ENGLAND Archives - Page 10 of 15

Saint vs Saints

I have done a LOAD more research on the Lamb/Rollett family and found what I believe are answers to some of the questions I posed in my previous post (which I will write about later, I promise) but I’ve just come back from a quick trip to Derby and inputting the information into my online tree has thrown up ANOTHER question.

While at the Derby Local Histories & Family History Library, I found the baptism entries for William Henry LAMB & Rebecca TAYLOR’s children on a parish register microfilm. Their 5 oldest children were baptised at All Saints, Derby (which is now known as Derby Cathedral) all on the same day – 11th March 1849. Beside the first column, the children’s actual birth dates were also recorded – the eldest, John, being born nearly 10 years previous.

This is not that unusual and I have come across this before in my research over the years. However, these children had already been baptised as infants in St Alkmund’s Church!

StAlkmunds_Church_in_1906 — St Alkmund’s Church, Derby c.1906

Now, I have heard of some children being re-baptised after changing religions or denominations; I’ve even heard of some being re-baptised after moving to a new area. But St Alkmund’s & All Saints are both Church of England AND within a stone’s throw of each other so those explanations don’t fit.

antique-maps-Town-Plans-80-1 — Plan of the Town of Derby c.1817 – arrows indicate the locations of All Saints & St Alkmund’s churches

Researching the church of St Alkmund’s shows that it was rebuilt 1844-46 (during the time some of the children were originally baptised); perhaps there was some issue surrounding this? The only other thought that has come to mind is some kind of scandal where there were concerns the children were not legitimately baptised.

If anyone can shed some light on this, or pose an alternative explanation, please contact me.

Hannah had a little LAMB

I’ve just spent a few days revisiting some old research and came across some notes I wrote regarding the LAMB family (starting with Reuben Henry LAMB):

Reuben birth — Birth Record of Reuben Henry Lamb, 1898

Reuben Henry LAMB

18 April, 2005
Found in 1901 census with parents William & Hannah & sister Rosannah. In the same house(? – 1 & 2HC2 Willow Row) is Alice Green unwed mother of 3 year old son John Thomas. She is not listed as head – relationship is mother but she is only 30 so not mother of head William LAMB. Could she be William or Hannah’s sister – maybe Hannah’s maiden name is Green?) (Look for record of Hannah Green)

Find Hannah’s maiden name – marriage to unknown Bates. the marriage would be between 1872 – 1897 (SOLVED – see next entry)

1901 lamb — Lamb family in the 1901 census

22 April, 2005
Found William & Hannah in 1891 census – here Hannah, Rose & another son John are recorded under the name ROLLETT. Hannah is listed as married (not to William – he is single) and is William’s ‘housekeeper’.

This confirms Rose RICHARDS’ memory (of Rolletts) but Reuben’s birth certificate lists mother as Hannah BATES so this is probably her maiden name. The record of a Hannah BANNER (nee BATES) marrying a William Henry is confusing. Will need to find record to confirm this – marriage to WH should be between 1891-1898 (Reuben’s birth). Perhaps she married again before William Henry or perhaps this was bigamous (ROLLETTS may have gone AWOL)

William is listed as a sweep but is neither employer/employed. This could reflect his journeyman status (1901 census).

1891 Lamb — Lamb family in the 1891 census (Hannah and children recorded under previous names)

13 October, 2007
Found marriage record of Ann BANNER marrying William Henry LAMB in 1891 (IGI) – Her father is listed as James BATES and his as John LAMB. So this seems very likely to be them.

Found marriage record of Hannah BATES marrying Alexander ROLLETT in 1872. He was living with a Selina BANKS (possibly married to a Henry BANKS in 1874 nee GARTON) [in the 1881 census] but they were both recorded as married with 2 children of each other’s surname.

Hannah/Ann’s parents may be James BATES and Ann TILBURY who married in 1854. By the 1861 census, Ann was listed as a widower.

Could the name BANNER come from her mother’s new partner? Hannah was very young when her father seems to have died. OR perhaps Hannah used a false name to hide the fact she may not have been divorced?

Lamb Banner — Marriage record of William Henry Lamb & Ann BANNER, 1891

The residence and profession match the 1891 census entry AND Reuben’s birth certificate, so this must be the same people but WHY has Hannah used a different name other than ROLLETT? Her marriage record to Alexander has the same name and profession of her father (who has died before 1872). She already lists herself as a widow – why not use the Rollett surname? Could the clerk copying the entry have misread Rollett as Banner? It’s possible.

It’s also possible that Hannah had lost contact with her ex-husband and so labelled herself a widower in order to marry William – since Alexander Rollett still seems to be alive throughout the next few censuses. I would need to see the original marriage entry to put that issue to rest.

Rollett Bates — Marriage record of Alexander Rollett & Hannah BATES, 1872

UPDATE: I have come to the conclusion that Hannah used the name Ann BANNER when marrying William to hide from authorities the fact that her husband, Alexander ROLLETT was still alive. Divorce was at the very least expensive and likely would not have been granted in those times (more info). Interestingly, Hannah continued to use the name Rollett and Lamb interchangeably through the rest of her life.

Next Steps:

~~View original marriage entry of Lamb/Banner marriage to check for mistranscription~~ no mistranscription
~~Follow the trail of the Rollett children for any other clues~~
Research adult chimney sweeps in the Victorian era

George in the Gaol

Painting of a Stagecoach Outside 'The George in the Tree' — Stagecoach Outside ‘The George in the Tree’ by Edward Benjamin Herberte

My convict ancestors have been mentioned on this blog a few times, but unfortunately I haven’t really been able to find out much about their lives before they were transported to Australia. Since George WHITE is a fairly common name, the possible matches I find are hard to verify as being ‘my guy’, but I still like to cast my net out every now and then and see if I catch anything new.

It was while doing this that I came across another George WHITE of similar age in the Warwickshire criminal records. He is not related to me since the record is dated 1837 whereas my George WHITE was transported in 1834, but I was curious to know more.

differentgeorgewhiteNOTrelated — Warwickshire Assizes entry for a George WHITE, 1837

21 year old, George WHITE was trialled for larceny at the Warwickshire ‘County Adjourned Session’ on the 14th March, 1837. His ‘degree of instruction’ was recorded as N, which he meant he could neither read nor write [more info]. He was found guilty for this ‘mystery theft’ and imprisoned for 6 months.

I consulted the British Newspaper Archives and found a mention in the Leamington Spa Courier, printed 4 days after his conviction:

differentgeorgewhiteNOTrelated2 — *Leamington Spa Courier, 18 March 1837, p3* – NISI PRIUS COURT

George White, for stealing one leg and one shoulder of mutton, at the George in the Tree, in the parish of Balsall, the property of John Hemmings. The prisoner had stolen the property out of the prosecutor’s shop, late one night, and when he was pursued he threw it away and escaped. – Six calendar months, house of correction, hard labour.

Leamington Spa Courier, 18 March 1837, p3

georgeinthetreemap — The George-in-the-tree public house marked on map c1890

I managed to find an interesting mention of the George-in-the-Tree pub in the Dictionary of Pub Names:

The pub was once the Royal Oak, with a signboard showing Charles II hiding in the tree. A licensee with little feeling for history is said to have had the head of Charles replaced by that of George III (then the reigning monarch) when the signboard needed repainting. A different local story is that the pub (and sign) had become the George, but after a gale one night the signboard was found to have disappeared. Only when a large elm tree across the road shed its leaves later in the year was the board discovered in its branches…

Hopefully this other George White eventually managed to find a better life for himself too.

beefeater-grill-george-in-the-tree-coventry-warwickshire-1 — The George in the Tree pub in more recent times

Birthplace Pedigree Charts

You may have seen a lot birthplace pedigree charts posted online recently.

I created charts for my own and my husband’s family’s countries of birth knowing that it would visually represent something that I think is pretty rare.

My pedigree:

palmerbirthplacepedigree My husband’s pedigree:

ebbansbirthplacepedigree

Notice anything?

5 generations of English heritage on both the maternal and paternal sides, all the way through.

And this pattern has continued further back too. In fact, the ONLY ancestor I’ve discovered not born in England (so far) was born in America (6th generation) to English parents, due to her father’s service in the British military. Surely, she is considered English too?

Either way, I’d like to know anyone else who has this. I’ve been led to believe it’s pretty rare due to a programme aired (ten years ago now) where people who thought they were completely English found out they were anything but.

Is it so rare?

If you would like to compile your own chart, head to AnceStories for a pre-made template.

Four Big Fat Gypsy Weddings and a Funeral

While researching gypsy ancestors, I discovered some interesting reports on local ‘gipsy’ happenings. The weddings must have been as much of a spectacle then as they are now (thanks to television programmes like ‘My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding’).

Oh, if only there were photographs!

…The bride wore a gorgeous dress of maroon plush, surmounted by an immense hat covered with waving ostrich feathers. Her bridesmaid was attired in a costume of golden plush. The bridegroom and his friend were in velvet with vermilion neckties…

gipsy nuptials — The Leek Post, 20 Aug 1898, p8

newspaper clipping — Tamworth Herald, 23 Dec 1882, p6

gipsy wedding at windsor - newspaper clipping — Tamworth Herald, 23 Aug 1890, p6

This fourth wedding was a lot less ostentatious but nonetheless interesting:

And lastly, the funeral. The journalist obviously thought the deceased’s death was interesting enough to write about, but apparently not enough to include her name:

gipsy funeral — The Staffordshire Sentinel, 31 Jan 1863, p2