Maidstone records

[loo]

Thanks. 
I suppose there is also the possibility that a marriage wasn't registered or she is hidden in misspellings etc.
The main thing is that it looks like I have the parents now.   

[Valda]

Always that possibility, but it doesn't explain who the woman  in Aborfield was.

Regards

Valda

[loo]

True, although there is always the possibility that she was someone who had been married and widowed since the previous census, so that this name would not have appeared earlier.

I'm wondering if anyone knows if there would be any parish records to back up the IGI.  It says they are extracted, but it doesn't say from where, not even the name of the parish, which seems odd to me.  I'm thinking that if there are births, perhaps there are marriages somewhere, so that I could track the parents.  I'm also wondering if there were any other siblings, although none are obvious to me on the IGI.

I have another woman in my tree who married at about 50 for the first time, was widowed, and then lived to be 100!

[Valda]

I had already checked FreeBMD to see whether they had a marriage of a Clifford to a Sarah Catherine or a Catherine Sarah just in case. FreeBMD does not have complete coverage of the GRO index (itself not a perfect index) between 1851 and 1861 but it is pretty close. There is only one possible match back in 1841 but the IGI has the marriage and Robert Clifford did not marry the Sarah Catherine in the list of possible spouses.

FreeBMD marriage coverage
http://freebmd.rootsweb.com/progressM.shtml

Maidstone parish church was All Saints. I suspect there is no coverage of the parish registers on the IGI (and also not on the BVRI). The two baptisms will have been extracted from the Bishops Transcripts.

Pallots Marriage index has a James Clifford marriage to a Sarah Pattonden/Pattenden in Kent in 1804 - it just says TR (again from a Transcript? and doesn't specify the place). The person to contact about information about the possibility of this marriage and where it actually took place, is the one name researcher for the surname Pattenden. You will find her details at the Guild of One Name Studies.

http://www.one-name.org/

She hopefully will be able to tell you more about Sarah Pattenden (presuming this is a likely marriage for your James and Sarah). I know from experience she has detailed records.

Regards

Valda

[loo]

Thank you again, Valda.  You are always so helpful and reliable.
I had not thought about Pallot's, although it's obvious, because I don't have easy access to it.  I shall follow through on the Pattenden possibility.  Fancy you having already had contact with this person!  Do you have Pattendens too?

[Valda]

I also research a one name study and have exchanged information in the past with Karen about a couple of marriages where are mutual surnames tied the knot.

Regards

Valda

[loo]

I see.
I am in correspondence with her now, and have already received some very interesting leads going back to mid-1700s. 
Thanks for the reference, Valda.

loo

[ellvera]

Something to ponder, loo
If Sarah was the houskeeper,she may have been given the "honorary" title of "Mrs".
housekeepers and cooks ,especially, often were;as a status symbol & her employer would have filled out the census form.
Just a thought
Ellvera

[loo]

Thank you, Ellvera.  I was not aware of that custom.