place name

[roony]

my Great Grand Father was born in Biddenham in 1841 aim trying to identify were the house or road is on the census 1871 it looks like Duckend?
i hope to visit the area in the summer.

ROONY.

[StevenG]

Duck End Lane still exists.  If you look at a modern map of the village (on Multimap, for example), you'll find it off Gold Lane, towards the west of the village.

Then go to http://www.old-maps.co.uk/ and you'll see the road in the same place in about 1886.

[johnP-bedford]

Hello Roony,  Welcome to RootsChat.

As StevenG says Duck End Lane still exists.  I live in Bromham, Beds which is about 1 mile away.  If you would like, I can go & take photograph at the week end & then post the image.  Also there is a book (I have it), Biddenham - A parish history and guide, that lists quite a few local names.  If you tell me the family name I will see if it is listed.

Regards John     

[roony]

Hi- John P,Thanks for your Interest, My great grand father Charles Maxey along with his seven brothers and sistors were born in biddenham,have not been able to discover a direct line of ancestors other than his father was Thomas Rudd Maxey and his father may be John Maxey of Bromham?

Regards Roony.

[StevenG]

It looks as if we might be distantly related then!

A quick look at the IGI shows:
Thomas Rudd Maxey baptised at Biddenham 7 June 1818, son of John and Ann Maxey.
John Maxey married to Ann Muns at Biddenham, 22 Oct 1811

Ann Muns will be the Ann Rudd who married William Munns at Ravensden, 8 Nov 1804.  She was (I thought) born at Old Warden, 25 Dec 1782 and baptised at Biddenham in 1809.  Her parents were ancestors of mine, John and Mary Rudd.  John and Ann Maxey are on the 1851 census at Biddenham (mistranscribed by Ancestry as Moxey) where Ann gives her birthplace as Hill Farm, Biggleswade.  Google shows Hill Farm to be between Biggleswade and Old Warden, and must have been where John Rudd farmed before he moved to Ravensden.  This I didn't know before, so thank you for pushing me into working it all out!

I wish more ancestors had such informative middle names...

[johnP-bedford]

Hello Roony,

Firstly in the Biddenham Book there is no mention of Maxey name, but there is a sketch of 'Picturesque cottages in Duck End Lane', These 3 thatched cottages were  demolished in 1970 to make way for retirement flats.

On 1841 census, Thomas R Maxey & wife Sarah + Charlotte & Charles was living in Duck End;  next door is William Maxey wife Sophia & 4 children. While William remains in Duck End for following censuses, Thomas moves to Church End/Lane, having acquired themselves 7 more children up to 1861.

The IGI has christening of William Rudd Maxey on 1/8/1813 at Biddenham, parents John & Ann.  So he is Thomas's brother - most likely.

Regards John

[johnP-bedford]

I've just borrowed a scanner so I'm trying it out..... someone prompted me on this topic earlier today, so here's the picture; hopefully.    John

[roony]

Dear JOHN P.
many thanks for the picture of Duck end, it has made my day.
It is nice to see the place were my great grand father was born.
It will be the first page in our family history book.

Many thanks Ron Maxey.

[russhall47]

HI JOHN MANY THANKS FOR THAT PHOTO IT LOOKS JUST AS I REMEMBER AS A CHILD OF 6  I MUST JUST MENTION THAT I AN NOT THAT GOOD ON THE COMPUTER  SO PLEASE EXCUSE IF I SEEM A BIT THICK . IT WAS THE SECOND COTTAGE IN THAT MY GRANPARENTS LIVED   THERE SURNAME WAS HALL HAVE YOU ANY MORE PHOTOS AND WERE CAN I GET A COPY OF THAT PHOTO PLEASE