Elizabeth Reed[s]

[MattD30]

Hi

My ancestor James Holden married a woman named Elizabeth Reeds in Lewes on 24 March 1803. I'm hoping someone here might be able to help me confirm which of two candidates could have been the most likely one for Elizabeth.

Firstly there is an Elizabeth Reed christened in Brighton on 18 April 1784 dau of William and Abigail Reed.

Secondly there is an Elizabeth Reed christened in Lewes on 15 June 1788 [born 28 May 88] dau of James and Mary.

Obviously both places are in the locality so it would be useful to know if one died or something.

Also I have a puzzle regarding the parents of the first Elizabeth [William and Abigail]. It looks like the second Elizabeth was the daughter of James Reeds and Mary Churchill who married in Storrington on 19 July 1777 [just over a year before the christening of their first child Jane in November 1778]

Back to William and Abigail.

William Reed married Abigail Jeffreys at Wartling on 23 November 1780, four years before the birth of Elizabeth at Brighton in 1784.

Now here's what puzzles me. Given that her name seems quite distinctive it should be easier to locate a christening for Abigail in the area. I have found only one

Abigail Jefferies christened 29 April 1764 at Herstmonceux, Sussex - daughter of Dowell and Sarah

There is also one christened in Wartling in 1734 but she would obviously be too old to be having children in the 1780s and 1790s.

What puzzles me is that although Herstmonceux and Wartling are not far apart [3 miles I believe], Brighton is about 28 miles from Wartling. So could the Abigail and William who were married there in 1780 be the same couple who were christening children in Brighton starting in 1784?

Both of the two Elizabeth Reeds I've mentioned at possible candidates for the lady who married James Holden.

Can anyone offer any ideas, solutions or tips?

Many Thanks

Matt

[omega 1]

Hello Matt

According to SMI James and Elizabeth married Lewis St Michael,24 Mar 1803,BOTP by Banns

omega

[MattD30]

Hello Matt

According to SMI James and Elizabeth married Lewis St Michael,24 Mar 1803,BOTP by Banns

omega

Hi omega

Sorry that was a typo in my posting, I was looking at a different part of my Holden tree when typing! You are quite correct though, the marriage did take place in Lewes. I'll amend the original post.

Given that when they married both James and Elizabeth are described as being "BOTP" it seems likely that they'd both been settled in the parish for a while.

Oddly though both the candidates I've found could be my Elizabeth since I've not yet found a burial for either (I'm still checking though) given that Brighton and Lewes are only 6 miles apart.

The only other thing I think I've established is that James Reed, father of the Elizabeth christened in Lewes in 1788, was probably christened in South Malling in 1763 (son of another James).

I'm now discounting the marriage of James Reed and Mary Churchill for now as Storrington is about 20 miles from Lewes. I have five children christened to James and Mary at the moment Jane (1778), James (1779), Mary (1782) all christened in Storrington, then Hannah christened in Petworth in 1784, followed by Elizabeth in Lewes in 1788.

As said I'm discounting the marriage of James and Mary, and the first four of those christenings for now given that Lewes is 20 miles away from the Storrington/Petworth area. Also if James was christened in South Malling (which looks more likely now) then he'd only 14 when the marriage of James Reed and Mary Churchill took place in Storrington in 1777.

Annoyingly the names of James and Elizabeth's children don't seem to yield any clues but I'll list them here in case you or anyone spot anything.

John Holden - chr 26 April 1806 Brighton
Henry Holden - chr 12 June 1808 Brighton
Sarah Holden - chr 29 September 1811
George Holden - chr 14 August 1814 Brighton - my ancestor
Hannah Holden - chr 11 May 1817 Brighton
Thomas Holden - chr 30 April 1820 Brighton

I think there was also a Thomas christneed in December 1815 but I can't find the date for him in my notes (he probably died before 1820 though).

So as you can see not even the names of the children of James and Elizabeth give any clues in regards to her family. They do however help identify James's family though. I believe he was christened in Brighton in 1778 son of John and Susanna. Just like James and Elizabeth they also had children named Thomas, Henry, and John.

I think the Elizabeth who was christened in Lewes is most likely the lady I'm looking for given that they married in Lewes and were both described as being of that parish, yet the children were christened in Brighton and so the other Elizabeth is also a possibility.

I'm going to see if I can find any more clues on the Reeds in Lewes and also any wills to see if they provide any clues.

Any more suggestions or ideas would be appreciated.

Matt

[MattD30]

It has just occurred to me that the second of the two Elizabeth Reeds I am looking at (Elizabeth Reed dau of James and Mary) would be too young to have married James Holden in 1803.

This Elizabeth was christened on 15 June 1788 at Lewes but this means she'd only be about 12 when she married James Holden in March 1803.

Based on that it looks like the Elizabeth Read who was christened in Brighton in 1784 [dau of William and Abigail] could be more likely. Of course it's entirely possible that Elizabeth had moved to Lewes from Brighton.

Matt

[MattD30]

When they married in 1803 in Lewes both James and Elizabeth are described as being "otp" I thought James may have been christened in Brighton in 1778 but I have now found a second possible candidate:

There is a christening on Familysearch for "James Holder" in Lewes dated 5 November 1766 son of James and Elizabeth. I haven't seen the original entry but I can easily see a badly written or faint "n" getting misread as a "r" especially if the writing is bad. There have been time when I haven written an "n" at the end of a word only for someone to ask "is that an r?"

Matt