Searching
for the Family of Deborah WORGAN (1711-1777)
Woolaston, Forest of Dean
Shortly after
1739 (when his first wife Sarah HORT died) William BROWN (1705-1783)
of Brislington, near Bristol, married Deborah WORGAN (1711-1777)
of Woolaston, Forest of Dean.
I have been unable
to find Deborah's birth or death OR her marriage to William
Brown (either in Brislington or Woolaston) but some of their
children are buried in the graveyard at the Parish Church
of St Luke, Brislington. It is believed that Deborah is also
buried there.
Birth:
The 1711 birthdate for Deborah comes from old handwritten
family trees based on research done by family members over
50 years ago. It is not sourced. The only Deborah on the IGI
for that date was christened in Newland, Forest of Dean on
16 September 1711.
Marriage: William
and Deborah must have been married between 1738, when Sarah
Hort's last child was born, and 1741, when William and Deborah's
first child was born.
On the other hand,
Martin and Susan Buffrey believe that Deborah Worgan, daughter
of John and Elizabeth Worgan, and born in 1711 at Newland,
Forest of Dean, was THEIR ancestor, married to a Buffrey,
not to William Brown! Later on this page I have set out Martin
and Susan's theory, and you will find a link there to their
web pages.
Death: The
death date for Deborah Brown (nee Worgan) is from a Brown
family trees, based on research by an uncle, Lindon Brown,
and others in England in the 1920s. In the graveyard for the
Parish Church of St Luke at Brislington there is a tombstone
which has an inscription for Edward Brown, grandson of William
and Deborah. The footstone refers to JB.BB.DB 1777, the first
two being infants. It must be this which has led family members
to believe that Deborah died in 1777, the date shown on the
old family trees.
The footstone in St Luke's Churchyard, Brislington,
now quite deteriorated.
Woolaston
and Newland: Apparently there
was a parish of Woolaston and the parish church was St Andrews
(see also below re Phillimore's index). According to GLS expert,
Rod Neep, the earliest record of St. Andrew's church at Woolaston
is in 1131. However, the old circular churchyard and the nearby
Roman Road which ran just to the north-west of the church
suggest a much earlier holy site. The Tower was originally
a low one with a short wooden steeple, but following the granting
of a faculty in 1774, it was completely rebuilt. All Saints
Church at Newland, sometimes called the Cathedral of the Forest,
was built during the 13th and 14th centuries and was restored
in 1862.
Searching
for Worgans
The following
is a possible family tree for Deborah Worgan. Is there
anyone out there in cyberland who knows something about this
family? If so I'd love to hear from you!
(1) 1. Johann
(John) Worgan
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Birth Date: About 1677/1680 Birth Place: where? Baptised Date:
27 June 1677/1680 Baptised Place: Newland, Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire,
England Death Date: ? Death Place: where? Burial Date: ? Burial
Place: where? Occupation: ?
Spouse: Elizabeth
Powell Birth Date: ? Birth Place: where? Baptised Date:
? Baptised Place: where? Death Date: ? Death Place: where? Burial
Date: ? Burial Place: where? Occupation: ?
Marriage Date:
24 June 1689 Marriage Place: Goodrich, Herefordshire, England
- OR was it on 6 Jun 1709 when another John WORGAN married another
Elizabeth POWELL at Goodrich??
Possible Children:
Gulielmus (William)
Elizabeth
Ann
Deborah
Edward
Maria
John
Elizabeth
Genevra
Anna
Mercy
William
Maria
Francisca
Note: ALL
the above were children of a John WORGAN and an Elizabeth. However,
of course that does not mean that they were all born to one
particular John and Elizabeth, especially when we know that
there were two couples with these names in the same area at
the same time. There is a 27 year span between first and last
but, if the first Elizabeth was married at, say, 17, she would
be 45 when she had the last child.
Gordon Morley, descended
from Genevre Worgan and Israel Constant (below) advises that
his researches confirm that there appear to be two John and
Elizabeth WORGANs having issue around the same time so there
is much uncertainty re this "tree".
(2) 1.1 Gulielmus
(William) Worgan
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Birth Date: 25 November 1698 Birth Place: Newland, Forest of
Dean, Gloucestershire, England (2)
1.2 Elizabeth
Worgan
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Birth Date: 13 October 1703 Birth Place: Newland, Forest of
Dean, Gloucestershire, England
(2) 1.3 Ann Worgan
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Birth Date: 28 August 1709 Birth Place: Newland, Forest of Dean,
Gloucestershire, England (2)
1.4 Deborah Worgan
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Birth Date: ? 16 September 1711 Birth Place: Newland (Woolaston),
Forest of Dean, England (?) Baptised Date: ? 16 September 1711
Baptised Place: Newland, Forest of Dean, England Death Date:
? 1777 Death Place: Brislington, Somerset, England. Burial Date:
? Burial Place: Parish Church of St Luke, Brislington, England
Occupation: ?
Spouse: William
Brown Birth Date: Before 14 April 1705 Birth Place: Brislington,
Somerset, England Baptised Date: 14 April 1705 Baptised Place:
Parish Church of St Luke, Brislington,Somerset, England Death
Date: 18 June 1783 Death Place: where? (aged 78) Burial Date:
? Burial Place: Parish Church of St Luke, Brislington, Somerset,
England Occupation: Yeoman (1725); Spouse Father: Nathaniel
Browne (1674-) Spouse Mother: Caterina/Katherina HORRELL
Marriage Date: After
1739 Marriage Place: ?where
Children:
Mary
John
Sarah
Henry
Elizabeth (Betty)
(2) 1.5 Edward
Worgan
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Birth Date: 25 October 1713 Birth Place: Newland, Forest of
Dean, Gloucestershire, England (2)
1.6 Maria Worgan
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Birth Date: 14 September 1714 Birth Place: Newland, Forest of
Dean, Gloucestershire, England
(2) 1.7 John
Worgan
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Birth Date: 24 September 1715 Birth Place: Newland, Forest of
Dean, Gloucestershire, England
(2) 1.8 Elizabeth
Worgan
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Birth Date: About 1717 Baptised Date: 12 December 1717 Baptised
Place: Newland, Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire, England
(2) 1.9 Genevra
Worgan
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Birth Date: About 1719 Baptised Date: 15 January 1719 Baptised
Place: Newland, Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire, England Burial
Date: 17 February 1786 Burial Place: Newland, Forest of Dean,
Gloucestershire, England
Spouse: Israel
Constant
Marriage Date: 2
July 1744 Marriage Place: Staunton, ??, Gloucestershire, England
(2) 1.10 Anna
Worgan
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Birth Date: About 1722 Baptised Date: ? 25 March 1722 Baptised
Place: Newland, Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire, England
(2) 1.11 Mercy
Worgan
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Birth Date: About 1722 Baptised Date: 24 June 1722 Baptised
Place: Newland, Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire, England
(2) 1.12 William
Worgan
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Birth Date: About 1723 Baptised Date: 15 June 1723 Baptised
Place: Newland, Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire, England
(2) 1.13 Maria
Worgan
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Birth Date: About 1725 Baptised Date: 7 June 1725 Baptised Place:
Newland, Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire, England
(2) 1.14 Francisca
Worgan
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Birth Date: About 1726 Baptised Date: 11 September 1726 Baptised
Place: Newland, Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire, England.
_____________
Possible
distant relatives of Deborah?
The
following WORGAN probate records were found on the PRO index.
I haven't obtained these wills but would be interested in them
if anyone else decides to obtain them.
- PROB 11/2118
19 August 1850 Will of John Worgan , Farmer of Newland , Gloucestershire
- PROB 11/2176
11 July 1853 Will of John Worgan , Carpenter of Saint Briavels,
Gloucestershire
- PROB 11/2245
08 January 1857 Will of George Worgan , Cooper of City of
Bristol , Gloucestershire.
_____________
An
alternative marriage for Deborah Worgan?
Just to throw any
interested reader into confusion, here is the alternative life
of Deborah Worgan, baptised 1711 in Newland, Forest of Dean!!
This is a summary
of the research and theories of Martin and Susan Buffrey. And
although we would both like to discover that Deborah of Newland
is "our" Deborah we would like even more to discover
the truth, so if anyone has any ideas or information relevant
to either the Brown-Worgan theory or the Buffrey-Worgan theory
please email me and I will contact Martin and Susan.
The name Martin
and Susan are researching is BUFFREY and, in 1738, in Old Swinford
(Worcestershire) they found the baptism of Worgan BUFFREY, son
of Deborah and Joseph Buffrey. They also found his siblings
on the IGI.
The next mention
they have of Worgan is his marriage in 1765 to Margaret TYLER
in Newland, Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire. He was married
by Special Licence and one of his bondsmen was William WORGAN.
Martin and Susan have no idea why Worgan came to be in the Forest
of Dean! After trying for many years to "think laterally" and
after several postings to the Gloucestershire Rootsweb, they
discovered that the surname WORGAN was very much a "Forest"
name and BUFFREY certainly wasn't; the vast majority of them
being in Worcestershire. They were also told that, to have such
an unusual forename as Worgan could be that his mother was of
a higher social standing than his father and therefore gave
the first born son her maiden name, which is how they have arrived
at Deborah WORGAN.
From looking at
the IGI, there is only one entry for Deborah WORGAN and that
is a baptism in Newland, Forest of Dean. Having said that, there
are a spattering of WORGANs in Worcestershire. So, speculating,
it *might* be that Deborah was born in the FOD, found her way
somehow to Worcestershire, married Joseph BUFFREY, gave birth
to Worgan etc and then Worgan moved back to the FOD - presumably
because he had WORGAN relatives still there.
In summary, Worgan
Buffrey was born in 1737 in Old Swinford, Worcestershire, to
Deborah WORGAN and Joseph BUFFREY. By chance there is only one
Deborah WORGAN in the whole of the IGI and this is "our"
Deborah who was christened in Newland, Forest of Dean. Not only
that, she had a brother William - could this be Worgan's Bondsman?
Susan and Martin
Buffrey have the microfiche for Old Swinford covering the pertinent
times and there is a Deborah BUFFREY being buried at just the
right age to coincide with a baptism in 1711.
Intriguing, fascinating,
frustrating - we'd love to solve this mystery.
_____________
Worgan
Marriages at Woolaston, 1700s
In one desperate
search for my Deborah I copied the Marriages at Woolaston from
Phillimores index (Rectory of Woolaston, chapelry of Alvington)
for 1696-1837 and identified all the Worgan marriages. I know
this is only one part of the Forest of Dean but in case they
assist others here they are:
- John WORGAN and
Ann WORGAN Sept 1700
- William WORGAN
& Susanna PHILLIPS parish of Huelsfield 24 June 1706
- William WORGAN
& Elizabeth WATKINS 9 Feb 1718
- Christopher
WORGAN & Hannah ALLIN 18 June 1755
- George THOMAS
& Ann WORGAN 2 March 1785
- William DAVIS
& Elizabeth WORGAN 28 October 1788
And my email friend
John has sent along two more marriages - this time at St Briavels:
- Richard Worgan
& Anne Powell 6 June 1808
- John Worgam &
Elizabeth Powell 3 May 1811 (a 3rd couple!)
Surely some of these
Worgans were related to Deborah Worgan of Woolaston - or Deborah
of Newland?
And
yet more Worgans ...
In his Worgan researches
Martin Buffrey also found Edri (Edward?) WORGAN who married
Deborah HOPKINS on 19 December 1666.
Although there are
many conflicting dates and details floating around - children
- all born to an Edri (or Edward) and a Deborah and baptised
at Newland were:
Elizabeth, baptised
11 February 1661 (prior to marriage?)
Thomas baptised June 1677
John (Johanis/Johann?) baptised 27 June 1680
Edward baptised 15 October 1683
Edward baptised 8 December 1687
It is believed that
the child John was the person who later married Elizabeth Powell
and became "our" Deborah Worgan's father. On the other
hand ... who was the John who married the other Elizabeth....!
Rats
in the Registers...
The Bishop's transcripts
for Newland are incomplete. Rats ate some of the registers!
Apparently there is a story about "The Beating of the Newland
Rats"? The first three registers have up to 40% of the
pages lost and many other pages have severe damage.
Nor are the Bishop's
Transcripts complete. For example, the years 1738 and 1739 are
missing. Just the years we'd love to check for a possible marriage
of Deborah Worgan.
Gordon Morley advises
that researching the Newland register in the early 1970s was
quite formidable. The problems are laid out in an article in
the September 1992 issue of the Gloucestershire Family History
Society Journal by William Spencer. The register is very
hard to read - gaps and the use of very inconsistent Latin prior
to the 1730s make it difficult to get useful results.
The FHC fiche for
Newland is entitled "controlled extraction" and presumably
is the same as the information entered in the IGI for Newland.
There are two fiche for baptisms (6911882) and two for marriages
(6911883). No entry for the marriage of Deborah Worgan could
be found.
Worgans
and Morgans ... Beware!
Worgan researchers
need to watch out for mis-transcriptions of WORGAN as MORGAN
! It is a very easy mistake to make as Morgan is a "well known"
name... whereas Worgan, unless you are expecting it, isn't,
and so the brain sees the old handwriting as Morgan.
For example, Worgan
BUFFREY was born in Old Swinford. He appears on the IGI twice
- once as Worgan and once as Morgan. In the Parish Records he
is definitely Worgan. He moved to Clearwell and married. His
son appears in the Bishop's Transcripts (and the IGI) as Joseph
WORGAN, son of Buffrey & Margaret WORGAN. Susan and Martin Buffrey
suggest that obviously the name BUFFREY was so rare and WORGAN
so common in the Forest of Dean that the Parish Clerk obviously
thought Worgan had got it wrong.
James Worgan
and Elizabeth Hughes, Hillersland, West Dean
Debbie Keep of New
Zealand has a John WORGAN b 21 Feb 1873 in Hillersland, West
Dean. His father was James WORGAN and his mother Elizabeth HUGHES.
Father was a farm labourer. Debbie is waiting for the 1901 census
to confirm something further along the line - but wonders whether
there is a link between her family and the WORGANs of Newland
as Hillersland is certainly close to Newland.
Links
For more photos
of the gravestones at St Lukes
Deborah Worgan's grave
A Buffery
website, containing Susan and Martin Buffrey's information
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