Muriel Smith

A breakthrough! For ages I have put off investigating the family of Muriel Smith, who married Richard Fletcher, because of the fact that she was a Smith! Not that Smith is anything but a fine and honourable name, I was just daunted by the idea that it would be difficult to sort out. Anyway, after some email correspondence with my mentor (thanks Mum!) I took the plunge. I had known for a while the name of Muriel's father was Robert, but other than that - nothing. Some research into old wills led me to Preston on Stour, and the parish registers there confirmed her father as Robert and her paternal grandparents as John and Muriel. Her father Robert married Elizabeth Cleeve at Whitchurch in Warwickshire and then it appears they moved to Charringworth near Ebrington. It was here that Elizabeth, Muriel's mother, died in 1764. Muriel was only about 3 at the time. I cannot find another marriage for Robert - I am almost certain he remained single for the rest of his life, 'til he died in 1797. His will leaves everything to his daughter Muriel, and then to her five children. To my delight he inserts a phrase that her inheritance is to be hers alone and that her present nor future husbands not have anything to do with it! The only missing piece in the story of Muriel is her baptism. I have looked closely through the images of the Preston on Stour registers to no avail. I have done searches for her baptisms at both Whitchurch and Ebrington but as that is not throwing up anything useful in the transcriptions I will have to look at the images for those too. If that is not successful I will have to think again!