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Hertfordshire Lookup Requests / Re: Farrington's of Hertfordshire.
« on: Sunday 28 August 16 10:11 BST (UK) »
Hi Tony.
Henry Farrington Married December, 1860, Tumut, NSW Australia. Born Buntingford, Hertfordshire, England, Age 28. Parents Thomas Farrington, Elizabeth Norman.
The 1851 census lists a Sarah Farrington, a 56 year old widow living in the High Street, Buntingford, who is described as a "Cordwainer (Mistress) employing 3 men and one apprentice", born at Royston. Her children, all born at Layston, were Elizabeth (28, house servant), Thomas (26, Cordwainer (Journeyman)), Ann (22, Shoe Binder) and granddaughter Mary (8 months). Sarah obviously had quite a big business by the standard of the time, in small Hertfordshire towns.
A search of the 1841 census (from Ancestry) using "Farrington" fails to find the family - but if we look for all children called Thomas aged about 16 living in Layston (surname left blank) you will find a "Thomas Faerington". Looking at the original image shows this is a mis-transcription for "Farrington", The head of the household was a Sarah Farrington (shoemaker) and the family included a 9 year old Henry Farrington (i.e. born in 1832) - who is presumably your Henry. This is the same Sarah as the one in 1851 and the occupations of shoemaker and cordwainer are allied occupations.
Familysearch records that Henry the son of Thomas and Sarah Farrington was born on 4th January, 1832 and baptised on 29th September 1836 at the Buntingford Independent Chapel. The Hertfordshire Burial Index showed that someone called Farrington was buried at the Buntingford Independent Chapel on 15th November 1833. As Sarah was widowed by 1841 could this burial be her husband Thomas?
the marriage of Thomas Farrington and Sarah Ann Fulford at the Old Church, St Pancras - on 8th June 1828 - but if you do my guess is that he will turn out to be described as a widower. This would mean that the Elizabeth Farrington (28 in the 1851 census) was the eldest child of his first marriage - and was most likely named after her mother (common practice with first daughter). If this guess is correct Thomas was married to an Elizabeth before he married Sarah - and Henry may have given the name of Thomas's first wife when he married in Australia.
So was his first wife called Elizabeth Norman and did they marry about 1821 (i.e. shortly before Elizabeth Farrington was born)? You have already found that searching for Thomas Farrington provides nothing, but as I said at the beginning, errors can occur. I therefore carried out a search using familysearch to see if I could find a suitable Elizabeth Norman marrying ...
On 1st February 1822 Elizabeth Norman married Thomas Nash at the Old Church, St Pancras.
So an Elizabeth Norman married a Thomas at the predicted date - and in the same London Church as Thomas Farrington married Sarah seven years later. It can't be a coincidence. Again it is ESSENTIAL that you look at the microfilm of the register to see what the original document actually says. It may be that the surname "Nash" is an indexing error - or perhaps Thomas was really Thomas Nash Farrington - and the register was incorrectly completed. It could be worth comparing the signatures at the two marriages. (If Thomas "made his mark" he would not be able to read or write - so would not notice if the register entry he was marking was incorrect.)
I decided to guess that Thomas was actually Thomas Nash Farrington and looked for a Farrington/Nash marriage. I found
On 17th February 1776 William Farington married Ann Frances Nash at St Mary, St Marylebone Road, London
St Mary (St Marylebone) was only about a mile or so from the Old Church, St Pancras, and may well have been another used by people from Hertfordshire that did not want to be married in their own village. A few years later we have the following Hertfordshire baptism
Thomas Farrington, son of William & Elizabeth, was baptised on 6th September, 1789, at Broxbourne.
Please let me know if this is the family. All the best.
Tony.
Henry Farrington Married December, 1860, Tumut, NSW Australia. Born Buntingford, Hertfordshire, England, Age 28. Parents Thomas Farrington, Elizabeth Norman.
The 1851 census lists a Sarah Farrington, a 56 year old widow living in the High Street, Buntingford, who is described as a "Cordwainer (Mistress) employing 3 men and one apprentice", born at Royston. Her children, all born at Layston, were Elizabeth (28, house servant), Thomas (26, Cordwainer (Journeyman)), Ann (22, Shoe Binder) and granddaughter Mary (8 months). Sarah obviously had quite a big business by the standard of the time, in small Hertfordshire towns.
A search of the 1841 census (from Ancestry) using "Farrington" fails to find the family - but if we look for all children called Thomas aged about 16 living in Layston (surname left blank) you will find a "Thomas Faerington". Looking at the original image shows this is a mis-transcription for "Farrington", The head of the household was a Sarah Farrington (shoemaker) and the family included a 9 year old Henry Farrington (i.e. born in 1832) - who is presumably your Henry. This is the same Sarah as the one in 1851 and the occupations of shoemaker and cordwainer are allied occupations.
Familysearch records that Henry the son of Thomas and Sarah Farrington was born on 4th January, 1832 and baptised on 29th September 1836 at the Buntingford Independent Chapel. The Hertfordshire Burial Index showed that someone called Farrington was buried at the Buntingford Independent Chapel on 15th November 1833. As Sarah was widowed by 1841 could this burial be her husband Thomas?
the marriage of Thomas Farrington and Sarah Ann Fulford at the Old Church, St Pancras - on 8th June 1828 - but if you do my guess is that he will turn out to be described as a widower. This would mean that the Elizabeth Farrington (28 in the 1851 census) was the eldest child of his first marriage - and was most likely named after her mother (common practice with first daughter). If this guess is correct Thomas was married to an Elizabeth before he married Sarah - and Henry may have given the name of Thomas's first wife when he married in Australia.
So was his first wife called Elizabeth Norman and did they marry about 1821 (i.e. shortly before Elizabeth Farrington was born)? You have already found that searching for Thomas Farrington provides nothing, but as I said at the beginning, errors can occur. I therefore carried out a search using familysearch to see if I could find a suitable Elizabeth Norman marrying ...
On 1st February 1822 Elizabeth Norman married Thomas Nash at the Old Church, St Pancras.
So an Elizabeth Norman married a Thomas at the predicted date - and in the same London Church as Thomas Farrington married Sarah seven years later. It can't be a coincidence. Again it is ESSENTIAL that you look at the microfilm of the register to see what the original document actually says. It may be that the surname "Nash" is an indexing error - or perhaps Thomas was really Thomas Nash Farrington - and the register was incorrectly completed. It could be worth comparing the signatures at the two marriages. (If Thomas "made his mark" he would not be able to read or write - so would not notice if the register entry he was marking was incorrect.)
I decided to guess that Thomas was actually Thomas Nash Farrington and looked for a Farrington/Nash marriage. I found
On 17th February 1776 William Farington married Ann Frances Nash at St Mary, St Marylebone Road, London
St Mary (St Marylebone) was only about a mile or so from the Old Church, St Pancras, and may well have been another used by people from Hertfordshire that did not want to be married in their own village. A few years later we have the following Hertfordshire baptism
Thomas Farrington, son of William & Elizabeth, was baptised on 6th September, 1789, at Broxbourne.
Please let me know if this is the family. All the best.
Tony.