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England (Counties as in 1851-1901) => England => Lincolnshire => Topic started by: Del 80 on Wednesday 18 July 18 17:24 BST (UK)
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Forgive me if I have asked before....but trying to find the parents for one Robert Herd....he was born about 1854 possibly at Grantham, he married there in 1875, to Elizabeth Hunt, and died there the following year (1876)….on the marriage certificate his father is given as George Herd, I can't find a marriage for a George Herd in the right time frame, so have no idea who Robert's mother was....any help appreciated...….
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Can you find a birth registration for him - if so that should give the name of his mother even if he was illegitimate.
He could have made up a father. What occupation does he give for his father on the marriage?
Can you find any possible Robert on census as a child?
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Marriage
3rd July 1853
Grantham St Wulfram
George Heard
Elizabeth Towers
George's father James, a blacksmith
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Could be Robert Edward Hird born Mar 1855 Lincoln mothers name Drinkle
Herd can be written in so many different ways :-\
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Ah going by the marriage found above in 1853 one to consider
Robert Herd Sep 1855 Portsea Island mothers name Towers
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Thank you for the replies....the George Heard / Elizabeth Towers marriage looks jolly interesting.....trying to see if I can find them
in Grantham anytime after the marriage......Robert Herd would only show up on two census returns, as he died aged only 22 years in 1876..... there are a couple of possibilities for him, but nothing concrete...….yet......
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the best option with a Grantham connection is Robert Hourd [1861] or Hurd [1871] - in the first he appears to be in he workhouse and the second he's an apprentice shoemaker
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Possible brother
George William Heard
January 1859
Grantham
mmn Towers
and his death
George William Herd
April 1859
Grantham
aged 0
buried 13th May 1859 in Grantham Cemetery
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Could be Robert Edward Hird born Mar 1855 Lincoln mothers name Drinkle
Herd can be written in so many different ways :-\
Possibly not, if this is his baptism
https://www.freereg.org.uk/search_records/5818a45be93790ec8be038d2?search_id=5b4f93e54325a69beceb661b&ucf=false
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Possible brother
George William Heard
January 1859
Grantham
mmn Towers
and his death
George William Herd
April 1859
Grantham
aged 0
buried 13th May 1859 in Grantham Cemetery
Potential death of mother?
HOURD, ELIZABETH
age 37
Q3 1860 GRANTHAM Volume 07A Page 223
Burial date 05 Sep 1860
Burial place New Somerby Cemetery Grantham
Abode Little Gonerby [place of birth of Robert on 1861]
Notes Widow
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Death of father?
George HOURD
Burial date 23 Feb 1859
Place New Somerby Cemetery Grantham
Age 31
Burial person abode Little Gonerby
Notes Labourer
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Thank you.....I had seen the two census returns for Robert.....on the 1871 census he is at Brant Broughton......not very far from Hough-on-the-Hill.....which is where his wife, if it is him, came from....I had seen the 1859 death for George Heard....but not the birth of a possible brother for Robert......most interesting......
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Sister for Robert
Mary Ann Elizabeth Hord
March 1857
Grantham
mmn Towers
baptism as Hurd
22nd February 1857
Grantham St Wulfram
George & Elizabeth
George a labourer of Little Gonerby
1861 workhouse census gives Robert's birth place as Lt Gonerby
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So, if Robert's parents died in 1859 and 1860 respectively, that could explain him being in the workhouse in 1861.....
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And a possible sister for Robert......this just get's better...….
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Mmmhhh……..been working on this nearly all day, and still can't find any hard evidence that Robert Herd / Heard was born at Grantham, or that his mother was Elizabeth Towers......everything sort of fits, but no real proof...….
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Have you ruled out the one born in Portsea (reply 4)
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No, not ruled anything out yet.....I was working on the assumption that Robert was born locally first, but can't find a birth for him, either in Grantham, or Little Gonerby, which back then was a separate parish.....although the census return for 1861 has a Robert Hourd being born there, in 1854, it might not be the right person......How do you know the one born at Portsea, had Towers as the mother ?
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The General Register Office (GRO) index shows mothers maiden names for births now which is invaluable.
You can search for births up to 1917 using exact surname ie Herd or similar spellings which will bring up results for Hurd or Hird etc.
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Thanks for that.....does it have free online access ?
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It certainly does but you have to register on the site before you can use it.
Deaths are also on there but not marriages and you can order cheaper e-mailed certificates there too for £6.
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Thank you Millie.....excellent site.....looks like hours of fun coming up.....Del.
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Just trying to follow up the Portsea one to see if can rule him out but doesn't seem to be anything else on him save the birth :-\
Can you confirm what he said his father George occupation was when he (Robert) married please?
Thanks
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On Roberts marriage certificate, to Elizabeth Hunt, in 1875 at Grantham, his father George is given as a labourer...… I did wonder if Elizabeth Towers came from Portsea, but can't find any evidence of this, if she did, then strange that her marriage to George was at Grantham...….
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After a lot of creative searching for the birth all I come back to is the Portsea one :-\
It certainly doesn't sound right does it. I wonder if we could find out if the father of that one was George?
I haven't tried it but I believe you can order a certificate and stipulate you only want it if the father is a specific name but probably still have to pay something.
I don't want to waste your money so hopefully someone else can advise on that point. There was a family in Devon I think it was where the father George was a mariner so perhaps the Portsea one belonged there.
Did Robert have a child before he died so young? Maybe the name of him or her would give a clue.
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Robert had a daughter, Lizzie, born at Grantham, in 1876 just after he had died, her mother, by now the widow Herd, married John Ayto a couple of years later, it would seem that Lizzie used the surname Ayto for a while, and then switched back to the Herd surname...….when she married Charles Robinson at Barrowby, Grantham, she was given as Lizzie HEARD....
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Using the GRO index, (which is excellent, thank you Millie) there are 3 births that stand out.....1853 at Shoreditch….1854 at Barnsley…....and the1855 one at Portsea Island....the last one giving the mothers name as Towers, However, on Ancestry there is a baptism and christening, at St. Paul, Chichester, Sussex for a Robert Herd in 1854.....parents George and Elizabeth...….I cannot find a birth for him at Grantham at all....
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It is good isn't it.
Is there an occupation for the George on the Chichester one - will look.
Also can't find what became of the possible sister Mary Ann Elizabeth.
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No more info :(
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Clutching at straws but what kind of apprentice was he in 1871? There could be records somewhere relating to that :-\
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On the 1871 census, he is given as Robert HURD, Although if you look at it closely, I am sure that it is actually HEARD.....he is given as an apprentice shoemaker....he is in a village only a couple of miles from where his future wife, if it is him, lived....his marriage certificate in 1875 has him as a labourer......interestingly, the wife of the next door neighbours of the family that he is with, is from Shoreditch….a possible red herring....Robert is given as being born at Grantham, Lincs.…….on his daughter Lizzie's marriage certificate in 1898. Robert is given as a Plasterer (Deceased)…….
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Still no real progress on finding Roberts parents......going to local library this week, to search local paper (Grantham Journal) to see if there are any reports of his funeral, although not sure if at that time (1876) there would be such reports for "ordinary" people.....worth a try though.....