EDDY Family of Cornwall

James was recorded as a miner and tinner of Truthwall when sons James and John were baptised (1820 and 1822), a miner when sons James and John married (1841 and 1847).

In the 1841 census at St Just, ref 4-20, Botallack: Eddy«tab»Jas.«tab»40«tab»«tab»Miner«tab»In county Eddy«tab»Nancy«tab»«tab»45«tab»Miner«tab»In county Eddy«tab»James«tab»20«tab»«tab»Miner«tab»In county Eddy«tab»John«tab»15«tab»«tab»Miner«tab»In county

In the 1851 census, Nanny Eddy is recorded as a widow, so James must have died between the censuses. There is a burial record for a James Eddy, 6 Sep 1849, St Just Wesleyan that would fit however no age is given and the residence is recorded as Church Town St Just whereas this family were at Botallack in 1841 and were still there in 1851, casting considerable doubt over this being the correct burial.

The 1841 census tended to round down ages to the nearest 5 years and so possible birth years for James would be 1797-1801. Cornwall OPC has several baptisms in this date range however several are very unlikely due to their locations - St Ives, Stithians, Budock and Gwennap, and the fact that James was recorded as 'of this parish' when he married in 181 in St Just. There are 2 possible baptism records: 1. 4 Nov 1799, St Just, son of James and Elizabeth 2. 28 Dec 1800, St Just, son of James and Jane.

Unfortunately, I already have both these James Eddys attributed to other marriages.

I have James 1 marrying Jane BOASE and believe this is probably correct (although not certain) as it appears this James had a brother William who married Eliza BOASE, Jane's sister. The 2 brothers marrying 2 sisters is quite likely plus this is further backed up by study of the names adopted by James and William.

I have James 2 marrying Elizabeth TREZISE and later Jane TREZISE. This James was alive during the 1851 census when his age was given as 51. He also named his first daughter Jane, possibly after his mother. These factors give no certainty to the correct use of baptism 2 but present a better case than for James that married Ann ROW.

I've investigated the possiblity that the incorrect age may be recorded for James in the 1841 census. If we look at Ann's age, in the 1841 census she was recorded as 45, but in the 1851 census she was 62 and the 1861 census she was 74! (Assuming these are correctly attributed and represent the same Ann/Nanny.) The latter returns would suggest she was up to 9 years older than 45 in 1841 and hance James may have been older than 40. Inconsitency in the recording of Ann's age is frustrating as it's difficult to say which one is correct.

If James was slightly older than 40 in 1841, I've looked for earlier baptism entries than 1 & 2 above. The next one is 5 Nov 1786 in St Just, son of James and Lovedy. I've currently attributed this James to marrying Mary JEFFERY as they are in the 1841 census with his age recorded as 55 which closely matches the baptism in 1786.

What are we left with... James may have been from another parish but there's no evidence to suggest this other than the absence of his baptism record. Of course, the baptism records may be incomplete...

Studying naming conventions of children and grandchildren provides some clues to factor in with other information. After James, his second son is named John. And by James there is a grandson called Richard which doesn't appear to have come from James' wife's side of their family. From these names, James' father is probably called either James, John or Richard.

If we're lucky, there may be a Will for James or perhaps a mention of him in that of a sibling/relative. The only other thought I have is to look at Eddy families in St Just at that time and look for any without a James where one would have been expected, or for families that had a tendency not to baptise their children. However, evidence of families will be difficult to find as this period pre-dates the census returns.