Yesterday, I took up Peter's challenge in the Newsletter to see if I could discover the link between Philip and Mary Field and William and James Burton, who were boarding with the Fields in 1861. The 1851 census showed that the Fields had a daughter called Sarah, the GRO index revealing that the child's middle name was Burton.
I decided to start with the Burtons, since nothing was already known about them and assuming the surname would be less common than Field.
Given their satus as young adult batchelors, I started by going forwards to look for records of their spouses and hopefully the marriages.
On Ancestry, there is a marriage for a William Burton, on 2 June 1864 in Bickerstaffe, Lancashire. He is 28, a Batchelor, occuptation Agent, living in Liverpool, the son of Henry Burton, Farmer. His bride is Mary Jane Bell, aged 19, Spinster of Bickerstaffe, father Thomas Bell, Farmer. There are four witnesses, two Bells and two Burtons (Hannah Burton and John Earp Burton).
The couple stay in Bickerstaffe. The 1871 census isn't easy to read, but 1881 clearly shows that William Burton is a Glass Merchant and Farmer and was born in Swannington, Leicestershire. His age is also a match.
I have the same trouble with James in 1871. He is a glass merchant aged 31 (so it seems to be the right person) and is living in Weaverham in Cheshire. He has married Jane (nee Wardle in 1864 but only GRO reference so far) and has a son Henry, but James' birthplace isn't clear. The 1881 census is more helpful. The family is still in Weaverham, but this time James was clearly born is Swannington. Even more usefully, there is another household in the same house. Henry Burton, aged 69, a retired farmer, born in Swannington, his wife Frances, aged 67 and born in Breedon and son Joseph aged 26.
I traced Henry and Frances in 1851 and 1841. To summarise, 1841 includes sons William (5) and James (3) and 1851 includes daughter Hannah(2). 1841 has a James Burton living seperately but in the same house, the 1851 reveals him to be the father, aged 77. Henry and James are both Farmers. 1851 has them living in Swannington, where everyone except Frances was born. 1841 records their location as Whitwick, which Swannington is part of, so further investigation might show this to be the same farm.
Ancestry had some marriages which seemed connected to the family, but nothing linking Burton and Field. It did however have a nonconformist collection which include the baptism of [William, son of Henry Burton of Swannington in Whitwick, Leicestershire, Farmer, and Frances his wife (the daughter of Daniel and Ann Earp), born 12 Feb 1836]. Earp connects this record to William's marriage, where a witness was a John Earp Burton. Someone else to look for later...
Having started on Ancestry I now switched to Find My Past, since they have records for Leicestershire. They also have the non-conformist records. I found that Henry is the son of James and Ann Burton, born at Swannington, Whitwick on 15 Aug 1811. The records showed that they also had a daughter called Sarah (remember Sarah Burton Field), born 22 Feb 1804 in Swannington. In my experience, where a surname is used as a second Christian name, the child is often named after a specific person, rather than a random first name being given. I felt sure that this Sarah Burton was the person the child was named after, but still couldn't link the Burtons to the Fields. Like Ancestry, Find My Past had no matches for a marriage between Burton and Field.
I decided to look at the Field side. I used the information on the 1851 census to trace Philip's children in the GRO index. This showed that their mother's maiden name was Kidger. I looked at Philip's family. The father isn't with the family in 1841, it just includes Mary, 50, Jane, 20 and Philip, 15. Mary is a Glass Dealer, so I'm confident this is the correct family. Jane's marriage named her father as John, and baptism records include three children for John and Mary; William bapt 1818, Jane bapt 1821 and Philip bapt 1827, all in Whitwick. So both families were in the same place. I found wills for two John Field's. Both named children which don't match this family, but I suspect there must be a connection.One died in 1865 possibly aged 77 (matches a GRO record), he was a Glazier from Whitwick. The other died in 1842 and was a Yeoman. He mentions his friend James Burton and a son John Field of Bolton, so the son might be the father of Philip.
Another will, although not strictly relevant to our quest, was very interesting. It was for Philip's brother William. He died 21 June 1856, leaving a widow and three daughters all under 16. Initially, his brother Philip and friend William Kidger (yes, Kidger, so presumably related to Philip's wife) were to be Executors, trustees and guardians of the children. However, three days before he died, William added a codicil, revoking Philip's roles and appointing his cousin John Wardle in his place. This is two years before we are told the bigamous marriage occurred!
Since I couldn't identify John, nor his marriage to Mary, I turned to Philip's wife Mary. Finding first the GRO entry, then a licence and lastly the actual marriage entry. They married at Colleorton (near Whitwick), on 10 October 1848. He was a Glass and China Dealer, of Deane (near Bolton, Lancashire), she was the daughter of John Kidger, a Grocer, of Coleorton.
The non-conformist records of Griffydam Wesleyan Chapel (the same one with the records of the Burtons), provided the link...
Mary, daughter of John Kidger of Belton, Grocer and of Mary Ann his wife, who was the daughter of James and Ann Burton, born 20 Oct 1822 and baptised on 23 Jan 1824.
Mary Ann was recorded in the same record set. The daughter of James and Ann Burton of Swannington, born 28 January 1803. So she is the sister of Henry Burton and also Sarah Burton, making Mary Field the first cousin of William and James Burton, who were boarding with her is 1861.
To round off our story, another sibling is William Gilbert Burton, the only child of six baptised here to be given a middle name. Records of Find My Past show that while this couple are James Burton and Ann Elverson, married at Whitwick 16 Nov 1795. James was baptised in Whitwick 25 Jan 1773 (this fits with the 1851 census), parents also James and Ann. There is a marriage licence for James Burton and Ann Gilbert, both of Whitwick but both apparently born elsewhere, dated 27 Aug 1768. I haven't looked, but I suspect that Ann has a brother or father (perhaps both) called William and the child was therefore baptised William Gilbert Burton after him.
I decided to start with the Burtons, since nothing was already known about them and assuming the surname would be less common than Field.
Given their satus as young adult batchelors, I started by going forwards to look for records of their spouses and hopefully the marriages.
On Ancestry, there is a marriage for a William Burton, on 2 June 1864 in Bickerstaffe, Lancashire. He is 28, a Batchelor, occuptation Agent, living in Liverpool, the son of Henry Burton, Farmer. His bride is Mary Jane Bell, aged 19, Spinster of Bickerstaffe, father Thomas Bell, Farmer. There are four witnesses, two Bells and two Burtons (Hannah Burton and John Earp Burton).
The couple stay in Bickerstaffe. The 1871 census isn't easy to read, but 1881 clearly shows that William Burton is a Glass Merchant and Farmer and was born in Swannington, Leicestershire. His age is also a match.
I have the same trouble with James in 1871. He is a glass merchant aged 31 (so it seems to be the right person) and is living in Weaverham in Cheshire. He has married Jane (nee Wardle in 1864 but only GRO reference so far) and has a son Henry, but James' birthplace isn't clear. The 1881 census is more helpful. The family is still in Weaverham, but this time James was clearly born is Swannington. Even more usefully, there is another household in the same house. Henry Burton, aged 69, a retired farmer, born in Swannington, his wife Frances, aged 67 and born in Breedon and son Joseph aged 26.
I traced Henry and Frances in 1851 and 1841. To summarise, 1841 includes sons William (5) and James (3) and 1851 includes daughter Hannah(2). 1841 has a James Burton living seperately but in the same house, the 1851 reveals him to be the father, aged 77. Henry and James are both Farmers. 1851 has them living in Swannington, where everyone except Frances was born. 1841 records their location as Whitwick, which Swannington is part of, so further investigation might show this to be the same farm.
Ancestry had some marriages which seemed connected to the family, but nothing linking Burton and Field. It did however have a nonconformist collection which include the baptism of [William, son of Henry Burton of Swannington in Whitwick, Leicestershire, Farmer, and Frances his wife (the daughter of Daniel and Ann Earp), born 12 Feb 1836]. Earp connects this record to William's marriage, where a witness was a John Earp Burton. Someone else to look for later...
Having started on Ancestry I now switched to Find My Past, since they have records for Leicestershire. They also have the non-conformist records. I found that Henry is the son of James and Ann Burton, born at Swannington, Whitwick on 15 Aug 1811. The records showed that they also had a daughter called Sarah (remember Sarah Burton Field), born 22 Feb 1804 in Swannington. In my experience, where a surname is used as a second Christian name, the child is often named after a specific person, rather than a random first name being given. I felt sure that this Sarah Burton was the person the child was named after, but still couldn't link the Burtons to the Fields. Like Ancestry, Find My Past had no matches for a marriage between Burton and Field.
I decided to look at the Field side. I used the information on the 1851 census to trace Philip's children in the GRO index. This showed that their mother's maiden name was Kidger. I looked at Philip's family. The father isn't with the family in 1841, it just includes Mary, 50, Jane, 20 and Philip, 15. Mary is a Glass Dealer, so I'm confident this is the correct family. Jane's marriage named her father as John, and baptism records include three children for John and Mary; William bapt 1818, Jane bapt 1821 and Philip bapt 1827, all in Whitwick. So both families were in the same place. I found wills for two John Field's. Both named children which don't match this family, but I suspect there must be a connection.One died in 1865 possibly aged 77 (matches a GRO record), he was a Glazier from Whitwick. The other died in 1842 and was a Yeoman. He mentions his friend James Burton and a son John Field of Bolton, so the son might be the father of Philip.
Another will, although not strictly relevant to our quest, was very interesting. It was for Philip's brother William. He died 21 June 1856, leaving a widow and three daughters all under 16. Initially, his brother Philip and friend William Kidger (yes, Kidger, so presumably related to Philip's wife) were to be Executors, trustees and guardians of the children. However, three days before he died, William added a codicil, revoking Philip's roles and appointing his cousin John Wardle in his place. This is two years before we are told the bigamous marriage occurred!
Since I couldn't identify John, nor his marriage to Mary, I turned to Philip's wife Mary. Finding first the GRO entry, then a licence and lastly the actual marriage entry. They married at Colleorton (near Whitwick), on 10 October 1848. He was a Glass and China Dealer, of Deane (near Bolton, Lancashire), she was the daughter of John Kidger, a Grocer, of Coleorton.
The non-conformist records of Griffydam Wesleyan Chapel (the same one with the records of the Burtons), provided the link...
Mary, daughter of John Kidger of Belton, Grocer and of Mary Ann his wife, who was the daughter of James and Ann Burton, born 20 Oct 1822 and baptised on 23 Jan 1824.
Mary Ann was recorded in the same record set. The daughter of James and Ann Burton of Swannington, born 28 January 1803. So she is the sister of Henry Burton and also Sarah Burton, making Mary Field the first cousin of William and James Burton, who were boarding with her is 1861.
To round off our story, another sibling is William Gilbert Burton, the only child of six baptised here to be given a middle name. Records of Find My Past show that while this couple are James Burton and Ann Elverson, married at Whitwick 16 Nov 1795. James was baptised in Whitwick 25 Jan 1773 (this fits with the 1851 census), parents also James and Ann. There is a marriage licence for James Burton and Ann Gilbert, both of Whitwick but both apparently born elsewhere, dated 27 Aug 1768. I haven't looked, but I suspect that Ann has a brother or father (perhaps both) called William and the child was therefore baptised William Gilbert Burton after him.
