Finding George Courtney c1841

I have long been fascinated with the village of Barton Stacey and whether it holds the key to unlocking the mystery of my mysterious Mr Courtney.   Very early on in my research I discovered an Elizabeth COURTNEY , the wife of William BOUND of Barton Stacey who had connections to the PAICE and JOYCE families.   As it turns out some time later I found she was a descendant of William Courtney, gentleman, who had been involved in the Swing Riots of 1830 .  Some of Williams descendants had the middle name Hinxman, a quite unusual name.  However it is also a family name in my Paice family, Thomas HINXMAN being the second great grandfather of Abigail Paice the wife of the mysterious Arthur George Courtney.  Many years later a group of unknown DNA matches connected to the Australian convict Silas COLE from Barton Stacey also emerged.  It would seem these matches are somehow connected to our Paice family from Kingsclere Hampshire.  You can read...

The best chance we have of finding George is to identify the specific segments of DNA his descendants have inherited from him. Abigail Roberts (nee Courtney) c1912 The only known descendant of George is his daughter Abigail Courtney, she married Edward Roberts in 1891.    Abigail had two sisters, Edith and Alberta.  Edith however is only a half sibling sharing their mother Abigail Paice, so no Courtney DNA there.  It is unknown what happened to Alberta, she was Abigails twin and alive and well in the 1871 census at 3 months old.  However, there is no record of her in any subsequent census, nor can I find a death record.   Abigail, George and Alberta are all missing from the 1881 England census so we cannot be sure if she was with them at that time.  I have concluded Alberta probably died young and the death was not registered even though it would have been a requirement at that time We can currently seek to identify up to a maximum of 25% of Geor...

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...

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 ...

At the time of the 1881 census, Abigail Courtney and her sister Edith were lodging in the small hamlet of Holdenhurst Hampshire, with a married couple named William and Jane Brown.   Martha Paice nee Marsh   and  Henry Paice  were also visiting.   Henry and Martha are half siblings to the mother of Abigail and Edith, Abigail Courtney nee Paice  (wife of 'George') .   A  Downer family is also living next door, who may also be possible connections to the Paice family. Why are they in Holdenhurst and where are their parents?   They are listed as scholars, so perhaps they had they been sent away to school, but where is their sister Alberta, twin to Abigail?   This photo is believed to be George’s daughter Abigail Courtney at school in England.  Could it have been taken in Holdenhurst?  She’s said to be the one with the white scarf around her neck near the tear on the bottom left hand corner. Believed to be Abigail Co...

Edith Courtenay is listed as the daughter of Arthur 'George' and Abigail in the 1871 census.  However, it is unclear whether she is in fact the biological daughter of George.  Edith was born in Forton Hampshire in 1867, her birth was registered under the name of PAICE and no father listed on the certificate.    Edith's son Albert was born in 1886, whilst known as Courtney in all records throughout his life, his birth was also registered under the name of Albert PAICE .   This suggests that perhaps Edith knew she was not the child of Arthur 'George'.   At the time of the 1881 census, she and her sister Abigail are lodging at Madiera Vale, in the small village of Holdenhurst with William and Jane Brown.   Martha Paice nee Marsh and Henry Paice , are also visiting;   Henry and Martha are half siblings to their mother, Abigail nee Paice.   A  Downer family is also living next door. Holdenhurst, Moule map c1835 By the time of the 1891 censu...