Name:
John Ray1
Sex:
Male
Father:
-
Mother:
-
Birth:
1798 (est)
Determining his year of birth without his baptimal record is difficult. The available records are the 1851 and 1871 Censuses and his death registration which give a calculated year of birth as 1801, 1798 and 1796 respectively. The average of these is 1798.
Residence:
1823 (age 24-25)
until John retired as a Bristol Channel Pilot around 1863. The 1841 -1861 Censusus show that they rented at least three different cottages within the village presumably dictated by the size or their family and/or the family income. Whether they rented other places between the Censuses is not known.
Occupation:
btw 1830 and 1863 (age 31-65)
a Bristol Channel Pilot|| The pilots of the Bristol Channel worked privately; it was every man for himself. The Pilot Cutters would race westwards to meet the incoming ships (hence the pilot crews were known as Westernmen). The pickings were rich if you could get them, which meant being the first out to the incoming ship, racing and outwitting the other pilots. The results were unparalleled seamanship, and the evolution of very fast, very able boats.
Once alongside the incoming ship, the boy or apprentice would row the pilot to the merchant vessel, where the pilot would scramble aboard. It is a testimony to the design of the punts (clinker rowing boats) that this could often take place whilst it was "blowing a hooli".
The Pilot Cutters were usually crewed by a man and a boy (or apprentice) and the pilot on the outward journey. Once the pilot was aboard an incoming ship, the Pilot Cutters would race back to port and pick up the pilot from wherever the ship berthed. Sometimes the ships would tow the Pilot Cutters, which was very unpopular with the crews.
John must have started as a apprentice probably around the age of 14 in 1812 or thereabouts; after his apprenticeship he would have become a crewman. When he beacame a pilot is not known. However, he was a pilot by 1833 when he was 33 and remained so until sometime between 1861 and 1871 when he was approaching 70 so he must have been good at his job.
Residence:
1863 (age 64-65)
Bristol, Gloucestershire11
and lived there until John's death in 1875. They probably moved because all their suviving children were living in Bristol.
Death:
23 Sep 1875 (age 76-77)
of paralysis||It was the second attack within 14 days and the term "paralysis" almost certainly refers to a stroke. His daughter Pamela subsequently reported his death to the Registrar. It is assumed that she was living with her parents and she had been in all the previous censuses. John's wife Sarah was almost certainly present as well.
Death:
27 Sep 1875 (age 76-77)
his daughter Pamela Ray. ||His registered age was 79 but where this information came from is not known as he born before birth registrations started. It is possible that he had a baptismal certificate but there is no evidence of this as the age he gave in the 1851 and 1871 Censuses (50 and 73 respectively) would have made either 74 or77 when he died.
Spouse:
Children:
Marriage:
1823 (est) (age 24-25)
St George's Church, Pill, Somerset17
As their eldest child, Elizabeth, was born in 1824 it is assumed that they were married in 1823 and, as they were both born in Pill it is almost certain that they were married in St George's Church, Pill.
Census 1851:
30 Mar 1851 (age 52-53)
Pill, Somerset18
The household consisted of John, his wife Sarah, their children Elizabeth, Pamelia, John, Sarah, Emily, Eliza, Edmund and Thomas, and their niece Elizabeth Lester. The road where they lived is not identified but they had the whole house or cottage to themselves and it was almost certainly near the water. The size is unknown.
Census 1871:
2 Apr 1871 (age 72-73)
3, Commercial Road, Hotwells, Bristol19
The household consisted of John, his wife Sarah, their daughters Paula (Mary Pamela) and Eliza and a lodger Charlotte Gilmore who was born in Pill so was probably a friend of the family. It is thought that Paula is the same person recorded as Pamelia in the 1851 Census for John Ray. The family shared the house with 2 other families. In all there were 13 people living in the house.
Why the family had moved from Pill to Bristol on John's retirement is not known.
1851 England Census for Pill, Somerset for Household of John Ray, Census Type: 1851 England, Census Place: Bedminster, Somerset, Folio: 616, Page: 7. John Ray father of Sarah Ray. National Archives. Call Number: HO107/1946.
Ibid. John Ray age 50 (i.e. born in 1801) in Pill, Somerset. National Archives. Call Number: HO107/1946.
1871 England Census for Household of John Ray (Clifton, Bristol), Census Type: 1871 England, Census Place: Cliftton, Bristol, Folio: 19, Page: 29. 1871 Census for John Ray (639)John Rayage 73 born in Pill, Somerset. National Archives. Call Number: RG10/2542.
Civil Registration Index (England & Wales) for Death of John Ray, Event Type: Death, Name Of Person: John Ray, Registration District: Clifton, Volume: 6a, Page: 52, (Period, Jul-Sep 1875). CRI(E&W) for Death of John Ray (639)Quarter and Year Jul-Sep 1875Surname RayGiven Names JohnAge 79Registration District Clifton. General Register Office. Call Number: Deaths.
1851 England Census for Pill, Somerset for Household of John Ray, Census Type: 1851 England, Census Place: Bedminster, Somerset, Folio: 616, Page: 7. Address:Easton in Gordano or St George which is the parish of Pill. National Archives. Call Number: HO107/1946.
1841 England Census in Pill, Somerset for Household of Sarah Ray, Census Type: 1841 England, Census Place: Pill, Somerset, Folio: 40, Page: 34. Address: Star Lane, Hamlet of Pill, St George or Easton in Gordano, Pill. National Archives. Call Number: HO107/956/5.
1861 England Census in Pill, Somerset for Household of Eliza Ray, Census Type: 1861 England, Census Place: Pill, Somerset, Folio: 80, Page: 35. Address: Landfords Lane, St George which is the parish of Pill. National Archives. Call Number: RG9/1711.
General Register Office, Certified Copy for an Entry of Marriage for Benjamin Hellin Adams and Sarah Sophia Ray, (By General Register Office on 30 March 2010 in response to Application No. 2197946/2). Custom Id: MXE 836646; CountySomersetDate of Marriage18 April 1861Bride's ResidencePillBride's FatherJohn RayRank or ProfessionPilot. Pat Ward.
1861 England Census in Pill, Somerset for Household of Eliza Ray, Census Type: 1861 England, Census Place: Pill, Somerset, Folio: 80, Page: 35. Sarah Ray, wife of John Ray, is described as a pilot's wife. The census took place in Pill. National Archives. Call Number: RG9/1711.
1851 England Census for Pill, Somerset for Household of John Ray, Census Type: 1851 England, Census Place: Bedminster, Somerset, Folio: 616, Page: 7. John RayBristol Channel Pilot. The Census took place in Pill. National Archives. Call Number: HO107/1946.
1871 England Census for Household of John Ray (Clifton, Bristol), Census Type: 1871 England, Census Place: Cliftton, Bristol, Folio: 19, Page: 29. Address: 3, Commercial Road, Hotwells. National Archives. Call Number: RG10/2542.
Civil Registration Index (England & Wales) for Death of John Ray, Event Type: Death, Name Of Person: John Ray, Registration District: Clifton, Volume: 6a, Page: 52, (Period, Jul-Sep 1875). Quarter and Year Jul-Sep 1875Surname RayGiven Names JohnAge 79Registration District Clifton. General Register Office. Call Number: Deaths.
Certified Copy for an Entry of Death for John Ray, Name Of Person: John Ray, Registration District: Clifton, Certificate No.: DYC 765782, (23 Sep 1875, Registration Date, 27 Sep 1875). DistrictCliftonSub-DistrictCliftonCountyCity and County of BristolDate of Death23 September 1875Place of Death10 Bunswick PlaceNameJohn RayAge79Occupationretired pilotCause of DeathParalysis, second attack in 14 daysCertified ByJ.D.F.Parsons M.D.Informant's SignaturePamela RayInformant's DescriptionDaughter present at the deathInformant's Residence10 Brunswick Place, Clifton.
Ibid. DistrictCliftonSub-DistrictCliftonCountyCity and County of BristolInformant's SignaturePamela RayInformant's DescriptionDaughter present at the deathInformant's Residence10 Brunswick Place, CliftonDate Registered27 September 1875RegistrarEdward Tedder.
1851 England Census for Pill, Somerset for Household of John Ray, Census Type: 1851 England, Census Place: Bedminster, Somerset, Folio: 616, Page: 7. John Rayage 50. National Archives. Call Number: HO107/1946.
1871 England Census for Household of John Ray (Clifton, Bristol), Census Type: 1871 England, Census Place: Cliftton, Bristol, Folio: 19, Page: 29. John Ray age 73. National Archives. Call Number: RG10/2542.
1851 England Census for Pill, Somerset for Household of John Ray, Census Type: 1851 England, Census Place: Bedminster, Somerset, Folio: 616, Page: 7. Sarah Ray wife of John Ray both born in Pill, Somerset. National Archives. Call Number: HO107/1946.
Ibid. Address:Easton in Gordano or St George (Pill), SomersetId NamesRelCondAge OccupationWhere Born639John RayHeadMar50Bristol Channel PilotSt George, Somerset640Sarah RayWifeMar46St George, Somerset641Elizabeth A. RayDaugU27Straw Bonnet MakerSt George, Somerset642Pamelia RayDaugU25St George, Somerset643John RaySonU23SailorSt George, Somerset436Sarah RayDaugU19St George, Somerset644Emily RayDaugU14St George, Somerset645Eliza RayDaug12ScholarSt George, Somerset646Edmund RaySon3St George, Somerset647Thomas RaySon1St George, Somerset648Elizabeth LesterNiece6Nailsea, Somerset. National Archives. Call Number: HO107/1946.
1871 England Census for Household of John Ray (Clifton, Bristol), Census Type: 1871 England, Census Place: Cliftton, Bristol, Folio: 19, Page: 29. Address: 3, Commercial Road, Hotwells, Clifton, Bristol Id NamesRelCondAge OccupationWhere Born639John RayHeadMarried73Retired PilotPill, Somerset640Sarah RayWifeMarried66Pill, Somerset642?Paula RayDaugSingle38Dress makerPill, Somerset645Eliza RayDaugSingle26Dress makerPill, Somerset---Charlotte GilmoreBorderSingle20Machinist Pill, Somerset. National Archives. Call Number: RG10/2542.