Dowland FHL Records

Friday, January 15, 2010

This week I searched all of the Dowland records located in the FHL for any and all Smales. This is what I discovered:

Film 933230 Item 7- Parish Register printouts of Dowland, Devon, England; christenings, 1743-1840-
* No Smales listed

Film 917196 Item 4- Parish Transcripts for Dowland and Iddesleigh:
Downland: baptisms, 1743-1840; marriages, 1742-1792, 1813-1840; burials, 1742-1840;
Iddesleigh: baptisms, 1553-1545, 1553-1557, 1569-1611, 1623-1840:
• Dowland: Richard Smale son of Rich and Mary-Ann (Dark) Smale, Upcott- farmer- baptized on 30 Jan 1822
• Iddesleigh: William Smale son of Edmond and Emma Smale baptized on 23 Apr 1663 (or 1603)
• Iddesleigh: John Smale son of William and Johan Smale (Dowland) baptized on 12 Apr 1674
• Iddesleigh: William Smale son of Edward and Priscilla Smale baptized on 10 May 1687.

Book 942.35/D18 K29m- Dowland marriage registers, 1813-1837, compiled by the Devon Family History Society (typed transcript).
* No Smales listed

Book 42.35/D18 K29d- Dowland burials 1742-1812, compiled by the Devon Family History Society (typed transcript).
* No Smales listed

Film 1471061 Item 13- Land tax assessment for Dowland, 1780-1832, microfilmed original documents (in very bad shape).
* From what I could read- no Smales listed

I was searching Dowland to find the birth and marriage record for Elizabeth Anstey who married Samuel Smale of Beaford around 1855-1860. I did find her birth record in the parish register transcripts (not included here as she is not a Smale), but no marriage record, which is not surprising as none of these records cover the correct time period. At this time in history, a record of the marriage should show up in the civil registration (www.freebmd.org.uk), but it does not. It is possible that they were never married. It is possible that the record was destroyed in the air raids in WWII. Somehow, this record has proved rather elusive. But the search will continue...