cranfield marriages

[JBB]

Hi,
I've just spent a week in Bedfordshire visiting the Archives in Bedford and many parish churches - I live in the north of England. My research has come to a frustrating end and all I know is that a John Lambert of Kempston married a Jane Purratt of Cranfield on 5th February 1792. I would love to know more about John. I have his sons and daughters from IGI but can't go any further back for John. I'd be sooo grateful for help!
Many thanks
JBB

[bedfordshire boy]

Welcome to Rootschat

Who seems to be him was buried at Kempston on 22 Jan 1852 age 87. In 1851 he was living in nearby Wootton age 86 born Kempston. In 1841 he was living in Kempston age 75.

So his birth seems to have been c1765 in Kempston.

There are no banns in the Kempston transcript so presumably he was resident in Cranfield at the time of the marriage

But as you say, there are no suitable baptisms in Kempston around that date, and only two in Beds within 5 years of 1765 and they were at Gt Barford and Biggleswade, neither of which are particularly close to Kempston. There are no Johns baptised in Kempston in 1765 +/-5 with a surname that could be a corruption of Lambert. But there was only one Lambert couple baptising children in Kempston 1765+/-10 - Thomas and Isobel. And one of the children, Elizabeth, was baptised 5 years late. Perhaps they forgot to do John altogether. But John and Jane didn't name any of their children Thomas or Isobel.

There's a burial of Thomas Lambert age 85 on 21 Feb 1822. Your only hope is that he left a will, naming his children.

You may be in luck.

BLARS has a will of Thomas Lambert senior of Kempston, carpenter  ref 1822/10. Pity you didn't post your message before you spent a week at BLARS, as it will now cost you a few quid, not many, to get a copy of it. I think their minimum charge is a fiver, so you might want to get the will of Thomas Lambert of Kempston, victualler ref 1834/9 as well. He was buried age 66 at Kempston on 11 Nov 1833, and could have been a brother of John. He might name a brother John in his will.

Jane Lambert was buried at Kempston on 28 Nov 1813 (no age given) and Isobel Lambert on 29 Sept 1803 (no age or other detail)

David

I hope to be spending a week in Bedford in July visiting the archives and my aged mother, and many local hostelries - I live in the south of France!

[JBB]

Thank you so much!!!

I am really impressed as to how you have all of that information - how did you find out all the details? It must have taken you some time to work from whatever sources you have and I really appreciate your help.
Whilst in Bedfordshire I found it so moving to visit in particular All Saints Church Kempston where several generations of my family were baptised,married and possibly buried. I even walked the path to the church from Kempston which they would have taken over 250 years ago.
I can't say how grateful I am to you - many many thanks again.
JBB

PS I'm envious of where you live - we were both French teachers and often visit!

[bedfordshire boy]

It couldn't have taken me that long, as you posted at 21.17 and my reply was timed at 22.03 (French time), so half an hour perhaps, and I'm a slow typist!

The baptism data was taken from the IGI; the burial details from the NBI CDrom; with pre 1813 data backed up by the transcript of Kempston parish register available from Beds FHS or BLARS; and a two volume index of Bedfordshire probate records which someone on this board picked up for me from BLARS for less than it costs me here for a pint of beer!

If you find the wills provide the confirmation you need and you need help with Thomas and Isabell just shout. There's no marriage in Beds, and I suspect that they may have married in St Albans

David

[JBB]

Hello David

I have information from the 2 wills you mentioned: Thos. senior (1822/10) only mentions a daughter Winifred Freeman and a grandaughter Milicent Tysoe. Thos (1834/9) mentions wife Elizabeth. daughter Rebecca, sons William, Philip and John (who would have been too young) and daughter Mary.

I fear I have come to a dead end. The only other thing I can possibly think of is that John may have been born in Stagsden as there appear to be several 'Johns as a first name to Lambert there and one John was born in 1759 to a John and a Judith. This is not the correct year but I'm really stuck. If I could prove a link to Thomas I would be able to move on but I don't have any further info.

Is there anything else you could think of with the research docs you have?

Many thanks for your time - I really appreciate it

Julie

[bedfordshire boy]

Hi Julie,

I don't fancy the John baptised on 6 May 1759 at Stagsden for two reasons:
1. In 1851 your John gave his birthplace as Kempston
2. There's a burial of John Lambert in Stagsden on 15 May 1759. The index doesn't say infant, so you would need to check the parish register to be sure, but it looks suspiciously like the 6 May baptism. It wasn't the father as he and Judith baptised more children.

Let me have a think!

David

[bedfordshire boy]

Of the six children baptised to Thomas and Isobel on the IGI, Winifred married Joseph Freeman in 1784; Elizabeth married William Tysoe in 1789 and was buried in 1798; Philip was buried in 1774; the first Thomas was buried in 1764; Mary may have been buried in 1770. So the second Thomas baptised 1767 wasn't mentioned in his father's will - he seems to be the 66 year old Thomas whose will you also have. So it can be established that a known surviving son wasn't mentioned in his will.

I can't prove it; I'll never be able to prove it, but I still think your John was probably the unbaptised son of Thomas and Isobel.

For
- in 1851 his birthplace was Kempston
- in 1841 he was living in Kempston
- all his children were baptised in Kempston
- Thomas and Isobel was the only Lambert couple in Kempston at that time

Against
- he didn't name any of his children Thomas or Isabel
- there's a Richard Lambert who married Susannah Favell in Kempston on 27 Dec 1795 and who was buried age 60 on 10 Aug 1827. He wasn't baptised in Kempston. Was he another unbaptised son or were he and John from a different family or were they unconnected? There's only one Richard Lambert baptised in Beds at anything like the right time - in Knotting. But his parents didn't have a son John. And I can't imagine John confusing Kempston with Knotting for his birthplace.

None of this is anything more than circumstantial, but I'm afraid that it's the best I can come up with.

If it were my family would I ink in Thomas and Isabel as the parents of John? Probably not!

David

[JBB]

Once again David, thank you so much. I really feel I must assume that John is the son of Thomas and Isobel - would you accept this if you were researching the family?
There is only one area I don't understand; in your reasons for, you say that John named 2 of his sons Isaac. This wasn't my John (married to an Elizabeth White if I have understood IGI correctly). Which John are you referring to?

Thanks so much again

Julie

PS I'll go with your added advice then - enjoy your homecoming!

[bedfordshire boy]

I thought you were offline when I deleted the bit I'd written about the Isaacs, as I realised almost immediately after I'd posted that it was the wrong John. So ignore it!

I'm not sure when I added my final line, but again it was shortly after I posted it. There really isn't enough hard evidence to say that John was definitely the son of Thomas & Isobel, but there's no John about whom there is hard evidence that it could be.

David