Austen - Leigh Connection

[Rochdalian]

Hi

While trying to break down a brick wall concerning Samuel Edwards & Sarah Robinson we found their marriage at St Clement Danes in 1770 which showed that the ceremony was undertaken by Austin Leigh, Curate.  Not being able to break down the wall we went sideways and looked at Austin Leigh hoping to find a hint or two.  We know a little of Jane Austen's family and that her mother was a Leigh but despite searching for a connection we can find nothing definitive.   

Hoping that someone can clarify the connections, or is it just a number of coincidences.

Cheers

Bob & Helen
Melbourne 

[Valda]

Hi

The vast majority of people who marry are not related to the church official who conducted the marriage. A curate would need to be a well educated man and therefore from a class of family who could afford to privately educate a son for the church, which would include obtaining a degree at Oxford or Cambridge University. Where Samuel Edwards and Sarah Robinson of a similar background in a time when class background was rigidly applied?


Regards

Valda

[Rochdalian]

Hi Valda

Thanks for your interest.  We were not suggesting in any way that there was a familial relationship between the happy couple and Austen Leigh, but perhaps we should have explained it better
Perhaps any possible relationship could best be described as a social one in that Samuel and the two witnesses, Henry Pars & Thomas Lindsey, married the three Robinson girls.  Henry was an artist and so was Sarah's sister Mary who married Thomas.  Henry had a distant relationship with the Austen family and also had William Blake as a pupil at his drawing school in the Strand.  So basically they were all involved in an artistic 'set'.  The father of the Robinson girls was an Admiral and so was their brother.  Samuel on the other hand went on to be a wine merchant and a Proctor in Doctors Commons. 

Sorry I've gone on a bit but yes they were all of the same 'class'.  We started to look at the Curate in case he was connected to the Austens and/or others of their 'set' and maybe get a hint or two as to who Samuel's parents were - our brick wall!

Cheers

Bob & Helen 

[Valda]

Hi

Do you have Samuel's burial date and therefore his age at burial? Is his the PCC will probated in 1807?       


Regards

Valda

[Valda]

Hi

Jane Austen's family, her maternal Leighs and paternal Austens are detailed in the link below. Her parents married in 1764.

http://www.jasa.net.au/inperspective/family.htm

Jane's brother James' son James Edward 1798-1874 adopted the surname Austen-Leigh when he inherited from his great aunt and uncle in 1836.

http://www.pemberley.com/janeinfo/janelife.html#janesibl


Regards

Valda

[Rochdalian]

Hi Valda

Thanks for the two links, very interesting and they go a long way to show that the curate Austen Leigh had nothing to do with the family I think.

We do not have Samuel's burial date but we do have a death notice from the 'Annual Register 1807' which states he died in his home in Beaufort Buildings, Strand in the 68th year of his life.  So we put his birth year at c1840.  And yes that is his will of which we have a copy.

Cheers

Bob & Helen

[Rochdalian]

Hi Valda

Late last night I searched the British Newspapers, recently added to FindMyPast, and found a death notice for Samuel in the Kentish Gazette of Tues 10 Nov 1807 which stated he died on the 4 Nov 1807 in the 69th year of his age.  This contradicts the other report a little.

Cheers

Bob

[Valda]

Hi

A birth circa 1738/9 or even 1737.
There are other PCC wills for Edwards in St Clement Danes, but it is a common surname so none might be connected. Too expensive to check through them on the off chance unless you have a subscription to the Genealogist website where they are online.


Regards

Valda

[Rochdalian]

Thanks Valda.  You are right about Edwards being common and that of course is one of our problems.  We will investigate The Genealogist website, thanks for the tip.

Bob & Helen