Which great great grandparents?MEADs (died 1905) or YOUNGs (died 1908 and 1911)

[Vance Mead]

Sorry to change the subject, but...

How far back have you traced your David Mead and his family? This is my main area of interest, the Mead family in the area around Watford-Aylesbury-Leighton Buzzard.

[DebsR]

Thank you Wiggy, Gadget, a-l, Ruskie and Treetotal for your swift and helpful replies! I should have said explicitly in my first post that we realise it’s the same man in each photo. The issue was that the writing on the back of the photo ‘Grandad Young’ may have been ‘relatively’ recent, so I was not 100% sure of its accuracy. That aside, it seems the general consensus is that Hilda looks older than 5/6 in the photo (I agree), in which case the photo cannot be of the Meads, who both died when Hilda was 5/6, so it must be the Youngs!

Maureen/Vance - thank you both for your messages too - I'll reply separately!

[DebsR]

Was you James Young a Widower before he married Sarah Brown? I have a Richard Young in my tree,he married Ann Allum(my 1st cousin 3x removed)  in 1849,they were only married for a little while as Ann died in 1850.
1851 I have Richard with his parents James and Sarah in Burymill End Hemel Hempstead.

1911 I have Richard living at 2 Anchor Lane Boxmoor.
Is this the same Richard Young as you have?

Hi Maureen,

Yes, that's the same Richard Young. I hadn't realised he had a short marriage to Ann Allum before marrying Sarah Brown in 1853, when he was aged around 24. Now I've reviewed the 1851 census, I see he is marked as a widower. Do you know what happened to Ann and whether or not they had any children before she died? I haven't seen any evidence of any.

Best Wishes
Debs

[DebsR]

Sorry to change the subject, but...

How far back have you traced your David Mead and his family? This is my main area of interest, the Mead family in the area around Watford-Aylesbury-Leighton Buzzard.

Hi Vance

Not much further back than David I'm afraid. His parents were Joseph Mead (b. around 1801 in Wing, Buckinghamshire) and Susannah Bedford (b. around 1801 in Soulbury, Buckinghamshire). I don't have Joseph's parents. I have Susannah Bedford's parents down as William and Ann, and that's it. Let me know if you want any detail on Joseph or Susannah.

How far back have you reached? We'd be very interested in seeing any records and/or photos you have of the Meads. What is your relationship to David?

Best Wishes
Debs

[Vance Mead]

First I searched the batch numbers for Wing (M014631, P014631) in Family Search. These are the relevant results, in family groups:

1719 (Unnamed Mead) son of Thomas Mead
1721 Richard Mead son of Thomas Mead
1723 Thomas Mead son of Thomas Mead and Rebecca
1725 William Mead son of Thomas Mead and Rebecca

1746 William Mead son of Richard Mead and Dorcas

1749 William Mead son of William Mead and Elizabeth
1751 Elizabeth Mead daughter of William and Elizabeth
1752 Mary Mead daughter of William and Elizabeth
1753 Rebecca Mead daughter of William and Elizabeth
1755 John Mead son of William and Elizabeth
1760 Ann Mead daughter of William and Elizabeth

1778 William Mead & Ann Chantrill
    1778 William Mead son of William and Ann
    1780 Elizabeth Mead daughter of William and Ann
    1782 Mary Mead daughter of William and Ann

1786 William Mead & Ann Sanders
    1787 Elizabeth daughter of William and Ann
    1788 John Mead son of William Mead and Ann
   1790 Thomas Mead son of William and Ann
    1792 William Mead son of William and Ann
   1794 Francis Mead son of William and Ann
    1796 Joseph Mead son of William and Ann

So that's your Joseph, born on 1796. In the 1841 census his age is 40, but this would be a range of 40-45 years. There are two William Meads (and both married Ann!), one the son of William and Elizabeth and the other the son of Richard and Dorcas. (Or possible one William Mead married twice). I don't know which is the right one here, but they both must be the children of Thomas and Rebecca.

To be continued...

[Vance Mead]

I don't know how to get back before Thomas Mead and Rebecca. There were people named Mead in Wing back to 1500, as well as in nearby parishes such as Stewkley and Soulbury. But there is a gap in the christening records:

1632 William Meade son of John and Margaret
1633 Thomas Meade son of John and Margaret
1636 Benatt Mead son of John and Margaret
1638 Elizabeth Mead daughter of John and Margaret
1640 Susanna Meade daughter of John and Margaret

1673 Anne Mead daughter of Thomas and Dorothy

And then nothing until 1719. There were, however, people named Mead living in Wing then, as shown in these entries from wills:

May 13 1690 William MEAD of Wing. Beneficiary of Mary BEAKE (DA /WE 42/03)
Dec 26 1715  John MEADE of Crofton, Wing. Cousin & beneficiary of Sarah PEELE (DA/WE 54/118)
Sep 26 1715 Thomas MEADE of Crofton, Wing. Cousin of Sarah PEELE (DA/WE 54/118)
Oct 22 1728 Richard MEAD of Burcott, Wing. Son in law & beneficiary of Samuel HOLT (DA/WF 80/38)
Sep 17 1733 William MEAD of Ascott, Wing. Tenant of Elizabeth REDMAN (DA/WF 82/172)
May 30 1739 Joseph MEAD of Cotslow, Wing. Witness of John ANSTEE (DA/WF 82/195)
(These are from a database made by a man named Shrimpton.)

Any of these might be the father of Thomas Mead the husband of Rebecca, but I don't have enough evidence.

[Maureen Bell]

I don't have Ann's death cert,so I don't know what she died of.As they were only married a short time I don't think they had children,but she could have died in child birth.
Ann was buried 2nd Aug 1850 at St Mary's Church Hemel Hempstead.
Do you have Richard Young and Sarah Browns marriage cert,as it's on Find my past

[Vance Mead]

There's a site with a lot of information for Wing, but it's down now for maintenance.

http://wing-ops.org.uk/

But there are archived copies in the Way-back Machine:

https://web.archive.org/web/20190102184554/http://wing-ops.org.uk/

There are some notes that explain the gaps in the late 17th century:

Baptisms: 5 Jul 1546 to 7 Sept 1749
“carelessly recorded” from 1685 to 1688
1646 to 1663 not entered until 1663
entries missing or defective in 1558 to 1560 & 1645

Marriages: missing entries from 8 Oct 1684 to 2 May 1695
1646 to 1663 not entered until 1663
entries missing or defective in 1558 to 1560 & 1645

For the future, I could have a look at manorial court rolls the
next time I go to Aylesbury. Possibly sometime this year.

Wing Court Rolls
1619-1724
D/BASM 83/1-3

Wing Court Rolls
1735-1772
D/BASM 83/4-5

[DebsR]

Vance - thank you so much for all the information you've sent on the Meads! It's very interesting to see there's a website devoted to Wing. I will take a bit of time to look through the details properly and be back in touch afterwards.

Maureen - I don't have any sort of documentation for the marriage between Richard Young and Sarah Brown; I simply know it took place on 23 Jul 1853 in Hemel Hempstead. If you are able to access the document/certificate, would you be able to transcribe any other information on there?

Many thanks
Debs