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Sarah Speller was my 2 x great grandmother and I have problems in finding her parents.

Sarah Speller married John Speller in Leaden Roding on 27 July 1844.  They were both of full age.  John’s father was Thomas Speller a labourer and Sarah’s was Edward Speller also a labourer.  John was a bachelor and Sarah a spinster.  The witnesses were Joseph Speller (marked) and Eliza Thurley (signed).

I have Sarah in all of the censuses up to her death in 1893 except 1851 when the whole of the Dunmow Registration District is missing.  Her place of birth is consistently stated as White Roding and her age indicates she was born about 1821.  Her age at death in 1893 was 72.

I have not been able to positively identify Sarah in the 1841 census but she may be a female servant in Good Easter.

Despite many searches I have been unable to find a baptism for Sarah with a father named Edward.  I have also failed to find an illegitimate birth that would fit.

There is a family in Leaden Roding in the 1841 census as follows:

Edward Speller 46 Ag Lab
Elizabeth 45
Joseph 15
Mary 13
Charles 9
Susan 3
All born in county.

I have found baptisms for all the children and identified their mother as Elizabeth Stones. Edward married Elizabeth on 23 March 1818 at Leaden Roding.

Given the date of the marriage it is possible that Sarah could belong to this family. 

 I have tried to find a link between Sarah and the family of Edward and Elizabeth Speller

The death certificates of Edward and his wife Elizabeth do not help.  Edward’s son Joseph registered his father’s death in 1857.  Elizabeth died in Dunmow Union Workhouse in 1879 and her death was registered by the Workhouse Master.

Joseph Speller who was a witness at John and Sarah’s marriage could be the Joseph who is the son of Edward and Elizabeth.  Unfortunately, John had a brother also named Joseph.  I have checked the marriage of John’s brother Joseph and the 2 marriages of Edward Speller’s son Joseph.  On each of the documents Joseph Speller made his mark so I cannot compare signatures.

Edward’s daughters Mary and Susan both married.  Sarah did not witness Mary’s marriage in 1855 at Havering or that of Susan who married William Dixon in Moulsham in 1864.

Edward’s son Charles died in 1850 at the age of 18 unmarried.

So, I seem to have come to a full stop.  Can anyone suggest further avenues of research or find a possible baptism for Sarah please?  Edward Speller did not leave a will.

Barbara

I am hoping someone can help me with a date and place of death for William Lee who was a Captain in the RMLI.

William married Mary Ann Mundell on 1 November 1843 in Milton, Gravesend and they had 6 children.
 
I have William, his wife and 1 child in the 1851 census living in Northfleet, Kent. (HO 107 1609 f 110  Page 3). His age is shown as 46 and born in Gillingham Kent.

In 1861 he is in Horley, Surrey with his wife and 5 children.  He is aged 60 and again place of birth is Gillingham. (RG 9 444 f 87 p 7).

William’s oldest son born in 1845 is with relatives in Marylebone in 1851 and I have not found him in 1861.

Mary Ann Lee died in July 1863 in Kentish Town and is named as the wife of William Lee Captain Royal Marines.  I am not sure why she was there.  The informant was not a relative.

After that I lose William and all his sons from the censuses.  One daughter is with relations in Wales in 1871 and the other possibly away at school in Frant. Both are living with relatives in Wales in 1881 and they later marry there. 

I have looked at William's service record from TNA (ADM 196/58/159)

 https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/D8112522
 
This shows that he was on Half Pay from 10 August 1849. He was discharged dead in February 1873 but I cannot find a death registration in England or Wales for the relevant quarter that seems to fit what I know about him.

I have tried tracing his sons in case he might have been with one of them but this has proved hard. I think I have traced 1 son to Canada and then to the US and another to Australia. 

Are there any other military records that might help me find his death?  Or any other suggestions about how I can tackle this problem. please?

Happy to provide more details.  I do wish he had a more unusual name!

Barbara

The attached photo was in a chest of  documents that I have been sorting out. The papers relate to a Cornish family with surnames Stevens and Jennings.

The photo is on photographic paper with no markings.

Please can you help me with a date for the photo so that I can try to identify the names of the couple?

Many thanks.

Barbara

My ancestor George Purser was baptised in Brampton Hunts on 28 October 1800.  He was the child of William Purser, a butcher, by his second marriage to Mary Cole.

Father William was buried in Brampton on 12 September 1830 aged 77, giving a birth date of about 1753.  He was not baptised in Brampton although both his marriages took place there - the first on 11 October 1781 to Elizabeth Perkins and the second on 9 July 1799 to Mary Cole.

There is a baptism in Great Gransden for a William Purser on 6 May 1753 the son of William Purser and Mary.  There are also the following likely siblings.
Mary bap 25 December 1748
Edy bap 7 January1750
Esther bap 18 Janusray 1756
Charles bap 27 August 1758
Rebecca bap 12 April 1761

The Great Gransden register shows the marriage of William to Mary Curtis on 8 February 1747 

In order to see whether I might have identified the correct baptism for my William Purser I want to find out more about the family of William Purser and Mary Curtis.

There is a burial in Brampton for a William Purser, a pauper, on 14 December 1776 who could possibly be the father of William born c1753.  However there is also a burial in Great Gransden on 10 June 1786 of a Mary Purser wife of William Purser but I do not have a burial for William in that parish.

Can anyone help me please to find marriages and/or burials for the other children of William Purser and Mary Curtis?  They are not in the Brampton registers.  These may help me identify if/when the family moved away from Great Gransden and where else I might need to search. I am aware that there are a number of Purser families in neighbouring Bedfordshire.

The information I have comes from extracts from the parish registers of Brampton and Great Gransden obtained for me by a researcher some years ago and I am now trying to push the line back.

I hope this isn't too confusing!  Grateful for any help/suggestions.

Barbara