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England (Counties as in 1851-1901) => Cambridgeshire => England => Cambridgeshire Lookup Requests => Topic started by: Gertie on Tuesday 04 March 14 08:56 GMT (UK)
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I hope someone can locate William Welham and his wife Elizabeth Carter and family for me in the 1841 census please.
I don't know where William and Elizabeth Welham were born or married, but they had one son that I know of.
He was Richard Welham, born about 1830-1831 in Newmarket, Cambridgeshire. On his birth record his father's name was William Williams but we believe it was transcribed wrongly, and should have been written as William Welham.
I would be grateful of some help to sort this out.
Regards Gertie
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I'm a bit bewildered. Familysearch shows only one Richard Welham baptised in Newmarket:
Richard Welham bp.23/6/1829 Newmarket, Suffolk, son of William Welham and wife Mary.
Newmarket is in Suffolk, this baptism shows father as Welham (not Williams) and mother is Mary (not Elizabeth).
Annette
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Hello Annette7,
There is a rootschat record on the general list for the 1861 census for Richard Welham,and it has him aged 28 years, married and born in Newmarket, Cambridgeshire. This has confused me too.
I believe Richard Welham's father, William Welham married twice. His first wife Mary was Richard's mother, but at the time of the 1841 census William was with his second wife Elizabeth Carter and his children.
I hope this helps to find him
Regards Gertie
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I too am perplexed!
With no baptism for Richard, and no marriage for the couple you believe to be his parents, how do you know his mother was Elizabeth? I don't understand your reference to a birth record when you don't have a date more precise than 1830-31.
What appears to be factual is that in 1861 he was aged 28 born Newmarket, and in 1871 he was 40 born Newmarket, living in Gloucs both times. Do you have his marriage cert, which may have taken place in Wales, which will give his father's name? How do you know his father was William?
Where were William and Elizabeth and children living in the 1841 census?
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Richard Welham states on his marriage certificate that his parent's were William Welham, occupation-builder, and Elizabeth Carter.
Gertie
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Was this a New Zealand marriage cert? The reason I ask is that to this day English and Welsh marriage certs don't name the mothers of the bride and groom.
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I'm getting more and more confused.
Your original request was to find William, Elizabeth and family in 1841. Yet in reply to Annette you say that "at the time of the 1841 census William was with his second wife Elizabeth Carter and his children."
What exactly are you looking for - do you have them in 1841 or not? If not how do you know William was with his second wife Elizabeth Carter?
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A Richard Welham was sentenced to 2 months imprisonment for larceny at Cardiff Midsummer Quarter Sessions on 26 Jun 1854
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Think I may have found a service record for William Welham having served in the 12th Regiment Foot from 1808 until 1823.
Cannot find any William Welham/variants in Suffolk (or anywhere else) who was a Builder or indeed anything else connecting to such a profession.
However, the army service record whilst probably being the right man doesn't help much as his given birthplace does not appear to exist.
William Welham is shown as born circa 1787 and enlisted 23/8/1808 in Chatham, Kent. He was discharged 25/11/1823 due to 'Hepatic obstructions and general debility' - surgeons report states completely worn out originating by servitude in India. He was 5'8", brown hair, grey eyes.
The interesting bit is that his occupation is given as 'Brickmaker'.
However, he is shown as having been born at Rigney, near the parish of Rigney, Suffolk. Only problem is there is no such place as Rigney (I live in Suffolk) and, as far as I can tell, there never was any such place in Suffolk (or indeed, anywhere else). The word 'Rigney' has been repeated and the writing is quite clear.
Annette
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The IGI has a William Welham marriage to Mary Piper at Offton Suffolk on 31 Jan 1819, with baptisms of a number of children with parents William and Mary in various parishes in Suffolk, including the Richard that Annette found in Newmarket. Whether these are all the same couple I can't tell. Some were baptised in Offton, others in Nettlestead. They include Susannah baptised in 1836.
Living in Offton in 1851 was Susan Welham 16 b Nettlestead, shown as daughter of William and Mary MILLER. The mixture of surnames imply a second marriage for possibly both. There's a marriage in the Mar quarter 1851 in Bosmere registration district which includes both Offton and Nettlestead, where two of the names are William Miller and Mary Welham. There are also deaths of William Welham in Bosmere reg district in 1845 and 1848 either of whom could be the one.
In 1841 in Nettlestead were William Wellham (transcribed on Ancestry as Willham) 45 ag lab, Mary 40, William 20, Hannah 14; John 12; Betsey 10; Susan 6; Sarah 3. All b in Suffolk. But no Richard who at the age of 10 should have been with his parents. So is this Offton family a different one to Richard's? I think it may well be. Offton and Nettlestead are only a mile apart, whereas Newmarket is 38 miles away.
So having probably ruled out this family it still hasn't found Richard and his parents William and Mary, if still living, in 1841. Why did Richard move to Wales from Newmarket at some time before 1851, and was it with his parents or on his own?
So to date we haven't found a marriage of William Welham and Mary, presumably the mother of Richard, nor a second marriage of William Welham to an Elizabeth Carter although I'm still dubious about this on the basis that Welsh marriage certs don't give mothers' names.
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On death on 13 Mar 1902 in New Zealand, Richard Welham was said to be 70 according to the newspaper report, although the burial record says he was 74. In 1851 living presumably with his Nugent in laws he was 20, in 1861 he was 28, in 1871 he was 40, and on the 1877 passenger list when he emigrated he was said to be 42 which looks to be very suspect.
All of which makes me wonder if the Richard baptised on 23 Jun 1829 is the right one - the only age that would make this work is his burial age. Unless he made a career of making out he was younger than he actually was.
What age was given on his 1850 marriage certificate, Gertie? Who were the witnesses?
David