Earl family in Sheerness early 1800s

[LynneOz]

Hi

I have been looking for my 3xgreat grandmother Sarah Earl Taylor.

I have found all census references related to her and found what I believe to be her marriage record. She consistently said she was born in Sheerness. The date wanders a bit: between 1803 and 1806. She married Thomas Taylor who was a tailor, draper and outfitter from Manchester. I believe they were married in the Lee parish church in Kent on 4 June 1827. In all census records from 1841-1881 The Taylor family lived in and around the heart of Manchester and had an up-market tailors/drapers/outfitters employing up to 6 men.

I have looked at the Earl people remaining in Sheerness in 1841 and have drawn a blank with most of them. I have also enlisted the help of an experienced Kent researcher who could find no birth record which might be Sarah.

I suspect her father probably had something to do with the military. And, I think Thomas and his father had some kind of contract for uniforms (I can think of no other reason that a died-in-the-wool Lancashire lad would have been hot-footing it down to Kent).

I would really appreciate help with this. If anyone can throw me a clue, that would be really good.

Cheers

[supermoussi]

She married Thomas Taylor who was a tailor, draper and outfitter from Manchester. I believe they were married in the Lee parish church in Kent on 4 June 1827.

Was Sarah a spinster or a widow when she married Thomas. i.e. are you sure that Earl was her maiden name?

(I can think of no other reason that a died-in-the-wool Lancashire lad would have been hot-footing it down to Kent).

Kent was an extremely busy area and a gateway into Europe and beyond. Merchants from all over the country passed through it and its many ports attracted dockers, carpenters, blacksmiths, sailors from all over too. Any young man who joined the army/navy for a few years was also very likely to have passed through Kent at some time and if demobbed there could have easily settled there.

[LynneOz]

There is some confusion about Sarah's maiden name.

On the birth certificate of her son, Septimus, her name is entered as Sarah Hudson formerly Earl. However on the certificate of her younger son Frederick, her name is entered as Sarah Taylor formerly Earl.

The marriage entry for Thomas Taylor on 4 Jun 1827 in Lee Parish gives her name as Sarah Earl, if indeed this is the correct marriage record.

I have investigated Sarah Hudson but have not reached any conclusive results.

I realise Kent was a very busy place with all the military establishments dotted around. However, Sarah was very particular about Sheerness being her birthplace. Parish records on the IGI do not help me with this problem, and as I previously mentioned, a friend with good access to Kent records drew a blank too.

Hope someone can help.

Cheers

[casalguidi]

On the birth certificate of her son, Septimus, her name is entered as Sarah Hudson formerly Earl. However on the certificate of her younger son Frederick, her name is entered as Sarah Taylor formerly Earl.

Are you saying that Septimus' birth was registered as Septimus HUDSON (father Thomas mother Sarah formerly EARL)?  When was this?

And that Frederick was registered as Frederick TAYLOR (father Thomas mother Sarah formerly EARL)?

The marriage entry for Thomas Taylor on 4 Jun 1827 in Lee Parish gives her name as Sarah Earl, if indeed this is the correct marriage record.

Have you seen this marriage record to see if there are any clues there ie. marital status/names of witnesses if, of course, it is the correct one?

Casalguidi

[scintilla]

I have transcriptions for baptisms at Minster, Isle of Sheppey, which would be the right parish for Sheerness. They show a Sarah HUDSON baptised on 18th July 1803, daughter of Thomas and Elizabeth HUDSON. There were 6 children of this couple baptised around this time at Minster. If you think this may be the person you're looking for I can give you the siblings.

[LynneOz]

Sorry, I should have been more specific.

Septimus Taylor, my 2xgreat grandfather was born in Manchester on 26 May 1845 and his birth certificate shows his father as Thomas Taylor (a tailor/draper/outfitter) and his mother as Sarah Earl with the Earl crossed out and Taylor written above it, then underneath Sarah Taylor is written Hudson and then formerly Earl. I apologise, I should have looked at the certificate properly and not relied on aging memory!!

Because this was so confusing, I then got the birth certificate for Frederick Taylor who was born 23 Aug 1847, a younger brother of Septimus. This showed his father as Thomas and his mother as Sarah Taylor formerly Earl all written beautifully with no crossings out.

Sarah and Thomas, as far as I can tell had at least 11 children. The first I can find via the 1841 Census is Ann Taylor who was, by 1841 reckoning,  born in 1829. This census was taken in Manchester and all the family were recorded as not born in county. For Sarah this certainly appeared true but in subsequent census records everyone except Sarah is listed as born in Manchester. Cross checking addresses with Pigots, Thomas and Sarah were living "above the shop" in the tailor/draper/outfitter's business "Thomas Taylor & Son" variously in King Street, John Dalton Street and (I think) in Thomas Street, Ardwick which is just a couple of blocks away from the other two which are right in the centre of Manchester.

I found a marriage in St Margaret's, Lee Parish, Kent in June 1827 which appeared to be the most likely. However, the actual record shows only the names of the bride and groom, the occupation of the groom, the date and no parents or witnesses. I only realised tonight that Lee Parish is in the registration district of Lewisham. I have another ancestor who was in the Royal Artillery at Woolwich, who was married in Lewisham. Therefore, I am sure it is quite possible that Sarah was the daughter of a military family and other family members may have been born anywhere other than Sheerness.

I did look for a Hudson/Earl marriage prior to 1827 but couldn't find one.

The names of Thomas and Sarah's children are: Ann, John James, Edward, Harriet, George, William, Thomas, Septimus, Albert, Frederick. The only one I can find a baptism record for is John James Taylor who was baptised in 1830 in the Collegiate church of St George, Hulme.

I would be most interested to see the whole Hudson family that you have found. This is most certainly worth following up. Thank you very much for your efforts. Next time I will be sure to have my database open and my certificates to hand when I compile a query!

Cheers

[scintilla]

These are the baptisms for the HUDSON family in Minster.

1795 12/05  Thomas Son of Thomas & Elizabeth HUDSON
1797 05/30  John Son of Thomas & Elizabeth HUDSON
1799 05/27  Samuel Son of Thomas & Elizabeth HUDSON
1801 03/02  Elizabeth Dau. of Thomas & Elizabeth HUDSON
1803 07/18  Sarah Dau. of Thomas & Elizabeth HUDSON
1805 01/26  Phoebe Dau. of Thomas & Elizabeth HUDSON

I checked for a Hudson / Earl marriage at Minster, but nothing. Interestingly I couldn't find a marriage for any of the siblings. Perhaps the whole family moved away - could fit in with the military family theory.

[Phil Goater]

Hi Lynne,
My 3 x great grandmother was Elizabeth Earl b.1785 and christened at Sheerness Dockyard church. I'm indebted to a distant cousin for the research.  Elizabeth had an elder sister Hannah (1783), two younger brothers Stephen (1787) and James(1791) and was the daughter of George and his wife who was born Martha Getliffe. It's likely that there were other children and if there is a connection then Sarah might be a younger sister or, if born Hudson she might have married one of the boys first.
Sorry not to have an answer for you but I'll alert my distant cousin to this thread who still lives in the area and hopefully he might be able to unearth something.
Regards,
Phil

[Phil Goater]

Update on Earl family of Sheerness.

I've had an update from my distant cousin Colin Collier. He couldn't find Sarah but his records stop at 1798! He's hoping to lay his hands on a second register but one was apparently destroyed by fire. He has got the following:

1-George EARL b: about 1760 d: 27 September 1846, Sheerness, Kent
+Martha GETLIFFE b: about 1760 m: 15 July 1782, Minster Parish Church, Isle of Sheppey, Kent

. . . . 2-Hannah EARL b: 1783

. . . . 2-Elizabeth (Delia) EARL b: 1785

. . . . 2-Stephen EARL b: 1787

+Jane HINDS b: circa 1761 m: 12 June 1790, Minster Parish Church, Isle of Sheppey, Kent

. . . . 2-James EARL b: 1791 d: 2 October 1853, Sheerness, Kent

. . . . 2-Charlotte EARL b: 1793, Sheerness, Kent d: 1841, Sheerness, Kent

. . . . 2-Jane Parker EARL b: 1795, Sheerness, Kent

. . . . 2-Jane EARL b: 1797, Sheerness, Kent

As Colin comments this brings us up towards 1803 and the possibility that Sarah was a part of this family.

Cheers,
Phil