Hi Glenys

Many thanks for all the information. I certainly do hope that we can find a link between our families and if the names are anything to go by, there are many co-incidences. My Richard was apparently born about 1765, but was not baptised until 7.9.1770 in Blandford - unfortunately there were no parents named at all and we cannot be certain whether this was just an omission. My researcher could not find any other Ameys in the area for 5 years either before or after that date, and he concluded that Richard's parents were either only in the area for a short time, or that he was the last child baptised. He made another search in the surrounding districts but could not come up with any other possible siblings or parents.

However when he checked on marriages in Blandford, he came up with the following
Thomas Amey & Jane Wensor of Blandford married by licence 26 May 1801 in the presence of William Ayres and Mary Spear.
John Plowman of Dorchester and Rachel Amey of Blandford married by licence 9 October 1802 in the presence of William Ayres and William Amey.

My researcher concluded that these were probably siblings but he could find no trace of them in the Blandford baptisms or the surrounding area for the period 1765 to 1781. It was therefore not possible to confirm this but the Puddletown Ameys are the only ones found so far who fit into the time scale and picture.
I am not sure where Tincleton is?

My Richard married Sarah Baker on 13.6.1808 in Langton Long with witnesses Ann Baker, E House, Jon House & Joseph Cumberland Clark Richard was a farmer and yeoman. He was buried at Littleton on 22 November 1821 aged 55. He and Sarah had 8 children - William, Richard, Robert, Martha, Elizabeth Ann, Thomas, John and Sarah.

I am decended from Robert, who was a miller and moved around Dorset quite a lot. His son Joseph Robert was my great grandfather, his two sisters being Helen and Frances with a brother called Richard. There appears to have been money in the family as Joseph was cut off by his father when he married my great grandmother Mary Batten. Apparently he came courting in top hat and tails and his two sisters used to come to visit them in a carriage!! My grandmother knew nothing about her father's life before he married her mother.

I am not sure if this helps at all - on the face of it, it certainly seems to fit into your family but I am not sure how we can verify it. Is your researcher still around? If so, perhaps I could contact him/her to see whether he/she could come up with anything. If not, I do have a researcher who did work for me.

Look forward to hearing from you
Hazel