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DRAFT
THE QUIRE FAMILY
of Somerset, England
Monday, 12 December 2022

Revised 2021
First Published in booklet form 1987
First published on the internet 2001

All text and images are copyright ©2022 Robert J Sherwood

For permission to reproduce (provided the author and source are

credited) please contact the author…
rjsherwood@optusnet.com.au

 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I
would like to acknowledge the help and information provided by
my aunt and uncle Jean and Pat Sherwood, of Clayton, Victoria.
They retold several stories about the Quire family that were passed
down through the family. These stories have now been recorded for
future generations.

 FIGURES

ii


 TABLE OF CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS -----------------------------------------------------------i

FIGURES ----------------------------------------------------------------------------ii

INTRODUCTION -------------------------------------------------------------------iii

CHAPTER 1 Eliza Quire -----------------------------------------------------------1

Introduction 1

CHAPTER 2 Eliza’s Parents -------------------------------------------------------5

John & Fanny Quire nee Fisher ---------------------------------5

Introduction -------------------------------------------------------5

CHAPTER 3 Eliza’s Grandparents ------------------------------------------------9

Introduction -------------------------------------------------------9

CHAPTER 4 Eliza’s Great Grandparents ---------------------------------------12

Introduction -----------------------------------------------------12

CHAPTER 5. Eliza’s Great, Great Grandparents -------------------------------16

Introduction -----------------------------------------------------16

NOTES -----------------------------------------------------------------------------21

 INTRODUCTION

T
his is the story of the Quire family of Somerset, England, the family
of my great, great grandmother Eliza Quire.

The story begins with Eliza, the places she lived and the signi cant
events in her life. For the remainder of the story we travel further back in
time. We discover her parents, grandparents, great grandparents and great,
great grandparents. A journey that ends for now, with her most distant
ancestor’s William and Elizabeth Quire, a family of ve blacksmiths.

iii

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THE AUTHOR’S GREAT, GREAT
ELIZA QUIRE
GRANDMOTHER

CHAPTER 1
Eliza Quire
(c.1833-1916)

Insert photo

https://www.familysearch.org/tree/person/about/K23V-Q7T

Insert timeline

Introduction

‘I would rather see you dead than go to Australia’

According to Eliza these were the words her mother Fanny used when
she (Eliza) told her that she had planned to sail to Australia. This was
just one of a number of stories my aunt and uncle Jean and Pat
Sherwood told me about their great grandmother Eliza. A story passed
down over four generations.

Such was the grief that her mother felt at the idea that her daughter
and husband Isaac and their two children would emigrate.

When told about the decision to leave, Fanny was far from happy.
According to Eliza her mother said to her that she would rather see
her dead than go to Australia. Having accepted the fact that her
daughter was leaving and nothing much could be done about it, Fanny
decided on a parting gift. Fanny gave Eliza a small emerald green
christening bowl. The bowl accompanied the family on their journey to
Australia in 1859. They took it

CHAPTER 1 1

 THE AUTHOR’S GREAT, GREAT

ELIZA QUIRE
GRANDMOTHER
with them to South Australia and then back to Victoria where the
family nally settled.

To have an image move with the text see SAVEd Youtube video


CHAPTER 1 2
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THE AUTHOR’S GREAT, GREAT
ELIZA QUIRE
GRANDMOTHER Eliza Quire

Figure: Shows the line of descent from Eliza Quire to

the author

CHAPTER 1 3
THE AUTHOR’S GREAT, GREAT
ELIZA QUIRE
GRANDMOTHER

CHAPTER 1 4
ELIZA’S PARENTS JOHN & FANNY QUIRE

CHAPTER 2
Eliza’s Parents

John & Fanny Quire nee Fisher

Introduction

CHAPTER 2 5



ELIZA’S PARENTS JOHN & FANNY QUIRE

CHAPTER 2 6
ELIZA’S PARENTS JOHN & FANNY QUIRE

The Fisher Family

This is the story of …


CHAPTER 2 7
ELIZA’S PARENTS JOHN & FANNY QUIRE

CHAPTER 2 8
ELIZA’S GRANDPARENTS WILLIAM & MARY QUIRE

CHAPTER 3
Eliza’s Grandparents

William & Mary Quire nee Oldman

Introduction

CHAPTER 3 9



ELIZA’S GRANDPARENTS WILLIAM & MARY QUIRE

CHAPTER 3 10
ELIZA’S GRANDPARENTS WILLIAM & MARY QUIRE

CHAPTER 3 11
ELIZA’S GREAT GRANDPARENTS WILLIAM & MARY QUIRE

CHAPTER 4
Eliza’s Great Grandparents

William & Mary Quire nee Pyther

Introduction

CHAPTER 4 12



ELIZA’S GREAT GRANDPARENTS WILLIAM & MARY QUIRE

CHAPTER 4 13
ELIZA’S GREAT GRANDPARENTS WILLIAM & MARY QUIRE

CHAPTER 4 14
ELIZA’S GREAT GRANDPARENTS WILLIAM & MARY QUIRE

CHAPTER 4 15
ELIZA’S GREAT, GREAT GRANDPARENTS WILLIAM & ELIZABETH QUIRE

CHAPTER 5.
Eliza’s Great, Great Grandparents

William & Elizabeth Quire nee Corpe

Introduction

William and Elizabeth Quire nee Corpe

In 2022 I revisited my research into the Q family after a long break. I wanted to learn more
about William Q (c.1730-1768) who married Mary Pyther in Compton Bishop in 1758. I
was hoping to nd his birthplace and parents.

William wasn’t born in Compton Bishop. There are no references to the Q name in the
Compton Bishop church of St. Andrew records prior to his marriage in 1758.

At the time of his death William and Mary had six children, ve daughters and a son
William Jr. When William Sr. died from smallpox in 1768, his occupation was blacksmith
and religion methodist.

To learn more, I looked for the appearance of the Quire name in north Somerset church
registers. Many church records are held in online genealogical databases. One of the rst
things I found was the probate record of a John Q from the neighbouring parish of
Cheddar. John died in 1808, age 74. His birth was estimated to be 1734. What I found
interesting was that both men were close to the same age, living just seven kilometres
apart, worked as blacksmiths and shared an uncommon surname. There was a strong
possibility that both were related, possibly brothers.

The next step was to look for the baptism of a William Quire born about 1730. The search
revealed twelve Quire baptisms that took place within a 12 kilometre radius of Compton
Bishop. Children bearing the Quire surname were baptised in the parishes of Yatton,
Wrington, Bleadon and Hutton between 1731 to 1766. See Quire family tree. There was
an interesting connection with these Quire baptisms. They were all children born to a
CHAPTER 5 16
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ELIZA’S GREAT, GREAT GRANDPARENTS WILLIAM & ELIZABETH QUIRE

William and Elizabeth Quire. 1 Most importantly, one of those baptisms was for a William
Quire which took place in the parish church of Yatton, Somerset in 1731. Was this the
Compton Bishop William Quire?

Of William and Elizabeth Quire’s twelve children, seven were daughters, Betty, Eleanor,
two girls they named Anna (the rst Anna appears to have died as an infant) Hannah,
Jane and Mary. Their ve sons were William, John, Samuel, James and Benjamin.
Interestingly all sons were blacksmiths. John married in the parish of Puritan in 1762,
James and Samuel in Yatton in 1773 and 1777. Benjamin married in Bristol in 1785. As for
the marriage of William Quire, William and Elizabeth’s oldest child, I could only nd two
possible marriages. The rst took place in Watford, Somerset in 1752. Watford is 80
kilometres south of Yatton. The other was 18 kilometres from Yatton in Compton Bishop
in 1758. This was the marriage of our William and Mary Quire nee Pyther.

The marriage of William and Elizabeth Quire, the parents of the 12

Quire children mentioned above, took place in the parish church of
St. Mary, Redcli e, Bristol 15 July 1730. Redcli e is 22 kilometres Marriage
licence
northeast of Yatton.
The marriage of
According to St. Mary’s marriage register…
William and
‘Weddings in 1730. July 15. William Quire and Elizabeth Corpe by Elizabeth Quire,
Lycence’
the parents of
the 12
Because the couple were married by licence, there was the possibility
that additional information might be available if the licence still existed.
Fortunately a copy of the licence was obtained and revealed the following.

William’s age when he married was given as ‘about 20 and Elizabeth’s age
at about 18. William was a bachelor and Elizabeth a spinster. Both were from
the parish of Redcli e, Bristol.2

John signs as Corp.

1When two of William and Elizabeth’s sons Samuel and James were baptised at Hutton, William
was recorded as the father and Mary the mother. I suspect that William and Elizabeth were the
parents with Elizabeth’s name mistakenly recorded as Mary.
2A search of the Redcli e St. Mary church records failed to nd any mention of the Quire and
Corpe names, apart from their marriage there in 1730.
CHAPTER 5 17
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 ELIZA’S GREAT, GREAT GRANDPARENTS WILLIAM & ELIZABETH QUIRE

See notes.

  

CHAPTER 5 18

ELIZA’S GREAT, GREAT GRANDPARENTS WILLIAM & ELIZABETH QUIRE

CHAPTER 5 19
ELIZA’S GREAT, GREAT GRANDPARENTS WILLIAM & ELIZABETH QUIRE

CHAPTER 5 20
 NOTES

The Story of the Quire Family 21