Firstly an update on a couple of items in my report in the March 2000 journal.

The GRO references that I gave Norman Saul proved to be helpful and firmly established that the Matthew Saul shown in the 1881 census at Birmingham was the same Matthew that had married Ann Hoyle at Harbergham Eaves in 1845 i.e. Norman’s great, great grandfather. On the certificate for his second marriage on 20 March 1879 to Louisa Maria Purchase his father is shown as Robert Saul a tailor. Matthew died a few years later on 16 June 1882 aged 55 years. During his research Norman found a further child for Matthew and Ann (nee Hoyle), a John born on 2 March 1861 at Habergham Eaves. This child has not been found on censuses so presumably died as an infant.

Nikki Ball has now corresponded with Alma Merritt and they have established their connection. Alma has sent me a combined family tree and tells me that Nikki and her sister are intending to pay a visit to the Maryport/Cockermouth area and continue the research. Hopefully further information will be forthcoming in due course.

Pauline Saul passed on to me a letter she had received form Christine Muschamp. Christine’s maiden name was Saul. Her father Roderick Saul was born in Barking, Essex in 1928 and her grandfather Ernest James Saul was born around 1904. I cannot connect this information at present but have given Christine some ideas on how to further her research.

I was able to make a more positive identification when I received information from a Julian Saul who knew that he had Norfolk connections. Julian had the benefit of a family bible which recorded, amongst other things, the births of the children of Henry and Matilda (nee WRIGHT) of Norwich. I had the majority of the children on charts but not those born after 1881 which included Julian’s grandfather Herbert Ernest Saul born on 30 September 1884. Julian understood that his great grandfather (Henry) had run a timber business in Norwich but the 1881 census gives his occupation as a master builder employing 4 men. It was Henry’s brother William that was shown on the census as a timber merchant, though it is possible that Henry joined his brother in the business later. The charts on which Julian’s ancestors appear go back to Stalham and the new information has further expanded what was already the largest tree I had on the Norfolk Sauls. Julian connects with Les Saul as they have a common ancestor in William Staff Saul. Les’s side of the family went to Great Yarmouth and established a timber merchant business there so it seems likely that close connections were maintained between the families at that time. Julian and Les have been in contact and exchanged information and it is always satisfying when it is possible to reunite descendants. Julian has joined the Society.

I took advantage of a trip to the Public Record Office at Kew to research further the Quaker families in Cumberland. Amongst the papers that the Society has is a transcript of Saul entries in the Quaker records covering the period from 1725 to approximately 1790. The records predominately cover the Holme Meeting but there a few entries from the Pardshaw Meeting. At Kew I found registers covering later periods and spent most of the day taking a transcript. Frustratingly, I only discovered after the time that further records could be obtained for that day, that there was a five year gap between the two sets of records. Nevertheless a good deal of further information was found most of which can easily be fitted into family trees. The Quaker records were very well maintained and contained more information than would generally be found in parish registers of the same time. For example a marriage entry on 27 October 1819 tells us that Beeby Saul of Carlisle (tea dealer) son of Dan Saul of Allonby (shoemaker) and Sarah married Sarah Reed daughter of Abigail Beeby of Maryport. Amongst the witnesses was a Joseph Saul of Allonby a shoemaker.

I have now found quite a lot of non-conformity amongst the Saul families. As well as the Quaker tradition in Cumberland, Sauls in a number of other areas were of the Catholic faith. I have previously written about the Catholic families in the Doncaster area. I have also discovered Sauls in the Catholic records in Preston.

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