fingers before I can really believe I found it.  But, wait....  does that mean my share of it is... lying in the grave?

©2017  AS Eldredge

Sources:
Probate Records; Author:  California Superior Court (Lake County); Probate Place; Lake, California

Thankful Thursday: Rumor Mill for Access to UK Records

Is it true?  Did you hear?

The rumor mill says Ancestry.com will open its United Kingdom records at no charge on Friday, February 17!  I suspect it will be a short window of opportunity for us to all crash the site as we jump in those records in record numbers!

Hanover Row was demolished in 1874.

As for me, I will be sailing across the pond via my tired fin fans looking at Portsea for those records on Hanover Row!  And then, there are the burial locations in Hampshire.  And then, and then........

Thanks, Geneabloggers.com for spreading the rumor, uh, news!  Thankful for all you do!

Ahh, genealogy.  Must rest to be ready for the race!

©2017  AS Eldredge

Source:
http://www.myfamilymatters.org.uk/page85.html

Tuesday Tip: I'll Have English Will with a Twist of Land, Please

Following land ownership is not as easy as we today think it is.  Typically, if land is owned at the time of death, a description of it can be found in the will or probate records.  I have used this way of following the land in early America. However, there is a twist across the pond.

In old England, depending on what time frame one is searching, it can be downright difficult, if not impossible to trace land ownership.  In early England, all land was thought to belong to the Crown.  That slowly evolved to leases and titles.

Now for the twist of the day.

I have been diligently searching for land ownership in old Portsea, Hampshire, England, from the 1740-1800 time frame.

Apparently, all wills were probated by the church before 1858.  There are some indexes online, but you really have to research which of them might be the best place to look. The courts were organized in a hierarchy, which really boggles my mind.  Just the names of some of the courts sound foreign to my mind....Archdeaconry, Commissary, Prerogative, and so on.

The National Archives site has a great "how to" section to read.  They even offer a live chat for quick pointers.  I haven't tried this yet, but I may as I wander around hopelessly confused.  Looking at the National Archives site, I do find a 1763 will for James HILL, Mariner of Portsea.  I really need to see the will in the hopes of a land mention.

Another tidbit crossed my path today as I search for land.  In the Portsmouth Museums and Records Service which has been cataloged by the National Archives, this is seen:

Ahh genealogy. Pour me up another will with land.  Just can't get enough!


Source:
http://www3.hants.gov.uk/archives
http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/help-with-your-research/research-guides/wills-or-administrations-before-1858/

©2016 ASEldredge

Monday Mystery: Did Tollervey Marry Simmons in Jolly Old England?

Genealogy.  It really is one big mystery to be unraveled through time.  It can take years to try and discover the proof to what I think I know.

Looking at some old records again (ok, maybe for the 100th time), I still wonder about the tenements old Grandpa John inherited from his mama who died--  well we don't know when.  We do know he had the land in his 1794 will.

The things we three family researchers think we know:

John SIMMONS married Katherine CHEESEMAN around 1736 in Hampshire, England.

They have either four or five children.  If it is indeed five, then the first one appears to be deceased by 1736.  Maybe the boy belonged to them-- maybe not.  Since I haven't found out more about the definitive of the parents, I will ignore him for now.  Ignore, not forget.

The first known legit child, we think, is John SIMMONS who was christened 1736 in the only church on the island of Portsea, St Mary's.  

The second legit child, we think, is William SIMMONS who is c. around 1737 in the same parish church.

The next two children are girls--  one dying as a young toddler, and the other hasn't been followed.  

Of interest in this mystery is William.  He may have married Elizabeth TOLLERVEY.  At least, some people have them married, but with no proof noted.

According to the Hampshire Burial Records, William is buried in Portsea in February 1831.

Now to the biggest mystery of the day.  Remember John, the alleged first legit child?  His 1794 will in New York mentions land in Hanover Row, Portsea, Hampshire, England.  Did William also own this land with him?  To whom did the land belong in the first place?  Was it land of the father who allegedly dies c. 1742 or the land of the stepfather, James HILL?  Does William, who was buried in February 1831, have living blood grandchildren around to help with the mystery?

More information on the Portsea of old as it pertains to this quest can be read here.

Ahh, genealogy. Jolly old England might hold the answers.  Want to send me to find out?

©2016 ASEldredge