We know that Bridget BOULDGER m William GRIFFITHS on 21st March 1819 in St Helier, Jersey.
Bridget is described as being ‘of this Parish’ so obviously a resident of some years and known to the officiating clergyman. There is no indication of her age nor if she is single, but there is no widowed ‘Bridget’ in the offing so she probably is single.
The record in the Parish Register is extremely well written, and is not open to any mis-interpretation.In subsequent census returns her birthplace and age are given as:-
1841 Somerset 40 years – b 1801
1851 Bramford, Kent 49 years – b 1802
1861 St Helier, Jersey, C.I. 67 years – b 1794
1871 St Lawrence, Jersey C.I. 78 years – b 1793
Notes: (a) There is no sign of her birth in Somerset
(b) There is no such place as Bramford in Kent, nor is there any trace of her birth
anywhere in Kent
(c) There is no trace of her birth in Jersey, and hers is the only instance of the surname
BOULDGER. There are no baptisms, marriages or burials of anyone with that
surname in Jersey between 1790 and 1820.
Between 1785 and 1805, only 4 girls were baptised ‘Bridget’, viz:-
16 Apr 1799 Ann Bridget BARKER in St Helier
15 Aug 1799 Bridget CARNEY in St Peter
14 Jan 1801 Bridget EGAN in St Ouen (bur 1825)
14 Feb 1802 Bridget Patience GRAY in St Ouen
A really wild suggestion. Did Miss BARKER’s surname somehow mutate into BAKER, and did some clever-clogs cleric translate that into BOULANGER (or similar) which then became BOULDGER? I said it was wild!
