Notizen zu dieser Person
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THOMAS ITHILL (ETHELL) 1759-1842
Thomas ITHILL (ETHELL) was born as William SMITH, on the 3rd of August 1759 at Prees, Shropshire, the illegitimate son of Anne Smith, the father being Francis Reynolds, a married man.
On checking for the baptism of Thomas Ithill, nothing could be found, but on August 19, 1759 William, the illegitimate son of Anne Smith, was found in the 'Bishop's Transcripts for Prees, Shropshsire.
Bastardy Bonds for the parish (in Shropshire CR0 in Shrewsbury) show one stating that "Ann Smith of the parish of Prees, singlewoman, hath in her voluntary examination-declared herself to be now pregnant and with child and that the said Francis Reynolds (of Hodnet) is the true andsole father thereof; "Hodnet Parish Registers state that Francis Reynolds was married but childless.
Between 1756 and 1760, in return for financial help from Parliament, The Foundling Hospital, London and various other places throughoutEngland, were obliged to accept all children offered to it, and many parishes throughout England saw this as a convenient way of disposing of illegitimate children who were a charge on the parish.
It became common for a sort of 'token' to be left with the baby as a means of identification should the parents later in life find themselves able to claim and maintain their child or in case the mother should be charged with killing her 'missing' child.
With Thomas Ithill's admission paper to the hospital was a scrap of paper; written in a very poor hand stating, "This is to sattisfi (sic) the under taker of this plase (sic) that al sides are willing and the child was born in Prees Parish August ye 3 1759 William Smith franses ranalls ann smith"
It was the practice for all babies to bebaptized in names chosen by the hospital authorities and to use these for the rest of their lives. The following is an extract from the records of the Foundling Hospital:
4 September 1759 a male child about one month old requiring a wet nurse was admitted, being given the number 13853...the child was born in Prees Parish (Shropshire) August the 3 1759... No. 13853 named Thomas Ithill was sent tonurse on 8 September 1759 with Mary Ward of ST. Mary Cray, under the Sevenoaks Inspection of Doctor Lane. (Note: There was a schoolteacher Thomas Ithill in Hodnet; no relation, but perhaps that is where they found the name.)
Thomas was transferred to Westerham Hospital on 21 April 1765; he returned to London on 24 June 1766 and was inoculated for smallpox the same month, sent to Ackworth Hospital (near Pontefract) on 2 May 1 768; he was apprenticed on the 9 June 1768 to John Frear of Norton (near to Malton) in the County of York, a farmer, to be employed in husbandry; the indentures were finally sealed on 29 June 1 768.
Thomas Ithill (Ethell) married Deborah Rose in Scampston Chapel, near Rillington, on 12 February 1782. They had three children: John, Richard, and Hannah.
Richard, born 17 March 1784, Mary Beedison.
Their son William, born 1808, married Tabitha Hornsby.
Their son Thomas, born 20 March 1835, married Hannah Hodgson (Hotchen). They were the parents of a woman who married Henry Fuller, Richard, and Tabitha.
Their son Richard Launcelot Ethell (born 1861 or 1863) was our grandfather. He came to the United States somewhere around 1883.
Richard married Martha Francis; they were the parents of six children: Robert, George,
Mary, Sylvia, and Sophia. It is believed a baby named Rose died at birth or very young.
After Martha's death, he married Lorinda Beatrice Curtis.
Richard and Lorinda were the parents of Emily Tabitha (Aunt Ethel), Thomas, Celia Eliza (Aunt Jo),Esther Viola, and Wayne. (We believe Wayne's middle name was Frederick.
There was a family story that Richard's parents had also come to the U.S. and that is so as Thomas Ethell, Richard's father died January 14, 1900, in Wood Co., Wisconsin. His mother Hannah died in 1913 in St. Paul, Minnesota; his sister TabithaEthell Holzman, died in 1935 in Rock Elm, Wisconsin.
Aunt Ethel said that her Aunt Eliza had come to visit them in Iowa when Ethel was nine years old. We have not been able to find a record of Eliza. Also Thomas Ethell and his wife JaneHannah Mennell and their children lived near Richard in Boone Co., Iowa. Whether Thomas was a brother or cousin is unclear although Ethel speaks of "Aunt Jane."
Klaus Helmut
Gevert
