Origins of George VOSS (d) and relationship to Capt. Edward VOSS (c) revisited

Believe resolved: they were brothers

Alison Smith proposed that my GGGrandfather George VOSS (d) was the George VOSS baptised in West Knighton 4th August 1811.  If this were correct, it would make him and Capt. Edward VOSS (c) fourth cousins through Edward’s maternal line.  I know that Capt. Edward’s daughter Rosa was in touch with my Grandfather Edward George VOSS, for she signed his visitor’s book on 22 August 1910.   They would have been fifth cousins, once removed (5C1R).  Edward’s grand daughter Margaret Rosa Summers VOSS bequeathed relics of Capt. Voss to my father, who would have been 6C1R.  It strains credibility that the family bonds stretched that far and that Rosa had no closer Voss relative to bestow.  See my earlier post on this relationship.

I have been revisiting the parentage of George Voss (d).  West Knighton does not feel right to me.  In the 1851 census George gave his place of birth as Weymouth, and in 1861, 1871 & 1881 as Melcombe Regis.  He seemed pretty clear about that.  In 1851, 1861 & 1871 his implied birth year was 1809.  In 1841 it was 1811, but the 1841 census was not held until June, so if his birthday was during April or May it would imply 1810.  In 1881 he stated his age as 70, which implies 1811 – perhaps he rounded it up a bit.  The George Voss baptism in West Knighton was on 4th August 1811, which fits well, although if he was borne in 1809 it was a bit unusual to leave a baptism so long.  Why was George so adamant he was from Melcombe Regis (unless he was denying his rustic origins)?  [Tony added 13 Mar 2013: found his entry in burials register for 2 March 1883. His age stated as 74.  If correct, his birth would have been between March 1808 and March 1809 rather than 1811.]

Let’s release George from West Knighton and see what else is possible. [We then have to ask what happened to the George baptised there on 16 Apr 1811.  George Vosses were buried on 9 Dec 1906 and 16 Apr 1811, neither of which have been assigned.  We need to check the original register to see whether the transcriptions of the months are correct.  Could ‘Apr’ and ‘Aug’ have been miss-read?  Could the latter burial be that of the infant George? {update 28/2/2013: See comments added below by Alison Smith: transcripts do appear correct}]

George Voss (d) is now free to arise from Melcombe Regis, as he consistently claimed. Baptism either took place somewhere we have not yet looked, or it simply did not get entered into the register – that did happen.  There is a nice vacancy in the family of Edward & Susannah “Sarah” Voss after the John VOSS (n) baptism in 1807, making George Voss (d) a younger brother of Capt. Edward!  Let’s look at how this fits with other information:

Firstly, Rosa would have been visiting the son of her 2nd cousin – much more likely.  The various relics bequeathed by Margaret Rosa Summers VOSS would be to her 3C1R – much more credible. Margaret was the last of Capt. Voss’ line to carry the Voss name.  She had first cousins by her aunt Elizabeth Collings VOSS, but they did not carry the Voss name.  Her only other Voss 3rd cousins were all in the USA.  It now makes sense that she bestowed these relics on my family.

Secondly, my mother told me that, after I was christened, my Grandma Voss (Mona Richardson) chided them for not maintaining the “Voss family tradition that the eldest son has the name Edward”.  Let’s test this: 1st: my father was John Edward Franklin Voss;  2nd: my grandfather was George Edward Voss; 3rd: his father George Albert Voss was a third son and the first son died as an infant and I have no name – perhaps he was the Edward; 4th:  George (d) is now in a family with Capt. Edward as the eldest son.  {Added 3/3/2013}  5th: Capt. Edward Voss had a younger brother John Voss (n), whose eldest son was Edward Voss (m).

I am almost certain this is right origin of George Voss (d).  I just need that baptism or some other another correlation.

4 thoughts on “Origins of George VOSS (d) and relationship to Capt. Edward VOSS (c) revisited

  1. My original premise regarding the parents of George Voss (d) was, to a certain extent, based on the fact that George Voss (f) was a publican in later years and George Voss (d) became a boarding house keeper. I do, however agree that the West Knighton baptism for your George (d) is suspect.

    As to your paragraph 3, I have checked the original registers for West Knighton and the dates are correct: 9 Dec 1806 and 16 April 1811 (very faint, but still legible).

    Wouldn’t it be great if we could prove that George (d) was a brother of Capt. Edward?

  2. Alison – can you check the date for George’s baptism (you do not have the image attached to his record in your tree). Could it have been incorrectly transcribed as ‘Aug’ when it was ‘Apr’. That would allow for a burial on 16 Apr.

    Its a very long shot, but without this we are overrun with George Vosses in West Knighton!

    1. I’ve checked the image for George’s baptism, but I’m afraid it was August and not April. The image is now on his page in my tree.

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