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Can you please assist me?
I am seeking the parents and birthplace, of “John Mason”
The Wantage Parish Records give the death of John Mason. On the 26/09/1811
Which I have taken to be the John Mason who married Mary George. In Wantage Parish Church on the 20/01/1775
This article appeared in the "Berkshire Family Historian" of Berkshire, Family History Society. December 1996
(It was taken from a letter sent by (Richard Mason. b.1927) seeking information.)
Have You Seen "John Mason"?
By Richard Mason
I began to compile my family tree in 1993, but unfortunately it now appears that I am unable to trace an ancestor's birth or parents in my paternal line. This elusive ancestor was a 'John Mason" and my search has been made difficult by my distance from Berkshire.
John Mason married Mary George in Wantage church, Berkshire, by Licence,
I obtained a copy of the licence, from the Wiltshire Record Office, which merely showed that John was a singleman of Wantage and that Mary was a spinster of Wantage. I followed this up by visiting the Berkshire Record Office, along with my adult children, and we have made some nine daylong visits to Shire Hall searching the parish records without any success.
Following this I wrote to the Berkshire Record Office asking for any help that they could give in pointing me towards any records that I might search; they suggested that I return and look at the Settlement records for Wantage and surrounding areas; this I did, with no success. It is now two years since I first started looking for this ancestor and I felt that I had covered all of the avenues that I could on my own
I therefore engaged a local researcher; Mrs Pauline Wales. She began a search on my behalf starting on l7th July 1995 and continuing until March 1996, but without any success. Mrs Wales worked outwards from Wantage searching records. In December 1995, she wrote wondering if it was worth continuing the search, as she could suggest no way that any find could be related to my
John Mason".
However, we went on for a further period, without success. During this search a name was found in the BFHS Research Centre's Berkshire Name Index 'which referred to a:
"John Mason s/o Richard/Mary. Abington, Berk. Bapt. Beechingstore Wilts. 11.4.1755"
Mrs Wales suggested that I pursue this in Wiltshire, so I sent an enquiry to
Dr Carter who runs the "Nimrod Index", whose findings for the baptism of
John Mason, baptised 1755 in Beechingstoke, were as follows:
"I confirm that John's baptism appears in the Transcript for Beechingstoke, stating that the family were of Abington (Abingdon), Berks. John appears to have been born in Manningford Bohun, which was part of the Parish of Woodborough In 1859, Manningford Bohun became a Parish in it's own right.
As the Transcripts we have for Beechingstoke are indexed, I have also checked both Baptisms and Burials for Beechingstoke to see if there are any more entries for 'Mason" I confirm that there are no further Mason entries in either Baptisms or Burials for Beechingstoke 1566/1837. I enclose Information Sheet 1 with details of County Record Office Researchers, as we do not have any Transcripts for "Woodborough"
I had the records for Abingdon, St Helen's, which are not deposited at the BRO searched on my behalf again with no success. I also contacted Mrs. P. Wilson, who co-ordinates the Strays Index for the Wiltshire FHS. Hoping that this might throw up someone; again nothing
I have checked all 'Mason ' on the IGI.
Apart from those previously found, nothing further has come to light
The Wantage Parish records, record the death of a John Mason on
26th September 1811, which I have taken to be the 'John Mason" who married 'Mary George" in Wantage Parish Church on the 20th January 1775.
Thus if anyone has any ideas on my elusive ancestry, please could they contact me?
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