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Thanks, but the disreputable Mr Duncan is very much on the outer reaches of what I'm looking at! I was being side-tracked as it was with Louisa ...
Bye now

Yes, I saw the 1841 census. Looking at the 1851 census, it seems Mr Joseph Daniell was by then a man of some property. If he had Louisa with a servant (Sarah Tocknell), then perhaps it's not surprising that in the end he took on the responsibility of bringing her up with his other children, and giving her his own family name? There's a Sarah Tocknell living alone in 'Stoke chapelry' - which again I think is Limpley Stoke - in 1841. That's part of the parish of Bradford on Avon, which is where the Daniells were living in 1841.

It does all seem to tie together reasonably well ... particularly with the Clisild connection (which I think I saw elsewhere as an alternative to Clissold when used with the Daniell surname)

Are you still looking for baptism details of Louisa clisild daniell? If so, I may be able to help. I haven't used RootsChat before, so I hope this'll find you.

RW

Hello Alpha

That's fantastic - it's the same Robert Hobbs! We knew he was a gardener (from censuses) but to hear he was a noted horticulturist is something special. Interestingly, Judy's late father (john Anthony Hobbs Bowles) was a very keen gardener - and probably never knew about Robert. Judy and I went only last week to Marlow and Hambleden, to have a look around. We didn't find 'Gardeners Cottage', where Robert lived, but after your message I did check back to the 1871 census and see that he then lived in Mill Lane, right next to Thames Bank.
After returning from our visit, I went online and found all the children of Francis and Ann that you mention. I also found an Eleanor Hobbs, christened in Feb 1816. Maybe she didn't survive?
FYI, Robert was married to Mary (don't know her surname), and their children were Elizabeth, John, Thomas and Alfred. John married Eliza Sawyer (of Great Marlow); they had three children, one of whom was Kate Emma Hobbs. She was born in south-east London, but returned to Marlow to live with her 'Sawyer' grandmother. I'm not sure, but I think her mother died, and her father re-married.
Kate married Thomas Bowles, and they lived in Hambleden a while, before moving to the Acton area of London. (In the church in Hambleden, we found a record of Thomas Bowles, baker). Judy's grandfather, John Hobbs Bowles, was born in Hambleden. Of course I can let you have all the details relating to Robert and his off-spring, but I realise that William is the one of direct interest to you!

We'd be very pleased to know more about Francis. You mention his gfather; was his father by any chance John and his mother Ann? I found a Francis Hobbs, christened in 1873 in Hambleden. And would there be any chance of seeing the gfather's will? Clearly that's a very personal document, so I understand if you want to keep it private.

Thank you again for your interesting and helpful response.

kind regards, glimpse39