Heffer - Stapleford lookups - Please

[Drop Bear]

Hello to all,

I have exhausted all of my research resources and would ask if someone could do a few lookups for me please.

I am looking for a birth record of Frances Ann Heffer, parents Edward Heffer and Mary Ann Ison. Her death certificate gives an age of 57 and her headstone gives an age of 55 so the year of birth would be 1833 - 1835. Place of birth says Stapleford, Cambridge. Bare in mind that I can only 100% confirm her name and her fathers.

Also looking for a marriage of the above Edward and Mary Ann Ison. I am only assuming they married in this area. I know that you shouldn't assume but I have nothing else to go on.

Also, Frances Ann married John Andrews in 1853. I have confirmed this from her death certificate but the IGI record has her name as Ann. Could this record be checked.

https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/NJKT-KG8

This is all the information I have from this time period. I am aware that Frances and Andrew went to Australia in 1853 on board the ship Meteor so any additional information regarding the family in England would be very much appreciated.

Kind regards,
DropBear

[sem73]

Hi Dropbear

Boyd's marriage index 1538-1840 has the following...

1820 Stapleford
Edward Heffer & Mary Ison

Sarah

[NettieS]

Hi Dropbear,
Just confirming what Sarah has said as she beat me to it
Edward Heffer and Mary Ison married 27th January 1820 Stapleford.

Edward could possibly be the son of John Heffer and Sarah Reve, from the Great Shelford area.
Mary could possibly be the daughter of John Ison and Ann Skinner.

Regards
Lyne

[Selina]

Hi DropBear,

Following on from Sarah and Lyne - just extra bits for the 1820 marriage, both were otp and made their marks.  Witnesses were Francis Norris and Mary Sterne.

29 January 1853 marriage at Stapleford - the IGI details are correct, it was between John Andrews and Ann Heffer.  He was 21, bachelor, otp, lab son of John lab.
Ann was 19, spinster, in service otp daughter of Edward lab
Wits: Peter Andrews and Emma Rowlinson

I can't find a baptism in Cambridgeshire for a Frances Ann or an Ann Heffer daughter of Edward and Mary.

Edward and Mary baptised/buried other children at Stapleford:-
14 May 1820  William  (possibly buried there 29 June 1838, William Heffer aged 18)
9 June 1822  Francis (son)
1825 15 May  Peter born 16 October
1826 15 March  Peter Heffer buried (ages given as 1 year and BT 18 mons)

Edward was described as a lab in those three baptisms.

1840 15 March Emma (Edward described as a carrier)
1840 25 March Emma Heffer buried aged 20 months

There is a burial of a Mary Heffer 12 June 1840 aged 39 and of an Edward Heffer 12 October 1844 aged 51.

In the 1841 Stapleford census (taken 6 June 1841) Mary Heffer does not appear.  There is an Ann Heffer aged 7 a lodger with Martha Howard a school mistress and Edward Heffer, carrier, is with Joseph and Sarah Morley.

Regards,
Selina

[Drop Bear]

Although I have been given many research tips through these forums and follow those up first before asking for extra help, I am constantly astounded at the generosity and helpfulness of my fellow Rootschatters.     

Sarah, Lyne and Selina thank you all so very much. Selina I certainly did not expect such details and I thank you. As I said I have Frances Ann's death certificate and I always thought from the writing that her fathers profession was "farmer". Now that I know what I am looking at, it quite clearly says "carrier". I also now can confirm the surname as Heffer. It has been transcribed sometimes as Effer and Hiffer. I wonder where Frances Ann/Ann was born then.  I am not surprised though as it is always the one that you want to find that is the elusive one.

Again, I cannot thank you guys enough 

[Selina]

I can't find a baptism for Frances Ann/Ann under variations of the surname.  In the 1841 census the answer is 'yes' to born in County and in 1851 when she is a servant aged 16 in Cambridge she has entered Stapleford as her birthplace so that seems consistant.

There is a big gap in the baptisms, between 1826 and 1840, during which time it seems that Edward changed his occupation from labourer to carrier so maybe they just didn't get around to getting any children born in those years Christened.  It rather looks like they got Emma baptised in 1840 as she was sickly, dying only 10 days later.

Best wishes,
Selina

[sirricho79]

Hi, Dropbear and all,

I am also researching these names and I was wondering in what church yard were Edward, Mary and the children buried in Stapleford?

[Selina]

Hi sirricho79,

Welcome to Rootschat.

The Heffer details are from the parish register of St. Andrew, Stapleford and doubtless they would have been buried in the Churchyard of that Church as the first burial in the Stapleford Cemetery did not take place until 1885.

Regards,
Selina

[sirricho79]

Hello Selina,

Thankyou for the welcome and reply,

I have been looking for the Heffer's for a few years now and stumbled across rootschat and it is amazing how much info it contains so thankyou. My research also found a Francis Heffer born in 1822 to Edward and Mary on ancestry.com England select births but I find it strange that they would have a male Francis and female Frances. He was baptised in Stapleford on the 9th of June 1822.

Your information on Mary Ann has helping locate a death certificate in the GRO in 1840 under the name Marian Heffer but so far have not found an official certificate for Emma in 1840.

Thankyou once again for the infomation and I will keep this page updated with any progress i make.

regards

Sirricho79