Tag: marriage

Three Weddings, Two Churches, One Day

On 29 October 1892, Selina Bramford and Arthur John Double married in the parish church of Great Bricett, Suffolk.

Marriage record of Selina Bramford

On the same day, in the same church, her elder brother, Frederick Bramford, married Mary Ann Emsden.

Marriage record of Frederick Bramford

One of Frederick’s witnesses, Ellen Morphew, was his married eldest sister, while the other, Edward William Sparrow was the husband of his second eldest sister, Maria.

The event was such an interesting occurrence that the Reverend Frederick R Lee made note of it next to Selina’s marriage entry (one and a half years later).

Reverend’s note in the marriage register

“note. Selina Bramford of Entry no. 98 and Frederick Bramford of Entry no. 99 are sister and brother. F. Lee. 14/3/94.”

But what makes it even more notable, is that on the very same day, their brother, Albert Bramford, was ALSO married, only 12 miles away in Ipswich.

Marriage record of Albert Bramford

The three Bramfords were three of six siblings all born in Great Bricett – Ellen, Maria, Frederick, Albert, Selina, and Alice. Their mother died in 1878, just over a year before the eldest sibling, Ellen, married in 1880. Less than two months later, their father died. In 1881, the rest of the siblings (except one) were recorded at Great Bricett with their Aunt Mary. Frederick (18) was listed as the head of household, but their aunt had presumably stepped up to care for her brother’s orphaned children and keep house for them.

The Bramford siblings with Aunt Mary on the 1881 census

Maria, the second eldest, was the next to marry in 1885, before Aunt Mary died in 1887.  The youngest, Alice, married in 1890. The three remaining siblings, Frederick, Albert and Selina, were still recorded together in Great Bricett in the 1891 census.

I’m surprised Albert didn’t also marry at Great Bricett. All six siblings were baptised there, their parents (and Aunt Mary) were buried there, and all the siblings were married there, except Albert. His bride, Emily Marian Brode, was from Hertfordshire, but the previous year was recorded in the 1891 census, at the School House in Ringshall, as a ‘National Governess’. Albert’s residence was given as St Matthew (Ipswich) on the marriage record but we don’t know how long he was resident there – a week? a year? He had been recorded in Bricett the previous year as an agricultural labourer, but was now a general dealer.

What conversations had been held around all three weddings being held the same day? Was it planned? Did any family attend Albert’s wedding in Ipswich? Had there been a falling out? I’ll just have to add this to the list of things that we will never know.

Bramford Family Timeline (1878-1892)
1878 mother died
1880 Ellen married (Jan)
1880 father died (Mar)
1885 Maria married
1887 Aunt Mary died
1890 Alice married
1892 Frederick, Selina and Albert married

More details of Selina Bramford and her family can be found on WikiTree

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Kissing Cousins?

Mary Wilcox - A Minor Mystery Solved

Arthur and Martha... I mean, Mary

Maunder Thursday

Some time ago, I wrote about my ancestor William Wreford’s second wife, Ann Maunder (see post: Good Tithings). I had long thought that Maunder was her maiden name but discovered she was likely born Ann Anstey, and married a man named George Maunder. Today I stumbled on more evidence to support this theory.

William and Ann had a daughter named Elizabeth Ann Wreford born in Tiverton, Devon. While ’rounding out’ her story, I found her in the 1851 census in London. Elizabeth was in the home of ‘Aeneas B. Reid’ and his wife ‘Anne Maunder Reid’, recorded as a sister-in-law. Obviously the name Maunder jumped out at me. Mrs Reid’s age also tied in with the details for Ann and George Maunder’s daughter Ann (her baptism record can be seen in the earlier post).

1851 census image showing Elizabeth Ann Wreford in the home of her half-sibling Ann Maunder

Luckily, I could access the image of the marriage Ann Maunder (jr) to Aeneas Barkley Reid a couple years earlier in 1849. It confirmed her father’s name was George Maunder and also held the signatures of two witnesses: William Wreford and Mary Wreford.

1849 marriage of Ann Maunder to Aeneas Barkley Reid with Wreford witnesses

(I believe these witnesses are likely to be Ann’s step sibling (son of William Wreford to his first wife) and his wife, who also lived in London at the time.)

After this discovery, everything has started tumbling into place. Another half sibling, Mary Anna, who I was previously unable to pin down, shows up in the census record with the Reids in 1861.

1861 census showing Mary Anna Wreford with her half-sibling Ann Maunder

She also appears to have been buried in the family plot of Elizabeth Ann, who had married Alexander Small in 1853.

1863 Tower Hamlets Cemetery burial record of Mary Anna Wreford, showing she was buried in the ‘Smalls’s Grave’

Mary Anna and Aeneas Barkley Reid also show up as witnesses to that marriage,

1853 marriage of Elizabeth Ann Wreford to Alexander Small (note witnesses)

and the Small’s son is recorded with Elizabeth Ann’s brother Willliam in the 1861 census.

1861 census showing Elizabeth Ann’s son Alexander with her half-brother William

What tops it off for me, is seeing that my direct ancestor William Wreford was also buried in the Small family plot (4029).

1866 Tower Hamlets Cemetery burial record of William Wreford, showing he was also buried in the ‘Smalls’ Grave’

All of this ‘coming together’ is very satisfying, and gives me an insight into how much the siblings lives were entwined with each other.

And of course, I’m now pretty confident William Wreford’s wife Ann Maunder was born Ann Anstey.

A tree to help make sense of all this (click to enlarge)

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Double Death Developments

Marriage Entries vs Marriage Certificates II

Curious George

Mary Wilcox – A Minor Mystery Solved

(continued from previous post: Who was Mary Wilcox?)

The first step was to do a ‘blanket search’ for Mary born c1828. There was another Mary Wilcox of a similar age recorded in the 1841 census, however this one was recorded with her parents, so I was able to rule out any record for this daughter of William and Jane Wilcox.

I found a baptism record for Mary of the correct age – born 22 October 1828 (baptised 1832), daughter of snaffle maker John Wilcox and his wife, Mary. This means she was 12 at the time of the 1841 census which matched up neatly with the Mary Wilcox recorded with the Thomasons. But another clue lay in where she was baptised – the ‘Independent’ Bridge Street Chapel, Walsall. This was the same place Hannah Craddock and her brother Samuel had been baptised about two decades before. Samuel Craddock was also a snaffle maker, indicating a possible family trade.

Baptism entry
1832 Baptism of Mary Wilcox – Bridge Street Chapel, Walsall

But where was the Craddock link?

I searched for the marriage of John and Mary and… BINGO! There was a marriage on 1 November 1824 at West Bromwich of John Wilcox and Mary Craddock. (Unfortunately there was no image.)

I was unable to find a baptism record for Harriet Wilcox, but did find her with parents John and Mary in the 1841 census. This supports my theory that the  Harriet Wilcox, also with the Wheeley family on the 1851 census, was the sister of Mary Wilcox.

family entry from 1841 census
Wilcox family on 1841 census – Blue Lane, Walsall

So, there we are – minor mystery solved:

Mary Wilcox was the niece of Hannah Wheeley (nee Craddock); daughter of Hannah’s sister Mary Wilcox (nee Craddock).

We will probably never know if Lydia Thomason (nee Walton) was introduced to Samuel Craddock by Mary or vice versa – but we at least know that connection was there.

However, another minor mystery has emerged…

Mary’s sister, Harriet Wilcox, went on to marry miner James Pearson in 1855 – was he related to Mary’s fellow servant, Sarah Pearson, in the 1841 census? I think I’ll leave that one for ‘another day’.

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Call Me Al

Call Me Al

Part of the Stonewall Johnson series of posts – Who was the mother of Mary Ann Johnson?

The marriage entries for St Stephen’s Church, Birmingham show that Florence Ann Yeomans (eldest daughter of James Yeomans and Mary Ann Johnson) married Alfred Hickman in 1898. But did she?

Marriage entry in parish register
Marriage of Florence Ann Yeomans and Alfred Hickman in 1898

Alfred was recorded as a bicycle maker, as was his father, Joseph Hickman. One of the witnesses was Joseph Hickman – but this can not be his father, who was noted as ‘deceased’. Presumably it is a brother or other relation. The other witness was Sarah Smith.

Alfred or Albert?

Florence signs her name but her husband makes only his mark – nothing unusual for the time. However, careful examination shows that in place of Alfred’s signature is “The mark of Albert Hickman” – not Alfred. So which name is correct? You would imagine the official name, right? The one recorded in all the indexes as being Florence’s husband. But I’m not so sure. You see, I’m having a very hard time finding ‘Alfred’ after 1898 – maybe it’s because he was actually named Albert.

Shortly after their marriage, Florence died. She appears to have died either during or soon after the birth of her first child, who was also given the name Florence Ann. So using his wife’s name as a reference when searching the 1901 census for Albert/Alfred is not an option. Neither is using their daughter’s name since she also died soon after birth.

screen shot of GRO death search results
Deaths of mother and daughter Florence Ann Hickman in the Birmingham registration district 1898

However, I did come across a baptismal record for Florence Ann Hickman that seemed to definitely be a match. This child was born 28 April 1898 and baptised at St James’, Ashted in the ‘County of Birmingham’ on 1 June 1898.

Baptism entry in parish register
Baptism of Florence Ann Hickman in 1898

Brother Joseph?

The parents of little Florence were recorded here as Joseph and Sarah Hickman (shoemaker). Could this be the Joseph and Sarah Smith who signed Florence’s marriage record? My imagination conjured up possible scenarios… ‘Joseph is clearly a brother. He and Sarah Smith must have married soon after Florence and ‘Alfred’, and took on her tiny infant as their own when Florence died since the grieving father would be ‘unable’ to do so himself. Or perhaps they had simply taken the ‘sickly’ child to be baptised as quickly as possible and their names were mistakenly recorded as the parents..?’

But there was a snag:

screen shot of GRO death search results
Three Florence Ann Hickman deaths

There was another death of an infant Florence Ann Hickman! This hadn’t come up earlier as I had restricted the search for Florence Ann Hickman deaths to only in Birmingham. Opening up the search for births showed that Joseph and Sarah WERE the true parents of the Florence Ann baptised in Ashted (part of Aston registration district). 

screen shot of GRO birth search results
Two baby Florence Ann Hickmans in the Birmingham area

Using the maiden name of the ‘other mother’, I was able to find the marriage record of Joseph and Sarah – her maiden name was Holt.

Marriage entry in parish register
Marriage of Joseph Hickman in 1891

So what I had imagined was proved incorrect. Joseph did not marry the other witness ‘Sarah Smith’ soon after Florence and ‘Alfred’ married (he had actually married a different Sarah 7 years previous). Nor did he nobly take on his brother’s child and baptise her as his own.

But were they at least brothers? It still seems very likely. Joseph’s father’s name was also Joseph Hickman (deceased) but no profession was given. Tracking Joseph and Sarah Hickman down in the 1901 and 1911 censuses using Joseph’s occupation of ‘shoemaker’ supported the age given on his marriage record (an estimated birth year of c1868) and gave his birthplace as Birmingham. A search for a birth with those details gave me:

screen shot of GRO birth search results
Joseph Hickman – mother’s maiden name Preston

And a search for other children with the mother’s maiden name of Preston gave me:

screen shot of GRO birth search results
Albert and Henry Hickman – mother’s maiden name Preston

Not Alfred BUT an Albert. And the birth year matches the age given when ‘Alfred’ married.

At this point, I believe it’s very likely that Alfred was in fact Albert, and he and Joseph were brothers, but the search continues…

Evidence supporting:

  • the name Albert mentioned on the Alfred marriage record;
  • both fathers named Joseph and deceased;
  • matching ages on marriage records;
  • Joseph as witness on Alfred/Albert marriage (matching signature to his own marriage record);
  • Joseph also had a child named Florence Ann (seemingly in honour of Alfred/Albert’s wife)
clip from census
Possibly related 1871 census entry – father joseph (brother of Alfred)

Side note: The father Joseph Hickman appears to have been ‘boarding’ with a Theodosia Johnson on the 1881 census (daughter Emily H Johnson appears to be his – they married later that year in November)

Contradictory evidence:

  • The brothers from the above GRO search image, Albert and Henry, appear as the ‘children’ of Joseph Taylor and Mary Ann Hickman in the 1881 census (boarding with Robert Taylor in 1891)
clip of census image
Possible 1881 census entry for the brothers Albert and Henry Hickman

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Stonewall Johnson

I’ve recently designed my own colourful family trees (see more about that here). The information held is minimal but besides looking pretty on the wall, it’s a useful way to see what gaps still need filling (particularly for those like me who absorb information best visually). For various reasons, there are a few question marks on the Richards family tree, mainly to do with death dates. I can live with that (for now) – I’d rather be as accurate as possible. But what really bothers me is the missing name on the Johnson branch.  This is a ‘brick wall’ I’m determined to break down and will start by consolidating all I know about Mary Ann.

Who was the mother of Mary Ann Johnson?

Mary Ann Johnson married James Yeomans at St Jude’s Church, Birmingham on 9 March 1874. They were both single and residing on Hill Street at the time of their marriage – the same street on which St Jude’s was situated. The area was one of the poorest parts of Birmingham at the time so they were likely not well off. Unfortunately, the church building of St Jude’s was demolished in 1971.

Marriage register entry
Mary Ann Johnson and James Yeomans were married in 1874

(Note that the year in the heading is 1875 but the full date gives 1874. All four entries on this page had the same issue. The preceding and following pages of the St Jude’s parish register were checked to confirm the year was in fact 1874.)

The marriage record tells us that Mary Ann’s father was a shoemaker named John Johnson. The witnesses at their marriage were George Yeomans and Eliza Millard.

The couple were to have 9 children between 1877 and 1900: Florence Ann, John Joseph, Julia, Catherine Ellen, Sarah Emily, Alfred Thomas, James Arthur, Leah and William Edward.

1881 census entry
Yeomans family in the 1881 census

Mary Ann appears with her husband and children living at the back of 20 Barn Street (house 1) in the 1881 census. Boarding with them is 20-year-old iron plate worker, Thomas Johnson. She gives her age as 26 which gives us an approximate birth year of 1855 and birth place of Birmingham.

1891 census entry
Yeomans family in the 1891 census

The 1891 census reiterates the same birth information. This time they are living in Court 40 (house 7) Hospital Street.

The birth place of their daughter Florence (in both censuses) indicates that Mary Ann spent some time at Bilston, Staffordshire – long enough to give birth there at least.

When her daughter Leah was born in 1897, the family were residing at 41 New John Street.

Mary Ann died in 1900 at the age of 41. Her death was registered at Birmingham in the September quarter of 1900 (Jul-Aug-Sep). The 1939 register gives her youngest son’s birth date as 5 March 1900 so she seems to have died within months of William Edward being born.

So the bare facts we have of Mary Ann as we begin our ‘brick wall’ demolition are:

  • born c1855 in Birmingham
  • father John Johnson (a shoemaker)
  • married James Yeomans in 1874 at St Jude’s in Birmingham
  • gave birth to first daughter in Bilston, Staffordshire (1875)
  • died in 1900 soon after youngest son was born

I’ll get my sledgehammer…

Related posts:

Three Weddings, Two Churches, One Day

Gypsies, Tramps and Thieves

The ALLEN Key