Greetings, everyone,
I am a Canadian, and I stem from an Englishman, Benjamin Hitchcock, who after serving years as soldier in the Royal Cardigan Militia and in the RWIR for the King of England finally settled in New Brunswick, Canada where he died about 1851.
Corporal Benjamin Hitchcock was born in May 1789 in Stottesdon and Farlow Parish, Shropshire.
There are reasons why we believe that he was most likely the son of a Richard Hitchcock and a Mary Knox (or Knoke). This couple married in Shropshire on July 20th, 1783 and had at least three children. I know of no further life data.
We do know of only three children, our Benjamin and two others who were named after their parents, Richard and Mary. Richard was born January 29th, 1792 and died early on October 2nd, 1795 in Stottesdon and Farlow Parish. About Mary Hitchcock we know that she was born in Shropshire on August 28th, 1784.
We believe that there must have been more than these three children. It is doubtful that, after one boy went overseas and one boy died as an infant, only one girl would have been leftover with the parents.
I would like to find out if there are offspring in the area. Are there any Hitchcock's living in Shropshire?
Maybe there is knowledge also about Mary Hitchcock who eventually might have married someone and thus offspring live under a different family name?
I am open to all information, and I am willing to share what I have found out about Benjamin Hitchcock's family in Canada.
I found this by Google;
St Marys Church Stottesdon: This large Norman church has a magnificent font, widely regarded to be one of finest examples of Norman workmanship in the country. Above the churches west door is a carved tympanum crowned by a bearded figurehead thought to be 900 years old.
Here is contact no. of vicar of the church. No email address is given but you could telephone him. He might have more info for you in any records he may have kept.
The Revd Colin Ernst RESCH
The Rectory
Stottesdon
Kidderminster
(01746) 718297
Angela
Thank you so much for your friendly answer 
I might not yet call the gentleman as a long distance call from overseas concerning the details of the topic might melt my bank account.
What I meant to ask was, if St. Mary's Church was an Anglican church in 1789 or if it was maybe a Baptist, Methodist or Catholic church or some other denomination at that date?
Also I would love to find out which other denominations had churches in Stottesden in 1789.
As we only know that Corporal Benjamin Hitchcock has been baptized in Stottesden in 1789, we still do not know for sure in which denomination he has been baptized and at which church the baptizing took place.
During the first years of surviving all the hardships of settling in the Canadian wilderness, all these pioneers never saw a priest. They had been granted unexplored land for their military services far away from the next town. There are written reports that a local Anglican priest came through the area after a few years and brought bibles with him and baptized a major number of people right on the spot.
Corporal Benjamin Hitchcock has been buried at a United Baptist graveyard in New Brunswick, Canada but this does not exclude the possibility that he had been baptized as a child in some different faith back in Stottesden..
Maybe you can email the Parish Council of St Marys who could help you.
I have tried to find parish births to no success. I did notice on IGI that RICHARD had a brother? called JOHN who married lady below.
| DOROTHY MILNER | Family | ||||
| Marriage: |
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Stottesdon and Sidbury
Parish Council
Contact us
18 Glebe Drive, Stottesdon
Kidderminster
Worcs
DY14 8UF
Email: [email protected]
: 01746 718453
There is also an ancestry person, in fact loads that have your family on there, but I have checked them and no-one has Richard has having any other son other then Benjamin. If you are a member of ancestry, then just put search on for Benjamin Hitchcock.
I have emailed this person called
I'll let you know what happens.
Angela
Hello
The original parish registers for Stottesdon for the period you are interested in are almost certainly deposited at Shropshire Archives so there is no point contacting the Vicar or the Parish. By the way, the information above for Stottesdon and Sidbury Parish Council refers to the Civil Parish not the Ecclesiastical Parish so they would not be able to help anyway.
If you email Shropshire Archives (see Contact Us on this page) and explain you live in Canada they may be prepared to look up the specific entry for you if you give the details you have and tell them what you need to know. If you want prolonged research then you will need to pay a researcher.
Mike
A "parent" search for a spread of years in IGI for Salop (ie leaving child's fore and surnames blank and inserting just Richard Hitchcock and Mary in top, right-hand panels) reveals no further issue. We can presume that they were still in Stottesdon in 1795 or so for Richard, junior's burial. In case they moved, you might try same search for a later period, say 10 years either side of 1800 in the adj counties of Worcs and Herefs, but note that the NW corner of Worcs, ie around Tenbury is not covered; and Herefs thinly covered.
But, since you have to quote both parents' names for a "parent" search, why not simply go through all Hitchcock baps for Salop in IGI. There are 284, and that includes amateur submissions (in lower case) of which some may duplicate real entries or simply be guesses. All normal variant spellings are included.
Also you could go through 1851 Census if subcribed to Ancestry and search for all Hitchcock born in Shropshire between, say, 1780 and 1810. In this case you will need to make your own variations in spelling.
All places listed in IGI are Anglican parishes unless the contrary is stated. To see the full range of registers held at Shropshire Archives, both Anglican and (separate list) other go into www.shropshire.gov.uk > Leisure and Culture > Archives > What we hold.
When and where did the parents die or wre buried?
Thank you all for so much information!
I have been a bit busy otherwise these days and did not have the time to write.
We do not know when and where the Corporal's parents died nor were buried. The only thing we know is that they married "in Shropshire" in July 20th, 1783.
I also had the idea that this John who married a Dorothy Milner might have been a brother. So far I cannot prove it but I will not exclude the possibility and keep an eye on that person. Families were way larger back then, compared to today.
The Corporal's exact birth place supposedly was near or at Bridgnorth, by the way.
His baptizing took place in Stottesden, possibly at the ancient St. Mary's Church. Was this church in use as an Anglican church around 1789?
I am not informed if there were any other churches of any faith in existence in Stottesden in 1789. Maybe a reader can help.