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1750's brickwall....ideas please.

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  • 1750's brickwall....ideas please.

    I'm fed up with this!!

    Working backwards.....four generations of men whose occupation is carpenter.

    The earliest generation is a man named William COTTON. This is what I know about him.....

    Buried in Alconbury cum Weston, Hunts in Feb 1828 aged 74 (so born 1753/4)

    Various children baptised in Alconbury cum Weston between 1785 and 1792

    Married in Alconbury cum Weston in 1783

    I don't know where he was born (no baps to fit in Alconburry), but .......are these his parents?:

    I have a copy of a marriage allegation between a Henry Cotton (carpenter) and a Mary Wells dated 1752. The allegation states that the marriage is to take place in either the parish of Alconbury com Weston or the parish of Hartford (about 6 miles away).. The amount of the bond is £200. Henry's age is given as 24 and there is a baptism in Alconbury for a Henry Cotton in 1728, which would seem likely to be him.

    Now, there's no record of a marriage between this couple at either church, nor is there a record of the marriage on the cross parish records held at the Hunts CRO. There are also no baptisms for children of Henry and Mary Cotton anywhere that I have looked (Alconbury, Hartford and various parishes surrounding and in between). But maybe they didn't marry, or one or both of them died?

    HOWEVER in 1770 there is a burial in Alconbury for "Isaac Cotton the son of Henry and Mary".

    There are also burials for Henry Cotton (carpenter) and for Mary Cotton (wid) in 1797 and 1798 respectively. (no ages given)

    So......is William the child of Henry and Mary....if he is, what can I do to prove it??

    There are Cottons in Alconbury going back a couple more centuries, but nowhere near enough to piece together into families.....

    All ideas welcomed.

  • #2
    Did he (William) name any of his children Henry or Mary? (Not that naming his daughter Mary would prove much!)
    KiteRunner

    Every five years or so I look back on my life and I have a good... laugh"
    (Indigo Girls, "Watershed")

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    • #3
      Lack of baptisms for children, marriage licences, only records in registers are burials, self sufficient occupation..... does this suggest anything to you?!!

      I'd be looking at all the wills for the district, manorial records etc as I suspect you may have a non conformist family on your hands, which is a bummer.
      Phoenix - with charred feathers
      Researching Skillings from Norfolk, Sworn from Salisbury and Adams in Malborough, Devon.

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      • #4
        It MIGHT be worth looking at BTs, for once. (I don't like them much, usually)

        If the marriage did not take place, then the Bond would be forfeit and I am sure there would be a note of that, either in the BTs or the parish chest material. Or, there might be a note to say that the marriage had taken place at blah blah blah.

        I would think it most unusual for a marriage NOT to have taken place considering the amount of the Bond and the fact that they went on to have children together - how teed off would the Bondsman have been!!

        No handy MIs for the area, I suppose?

        OC

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        • #5
          Kite.....yes, William had a son Henry and dau Mary amongst others. I also notice that the forenames Henry, Arthur and Robert are in this family in every gen (if I jump this gap, that is!) from 1580 - 1900. Arthur often wasn't a popular name (and to some extent Robert), but the Cottons loved those names!!

          Phoenix.....we havent found any wills for these people (it's not helping that Hunts is no longer a county, so whilst they do still have a CRO, most of their stuff has copies at the Cambs CRO, but there are things that are at Cambs that are not at Hunts!! :()

          I wouldn't know where to begin with manorial records :o

          I haven't been lucky in finding any non-con records to cover this area :(

          Only need to get back to the 1500's to be in with a chance of being related to the Earls Spencer. (perhaps a dubious claim to fame, but as it's OH's tree and not mine, that is OK!)


          OC - I'm not sure there are any surviving BT's. (I'll have to check my notes)
          There are MI's but none for the right people. As you say, I'm sure the marriage did take place, otherwise they probably would have had to do a runner!! lol

          Parish chest?? What might be in there?

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          • #6
            Parish chest - I hate that term - has all the odds and s*ds that don't fit into parish registers or poor law records and would, I THINK, be kept at a diocesan level. May or may not have been transferred to the CRO.

            I agree with Phoenix, they were probably non-con, but just to cheer you up, one of my non-con families has been the EASIEST to do, despite the lack of surviving church records, because there was a rich oral history, both at the time, and since. And one of the preachers kept a detailed diary which is better than any C of E register!

            OC

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            • #7
              If there is a decent wills index for the relevant courts, it's worth looking at those for the place, not the name: they could be witnesses, beneficiaries etc. I trawled through all the Devon pcc wills for a village & out of some 30 found a single reference to my family. I'm completely confounded, as I can't work out the relationship, but I'm sure sometime, somewhere, the pieces will fit together!
              Phoenix - with charred feathers
              Researching Skillings from Norfolk, Sworn from Salisbury and Adams in Malborough, Devon.

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              • #8
                I think I'll need to contact Hunts RO about the wills again. I remember last time I did they were not terribly sure who had the info.....themselves or Cambs!! I'll have to have a look at our previous correspondence again....I haven't looked at this for some years!

                Isn't it frustrating searching for a name that doesn't have to be a name (if you know what I mean) - I had no idea there were so many people working with cotton in Huntingdonshire until today! (on a2a)

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                • #9
                  As my surnames include Hall, Sworn, House and Brown, I deeply sympathize!
                  Phoenix - with charred feathers
                  Researching Skillings from Norfolk, Sworn from Salisbury and Adams in Malborough, Devon.

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                  • #10
                    lol Phoenix

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                    • #11
                      Hi MMM, Huntingdon and Peterborough are a "Unitary Authority" whatever that means. They appear not to be in any county! However, I live in N.E. Cambridgeshire and we have a Peterborough postcode!

                      Huntingdon DOES have an archive and I have visited it but cannot for the life of me remember whether it was within the library (don't think so) or some kind of stand alone archives ............. one thing I do remember is that it was the most friendly and helpful archive I have ever visited and they had some paperwork ready for us on arrival!
                      I am also fairly near Alconbury but not sure how "get-atable" the church now is - read something about that recently and that access was to be improved. Believe it must be near American base which is heavy with security.

                      Just had a good look at phone book: Huntingdon Library and Archives, Princes Street, Huntingdon - Phone: 03450 455225 - can you get to it?

                      Sue

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                      • #12
                        Hi Sue. This is a very old thread you have resurrected. Merry is no longer here but inhabits another forum with a crimson and cream colour scheme. A Unitary Authority has all the powers of a County Council and a District Council rolled into one. To take two examples - Cornwall is a unitary authority in which all the district councils were abolished. Bedfordshire is the opposite - three District Councils and no County Council.
                        Uncle John - Passed away March 2020

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                        • #13
                          Thanks for pointing that out UJ - it certainly IS old and I didn't notice!
                          Interesting about Cornwall being a Unitary Authority - sounds incredibly sensible and cuts out a lot of "dead wood" I imagine.
                          We live equidistant to March and Wisbech - both reckon they should have the title "Capital of the Fens" - just hope we don't get caught in the crossfire.
                          We have a County Council, a local District Council and I dare say each small village has something but if WE have one I haven't noticed. I suspect more "authorities" equates with "more disputes".
                          Sue

                          {I must be getting completely senile (just had yet another birthday) - how could I have replied 3 times - thought what I had typed had disappeared - many apologies - please can some kind moderator remove 2 of my three messages (hanging head in embarrassment )
                          Last edited by Sue1; 03-08-15, 21:50.

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                          • #14
                            sorted for you sue x
                            Julie
                            They're coming to take me away haha hee hee..........

                            .......I find dead people

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                            • #15
                              Thanks Julie. Sue

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