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England (Counties as in 1851-1901) => Westmorland => England => Westmorland Lookup Requests => Topic started by: erniesue on Friday 06 December 13 16:47 GMT (UK)
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My G-Grandfather HENRY FREE married MARY PROUD at St Lawrence's Church, Appleby on December 27 1873. Henry's father is shown as ISAAC FREE. Bride and groom were shown as 'Full Age' and both resided in Appleby. However I can't find any record of the FREE family in the 1871 census or any earlier records. Both Henry and Isaac are shown as labourers. Has anyone any idea where they came from as they appear to have 'dropped from the sky' into Appleby from .....?
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What about this from 1851?
Reference: Class: HO107; Piece: 2096; Folio: 720; Page: 13
Fengate, Moulton, Lincolnshire
Free, Isaac Head M 44 Farmer of 12 Acres b Gransden, Cambridgeshire
Free, Catherine Wife F 35 b Lorton, Lincolnshire
Free, Febey Daughter F 14 b Whaplode
Free, Robert Son M 10 b Noulton
Free, William Son M 8 b Moulton
Free, Isaac Son M 7 b Moulton
Free, Elizabeth Daughter F 6 b Moulton
Free, John Son M 4 b Moulton
Free, Henry Son M 3 b Moulton
Free, Resiah Daughter F 7 months b Moulton
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Henry Free died in 1899 in Barnsley. On his death certificate he was shown as being 43 years of age giving a date of birth about 1856. I had hoped that as in 1873 he was living in Appleby, he might have come from that area. Unfortunately there is nothing on the marriage certificate to show where the family originated. Neither Isaac nor Mary Proud's father are shown as witnesses so it's possible that they had died before the marriage. There's a distinct lack of detail on the certificate.
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From the age given on death it would seem that Henry was only 17 when he married as "full age". I know the vicar would probably accept what he was told but it seems that possibly the informant at death gave the wrong age. Who was the informant? Were there any "Free" witnesses on the marriage certificate? Do any of the names of the children crop up in future generations?
From KGarrad's 1851 census info what follows is supposition but an avenue for further research.
1861 RG09 piece 2325 folio 67 page 11
Isaac Free 57 Farmer 12 ac b. Gransden, Cambs
Catherine Free 45
Henry Free son 13 Ag lab b. Moulton
Keziah dau 11; John son 9; Susannah dau 4; George son 2 - all born Moulton
1891 Piece 3773 Folio 23 Page 39
Thomas Free b.1838 in Moulton, Lincs in 7 Sykes Street Barnsley with his family.
www.familysearch.org shows a Thomas baptised in Moulton to Isaac & Catherine Free on 20 Jan 1839.
This seems a coincidence which bears further research.
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Birth Reg-Thomas Proud Free - Sept qtr 1874 - East Ward Westmorland
Jackie
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Many thanks for your suggestions. I have struggled with this particular line of the family for a long time but you may have set me off on a new track.
There were no FREEs on the witness list at their marriage. The informant on his death was my G-Grandmother, Annie Booth WATSON. She is shown as his 'wife' but I don't believe they ever married. She had only married a John Henry PYE a few years earlier and seems to have then become Henry's common law wife shortly afterwards. His probate records show that his money went to his son ( with Mary), Thomas Proud FREE who was born in East Ward suggesting that he never married Annie. Mary had died in 1886. Annie then went through financial hardship before marrying again to a Barnsley coalminer, JOHNSON.
Thomas ended up in Wales whilst Henry moved to Chesterfield, Nottinghamshire and eventually South Yorkshire. He was a railway labourer so it is quite conceivable that he started off in Lincolnshire.
On a last point, he had two children with Annie, one of whom was named KEZIAH, my maternal Grandmother. There's plenty of circumstantial evidence there to warrant further investigation of the Lincolnshire connection. Many thanks.
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Isaac FREE, Bachelor, married Catherine DURANT, Spinster, 08 Aug 1836, St Mary, Whaplode, Lincolnshire
Witnesses, Robert DURANT, Lavinia CAVE
(Source FreeREG)
Burial;
ISAAC Free, age 79, 09 June 1888, All Saints, Moulton, Lincs
CATHERINE Free, age 75, 28 March 1791, same Church
(Source FreeREG)
Trish :)
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What about this from 1851?
Reference: Class: HO107; Piece: 2096; Folio: 720; Page: 13
Fengate, Moulton, Lincolnshire
Free, Isaac Head M 44 Farmer of 12 Acres b Gransden, Cambridgeshire
Free, Catherine Wife F 35 b Lorton, Lincolnshire
Free, Febey Daughter F 14 b Whaplode
Free, Robert Son M 10 b Noulton
Free, William Son M 8 b Moulton
Free, Isaac Son M 7 b Moulton
Free, Elizabeth Daughter F 6 b Moulton
Free, John Son M 4 b Moulton
Free, Henry Son M 3 b Moulton
Free, Resiah Daughter F 7 months b Moulton
This Free family are in Moulton in 1841
H0107/609 5/42 Pg10 with children Phoebe 4 Thomas 2 and Robert 1.
Thomas is in Barnsley in 1891 ( RG12/3773 f23 p39 )
and 1901 (RG13/4313 f183 p41 )
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Sorry just noticed this previous entry but at least we are in agreement ;D
1891 Piece 3773 Folio 23 Page 39
Thomas Free b.1838 in Moulton, Lincs in 7 Sykes Street Barnsley with his family.
www.familysearch.org shows a Thomas baptised in Moulton to Isaac & Catherine Free on 20 Jan 1839.
This seems a coincidence which bears further research.
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Just out of interest, have you found Henry in 1881 census.
Jackie
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I had been working on a DOB of 1856 or within 3 or 4 years and have found nothing that ties in with him on any census. The only records I found were his probate records, those of his wife, his marriage to Mary and his death certificate. The likeliest using those dates seem to be in Leyton, Essex but they weren't convincing.
I only received the details of his marriage this week and was a little disappointed that I didn't glean more information.
I have found no record of his employer but he was shown as a railway ganger which ties in with his movements, presumably going where work was required on the railways. It is possible he wasn't actually employed by a railway company but by contractors.
We all have brick walls in our lines and this has been my biggest by far. I suppose it's quite possible that his birth date was way out, especially as he was illiterate and presumably trying to impress a married woman to live with him by knocking years off his age ! At least I now have some more leads to explore.
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I know this may be way off the mark, but...
1881 Village Railway Hut,Potter Hanworth,Lincolnshire RG11/3237 folio42 page5
Henry Walker 32 navvy Walton Lincolnsh.
Mary 31 Appleby Westmorland
Thomas P 6 ----------- ----------
George H 2 London
+ lodgers (navvies)
Jackie
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Once again, I seem to have been entrenched in my search for Henry Free in believing that the age at his death was correct within a year or two but, now that I'm prepared to look a little further, there are plenty of other paths to explore. Mary, born in Appleby, married Henry Free in 1873, their son,Thomas Proud Free, being born in 1875.
Referring to the 1881 Village Railway Hut, Potter Hanworth census return, Mary is probably about the right age and Thomas P ( which is probably Thomas Proud ) is the right date of birth for Henry and Mary's son. I will check the original later but has he changed his name to Walker or is that some sort of job title.?
I believe that this might really be another pointer to the Free family but there are so many potential lines of enquiry, it might be a job to look at in the cold, dreary days on January.
Many thanks for an excellent post.
Ernie
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Many thanks to all those who have helped me on my search. I'm fairly confident that we might have now cracked most of this family puzzle although there are a few problems to iron out. It looks at first sight as though Mary might have actually left Henry and taken up with another railway worker. I am now reasonably happy that we have found the right family and bloodline.
Whatever the history of their relationships, it will be fascinating trying to untangle it all.
Once again, Thanks to all. :)
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Hi
No offer names but the Settle / Carlisle Railway came thro Appleby and area
around 1873 as the line was opened 1876
A lot of the Railway Labourers moved between areas as the job finished and often missed the census this was known as on the tramp
regards
westmorland
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Many thanks for the info. I'm out of the country at present but that's a good starting point when I return later in January. Henry had children with his common law wife ( after he and Mary had first split and following her death ) in Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire whilst still working on the railways. He later settled in Barnsley before his own death in 1899. At that time he was still a railway ganger.
He obviously followed the railway system around wherever there was work. It's good to learn the dates when the railways came to the Appleby area.
Ernie