ST JAMES CHEDDINGTON Baptism Lookup Please( COMPLETED THANK You)

[rodhill]

Does Any one have access to the parish records for St James Cheddington who would be able to lookup a baptism for a Robert Saunders born about 1797 possible parents Robert and elizabeth
any assistance would be most appreciated
Rod

[Richard Knott]

Someone else seems to be researching the same people:
http://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php/topic,438459.0.html

This site seems sure that his parents were as you suggest:
http://saundershistorytasmania.blogspot.com/p/robert-saunders-1797-1888.html

Richard

[rodhill]

Thanks for your reply Richard.
lots of people are looking for Roberts parents but it seems unlikely that we will ever find an answer I have been in contact with both the people you mention for some time
Much appreciated
Rod

[Paco]

Where did you get the info that this was his place of birth? I see that there is a Saunders family on Dorset OPC 1841 census for Chedington-possibly relations.
regards.

[B.E.]

This is certainly a tricky one - I'd echo Paco's question.

Yes, there were certainly a few Saunders families in the area. For example, Benjamin and Betty were pretty fecund prior to their 1812 marriage in Mosterton - is their Robert b.1802/3 definitely too late for you? I can't see where Charles (Chedington 1841 census) comes from.

The church history in these parts is a bit complex. Chedington, South Perrott and Mosterton are quite close to each other and the relationships between them in terms of seniority has varied over the years. The OPC page for Chedington says there are no baptism records prior to 1813, though a church (somewhere in Chedington Court's grounds) certainly existed then. The new church, now redundant, was built in 1841. I've had a quick look through Mosterton and South Perrott records, but there's no sign of any Saunders marriages in the years just before 1797.

[rodhill]

Roberts birth information has been collected from several different sources

was tried twice for 2 different crimes 1819 and gave his age as 22
and 1820 it was 23
his convict records ,arrived Tasmania on the Countess of Hardcourt 1823 gave his age 26
All which make him born 1797.

His birth date on his death was 1780 which would have made him 107 but not many people in the community
believed he was that age.In the interview he said he was born Cheddington Dorset and was one of 16 children
He also mentioned his birth day was the 15 November.

Rod

[B.E.]

The Robert I found was baptised early Jan 1803, so a mid-November birthday is possible, I guess. But that means he was only 17 when he first obtained his criminal record. It seems he was a colourful character, and might have enjoyed adopting whatever age suited his purpose at the time!

[rodhill]

hi B.E.
 Robert was a colourful chap , he was transported for stealing chickens, selling them and then stealing them back.
Could it be possible for Robert to born 1797 and not baptised till 1803?
can you tell how many children Benjamin and Betty produced and what christian names were involved
where are the records of this baptism it may be worth getting hold of a copy of the church record.
Rod

[B.E.]

Er, this looks a bit messy. There were two pairs of Benjamin & Elizabeth SAUNDERS living in Mosterton (and possibly in adjoining residences) on Census Night 1841. Further, there were other strands of the clan in the village, at least one of whom had a son called Benjamin. I have to say I can't find anything like 16 children in any individual strand, but then I don't think I even spotted the second Benjamin anyway. And we might be dealing with a family who didn't always play by the rules. It's not impossible that their Robert was born in 1797 and christened when he was 5 or 6 years old, but the records often make it clear when that happened, and there's no mention here.

It's going to take some working out. Unless someone else fancies tackling it, I'll take a closer look when I'm back at my desk this evening!