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England (Counties as in 1851-1901) => England => Huntingdonshire => Topic started by: Lexi73 on Wednesday 30 August 17 15:47 BST (UK)
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Hi all,
Is there anyone here that can help me find the children and possibly grandchildren for John Lightfoot (b 1777) and Elizabeth West (b abt 1779). They were both from Bedfordshire but seem to have moved to Huntingdonshire some time after their marriage (1803 in Bromham, Bedfordshire).
The 1841 census gives the couple aged about 60, living in Great Raveley. Two more Lightfoot families are living in that town: William Lightfoot and his wife Mary, with children John, Rachel and Sarah - and Thomas Lightfoot and his wife Mary, with children James and Frederick.
Could anyone provide me with the birth/baptism dates of William and Thomas, as well as possible siblings (so other children of John and Elizabeth), and those of the grandchildren?
Thanks very much in advance!
Regards,
Lexi.
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Here is the 1841 -
Great Ravely
John Lightfoot 60 ag lab Y
Eliz 60 Y
next household:
Thomas Lightfoot 20 ag lab Y
Mary 20 Y
James 3 Y
Frederick 1 Y
and a few pages on:
William Lightfoot 30 ag lab Y
Mary 35 Y
John 9 Y
Rachel 6 Y
Sarah 3 Y
So, according to this, they were all born in county.
we don't know from this census where Thomas or William were born, nor if they are children of John and Elizabeth or not.
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This looks like Frederick (age 1, apparent son of Thomas, though relationships not given on 1841) 's birth:
Oct/Nov/Dec 1839
Huntingdon
ref 14 181
Frederick Lightfoot
mums maiden name Bull
Hopefully you can find any other children of the marriage with that mmn from the gro index (at least those after 1837)
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So before 1837 there isn't much to be found in Huntingdonshire? No baptisms to locate? Or are they just not searchable online?
I had hoped to find more children for this couple (John and Betty) because they marry in 1803 and there must have been more than just Tom and Will...
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Have you actually got baptisms for Tom and Will? Where were they christened?
Once you know where the couple were living around the time the family were born, then will be the time to look at Parish registers to see if there were other children baptised around the same time.
How do you know the John and Elizabeth in Great Ravely in 1841 used to live in Bedfordshire? ie are the same couple as the 1803 Bedfordshire marriage?
Unless you have the baptisms, how do you know Tom and Will are their children?
Have you found Tom and Will on later censuses to see where they were born?
Likewise, did John or Eliz live till past 1851 to see from the census where they were born?
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Here is William and family in 1851
Grt Ravely
William 43 ag lab
Mary 45
John 18
Rachel 15
Sarah Ann 12
Levi 8
All bn Great Ravely
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1851
Great Ravely
John 74 pauper formerly ag lab bn Clapham Bedfordshire
Elizabeth 72 bn Bromham Bedfordshire
John 13 grandson bn Grt Ravely
Elizabeth Hobbs 72 nurse pauper widow of ag lab
So, yes the Bedfordshire marriage looks good. 1841 where it said they were born in county must have been wrong.
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Here is William and family in 1851
Grt Ravely
William 43 ag lab
Mary 45
John 18
Rachel 15
Sarah Ann 12
Levi 8
All bn Great Ravely
Ah, another son, Levi! Glad to see they're all right ;)
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1851
Great Ravely
John 74 pauper formerly ag lab bn Clapham Bedfordshire
Elizabeth 72 bn Bromham Bedfordshire
John 13 grandson bn Grt Ravely
Elizabeth Hobbs 72 nurse pauper widow of ag lab
So, yes the Bedfordshire marriage looks good. 1841 where it said they were born in county must have been wrong.
There are more weird things in the 1841 census, guess they were still learning how it works at that time ;)
But by the 1851 census son Thomas and his wife have apparently died, as well as grandson Frederick (who should have been about 11-12 by then, so too young to live at someone else's on an apprenticeship), since grandson James is living with John and Elizabeth.
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William and Mary still there in 1861
William 53 ag lab
Mary 55
Levi 18
all bn G R
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Sorry, you are right - grandson is James age 13 not John.
But he may not have been living there, he may have just been visiting grandparents on census night.
Can't conclude Thomas, Mary and Frederick have all died just from that one census entry ...
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Mary does seem to have died -
Death
Ap/MAy/Jun 1842
Huntngdon
14 135
Mary Lightfoot age 26
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Frederick is missing in action too, and that's not such a common name so should be findable. So at least mother Mary and brother Fred are off the radar (probably dead) in 1851, I'm guessing Thomas too, but I'll go hunt for him.
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Mary does seem to have died -
Death
Ap/MAy/Jun 1842
Huntngdon
14 135
Mary Lightfoot age 26
I think that age should be 36, or she would have been about 14 when she had her first child. The census gives her yob as about 1806, which would fit with the 10 years older.
Oh hang on, wrong Mary. I was thinking of Levi's mum, also a Mary. This is Thomas's wife, the other Mary. Geezz why did they both have to marry a Mary?!
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........... John Lightfoot (b 1777) and Elizabeth West (b abt 1779). They were both from Bedfordshire but seem to have moved to Huntingdonshire some time after their marriage (1803 in Bromham, Bedfordshire).
As John's parish of residence on marriage was Gt Raveley he was clearly already living there before they married
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So before 1837 there isn't much to be found in Huntingdonshire? No baptisms to locate? Or are they just not searchable online?
Huntingdonshire isn't the easiest county to research online as the LDS was refused permission to film many parish registers. So they're not on the IGI, and many haven't been transcribed by Hunts FHS. For those living in France who can't easily get to Huntingdon, Cambs Archives run a reasonably priced, friendly, research service. There isn't a Hunts Baptism Index, although Hunts FHS has a Marriage Index available for purchase.
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So before 1837 there isn't much to be found in Huntingdonshire? No baptisms to locate? Or are they just not searchable online?
Huntingdonshire isn't the easiest county to research online as the LDS was refused permission to film many parish registers. So they're not on the IGI, and many haven't been transcribed by Hunts FHS. For those living in France who can't easily get to Huntingdon, Cambs Archives run a reasonably priced, friendly, research service. There isn't a Hunts Baptism Index, although Hunts FHS has a Marriage Index available for purchase.
Thanks for the tip. I already figured that Huntingdonshire was hopeless, I believe I came across several brick walls there when researching my Craddock ancestry - one of them also went across to H. Luckily this isn't a direct ancestor so for now I'm keeping my money in my pocket, but at least I know where to apply for help if ever I need it.
And, yes, France, now I remember. All the way to the south, right?
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........... John Lightfoot (b 1777) and Elizabeth West (b abt 1779). They were both from Bedfordshire but seem to have moved to Huntingdonshire some time after their marriage (1803 in Bromham, Bedfordshire).
As John's parish of residence on marriage was Gt Raveley he was clearly already living there before they married
There must have been a job there ;-)