First Generation Completed

When I started this blog in 2009, there were a lot of blanks in the first generation. Thanks to the GRO raising its price for vital registration certificates in April of 2010, I got to work filling in the blanks. The original first generation blog is available here.

At left, is a new chart with the results of my latest research. I apologize for its fuzziness but I had to rotate it twice to capture it as one image and it loses something in the process. You can view it in a larger format by double clicking it.

The big news is:

(1) Solving Jane Ann's death date of 06 Apr 1872 Hellingly. Although her death was registered as Jane Ann BENNETT she never married either William Cooke or John BENNETT as her first husband, Thomas CHATFIELD, was transported to Van Dieman's Land in 1832.

(2) Finding a marriage for Susannah on 10 Sep 1836 to Leonard PAGE in Glynde.

Once I had her married name, I also found her death on 02 Jul 1885 also in Glynde.

(3) Finding a death date for Sarah on 21 Apr 1864 in Uckfield.

(4) Confirming the marriage of Frances to Henry HEMSLEY on 18 Oct 1840 in Uckfield. I also got her full death date of 22 Jan 1892 in Uckfield.

(5) Confirming the marriage of Elizabeth to Henry MITCHELL on 28 Jun 1846 in Glynde. I also got her full death date of 27 Aug 1879 in Glynde.

(6) Finding a death date for Mary on 04 Dec 1875 in Uckfield.

(7) Finding a first marriage for George to Sarah PECKHAM on 01 Dec 1844 in Uckfield. Unfortunately, Sarah died in 1845. I also got the marriage date for George's second marriage to Esther COTTINGTON on 18 Feb 1840 in Uckfield.

(8) Finding a marriage for Harriett to John TAYLOR on 17 May 1856 in Glynde. I also got her death date of 31 Dec 1892 in Beddingham. This one was a real find because Harriett's marriage proved her father as Thomas DAWES - Labourer and she and John had 6 children carrying on into the twentieth century so some new cousins may turn up.

If anyone researching this DAWES family is interested in copies of any of these certificates, send me an email.

The Saga of Jane Ann DAWES Continued

When I updated the information on Jane Ann DAWES, which can be viewed here , I pointed out that the death certificate I received for Jane BENNETT was dated 16 January 1851. Since that was before the 1851 census was taken it couldn't be for Jane Ann as she was recorded on the census in March of 1851. I also mentioned that several of her children by different husbands were with her in 1851 so I assumed that she was ill and died shortly afterwards because I couldn't find her in the 1861 census. Well, I was WRONG because I just used an old genealogy trick and jumped to the next census in 1871 where I found her and John Bennett still living in Hellingly. I don't know why several of her children were visiting (maybe she had finally married John) or why she and John are missing in 1861 but she is still living in 1871.

As you can see in the above image from 1871 Jane is alive and well and her birth location is recorded as Hadlow, Kent further adding to her continued existence. I then decided to look in later years for a death and found a likely entry in FreeBMD for 1872. Unlike the census, her full name is shown and the age at death matches with her birth year of 1805 so I suspect that this is her. I also found a death for John in 1878. I have ordered the certificate for this Jane Ann and will update this posting when it arrives. I hope that it doesn't take more than a month like the ones for her sisters Susannah and Mary did. They arrived last week having been ordered on April 5th just before the GRO price increase but I am still waiting for Harriett's and will update all of their death dates after I have all the facts.

I still can't find a marriage for Jane Ann and John Bennett. Maybe she was "once burned and twice shy" since she appears to have started living with him before her second husband, William COOKE, died and we now know that her first husband, Thomas CHATFIELD, didn't die in 1832 but was transported to VanDiemen's land in 1831 for 14 years. And, I am not sure that she ever actually married William COOKE although her first child with him is listed as illegitimate while the second child isn't but there is no record of a marriage between them and given this new information about Thomas CHATFIELD I suspect that she didn't marry either William COOKE or John BENNETT.

This blog is starting to pay off because I was contacted by a CHATFIELD descendant with the information on Thomas and his legal problems.

TAYLOR Family Update

How did I spend my Good Friday?

Sorting out the missing members of the TAYLOR Family, Eliza b. 1860, Mary A b. 1862 and Harriett b. 1864.

Eliza married Thomas Edwin PAYNE in 1881 after the census but died in 1887 so she never showed up with her married name. Between 1881 and 1887 she had 4 sons the last born just before her death at age 27. Her sister Harriett, shows up in 1891 and again in 1901 living with Thomas PAYNE and his sons as their housekeeper but is missing in 1911 and I couldn't find a marriage or death to explain her absence. She was difficult to trace because her name was spelled "Harriot" and her birth location shown as Lewes rather than Glynde.

Mary A married Henry GEARING also in 1881 and had two sons.

Here is a chart of their family details.

I haven't been able to find any conclusive marriages for the PAYNE boys after 1901. A couple have death dates that match their full names and age at death.

More research on this group will have to wait however, all the children of Harriett DAWES and John TAYLOR are now accounted for.

Unknown DAWES Women Resolved

Back in the early days of this blog, I mentioned three daughters of Thomas DAWS (1769-1843) and Elizabeth WHITEBREAD (1785-1849) whom I was not able to trace. You can view that post here.


Since I have been rushing to fill in the gaps in my research before the price of GRO certificates goes up on April 6th I have made a breakthrough on all three of the daughters.


My thanks goes to Mary DAWES for visiting each of her sisters on different census nights, Susannah in 1861 and Harriett in 1871 otherwise I never would have made the connection.


One of the great features of Ancestry.com is the ability to search on a females given name with a birth year and location. This generally turns up a bunch of potential marriages which can then be investigated further. I was looking for Harriett's born in Uckfield about 1829 when in the 1871 census I find Harriett and John TAYLOR living in Glynde, Sussex with five children and Harriett's sister, Mary DAWES, born in Peckham, Kent about 1819.


What a find! What a preponderance of evidence!


Harriett's age is within a year of her christening date which is all we have and Mary's is bang on. Plus, Harriet is born in Uckfield, Sussex and Mary in Peckham, Kent. For those of you who look it up I have made an adjustment here since on the1871 return Harriet is shown as born in Glynde and her husband is born in Uckfield but in the 1861, 1881 and 1891 returns it is the other way around.


Harriett and John had quite a large family which I am continuing to follow into current generations so we may turn up some more living cousins.


There are three middle daughters that I haven't been able to find after 1881 yet. Eliza TAYLOR b. 1860, Mary A TAYLOR b. 1862 and Harriett TAYLOR b. 1864. Imagine, another Mary and Harriett go missing.


The good news is that we can put Harriett to bed with her vital statistic dates of (1829-1893). Husband John shows up in 1901 living with their youngest daughter, Ellen SHERLOCK, as a widower. The only death registration that makes any sense is one from the March Quarter of 1893 for Lewes but shows Harriett's age as 58 which would have her born in 1835 as opposed to 1829. BUT, since she never got her age right on any of the censuses this must be her.


Following my given name search theory, I also had a look for Susannah born 1807 Hadlow, Kent. Only one turns up who is married to Leonard PAGE also of Glynde but her birth location is shown as Uckfield in 1851, Great Peckham, Kent in 1861, 1871 and finally in 1881 it is East Peckham, Kent. Susannah and Leonard also appear in the 1841 census so they must have been married before then, however, there are no registrations.


I fired up the Sussex FHG marriage index CD and EUREKA. There is a marriage between Leonard PAGE and Susannah DAVIES in Glynde dated 10 Sept 1836. Since this CD is a transcript therefore, DAWES and DAVIES are interchangeable as common mistake.


The icing on the cake is the 1861 census when Susannah and Leonard PAGE have Mary Dawes, her sister, born in Great Peckham, Kent staying with them.


Unfortunately, Leonard and Susannah never have any children recorded with them until 1871 when they have Mary Martin PAGE as an adopted daughter age 15 and born in Lewes.


Susannah DAWES' vital statistic dates are (1807-1885). She turns up in 1871 as a widow so Leonard died before then as you can see in the chart.

Finally, we can close the book with Mary who died in Uckfield 1875 so her vital statistics are (1819-1975) and if it wasn't for her staying in touch with her sisters I would never have cracked this puzzle. Now we have vitals for all the children of Thomas and Elizabeth plus some new branches to explore.

The Mystery of Jane Ann DAWES (1805-1852?)

Following the life of Jane Ann DAWES has been a challenge. I recently received a death registration for a Jane BENNETT whom I believed to be her. However, it is dated 16th January 1851 and since I have found her in the 1851 census which was taken in March I don't believe that this can be her. Of course, to believe that everywhere in the UK was dutifully recorded on the 30th March 1851 is a stretch so it could be. In any event, I wrote out a history of her life as I know it a while ago and thought it was time to make it public.

Previous information on Jane Ann's line can be found here.

Jane begins life in Hadlow, Kent where she is baptised on 14 November 1805 as the second child of Thomas DAWS and Elizabeth WHITEBREAD. I haven't found a record of her actual date of birth.

On 09 August 1809, a Poor Law Removal Order orders Jane Ann (6) along with her older brother William (5) and younger sister Susan (2) and parents Thomas & Elizabeth back to Uckfield, Sussex from Hadlow, Kent.

The Sussex Family History Group Marriage Index CD records the marriage of Jane Ann DAWS and Thomas CHALFIELD on 23 October 1825 at Holy Cross Church, Uckfield. Jane is shown as OTP (Of This Parish) and Thomas is listed as a bachelor from Maresfield. The name CHALFIELD is the first error which has thrown off my research. It should have been CHATFIELD.

There is no sign of Jane and Thomas in the 1841 census although two boys William CHATFIELD (13) and Henry CHATFIELD (11) whom I believe to be their sons turn up living with Johnathan and Naomi STEVENS in Fletching. Also living with this family are Hannah CHATFIELD (78), Mary DRAWBRIDGE (50), and Harriet HEMSLEY (22). Hannah CHATFIELD may be their grandmother.

Further proof of Willam and Henry as the sons of Thomas and Jane Ann is found in the Selected Sussex Baptisms from the Sussex Family History Group which lists William (baptised 26 August 1827), Henery (baptised 09 August 1829), and Alfred (baptised 17 April 1831) all sons born to Thomas and Jane Ann CHATFIELD and baptised in St. Bartholomew's, Maresfield. No record of Alfred can be found in the 1841 census or later censuses so he must have died before 1841.

Thomas senior must have died before 1837 when vital registration began as no death record can be found anywhere.

By the time of the 1851 census, Jane had re-married John BENNETT of Hellingly. She is listed as Jane A., age 45, and born in Hadlow, Kent. Further confirmation of her new identity is made by the additional people listed in their home on census night which was 30th March 1851. There is Henry CHATFIELD (21) born Maresfield, his wife Phillis (25) born Chiddingly and son James (1) born Uckfield. Also visiting were Jane COOK (17) born Maresfield, who is unmarried and shown as a daughter-in-law which was used interchangeably for step-children and Anne BENNETT (19) an unmarried niece born Chiddingly.

Henry and Phyllis' marriage is confirmed by the GRO marriage index which records it in the March Quarter of 1849 in the Lewes Registration District. After James, they went on to have eight more children. Henry's recorded birth location of Maresfield is consistent with his father's parish on Thomas and Jane's marrage record.

The wild card here is Jane Cook shown as a daughter-in-law. Since she is listed as unmarried she isn't likely the married daughter of John BENNETT making her his step-child and the daughter of Jane Ann. This means that Jane Ann must have married a COOK between Thomas CHATFIELD and John BENNETT. Young Jane's age of seventeen places her birth about 1834 and too early for civil registration records. Since there is no LDS batch number for Maresfield there are no IGI baptisms which can be used to find her. There is no record of a marriage between Jane Ann CHATFIELD and a COOK(E) on the Sussex FHG CD so either it happened outside of Sussex or it was missed.

Following Jane COOK(E) into 1861, she is found visiting Henry and Frances HEMSLEY in Uckfield. Also in the household is young James COOKE (6) born Hailsham who is a boarder. I suspect that James is Jane's illigetimate son and has been placed with the HEMSLEY's. Frances HEMSLEY nee DAWES is Jane's mother's younger sister linking the families again. Just to be clear here Jane Ann CHATFIELD/COOKE/BENNETT and Frances HEMSLEYare sisters.

The only Jane COOKE in 1841 of an age to be this Jane is found in Uckfield with the family of William COOKE (70). His wife's name is Jane COOKE (35) who could be Jane Ann, especially since she is shown as not born in Sussex. The children's ages are spread between 15 and 6 with George (15), Charles (11), Tilden (male 8), and Jane (6) all born Sussex. The oldest boys, George and Charles ages conflict with the births of William and Henry CHATFIELD so I don't believe that these are her children. Therefore, only Tilden and Jane are potentially hers although given the age difference of 35 years between Jane (Ann) and William I believe that he married her to provide a mother for his children from a previous marriage. Then again, William is pretty old to have children this young even from a previous marriage. If young Jane was really a step-daughter of Jane Ann then her status is supported as a "daughter-in-law" on the 1851 census. So she could be either the child of William COOKE and a previous wife or William and Jane (Ann).

The Selected Sussex Baptisms from the SFHG help to clear up this mystery. An illegitamate son is baptised at St. Bartholomew's, Maresfield on 14 Apr 1833 to William COOKE - Carpenter and Jane CHATFIELD. The given name is Fidler although I believe that the census entry of Tilden is more likely correct. The way Fidler is written certainly could be mis-transcribed as Fidler. Later in the same record, a legitimate birth is found for Jane Ann COOK who was baptised 01 February 1835 and again on 01 December 1835. This means that Jane Ann and William were married sometime between 1833 and 1835. There is a William COOKE listed as an inmate of the Uckfield Union Workhouse in the 1851 census which may explain why no marriage between Jane Ann and John BENNETT can be found. Although there are a number of William COOKE deaths in Sussex between 1841 and 1861, there is only one in Uckfield which is registered in the March Quarter of 1852. According to the 1851 census, William COOKE was born in Heathfield about 1767 which is consistent which his age of 70 in the 1841 census since the rounded down 70 represents any age between 74 and 70.

There is no record of Jane Ann after the 1851 census. The GRO death index has a Jane BENNETT listed as dying in the March Quarter of 1851 in Registration District Hailsham. I like to believe that Jane Ann was dying and that's why her family had gathered around her on census night in 1851.

The only marriage of a John BENNETT to a Jane COOK is found in the September Quarter of 1838 in West London. I don't believe that this is theirs.

Therefore, I believe that in 1825, in Uckfield, Jane Ann DAWS married Thomas CHATFIELD of Marefield. They had three children William (born 1827), Henry (born 1829) and Alfred (born 1831), all in Maresfield. Sometime after Alfred's birth in 1831, Thomas died and Jane Ann remarried William COOKE but not before she had baseborn Tilden in 1833. Then in 1835, Jane Ann COOKE was born in Maresfield. William COOKE was committed to the workhouse between 1841 and 1851 and Jane Ann went to live John BENNETT of Hellingly where she died and John disappears after 1851 although there are a couple of GRO deaths that could be him between 1851 and 1861.

Gladys Kathleen DAWES or HORWATH

In the words broadcast from Apollo Thirteen "Houston we have a problem!"


I received the death certificate for Gladys Kathleen DAWES (1897-1979) and it opens up more questions than it answers. The earlier post on Gladys is available here.

It appears that Gladys died as the result of some sort or accident or unfortunate circumstance.

If I read it right, she died of an asthma attack brought on by an allergic reaction to an anesthetic which was administered at the Royal Sussex Hospital because Gladys had a fractured femur or broken hip. There was a coroner's inquest on 20th November 1979 and the last entry under the multiple causes of death is the word "misadventure." Was the misadventure the reason for the broken hip or the hospital's excuse for her accidental death?

Next we have her name which is shown as Gladys Kathleen HORWATH. Gladys never married and her death is indexed as DAWES but here her name is shown as HORWATH otherwise DAWES. I do know that she was a piano teacher and some kind of performer with a stage name of Kathleen YORK-PALMER. This is what Reg BARNES recounted about her in his memories.

Her parents, Ernest DAWES (1866-1948) and Mary Jane WRIGHT (1865-1941), were estranged at the time of their deaths but I don't believe that they ever got divorced. In Mary Jane's will, she expressed concern that Gladys wouldn't inherit her proper legacy from her father although Gladys was the only grandchild of "Thomas the Builder" to inherit one of his houses in 1925.

QUESTIONS - QUESTIONS - QUESTIONS
Was HORWATH another stage name? Would a 1979 coroner's inquest have been published in the papers? Where are inquest documents archived? Asthma and allergies certainly do follow the LANGRIDGE / DAWES family lines right down to my father's family and me.

Any assistance with this dilemma will be greatly appreciated.

George DAWES Line - New Development

The marriage certificate for George DAWES (1821-1869) and Esther COTTINGTON (1831-1863) arrived in the mail yesterday. Until then, I assumed that Esther was George's first wife, however, the certificate shows him as a widower.

Therefore, there might be more children from this family that we don't know about. George had five with Esther and two more with his last wife, Sophia SANTER (1831-1914). See more about George's families in a previous post here.

Now, I thought that solving this would be easy. Look for marriages for George in Uckfield before 1849 when he married Esther. EUREKA there is one! BUT, the marriage registration page for
the December Quarter 1844 has four possible spouses.

The good news is that they all have different given names which is not usually the case. With my luck, they are all Sarah or Harriet. Now, all I had to do was find a death between 1844 and 1849 and I would have her. EXCEPT, Sarah DAWES died in Dec. 1845 and Elizabeth DAWES in Sep. 1847. It's never easy, is it? Given that Elizabeth died closest to the marriage date with Esther of 1849 and that one of the witnesses was William HARVEY, I am going to guess that Elizabeth HARVEY is the best candidate. I have ordered this certificate so we'll see if I am right in a couple of weeks.


There are three DAWES births in Uckfield between the marriage date of 1844 and Elizabeth's assumed death date of 1847 (2 in Mar. 1846 and 1 in Mar. 1847) that could be attributed to George and Elizabeth. Although, there are no children who are unaccounted for in 1851 unless they were living with extended family, maybe the HARVEY's.


Now, to try and find the HARVEY family in the census.

NEWS FLASH: I checked my research spreadsheet that I enter all my B,M,D notes into and found a marriage between George DAWES & Sarah PECKHAM registered in Holy Cross Church, Uckfield 01 Dec 1844. So Elizabeth was the wrong choice!