My ggg-grandfather was called Robert GUMBLETON. In the mid-1790s he was a shopman at the grocer's shop of Simon Pretor, in the Shambles, Sherborne. Many of Simon Pretor's papers have been preserved and include references to Robert Gumbleton, at least in 1795. On 10 Jan of that year he refers to "my man Rob. Gumbleton who is as honest a fellow...". In July 1795, Simon Pretor retired and sold his business to John and William ENSOR. A notice in the Sherborne Mercury of 10 Jul 1795 indicates that they retained Robert Gumbleton as their shopman.
On 7 Sep 1796, Robert Gumbleton married Ann Ensor, the sister of his new employers, at Sherborne Abbey (by license). He left Sherborne, probably straight away (the Ensors were advertising for a shopman in Sep 1796) and next appeared in Ilchester, Somerset, where he had his first 4 children between 1798 and 1803. However, in 1805 he was back in Sherborne, and baptised his 5th child, Elizabeth on the 18th October.
This stay in Sherborne must have been short-lived, and on the 28th Dec 1805, Robert Gumbleton was in London where, having cashed a cheque for £33 and dined with friends at an eating house in the Strand, he was robbed in Birdcage Walk, whilst walking to Pimlico. The woman who robbed him was later caught and Robert appeared as a witness at her trial at the Old Bailey on 15th Jan 1806. At this point he said that he lived in Deal (Kent).
In fact he was enrolled as a freeman of Deal, Kent, on 20 Mar 1806. This was a necessary step to being able to pursue his trade as a grocer in that town. What led him to leave Dorset and travel across England to Kent is another mystery. Robert appears in the Deal poll books until August 1813, when his name is crossed out and 'Dead' is written in the column. So far, Robert's burial has not been located, nor any will found.
After Robert's death, Ann did not remarry and the family did not fall into poverty. Their eldest son became a grocer in Grosvenor Row, Pimlico; another son was a cordwainer (also in London) and the daughters were straw hat makers. Ann (nee Ensor) ended her days in Hampstead and was buried in Highgate cemetery.
One further enigmatic clue: there is a letter in the Society of Genealogists Library that seems to be a transcript of a family bible for this family. However, the letter was written in the 1950s and probably transcribes entries from a bible of the late 19th century rather than being contemporary with Robert's life: certainly some of the early information contains errors. Nevertheless, it includes "Robert Gumbleton, born Sept 1775" and "Ann Ensor born Apl 7 1778". This latter piece of information is correct, so perhaps the former is also.
My first steps in trying to find the parents of Robert were to check the parish registers for Sherborne and surrounding parishes around 1775...and bishop's transcripts for the whole area for the specific year...and other Dorset parishes, further afield. Also, I have checked marriage indexes for possible parents of Robert. None of these has yielded a convincing link to the previous generation. I have also checked Deal burials and the East Kent Burial index (virtually complete for East Kent!), but have found no trace of Robert's burial.
I have found the baptisms of two Robert Gumbletons who could be possible candidates, but neither seems wholly convincing. One is Robert, base born son of Martha Gumbleton, baptised 3 Oct 1774 at Shaftesbury Holy Trinity. The date looks approximately right, but I would have thought it unusual for a 'base-born' child to end up as a grocer. The second is Robert, son of Robert and Ann Gumbleton of Melbury Abbas, baptised 14 Feb 1765. The problem with him is that he seems a bit early. I am reluctant to accept either of these without some further evidence.
The other thing I have done is to piece together many other Gumbleton families in the hope of stumbling upon a link to Robert, again without success.
So, does anyone have any ideas of other possible leads or any inspiration regarding the search for the parents of Robert Gumbleton?
Many thanks!
Steve West
steve.m.west@btinternet.com
PS Gumbleton is really quite a rare name, so how does anyone with a common name ever find their ancestors!