Centenarian Peter Pentury - or was he? 1796-1897

One thing you will learn if you start to track down your ancestors is that their names are spelt, or presented, differently at every opportunity!  My own G-grandmother dropped her first name, got married, then on her gravestone her middle name had been used, along with a "new/invented" middle initial!

Even the press don't get things right.  I was browsing through some random old newspapers earlier and found an announcement of a Peter Pentury, in Norfolk, who had reached the age of 100 in 1896  I do like those - I always check to see how old they did get to before they died.

The newspaper said: "There is now living in Grassenhall workhouse, Norfolk, a pauper named Peter Pentury, who has attained the age of 100 years.  The register of Mattishall parish church, in the same county, certifies that he was baptized thereon June 28 1796.  He has been an inmate of the Grassenhall workhouse seven years, and is at the present time in the enjoyment of good health."

So I went to try to find him.  I tried FreeBMD, then FreeREG - no sign!  So I then assumed that the newspaper had spelt his name incorrectly and bingo, I found Peter Pentury, with a variety of different names/spellings, the correct spelling appears to be Peter Pentney, as that's the spelling most often used.  Pentney is a very common surname in the area, so only proper investigation of the primary data sources would prove/disprove anything, but, without that detailed information, the following might be guessed at his timeline:

• ~1796 born, according to the newspaper and censuses.
• 1851 Census: Peter Pentney was aged 50 and living as a boarder in Mattishall.
• 1856 Marriage?  There is a marriage in December 1856 that might be Peter.  FreeBMD also shows a Frances Girling who was married; it's therefore feasible that this would be Peter's marriage (although he'd be 60!).  It could be a coincidence.  If this are the couple, they've most likely been married before.  A search of the parish registers for Mitford would help.  
• 1871 Census: Peter Pantney was aged 77 and a married Agricultural Labourer living in Mattishall, Norfolk with his wife, Frances Pantney, aged 80, born in Winburgh.
• 1881 Census: Peter Pentney was an 85 year old widower living at 16 Welgate Mattishall. His birth year was given as 1796 and birthplace as Mattishall.  
• 1891 Census: Peter Pentney was aged 95 and living in Grassenhall Workhouse. 
• 1897 Death: FreeBMD had a death registration in the 3rd quarter of 1897, with Peter Pentney, registered in the Mitford district of Norfolk, aged 101.

I can find no baptism in Mattishall for Peter Pentney, nor variations, on FreeREG, but that would require research into which other churches are in the village and checking all records for all churches.  Some of this is online, but not everything is - Norfolk FHS would have copies and transcripts of those for somebody who wanted/needed to know the answer.  I am simply a casual browser.  I did find transcripts online for Mattishall, but 1796 was 'missing'.  That's always annoying too, it had 1795 and 1797, just not 1796.

The Census indicates that Frances, his wife, died between 1871 and 1881.  There's no death registered on FreeBMD between these dates, but there is a Frances Pentney death registered in 1869, aged 85.

Online newspapers, from the National Newspaper Archive, did manage to spell his name correctly when they announced his death.  There are a few, brief, reports of his passing in 1897 where, in September, it was told that he'd worked until he was 96 years old as a navvy and had been "hale and hearty" and never ill until two years previously.  The newspapers also reported a death, aged 98, of Robert Pentney in 1863 - I'd probably lay money on that being his father, although there were gaps in the records I could see of baptisms at Mattishall, the Pentney children either side of 1796 were to parents Robert and Hannah!  More poking around to be done for any family members that discovered that.

For anybody serious in pursuing the actual timeline, this is where things start to require a more serious approach and attention to detail, along with proof/evidence paperwork (aka: spending money!).  Although there are probably some online trees containing this couple, you have to also question how dedicated they are in getting the facts.  A grandchild, for example, might have 'bothered'; a 4th cousin 3x removed will have simply chucked it into their tree!

So, my interest in this centenarian is at an end - I got distracted by this (it happens all the time!).  So many intriguing stories.  It's surprising how far you can go, relying purely on free parish records online and family history resources.


Image Daily Mail & Empire, 15 August 1896