Hi Krissy
The further you look, the more you find....
Because I'd got the 1851 census, the marriage of James and Jane and the death of James all in Cornwall I had only looked for children of the marriage in Cornwall. I should know better after all these years
. Widening the parent search for children of a James Dewar and Jane to all counties brought up the following set of children:
Cornelius Glynn Dewer - born 02 Feb 1819, bap 07 June 1819
Orlando Glenn Dewar - born 17 Jan 1824, bap 06 Nov 1826
Alexander Dewar - 03 May 1826, bap 06 Nov 1826
Jane Amelia Dewer - born 16 Jan 1828, bap 07 Apr 1828
Celia Dewer - born 03 Feb 1832, bap 03 Sept 1832
All these baptisms were at the Morrice Street Wesleyan Church, Devonport, Devon. The minor variations in spelling - Dewar/Dewer and Glynn/Glenn - are not significant. Is there anything in your Dewar family to account for the middle name Glenn? It sounds as if it could be Scottish.
There was no maiden name for Jane - there rarely is in baptisms south of the border - but Celia's birth would tie in with the 1851 census entry for Celia Welman. The place, Devonport, would also make sense as there was a large Naval Dockyard there and this would indicate that your James Dewar, the superannuated gunner of 1851, was in the Navy, not the Army. This is supported by a search in The National Archives online catalogue:
Ref: ADM 29/3/87
James Dewar
Rank: Gunner
Born: (Not given)
Age on entry: (Not given)
Dates served: 08 March 1809 - 18 Oct 1823
Date and Type of Application: Admiralty 22 Oct 1823
The Reference (ADM) would refer to the Admiralty records and I presume that the application would be for a pension. Using the age of 75 on the 1851 census this would mean he was 33 when he joined and 47 when he left the Navy. The 1784 birth date you have for him would mean a joining age of 25 and leaving age of 39. There will be more details available in TNA.
A search of the 1881 census for Devon and Cornwall throws up what is almost certainly the Alexander Dewar born 03 May 1826, given the use of Glenn as a middle name for the children:
1881 Census
Dwelling: 7 St Pauls St
Census Place: East Stonehouse, Devon, England
Source: FHL Film 1341530 – PRO Ref RG11 – Piece 2204 – Folio 59 – Page 52
Alexander DEWAR – Head – Mar – 53 – M – Seaman HMS Indus – Willcove, Cornwall
Thos.H.Glen DEWAR – Son – Unm – 20 – M – Boat Builder – Kingsand, Devon
John Glen DEWAR – Son – 15 – M – Unemployed – Stonehouse, Devon
Emily DEWAR – Daur – 13 – F – Scholar – Stonehouse, Devon
Ann DEWAR – Daur – 6 – F – Scholar – Stonehouse, Devon
Emelin DEWAR – Wife – Mar – 48 – F – Seamans Wife – Cawsand, Cornwall
He's ennumerated twice by the looks of it as he's also one of 20 'Shipt Pensioners' on the Indus. The age is slightly out but the Indus vessel matches:
1881 Census
Vessel: "Indus"
Census Place: Devonport, Devon, England
Source: FHL Film 1341533 – PRO Ref RG11 – Piece 2214 – Folio 147 – Page 16
Alexander DEWAR – Mar – 55 – M – Shipt Pensioner – Cawsand, Cornwall
Looks as if the Indus was a sort of sailors' old peoples' home!
Judging by the birthplace of Maker, it looks as though the following E. Jane Littleton and her sister Blanche Dewar are also descendants of James Dewar and Jane, presumably grandchildren?
1881 Census
Dwelling: Cawsand Square
Census Place: Rame, Cornwall, England
Source: FHL Film 1341547 – PRO Ref RG11 – Piece 2279 – Folio 91 – Page 24
James LITTLETON – Head – Mar – 26 – M – Inn Keeper – Rame, Cornwall
E. Jane LITTLETON – Wife – Mar – 26 – F – Maker, Devon
John LITTLETON – Son – 6 – M – Rame, Cornwall
Mary Jane LITTLETON – Daur – 5 – F – Rame, Cornwall
Blanche DEWAR – Sister-in-Law – Unm – 19 – F – Maker Kingsand, Devon
I'll see if I can find Cornelius and Orlando in 1881 - with names like that they should be easy to spot!
Mary
However, his place of birth would fit with your second James and ages in censuses are notoriously unreliable. In addition to this, there is only one death registered for a James Dewar in Cornwall between the March quarter of 1855 and the March quarter of 1856: