The earliest ancestors of Arthur Samuel Thomas Searle appear in the records of the Parish of St. Austell, Cornwall, England, around 1730 and remain there until at least 1782. St. Austell was a small town in the 1700s, acting as a market centre for the tin mining, farming, and fishing interests of the surrounding area. The town is approximately 45 km west of Plymouth, Devon, England, and had a population of 1,400 in 1804.
On January 4th, 1730, John Sarol married Jone Pascko in the Parish of St. Austell. They had 5 children between 1731 and 1743, all baptised in the same parish: Joseph (1731 – 1734), Rebecca (1733 – 1754), Catherine (1735 – 1735), John (1737 – 1782), and Joan (1743 – 1800). While it is unknown exactly when John Sarol died, Joan Searle was buried on April 18th, 1770, in the Parish of St. Austell; she is listed as a widow, indicating that John pre-deceased her.
John and Joan’s son, John Sarol, was baptised on January 8th, 1737. On May 29th, 1763, John Sarle (or Serle) married Alice Sims in the Parish of St. Austell. Alice Sims, the daughter of William Sym and Dinah Harris (1692 – 1761), was baptised on January 13th, 1740, in the Parish of St. Clement, Cornwall. Between 1764 and 1782, John and Alice had 7 children, all baptised in the Parish of St. Austell: Elizabeth (1764 – 1802), Mary (1766 – 1766), John (1768 – 1782), Mary (1771 – 1852), Catherine (1774 – Unknown), William (1777 – 1835), and Margaret (1782 – Unknown). There are two John Searle’s buried in St. Austell in 1782, one on February 6th and one on September 24th – these are believed to be this John Searle and his son John. Alice Sims eventually moved to Lanreath, most likely with her son William and his family. She was buried on November 3rd, 1826, in the Parish of Lanreath. Her burial record lists her age as 100.
John and Alice’s son, William, was baptised on November 9th, 1777. William Searl married Mary Husband on December 9th, 1799, in the Parish of Stoke Damerel, Devon, England. William was a member of the Royal Artillery. Mary Husband, the daughter of William Husband (Unknown – 1803) and Catharine Carbine (Unknown – 1807), was baptised on April 11th, 1779, in the Parish of Tywardreath, Cornwall. William and Mary seemed to move around a bit after they were married, before settling in Lanreath. Their first son, William Husband Searle (1801 - 1880), was baptised in the Parish of Tywardreath in 1801. Their second child, Mary Anne Sorrell, was baptised in the Parish of St. Blazey in 1803. William and Mary had 4 more children, all baptised in the Parish of Lanreath: Catherine (1807 – 1808), Catherine (1808 – 1838), Elizabeth (1811 – Unknown), and Phoebe (1814 – Unknown). Mary Searle (Husband) died of consumption (aka tuberculosis) and was buried in the Parish of Lanreath on October 8th, 1828, at the age of 49. William Searle died at Bazely’s Cottage after a gutter fell on him, and he was buried in the Parish of Lanreath on July 18th, 1835, at the age of 58.