RootsChat.Com

Hi all others researching,
I have been helping the Pelham family to research their family history for several years.  So pleased to find this strand.

It was Henry Randall Pelham (baptised 1806) who married Catherine Ford nee Mills and they were the parents of the famous Isabella Pettigrove nee Pelham, Catherine who married George Bird and Mary Ann who married Francis Bailey. It was their daughters who married into the Fossett family (Isabelle married Robert), Francis Bostock (Susanne)and the Manders menagerie family (Henrietta).

The daughter of the one surviving son of Henry Randall and Catherine the family - Charles was Caroline Pelham who married into the famous Freeman-Biddall family. We have more information about all these women if anyone is interested.

We know that Henry and Catherine were on the road from 1839 at the latest when their firstborn son Henry was born in Hitchin, baptised in Uxbridge (parents shown as living in Lambeth) and died at 18 months (buried in St Georges Southwark). We wonder if Catherine might have been a member of the famous Mills traveller and/or circus family (given the other fairground and circus connections. 

We know that the father of Henry Randall was Joseph as someone pointed out possibly. We also found the baptism in 1780 in St Margaret's church Westminster - the only one we were able to find. The parents of that child were Rachael and Richard Pelham. No marriage for them has been found and it is possible Joseph was illegitimate. We have a couple of other ideas about the identities of the couple as yet unproved.   

We would love to know if anyone has more info about Catherine nee Mills - Henry Randall's wife. We have different years c 1806 and places of birth (Bristol and Bexley) for her. Again we have theories but nothing concrete.

Also if anyone has been able to trace the parents of Joseph Pelham baptised 1780 we would love to hear.   
All best Madeleine

We are researching a family of fairground travellers with the name of Pelham. I have managed to get back to the baptism of Henry Pelham in 1806 in St Martins in the Fields parish. His parents were Joseph and Elizabeth. I keep drawing blanks with trying to trace Joseph Pelham. This may not be surprising as the family story goes that a Frenchman arrived in England at some point probably during the 18th century and wanting to hide his identity took the name of his future wife - ie Pelham who happened to be from a traveller family. 

Henry married twice - to Hannah Marshall in 1830 in parish of St George the Martyr Southwark and secondly to Catherine Ford in 1836 in St Mary Lambeth and had 4 daughters and one son.

I have just found what might be the dissenter burial of Henry's mother Elizabeth Pelham - on the 28th February 1831 in Walworth born c 1786. Her address was given as Locks Fields which was a wintering area for gypsies / travellers.

Does any of the information ring any bells with anyone out there? We would very much like to hear from you and share any information we have.  Thanks.