Robert Roach and Mary Reed

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Parents   :  James Roach and Mary Barrons (50%)             Richard and Mary Reed

Robert Roach (b abt 1820 Lelant, m Mary Reid 1844, d Penzance Cornwall 1903)
Mary Reed (b 1816 Wendron, d Penzance 1894)            
    Harriet Reid Roach (b 1845 Necledra Cornwall, d aft 1860)
    Robert Roach (b 1849 Necledra, d aft 1911)
    William Henry Roach (b 1849 Towednack Cornwall, d aft 1860)
    Mary Jane Roach (b 1850 Towednack, m Matthew Rodds 1873 Uny Lelant Cornwall, d 1877 or 1901)
    Richard Reid Roach (b 1855 Towednack, m  Hannah Vine 1890 Flemington Vic, d 1934 Cheltenham Vic)
        Leila Muriel Roach (b 1893 Rosebery Sydney, m Ernest Harold Mitchell 1914 Kew, d 1972 Wodonga)
    James Roach (abt 1857 Towednack, d aft 1877)

Robert and Mary's Story

    Mary was born in Wendron (twelve miles WSW of St Ives) in 1816, Robert  about 1820 in Lelant (two miles WSW of St Ives). The couple may have met through Robert  living in the same hose as Mary's brother William in Towednack. They married in the early 1840s and lived in Towednack and nearby villages of Lelant and Haselton for the rest of their lives. Robert was a Stone Mason and Stone Cutter. Mary died in the 1890s in her seventies. In 1901 Robert aged 78 was living as a pauper in an institution

Evidence for the family above

(1) On his death certificate in Australia, Richard's place of birth is given as as St Ives. Towednack is two miles WSW of froim St Ives
(2) On his Marriage certificate in Australia, Richard gives his parents as Robert and Mary (nee Reed) Roach.
(3)  On his death certificate in Australia, Richard's  father's profession is given as Stonemason, which agrees
(4) On his marriage certificate in Australia, Richard gives his place of birth as Towednack. and his second name as Reed.
(5) Richard and his brother James came to Melbourne in 1878 on the Cuzco.. Thanks Fred, this was found by hard yakka, as it was not computer indexed.
Richard's age is given as 22, James 20, so this fits nicely
(6) As a single man in 1841, Robert Roach  is sharing a house with William Reed, who looks like Richard and Mary's son. No- he is still living with his parents in the 1841 census.

Census Data

1851 Census     1861 Census    1871 Census      1881 Census      1891 Census       1901 Census

1841 Census

Candidate A
Uny, Lelant, St Ives
Thos Roach   45   (abt 1795) Tin Miner, Farmer     
Mary Roach   40   (abt 1795)
Thomas Roach   20   (abt 1820)
Robert Roach   20   (abt 1820)
John Roach   20   (abt 1820)
Possibly our Robert Roach

Candidate B
Nancledra, Towednack, St Ives,  all born in the county
Mary Roach        40        Grocer
Mary Roach        14
Grace Roach        13        Millener
Catherine Roach   10
Ann Roach             8
Matthew Roach      6
Robert Roach         2
next door
William Uren        20        Shoemaker
Honor Uren            1
William Reed        15        Stonemason
Robert Roach        20        Stonemason
(Nacledra from when this record was found in Google)
Note this is not Robert's parents family, as there is another Robert in the family. Also Robert above is clearly not the son of Thomas and Mary Roach, as their son appears in the 1841 census with his parents., Note also that this William Reed is not Mary Reed's brother, as he is still living with his parents in the 1841 census

1851 Census

Ron Seed supplied 1851 Census data (Nancledra 3 Apr) in 1991.
Robert Roach          Head   Mar      39?   Stonemason      Lelant     (abt 1811)
Mary Roach             Head   Mar      33                            Wendron    (abt 1817)
Hannah Reid Roach   Dau                  6                             Towednack (abt 1844)
Robert Roach            Son                  4                             Towednack (abt 1846)
William Henry Roach Son                  2                             Towednack (abt 1848)
Mary Jane Roach      Dau                  9 mths                     Towednack (abt 1844)
Commenting that the copy was very faint and in parts badly legible. Hannah could have been Harriett and Robert(Snr)'s age was suspect., Naceldra is the only village in Towednack parish, and is quite small,
He gives other families he found: Nancledra- Blanch Roach . Towednack - (Amalwidden, William Roach - Conquer Downs, Henry Roach) At lLelant Wilmot Roach
Comment Les Rowley: Ron Seed's comment about legibility might be why I cannot find this record in the Ancestry.com index

1861 Census

Parish of ??? Lelants, St Ives, CON  Road  :     Balmoor       Where Born                                                                                                                       
Robert ROACH        Head     Mar     40         Stone Cutter         Lelants, CON (abt 1820)
Mary ROACH          Wife      Mar     44                                     Wendron, CON (abt 1816)
Harriett ROACH       Dau                  16         Housemaid           Towednack, CON (abt 1844)
Robert ROACH        Son                  14         Tin Miner              Towednack, CON (abt 1846)
William ROACH       Son                  12         Tin Miner              Towednack, CON (abt 1848)
Mary J ROACH        Dau                  10         Scholar                 Towednack, CON (abt 1850)
Richard ROACH       Son                     6         Scholar                 Towednack, CON (abt 1854)
James ROACH         Son                     3          Scholar                 Towednack, CON (abt 1857)
Lelants is 1 mile SE of St Ives.  Wendron is 8 miles WSW of St Ives.  Towednack is 1 mile SW of St Ives

1871 Census

Unable to find Robert or Mary

1881 Census   

Parish and village of Halseton, St Ives, CON   Road    Haselton                                                                                                                             
Robert ROACH     Head     Mar       62        Stone Mason            Towednack, CON (abt 1818)
Mary ROACH       Wife      Mar       64                                        Wendron, CON (abt 1816)

1891 Census 

Parish and village of Halseton, St Ives, CON    23 Top Road           Where Born                                                                                                                   
Robert ROACH      Head     Mar        68     Stone Mason               Lelant, CON (abt 1822)
Mary ROACH        Wife      Mar        73                                        Wendron, CON (abt 1817)

1901 Census

Robert Roach is in the Penzance Union Workhouse. He is describrd as Single, Pauper, 78,  Stonemason, journeyman  from St Ives. He died in Penzance in 1903.
There is a probable death for Mary in Penzance in June 1894

Acknowlegements

Thanks to Ron Seed, who supplied the keys to the Roach family in Cornwall

Research Notes

We have the following possible families for Robert Roach from the OPC database for Lelant
    John Roach (m Martha Hosking  5 Dec 1805 Lelant )
         Frances Roach (b. 23 Apr 1827 Uny Lelant)   (John = miner, residence Carne)  (<<LDS )
         James Roach (b 30 Aug 1829  Lelant)      (John = miner, residence Carne)      
    Paul and Wilmot Roach   
        Mary Jane Roach (b 1 Feb 1829  Lelant)      (Paul = miner, residence = Beersheba)      
        Paul Thomas Roach (b 16 Jan 1832  Lelant)      (Paul = miner, residence = Beersheba)      
        James Roach (b 18 Sep 1836  Lelant)      (Paul = miner, residence = Trecroben)      
    James and Mary Roach 
         Mary Roach (b 1 Feb 1817 Uny Lelant)      (James = labourer, residence = Uny Lelant)
         Henry Roach (b 15 Sep 1824 Uny Lelant)      (James = mason, residence = Uny Lelant)
            The Wachtel-Smith tree on Ancestry has more Wife is Mary Barrons, married St Erth 1813, later children Isaac (1827 Lelant) John (c1835 Ludgvan) and Elizabeth (c1843 Ludgvan)
                 No Robert but James' father is Robert. St Erth is about one and a half miles south of Lelant
    Thomas Roach  (m Mary Mitchell 1819)
         Jacob Roach (b 10 Nov 1834  Lelant)      (Thomas = miner, residence = Fogue)
         Isaac Roach (b 10 Nov 1834  Lelant)      (Thomas = miner, residence = Fogue)
    Elizabeth Roach
         Jane Uren Roach (12 Jul 1834  Lelant)   (illegitimate, mother = servant, , Residence Carn)
    Mary Roach
         Lavinia Roach (20 Sep 1836  Lelant)   (illegitimate, Residence Carn)
    Thomas Roach (m Mary Thomas 10 Aug 1817, d 1852)
         Paul Roach (b 4 Sep 1828 Lelant, d 1865)
         Frances Roach (b 14 July 1833 Lelant, d 1921)
Looking at all the candidates, possibly the best choice is James and Mary
       (1) Children best fit for Robert (b abt 1820)
       (2) Our Robert's children include (Willian) Henry, Mary and James
       (3) James is a mason, tying in with Robert's profession of stonemason
Put it 50% chance

Lelant , St Ives, Nancledra and Towednack are all within two mor three miles of one another
FHO gives the following baptism :Parish Towednack, Robert ROACH, Date 21 Mar 1819 Father Thomas ROACH Mother Mary.
 This Robert married Mary Roscrow 1849   Burra, South Australia. I have had contact with Glenys Savage, who is descended  from this Robert, and he is clearly different. Census information in 1841 confirms this.
 Richard Reid Roach's death certificate  states he spent 3 years in SA, so there may be some family connection  
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