Stevenson of Loughborough born 1803

[vivijune]

Hello again.

Here's a possible father for Elizabeth Stevenson. She named her first child William Cuthbert (Bennett) after her husband but the second child was christened John Stevenson Bennett. Given that her mother (Elizabeth) is living with her in Tiverton in 1841 and is listed as a widow I looked in Loughborough and found a John Herbert Bennett who died in Loughborough in October of 1839. Of course I can't tell his age but his wife would have been born around 1770 based what's written on that '41 census entry.

Is there a way of checking the age of someone who died on a certain date or does it mean I can only find it out by ordering a death certificate? I'm also wondering if there is a marriage record in Loughborough for a John Stevenson with Elizabeth which would have probably been around 1790- 1805. Also would his occupation be listed on the marriage document and would show her maiden name too?

Thanks in advance for any guidance on this one.

[Mike from Leicester]

Not good News I’m afraid.……… 

1839.
Loughborough Woodgate Baptist Chapel.

Burial Register Entry No'. 839.

John Herbert Stevenson.
Abode. …Loughborough.

8th November.

Aged…….1 year old.

No luck with the Marriage  1800 ~ 37

MIKE. …..

[vivijune]

That's what I was afraid of and what makes this so intriguing, as you say Mike, next to your name...... " The truth is out there somewhere." So instead of being aged 70 at time of death, he was 1 year old but it was worth a try and a dead end but my assumption of a John Stevenson could still hold true though I need to be more flexible on the possible first name. Suspect the marriage to Elizabeth took place just prior to 1800 but only by a few years, maybe a couple.

You've been doing this a long time like Diddy and I'm still learning to do this, so does that 1800 number make a difference in going back? Is it easier to look up a marriage after 1800?

Many thanks.

[diddymiller]

Hi  - off to the library today so hopefully answer a fwe questions!

sorry its taken so long - i have a few health issues at the moment which means i can't drive / walk far. but desperate to get to the library myself as going potty at home!!

Diddy

[diddymiller]

Loughborough records are transcribed and mainly indexed so looking up a particular family is easier than trawling through fiches.

Diddy 

[diddymiller]

ok here goes:

no mention of an Elizabeth Stevenson in indexes 1748 - 1812 baptisms. there are some Elizabeths but then their deaths are recorded as well.

HOWEVER:

found this marriage:

William Stevenson = Elizabeth Rogers 7/10/1799 L'boro

original says both of this parish / both signed and witnesses John Law & Joseph Webster (parish clerk)

there is also a death:

Wiliam Stevenson 31/1/1810  (no further details)

also found a Bennett /Townrow link:

baptism 10/2/1778 Elizabeth Townrow illeg d/o of Hannah Bennett

looked on IGI Leics and only near baptism for an Eliz:

18/8/1802 Elizabeth Stevenson d/o Thomas Stevenson & Mary Hall. woodhouse eaves Baptist church  (nearby village)

Diddy

[vivijune]

I can't thank you enough for going to the records office especially when you didn't feel all that well. You've certainly given me a couple of leads to follow but I do have a couple of questions. First, the Thomas Stevenson/ Mary Hall birth. Does the notation of 2 names imply that they weren't married? I don't think it's going to be those 2 because Mary wasn't her mother's name since they were both Elizabeth. However the William Stevenson/Elizabeth Rogers marriage in July of 1799 might be a stronger possibility but odd there's no baptism of their little girl Elizabeth. I looked back at all the census 51,61,71 etc for her and each time she's noted as born in Loughborough.

I had one breakthrough this afternoon. Remember we couldn't figure out why Elizabeth ended up in Tiverton Devon marrying there in around 1825 since it's so far from Leicestershire. I was starting to think we'd never know! So I happened to be reading about the history of Tiverton and suddenly there was this quote that provides the answer. "Following the Luddite destruction of his lace making machinary in Loughborough John Heathcoat bought and old woollen mill on the River Exe in 1815 and moved his entire lace making operation to Tiverton."  So it's likely the Stevensons and Townlows came south as part of that migration. However my understanding from what the family knows about the Bennetts of Tiverton is that their roots were in Devon.

That baptism you found for Elizabeth Towndrow as the illegitimate daughter of a Hannah Bennett, I'm inclined to think that's just the coincidense of a common name but I assume that means a Towndrow was listed as the father and I need to give it some thought. Penny for yours?

[vivijune]

I  read back through one of your earlier helpful posts regarding the Towndrows. Now that I know a large number of lace employees came to Tiverton with their families. I can assume the 2 families aren't any relation since there will be a lot of people in Tiverton in the early censuses with born in Loughborough next to their names. So I'll stick with the Towndrows you gave me last week. George and Mary Towndrow from Loughborough had a son George born in 1792, William the mechanic born 1794, John born 1796 and Elizabeth born 1806.

William T is interesting because he's precisely the kind of man Heathcoat needed to maintain and improve the complicated lace bobbin machines or work on his many other inventions like the steam powered plough.

[diddymiller]

an old work collegue of mine (when i was librarian ) is a local historian - this is his work and gives a good account of the Luddites in Loughborough and the move to Tiverton:

http://www.loughborough.co.uk/history/luddite.htm

scroll down to john Heathcoat and the Luddites.

2 names doesn't mean they weren't married - ofton maiden names were given for the mother.

i was thinking Eliz might have been born in one of the local villages - these used loughborough which was the registration district. i was hoping the parents marriage might give a clue to this. L'boro library holds village records but they are not indexed like the L'boro ones so impossible to trawl through.

I also checked for other children of that william & Eliz but there are none listed which is unusual if they continued living in L'boro itself so i think that is the right couple.

Diddy