June 2006 – Edition 14

We will take a detour from the Jerrems Saga. Enjoy
Roving Reporter Sue’s trip from Las Vegas to the Olde
Country.

My successful visit to England and back was an adventure like no
other, but it was definitely fun. For a tiny country, they have
managed to pack so many fascinating and fun things within their
borders that it’s a wonder where to stop and start. Suffice to
say that it was a friend I met over there who summed it up most
efficiently. “In America they think a hundred years is a long
time, in England they think a 100 miles is a long way.”

This of course is born ever so truthfully on their roadways. If
I decide to go to the town of Mesquite, 90 miles from my
hometown, Las Vegas, I would not hesitate to make it a one day
trip, a visit and a return. No big deal. I would not dream of
challenging myself that way in Britain. Driving is done on two
lane roads that weave along in a meandering design through
country side and city alike without the least concern for
traffic congestion. The English rarely use directional
indications on their roads. This may not sound critical but when
roads twist around themselves so much you can never be certain
if you want left or right. Instead they give the name of towns
that the road will pass through, and some of these are such big
towns as Bubwith, Barmby on the Marsh, and Scrooby. Try
finding those on a map!

Aside from the adventures of driving, all was well on my trip.
It did somewhat to hinder though what I did around
Gainsborough, though. I got there around ten in the morning
on a Monday which was a Bank Holiday, a long weekend with no
cheery moniker as we use in the US such as Memorial Day or Labor
Day. Unlike some larger towns where the stores are open,
Gainsborough was shut pretty tightly.

Although it was a holiday, the Old Hall was opened. It is
the oldest best persevered Medieval Manor House in England.
Built in 1460, it was owned by two families through its history.
The Burghs built it and near the end of the 16th Century it
was sold to the Hickman’s. By the time of the Jerrems
family in Gainsborough, the Hickman’s lived else where and
the Hall saw various uses. It was rented by the Masonic Lodge
and used as a theater in their time. By the time they emigrated
to Australia it was back in the hands of the Hickman’s. Before
that it had been used by the Separatists who moved between there
and Holland and eventually joined together as the Pilgrims who
sailed on the Mayflower, of course a rather big issue for
Americans. John Wesley also preached there frequently in the
late 1700s.

The Old Hall is a magnificent statement to history. It
looks, in some places a little unstable, but supposedly it is
still sound. It had an envious kitchen for its age, complete
with a central chimney, quite a rare thing. It also had
beautiful leaded glass windows from the 1600’s. The nice thing
is that it survived first the Civil War in the mid 17th Century
in which the town took a very heavy beating, first being over
run by the Royalists and then the Parliamentarians. The worse
damage to the town however came during World War II. On one day
it apparently took two direct hits.

Because of this, Silver Street no longer exists past the
number 18 and 19. Beyond that is a vacant area that is no longer
developed. It dead ends into their major town road. So any
hope of finding a remnant of the Jerrems locations fell flat.
The short part of Silver Street that did exist still had
buildings that would have been there when the Jerrems were. The
other area, Bridge Street, is not in such a lively
section, a little worse for wear. I did find one person walking
who pointed out the oldest building on the street, but a few of
them would have been there in the Jerrems time.

Ray’s Note: Jerrems Square was located behind Bridge Street,
a lane from that street giving access to the Square. The 1851
Census also refers to a Jerrems Yard adjacent to the Square, a
Jerrems Street, a Jerrems Row and a Jerrems Terrace.

On Tuesday I took an old lane that ran along the River Trent
to Lincoln where I did the Cathedral, absolutely breath
taking even though I had been through many already, and the Old
Bishops Palace. It was then I found out that one of the four
copies of the original Magna Carta was on display at Lincoln
Castle. Well strange that it may seem I really wanted to see it,
only because it had been cited so many times in relationship to
England’s history and well as the US. So instead of returning in
Gainsborough, I did Lincoln Castle. Now I have seen the U.S.
Constitution and the Magna Carta.

Gainsborough is a fairly good sized town, not large but
fair sized. Like all the cities of England, it has its weekly or
bi weekly Market in the square. A large portion of their
shopping is dependant upon the markets. I was not there for
Gainsborough’s but I did several others, and all of them were
delightful. Gainsborough’s I would imagine would have been
impressive for they have a large market area and their downtown
is blocked from traffic for the most part. The Merchant’s
Hall which would have existed or been built while the
Jerrems were in residence has been changed so much that it does
not look much like it is a couple hundred years old. It had been
damaged by fire and rebuilt over the years.

The town has had such a long history and so much up and down,
that it does not seem surprising. In the many conflicts over the
past 1000 years, Gainsborough seems to have born the brunt of
one faction or another fighting over it. From Royal
disagreements to religious, it has seen more than its share of
battles. It no longer has shipping traffic; the river is not
kept dredged that far. Aside from the downtown, buildings in
most the town are probably from 1940’s onward.

I did however make it to Willingham by Stow, only a few
miles from Gainsborough, along a few twisting back roads in
beautiful farm lands. So that was another church I could not get
an interior picture. I did however wander around the cemetery,
and low and behold, I found some Jerrems gravestones: one of
Mary, wife of William and another gravestone for Jane. It
seems to be good news for the Jerrems group for they were long
lived even back then. While the distance pictures show them
cleared, I had to do a bit of primitive trimming to expose them.
I would imagine William was next to them, but I dug around as
much as I could with my hands and could not tell for sure.

Many of the gravestones have fallen over and are half or fully
buried and deteriorated. I wished I had found William’s, that
would have seemed really cool, to have actually found the
namesake of my husband. I think Jerry would have been pleased
none the less. (For those who might get confused, the man
everybody knew as Jerry was actually William George Jerrems IV).
Editors Note: Jerry passed away in December.

I stopped at Stow also, on the off chance of finding
something because it is only about a mile further along.
Willingham is just a tiny farming village, maybe 20 or 30
buildings. Like many of the little villages tucked along the
way, the buildings date back usually about 200 to 400 years, and
complimented with a handful that are newer. However, the new
houses are done to fit in with the rest.

So I did not find much, but it was still fulfilling none the
less. I will return to England, probably sooner rather than
later. I did light a candle for Jerry and left a prayer request
for him at the Bishop’s Chapel in the Bishop’s House in
Lincoln (not the same as the place) where I spent the night.
So hopefully even though he could not accompany me in person, in
spirit he came along.

To refresh your memory: William was the son of William
Jerom who married Cecelia (Cis) Futtit on 29th July 1750 at St.
Helen’s Church in Willingham-by- Stow near the city of
Gainsborough.

Mary was the great great great great grandmother of
Jerrems readers like you and I, with an extra “great” for the
next generation. The gravestone shows that Mary was born in 1750
and died on 15th January 1821, facts we did not previously know.
We do not know when her husband William died but the gravestone
indicates that Mary died before him, otherwise one would expect
William to have been referred to as “the late William” or
“William (deceased)”.

Mary and William had 5 children, Jane, Mary, William (who we
have nicknamed “Big Bill”), Robert and John. Big Bill had a
farm in Willingham, possibly the farm was originally owned by
his parents William and Mary and even his grandfather William
Jerom.

Mary and William’s daughter Jane was born in 1778,
whereas the Jane referred to on the other gravestone was born in
1798. Although people often gave the same name to a later child
when an earlier child died at a young age this is unlikely to be
the case here because Mary was 48 in 1798. So I do not
know who Jane was. Perhaps William Jerom had a brother and Jane
was a grand-daughter of that brother.

Jane obviously died single and had not moved away from
Willingham, unlike Big Bill who went to Gainsborough.

It was reported in an earlier Newsletter that “Susan” is the
most popular name in the current Jerrems families (there are a
total of five). However, in earlier generations in England and
the US the name “Mary” was even more popular. The first was the
daughter of William and Cecelia Jerom, followed by the Mary
referred to in the “Gravestones” article and Big Bill’s
daughters Mary b1812 d1814 and Mary b1821.Then we journey to the US to find Mary Nicholl Jerrems (actually
born in Scotland), who had a daughter Mae (sometimes recorded as
“Mary”, perhaps “Mae” was a short version of “Mary”). Mary
Nicholl’s sons included Alexander Nicholl and Arthur Wallace.
Alexander married Mary Bell and one of their daughters was named
Mary (later changed to Marabel). Arthur married Mary Morse and
(guess what) their son Arthur William Jr had a daughter Mary
also.

If you count Mae as being a Mary then this makes a total of 10!

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THE JERREMS DUTCH CONNECTION: In my internet travels I have
struck some big websites assembled by genealogical enthusiasts,
but the website of David Kipp Conover (http://www.conovergenealogy.com/conover-
p/index.htm) takes the cake.

He has traced the history of his family back through its 50
variations of Dutch name and has traced and recorded 156,833
people (as at April 4, 2006). About 10 additions are made every
day, so he must have assistance.
The Jerrems family gets a mention in page 1218, as follows:
Beulah Grace Harrison was the daughter of Vandevere Harrison
and Catherine Oltmann. Beulah Grace Harrison married an
Unknown Jerrems, probably in the vicinity of Sangamon
County, Illinois in the late 1800’s.