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Hi Rebecca Ferry was my g grandmother her parents were Joseph Forrest
Ferry, Pelton, County Durham and Isabella Ledger, Fatfield, County Durham,
Rebecca was born in PA, America and down as a British Subject, they came home and settled back in County Durham, I wondered if anyone can tell me if
there is anyway I can find out exactly in PA where Rebecca was born and if
there is anyway I could get a birth certificate. I have found a crossing on a ship for Joseph going to America but there is no mention of Isabella so I think maybe
he went there more then once. Any help at all would be kindly accepted.
Regards
Jane.

Hi Jane, which is the first UK census that you've found Rebecca on?

1871

FERRY, Joseph Head M 40 1831 County Durham VIEW
FERRY, Isabella Wife F 38 1833 County Durham VIEW
FERRY, Hannah Daughter F 12 1859 County Durham VIEW
FERRY, George Son M 10 1861 County Durham VIEW
FERRY, Joseph Son M 8 1863 VIEW
FERRY, Rebecca Daughter F 4 1867 Canada VIEW
Piece:
4969 Folio:
77 Page:
4 Registration District:
Durham

Civil Parish:
Sherburn Municipal Borough:
Address:
High Street, Sherburn County:
Durham


On the original image it gives North America BS?? and then Canada scrawled at the side.

Is this her mum?

England & Wales, Criminal Registers, 1791-1892
Name: Isabella Ferry
Date of Trial: 30 Dec 1872
Trial Year: 1872
Location of Trial: Durham, England
Sentence: Imprisonment

Crime was simple larceny.Sentenced to 4 months. Was acquitted of another charge.

I can find Joseph Junior and George in 1881 but the rest of the family seem to have disappeared.

Rebecca marries John Fletcher in 1886 and they are together in 1891 with their children she gives her birth place as America.

On the 1871 census Joseph Ferry is a publican and coal miner.

Don't know if this article is connected to the same family:

NEWCASTLE COURANT, Friday 30 April 1869

"Attempted suicide by young woman at Leamside - On Friday night, a young woman named Isabella Ferry, daughter of Mr Joseph Ferry, landlord of the Robin Hood public house, Pithouse Lane, Leamside, attempted to put an end to her own existence by a dose of Battle's Vermin Destroyer - the act having, it is said, been prompted by a disagreement with a member of the family. Dr Curry, of East Rainton, administered an emetic, which had the desired effect, and the young woman was soon removed out of all danger."

Probably not Rebecca's family but may be of interest if a relative.

May be the lady in the trial above.

1881 England Census
about Rebecca Ferry
Name: Rebecca Ferry
Age: 14
Estimated Birth Year: abt 1867
Gender: Female
Where born: Pensylvania, America

Civil parish: Pittington
County/Island: Durham
Country: England


Registration district: Houghton Le Spring
Sub-registration district: Hetton le Hole
ED, institution, or vessel: 16
Neighbors: View others on page
Piece: 4977
Folio: 115
Page Number: 4
Household Members: Name Age
Jonathan Blacklock 26
Henrietta Blacklock 21
Elizabeth Blacklock 3
Hannah H. Blacklock
Rebecca Ferry 14

England & Wales, FreeBMD Death Index: 1837-1915
about Joseph Ferry
Name: Joseph Ferry
Estimated Birth Year: abt 1830
Date of Registration: Jan-Feb-Mar 1872
Age at Death: 42
Registration district: Durham
Inferred County: Durham
Volume: 10a
Page: 294

Thanks Gins. Using the census reference I found her in 1881 on FMP but she has been completely missed off the transcription with the Blacklock family.

Looks like she was baptised in Durham:

name: Rebecca Ferry
gender: Female
baptism/christening date: 30 Sep 1868
baptism/christening place: West Rainton, Durham, England
birth date: 18 Jun 1866
birthplace:
death date:
name note:
race:
father's name: Joseph Ferry
father's birthplace:
father's age:
mother's name: Isabella
mother's birthplace:
mother's age:
indexing project (batch) number: C01829-8
system origin: England-EASy
source film number: 1514523
reference number: yr 1862-1885 p 94

I guess (Astra) thats why its good we use different ref sites :-)


Not seeing her birth overseas though?


Has anyone found a shipping record for the family?

Theres also no marriage for Joe and Isabella in the UK, although both state Durham as their birth place?

Marriages Dec 1854 (>99%)
Ferrey Joseph Chester Le Street 10a 474
Ledger Isabella Chester Le St 10a 474


:-D

:-D

Hi all after reading all the postings I am abit lost for words as there is information
I don't know about at all. Everything I have after having a search done is my g
grandmother Rebecca was born in PA, America but I don't have any other place
and the only information I have on a crossing is her dad Joseph Ferry went to
America on the Virginia with William Bainbridge and John Foster in New York and the year I have is 1869, and I think these 2 20 year olds might be relatives.
I have not been able to find a crossing for them coming home with Isabella ( Mam ) and any of the children plus Rebecca. I have nothing for them for the
census of 1871 in England the next information I have is 1881 census and its after Joseph and Isabella had died as I have there death certificates and the 2
boys George & Joseph are living with John M Blacklock and his family, and my
Rebecca at the age of 14 is living with her sister Jane Blacklock and family.
I have Joseph as a miner and publican he died aged 42 years and Isabella nee
Ledger dying at age 42 also , and they are down as living in Sherburn Hill.
I am hoping to some how be able to get a birth certificate for Rebecca I look at her photo every day and my g grandfather's to John Fletcher. I don't know about the " Attempted Suicide" of Isabella Ferry and I don't have a child down for them called Isabella, I only have Jane 1851/52, Hannah 1857, George 1860
Joseph 1862 and Rebecca 1866/67, so I am wondering now if there was a child
Isabella.
The only person that I know about who died aged 17 years was Rebecca Ledger and there was an inquest as she was a farm and domestic servant and was killed with a dose of vermin killer which had been put on to some bread and it had been discarded and Rebecca did not seemly know and picked it up and eat it, so maybe there are things in the family I don't know.
Will have a ponder over all the help everyone has given me.
Thanks
Jane.

Hi Jane, I'm not sure that the Isabella who attempted suicide is an immediate member of that family (perhaps she was a cousin, given the location?), but I put at the bottom of that post that it may be of interest if somehow related. Same as there's no way of knowing if the Isabella who was imprisoned in 1872 was one of yours.

Have searched all over for birth and shipping records but haven't found anything yet. They may be terribly mis-transcribed or the records may just be lost.

Do check back in case we find anything further.

YORK HERALD - Saturday 11 September 1875

A GIRL POISONED AT SACRISTON
An inquest was held on Wednesday, at Sacriston, touching the death of a farm servant named Rebecca Ledger, aged 17, who died on Sunday night last, as already mentioned in the Herald. John Parkin, farmer, living at Lingey House said that deceased was a farm and domestic servant in his employment. Having been troubled with rats and mice to a great extent, witness had frequently used Adshead's "vermin and insect killer" powdered over small pieces of buttered bread. Some of theses were laid in a saucer, and put in a place partitioned in the dairy. This fact was well known to deceased. Margaret Ord said deceased told her she was sweeping the dairy floor, when she picked up a piece of bread and butter from the floor, and imagining it to have been dropped by some child, ate it. She feared shem was poisoned, deceased added, "for they had some mouse poison in the house". She died about ten minutes to twelve the same night. Miss Polly Parkin said that the poisoned bread and butter could not have been reached by any but a grown person. Mrs Parkin put the poisoned morsels into a dairy a month ago, and none had been placed there since. The bread would, therefore, be in such a hard and stale condition that no one would be likely to eat it. Deceased had some strange sayings. About five or six weeks ago, while eating her dinner, she said she wished she might choke. Shortly after deceased came to Sacriston she said she had taken mouse poison at a former situation in the city of Durham, because she was vexed at something. Dr Clarke said he had no doubt that deceased died from the effect of some irritant poison - probably strychnine. The jury returned a verdict that deceased died from the effects of an irritant poison, administered by her own hands, but there was no evidence to show how she came to administer the poison.

Have sent the original, plus another very similar, to Jane.

Hello all,
thanks very much for all the help and a big thanks to MarieCeleste for the
Newspaper Articles, I did'nt have any of these but I have the inquest papers,
so interesting to see what they put.
I have looked all through my paper work and had a look at some Trees on
Ancestry but cannot find a daughter Isabella sister to my G gran Rebecca, but
I did find Isabella Ferry 1845 Chartershaugh but she married Mr Dent and went to Australia and the other Elizabeth Isabella Ferry 1842/42 Pelton sister to my
gg granddad Joseph Ferry 1831 Pelton, the name is very frequent in the family,
so I think the other Newspaper Articles may be another member of the family.
Would I be able to get a record of my G gran Rebecca's Baptism at West Rainton, my G grandfather John Fletcher was a big chapel man so I would think
the Baptism would be done at a chapel. I only have the one crossing for Joseph but if Isabella and none of the older children were with him he must have done the trip before. Isabella's sister Dorothy Ledger lived in PA so I am wondering if they went to her and her family but did'nt like it and came back after Rebecca was born. There must be some way I can find where she was born so I can get a birth certificate for Rebecca. When I saw that Rebecca's parents died when she was so young I really felt for her as my dad spent allot of time with her when
he was young, he said his grandparents were good people and at first it looked
like Jane was not her sister but she was and I was so glad. I new my g g grandfather was down as miner/publican but never new the name of the pub so I am going to check-out the Robin Hood public house on the net see what I can find out about it as they did live in Pitt House Lane, where it states the pub was.
Rebecca's 2 brother's George Ferry 1861 Fatfield I was able to get a marriage certificate for him he married Mary Dobson ,Tunstall, Sunderland but I never
found anything about Joseph Ferry 1863 Fatfield so wondered if he had gone abroad. Hannah Isabella's sister married and went to Australia.
Well many thanks everyone who has helped gave me some very interesting facts and reading about my family.
Kind regards
Jane.

Jane - getting copies of parish records isn't my strong point. However, I'm sure someone will come along who knows about getting copies of things found on FamilySearch https://familysearch.org which is where I found the baptism record.

Have you found any records for Dorothy Ledger in PA? If not, we could take a look.

What is the last record you have for Joseph Ferry b1863 in Fatfield? We could look at overseas records if we know where to start from.

Hi MarieCeleste,
Thanks for getting back to me, I had a good look through all my paper work last night and just could'nt find any hint of a daughter for Isabella and Joseph but
there is gaps inbetween the childrens births and I wonder if there was an older daughter who did'nt live at home, and I feel both articles are about the same person. I also got mixed up about chapel and my Rebecca's baptism and it was
my g grandfather John Fletcher and the Fletcher family who were big chapel goers, the Ledger's and Ferry's looked like they had big connections to church as all the children seem to have been baptised at churchs in Chester-le-Street,
Pelton area's. So if I find out the what I think will be a church for Rebecca's
baptism then that will help but will take your advice and try what you have put.
I have met a relative of Dorothy Ledger from America so i do have quite allot of
info on that family, Dorothy Ledger 1824 Fatfield married a Robert ( Bob )
Bainbridge in the 9th April 1853 at Houghton-le-Spring. Bob died in Fayette County, PA. on the 10th April 1902. All there children were born in England so
don't know if they kept coming back for the births, but I have the childrens deaths in Larimer, Westmorland, Lemont Furnace, Fayette, Longacre, Fayette
and one child died in Connellsville State Hospital, PA. I also think on the crossing I found for Josepf Ferry one of the Bainbridge's was with him, maybe if I
see if I can find a Family History Society in that aera they could tell me where I
could enquire, once you start to put it on paper it makes me wonder if Joseph
would make for family already there especially Isabella's sister.
Joseph Ferry born 1862 at Fatfield the last record I have of him is 1881 where he is living with John M, Blacklock, and his sister Jane and there family, then I
havn't found anything else. As I say I have a marriage Certificate for brother George Ferry and I think when there was pit strikes in Silksworth which I have a
book on it looks like he is mentioned in there, but a dead end with Joseph so I
came to the conclusion he must have gone abroad.

I read the articles on Rebecca Ledger so very sad I do have the inquest papers but feel maybe that not all went well for her and i could'nt see anything about
compensation but I suppose with the verdict that was brought in there was no chance of that for her family.
Thanks again for all your great help.
Kind regards
Jane.