Theme: Challenging | Images: Click on many to enlarge
St George Church in Brede East Sussex England,attended by generations of RICHARDSONs
Proving my maternal RICHARDSON lines continues to be a challenge. I have dutifully traced back from my grandmother Eleanor Louise RICHARDSON as far as my great-great-great grandfather Henry Proctor RICHARDSON “the first" with as much certainty as is possible. His death certificate says that Henry Procter Richardson died 15 October 1850 in Brede Sussex England at age 61 years. His gravestone no longer exists although the burial index confirms this age and his burial on 19 Oct 1850 at St Georges, Brede. This would put his birth year about 1789.
In the Sussex marriage index dated 19 Jun 1819, Henry RICHARDSON (bachelor, of this parish) and Ann PECKHAM (spinster, of Appledore Kent) were married by license in Brede East Sussex, just north of Hastings. No ages or parents’ names were provided. Looking at his son’s 1853 marriage certificate, both father (deceased farmer) and son (gamekeeper) were named as Henry Procter/Proster Richardson. Handwriting is fairly legible but irregular, so is still open to interpretation. The deceased father is in keeping with Henry Sr’s death in 1850.
So far I have been unable to locate a baptism record for Henry Procter RICHARDSON in or around 1789. There are numerous Richardson baptism records indexed for Brede between 1729 to 1833, but they do NOT include a Henry Proctor or even a Henry in this time period. The closest baptism for a Henry was in 1778. Were the records incomplete or was he baptised elsewhere or not at all? I have been told that the original parish records for Brede are (or were) housed in the Record Office in Lewes, East Sussex but are too fragile to be viewed or filmed. Some transcripts of these registers have been filmed by the LDS, but I am told that there are gaps in these records around the time in question. It is possible that the desired records were missing or unreadable in the original, or missed being transcribed if they existed.
In the Sussex marriage index dated 19 Jun 1819, Henry RICHARDSON (bachelor, of this parish) and Ann PECKHAM (spinster, of Appledore Kent) were married by license in Brede East Sussex, just north of Hastings. No ages or parents’ names were provided. Looking at his son’s 1853 marriage certificate, both father (deceased farmer) and son (gamekeeper) were named as Henry Procter/Proster Richardson. Handwriting is fairly legible but irregular, so is still open to interpretation. The deceased father is in keeping with Henry Sr’s death in 1850.
So far I have been unable to locate a baptism record for Henry Procter RICHARDSON in or around 1789. There are numerous Richardson baptism records indexed for Brede between 1729 to 1833, but they do NOT include a Henry Proctor or even a Henry in this time period. The closest baptism for a Henry was in 1778. Were the records incomplete or was he baptised elsewhere or not at all? I have been told that the original parish records for Brede are (or were) housed in the Record Office in Lewes, East Sussex but are too fragile to be viewed or filmed. Some transcripts of these registers have been filmed by the LDS, but I am told that there are gaps in these records around the time in question. It is possible that the desired records were missing or unreadable in the original, or missed being transcribed if they existed.
Henry P Richardson, Brede Parish Clerk, 1824-1841From "Brede, The Story of a Sussex Parish",
a 1946 book by Edmund Austen
It seems highly probable with a middle name of Proctor that Henry was the son of Henry RICHARDSON and Martha PROCTOR / PROCTER. It was a common practice to carry forward maternal surnames in this fashion. The Proctors were a well-to-do family with property in Brede and nearby Rye Sussex. Martha married Henry Richardson in Rye on 22 Apr 1777, and I have found baptisms in Brede for seven of their children: Henry 1778 (buried 1781), Martha 1780, Jane 1782, Edward 1784 (buried 1805), Sarah 1786, James 1791 (but age at death implies 1789), and William John 1794. So potentially there is a convenient gap between 1786 and 1791, ample time for another child to be born. Their first child was named Henry who died as a toddler, so it makes sense that they would also name a later son Henry to carry on an apparent long tradition of Henrys in this family. With all their other children baptised in Brede, it would be expected that the baptism for a middle child in these circumstances would also take place in Brede. Nevertheless I’ve also checked baptism indexes in Rye and other nearby parishes, but so far without luck.
We know that this Henry Proctor RICHARDSON “the first” was a farmer and parish clerk according to the baptism records of his children. Henry P Richardson is also listed as the Brede Parish Clerk from 1824 to 1841 in the book Brede, The Story of a Sussex Parish by Edmund Austen, printed 1946. This book also states that in 1826, "Henry P. Richardson and his wife" were managing the Brede Workhouse for the poor, but perhaps only until 1829. As to their children, their first son Henry was baptized 28 Jan 1820, about seven months after their marriage. According to a removal order for a pregnant Ann PECKHAM [sic] dated 10 Mar 1818 that sent her back to Appledore Kent from Brede Sussex, it appears that their son Henry was probably born in 1818 rather than 1819 or 1820. (This younger Henry died very young in 1823, coincidentally repeating the pattern of the previous generation.) After their marriage, Henry P and Ann RICHARDSON had 7 more children including my ancestor Henry Proctor Richardson II (born 1825, baptized 1830). Their last child Mary was born 17 Dec 1838. Sadly Ann died in childbirth on that same day at the age of 39, the wife of a “reduced farmer”.
Further evidence of Henry’s farming activities has been found in a 2004 pamphlet entitled "Hop Token Issuers and Their Tokens, The Parishes of Beckley, Brede, Northiam, Peasmarsh & Udimore” by Alan Henderson. It lists a Henry Richardson of Church House Farm who issued hop tokens to his hop pickers:
We know that this Henry Proctor RICHARDSON “the first” was a farmer and parish clerk according to the baptism records of his children. Henry P Richardson is also listed as the Brede Parish Clerk from 1824 to 1841 in the book Brede, The Story of a Sussex Parish by Edmund Austen, printed 1946. This book also states that in 1826, "Henry P. Richardson and his wife" were managing the Brede Workhouse for the poor, but perhaps only until 1829. As to their children, their first son Henry was baptized 28 Jan 1820, about seven months after their marriage. According to a removal order for a pregnant Ann PECKHAM [sic] dated 10 Mar 1818 that sent her back to Appledore Kent from Brede Sussex, it appears that their son Henry was probably born in 1818 rather than 1819 or 1820. (This younger Henry died very young in 1823, coincidentally repeating the pattern of the previous generation.) After their marriage, Henry P and Ann RICHARDSON had 7 more children including my ancestor Henry Proctor Richardson II (born 1825, baptized 1830). Their last child Mary was born 17 Dec 1838. Sadly Ann died in childbirth on that same day at the age of 39, the wife of a “reduced farmer”.
Further evidence of Henry’s farming activities has been found in a 2004 pamphlet entitled "Hop Token Issuers and Their Tokens, The Parishes of Beckley, Brede, Northiam, Peasmarsh & Udimore” by Alan Henderson. It lists a Henry Richardson of Church House Farm who issued hop tokens to his hop pickers:
“The only date we have for this issuer is 1819 which appears on one of his tokens. ESLT shows that Henry Richardson Sen. owned and occupied Church Land, Brook’s, Loneham, The Home Land, Parkwood, York Land, Kings Wood Land. The largest of these holdings was Church Lands. Mention of Richardson Sen. suggests that there was also a Henry Richardson Jr. The tokens are brass cast in values of B1, B12, B30, and B60, the name of the last two being Richardsons, which perhaps suggests father and son working together. The B60 is dated 1819.”
As 1819 also happens to be the year of marriage for my Henry P Richardson and Ann Packham, he was of the right generation to be farming with his father. Although this evidence is speculative and circumstantial, it’s another piece of the puzzle, adding credence to the theory that his father was also named Henry. It also suggests that they owned or leased substantial amounts land including “Church Land”, which happens to be listed as family property in the will of a Henry Richardson dated 1798 [* see below].
So I hesitantly claim Henry RICHARDSON and Martha PROCTER as my ancestors until I can find evidence to the contrary or hopefully find additional confirmation. If true, my RICHARDSON lineage extends back through Henry (1756- ) and Martha PROCTOR, Henry (1727-1798*) and Mary SWEETLOVE, Henry (1703-1775) and Susannah THOMAS, and Richard (c1674-1712) and Ann WATTS of Guestling Sussex.
There are still additional avenues to explore. For instance, I have not yet located possible coroner's records from 1850 that might provide further clues about Henry's family and birth in addition to the circumstances of his death. And perhaps there are more wills to be found. What a relief it would be to resolve these doubts about my RICHARDSON ancestors.
So I hesitantly claim Henry RICHARDSON and Martha PROCTER as my ancestors until I can find evidence to the contrary or hopefully find additional confirmation. If true, my RICHARDSON lineage extends back through Henry (1756- ) and Martha PROCTOR, Henry (1727-1798*) and Mary SWEETLOVE, Henry (1703-1775) and Susannah THOMAS, and Richard (c1674-1712) and Ann WATTS of Guestling Sussex.
There are still additional avenues to explore. For instance, I have not yet located possible coroner's records from 1850 that might provide further clues about Henry's family and birth in addition to the circumstances of his death. And perhaps there are more wills to be found. What a relief it would be to resolve these doubts about my RICHARDSON ancestors.
RSS Feed
