Samuel Worden and Jane Calloway

Samuel Worden was baptized on 27/3/1758, in St Kew parish, Cornwall; Jane Calloway was baptized on 1/5/1760 in St Minver, Cornwall. Samuel and Jane were married in St Kew on 24/5/1780. Samuel's parents were Samuel Worden and Grace Webber, who were married in St Kew on 25/5/1755; Jane's parents were Richard Callaway and Elizabeth Frad, who were married in St Kew on 25/6/1759. Samuel and Jane lived in St Kew for about five or six years after their marriage and then moved to the adjacent parish of Endellion.

Samuel and Jane, along with several other people in our story, are mentioned in the very interesting document The History of Port Isaac and Port Quinn by Dr Frederick Trevan (written in 1833–1834), transcribed for the web by Jonathan Remick Richards. (Dr Trevan mistakenly says that Samuel Worden married Mary Calaway, but there is no doubt that her forename was actually Jane.) I particularly like the following paragraph from Dr Trevan's document:

Tithes etc. estimated at £800 per annum. Equally divided between before-mentioned clergy and lay impropriators but God knows how long country is going to put up with these extractions. I cannot conceive wherein consists the policy of cherishing so many nests of spiritual and lay leeches who suck the very blood and vitals of the nation. they that support them in it are nothing better than a company of greedy caterpillars, enemies to their fellow subjects and a curse to the prosperity of their country.

A document held in the Cornwall Record Office, dated April 1801, shows that Samuel Worden was a churchwarden, no doubt a pillar of society, and (possibly) a leech!

Some of the information on the present page is taken from a file passed on to me by another Worden researcher; henceforth I shall call this file DT. I think that DT is reliable, but I have not been able to find other sources for some of the information it contains. Information in this category will be marked [DT].

I am indebted to Ceri Beasley for sending me several photos of Worden gravestones in the St Kew churchyard. One of these, shown below, commemorates Samuel's parents and a brother named Richard. The inscription on the stone reads as follows. "Sacred to the memory of Samuel Worden of this Parish who departed this life the 1st day of Novr 1811 in the 82nd year of his age. Also to the memory of Grace, the wife of the above said Samuel Worden of this Parish who departed this life the 2nd day of Janry 1820 in the 90th year of her age. Also to the memory of Richard Worden son of the above said Samuel & Grace Worden of Lower Amble in this Parish who departed his life the 9th day of Decr 1834 aged 63 years."

Samuel and Grace Worden
Grave of Samuel, Grace and Richard Worden

Several other gravestone inscriptions are quoted below. These have been obtained from the photos mentioned above or from the William Worden page of The Family Tree of Tony King, or a combination of both.

Also appearing on this page are three photos kindly passed on to me by Ron Worden of Vancouver. These bear the captions "The Parish Church at St Kew", "Grave of John and Jane" and "Worden family graves in the churchyard at St Kew". In the "family graves" picture we see two gravestones attached to the church wall. The one on the left commemorates William Worden of Treweathen, who died in 1806, and his son Robert, who died in 1816. This William was another brother of the Samuel who married Jane Calloway. The other gravestone attached to the church wall is the one shown above: the elder Samuel, Grace and Richard. The small stone directly in front of this one in the "family graves" view may be the one commemorating Peggy Cundy (quoted below), and then (from left to right) come John Worden (died 1817), Mary Rowse, John and Jane, John Worden (died 1832).

Worden family graves
Worden family graves in the churchyard at St Kew

The Cornwall Online Parish Clerks burials database includes the burials at St Kew of Samuel Worden on 4/11/1811, Grace Worden on 4/1/1820 and Richard Worden on 12/12/1834. I should say that I am greatly indebted to Christine Parker, the OPC for St Kew, for making her parish register transcriptions freely available.

Trying to identify the descendants of Samuel and Jane is made more difficult by the fact that there were other Worden families in St Kew at the same time, and the same names often occur in different families. For example, there were William Wordens born in St Kew in 1784, 1785 and 1791. To help us sort out who is who it will be necessary for us to pay some attention to the children of Samuel's brothers William, who was baptized on 7/3/1762, and John, who was baptized 30/12/1766 (see the IGI). We have already mentioned Samuel's other brother Richard; he was baptized on 20/1/1771, died at age 63 on 9/12/1834, and was buried at St Kew on 12/12/1834. Quite probably he was the Richard Werdon who married Elizabeth Thomas in St Kew on 10/1/1793; however, I do not know whether Richard and Elizabeth had any children.

For the record, Samuel also had at least three sisters: Mary (baptized 9/5/1756), Elizabeth (baptized 16/3/1760) and Grace[DT] (baptized 18/3/1769). The following St Kew marriages are recorded: Mary Worden married Humphrey Williams on 4/5/1779, Elizabeth Worden married Malachi Davey on 7/12/1785, Grace Worden married William Williams on 20/5/1786. Both Humphry Williams and William Williams were from St Minver, and it is tempting to guess that they were brothers.

There is a puzzle concerning the Grace Worden who married William Williams. An 1841 census record shows a 70 year old widow named Grace Williams in the Lower Amble household of a 45 year old Humphry Williams, presumably her son. This Grace Williams died at age 73 and was buried on 16/5/1842. The IGI includes the baptism of a Worden on 18/3/1769, the forename is not given; no doubt because the transcriber could not make it out. The dates and ages all match up well enough to strongly support the theory that the Worden child baptized on 18/3/1869 was named Grace and went on to marry William Williams when she was 17 and die in 1842. The trouble is that the child baptized on 18/3/1869 was named Jane, according to a transcription of the baptism record made by Christine Parker. I asked Christine to double check; she did so, and reported that the child's name was clearly written as Jane and the mother's name was clearly written as Grace, the two names being clearly different. So it looks as though the Grace Worden who married William Williams was not, after all, Samuel's sister, but someone else of unknown parentage. I suppose that it is also possible that Samuel's sister was baptized as Jane but later became known as Grace, or that the vicar simply wrote the wrong name in the register by mistake.

Samuel's brothers

A John Worden married Priscilla Bishop at St Kew on 4/5/1797. I think that this John Worden was probably Samuel's brother. Samuel also had a son named John, as did Samuel's brother William, but these two John Wordens were only 15 and 8 in 1797. John brother of Samuel was 30 on 4/5/1797 and Priscilla Bishop was 25. (She was baptized on 13/10/1771 at St Endellion; her parents were named Thomas and Elizabeth.) John and Priscilla had at least six children: Grace (25/4/1798), John (26/12/1799), Elizabeth (27/7/1801), Mary Ann (20/1/1806), Priscilla (1/1/1808) and one other daughter baptized on 22/5/1804.

The name of the daughter born in 1804 is uncertain because the parish register is illegible at that point: "forenames in dark page crease, not all visible" according to the Cornwall OPC transcription. It seems to me possible that the child might be the Jane Worden who married Thomas Key on 16/1/1827. From the 1841 census data we know that this Jane Worden was aged between 35 and 39 in 1841, consistent with her being born in 1804. In 1841 Thomas and Jane Key have children named Jane (10), Thomas (12), Samuel (7), Anna (3), and John (2). The birth registration record for Anna (September quarter of 1837) tells us that her full name was Anna Priscilla Key. Named Priscilla in honour of her grandmother, perhaps? Note also that the witnesses to the marriage of Jane and Thomas include a Priscilla Worden and a Charles Menhennick, who – if I am right about the identity of Jane – were Jane's youngest sister and the husband of her elder sister Elizabeth.

Some things are known about the other children of John and Priscilla.

Priscilla Worden died in 1825. The inscription on her gravestone appears to say "Sacred to the memory of Priscilla Worden wife of John Worden of Lower Amble in this parish who departed this life on the 16th day of August 1825 aged 53 years." The age is not at all clear, and others have read it as 55. But 53 fits with the baptism date of 13/10/1771 and the common practice of baptizing children within a few weeks of birth. The COPC transcription of the parish burial record also gives her age as 53, but it gives the the burial date as 12/8/1825, obviously inconsistent with the date of death given on the gravestone. Perhaps 12 was a transcription error for 21.

Priscilla John
Graves Priscilla Worden and John Worden

I can only make out some of the words in the verse that appears at the bottom of Priscilla's gravestone. However, I think that the first four of the eight lines may be as follows:

Death is a friend to all the saints
It calls them to their rest
Removes their sorrows & complaints
And ranks them with the blest.

These lines appear on another gravestone I have seen a photo of, and they fit with the words I can see in the present photo. I can read some words in the last four lines, and guess at the others, but I could be completely wrong:

Therefore my Husband dear farewel
My Children all adieu
Since I am call'd in Heaven to dwell
Where soon I'll welcome you

John Worden died in 1832; the COPC transcription of his burial record gives the burial date as 13/5/1832 and his age as 66. The inscription on his gravestone appears to say "Sacred to the memory of John Worden of Lower Amble in this parish who departed this life 1832 on the 10th day of May aged 65 years". As far as I can tell from the photo it might equally well be 63 rather than 65, although that would not be consistent with the baptism date 30/12/1766.

William and Robert
Grave of William Worden and Robert Lean Worden

We turn now to Samuel's brother William. He married Rebecca Lean, daughter of Robert and Esther (née Hawken) Lean, on 12/7/1788. See Lean Family.com for information about this couple, their ancestors and their descendants. The author of this web site, Robert J. Lean, has transcribed the wills of both Robert and Esther, and it turns out that these documents mention William and Rebecca Worden and their children. Robert's will includes "I also give and bequeath to my daughter Rebecca, the wife of William Worden the sum of one hundred pounds", while Esther's includes "I also give unto my four grandchildren John Worden, William Worden, Robert Worden, and Elizabeth Worden the sum of five pounds each to be paid twelve months after my decease" and "I also give unto my daughter Rebekah Worden the sum of three pounds to be paid her twelve months after my decease".

The I.G.I. includes the baptism records of the four children of William and Rebecca mentioned in Esther Lean's will: John Webber Worden (14/8/1789), William Worden (March 1791), Elizabeth Worden (February 1793) and Robert Leane Worden (23/12/1794). The Cornwall OPC burial database includes the burials of William Worden on 6/8/1806 (aged 44), Rebecca Worden on 3/10/1822 (aged 58), and Robert Lean Worden on 5/7/1816 (aged 21). The gravestone commemorating William and Robert is shown; the inscription reads as follows:

Sacred to the memory of Wm Worden Late of Treweathen in this Parish who departed this life August the 4th 1806 Aged 44

Mourn not my wife and children dear
Now my affliction's or'e
O may we meet at the great day
Our Saviour to adore

Also to the memory of Robert Lean Worden Son of Wm & Rebecca Worden who died on die 3rd day of July 1816 in the 22nd Year of his Age

Here is what I know about the other children of William and Rebecca.

Samuel and Jane themselves

Since this couple are supposed to be the principal characters of this web page, I refer to this Samuel Worden as Samuel the 1st (despite the fact that his father was also a Samuel). We shall encounter Samuel the 2nd, Samuel the 3rd and Samuel the 4th in due course.

Samuel the 1st and Jane had the following children:

The baptism records for Betsey, Cordelia, Thomas, Joseph and Martha give the mother's name as Jennifer rather than Jane; at this time the two names were regarded as variants of one another, and were used almost interchangeably.

A 46 year old Jenny Worden died in 1806, and was buried at St Kew on September 12th. The burial record gives her residence prior to death as "Tresungas in Endellyon". Samuel Worden the 1st was still alive at the time of the 1841 census, and still living at Tresungers. His household was then as follows.

Tresungers, Endellion, 1841:
NameSexAgeOccupationBirthplace
Samuel WordenM80FarmerCornwall
Joseph WordenM45Cornwall
Caroline WordenF35Cornwall
William WordenM15Cornwall
Grace FordF20Female ServantCornwall
Richard TaylorM15Male ServantCornwall
Mary MaleF15Female ServantCornwall
Jane BillingF20Female ServantCornwall
John OlverF15Male ServantCornwall
Richard MastersM15Male ServantCornwall
Thomas SteerF14Male ServantCornwall

The Joseph Worden in the census data above is the right age to be Samuel's youngest son, and the Caroline Worden is the right age to be his youngest daughter. Possibly William is a grandson; possibly the son of John. Other conceivable theories – for example, that Caroline was Joseph's wife and William his son – are not supported by any other records that I know of.

Jane Billing and Grace Ford were granddaughters of Samuel, being daughters of Samuel's daughters Mary and Martha respectively.

The news item below appeared in the West Briton and Cornwall Advertiser on Friday 3rd July 1840. No doubt the boy named Steer it refers to is the Thomas Steer in the above census record.

RICHARD HONEY, 19 — was charged with having stolen 12 gallons of barley, the property of Samuel WARDEN, his master, of Endellion, and JOHN SKINNER, 50, of Port Isaac, was charged with having received the same, knowing it to have been stolen. It appeared from the statement of the advocate, which was borne out by evidence that in February last, Skinner had a gun which he offered for sale to the other prisoner, Honey; and on the latter telling him that he had no money to purchase it, Skinner said there is plenty of barley at home in your master's granary; I will take it up in barley as well as in anything else. On one Sunday evening, Honey, when his master's family were at chapel, and his master in the house, went into the granary and stole the barley in question. He then got his master's horse, and put the bag on it, taking with him a boy named STEER, a fellow servant, and proceeded to the premises of the other prisoner. When he reached there, he placed the barley in the garden, and then went round to Skinner's front door, and went into the house. Skinner afterwards went up stairs, and the witness heard a door that led into the garden creak; and on Skinner's return he brought with him a bag which he handed to Honey. There was other evidence which fully established the guilt of both parties; and the jury found them Guilty.

Earlier, on the 15th of May, the paper had reported the arrest of Honey and Skinner by the Wadebridge policeman, a man named Ingleden.

On the 29th ult. Ingleden apprehended Richard HONEY, servant of Mr. WARDEN, of St. Endellion, who was charged with stealing 37 gallons of barley, belonging to his master, in February last. John SKINNER, of Port Issac, was also taken after a desperate resistance, on a charge of having received the barley from Honey knowing it to have been stolen. We believe that both the prisoners have been committed to take their trial.

I cannot speculate why 37 gallons at the arrest changed to 12 at the trial.

Probably Richard Honey was the son of John Honey, mentioned in Dr Trevan's History of Port Isaac and Port Quinn as a "hind" (farm servant) of Samuel Worden, tending a property known as Polworgy. At the 1841 census a 50 year old agricultural labourer named John Honey and his 45 year old wife Margrett are found living at Trewetha, Endellion, with seven others – presumably their children – the eldest of whom is the 20 year old Richard.

Samuel the 1st died on 18/4/1843. The West Briton and Cornwall Advertiser carried the following death notice on the 28th: "On the 18th instant, at Tresangers, in the parish of Endellion, aged 85 years, Mr. Samuel WORDEN, a farmer of the old school, highly esteemed by an extensive connexion."

St Kew Church
The Parish Church at St Kew

We now proceed to discuss the children of Samuel and Jane.

Joseph (11th child of Samuel and Jane Worden)

An 1851 census record gives Joseph's address as Poletrewangy, Endellion. He is a widower, aged 56, and his occupation is "farmer of 110 acres 1 labourer". The other people in his household are as follows: Mary Cornelius (53, servant, unmarried, born at Lanteglos), Jane Thomas (16, servant, unmarried, born at St Kew), William Belling (41, nephew, unmarried, carpenter, born at St Endellion), Thomas Matthew (19, servant, unmarried, born at St Endellion), Warwick Scott (16, servant, born at St Kew), Matthew Blake (13, servant, born at St Endellion). No doubt William Belling was the son of Samuel Billing and Joseph's sister Mary. Warwick Scott was Warwick Worden Scott, son of Thomas and Grace Scott, this Grace being the daughter of Joseph's brother Samuel.

Unfortunately, I have not been able to locate any record of Joseph Worden's marriage or any burial record of someone who might have been his wife. It is perhaps worth noting that in the 1861 census records he is listed as unmarried rather than widowed. It certainly appears as though he did not have any children.

No doubt the address "Poletrewangy" can be identified with Poltreworgy, which is the 1841 address of Joseph's brother Thomas. Perhaps this also the place called "Polworgy" in Dr Trevan's History of Port Isaac and Port Quinn, mentioned above. In 1851 Thomas and family are found at Tresungers, presumably on the property that had belonged to Samuel the first.

At the 1861 census Joseph is found in the household of his nephew Mark Guy, a 43 year old farmer of 704 acres employing 16 men and 2 boys. This Mark was the son of Joseph's sister Jennifer, whose husband was also named Mark Guy. Joseph's occupation in 1861 is given as "leaseholder (land)".

Joseph Worden died in the March quarter of 1863.

Mary (1st child of Samuel and Jane Worden)

Mary Worden married Samuel Billing, a shipbuilder, at St Endellion on 25/2/1800. I know of some children of Samuel and Mary Billing born at Endellion: William (15/7/1804), Mary Ann (12/10/1806), William (16/7/1809), John (28/4/1812), Joseph (27/12/1815), Jane Worden (3/6/1821). Quite probably there were others. Presumably Jane Worden Billing is the servant Jane Billing appearing in Samuel Worden's household above.

In the 1841 census we find a St Endellion household consisting of Samuel Billing (ship carpenter) age 65, Joseph Billing (agricultural labourer) age 25, Susan Billing (age 25), and three Billing children: Mary (4), Susanna (3), Joseph (10m). Samuel's wife Mary must have died some time between 1815 and 1841. The 25 year old Joseph is Samuel's son, Susan is Joseph's wife, and Joseph and Susan are the children's parents. In fact Joseph Billing married Susanna Skinner in Endellion on 12/5/1836. In the September quarter of 1855 Joseph's daughter Mary Billing married Joseph Waters; this couple are mentioned again later, since their son Thomas married another Worden descendant.

John (2nd child of Samuel and Jane Worden)

A John Worden married Jane Grose at St Kew on 7/3/1809. It appears likely that this John was the son of Samuel and Jane. By the time of the 1841 census John and Jane Worden have a large family:

Amble, St Kew:
NameSexAgeOccupationBirthplace
John WordenM55FarmerCornwall
Jane WordenF50 Cornwall
Samuel WordenM25 Cornwall
Grace WordenF25 Cornwall
John WordenM20 Cornwall
Mary WordenF20 Cornwall
Nicholas WordenM10 Cornwall
Cordelia WordenF10 Cornwall
Harriet JohnF15Ap.Cornwall

There are baptism records for several children of John and Jane Worden born in St Kew, including some not appearing above: William (4/8/1809), Jenny Grose (29/1/1811), Ambrose Grose (11/5/1813), Samuel and Grace (both 29/12/1814), Richard (26/5/1816), John (1/5/1818), Wm (16/3/1823), Thomas Grose (11/12/1824), Elizabeth (15/5/1827), Nicholas (15/5/1827) and Cordelia Ann (31/12/1829). The William born in 1809 died at age 11, and was buried on 16/3/1821. I think that the William born in 1823 is the William in the household of his grandfather Samuel in 1841. Elizabeth, born in 1827, died at age 4 months and was buried on 21/5/1827. I do not know what became of Jenny Grose Worden (born in 1811) or Thomas Grose Worden (born in 1824). I could not find a baptism record for the daughter Mary who appears in the 1841 census record, but from her age in the 1861 census records we can deduce that she was born in 1821 or 1822. She married Richard Rowse at St Kew on 24/1/1843 (according to the Cornwall OPC's) or 24/2/1843 (according to the I.G.I.). Moreover, the following marriage notice appeared in the West Briton and Cornwall Advertiser on 10th March: "On the 28th ultimo, at St. Kew, Mr. Richard Rowse, of Trelawder, St. Minver, to Miss Mary Worden, of Amble, St. Kew."

By the 1851 census Samuel Worden son of John and Jane had acquired a wife named Anna (age 24) and daughters Grace (8) and Anna (6m). We can be fairly sure that Grace's age was actually 3 rather than 8: her parents were not married until 1848, she was baptized on 8/10/1848, and later census records suggest a birth year of 1848. Samuel Worden's marriage was registered in the Bodmin district in the June quarter of 1848, and since his wife was Anna we can deduce that she was either Ann Collings or Hannah Lander. In fact we can be sure that she was Ann Collings since their second child was baptized Anna Collins Worden (on 27/10/1850). There are baptism records for nine other children af Samuel and Anna: Thomas Grose (4/7/1852), Cordelia Ann (2/7/1854, died 10/2/1860), Emma (19/5/1856, died 21/5/1856), Nicholas (20/1/1864, died 28/1/1864), Cordelia Anne (23/3/1864), Mary (23/3/1864, died 23/2/1876) Caroline Anne (9/2/1869), Jane Grose (14/2/1877) and Caroline (14/2/1877). Note, however, that the births of Mary and Cordelia were registered in the September quarter of 1857 and the December quarter of 1860 respectively; so they were aged 6 and 3 at their baptisms. Similarly, the birth of Jane Grose Worden was registered in the December quarter of 1865; so she was not baptized until she was 11. The birth of a Caroline Worden was registered at Bodmin in the December quarter of 1869, but additionally the birth of a Caroline Ann Worden was registered at Bodmin in the March quarter of 1867. This latter Caroline died at age 1 and was buried at St Kew on 17/2/1769. (The COPC transcriber notes say "age has 1 then 11 underneath it"; I think this means 1 year and 11 months, which is consistent with the birth registration.) Evidentally the first Caroline died within a week of her baptism, and the daughter born later that year was given the same names (and not baptized until she was seven).

The 1861 census record for this family is Piece RG9/1538, Folio 32, Page 11, Schedule 56. The surname is unreadable, but everything else is readable, and right.

NameRelStatusAgeOccupationBirthplace
SamuelHeadM47Agricultural LabourerSt Kew, Cornwall
AnnaWifeM33Agricultural LabourerSt Minver, Cornwall
AnnaDau10Agricultural LabourerSt Kew, Cornwall
ThomasSon9ScholarSt Kew, Cornwall
MaryDau3ScholarSt Kew, Cornwall
CordeliaDau4m St Kew, Cornwall

The missing 12 year old daughter Grace is in the nearby Menhennick household (schedule 53 in the census records).

The 1871 census record for the same family includes a daughter named Jane Grose Worden; her birth was registered at Bodmin in the March quarter of 1865.

Amble, St Kew, 1871:
NameRelStatusAgeOccupationBirthplace
Samuel WordenHeadM57Agricultural LabourerSt Kew, Cornwall
Hannah WordenWifeM44St Minver, Cornwall
Thomas WordenSonU18SailorSt Kew, Cornwall
Cordelia Ann WordenDau10 St Kew, Cornwall
Jane Grose WordenDau6ScholarSt Kew, Cornwall
Caroline WordenDau1St Kew, Cornwall

In the 1871, 1881 and 1891 censuses Grace is found in Heavitree Parish, Devon, employed as a cook. Her sister Jane also moved to Devon, and in 1881 and 1891 was living in St Sidwell Parish, employed as a servant.

It appears that Samuel's wife Anna died on 16/9/1888, and Samuel himself died on 18/9/1890.

The marriage of a Grace Worden and a Richard Taylor was registered at Bodmin in the June quarter of 1847. I guess that this Grace was the twin sister of the Samuel we have just been discussing, but I can find no later records of Richard and Grace Taylor.

Richard Worden son of John and Jane married Ann Trebell on 17/12/1840. In the 1841 census we find Richard and Ann sharing a house with two elderly relatives of Ann: Maryann Trebell (80, annuitant) and Elizabeth Trebell (70, independent). Richard's occupation is "agricultural labourer". There are baptism records for the following children of Richard and Ann: Mary (22/8/1841), Eliza Jane (20/8/1843), Cordelia (3/8/1845) and Richard (20/11/1848). In the 1851 census we find a household consisting of Ann Worden (Head, 39, agricultural labourer), Mary Ann (daughter, 9), Cordelia (daughter, 5) and Richard (son, 2). The missing daughter Elizabeth J. Worden was in the household of her uncle Samuel Worden on census day 1851. Ann's husband Richard is found as a farm servant in the household of his sister and brother-in-law Mary and Richard Rouse. Richard Rouse is described as "farmer 87 acres 3 labourers". Ann Worden died in 1860 and was buried at St Kew on 11/11/1860. Richard and Ann's daughter Elizabeth Jane Worden married Richard Broad at St Kew on 22/9/1860. The marriage record gives her age as 19, which may have been an exaggeration as the 1851 census record gives her age as 8 and the 1861 census record gives her age as 18. And I think that even these ages may be exaggerations, since her birth was registered in the September quarter of 1843. At the 1861 census Richard and his daughter Cordelia are living at Kits Hill, St Kew; the FreeCEN transcription has their surname as "Norden" and Richard's first name as "Richus". At the 1871 census Richard is found as a boarder in the St Kew household of his son-in-law Richard Broad and daughter Elizabeth Jane (who have children Annie (10), Robert (9), Elizabeth Jane (7), Horatio (5), John (3) and Mary Ann (1)), while Cordelia is a domestic servant at Padstow in the household of John Blake. In 1881 Richard and Cordelia are back at Amble, St Kew, in the household of Richard's brother William, a cordwainer (discussed below). At the 1861 census Richard's daughter Mary Ann is in the household of her grandparents John and Jane, which is not very surprising given that her mother had died just a few months earlier. Her brother Richard (born 1848) is a servant in the St Minver household of Mary and Richard Rowse (his aunt and uncle). Then in 1871 he is a farm servant in the household of a 39 year old farmer named Francis Coleman. I have been told that this Richard emigrated to Australia, where he married Elizabeth Torrens, and had children named William Stanley, Ambrose Turner, Agnes, Grace, Maud Linda and Ivy. He died at Granville (Sydney) in 1929. His father died in 1900, and was buried at St Kew on 23/5/1900.

John Worden son of John and Jane married Rebecca Collings in the December quarter of 1845. It looks plausible that Rebecca was the sister of Anna Collings, wife of John's brother Samuel. Census data shows that both were born in St Minver, and in the I.G.I. we find matching baptism records: Rebekah Collings, daughter of Wm and Ann, baptized on 29/6/1825, and Ann Collings, daughter of William and Ann, baptized on 27/12/1827. Moreover, an 1841 census record shows a household at Treglin, St Minver Highlands, containing a 45 year old carpenter named William Collings, a 45 year old Ann Collings, and Collings children Rebecca (15), Anna (13), William (10) and Thomas (7), as well as a 75 year old agricultural labourer named Richard Wyatt and a 65 year old Ann Wyatt (presumably William Collingss' parents-in-law).

John and Rebecca Worden had the following children: William Collins (11/1/1846), John (26/12/1847), Anne (4/11/1849), Jane Grose (9/3/1851), Susan Collins (5/9/1852), Mary Collings (5/9/1852), Catherine (25/5/1856), Cordelia Ann (15/8/1858), Grace (15/8/1858), Susan Collings (6/8/1865), and Amelia (30/1/1870). (As always, I am giving baptism dates. Amelia's birth was registered in 1869.) John's occupation was farm labourer. The family moved from St Kew to St Minver Lowlands some time between 1852 and 1856; the 1861 census record for the household is as follows.

Boldventum, St. Minver Highlands, 1861:
NameRelStatusAgeOccupationBirthplace
John WordenHeadM43Agricultural LabourerSt Kew, Cornwall
Rebecca WordenWifeM36St Minver, Cornwall
Ann WordenDauU11 St Kew, Cornwall
Jane WordenDauU9 St Kew, Cornwall
Mary WordenDauU7St Minver, Cornwall
Catherine WordenDauU5St Minver, Cornwall
Cordelia WordenDauU3St Minver, Cornwall
Grace WordenDauU4mSt Minver, Cornwall

The missing sons are found in the households of their grandparents: John Worden (aged 12) is with his father's parents (John and Jane) at Amble; William C. Worden (aged 15) is with his mother's parents, William and Ann Collings, at St Minver. Mr and Mrs Collings were aged 64 and 67 respectively in 1861. The census record gives William C. Worden's occupation as carpenter, the same as his grandfather's.

I found Bodmin death registrations that could well correspond to three of the daughters of John and Rebecca Worden: Cordelia Ann (September 1868, age 10), Grace (December 1868, age 7), Ann (December 1869, age 20). John and Rebecca's daughter Jane Grose Worden had a son named William John Worden who joined the Royal Artillery in the 1890's. His last posting was to Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, where his descendants still live. William John Worden's wife's name was Beatrice Donohoe.

marriage
The Advertiser, 13/9/1913

William Collings Worden married Emma George in the last quarter of 1871; by the 1881 census they had four children (William George, Mary Ann, Emma Jane, Thomas Henry, Nicholas John) and by the 1891 census they had another four (Samuel James, Joseph Collings, Richard Alfred, Frederick Charles). A marriage notice in the Adelaide Advertiser of 18/12/1913 – which I chanced upon – shows that Richard Alfred Worden came to South Australia.

marriage
The Advertiser, 18/12/1913

It transpires that William and Emma had another son, Ernest Martyn Worden, who came to South Australia. He enlisted in the AIF on 1/10/1814, aged 23 years and 2 months. The following information can be found in his service record, which is available on line. Prior to enlistment he was a porter in the South Australian Railways and a member of the St John Ambulance Brigade, and lived on Jetty Road, Glenelg. He served with the 4th Field Ambulance at Gallipoli, where, on 4/5/1915, he sustained a gun shot wound to the head. He died at Alexandria on 10/5/1915, and is buried in the Chatby War Memorial Cemetery, Plot A, Grave 109. Included with his service record are several letters written by his brother, R. A. Worden. The first, dated 31/5/1915, asks if it is true, as reported in the papers, that his brother, Ernest Martyn Worden, has died of wounds. The next, written on 24/8/1915, in his capacity as executor of Ernest's will, requests a death certificate. At this time Richard Alfred Worden's address was Green St, Brompton, Sth Australia. After the war the army's Records Section wrote to R. A. Worden asking if Pte E. M. Worden's parents were still living, and if so what was their address. This information was was duly supplied: Mr & Mrs W. Worden, Treverra Cottage, St Minver, Nr Wadebridge, Cornwall, England. At this time Richard Alfred Worden's address was 36 Cottage, Abbatoirs, Gepps Cross.

marriage
The Advertiser, 27/5/1915

The 1841 census shows Ambrose (Grose) Worden in the household of a 65 year old farmer named Ambrose Grose, at Amble, St Kew. No doubt this Ambrose Grose was some relative of Jane Worden. It appears that he was the son of Thomas and Jane Grose, baptized in St Kew on 24/11/1771, so that he was actually nearly 70 at census time in 1841. And indeed there is a burial record from 27/5/1842 for a 70 year old Ambrose Grose. He was a little too young to be Jane Worden's father, since the 1851 census data (see below) shows that she was 53 in 1841. So I conjecture that Ambrose was Jane's brother, and that Jane can be identified with the Jenny Grose, daughter of Thomas and Jane Grose, who was baptized at St Kew in April 1788.

Ambrose Grose's household on census day 1841 contained six people altogether: the two Ambroses, Joseph Wills (14), Joanna Wilce (2), Ann Menhenick (17) and Mary Hill (8). The last four – including the 2 year old! – are all described as servants. I cannot find a birth registration for a Joanna Wilce between 1838 and 1840, but there is a baptism record for a Johanna Wilce, daughter of George and Hannah, in 1819. So I wonder if the age should be 22 (a more plausible age for a servant). Despite the fact that the names Wills, Wilce and Menhenick are all linked with our Wordens via marriages, it appears that Joseph Wills, Joanna Wilce and Ann Menhenick do not come from the relevant families.

Ambrose Worden (born 1813) and his brother Nicholas (born 1827) both emigrated to New South Wales. A message posted at RootsWeb says that Ambrose married Johannah Wilce at Plymouth, but I have not been able to find a registration record of this event. New South Wales death registration records show that Ambrose and Joanna Worden both died at St Leonards in 1900, and Nicholas Worden died at West Maitland in 1894. Since these reocrds include the given names of the deceased person's parents, they confirm that Joanna Worden's parents were named George and Hannah.

Grave of John Worden
Grave of John and Jane

Some care is needed to avoid confusing William Worden the son of John and Jane born at St Kew in 1823 with William Worden son of William and Prudence born at St Teath in 1825, not to mention William Worden son of John and Mary born in Michaelstow in 1820. According to The Family Tree of Tony King the son of William and Prudence had left Cornwall by 1851, and eventually settled in the Preston area in the north of England. It appears that he married Emma Anne Horrocks in the Gloucester District in the September quarter of 1857. The son of John and Jane remained unmarried, and Census records for 1861 and 1871 (see below) show him in his father's household. A message posted to the Worden Genealogy Forum says that a William Worden born at St Kew, son of John Worden, married Grace Broad; probably this William was the son of John and Mary.

The LDS (FamilySearch.org) transcription of an 1881 census record from Lea Ashton Ingol & Cottam, Lancashire, has a 55 year old William Worden, born at St Kew, Cornwall, with occupation given as Harbour Master, Preston. His wife's name is Emma Ann, age 46, born in Preston. One of their children is named Kitty Bligh Worden, which strongly supports the theory that this William was the son of William and Prudence (since Bligh was Prudence's maiden name). Moreover, 55 is exactly the right age for the son of William and Prudence. According to Tony King's Family Tree "Kitty" was actually "Hetty". Hetty was 17 in 1881, and had four siblings: William John (19), Ada (12), Emma Bannor (12) and Annie Horrocks (4). The occurrence of the name Horrocks supports the theory that Emma Ann Worden's maiden name was Horrocks. A search of IGI records reveals that she was the daughter of James Horrocks and Eliza Braham, who were married at Preston (St John) on 14/1/1828.

According to Tony King's Family Tree, Hetty Bligh Worden married Thomas Waters, son of Joseph Waters and Mary Billing. Moreover, Mary Billing was the daughter of Joseph Billing, a son of Samuel and Mary Billing born at St Endellion in 1815. Since this Mary Billing was the eldest daughter of Samuel Worden and Jane Calloway, Hetty's husband was actually her third cousin once removed.

The 1881 census shows two 57 year old William Wordens living in Cornwall with birth place given as St Kew. One is a waggoner and the husband of Grace, the other is a cordwainer (or shoemaker) and unmarried.

Census records of 1861 and 1871 tell us that the shoemaker was the son of John and Jane. The cordwainer William Worden in the 1851 household of Samuel Worden the 2nd is surely the same person. My guess is that he was also the William in the household of Samuel Worden the 1st in 1841.

The origins of the husband of Grace are perhaps not totally certain, although I believe that he was the son of John Webber Worden and Mary Pope (born in Michaelstow in 1820) and the same person as the Wm Worden who was in the Symons household (see above) in 1841. The main problems with this theory are that in the 1851, 1861, 1871 and 1881 censuses his birthplace is given as St Kew rather than Michaelstow, and his ages in 1851, 1871 and 1881 – given as 28, 46 and 57 respectively – are not consistent with the baptism date of 30/7/1820. At least his age was given as 40 in 1861! In 1891, according to the FreeCEN transcription, the household of Harry Hawke at St Blazey includes Harry's father-in-law, William Worden Hawke. Certainly this man is really William Worden: Harry Hawke married Mary Ann Worden in the March quarter of 1877, the census record for Harry Hawke's 1891 household shows that his wife's name is Mary Ann, aged 38 and born in Egloshayle, and the 1871 census record for William Worden's household includes his daughter Mary A, aged 18 and born in Egloshayle. Crucially, the 1891 census record gives William Worden Hawke's birthplace as Mickalstow, providing the most clear-cut evidence that he really was John Webber Worden's son.

The 1881 and 1891 households of cordwainer William were as follows:

Amble, St Kew, 1881:
NameRelStatusAgeOccupationBirthplace
William WordenHeadU57CordwainerSt Kew, Cornwall
Richard WordenBrotherW65Agricultural LabourerSt Kew, Cornwall
Cordelia WordenNieceU35HousekeeperSt Kew, Cornwall
Fanny G WordenNieceU8ScholarSt Kew, Cornwall
Chapel Amble, St Kew, 1891:
NameRelStatusAgeOccupationBirthplace
William WordenHeadU68Shoemaker (not em)St Kew, Cornwall
Richard WordenBrotherW74General Labourer (em'ee)St Kew, Cornwall
Cordelia WordenNieceU45Housekeeper (em'ee)St Kew, Cornwall
Fanny WordenNieceU18General Servant Dom.St Kew, Cornwall
Nicholas WordenNephewU5ScholarSt Kew, Cornwall

The birth of Fanny Gummow Worden was registered in the September quarter of 1872, and there is a baptism record from 26/7/1874 which says that her mother was a single woman named Hannah. The birth of Nicholas Thomas Worden was registered in the March quarter of 1886, but I do not know anything about his parentage.

At the 1871, 1881 and 1891 censuses an Anna Worden who was born at St Kew is found as an inmate of the Bodmin union workhouse. My guess is that she was Anna Collins Worden, daughter of William's brother Samuel, and also Fanny's mother. The census records give her ages in 1871, 1881 and 1891 as 23, 34 and 41, which do not match well with Anna Collins Worden's age in the 1851 census (6m) or birth registration (September quarter of 1850); however, there were only two births of Ann Worden's registered in Bodmin between 1846 and 1851, the other being the daughter of William's brother John. John's daughter was born in the September quarter of 1849, which perhaps fits better with workhouse Anna's age, but the 1851 and 1861 censuses give John's daughter's name as Ann, whereas Samuel's daughter is consistently called Anna. Note that workhouse Anna had other children: Emma (aged 6 in 1881), William John (aged 1 in 1881 and 10 in 1891) and Annie (aged 3 in 1891).

The 1851 census gives more accurate ages for John, son of Samuel the 1st, his wife Jane and their daughter Cordelia, as well as telling us about some further descendants.

NameRelStatusAgeOccupationBirthplace
John WordenHeadM69Farming 6 acresSt Kew, Cornwall
Jane WordenWifeM63 St Kew, Cornwall
Cordelia WordenDauU21 St Kew, Cornwall
Mary HouseGDauU7 St Minver, Cornwall
Richard HouseGSonU7 St Minver, Cornwall

The surname for the grandchildren should be Rowse: Mary Worden married Richard Rowse (a widower) in the first quarter of 1843, and birth records say that children named Mary and Richard Rowse were born in the December quarter of 1843. There are St Minver baptism records with the date 25/11/1843 for Mary and Richard; evidently these children were twins.

Richard and Mary Rowse (the parents) were on their farm at Trelawder, St Minver, on census day 1851, along with their other sons John W. and W. H., Mary's brother Richard and a 15 year old house servant named Jane Wills.

The 1861 Rowse household was as follows.

Trelawver, St Minver Highlands, 1861:
NameRelStatusAgeOccupationBirthplace
Richard RowseHeadM56Farmer 166 acres, employing 2 menSt Columb, Cornwall
Mary RowseWifeM39Farmer's wifeSt Kew, Cornwall
Mary RowseDauU17Farmer's daughterSt Minver, Cornwall
John RowseSonU16Farmer's sonSt Minver, Cornwall
William H RowseSonU13Farmer's sonSt Minver, Cornwall
Nicholas T W RowseSonU7St Minver, Cornwall
Alfred G RowseSonU1St Minver, Cornwall
George ThomasServantU17CarterSt Minver, Cornwall
Richard WordenServantU12CarterSt Minver, Cornwall
Susan BuscombeServantU15Dairy MaidSt Minver, Cornwall

At this time Richard Rowse the younger was living in Bodmin as an apprentice to a draper named John Beswetherick (who was also born in St Minver). As remarked above, I believe that the Richard Worden in the above census record was actually a nephew of Richard Rowse, being the son of his wife's brother Richard.

There are St Minver baptism records for all the Rowse sons in the census record: John Werdon, William Henry, Nicholas Thomas Worden and Arthur George.

The 1871 Rowse household was as follows.

St Minver Highlands, 1871:
NameRelStatusAgeOccupationBirthplace
Mary RowseHeadW50Farmer 110 acres, employing 2 ag. lab.St Kew, Cornwall
John W. RowseSonU26Farmer's sonSt Minver, Cornwall
Nicholas T W RowseSonU17Farmer's sonSt Minver, Cornwall
Alfred G RowseSon11ScholarSt Minver, Cornwall
Hannah GroseVisitorU19Farmer's daughterSt Kew, Cornwall
Mary BlakeServantU25Serv. domesticSt Minver, Cornwall
Samuel RoweServantU22Farm serv.St Tudy, Cornwall

John Worden Rowse married Hannah Grose in the December quarter of 1871. This couple migrated to America; there is some information about them on a web page entitled "Thomas Roe, b: 1796 - Coon, Ireland". Hannah Grose was baptized on 3/5/1852 in St Kew; her parents were Nicholas Grose and Mary Hannah Rowse, who were married on 15/3/1845 in St Kew. This Nicholas, who was aged 59 in 1845 and 37 years older than his his bride, was a brother of the Jenny Grose who I have tentatively identified with Jane Worden. This would mean that his daughter Hannah was a cousin of John Worden Rowse's mother Mary. I do not think that Nicholas' wife Mary was related to Richard Rowse, despite the fact that her maiden surname was Rowse (or similar). Her parents were William Ruse (of Tintagel) and Susannah Lobb (of St Kew), who were married on 18/10/1823; Richard, who was the son of another Richard, was born in St Columb.

According to Tony King's website the inscription on Mary Rowse's gravestone reads as follows: "In loving memory of Mary Rowse wife of the late Richard Rowse of Trelawder St Minver and daughter of John & Jane Worden who died Dec 26th 1903 aged 83 years".

The 1861 census record for the household of John and Jane is as follows:

Amble, St Kew:
NameRelStatusAgeOccupationBirthplace
John WordenHeadM79Agricultural labourerSt Kew, Cornwall
Jane WordenWifeM73Agricultural labourerSt Kew, Cornwall
William WordenSonU36Shoe Maker MasterSt Kew, Cornwall
Mary Ann WordenGranddaughterU19St Kew, Cornwall
John WordenGrandsonU12St Kew, Cornwall

The Mary Ann Worden here must be the daughter of Richard and Ann born in 1841, and I guess that the 12 year old John was the son of the John's son John.

John and Jane were still alive in 1871:

Amble, Egloshayle:
NameRelStatusAgeOccupationBirthplace
John WordenHeadM89Farmer of 10 acresSt Kew, Cornwall
Jane WordenWifeM83Farmer's wifeSt Kew, Cornwall
William WordenSonU45Shoe makerSt Kew, Cornwall
Percillia VickeryServantU16General Servant (Domestic)St Endellion, Cornwall

Note that William son of John and Jane would have actually been been 48 on census day 1871.

The grave of John and Jane and their daughter Cordelia is shown above. The inscription reads "In memory of John Worden of Chaple Amble in this parish. He died 23d Febry 1875 aged 93 years. Also Jane wife of the above died Nov 19th 1871 aged 86 years. Cordelia Ann daughter of the above died 29th July 1858 aged 28 years." The COCP transcription of the St Kew parish burial record for John Worden gives his age at death as 94 and the burial date as 28/2/1875. For Jane Worden the age at death is given as 83 and the burial date as 12/11/1871. And for Cordelia Worden the age at death is given as 28 and the burial date as 18/7/1858.

Jennifer (3rd child of Samuel and Jane Worden)

From IGI records we find that Jennifer Worden married Mark Guy on 11/5/1815 in St Endellion. Mark was the son of Warwick Guy and Grace Mallett, baptized on 8/2/1780 in Lanteglos. As we remarked above, the names Jennifer and Jane are interchangeable, and we can identify the household of Mark and Jennifer (= Jane) in the 1841 census.

Roscarrock, Endellion Parish:
NameAgeOccupationBirthplace
Mark Guy60FarmerCornwall
Jane Guy55 Cornwall
Warwick Guy20 Cornwall
Jonathan Guy15 Cornwall
Amelia Huntington35IndCornwall

(I have omitted the 15 servants also listed in the same household.)

For some discussion of Amelia Huntington, see the Thomas Worden and Jane Huntington page.

Jennifer Worden was Mark Guy's second wife: he had married Elizabeth George at St Endellion in 1809. I do not know if Mark and Elizabeth had any children. The Warwick and Jonathan listed above were Jennifer's sons. According to data submitted to the IGI their full names were Warwick Richard Guy and Jonathan Samuel Guy, they were baptized on 14/7/1821 and 24/12/1822, and died in 1905 and 1883 respectively. In the 1871 census Warwick R. Guy is described as a merchant farmer, living at Port Isaac, with a wife named Mary (45) and sons Mark (20) and Lewis (9). In the 1881 census he is described as a farmer of 170 acres employing 5 men. He died in 1905 aged 84. (Note that FreeBMD have transcribed the age as 34, but after using their "view the original" facility I am prepared to call this a transcription error.) In the 1861 census Jonathan S. Guy (aged 38) is described as a farmer of 190 acres employing 7 men and 1 boy. He has a wife named Jane, aged 34. In the 1851 census Jonathan T. Guy, 28, is a farmer of 200 acres employing 3 labourers, and he has a 24 year old wife named Jane. These are presumably the same people, although in 1851 their address is Porteath, St Minver Highlands, while in 1861 it is Trewinte Farm House Endellion parish. It appears that Jonathan and his wife Jane did not have any children.

There is a book by Monica Winstanley – which I have not seen – entitled "High Tide at Port Isaac: Life and Times of Warwick Richard Guy, 1821–1905".

Here is the 1851 census record for the household of Mark and Jennifer.

Roscarrock, Endellion Parish:
NameRelStatusAgeOccupationBirthplace
Mark GayHeadM71Farmer 698 Acres Employing 27 LabsEndellion, Cornwall
Jenifer GayWifeM68 Endellion, Cornwall
Mark GayGrandson 3 Endellion, Cornwall
Elizabeth HillServantU48ServantEndellion, Cornwall
Joannah BlakeServantU34ServantEndellion, Cornwall
Jane KempthorneServantU38ServantEndellion, Cornwall
John HawkeServantU46ServantEndellion, Cornwall
Charles ThomasServantU39ServantEndellion, Cornwall
John MablyServantU35ServantEndellion, Cornwall
John MitchellServantU21ServantEndellion, Cornwall
John ProutServantU19ServantEndellion, Cornwall
Francis GilesServantU14ServantEndellion, Cornwall
William ChalkServantU14ServantEndellion, Cornwall
Charles IveyServantW43MalsterLondon
Thomas IveyVisitorU13ServantWadebridge, Cornwall
William CouchServantU17ServantEndellion, Cornwall

Mark Guy died in on 27/11/1851 and was buried at Roscarrock. In the 1861 we find Jennifer Guy living at Port Isaac:

Port Isaac, St Endellion:
NameRelStatusAgeOccupationBirthplace
Jinepher GuyHeadW78Proprietor Of HousesSt Kew, Cornwall
Mary ThomasU16House servantPort Isaac, Cornwall

Jane Guy died in the December quarter of 1868, aged 85.

Samuel (4th child of Samuel and Jane Worden)

This Samuel Worden – herein referred to as Samuel the 2nd – married Catherine Guy at Endellion on 15/3/1810. She was baptized at Endellion on 19/1/1782, and was the daughter of Warwick Guy and Grace Mallett, and hence a sister of Mark Guy above. According to information obtained from another family history researcher, Samuel and Catherine had at least six children: Grace (baptized at Endellion on 25/2/1811), Samuel (baptized at Endellion on 6/10/1812, died in infancy, buried 29/3/1814), Warwick Guy (baptized 20/9/1813), Samuel (baptized 18/12/1815), Jane (baptized April 1817), Mark Guy (baptized 24/5/1821, died aged 5, buried 6/4/1826). The son Samuel who survived will henceforth be referred to as Samuel the third. He and his brother Warwick are both in their father's household at the time of the 1841 census.

Bokelly, St Kew:
NameSexAgeOccupationBirthplace
Samuel WordenM55FarmerCornwall
Warwick WordenM25 Cornwall
Samuel WordenM25 Cornwall
Cordelia SoperF50Female ServantCornwall
Dorothy MartinM15Female ServantCornwall
Elenor GoodmanM15Female ServantCornwall
Thomas RoweM15Male ServantCornwall
Francis KentM15Male ServantCornwall
Edward LuggM15Male ServantCornwall
John ScottM15Male ServantCornwall

Catherine had died in 1832 (buried 17/11/1832 at St Kew) and the daughters had both married before 1841.

I am told that Samuel was a butcher at the time of the baptism of his son Warwick. By the 1851 census he has become a Corn Dealer.

St Kew:
NameRelStatusAgeOccupationBirthplace
Samuel WordenHeadW66Corn DealerSt Kew, Cornwall
William WordenU27CordwainerSt Kew, Cornwall

It is unfortunate that the census record does not give William's relationship to the head of the household. As explained above in the section on John (2nd child of Samuel and Jane), it seems highly probable that this William was the son of John, hence a nephew of Samuel the second.

The only death registration for a Samuel Worden between 1851 and 1861 is in the March quarter of 1851. However, a St Kew burial record shows that Samuel the 2nd died in March 1856.

Grace Worden (daughter of Samuel and Catherine) married Thomas Scott at St Kew on 1/9/1828, at the age of 17. There are St Kew baptism records for 10 children of Thomas and Grace, as follows: Catherine Guy Worden Scott (14/4/1829), John Samuel Scott (16/1/1831), Thomas Scott (17/6/1832), Thomas Scott (28/7/1833), Warwick Worden Scott (17/5/1835), Ann Scott (2/7/1837), William Scott (18/4/1839), Mary Jane Scott (28/3/1841), Mark Worden Scott (11/2/1844), Elijah Scott (7/6/1846). At the 1841 census there are seven Scott children in their parents' household: Catherine (12), Thomas (9), Grace (8), Warwick (5), Ann (4), William (2) and Mary (7m). Perhaps Grace was not baptized at St Kew but somewhere else, or perhaps the baptism record is illegible. The missing son John is surely the 10 year old servant John Scott in the household of his grandfather Samuel Worden. At the 1851 census the eldest daughter Catherine is a servant in the household of her uncle Samuel; Grace is a servant in the household of John and Mary Menhenick (aged 79 and 78) at Egloshayle; Warwick is a servant in the household of his great-uncle Joseph Worden; I cannot locate John, Thomas or William; the other children are with their parents. At the 1861 census both Ann and William are servants in the household of John and Johanna May at St Teath; Elijah is a servant in the Michaelstow household of Thomas Coleman (father of Francis Coleman, mentioned above in connection with Richard Worden, a cousin of Elijah's mother).

Jane Worden (daughter of Samuel and Catherine) married Elijah Wilce at St Kew on 5/11/1835; they had the following children: William (6/12/1835), Catharine Guy (14/5/1837), Anna Jane (3/9/1838), Frances Ann (22/9/1839), Elijah (21/3/1841), Samuel Worden (26/3/1843), George (September quarter 1845), Warrick (12/3/1848), Ellin (21/7/1850), Grace Worden (25/10/1852), Jemima (15/7/1855), Annie (26/7/1857). (Note that the Cornwall Online Census Project's transcription of Elijah's 1861 household has the surname as Wilie.)

Samuel the third married Rebecca Knight in the June quarter of 1843. They had a son named Samuel baptized at St Kew on 25/12/1844. At the 1851 census Samuel the third is an innkeeper in St Endellion, and there are three other people in his household: his wife Rebecca, their 3 year old daughter Jane, and their 22 year old niece Catherine Scott. (Catherine was the daughter of Samuel the third's sister Grace.) The only six year old Samuel Worden I can find in 1851 is a visitor in the household of a 60 year old farmer named John Moyse. In fact Samuel Worden (the 4th) is also found in Mr Moyse's household in the 1861, 1871 and 1881 censuses, and is described as a nephew of John Moyse. In the 1871 census Samuel's 21 year old sister Jane is also in Mr Moyse's household, described as his niece, and she is there again in 1881. I believe that Rebecca Knight's mother was born Susannah Moyse and was John Moyse's sister, so that Samuel (the 4th) and Jane were actually great nephew and great niece of John Moyse. By the 1861 census Samuel the third has become a butcher in Port Isaac, and there are four children in his household: Jane (13), Rebe W. (9), William M. (3) and S. C. (1). Between 1851 and 1861 the birthplace of the Jane has changed from St Endellion to Port Isaac, but it changes back again in 1871. By the 1871 census Samuel the third and Rebecca have another son, Alexander, the daughters "Rebe W." and "S. C." have become Rebecca and Susie, and everyone in the houshold has birthplace Port Isaac.

Warwick Guy Worden, brother of Samuel the third, apparently remained unmarried. The only Warwick Wordens I have located in the censuses from 1851 to 1891 are as follows:

The death of a 76 year old Warwick Worden of Liskeard on 30/1/1887 was reported in the West Briton and Cornwall Advertiser. I expect that these records all refer to the same person.

William (5th child of Samuel and Jane Worden)

Unfortunately there were several William Wordens living in Cornwall in the late 18th and early 19th century, and I cannot tell which is which. There was a William Worden married a Frances Cowlyn in Egloshayle on 6/6/1809. There was a William Worden who married Ann Kent in Egloshayle on 23/7/1810. There was a William Worden who married Jennifred Stephens in Liskeard on 1/11/1810. And there was a William Worden with a wife was named Prudence living in St Kew in 1841 and in Egloshayle in 1851. As for baptisms, there was a William Worden son of Richard and Ann baptized on 20/6/1784, there was the son of Samuel and Jane (baptized 25/9/1785) who I am trying to separate from the others, there was a William Worden son of Elizabeth Worden baptized in Egloshayle on 4/11/1787, and there was a William Worden son of William and Rebekka baptised in St Kew in March 1791.

On the basis of ages as given in the 1851 and 1861 censuses, I have identified William husband of Prudence with William son of William and Rebecca. He was six years younger than William son of Samuel and Jane. Unfortunately distinguishing William baptized 20/6/1784 from William baptized on 25/9/1785 is more problematic.

Apart from the husband of Prudence, only one William Worden in the right age range shows up in Cornwall in the 1841 census. He has a wife named Ann, possibly the Ann Kent mentioned above. They were living in St Neot. There were no sons or daughters in the household in 1841, but since Ann was aged between 45 and 50 there could well have been offspring who had left home by 1841. William and Ann show up again the 1851 census, where their ages are given as 65 and 57, their birthplaces as St Kew and Boconnock, and William's occupation is "farmer of 20 acres employing 2 labourers and 1 boy". In the 1861 census their ages are given as 75 and 67, their birthplaces as St Ewe and Boconnoc, and William is "farmer of 20 acres". The age and birthplace are right for this William to be the son of Samuel and Jane. The William son of Richard and Ann would have been 66 on census day in 1851, since he was baptized on 20/6/1784.

In the 1861 census William's household includes one Philippa Vivian, a 60 year old widow born in St Winnow, who is his sister-in-law. This ought to throw some light on the identity of William's wife, since presumably she must be either Philippa Vivian's sister or Philippa Vivian's deceased husband's sister. I could not find any evidence to corroborate the idea that William's wife was born Ann Vivian in Boconnoc in about 1794. However, from the 1851 census data we find that Philippa's husband was John Vivian, and there were also two children, Fanny (16) and Olivia (13), in their household. At the 1841 census the children are in a St Austell household consisting of Ralph Vivian (miner, 70), Catherine Vivian (65), Elizabeth Vivian (dressmaker, 20), Fanny (7) and Olivia (3). John can be found in St Cleer, but Philippa Vivian cannot be found. This led me to wonder if in fact John was a widower in 1841, and indeed it transpired that John Vivian married Philippa Lower in Liskeard in the March quarter of 1843. In the 1841 census Philippa Lower is described as a widow, and I was able to discover that Edward Scotchburn Lower, a woolcomber who died in Liskeard aged 33 on 30/9/1840, had married a Philippa Vendersluys in 1829. There was a Philippa Vendersluys, daughter of John and Elizabeth, baptized in St Winnow on 12/7/1800. Moreover, John and Elizabeth Vendersluys had a daughter named Anna baptized in Boconnoc on 2/7/1793. So this must be William Worden's wife Ann! Unfortunately I have been unable to find any record of their marriage. A search at "Family History Online" did turn up the marriage of one Ann Vandersluys: she married James Rynlls in Lostwithiel in 1835. But I believe that this Ann was the daughter of Lambertus and Martha Vandersluce who was baptized in Lostwithiel on 20/2/1814: the family can be found in the 1851 census records for Lostwithiel (with the surname given as Rennels).

Grace (6th child of Samuel and Jane Worden)

According to DT, Grace married William Soper on 25/6/1818 at St Endellion, the witnesses being Samuel Worden and Elizabeth Worden. No doubt this Samuel was Grace's brother, and perhaps Elizabeth was Grace's younger sister (Betsey). The History of Port Isaac and Port Quinn says this about William Soper: "Shopkeeper from Trecugoe St. Kew. Married his cousin Grace, daughter of Mr. S. Worden of Tresungers. No children." If indeed William and Grace had not had any children by the time these words were written (1834), we can be sure that they never had any, since Grace would have been 47 in 1834.

I conjecture that William was the son of William Soper and Cordelia Calloway, who were married on 1/11/1784 at St Kew, and that this Cordelia was the sister of Jane, wife of Samuel Worden. According to the Cornwall Family History Society, a William Soper, son of William and Cordelia, was baptized at Endellion on 28/11/1785.

William and Grace Soper are recorded in the 1841 and 1851 censuses. In 1841 they are living at Port Isaac, and William is described as a merchant. In 1851 he is described as a grocer. In both censuses there are no other people n the household. Grace died on 13/2/1855 and is buried with her father at Endellion[DT]. William may also have died in 1855, since the death of a William Soper was registered in the Bodmin district in the June quarter of that year.

Richard and Betsey (7th and 8th children of Samuel and Jane Worden)

I have not been able to find out anything about Richard or Betsey.

Cordelia (9th child of Samuel and Jane Worden)

According to the IGI database, the Cordelia Worden born in 1792 married Warwick Guy, a brother of Mark Guy (who married Cordelia's sister Jennifer) and Catherine Guy (who married Cordelia's brother Samuel). The 1841 census information for Warwick and Cordelia is as follows:

Borrowpark, Endellion Parish:
NameSexAgeOccupationBirthplace
Warwick GuyM45FarmerCornwall
Cordelia GuyF45 Cornwall
Warwick GuyM20 Cornwall
Cordelia GuyF20 Cornwall
John Samuel GuyM15 Cornwall
Jane Adelaide GuyF6 Cornwall

The 1851 census tells us the ages more accurately:

NameRelStatusAgeOccupationBirthplace
Warwick GuyHeadM58FarmerEndellion, Cornwall
Cordelia GuyWifeM58 Endellion, Cornwall
Warwick GuySonU33Farmer's sonEndellion, Cornwall

Note that the 33 year old Warwick Guy is not to be confused with his double cousin Warwick Guy (son of Mark and Jennifer) who was 5 years younger (but probably richer). Similarly John Samuel Guy is not to be confused with his double cousin Jonathan Samuel Guy (son of Mark and Jennifer) who was about a year older.

On the day of the 1851 census Amelia Huntington (Annuitant, age 47, born St Germans) and Cordelia W. Guy (Farmer's daughter, age 29, born Endellion) were visitors in the household of Thomas Worden. And in 1861 Amelia Huntington appears in the household of Warwick Guy:

NameRelStatusAgeOccupationBirthplace
Warwick GuyHeadU43FarmerEndellion, Cornwall
Cordelia GuyMotherW68HousekeeperEndellion, Cornwall
Amelia HuntingtonBoarderU58GentlewomanSt Germans, Cornwall

The elder Warwick Guy had died in the June quarter of 1860. His widow Cordelia died on 14/1/1862.

The younger Warwick Guy remained unmarried, and in each of the censuses of 1871, 1881 and 1891 he is the only person in his household. He died in Islington in the March quarter of 1894, aged 76.

John Samuel Guy married Amelia Ann Gray, daughter of Richardson Gray (an inn keeper) on 6/1/1851. According to the marriage record, John Samuel was a butcher. However, at the 1861 census he is a farm hand. The others in his household are his wife Amelia Ann (29), daughter Ann (7), sons Tharick (9, scholar) and Mark (10 months), sister Jane Adelaide Guy (27, unmarried) and sister-in-law Elizabeth Gray (12).

Jane Adelaide Guy married William Hodge in the December quarter of 1863. At the 1861 census William, aged 28 and described as a "Buss Proprietor", was living in his parents' household in Launceston, together with his siblings Martha (17) and Thomas (15), as well as his mother, Margaret, aged 50, who was described as "Wife of Buss Proprietor". William's father was absent, and I have not been able to discover his first name. William was born in Yealmbridge, Devon, although his siblings were born in Launceston.

At the time of the 1881 census William and Jane Adelaide Hodge were living at Railway Station, Okehampton, Devon, where William was Station Master. They had three children: Warwick G. Hodge (15, scholar, born at Barnstaple), Elizabeth M. Hodge (14, scholar, born at Northtawton) and Arthur Hodge (12, scholar, born at Northtawton). Also in the household were William's 75 year old widowed mother Margaret and 36 year old unmarried sister Martha. William, Jane, Elizabeth and Arthur are still found at Okehampton in 1891; the 22 year old Arthur is a Railway Clerk. Also in the household is Jane's unmarried sister Cordelia Guy (aged 71). Cordelia died in Okehampton in the March quarter of 1896.

Thomas and Joseph (10th and 11th children of Samuel and Jane Worden)

Joseph was discussed above, and there is a separate page for Thomas.

Martha (12th child of Samuel and Jane Worden)

Martha married Thomas Ford on 11/10/1817. Thomas was born in about 1793 at St Kew, son of George Ford and Jenefer Fradd; he was a miller. Martha and Thomas had 7 children:

Caroline Ann (13th child of Samuel and Jane Worden)

The baptism record gives her name as "Carolina", but all other records I have found give "Caroline".

Caroline Ann Worden married James Billing in the September quarter of 1844. The 1851 census describes James as a 39 year old farmer of 5 acres, and does not list any children in the household of James and Caroline. Caroline's age in 1851 is given as 49, which would mean a birth date between 1/4/1801 and 30/3/1802, over a year before her baptism. I cannot locate James Billing in the 1841 census. I guess that he was the son of Samuel and Phoebe Billing who was baptized in Endellion on 2/4/1809. Note that Dr Trevan's History of Port Isaac and Port Quinn says that this Samuel's son James was indeed a farmer. It is not clear if he was related to the Samuel Billing who married Mary Worden.

Various people named Billing and Ships

Caroline Ann Billing died in the September quarter of 1851. James Billing subsequently married Charity Ships. The 1841 census records for Endellion include a household containing Charity Mitchell, aged 85, Maryann Ships (20), Charity Ships (15) and Susan Ships (14). Dr Trevan's History says this of Charity Mitchell: "Widow of John Mitchell. She is grand-daughter to Mr Billing, the Quaker, a very respectable merchant formerly of this place." It is not clear if the Ships sisters were related to Mrs Mitchell. In 1851 there is an Endellion household containing Mary A. Ships (36), Charity Ships (25) and Susan Ships (23), all unmarried and described as dressmakers, and a 7 year old "visitor" named Mary Billing. I suspect that Mary Billing is the Mary Billing Ships who was born in the September quarter of 1844, and therefore the daughter of Mary A. Ships, since the 1861 census includes a household consisting of Mary A. Ships (Head, unmarried, 46, School Mistress) and Mary B. Ships (daughter, 16, Schooler). One can guess that Mary Billing Ships' father was named Billing; however, it would be too rash to conjecture that the father was James Billing, because there were several other men called Billing in Endellion at the time.

In the census of 1861 James Billing's age is given as 50, which is not consistent with the 1809 baptism. Similarly, in 1871 his age is given as 60. However, in 1881 it is given as 73, and at his death in the last quarter of 1885 it is given as 77. So I think that he really was the James baptized in 1809. At the time of the 1871 census James and Charity Billing had three children living at home: Samuel (16), Thomas F. (14) and Gertrude (8).

To add a further level of complication to this story, Mary Billing Ships married Joseph Pascoe Billing in the September quarter of 1865. This Joseph has already been mentioned on this page: his father was Joseph, the son of Samuel and Mary Billing (née Worden), and his mother was Susanna née Skinner. Joseph Pascoe Billing was a mariner. On the night of the 1871 he was absent from his household, no doubt because he was at sea or in some remote port. The census record for the household shows three children: Joseph (4), Francis (2) and William (8m). Apparently the sons William and Joseph became mariners, and they perished when the ship Eastern Maid was lost somewhere between Morrisonshaven and Plymouth on or about 22nd October 1885. The master of the Eastern Maid was one Richard Hoskin, who in the September quarter of 1879 had married Tabitha Billing, sister of the Joseph who married Mary Ships.

If you have any corrections, complaints, criticisms, suggestions or additional information, please email bobhow@tpg.com.au.