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England (Counties as in 1851-1901) => Huntingdonshire => England => Huntingdonshire Lookup Requests => Topic started by: Xenoid on Monday 07 April 08 04:20 BST (UK)
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Hi,
I have traced a relative back to a Thompson family living in the Stilton area. By 1881 most of them were living in Dronfield, Derbyshire.
The head of the household was William Thompson (b. about 1829). Some of the children were Mary Ann, William, and Sarah S.
I would particularly like to know the name of William's spouse as he was a widow in 1881. Mary Ann's marriage certificate (1876) shows her father William to be a farmer (or should this be farm labourer) in Dronfield he is a Steel Works labourer ... seems a bit of a come-down :(
Any information on the Thompsons would be much appreciated ... :D
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Here's the 1871
RG10 Piece 1515 Folio 7 Page 5
Fen Street Stilton
William Thompson 43 Ag Lab Hunts Stilton
Rachel Thompson 39 Wife Hunts Toseland
Harriet Thompson 11 Scholar Hunts Stilton
Elizabeth Thompson 9 Scholar Hunts Stilton
William Thompson 6 Scholar Hunts Stilton
Sarah J Thompson 3 Hunts Horburn??
PeterB
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And the 1861
RG9 Piece 964 Folio 99 Page 4
Fen Street Stilton
William Thompson 32 Ag Lab Hunts Stilton
Rachel Thompson 27 Hunts Toseland
Mary A Thompson 5 Scholar Hunts Stilton
Harriet E Thompson 1 Hunts Stilton
Don't know where Mary Ann is in '71
PeterB
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If you check FreeBMD at http://freebmd.org.uk/cgi/search.pl there's a marriage in the June quarter 1853 in St Neots registration district (which includes Toseland) of William Thompson and Rachel Bowles. If you order the marriage certificate you'll get fathers' names
David
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1851 Toesland.
Bowles William H 55 Ag.Lab. Eaton Socon.Beds.
Bowles Charlotte W 55 Corntington, Sfk.
Bowles Rachel 16 Lacemaker Toesland,Hunts.
1841 Toseland.
Bowles William 44 Ag.Lab. No.
" Charlotte 46 No.
" Elizabeth 15 Yes.
" John 11 Yes.
" Rachel 6 Yes.
Hope of some use.
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Thankyou, everyone for your wonderful replies ... :)
Rachel Thompson (nee Bowles) died, aged 42, Derby 4Q 1876.
I'm not sure why I had so much trouble finding the Thompsons, I guess it was because they moved from their birth area to Dronfield. Mary Ann Thompson had a ~1 year old child (Florence) at the time of her marriage to William Bradley, in Dronfield. Until I obtained the marriage certificate, I was thinking "Thompson" was from a previous marriage, there were lots of possibilities! Florence was obviously "illegitimate". There were at least 4 possible Mary Ann births in the Peterborough District and 3 possible Florence births in Dronfield.
Harriet Thompson (I now know to be Mary Ann's younger sister) is listed as a witness to her marriage to William Bradley.
Again, many thanks, it all seems to be sorted ... ;D
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Hi,
I followed your messages about the Thompsons of Stilton, and have a puzzle that needs answering, can you help?
Rachel Bowles married William Thompson in 1853
William is shown as widow in 1881, living in Dronfield. It would seem possible therefore that Rachel died in 1876 in Dronfield.
Yet she is shown with William in Dronfield in both 1891 and 1901?
Did William marry again to another Rachel?
If not, where was rachel in 1881?
Regards
Mike Loney
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Did William marry again to another Rachel?
If not, where was rachel in 1881?
Oh No! I did say it seems to be sorted :(
Mike, I would appreciate any input you can make.
I only have limited access to the census data as I am not a member of any sites. Once I had figured out the lineage I was quite happy! William Thompson is shown living with his daughter Mary Anne Bradley, in Cunliffe St., Coal Aston, Dronfield in the 1911 census. He is aged 82 and a widower and described as an old age pensioner (retired farm labourer). He died in 1912 aged 83.
William Thompson is a common name, is there possibly a mix up somewhere!
Best wishes, Ken
Edit: Hmmm... curiouser and curiouser! There is a Rachel Thompson death for 3rd Q. 1906 aged 76 (Chesterfield 7b/447). Perhaps she died, came back to life and finally died in 1906 :)
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Hi Ken,
My direct link to William, is via his father Michael who is my 3'ggrandfather. I am descended via William's sister Sarah and her illegitimate son Frederick.
I have more info on my site 'loney.tribalpages.com', which you are welcome to visit and where you can contact me directly from the link on opening page.
Although I have the transcripts of Stilton Parish registers, I cannot go back beyond Michael's father William, born abt 1770. As there appears to be a gap in the Thompson entries between 1717-1770, I cannot find William's parents.
Regards
Mike
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Mike, what a wonderful site, you have clearly done an enormous amount of work! I am thrilled to see the Thompsons back a further two generations.
As you may have gathered, my link to William Thompson is through my mother's side and the marriage of Mary Anne Thompson (William's daughter) to William Bradley. Their son, William (why is everyone called William ::) ) was my grandfather. He died fairly young, from a burst appendix so I never met him.
I am intrigued by the Rachel Bowles problem. I assume the Rachel in the 1891 and 1901 censuses was from Toseland? I notice there are a few William Thompson / Rachel marriages after 1881 but none from the Dronfield area. The Rachel death in 1876 (4th Q. Derby 7b/274) is a bit suspicious as it is not really the "right" area. But why would he say he was widowed in the 1881 census.
Regards, Ken
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Ken
Rachel in 1891 & 1901 does come from Toseland.
I do wonder if the William Thompson we found in 1881 is in fact our William? If as we surmise Rachel didn't die until 1907, we are then missing both William and Rachel in 1881.
If they were staying with someone, i.e. one of their married daughters, they could have been enumerated with the surname of the head of the house in error, or simply mistranscribed.
I'll have a look tomorrow for All Rachel & Williams, of the right age, and see who pops up. One never knows...
Mike
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I think it's the correct family in 1881- just that William may have been wrongly enumerated as widower. In 1881 he's brother in law to a Hunts born family, the wife being born in Toseland. He has a daughter Sarah S age 14 born Mabourne Hunts - in 1891 he has a separate family in his house headed by Sarah Doddridge widow 25 b Morbourne Hunts.
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After doing a bit more searching, I am inclined to agree with bedfordshire boy. This is the right family but there are major enumeration/transcription errors.
I can't find a reasonable marriage for a Thomas Bellamy to a "B. anyone" let alone a B. Thompson. William Thompson doesn't appear to have a sister with a B. initial. Thomas Bellamy and William Thompson can't be brothers in law.
The children's mother is listed as "B." I think "B. Bellamy" is actually Rachel Bowles. There are no Bellamy children listed which is unusual. "B. Bellamy" is the right age and comes from Toseland, this fits her being Rachel. I can't find a married Thomas Bellamy in 1871 or 1891.
Perhaps it is Thomas Bellamy who is the "widowed one".
It would appear that Rachel died in 1906 and not 1876.
Ken
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Hi,
Whilst I tend to agree that B Bellamy is in fact Rachel, the term brother-in-law didn't necessarily have same meaning then as today. He could easily have been married to a sister of Rachel's (he wasn't).
Furthermore, although initial is 'B', doesn't mean forename began with B. She could be a Betty, in which case her forename could have been Elizabeth.
What is puzzling, is why we can't find Thomas Bellamy in other censuses. Does anyone know where Brough Fen is exactly?
With regards Williams daughter, I think this should be Sarah J (not S), and she appears in 1871 and 1881 censuses. As you say, in 1891 she appears as Sarah J Doddridge (widow), with a daughter Jessie.
A Jessie Doddridge was registered 1889 Q4 Chesterfield 7b 763, but there does not appear to be a marriage registered for Sarah around this time. Of course if it was her second marriage, it wouldn't be under Thompson.
I suspect Jessie is illegitimate
Were you aware that William and Rachel had at least two other children, who didn't make it on to the censuses, both dying as infants:
Angelina Chr 25/5/1855, buried 8/4/1855 in Stilton
William Edward Chr 20/9/1857, buried 10/3/1858 in Stilton
Mike
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Does anyone know where Brough Fen is exactly?
Googling "Brough Fen" brings up Borough Fen which is a civil parish in the north of Peterborough.
In the 19th Century it was in Northamptonshire.
Ken
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Hi
Yes I saw that one, but that didn't help finding Thomas in other censuses.
I just wondered if there was another one.
Mike
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Hi All.
Borough Fen was a one of the parts of Peterborough as already stated.
The actual area was known as "The Soke of Peterborough".
There is a pfd link here although it is mainly about "Weights and Measures".
www.maths.lse.ac.uk/Personal/norman/NTH.pdf
Sandy
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StiltonP/Rs
Thompson family,children all bapts to
Michael/Hannah
ANN.5.1.1823
GEORGE.1.8.1825
WILLIAM25.5.1828
HANNAH 26.9.1830
JOHN24.5.1833.
JANE 21.6.1835
SARAH6.8.1837.
Marriage, by Banns.2.9.1822Michael=Hannah Jefferies.b.o.t.p
witts were Sarah Jeffreys/William Odam.
Margaret.
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Burials at Stilton
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Michael, of Caldecote. 15.4.1850=52
jane 17.10.1856=.21
hannah 21.1.1862=68.
john 21.6.1873=42.
Margaret.