Robert Lewis Anderson (Hitchen), Tydd St Giles

[KiloAlpha]

My Great Grandfather was Baptised Robert Lewis Hitchen on 18 Jul 1853.  His mother is given as Mary Ann Hitchen.  No father's name is given although the inclusion of the middle name "Lewis” might be an indication of his father.  I have been unable to find a birth date or birth certificate for Robert Lewis, although a birth year of 1853/1854 seems probable.
He appears on the various censuses as Robert Louis (Lewis) Anderson. He is shown as living with his “parents” Louis Anderson (Origin Terrington St Clements c 1816) and Mary Ann Anderson (Origin Leverington c 1832). Lewis and Mary Ann married in Tydd St Giles on 4 July 1854 in Tydd St Giles. I have their marriage certificate and their death certificates (Louis died 25 July 1895, and Mary Ann died 18 May 1900)
Robert Lewis married Elizabeth on 29 December 1876. His marriage certificate gives his name as Robert Lewis Hitchen (I assume because the parish priest would be one of the few people who knew that his baptised name was RL Hitchen).  From thereon, he and Elizabeth appear in the censuses as Robert Lewis (Louis) Anderson. Their descendants have proved relatively simple to find and catalogue.
The census records for Tydd St Giles do not exist for 1861 unfortunately.
Perhaps there is someone who has come across any of these people, or who can give any clarification on Robert Lewis, or his parents Lewis and Mary Ann.  Things get complicated because there are probably two Lewis Andersons born in 1816 and 1821, and further complicated because both married “Mary Ann” although the census give two different sets of children.
I wonder if anyone has any information on Mary Ann Hitchen, or or her son Robert Lewis Anderson (Hitchen), or her husband Lewis Anderson.

[CaroleW]

Does the 1876 marriage cert give any different name for his father or is it shown as Louis/Lewis?

The 1854 marriage cert Anderson/Hitchen - what were the names of their respective fathers?  Were either of the witnesses surname Anderson or Hitchen

[KiloAlpha]

Hi Carole,  Many thanks for your very quick reply.  I'm not sure if this is the right forum to be asking these questions, but I thought I would try.
Lewis Anderson (the father) married Mary Ann Hitchen on 4 July 1854, after the baptism of Robert Lewis Anderson (Hitchen) in Tydd St Giles.  His father's name is given as Robert Lewis.  In fact it only now crosses my mind that perhaps he also was born out of wedlock, and that his name Lewis is just a reference to who was his father.  The witnesses were Charles Gall and William EJ Smith.  I think I will tray to find William EJ Smith on the Tydd census records.

Robert Louis Hitchen (baptised as Robert Lewis Hitchen) married on 29 Dec 1876 and his age is given as 22, which indicates a DOB in 1854, although his baptism is 18 July, 1853 !! 

The witnesses are Sarah Jane Anderson (a daughter of Lewis and Mary Ann Anderson and "sister" to RLA), andWilliam Gosling (the father of RLA's wife Elizabeth Gosling).

I live in Switzerland, and visiting the records offices in the UK is almost impossible, and everything I do has to be by internet search which is not always easy.  So I very much appreciate your reply.

Kind regards

Keith Anderson

[CaroleW]

Hi

Terrington is Norfolk although Louis shows himself as b Cambridge

Here's his baptism from the IGI and it looks as though he was illegitimate

https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/J96N-36J

In 1841 - he is Lewis Anderson aged 20 and is in Tydd St Giles  Cambridge working as an agric labourer but is shown as not born in county

HO107 Piece78/16 Folio 6 Page 6

1851 he is Lewis b 1819 Clenchwarton Norfolk - again in Tydd in lodgings
HO107 Piece 1766 Folio 24 Page 5 (flip to page 6 as page number is wrong)

[Paco]

There is quite a lot of information on the Hitchen surname on FreeREG for the Cambridge area. Tydd St Giles has been transcribed.
regards.