Friday, October 7, 2016

Dinah Portas Second Daughter of Joseph and Elizabeth

Dinah PORTAS is the daughter of Joseph and Elizabeth (Moor) Portas. There is nothing special or unusual about her that causes me to write other than she is also the older sister of Joseph a shepherd from Lambcroft.

I am of the thinking, if I write about Joseph and Elizabeth's children, maybe, just maybe, I can figure out where and when Joseph and Elizabeth are buried. The most obvious place of burial would be Marshchapel where their last child was baptized in 1756, but I've been through the parish records and bishop's transcripts so many times and have found nothing. That doesn't mean the burial of one, possibly both, isn't there, it just means I haven't found anything. I wrote a little about the quest on May 16, 2012 – Hunting and Gathering in the Family History Library – just five months before I found Joseph's baptism.

BAPTIZED
Dinah was baptized in Wyham cum Cadeby, Lincolnshire (Lincs), England, on 10 Oct 1742, 10 years before brother Joseph. She was the second child/daughter born to Joseph and Elizabeth. The date is the Julian calendar year.




Wyham cum Cadeby parish church is dedicated to All Saints
which was restored around 1886. It is an ancient building.
You can find information on
 Wyham cum Cadeby on Rootsweb.
This church image is by Paul 
Fenwick and
can be found on Lincolnshire Church Photographs.

MARRIAGE
Dinah married Matthew WARDALL in Fulstow, Lincs, on 18 Jul 1770. She was fairly old by this time - 28. I wonder if she felt like Charlotte Lucas the best friend of Elizabeth Bennett in "Pride and Prejudice" that she must marry Mr. Collins or be left with nothing. That is something each woman had to endure back then.



Matthew and Dinah had five known children: Matthew, Faith, Thomas, Ann, and Christopher. They didn't follow the naming practices otherwise Joseph would have been named second son not Thomas. So maybe there were more children I haven't found. There is a five-year gap between Ann and Christopher for possibly containing more children. All the children were baptized in Fulstow, Lincs.


ABOUT MATTHEW
Matthew was baptized in Healing, Lincs, on 7 Jul 1742 to Thomas and Ann Wardall. Healing is a village about 17 miles north of Fulstow.


Baptism record on Lincs to the Past, a website owned by the Lincolnshire Archives.
Healing parish church is dedicated to St. Peter and St. Paul.
You can find information on Healing on Wikipedia.
This church image is by Paul Fenwick and
can be found on Lincolnshire Church Photographs.

Matthew, a farmer, was buried in Fulstow on 4 Apr 1801 at age 57. In his Last Will and Testament found on a family member's website, Matthew leaves to his only living son, Thomas, "all cottages, closes, land, etc. situated in the several parishes of Theddlethorpe or elsewhere in the county of Lincoln." Matthew must have done well for himself with being a "farmer" and all this property being left to his son. I don't know who else received from the will. I know daughter Ann was still alive, but have no idea if Faith was also. 



Fulstow parish church is an ancient church dedicated to St. Lawrence. 
It is believed this church dates back to the 1200s. 
BURIAL
Dinah didn't stay in Fulstow after Matthew died. She must have moved in with her daughter Ann who was living in Theddlethorpe about 15 miles southeast of Fulstow. Dinah died at age 64 and was buried in All Saints churchyard on 1 Apr 1807.

All Saints, Theddlethorpe parish church burial record on Lincs to the Past,
a website owned by the Lincolnshire Archives.
All Saints parish church. Image by Wendy Parkinson
and can be found online at Lincolnshire Church Photographs.

AM I CONFUSED OR WHAT?
What do you think? Joseph and Elizabeth could have been buried in Fulstow or Marshchapel. Another possibility would be Joseph buried in Marshchapel and Elizabeth buried somewhere else where one of her daughters lived. I don't think it could be Theddlethorpe since Dinah wasn't there until after 1801 when Matthew died. 

I have no clue if Joseph died before his wife or not. So where and when did he go last? Elizabeth's last son was born in 1756 so we know she was alive then. She could have lived up to about 1800, but most likely not. I have a feeling I'll be doing a little more hunting. This will take more time. Heck, it's only been about 10 years since I first started looking.

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