The earliest record of the Bristol Paradices is the marriage of Ambrose
Paradice, which occurred in 1793 in the town of Corsham, Wiltshire. Corsham lies on the southwestern edge of the
Cottswold Hills approximately 13 miles from Devizes and 9 miles from Seend. The town is distinguished by its limestone
buildings, which include the 17th century almshouses and Flemish
weaver’s cottages that were standing when Ambrose lived there. Corsham had approximately 2400 residents at
the turn of the 19th century.
Its economy centered on producing and spinning wool and weaving it into cloth.
The Parish Church of Corsham’s records show the marriage of Ambrose Paradice to Betty Toors
(or Toose[1])
on June 27, 1793.
Ambrose and Betty were married by
banns. For a marriage by banns (as
opposed to marriage by licence), the parish priest makes the following
announcement during the church service(s) on three consecutive Sundays: “I publish the Banns of Marriage between N and N. If anyone knows cause or
just impediment why these two should not be joined, ye are to declare it.” The Banns for Ambrose and Betty were read
June 9, 16 and 23.
Although the Banns list both Ambrose and Betty as
being “of the parish,” the Corsham parish register does not record their
baptisms. No other records of Paradice
or Toors/Toose families occur within the Corsham parish records back to about 1765. Based on their stated ages at death, Ambrose
was born in about 1760, and Betty was born in about 1774. If their families had been members of the
Corsham parish, at least Betty’s baptism should have been recorded.[2]
Ambrose and Betty resided in Corsham for about 15 or
20 years after their marriage. Ambrose
likely worked there as a baker, which was his primary (but not his only) occupation
after the family moved to Bristol. While
residing in Corsham, Ambrose and Betty had at least eight children, who were
baptized at the parish church. Two more
children were born later, at least one of them in Bristol. The children were:
James
Paradice, who was born on January 1, 1794 and christened on June
8, 1794;
George
Paradice, who was christened on February 7, 1796; George died in 1821 and was buried at St.
Mary’s Redcliffe, Bristol on June 20, 1821;
John
Paradice, who was born on November 27, 1797 and christened on December
31, 1797;
Ambrose
Paradice, who was born on December 27, 1799 and christened on
March 9, 1800;
Elizabeth
Paradice, who was born on January 24, 1802 and christened on
10 Apr 1802[3];
Elizabeth died on January 15, 1803 and was buried on January 18, 1803 at the
parish church in Corsham;
Ann
Paradice, who was born on December 24, 1803 and christened on
January 22, 1804;
William
Perry[4] Paradice, who was born on January 26, 1806 and christened on May 25, 1806; William
Perry died in Bristol and was buried on January 6, 1823.
Francis
Paradice, who was born on July 27, 1807 and christened on August
23, 1807;
Elizabeth
Paradice, who was born in about January 1812, likely in Bristol; she died at
the age of 15 months and was buried on April 16, 1813 at St. George’s Church, Bristol;
Martha
Paradice, who was christened on November 6, 1814 at St. George's
Church in Bristol.
Sometime
between August 1807 and April 1813, Ambrose Paradice and his family moved to
the large city of Bristol in Gloucestershire, where he worked as a baker. This occupation is shown on the christening
record of his daughter Martha. In
addition, at some point Ambrose was involved in business as an auctioneer and
appraiser in partnership with his son Ambrose, Jr. From 1824 to 1831 Mathew's Bristol Directory listed Ambrose Paradice as “Auctioneer
& Appraiser” operating at 25 Small Street in Bristol’s main commercial area. The listing for the proprietor of this
business changed from simply “Ambrose Paradice” to “Ambrose Paradice Jun” in 1827,
the same year that a listing for “Ambrose Paradice, Baker” first appeared. The London
Gazette (October 6, 1829) announced the dissolution of the partnership
between father and son:
NOTICE
is hereby given, that the Partnership (if any) formerly subsisting between us
the undersigned, Ambrose Paradice the elder and Ambrose Paradice the younger,
in the trade or business of Auctioneers, Appraisers, and Furniture- Brokers,
carried on by us at No. 25, Small-Street, in the City of Bristol, was dissolved
by mutual consent on and from the 25th day of March last past; and
that all debts due and owing by or to the late Copartnership will be received
by and paid by the said Ambrose Paradice the younger.—Witness our hands this 1st day
of October 1829.
Ambrose
Paradice, sen.
Ambrose
Paradice, jun.
An Ambrose
Paradice (it’s not clear whether this was the father or the son) was involved
in an earlier enterprise that ended in bankruptcy. Two notices in the London Gazette (October 7, 1823 and December 20, 1823) reported the
bankruptcy proceedings:
WHereas the acting Commissioners in a
Commission of Bankrupt awarded and issued forth against George Bradford and
Ambrose Paradice, of the City of Bristol, Brokers, Dealers, Chapmen, and
Copartners (trading under the firm of George Bradford and Co.), have certified
to the Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain, that the said Ambrose Paradice hath
in all things conformed himself according to the directions of the several Acts
of Parliament made concerning Bankrupts; This is to give notice, that, by
virtue of an Act passed in the Fifth Year of the Reign of His late Majesty King
George the Second, and also of another Act passed in the Forty-ninth year of
the reign of His late Majesty King George the Third, his Certificate will be
allowed and confirmed as the said Acts direct, unless cause be shewn to the
contrary on or before the 28th day of October instant.
THE Commissioners in a Commission of Bankrupt,
bearing date the 27th day of September 1822, awarded and issued
forth against George Bradford and Ambrose Paradice, of the City of Bristol,
Brokers, Dealers, Chapmen, and Copartners (trading under the firm of George
Bradford and company), intend to meet on the 10th of January next,
at One o’Clock in the Afternoon, at the White Lion Inn, situate in
Broad-Street, in the City of Bristol, to make. a First and Final Dividend of
the Joint Estate and Effects of the said Bankrupts, and also of the Separate
Estate and Effects of the said Ambrose Paradice; when and where the Creditors,
who have not already proved their Debts, are to come prepared to prove the
same, or they will be excluded-; the Benefit of the said respective Dividends.
And all Claims not then proved will be disallowed.
Possibly
around the time that he dissolved the partnership with his son, Ambrose moved
his business across the River Avon to Bedminster. The address of Ambrose Paradice’s bakery in Pigot’s Directory (1830) was East
Street, Bedminster, a location on the main commercial thoroughfare. Mathew's
Bristol Directory (1832) gave the address of Ambrose Paradice, Baker, as “3
Shim Lane, Bedminster.” Ambrose’s sons
James, John and Francis also lived and worked in Bedminster.
Ambrose
must have prospered through his bakery or other enterprises. When he died, he was the owner of “one
sixth share of a house in Bath Buildings and of another house in Union Place
both in the district of the united parishes of St James and St Paul, Bristol.”
Ambrose Paradice did not remain in Bedminster. When his wife Betty died in 1834 she was
buried at St. Mary Redcliffe in Bristol on January 15. By 1841, Ambrose was living with his daughters
Martha and Ann in Wellington Place in the united parishes of Saint James
and Saint Paul, Bristol. He died in the
suburb of Clifton on January 23, 18431 at the age of 83 and
was buried at St. Mary's Redcliffe on January 30.
Ambrose prepared
his will on December 29, 1842 and apparently signed it with his own hand. It was proved at Bristol on July 15,
1843. In the will Ambrose gave all his furniture,
books, linen, china, and all other items of his personal estate to his daughter
Martha, whom he appointed as executrix.
He also gave her the one-sixth share of the houses in Bath Buildings and
Union Place with the directive that:
…if
the persons entitled to the remaining five sixth parts or shares of the said
houses, or such of them as shall be in England shall, after my decease, be
desirous of selling their shares therein and of such desire shall give notice
in writing to my said daughter Martha, then if my said daughter shall join with
such persons in selling the said houses she shall, upon receiving her share of
the purchase money for the houses, or, if she shall not join with such persons
in selling the said houses then within six calendar months from the time of
receiving such notice, pay to each of my sons James Paradice, John Paradice and
Francis Paradice the sum of Ten pounds.
The will
further directed that if “any sum of money shall be due from my estate
to Thomas Jefferys the younger of Melksham, Wilts, Mealman, for flour bought by
me of him on account of my said son John, then” the ten pounds bequeathed to
John should be given to Thomas Jeffertys the younger to liquidate or partially
liquidate the debt.
Ambrose’s will raises some interesting questions that have
yet to be answered. The first questions
relate to what happened to Ambrose, Jr., the only son presumably still living
who was not mentioned in the will. Who
were the persons entitled to the remaining five-sixth shares of the
houses? Was Ambrose, Jr., one of these,
and was he no longer in England? An
Ambrose Paradice, a merchant from England, age 30, arrived in New York on the
ship Britannia on July 6, 1831. Could this person have been Ambrose, Jr.?
Another
question is who was Thomas Jefferys the younger of Melksham? Melksham is about 30 miles from Bristol. Why was Ambrose buying flour from someone so
far away? Was this the nearest source of
flour, or did Ambrose have some personal connection to Thomas Jefferys the
younger? Melksham is less than six miles
from Corsham, where Ambrose formerly resided, and about halfway between Corsham
and Devizes.
Genealogy research is never complete.
Sources
St. Mary's Church,
Redcliffe (Bristol, England), "Baptisms, marriages, burials, 1837-1849,"
Burial of Ambrose Paradice (1843); FHL microfilm 1,595,694, item page 288.
Mathew's Bristol
Directory (1823-1841, 1846 and 1847) (Viewed in Bristol Public
Library, April 2001 and May 2003.) .... General Register Office, England, Certified
Copy of an Entry of Death - Ambrose Paradice (Registration District
Clifton, Subdistrict of Ashley in the City in the County of Bristol and County
of Gloucester. Application No.
PAS835295/9. Copy issued 8 Nov 2002).
Church of England, Parish
Church of Corsham, Parish registers, 1563-1971. (LDS Family History Library
Microfilm No. 1279378.), Paradice-Toors Marriage, Item 11, Page 61, No. 241
(Marriage); Page 47, No. 233 (Banns).
J. Baker, They
Lived in Bristol: Bristol Burials 1813-1837, CD Rom (Gloucestershire,
England: Bristol and Avon Family History Society, 1996), Ambrose Paradice
Burial, p. 739.
Church of England, Parish
Church of Corsham, Parish registers, 1563-1971. (LDS Family History Library
Microfilm No. 1279378.), James Paradice Birth, Item 3, second page under 1793
and first page under 1795. There are two
entries for James in the Parish Register.
The first seems to indicate that he was born 3 June 1794 and baptized 8
June. However, there are 5 children
listed as having been born June 3, which seems unlikely. Also, there are numerous 3's in the birth
date column. Apparently "3"
means something other than a day. The
second entry under 1795 shows "January 1" in the "born"
column and no date of baptism. This
entry appears to be a correction of the birth date.
Church of England, Parish
Church of Corsham, Parish registers, 1563-1971. (LDS Family History Library
Microfilm No. 1279378.), George Paradice Birth, Item 4, Page 1 (bottom line).
J. Baker, They
Lived in Bristol: Bristol Burials 1813-1837, CD Rom (Gloucestershire,
England: Bristol and Avon Family History Society, 1996), George and William
Perry Paradice Burials, p. 740.
Church of England, Parish
Church of Corsham, Parish registers, 1563-1971. (LDS Family History Library
Microfilm No. 1279378.), John Paradice Birth, Item 4, page 5 (near top).
Church of England, Parish
Church of Corsham, Parish registers, 1563-1971. (LDS Family History Library
Microfilm No. 1279378.), Ambrose Paradice Birth, Item 4, 2nd page under 1799.
George Elwick, Bankrupt
Directory Complete Register of all Bankrupts from December 1820 to April 1843 (London,
England: Simpkin, Marshall and Co., 1843), 50.
Mathew's Bristol
Directory (1823-1841, 1846 and 1847) (Viewed in Bristol Public
Library, April 2001 and May 2003.)
Church of England, Parish
Church of Corsham, Parish registers, 1563-1971. (LDS Family History Library
Microfilm No. 1279378.), Elizabeth Paradice Birth, Item 4, 1st page labelled
1802.
Church of England, Parish
Church of Corsham, Parish registers, 1563-1971. (LDS Family History Library
Microfilm No. 1279378.), Elizabeth Paradice Death, Item 4 Deaths and Burials.
Church of England, Parish
Church of Corsham, Parish registers, 1563-1971. (LDS Family History Library
Microfilm No. 1279378.), Ann Paradice Birth, Item 4, 1st page labelled 1804.
Church of England, Parish
Church of Corsham, Parish registers, 1563-1971. (LDS Family History Library
Microfilm No. 1279378.), William Perry Paradice Birth, Item 4, 1806.
Church of England, Parish
Church of Corsham, Parish registers, 1563-1971. (LDS Family History Library
Microfilm No. 1279378.), Francis Paradice Birth, Item 4 (Baptisms and Burials
1795-1812), 3rd page of 1807 records.
St. George's Church
(Bristol, Gloucestershire, England), "Burials, 18134-1823," Elizabeth
Paradice Burial; FHL microfilm #1596488, Items 7-9 1,596,488, item 9, 4th page
(not numbered).
Paradice, Ambrose, Last
Will and Testament of Ambrose Paradice (Proved 15 Jul 1843. Bristol, Gloustershire, England. Photocopy provided by the Bristol Records
Office. Reference No. FCL/1843/8
H26-28.), “Gentleman I give all my furniture books linen china and all other my
personal estate whatsoever and wheresoever unto my dear daughter Martha
Paradice as her own property absolutely.”
St. George's Church
(Bristol, Gloucestershire, England), "Baptisms, 1804-1823," Martha
Paradice Baptism; FHL microfilm #1596488, Items 7-9 1,596,488, item 7&8,
page 34, #267.
Ancestry.com. 2003. New
York, 1820-1850 Passenger and Immigration Lists, Item Ship Britannia, 6 June
1831 arrival, Microfilm Serial Number M237, Microfilm Roll Number 15, List
Number 186. [Database online] www.ancestry.com.
Accessed 10 Nov 2003.
Ambrose Paradice
partnership dissolution: London Gazette Date: 6 October 1829 Issue number:
18617 http://www.london-gazette.co.uk/issues/18617/pages/1831
Ambrose Paradice
Bankruptcy 2 notice: London Gazette 20
December 1823 Issue number: 17985
http://www.london-gazette.co.uk/issues/17985/pages/2133
Ambrose Paradice
Bankruptcy 1 notice: London Gazette Date:
7 October 1823 Issue number:
17964 http://www.london-gazette.co.uk/issues/17964/pages/1658/page.pdf
Paradice, Ambrose, Last
Will and Testament of Ambrose Paradice (Proved 15 Jul 1843. Bristol, Gloustershire, England. Photocopy provided by the Bristol Records
Office. Reference No. FCL/1843/8
H26-28.)
General Register
Office, England, Certified Copy of an Entry of Death - Ambrose Paradice
(Registration District Clifton, Subdistrict of Ashley in the City in the County
of Bristol and County of Gloucester.
Application No. PAS835295/9. Copy
issued 8 Nov 2002), Age at death - 82.
[1] The
handwriting in the Corsham Parish Register is difficult to read. The marriage record appears to say TOORS (as
transcribed by the LDS in the IGI) or possibly TOORO. The Banns from the same source appear to say
TOOSE.
[2] However, missing records
are not uncommon. There is room for
further research into records from the first half of the 1760s or earlier to
search for the baptism of Ambrose.
[3] Her christening date could be April 18. The person
who copied this parish register made 8's that looked like 0's.
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