Finding George Courtney c1841

George Courtney  of Shoreham - Theory #1 The mystery of Arthur George Courtney my second great grandfather continues. It was deduced back in 2010 that the Arthur George/George William COURTENAY who is listed in the 1871 with Abigail Courtenay nee Paice and their 3 daughters at 14 Sun Street, Woolwich was highly likely to be George Courtney of Shoreham Sussex. The ages and occupations are similar and in addition this George Courtney does not appear in the 1871 census anywhere else. It was on this basis that I DNA tested in 2010 hoping to be a match to his family. It's now over a decade, I've tested many more in my family and still no obvious matches to any of them! Family Tree of George 1842 on WikiTree (@WikiTreeOfficial). This deduced George was born 8 Nov 1842 to parents George and Sarah (WILKINSON) in New Shoreham Sussex, with the birth registered at Steyning. George was the youngest of 4 children, Frederick James, Eleanor and Mary Elizabeth. By the time of the 1851 census...

Before I created this blog, I was publishing my research theories on George's profile at Wikitree .  In 2016 a fellow Wikitreer asked me ' Have you considered John Courtenay's (1775, Ireland-1851, London) grandsons?'  She went on to suggest that one of them was named George who was baptised in 1848. This was an extremely attractive suggestion as these Courtenay's were from Waterford, an area suggested by my grandmother as an ancestral place I have yet to find.  However, was this George too young to be my ancestor?   Could his birth date in the 1871 census have been overstated by 13 years?   His twin daughters were born in 1871, so if he was their father he would have been around 24 which still seems plausible. George Courtenay was born in Middlesex in about 1847 and baptised on 8 Jan 1848, his parents James Courtenay and Louisa Ward.  The grandson of John Courtenay 1775 who married Mary Hogg.  The line traces back to Ensign Edward Courtenay...

When questions were asked about where in the south of Ireland our ancestors came from, the response from my maternal grandmother Mona Roberts (nee Murphy) to her children was always Waterford and Wexford.  Her Murphy line family from Wexford, but in my research to date I have found no connections to Waterford. Could she be referring to the ancestry of the mysterious Elizabeth Bateman/Kennedy, her paternal grandmother?  Elizabeth is said to have come from Limerick which is not that far away. Or, could it be the Courtney's that came from Waterford?  Was she referring to Wexford as her side of the family and Waterford as being her husband Ted's side?  Ted does write in his memoirs that his mother had a 'little Irish in her makeup'. After many years research, I was contacted by another researcher who suggested George Courtney of Waterford might be an appropriate person to explore.  This George came from Lismore in Waterford, a beautiful place we visited on spec in 2...

It occurred to me that Abigail and Edith Courtney may have been sent away to school at Holdenhurst whilst their parents had gone away.  Perhaps they had family residing there.  They were clearly not estranged from their mothers family as their cousins Henry and Martha Paice were visiting at the time of the 1881 census, suggesting their stay with the Brown family at Holdenhurst was not just a few days. Most of the Paice family lived around Droxford, Hampshire.  Their fathers family was possibly from Middlesex.   There was one Courtney family residing in Holdenhurst at the time of the 1881 census.  Four women of independent means born in Ireland and boarding at 'Stoney Crop'.  Sidney, Eleanor, Charlotte and Florence Courtney.  It does accord with the family story that the Courtneys were 'a bit better' - assuming that means wealthy of sorts?  Also, in his memoirs Ted Roberts describes his mother Abigail Courtney to have 'a little bit of Irish ...

In the 1881 England Census taken at Staffordshire, we find a George COURTNEY listed living with his family, occupation described as a brass dresser, similar to our missing George.  He states he was born in Middlesex, could this be him? 1881 census I had a lot of difficulty finding this family anywhere else including any marriage in the right timeframe to Sarah.  After some years I finally discovered the family in the 1871 census listed as George POUNTNEY!   From further research I discovered his parents were Richard Pountney and Sophia Barron, grandparents John and Ann probably from Warwickshire.  Given he is alive and well living in Staffordshire in the 1871 census makes him seem unlikely to be my George. Family Tree of George 1843 on WikiTree (@WikiTreeOfficial) However, one AncestryDNA match (@ 26cMs) has an ancestor listed as Olive Phoebe Courtney of Staffordshire.  I believe her name is actually Phoebe Ann Courtney, her grandparents William Courtney an...