1861 & 1871 Lookup Request: William & Eliza FEAST, Upper Beeding OR Steyning

[acauston]

Hello:
  I am trying to put together the family (children born to) of William Feast and Eliza née Groome.  This family is a branch of our Lamport (or Lampard) family from Steyning.
   William & Eliza were married in 1850 at Steyning.  I found them, both age 53, in the 1881 census, living at Beeding with Eliza's father, Charles, and two grandchildren.
   Would someone be able/inclined to see if this family is in the 1861 or 1871 censuses, please?  They should be in either (Upper) Beeding or Steyning.
   Many thanks in advance, for considering my request.
Cheers,
Alison Causton
Annapolis Valley, Nova Scotia

[alcrighton]

Hi Alison,

I've found William and Eliza Fiest (different spelling) in the 1861 census for Upper Beeding.  The full details are:

Address:  High Street, Upper Beeding (Ref: RG9/606 Folio 59 Page 8 )

William Fiest, Head, 34, Agricultural Labourer, b. Steyning
Eliza Fiest, Wife, 34, Dressmaker, b. Steyning
Jane Beeding, Fiest,  Dau, 10, Scholar, b. Beeding

In 1871, I found William & Eliza living in Beeding Street, Upper Beeding but with no children at home.  The surname is spelt Feist (different again!) in the 1871 census and William's birthplace is once again Beeding.
Have you got the reference please Allan - necessary to prove lineage - Global Moderator

Regards,

Allan

[acauston]

Thank you very much for this, Allan, and this tells me we're on the right track.  It may well be that William & Eliza had just the one child.  Perhaps I should post another request for the 1851 census but, since they were married in 1850, it's not likely to turn anything up.  Still, I have seen instances where couples were married well after the first one or two children came along. Nothing new under the sun, eh?
Interesting about the spelling variation on the surname:  I just did a quick check at the FreeBMD web site ... "Feast" occurs frequently in Steyning R.D. (which includes Upper Beeding), whereas "Feist" occurs in Horsham R.D. (which includes Lower Beeding).
(Who's the wee'un in the photo?)
Regards,
Alison

[alcrighton]

In 1871, I found William & Eliza living in Beeding Street, Upper Beeding but with no children at home.  The surname is spelt Feist (different again!) in the 1871 census and William's birthplace is once again Beeding.
Have you got the reference please Allan - necessary to prove lineage - Global Moderator

Regards,

Allan

Sorry for missing that out and for my sloppy typing on the 1861 entry (thanks Chris for picking that up).  The 1871 reference is: RG10/1094 Folio 68 Page 20 Schedule No. 134.  Interestingly, further up the same page there is a George FEAST and family (original spelling again) - any relation?

Allan

[acauston]

Hello again, Allan:
Truthfully, I don't know (yet), although it seems likely.  I'll have to go through the parish records to find out...
Thanks for your reply, Allan.
Cheers,
Alison