In 1805, according to the Bishops Transcripts for Little Newcastle in Pembrokeshire, Wales, Elinor Hassall married John John. John, his descendants and relatives of the family were predominantly Baptists, so it seems reasonable to assume that Elinor was as well. The Parish Registers for marriages in Little Newcastle haven't survived pre-1813, so no information about witnesses etc. is available.
I haven't been able to identify where Elinor might have been born; there are no other HASSELL/HASSALL/HAZEL events that I can trace in Little Newcastle. Where I might look for her?
Elinor is my great x4 grandmother.
Additional information:
- The 1841 census for Little Newcastle suggests that Elinor was born between 1781 and 1786. She isn't present in the 1851 census, so most likely died before then.
- This region of Pembrokeshire is just above the Landsker so it is possible that she would have needed to speak Welsh day-to-day, so may have been born in a Welsh-speaking area.
- In correspondence with a descendant of the Hassalls of Kilrue/Llanfihangel Penbedw and formerly Worcestershire) we have been unable to establish a legitimate link (and are pretty sure there isn't one, among other things, as that family were Anglican). Nor can I find a legitimate link to Charles Hassall of Eastwood, near Narberth (related to the Hassalls of Kilrue), although he was steward to the Llanstinan estate, which wasn't that far from Little Newcastle.
- David John in his journals says that he does not know any further details other than her name (Elinor) and the fact that she married John John, who was brother to David John's grandfather.
Edited to add:
My current possibilities for Elinor (in no particular order) are:
Her name wasn’t Hassall at all – the incumbent at Little Newcastle made a mistake filling in the PR or BT. This would be more likely if there were other Hassalls in the parish that he was accustomed to dealing with, but I can’t find any trace of another Little Newcastle baptism burial or marriage involving a Hassall or any variant.
Her name was Hassall but she originated further afield, as all the Hassalls I’ve found in Pembrokeshire are linked to a single prominent Hassall line (of Kilrue/Eastwood), and she clearly isn’t a legitimate member of those lines (according to the descendents of that line who have researched it thoroughly). I’d need to explain how she ended up in Pembrokeshire in 1805 without (apparently) any nearby family – perhaps she was in service? She married into a Welsh-speaking family, but language may not have been a barrier.
Her name was a variant of Hassall – Hassell, Hossall, Hazel, Haskell, etc. There are some Haskells baptising and burying a child in Gumfreston circa 1812, and of course there could be others lurking in parish registers (or indices) I don’t have access to.
Her name was Hassall, she was the last of her line and all the previous events in her family are in lost PRs or non-conformist records.
She was the illegitimate daughter of Charles Hassall ( a member of the prominent Hassall family in Kilrhue/Eastwood) and she (and/or the incumbent at Little Newcastle) knew her parentage. (She married before the death of Charles Hassall, which may or may not be significant). Given the standing of Charles Hassall, there is unlikely to be a smoking gun in the form of a bastardy bond or similar (he could have afforded a private settlement), and the PRs for Little Newcastle are lost for the relevant period, but of course she might show up in another parish with a helpful notation from the incumbent… or in chapel records. Of relevance: Charles Hassall was steward of Llanstinan (not too far from Little Newcastle) possibly about the time than Elinor was conceived;and Elinor's eldest son was called Charles, the first recorded time that name had appeared in her husband's family.
I may be missing some possibilities?
