MARY BRAND born 1802

[moghouse]

Could somebody please find me the parents of Mary Brand born 1802 in Alconbury from her baptism records. I have had no luck with her on IGI.

[bedfordshire boy]

That's because Alconbury baptisms haven't been extracted onto the IGI. They have been extracted onto the BVRI though, but there are no Brands in Alconbury, and no Mary Brand in Hunts c1802.

What else do you know about her?

David

Later 17.10 BST

You've mentioned the name Standen in an earlier thread. Is this Mary, wife of Henry Standen, who gives her birth as 1802 at Alconbury in censuses? I can't find a marriage of Henry Standen to a Mary - do you have it?

[moghouse]

I have very little info on her and that is secondhand from other members of the clan. It has inconsistencies which is why I am trying to verify now. It came to me a couple of years ago when I first traced the main Standen line.

She is Henry's wife and the detail I have is that they were married on 16th April 1824 at Caxton. she had 8 kids and died at Caxton, which is odd as Henry did not live there as far as I know! Most of the other Standens on the genealogy trails seem to be descended from Henry and Mary's children.

It's good to have the "Guvnor" on the case!

[bedfordshire boy]

Caxton! That explains why I can't find the marriage. That would need the transcript as it's not in any records that I've got/have access to.

But I think they did live there as I've found the following baptisms/births

1827 Mary at Caxton (Cambs FHS baptism index)
1830 Henry at Long Stow Hunts (1851 census - is this Stow Longa Hunts or Longstowe Cambs - probably the latter)
1832 Barbara at Longstowe Cambs (1861 census and Cambs FHS where parents are shown as William and Mary, which must be an error)
1834 Francis at Longstowe buried 1835 age 7 mths (Cambs FHS)
1836 Frances S at Longstowe buried 1837 age 1 (Cambs FHS
1838 William at Waresley (1851 census)

But that's only six. I don't know who the other two were, but there's room for a couple more in the early days of the marriage.

Mary seems to have died in the June quarter 1864 in St Neots registration district, which includes Waresley but not Caxton, so I'd be surprised if she were living in Caxton when she died

But this isn't helping us to find Mary Brand! As I say, there are no Brands baptised in Alconbury, and no burials there either. I've been right through Alconbury on the BVRI looking for a Mary born c1802 but there's nothing that I can see that could be mistaken for Brand

I'm stuck for ideas, unless the Brand name taken from the marriage is wrong. Have you checked it to see exactly what the entry says, and to see if the witnesses might give a clue?

But what if she were a widow? Can't see a suitable marriage either, ? Brand/Mary ?  in the right area.

This is beginning to annoy me!

David

[moghouse]

The other two children are Abraham born 1825 and Rhoda who died in 1851 at the age of 10.

I have a death date for Mary Brand of 1871 but no evidence to back it up.I would have thought that as she was only 22 when she married Henry, she was not likely to be a widow. I have only started checking her out today so I have not seen any entries. I was surprised to see on the Cambridge surnames that Brand is one of the most common in the county.

Henry's father returned from the Battle of Waterloo to find no forge for him in his native Sussex and so moved to Hunts and finished up at Waresley,  but I suspect he may have had to move about a bit first. Henry would have had to move around too but may have finished at Waresley because he took over his father's forge when he retired.

[bedfordshire boy]

Theirre was another Standen family in Hemingford Abbots, Francis born c1812 in Canterbury, who was also a blacksmith, and had a daughter Barbara. Henry's brother perhaps?

I can't see a death of a Mary Stande(o)n in 1871, just the one in 1864.

Rhoda was born and died in the June quarter 1841.

I can't find any Standen burials in Waresley (at least up to 1837)  - do you know where the father died?

Whilst it would be unusual and unlucky to be a widow on remarriage at age 22 I have instances of it in my own tree, so you can't rule it out as impossible. When you're struggling you can't afford to rule out anything, however unlikely it seems.

David

[moghouse]

Well, I have now tried just about everything I can think of. I am  contacting some other clansmen to see if they can offer a clue to work from

Henry Standen died on 19th march 1877 in Caxton, according to the info I have.

[bedfordshire boy]

His death at age 75 was registered in the first quarter 1877, but in St Ives registration district, which doesn't include Caxton.

Was Henry's father Elias, who was buried age 91 in Caxton registration district in the first quarter 1867?

In 1851 HO107/1758 folio 34A
Mill Hill Cottage, Gamlingay, Cambs
Elias Standen head marr 74 Farrier b Burwash Sussex (indexed on Ancestry as Chas)
Barbary Standen wife 70 laundress b Haffald? Sussex (Hartfield??)
Frances Standen dau unmarr 50 b Canterbury
William Hills Grandson unm 21 Brickmaker b Waresley Hunts
Jane Larkins servant unm 15 Servant b Everton Beds

Gamlingay was in Caxton registration district

A Barbara Standon died in Caxton registration district in the Sept quarter 1862

I can't find them in 1861 which is puzzling

http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~blacksmiths/sussex-1.htm has quite a bit about the Standen blacksmiths


David

[moghouse]

Yes, Elias was a Sergeant Farrier at Waterloo and had come from Sussex to Waresley. You will find Standen blacksmiths all over Hunts and Cambs - they had a lot of sons.