James HANDSCOMBE b 1776

[beagle60]

I am looking for information about James Handscombe.  His birth place is given as Shiplane Beds.  It has been suggested that this could be Sheeplane, Potsgrove.  He married Charlotte Perkins in 1814, Saint Peter, Saint Albans, Herts.

[tazzie]

  Hello and Welcome to Roots Chat...

  There are 3 James Handscombe's baptised in Potsgrove on IGI.

   James  1746 Potsgrove
   James   1840
   James William 1874

 There is an earlier one in Hockcliffe down the road.

  These seem to put the name in the Sheep lane area. There are small cottages still just off the A5 and it is still Sheep Lane.
  I have family that move around Sheep Lane/Potsgrove/Battlesden and then into Heath & Reach or Brickhill.

                   Tazzie

[beagle60]

Hello, thanks I had found those 3 but the dates don't seem to fit. the only one that does was born in Langford, which is quite some distance away. Do your family have any links with Hertfordshire?  He seems to have gone quite a way to get married and have not found any link as yet.  This James is my GGG Grandfather.

[tazzie]

  Hi ...

  The A5 that runs through this part of Bed s/Bucks/Herts, was in its time the major north -south link.

 My family used it to travel south from Lincolnshire area to St Neots to Bedford to Brickhill to Leighton Buzzard, so the distance travelled may surprise you.
 What date do you have for a birth of James?
 Battlesden & Potsgrove both appear on IGI  so he would show up if from there.

  There is a marriage in Soulbury in 1770 of Jas Handscomb to Ann ,about 10 miles as the crow flies though. Not sure how well Heath and Reach is covered by IGI but I may be able to check through baptisms at the weekend.

               Tazzie

[bedfordshire boy]

As he seems a bit old at 38 for this to have been a first marriage, I wonder if there is an earlier one. Have you checked the 1814 marriage entry to see if there is any further detail eg widower; of the parish of xxx; and the names of the witnesses?

There's a marriage  in 1805 in Flamstead, which is half way between Sheep Lane and St Albans, of a James Anscomb which might be worth checking out. I can't see a suitable baptism for this James either. (I've just noticed on the BVRI that an Adse Handscomb dau of James and Charlotte was baptised in Flamstead on 23 June 1816. The 1805 marriage would definitely be worth checking - but I can't see any other baptisms in Flamstead from the 1805 marriage)

Where did you see the Langford baptism which fits, as I can't find it?

According to the Hugh Wallis site Heath and Reach extracts on the IGI only start at 1813

Regards

David

[tazzie]

   Hi David....

 The Langford baptism is  23 Dec1798 Father William
                                                            Mother Sarah.

 Handscombes are still in Langford in 1891 with the marriage of a
    James Handscomb age 25 son of George to
   Louisa Elizabeth Balls age 20.

         I can check Heath & Reach prior to 1813 .

                       Tazzie

[bedfordshire boy]

Hi Tazzie,

I'd been looking for a James c1776. This James was 75 in 1851 so I think you can rule out the 1798 Langford James - also in 1851 there was a 50 year old James Hanscombe b Langford living in Pirton, who on the face of it may well have been the one who married in Ickleford in 1819. There's nothing extra on Langford transcript regarding the 1798 entry.

Handscombes were still in Langford in the 1960s, as I went to school with one!

Regards

David

[tazzie]

   small world eh


             Tazzie

[beagle60]

|Hello I have since ruled the Langford James out of my search as his marriage doesn't fit with anything else.  Found him on Familysearch and the marriage is also there.  How does James fit into your family?  I know that the marriage to Charlotte Perkins (1814) is correct as it fits and is verified by their daughters marriage cert.