The information below is a representation of the pedigree chart above. Some of it was given to my father by family members. It was based upon their memories of what others had told them. I have been able to search original documents such as birth, christening, marriage, immigration and census records to correct some of the information. The corrections are shown in bold text.

Ruth Blacker Waite, 2017

George Blacker was born 4 March 1795 in Cameley, Somersetshire and died 10 May 1874, in Clutton. Elizabeth Bowditch was born 11 December 1793 in Timsbury Worcestershire and died 12 May 1865 in Clutton.

Researchers for the Blacker Family Organization told the family that Elizabeth was christened in Timsbury. However I have searched the Timsbury Parish registers and bishop's transcript and have not been able to a find any proof that she or any other Bowdich's (Bowditch, Bowdige or Bowdidick) were christened there from 1760 to 1800. I have also searched the records in the Cameley, Clutton, Chelwood and Bristol parishes with no success. In the 1851 census she claimed that she was born in Clutton and the 1861 census she said Timsbury. I have found no proof, thus far that she is the daughter of John Bowditch and Joyce Cheivers.

The only primary source showing her surname is her marriage record in the St. Mary Redcliffe Parish in Bristol, which gives her surname as Bowdich. In a letter written on 9 February 1940 to my father, Loyn Blacker, Frederick Blacker of Clutton claims to have photos of George Blacker, his wife Elizabeth nee Bowditch and their son Charles Bowditch Blacker.

  1. John (1818, Clutton) = Maria Gould: Moved to Monmouthshire, which was then part of Wales, about 1847-1848. Monmouthshire was sometimes listed as part of Wales and at other times part of England.
  2. George (1821, Clutton) = Martha Evans: Followed John to Wales after 10 years. In the 1880s left for U.S. with sons, William and Albert.
  3. Tobias (1823, Clutton) = Catherine Griffiths: Seems to have remained in Clutton. No evidence to the contrary. Tobias and Catherine Griffiths were married 3 September 1848 in Lambeth, Surrey, England (near London). They were still there in the 1851 and 1861 censuses. In the 1871 census they were in the civil parish of St. Michaels in Bristol, Gloucestershire. By 1881 they had moved to Llanelly, Carmarthenshire, Wales.
  4. William (1826, Clutton) = Sarah: With wife and two daughters moved to the U.S. in the summer of 1854. Later moved to Nova Scotia and returned to U.S. William married Sarah James on 13 December 1846 in Aberystruth, Monmouthshire, Wales. In the 1851 census they were living Llangattock, Breconshire, Wales. On 7 July 1854 they arrived in New York aboard the ship Tempest, with their daughters Margaret and Elizabeth. In 1860 they were in St. Clair, Pennsylvania with daughters Martha and Elizabeth and a son James. William's brother James was also living with them. By 1871 they had moved to Hopewell, Pictou, Nova Scotia, Canada where their youngest daughter Florence was born. In 1874 William sent money to William Henry Blacker, owner of Blacker Monumental Works in Clutton, to have his father's headstone completed and cleaned. In 1880 they had moved to Shenandoah, Pennsylvania.
  5. Mary (1827, Clutton) = MacConey: Married and went with husband to Dublin, Ireland. I have not found a marriage for Mary or any proof of her moving to Dublin. I did find that she had a daughter out of wedlock that she named Mary in 1851 in Bristol. Family sources say that the daughter was nicknamed Polly. Mary(Polly) was living with her grandparents George and Elizabeth in Clutton when the 1861 census was taken. On 9 June 1878 Polly married Ebenezer William Tiley in Bristol.
  6. Elizabeth (1829, Clutton) = George Moody: We are aware that this family remained and are still in Clutton.
  7. Upcut (1831, Clutton): Reportedly immigrated to Australia early. I found a christening for James Upcott the son of George and Elizabeth Blacker on 4 December 1831 in Clutton, Somersetshire, and a burial record for him 20 March 1833 in Clutton. He never did go to Australia.
  8. Charles (1834, Clutton) = Mary Parfitt: Immigrated with wife to Pennsylvania in 1848. He became a captain in Civil War. The date remains questionable. I did find civil registration of a marriage between a Charles Blacker and Mary Moore Parfitt in the first quarter of 1858 in the Newport registration district. I have not found their immigration to the United States. Family records say they went St. Clair Pennsylvania. I did find a George and Mary Blacker in the 1860 census in St. Clair. Their daughter Lillian Augusta was born 8 April, 1864 in St Clair. She wrote to Loyn Blacker in 1957 telling him that her father served in the Civil War as a captain and that after the war they moved to Georgia where he worked as a postmaster. I found records supporting both assertions. Mary died 18 March, 1876 in Atlanta. Charles married Willie M Ruskin 5 May 1877 in Atlanta. Lillian married George Filmore Blackenship and moved to Alameda, California. Charles and Willie had two daughters Jessie and Bessie. Willie died 26 October 1917 in Atlanta and Charles moved to Oakland California to live with his daughter Lillian Blankenship and her husband. He died there and is buried in the Mountain View Cemetery next Lillian.
  9. James (1837, Clutton) = Ann Williams: At the age of 17 came to the U.S. with older brother William in 1854 to Pennsylvania. I found an immigration record for a James Blacker from England, age 20, that arrived in New York on 8 June 1857. I also found the immigration for William, and James is not listed as a passenger there. The 1860 census for St. Clair lists William and his family and Jas (James) Blacker age 23. I have not found a marriage record. However the 1870 census lists James, his wife Ann and three children. Ann's birth place is listed as Pennsylvania. The family also appears in the 1880 census in St. Clair. According to family records he died 19 November 1896 in St. Clair. I have not yet found proof of that, however the 1900 census lists his wife Ann Blacker as the head of the house and a widow.