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New Boam Generations Revealed By Darrin Lythgoe 
Until recently, my Boam genealogy only stretched as far back as William Boam, born in Derbyshire about 1755, the father of the Thomas Boam who came to America in 1854. We didn't have an exact date for William's birth, nor did we have any information on his parents or other previous generations. Now, however, recent research online and at the LDS Family History Library in Salt Lake City has uncovered strong evidence pointing to five additional generations of Boams in Derbyshire, England, dating back to the 16th century. Here's what I found, along with what we already knew: William Boam (father of Thomas) What we knew: He married Mary ALSOP in 1784 in Burton-upon-Trent, Staffordshire, and there had eight children. He possibly had a second wife, Amy HARRIS, whom he married sometime after his first wife died in 1812. William died in 1822. Intriguing circumstances: Previous to William, there were no Boams in the Burton-upon-Trent area. Did they come from somewhere else? Also, some group sheets list an extra son, James, although no record exists of his birth or christening. Big questions: Who is James? Who is Amy Harris? One Boam descendant's sheet said that James was actually James Harris, and was adopted. This actually fits. James Harris was christened 3 Jan 1804 in the parish of Belper, Derbyshire, the son of Richard and Ann Harris. Then in 1814, two years after the death of Mary Alsop Boam, Ann Harris married William Boam in Duffield, Derbyshire, the parish adjacent to Belper. Amy is most likely a nickname or a simple misspelling of Ann Harris, and James Boam was most likely James Harris, Amy's son by her first marriage. Who were William's parents? Where did he come from? An IGI search for all William Boams born between 1750 and 1770 yields the following:
The case for #3: Although Bakewell is a good distance from Burton-upon-Trent (by 18th century standards), there is some evidence that this is the right William. That evidence comes from 18th century British naming patterns. Most British families in that time period had the practice of naming their children after close family members, often the parents and grandparents of the husband and wife. Now although our William didn't name any of his daughters Joannah, he did have a son George and a daughter Sarah. This is significant because those were the names of Joanna's parents. She was christened in Bakewell in 1740. George Boam (father of Joannah, grandfather of William) What we know: Assuming that we have found the correct William Boam, we know that his grandfather was George Boam. We know that George Boam married Sarah OLIVER in 1730 and was buried in 1762 (he was buried the same day that his daughter Mary christened her second illegitimate child). Intriguing circumstances: George's widow, Sarah Oliver Boam, didn't die until much later in 1780. Also, there are no records of a christening for a George Boam when you'd expect it, around 1705. There was a George BOWN christened in Bakewell in 1705 and another in 1710 to the same family, but the likelihood that this was a spelling mistake is very low, as there are plenty of other people with the surname BOWN who lived in Bakewell at the time. Big question: So when was George christened? The only George BOAM christened in or near Bakewell that seems to be a candidate was christened in 1682, but that would mean he was 48 when he married Sarah. How likely is that? Well, in 1711 a George Boam married Gertrude LINEGAR. There is only one child on record for this couple, a son Francis christened in 1713. Since the George born in 1682 had a brother named Francis, I consider it highly likely that this is the same George. But for this to be the same George that married Sarah Oliver in 1730, Gertrude would have to have died before then. According to the Bakewell registers, she did, and was buried in 1727, excellent timing to allow George to remarry three years later. The fact that Sarah died much later than George also lends itself to the idea that George was much older than her. Others The Boam genealogy beyond George is fairly straightforward until the registers end (or begin) in 1614. There are a few loose ends, however: Sarah Oliver Who was she? Unfortunately there is not enough evidence at the moment to locate her christening record, as there were two Sarah Olivers christened in the Bakewell area at the time. One was born to Daniel Oliver and christened in 1706 in Eyam, and the other was born to William and Ann Oliver in 1711 in Baslow. The names of the parents and siblings involved seem to suggest that William and Ann were the more likely parents, but the names are also very common. I have also checked the Eyam registers from 1706 to 1711 but found nothing (like a burial record) that would allow me to rule out the first Sarah on those grounds. There is a marriage record for a second Sarah Oliver, in 1739 in Hope (also near Bakewell), so it is unlikely that either of the Sarahs died young. However, it is not possible to right to now to positively identify which Sarah is which. Joannah Boam What became of her? I checked the Bakewell burials registers from 1763 until 1820 and found no record of her burial. There are also no records of any marriages for anyone with that name. There is, however, a marriage between a Hannah Boam and a James CHADWICK in 1773 in Bakewell. There are no corresponding christening records for anyone named Hannah Boam. Could Hannah and Joannah be the same person? I believe that it is very likely, especially since Joannah had a second illegitimate child, a daughter named Hannah, christened in 1763. So could Joannah's children have changed their last name to Chadwick? Could James Chadwick have been the children's biological father? I suppose many things are possible here, but I believe the scenarios laid out above are the most likely. Doubts? More information? If you have any information or opinions to the contrary, please share them with me. I can be reached at darrin@lythgoes.net. |