Wandering Wades

[jestina_d]

I have been beating my head against a brick wall, and I feel as if the brick wall is winning.

William Wade appears on the 1841 UK census at Church Street, Stoke Newington, Middlesex.  His age is shown as 40 (so, if correct, having turned 40  but not yet turned 45), and he is a tailor.  Also at the address are his wife Mary, also "40", and children Elizabeth, 15, Sarah, 13, Charlotte, 11, and William, 4.  The census shows that all the children were born in Middlesex, but neither of the parents were.

The family migrated to South Australia, sailing from Southampton on 19 Sept 1848 aboard the William Money and arriving in SA on 3 Jan 1849.  Those who migrated were: William, 48; Mary 46; Elizabeth, 23; Charlotte, 17; William, 10; Mary E, 7; George, 4; and Constance, 1.  The second daughter, Sarah, who would have been about 21, has disappeared – married, died, couldn't afford the passage – I have not been able to find out.  Charlotte seems to have suddenly lost a couple of years, as well.

William (the elder) died on 26 August 1865 at Truro in South Australia.  His death and burial records both show him with a middle name – William Plummer Wade.  The younger William gave one of his sons the same name. 

However, a John O'Brien Wade gave one of his sons the same name as well.  John O'Brien Wade was born in about 1850 but there is no birth record for him in South Australia, NSW, Qld, WA or NZ (Vic is offline at the moment).  According to a tree on Ancestry, he is the son of John Plummer Wade and Mary O'Brien who were married in SA in 1847.  I have found a baptism on FamilySearch.org for "John Plummer Wade Or Weed", bapt 22 Sept 1822 at Shenley, Hertford, England, son of "Wm. Wade of Weed" and Mary.  Could this be an eldest son of the couple who later lived in Stoke Newington and then later  again in South Australia? 

Another child of this couple, "Elizth Plummer Wead or Wade" was also baptised at Shenley on 23 April 1826 (about the right time to be the Elizabeth who appears above, although not, as per the 1841 census, born in Middlesex).  FamilySearch also has a marriage of William Wade and Mary Peacock at Shenley on 18 December 1821.     

So, could Plummer be William's mother's maiden name?  I have been able to find only one marriage of a couple with the right surnames:

Groom: Robert WADE
Groom's marital status: soldier
Groom's parish -
Bride: Rachel PLUMMER
Bride's marital status: -
Bride's parish: -
Marriage place: Shepton Mallet, Somerset, England
Marriage date: 14 February 1780
source: find my past, Somerset Marriages (post-1754) Transcription — http://search.findmypast.co.uk/record?id=gbprs%2fm%2f295168507%2f1

Neither bride not groom were OTP, and groom was a soldier, which suggests they moved around.  Also, neither first name appears amongst William & Mary's children.  But this is useless unless I can find William's birth or baptism.

I know this is ridiculously long, and I apologise for that, but I wanted to be clear, and to save people tracking over the same ground again. 

Can anyone help with the elder William's birth or baptism, please?

Cheers,
Jestina

[lizdb]

A birth cert for one of the younger children would confirm Mary's maiden name

Birth
Jul/Aug/Sep 1847
Hackney
Ref 3 195
Constance Wade

Birth
Oct/Nov/Dec 1842
Hackney
Ref 3 173
George Wade


Sorry, I am a generation out - it is really Williams mother (name unknown)'s maiden name you are interested in, not his wifes!   But probably best to go one step at a time, once you have Marys maiden name you can look for that marriage.

[jestina_d]

Thank you very much.  If the b/c confirmed Mary's maiden name was Peacock it would also go a long was to verifying the Shenley, Hertford, baptisms are the children of that couple, so a step forward.  Thanks again.

[lizdb]

Another point worth noting is that I can see baptisms in London for Sarah, Charlotte and William, but not for older girl Elizabeth. So it is possible they moved to London after her birth and before the next child's.

[jestina_d]

Yes, I had found those baptisms, but no one for Elizabeth, so when I found the one at Shenley, Hertford, I was quite happy to accept that the 1841 census was wrong in recording her as having been born in Middlesex.  I'll be ordering at least one Birth cert today.  I had thought Caroline, as she has descendants, but then I thought (given Mary's age) Caroline might actually be the daughter of Elizabeth or Sarah, so decided I should probably get George's too.  Thanks again for you help.

[groom]

An on line tree gives Constance's mother as Mary Field 1799 – 1869 BUT their source is given as "Ancestry trees" 

[jestina_d]

That is the frustrating thing about Ancestry and other online trees -- there is no way of knowing whether the original information was good or just a guess.  However, it can be a guide as to what to check next.  In about three weeks when I get the certificates that particular corner of the mystery should be solved.

Great pic!

Cheers

[jestina_d]

Thank you to the respondents above for your help and advice.  I have made some progress since my last post above.  I have obtained birth certificates for William & Mary's two youngest children, George (b: 30 Dec 1943) and Constance (b: 19 Jul 1847).  Both certificates show their parents were William WADE and Mary, nee PEACOCK. 

William and Mary's two eldest children were John Plummer WADE or WEED and Elizabeth Plummer WADE or WEAD, both born and baptised at Shenley in Hertfordshire.  William and Mary were also married in that same parish on 18 December 1821.

Mary WADE, nee PEACOCK was born there as well and baptised there on 17 January 1902.  She was the "base born" daughter of Elizabeth PEACOCK who was baptised there on 29 June 1783 .  Elizabeth was the only daughter of David PEACOCK and Ann, nee GERRED, but she had six brothers, three older and three younger.  David was baptised on 22 November 1747 at St Peters Church, Saint Albans (son of Edward), but I have not been able to get further back on either the Peacock of Gerred lines.

When William and Mary were married the rector spelt William's surname "WADE" but then squeezed in an "E", making it WEADE.  William signed "William Weade" (he could write but Mary made her mark).  The marriage record shows that William's was from the neighbouring parish of Aldenham, but I can find no record of him there or anywhere else.

I wonder if any kind person or persons would be able to help me track down any further information about William, please?

[Robintow]

The Shipping Lists for SA list Sarah Ann WADE as a passenger on the 'China' - arriving 14/12/1847
She would have been around 19 in 1847 - and the 1841 UK Cencus shows a Sarah who was 13. It appears she may have come to SA prior to her parents.

My interest is in Ann Peacock- a daughter born to Mary Peacock prior to Mary's marriage to W Wade. Ann Peacock arrived in SA aboard the 'Trusty' in 1838 - listed as Ann Wade.  She married a John Patrick Mahoney in June 1839, where her marriage record names her as Ann Peacock, spinster from Shenley Middlesex.