Maria Frances Langley b. Woolwich

[Christine53]

I have a copy of Maria's marriage certificate dated 8/6/1847 in the Parish of St Mary, Whitechapel, which confirms her father's name as Richard. but I am having difficulty locating the family in England.
Unfortunately the marriage certificate only says that Maria is of full age, i.e. over 21 so born before 1826 so that doesn't help identify her in the baptismal records.
I haven't been able to locate her birth/baptism in any of Find My Past, Freebmd or the IGI.

From the Transcripts of Sussex Family History Group :

Mary Maria Marchant 18 May 1823 Peasmarsh , Richard Marchant , gardener, and Mary.

There is also Mary Maria . illegitimate daughter of Mary Marchant , 12 Apr 1838 Westfield but that seems rather too late.

[Christine53]

From the Sussex Marriage Index :

Richard Marchant and Mary Ashenden 6 Jul 1819 Peasmarsh

no other info is given in the transcript.

[wibsey1]

No Christine, I don't think this is the one - I think Mary's parents were from Sussex and Richard born abt 1791 in Brighton, if this is correct, he was a pub owner not a gardener, an entirely different strata of society.

I don't think the Richard Marchant = Mary Ashenden is the correct family.

[trish1120]

Looking at the 1841 Census Occp for Richard, by 1851 he has a different occp.
So all the Childrens Baptisms would show his occp as a gardener.

Even in my Tree I have;
William LEGGETT 1822, 1851 Occp Waiter/1861 Waiter/1871 Publican*

Trish
 

[Christine53]

No Christine, I don't think this is the one - I think Mary's parents were from Sussex and Richard born abt 1791 in Brighton, if this is correct, he was a pub owner not a gardener, an entirely different strata of society.

I don't think the Richard Marchant = Mary Ashenden is the correct family.

Peasmarsh is in Sussex and by no means everyone marries in the same place as they were born.

[Christine53]

Richard Marchant's will is on Ancestry , or available at TNA if you don't have a subscription. In brief it confirms him as Richard Marchant of the Anchor and Hope Inn , Charlton , names his executor as his wife Mary and lists his children as John Marchant , Mary Maria Langley wife of Edward Langley, cornchandler , William Marchant , Thomas Marchant and Arthur James Marchant. This ties the family in with the census Trish gave and the baptisms she found.

[Christine53]

Richard Marchant 9 Sep 1787 Brighton St Nicholas , Stephen Marchant & Hannah

Mary Ashenden 11 Oct 1801 Northiam St Mary , John Ashenden & Mary

[wibsey1]

But Trish, the 1851 Census has him born in Kent in 1791 and the 1841 census has him born in Brighton (Sussex) in 1783, quite apart from the distance between the two locations, there is also 8 years difference in age.

Charlton (Kent) is where the children were born and the the spelling of the surname in the 1841 census is not even phonetically close nor could it be accounted for by a dialect differential. the age of Richard's wife is also different, in the 1841 census, mary was born in 1806 whereas in the 1851 census she was born in 1803. and there is also a year difference between the births of each family's son, Arthur.

As Richard was a licenced victualler in the 1851 census (i.e. a landlord) he would have been at least to some extent able to read and write but that would hardly hold true for someone employed as a gardener in 1841.

I'm still not convinced that the family you have identified in the 1841 census is the same as that in the 1851 census.

[amondg]

The new GRO index Maria Frances Langley registered 1848 S Quarter Lewisham Vol 5 Page 313 mother maiden name MARCHANT