RootsChat.Com

Thanks - I think that burial record pretty much confirms it to be the right person - her son lived at Fox's Buildings off Kent Street in 1860.
Many thanks
Richard.

Hello - I have been looking through the death and marriage records trying to establish what happened to the Mary Meakins who appears in the 1851 census living at 4 Harrow Street in the parish of St George the Martyr, Southwark. (Class HO107; Piece 1564; Folio 5; Page 3.) She was a widow and gave her age as 76 and birthplace as "Marson" in Bedfordshire, which I am reasonably confident refers to Marston Mortaine - I think her maiden name was Mary Simkins; there was a Mary Simkins baptised at Marston Moretaine in 1778 and a Mary Simkins & John Meakins marriage there in 1799. Her daughter, a widow called Mary Berry, was also living at 4 Harrow Street in 1851.

None of the death or burial records I have been able to find after 1851 in the London area seems to match her details, and the only Mary Meakins (or variants) marriages I can find in the area are spinsters. In particular, I have ruled out:
d. Mary MEAKIN, September Quarter 1857, St Olave district - was only aged 33.
d. Mary Ann MEEKING, March Quarter 1859, Poplar district - was widow of Samuel.
d. Mary MEEKING, March Quarter 1863, St Saviour district - was only aged 55.

Mary only had two surviving children (Mary Berry and John Meakins), both of whom stayed in Southwark, so I think the chances of her having gone to live in a completely different area are relatively low (but of course not impossible).

Can anyone spot a matching death or remarriage that I've missed?
Many thanks
Regards

Richard.

Hello - I've been looking for the death of a man known as Caleb Francis Best or Forrester. He was illegitimate and mostly used his mother's surname of Forrester, but his birth was also registered under his father's surname of Best. He was born in 1860 at Crockenhill in Kent, and his last confirmed sighting is there in the 1891 census. He was listed as deceased when one of his daughters married in 1904.

I've found the attached extract from an 1892 funeral record in the Everest Funeral Directors' record book, which appears to start with "Mr Caleb Best Orpington", but I'm struggling to read the text which follows. Unlike most other entries in this book, no date of death appears to be given. The name listed at the start of these entries is usually the deceased, but not always, sometimes being a husband or parent of the deceased instead. The entry comes between those for Rebecca Wanden (died 22 Feb 1892) and Nellie Elizabeth Clifton (died 29 Mar 1892). They were both buried at All Souls, Crockenhill. There was one burial at Crockenhill between theirs, being Jane Augusta Puddifant, buried 24 Mar 1892.

Any suggestions as to what the handwriting says which may make sense of this? Is this Caleb's funeral (despite no obvious death registration) or is he merely somehow involved in paying for someone else's funeral?

Many thanks
Richard.

Thank you all - if this is mid - late 1860s then perhaps it's the book's owner's mother, Mary Dingley Lies, who lived 1822-1915 and therefore would have been in her forties in the 1860s.
Many thanks
Richard.

Hello

Ordnance Survey maps show that the street was being laid out but didn't yet have buildings on in 1884, and was largely complete by 1901. Council planning departments have plans for buildings built since the modern town planning system came into being in 1948, which is therefore too late for this street.

Bedfordshire Archives does have a document (CDE57) described as "Plan of Bower Building Estate" from 1881, which apparently covered Howbury Street. The description suggests this relates to the sale of the land and probably wouldn't have house plans included, although may still be of interest.

Bedfordshire Archives' catalogue also lists some later sales particulars of houses on the street - it's possible (but by no means guaranteed) that they could have plans amongst them.

Another thing to consider is that Bedford Borough Council's planning department should have plans any of planning applications submitted for specific properties on the street since 1947. Many of the more recent applications should be searchable on their website. From such plans you may be able to deduce what the original layouts were.

Good luck.