Henry Sweetland born 1870 Yarcombe - please can anyone help?

[emjsw]

Hello there,

I wondered if anybody might be able to help me find out more about Henry's wife Annie and son Henry John please?

They get married-20 Dec 1896 • Taunton St Mary, Somerset, England. She is 23 and called Annie Stacey, her father is Alfred Stacey, labourer. Henry is living in barracks. Some census records seem to think her middle name is either Janet or Elizabeth but this is not recorded on the marriage certificate.

My g.grandfather Henry John Sweetland was born in 1892 in Chard, 4 years before they got married.**

I wondered if perhaps Henry had been married before as I have heard relatives say her maiden names was Garrett, did he marry an Annie Garrett, have Henry John and then an Annie Stacey who had the rest of Henry's siblings???
I have tried finding an Annie Stacey with father Alfred Stacey with no luck.

** I have also been told he doctored his age to join the army and that he may have been born more like 1898.

In the 1911 census I can find Henry John with Henry and Elizabeth and his age is shown as 13 (1898), his next eldest sibling is 7 (kind of ties in with Henry snr serving in India and the Boer War). He is with siblings that I know are to be correct.

HOWEVER

in the 1901 Luxborough census there is an Annie E Sweetland* (mother age 27) a Henry John Sweetland (son age 3) and a Mary E Garrett (sister age 14). * why is she a Sweetland, if it is Annie nee Stacey they are not married yet, was this a previous wife who died?

This could be as Henry is in Africa but raises the following questions:

Was Henry John born in 1898 or 1892 in Chard?
Was Annie a Stacey or a Garrett (perhaps perhaps Annie's mother remarried a Garrett and had Mary?)
Was Henry married to 2 different Annie's?
Where is Annie growing up? Where is her family in the census records?

I am so confused - can anyone people help unscramble my brain for me??
Thanks in advance

[CaroleW]

There is an 1898 birth for a Henry John Sweetland on freebmd - mothers maiden name was Garreld

Nothing in 1892

in the 1901 Luxborough census there is an Annie E Sweetland* (mother age 27) a Henry John Sweetland (son age 3) and a Mary E Garrett (sister age 14). * why is she a Sweetland, if it is Annie nee Stacey they are not married yet, was this a previous wife who died?

You said they married in 1896?

[CaroleW]

Possible match for parents of above ??

Marriages December 1894 
Emma Gerrard   or Edith May Goddard married William Sweetland      Chard 5c   716      

[emjsw]

There is an 1898 birth for a Henry John Sweetland on freebmd - mothers maiden name was Garreld

Nothing in 1892

Many thanks for that, that clears up the birth year, I have Henry John's army enlistment papers and he had put 1892, I guess to join the army under age.
Perhaps Annie Married as a Stacey as Alfred Stacey was her step father and her original name was Garreld or Garrett (Garrett might have been a mis-transcription on the census?).

Interesting also that Emma Gerrard  or Edith May Goddard married William Sweetland, perhaps there are 2 Henry John's?? My dad met Henry John's dad Henry so I am pretty sure his father was Henry but perhaps he took Henry John in as something happened to Emma/Edith and William??
 
Thank you for your help.

Best wishes,
Emma

[avm228]

Baptism, St Mary Magdalene, Taunton

16 Feb 1898

Henry John Sweetland, son of Henry (a groom) and Annie, of Ct 1, High St.

This Taunton-born Henry appears in both censuses afterwards with a Taunton birthplace.  Why are you thinking he was born in Chard?  If that is from an Army record, bear in mind that people very often referred to a place where they had been brought up, thinking they had been born there.

His siblings:

Gladys Anne Sweetland mmn Garrett Sep qtr 1903 Williton
Olive Louise Sweetland mmn Garrett, Jun qtr 1905 Williton
Ellen May Sweetland mmn Garrett, Jun qtr 1906 Williton
Florence Elsie Sweetland mmn Garrett, Sep qtr 1908 Wellington
Evelyn Maud Sweetland mmn Stacey, Jun qtr 1910 Chard
Edith Violet Sweetland mmn Garrett, Sep qtr 1914 Chard
Albert George Sweetland mmn Garrett, Jun qtr 1916 Chard

[emjsw]

Baptism, St Mary Magdalene, Taunton

16 Feb 1898

Henry John Sweetland, son of Henry (a groom) and Annie, of Ct 1, High St.

Fantastic, thank you very much for that. I use ancestry and there was nothing that I could find relating to his birth in terms of parents etc (just an index with his name only). Henry snr was good with horses so it is lovely to see he was able to work with them.

[avm228]

Possible birth registration for Annie’s sister Mary:

Mary Elizabeth Garrett mmn Stacey, Jun qtr 1887 Wincanton.

[avm228]

Possible parents therefore (Annie being born before this marriage):

Alfred Garrett and Elizabeth Stacey, marr Dec qtr 1881 Sherborne.

[avm228]

This looks like the family in 1891:

Evercreech, Somerset

Alfred Garrett Head 40 Farm labourer Trent Somerset
Elizabeth do Wife 43 Trent Somerset
Ann do Daur 16 Domestic servant Trent Somerset
John Henry do Son 8 Sherborne Dorset
Ellen do Daur 6 Piddle? Dorset
Mary Elizabeth do Daur 4 Buckhorn Weston, Dorset

RG12/1912/30/4