Robert Avery born England 1768-1769 died Quenington, Gloucestershire, England 1 May 1843

Jane Blunsden born England died England ~1834

sheryl dot buncic at gmail dot com 18 June 2012

Robert Averys birthplace is not yet known, nor is there any information about his parents. According to his burial record, he was born in 1768-69. Jane Blunsdens predecessors are unclear due to both the real and potential variations in the spelling of her surname. The names Blunsden, Brunson, Branson, Bransom and much later, Brunsden are all in use, and of course, other variants could exist. For now, there are two possible sets of parents for Jane. Firstly, and perhaps more likely because of the names given to her children (in spite of the surname variation), is Jane Brunson, baptised in St. Leonards Upton, Gloucestershire 17 January 1773 to parents William and Jane Brunson. These potential parents of our Jane Blunsden, William Brunson and Jane Pinnal, had been married in St. Leonards Upton, Gloucestershire on 18 November 1767. A second option is Jane Blunsden, baptised in Down Ampney, Gloucestershire 18 September 1757 to parents Richard and Sarah Blunsden. There is no proof that either of these women are our Jane Blunsden. Robert Avery married Jane Blunsden on 10 November 1796 in St. Swithins Anglican Parish Church, Quenington, Gloucestershire1. Robert seems to have worked as a miller at Quenington Mill, Quenington, Gloucestershire, England most of his working life, at least between 1789 and his death in 1843. Because of this, it seems likely all his children were born in Quenington. Robert Avery of Quenington is mentioned in a deed made in 17892, the co-signatory of which is probably William Fifield of Coln St. Aldwyns [this deed has yet to be viewed, but perhaps relates to Robert taking over the mill]. Coln St. Aldwyns is a neighbouring village to Quenington; both villages are on the River Coln. In 1850, Quenington Mill was valued and passed into the hands of Robert and Mary Millin, and at this time, some property of Mr Averys left in the mill was also valued3 [this has not yet been viewed, but Gloucestershire Archives are asking for permission from the owners for this record to be copied]. Robert and Jane Avery had the following children baptised in St. Swithins Church [note the different surname spellings transcribed in baptismal records on-line], and since it seems clear that Robert lived and worked at Quenington Mill, the children were born here too: 1. John Brunson Avery (bapt. Quenington 27 September 1798; m. Hannah/Anna Hewer; d. Hobart, Van Diemens Land 11 August 1843 [or 11 July 1843]). John and Hannah Avery had three children who survived to adulthood. 2. Mary Avory (bapt. Quenington 1801; Mary died as a baby, since the next child is also Mary) 3. Mary Avory (bapt. Quenington 5 June 1803; m. Richard King on 1 December 1825 in Quenington) 4. William Avory (bapt. Quenington 11 August 1805; probably m1. Martha Buckingham 25 April 1822; m2. Rachel Stephens regd. Newent March 1841 Vol. 11, p. 335). If William married Martha there is no record of children. William and Rachel Avery had ten children. 5. Jane Margaret Avory (bapt. Quenington 13 September 1809; m1. Henry Allsop on 20 March 1834 in Quenington; m2. Charles Priddey regd. September 1855 in Birmingham Vol. 6d, p. 76). Henrys surname is transcribed as Allsep in the on-line marriage record. No surviving children. 6. Sarah Avery (bapt. Coln St. Aldwyns 9 February 1812; d. young?) For now, there is no further information about Sarah, but from her brother Johns prison record, it seems possible she had died by 1838. Robert Avery, miller of Quenington is listed in Pigots Directory of 1830 4, and according to Viner, is also listed in Pigots 1842 Directory5. On 3 May 1839, Robert Avery and his son William Avery, together with Samuel Ivin, were witnesses to the will of Joseph Bayliss, labourer of Quenington 6. This is interesting, since a Samuel and Mary Brunson had three daughters in Quenington (Mary bapt. 1 October 1781; Elizabeth bapt. 19 February 1783; Martha bapt. 3 October 1785), and Martha Brunson later married Solomon Ivin on 14 November 1807.
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A map of Quenington, clearly showing the Mill, and published by Vinner 4 is on page 4. Viner wrote the following about Quenington Mill, where Robert and Jane Avery lived with their family:
This mill is the upper of the two sites on the Coln, and is sited amongst other cottages and houses of the village alongside the river. The straight alignment of the mill leat can clearly be seen on the First Edition OS 1:2500 map of 1882, in sharp contrast to the winding course of the river. The mill site consists of an L-shaped house and mill with a smaller mill cottage across the small yard. No date has yet been established for the surviving buildings, although they may be earlier than the 19th century date ascribed in VCH (p.125). They remain unlisted, presumably because of the comprehensive scale of rebuilding which was undertaken in 1969-71 (see below). Other than the Domesday and 1338 references above, the next documentary reference is for 1507. The property was owned by Richard Morton early in the 18th century, by Richard Aldridge in 1776, and was bought by Samuel Blackwell in 1783 to go with the manor. Pigot's Directory records Robert Avery as the miller in 1830 and 1842. Thereafter, the directories of Morris & Co (1876) and Kelly's (1870-1939 passim) list the individuals involved. John Millin is miller in 1870 and one Emanuel Timbrell is a mealman and grocer; Mrs Mary Millin (?widow) has become the miller by 1876. In both these years, incidentally, there is a separate entry for the paper mill, where William Alfred West is listed as paper manufacturer (this reference does not re-appear subsequently). In 1871, as part of an exchange, the corn mill was transferred to the Hatherop estate which had been purchased by Sir Thomas Bazley in 1867. Presumably as tenants, the Clifford family - firstly at Honeycombe Leaze Farm and later at Mawley Farm - appear as farmers and millers, Reuben Charles Clifford between 1879-97 and Ernest Clifford from 1906 through to 1939. Various millers in their turn are listed during this period: Geo. Timbrell (?son of Emanuel) in 1885, where he also ran the post office and grocers shop; Philip Hall in 1889, who was also postmaster and corn merchant; and Lawrence Debney in 1894 and 1897 Although the date when the mill ceased milling is not recorded, it remained in use at least until the late 1930's and possibly into the war years. It also retained its name locally as Clifford's mill. Mr Raymond Bailey was working there milling both corn and animal feed up until 1937, when Mr Eddolls took over as foreman for the Williamstrip Estate. Other villagers could take their grain to the mill in nearby Coln, operated by Percy Mustoe.

In 1841, Robert Avery is also recorded in the UK census of Gloucestershire, when all the residents in Quenington Mill house were recorded as being born in the county: Robert Avery, 70, miller; William Avery [son], 30, miller; Rachel Avery [daughter-in-law], 20; William Avery [grandson], 20; Charles Avery [grandson], 9; William Edgington, 15, servant; Sarah Grailing, 15, farm servant7. Interestingly, there was another Avery family in Quenington at the same time as Robert and Jane. They are John and Martha Avery, who baptised four children in Quenington: Robert, bapt. 4 May 1786; Jane, bapt. 1 October 1788; John, bapt. 30 September 1794; and Anne, bapt. 4 October 1797. Perhaps this John Avery is our Roberts brother or cousin. It was probably this Ann Avery who married Joseph Smith in Quenington on 25 October 1819. Jane Avery probably died in Quenington in 1834 (some descendants have this as her year of death), but so far no official record has been found. Robert Avery died and was buried in Quenington on 1 May 1843 at the age of 748. Note that grandson Henry thought Robert was in his 90s when he died. There is no official record of Roberts death in freebdm on-line, nor in Gloucestershire county records on-line.

John Brunson Avery John Brunson Avery is probably Robert and Jane Averys oldest surviving child, and was baptised in St. Swithins Church, Quenington 27 September 1798, according to familysearch.org records. John married Hannah Hewer - you can read current speculation about her in the accompanying article dedicated to John and Hannah Avery. John Brunson Avery was a baker and miller, and he was also recorded as a corn dealer on son Charley Averys death certificate. John and Hannah Avery moved from Gloucestershire to live in London for some time, baptising daughter Jane in Hammersmith, central London, son Charles in Southwark (John is recorded as a baker in both these baptismal records), and son Henry in Middlesex, before returning to live in Charlton Kings, Gloucestershire. John Brunson and Hannah/Anna Avery had eight children, of whom five died when they were young; the names of four of these children are not known nor are their birth/death dates, although according to son Henry Frederick Avery they were three girls and one boy, born between eldest son William Robert Avery and youngest son Henry F. Avery. Four named children of John Brunson and Hannah Avery are: 1. William Robert Avery ([Bill] b. Lechlade, Gloucestershire, England ~1821; m1. Emma Hewenson on 25 November 1843 in St. Mary, Charlton Kings; m2. Sarah Merrett in St. Mary de Lode, Gloucester, marriage regd. Sept 1855 Vol. 6a p. 400; d. Kidderminster 22 December 1871 aged 50) 2. Jane Margaret Avery (bapt. 6 August 1826 in St. Pauls Church, Hammersmith, Middlesex, London to parents John Brunson and Hannah Avery; d. as a baby) 3. Charles Avery ([Charley] b. Southwark Bridge Road, Sussex, [London], England 31 December 1831; bapt. St George the Martyr, Southwark, Sussex [London] 20 May 1832; m. Elizabeth Cooper on 15 December 1861 in Walsall, Staffordshire, England; d. Auckland, New Zealand 8 January 1891; bur Waikumete Cemetery, Non-Conformist, Block A, Section 4, Plot 56) 4. Henry Frederick Avery (b. Middlesex [London], England 21 April 1834; m. Elizabeth Lugg on 7 April 1856 in Smethwick, West Bromwich, England; d. Connellsville, Pennsylvania, USA 26 September 1918; bur. Bryner Ridge Cemetery, Ohiopyle, PA). Elizabeth Lugg Avery b. England 1833; d. 22 December 1892 aged 59 years and is buried with Henry. Hannah Avery probably died [presumably in Charlton Kings, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire] when her youngest son was four years old, so she may have died around 1838-39. John was convicted of forging and uttering a deed in 1838 in the Gloucester Assizes, and subsequently sentenced to transportation as a convict in Van Diemens Land, where he died 11 August 1843. Mary Avery Mary is Robert and Jane Averys third child, baptised in St. Swithins Church, Quenington 5 June 1803, called after her younger sister, who had died as a baby. She married Richard King in Quenington. Richard and Mary King emigrated as farmers to Upper Canada, a wide region of Canada which included Toronto, and from where she later sent money to her brother William in Quenington to enable him to send their nephew, Henry F. Avery, to live with her in Canada. She was later called Anne by her nephew, so it is perhaps this was an alternative name used by the family, or perhaps she had a compound name, Mary Ann. A Richard King lived in Frontenac County ,Wolfe Island, Canada West [Ontario] during the 1851 and 1861 Canadian census: his age is 52 in 1851, 60 in 1861, and both censuses say he was b. England, which can be calculated as between 1799 and 1801. He was married in 1861, and religion was Church of England, but there is no mention of his wifes name. Also in both the 1851 and 1861 Canadian censuses, a Mary King, born in England, lived in Frontenac County, Wolfe Island, Canada West [Ontario]. In 1851,
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this Mary King stated she was 49, and in 1861 that she was married, Church of England, and 57 years old - so her date of birth should be between 1802-04. There is no further information about Mary Avery. William Avery William Avery is the fourth child of Robert and Jane Avery, baptised in St. Swithins Church, Quenington 11 August 1805. William also worked as a miller at Quenington Mill, as can be seen from 1841 census data7. William might have married Martha Buckingham 25 April 1822. He married Rachel Stephens regd. Newent March 1841 Vol. 11, p. 335. William and Rachel Avery had at least ten children: 1. Elizabeth Avery (bapt. Quenington 5 December 1841). Living on own means with brother William in 1891 and still with her brother in 1901. Did not marry, no children. 2. Edmand Robert Avery (bapt. Quenington 5 April 1843; d; bur. Quenington 13 April 1843 at 10 days) 3. Robert Edward Avery (bapt. Quenington 20 June 1844; d; bur. Quenington 6 July 1844 at 4 months of age) 4. Jane Avery (bapt. Quenington 28 September 1845) 5. William Avery (bapt. Quenington 2 March 1847; m. Ellen Ann Tocknell regd. Gloucester in June 1875 Vol. 6a, p. 460). Ellen [Nellie] b. Camden Town, London. William and Nellie Avery were close to their first cousins once removed, the sons and daughters of William Robert Avery, as they are mentioned in letters and diaries kept by descendants in New Zealand. In 18919, William and Nellie lived at 109 Moseley Rd, Birmingham. William Avery, 44, worked as an engine driver, while 36-year old Ellen Avery, was employed as a refreshment house keeper, and she had eldest daughter, 15-year old Eleanor, assisting her in the shop. Also at home were William, 12, Florence, 8, Mildred, 6, and Ernest, 4 years old. Williams sister, Elizabeth Avery, 49, living on her own means, and born in Quenington Gloucestershire, also lived with them. In 190110, William and Ellen lived at 52 Erasmus Road, Aston, Bordesley, Birmingham. William, then 54, was a stationary engine driver, while daughters Eleanor, Florence and Mildred worked as cardboard paper makers, and Ernest was a printers apprentice. Sister Elizabeth still lived with William and Ellen, and was aged 59 in 1901. William and Ellen Averys children are: a) Eleanor Avery (b. Chaddesley Corbett, Worcestershire ~1876) b) William Avery (b. Gloucestershire ~1879). Scholar in 1891. c) Florence Avery (b. Grantham, Lincolnshire ~1883). Scholar in 1891. d) Mildred Avery (b. Grantham, Lincolnshire ~1886). Scholar in 1891. e) Ernest Avery (b. Grantham, Lincolnshire ~1887) f) Ethel K. Avery (b. Birmingham ~1892) 6. Mary Anne Avery (bapt. Quenington 9 July 1848) 7. Fanny Avery (bapt. Quenington 7 October 1849; d; bur. Quenington 5 January 1850 at 4 months of age) 8. Marianne Avery (b. 1850; m. Harry Randall). Harry Randall b. 1855. Their son, Harry Avery Randall, b. 1891; m. Hilda Emile Parkman; d. 1936. Harry Avery Randall was a captain on a Fyffes banana boat and died at sea in 1936 near the Azores. His body was returned to England in the refrigerated hold of the ship. 9. Bertha (bapt. Minchinhampton 27 January 1853; d. Minchinhampton 31 January 1853 at 4 days) 10. Osman Avery (bapt. Minchinhampton 31 August 1856; m. Annie Alma Santer or Sauter regd. Holborn December 1876 Vol. 1b, p. 1216; d. Brighton December 1922). Annie b. Spittlefields ~March 1856; d. Brighton ~June 1921. Osman and Anne Avery had two children: i) Eleanor Annie Avery b. regd. Shoreditch June 1877 Vol. 1c, p. 69. ii) William Osman Avery b. regd. Hackney September 1878 Vol. 1b, p. 512.

Note that William and Rachel Avery must have had a very difficult period during 1843-44, since two of their children plus Williams Dad all died in Quenington within a very short time of each other. Jane Margaret Avery Jane Margaret Avery is Robert and Jane Averys fifth child, baptised in St. Swithins Church, Quenington 13 September 1809. Jane Margaret Avery firstly married Henry Allsep [sp. Allsop]. They lived in Down Ampney, Gloucestershire, where Henry Allsop was a baker, and by 1838, probably lived in Gloucester. However, both Henry and their daughter died. Widowed Jane Margaret Allsop then married Charles Priddey, marriage regd. in Birmingham September 1855 Vol. 6d, p. 76. They did not have any children. In 1861, Charles and Jane Priddey were lodging at 211 King Edwards Rd, Birmingham, and Jane worked as a housekeeper11. The record is: head of house was Elizabeth Rayner, unmarried and 50 years old, born in Boston Lincolnshire; Jane M. Priddary, lodger, married, 49, housekeeper, of Quenington, Gloucestershire; Charles Priddary, lodger, married, 59, bricklayer, born in Droitwich Worcestershire.

Indexing Project MO3625-1. Source Film No. 857049. At: https://www.familysearch.org/. Last accessed 20 May 2012.
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Gloucester Archives On-line Catalogue. D10820/P4-1/i. Deeds and Related Papers; Quenington. William Fifield (Coln St Aldwyns) and Robert Avery (Quenington), 1789. At: http://ww3.gloucestershire.gov.uk/DServe/DServe.exe?dsqApp=Archive&dsqDb=Catalog&dsqCmd=Index.tcl. Last accessed 20 May 2012.
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Gloucester Archives On-line Catalogue. D2455/E1/4/14. Correspondence and papers concerning exchange of property between Sir Michael Edward Hicks Beach and T .S. Bazley, 1870, including Quenington Mill and Staffords in Hatherop. . At: http://ww3.gloucestershire.gov.uk/DServe/DServe.exe?dsqApp=Archive&dsqDb=Catalog&dsqCmd=Index.tcl. Last accessed 20 May 2012.
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Pigot's Directory of Gloucestershire, 1830. Fairford, Lechlade & Neighbourhoods, Gloucestershire. At: http://www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/GLS/Fairford/Pigot1830.html. Last accessed 20 May 2012.
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Viner, D. 1998. Quenington corn mill and its peripatetic water wheel. In: Gloucestershire Society for Industrial Archaeology Journal, pages 23-31. At: www.gsia.org.uk/reprints/1998/gi199823.pdf. Last accessed 20 May 2012.
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Gloucestershire Wills. Abstracts of Gloucestershire Probate Records. At: http://willsdb.gukutils.org.uk/GLS/WillsB.html. Last accessed 20 May 2012.
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1841 UK Census of Quenington. Class HO107, 352.

Burials at Quenington, Gloucestershire. 1841 to 1911. At: http://www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/GLS/Quenington/Burials1841to1911.html. Last accessed 20 May 2012.
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1891 UK Census of Aston, Birmingham, Warwickshire. Eccl. District of Saint Albans. RG12, Piece 2405, Folio 3, Page 1.
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1091 UK Census of Aston, Birmingham, Warwickshire. RG13, Piece 2859, Folio 175, Page 27.

1861 UK Census of Ladywood, Birmingham, Warwickshire. Eccl. District of St Mark, Enumeration District 21. Page 34, Folio 65. At: http://www.hunimex.net/warwick/freecens/1861/62131.html. Last accessed 20 May 2012.