St Martins, Birmingham 1829

[mrose1701]

Can anybody help me?

I am looking to find an address for a Lydia Latham who was born in Aug 1829 and christened in St Martins and was the first child of Luke and Elizabeth Latham.

I can trace them from 1841 where they appear in Kineton, Warwicksire but would like to find their address in Birmingham in 1829.

Is there a census before 1841? If not is it possible to search out an address in 1829 by any other means?

Any help would be much appreciated.

 

[Shera]

the christening record at st. martins shows lydia was born on 1st aug 1829 and christened on 26th aug 1829 with parents luke and elizabeth latham. the abode was smithfield and occupation was ostler

there is another christening for this couple on 5th sep 1831. ann daughter of luke and elizabeth latham, born 11th aug 1831. smithfield and ostler

cant see any other records for them.

 

[mrose1701]

Many thanks Shera - you're a star !! That makes sense because in 1841 he was a stud groom for the Warwickshire Hunt Kennels in Kineton, Warwickshire so he was obviously someone who worked with horses so you telling me he was an ostler makes sense.
Didn't know his second daughter (Ann) was born in Brum so thanks for that. The later children were born in Kineton and the surrounding area. I presume he must have worked at the old Smithfield Market dealing in horses. I presume Lydia and Ann were christened at St Martins in the Bull Ring ? I wasn't sure if it was or that they lived in the district of St Martins. Interested into where you found these records because I was truly stumped !!

 

[Shera]

im so pleased it all adds up for you! it was st. martins in the bull ring. i have a cd with the original records of baptisms, marriages and burials at st. martins, purchased from bmsgh. all the best, shera

 

[mrose1701]

im so pleased it all adds up for you! it was st. martins in the bull ring. i have a cd with the original records of baptisms, marriages and burials at st. martins, purchased from bmsgh. all the best, shera

Thanks again Shera - you're a star. Been an interesting trip into family history. You learn so much about old Brum - the places and people - a real education.

 

[Lois]

Shera - a questrion to you, please. Is the familyseach.org record the same as your CD, or have you found the CD to be better?
I have searched in vain for a JOHN WESTON born 1828-1829, even looking up to 1837, wihtout success.

Lois from Australia

 

[mrose1701]

Shera - a questrion to you, please. Is the familyseach.org record the same as your CD, or have you found the CD to be better?
I have searched in vain for a JOHN WESTON born 1828-1829, even looking up to 1837, wihtout success.

Lois from Australia

Hi Lois,
While your waiting for Shera I can tell you that there are several John Weston's born between 1827 and 1830 if you look at the 1841 census on ancestry.co.uk. Do you have any more details of where he was born and where he lived? I presume it's Birmingham - if it is then there are a couple of possible matches who are down as being born in Warwickshire.

 

[Lois]

Thank you. Yes, he says his birthplace is BIRMINGHAM in the 1881 and 1891 Census. I feel I have trawled through every website known, including searching for WESTON families in the PINK Warwickshire Census Pages. His marriage certificate as JOHN SMITH says that his father was a LOCKSMITH and called John [Smith]. My grandfather HENRY WESTON's marriage certificate calls him John Henry WESTON, soldier. My 10 year search has included JOSEPH, JAMES, HENRY, ect etc, and I track BLACKSMITHs or any sort of key or lock maker. Even Trade Directories have drawn blanks. My best hopes were a JOSEPH WESTON, Locksmith born 12 Feb 1797 at High Offley, Staffordshire (just 4m SW of Eccleshall), but he has no 1828 suitable child. JOSEPH WESTON, Lock Maker born 1791 in Wolverhampton, is recorded in 1841 in St Peters Square with his family, but sons Joseph born 1822 and Frederick born 1827 (Batch C010203 ) don't get us near to an 1828 or 1829 birth. But maybe a wrongly recorded WEST may yet yield rsults. Thanks again.

However, your reply has me enthused, because I searched findmypast myself in 1841 and found 5 WEST families. I will track them through into 1851 to see if there is a recording error there.

 

[Shera]

Shera - a questrion to you, please. Is the familyseach.org record the same as your CD, or have you found the CD to be better?
I have searched in vain for a JOHN WESTON born 1828-1829, even looking up to 1837, wihtout success.

Lois from Australia

hi lois, the cd is far better than familysearch.org, but only if the baptism, marriage or burial took place at st. martins in bham. i have checked the westons but there doesnt seem to be a baptism that fits for your family so unfortunately john weston probably wasnt baptised at st. martins.

 

[Lois]

Thank you so much, Shera, for your prompt reply (and lookup!). Another dead end!!!!

Interestingly, I have been following up the previous 1841 thread suggestion, and discover that findmypast.co consistently records a birthdate of 1830 to the same person who is recorded as 1827, 1828 etc in ancestry.com.au. All very confusing and frustrating!

Kind Regards,
Lois from Australia

 

[mrose1701]

Thank you so much, Shera, for your prompt reply (and lookup!). Another dead end!!!!

Interestingly, I have been following up the previous 1841 thread suggestion, and discover that findmypast.co consistently records a birthdate of 1830 to the same person who is recorded as 1827, 1828 etc in ancestry.com.au. All very confusing and frustrating!

Kind Regards,
Lois from Australia

Hi again Lois,
You seem to have been searching for a long time. One or two observations I have found in my family history searches are that the year of birth stated on census returns are not necessarily accurate and can only serve as a guide. Working back from their age stated on the census to a possible year of birth will give you a rough idea - usually within a year or two but don't accept that these are gospel. Family.org records are good because they are free to view but they are also very patchy and don't contain all the census records from the 180s. I could quote numerous people in my family tree who are on ancestry.co.uk or genes reunited.co.uk and not on family.org.
I suggest you post another message on this Birmingham History site in the genealogy look up section with the information on projected date of birth from the 1881 census, his address at the time and his parents name from the marriage certificate. If he is born in Birmingham I am sure somebody will find him through this section of the forum. This is a brilliant site for finding out items of this nature. Best of luck and don't give up !

 

[leslam]

Interestingly, I have been following up the previous 1841 thread suggestion, and discover that findmypast.co consistently records a birthdate of 1830 to the same person who is recorded as 1827, 1828 etc in ancestry.com.au. All very confusing and frustrating!

Ages on 1841 census are notoriously unreliable because usually (but not always!) rounded down to multiple of 5 and the date of birth is calculated from that. That's how you can effectively have three children that appear to be the same age/have the same year of birth. The following is clipped from findmypast:

Note:


In the 1841 Census a policy of rounding down ages was in place.

• As such people aged:
• 15-19 were recorded as 15;
• 20-24 were recorded as 20;
• 25-29 were recorded as 25;
• 30-34 were recorded as 30;
• 35-39 were recorded as 35;

Having said that, some enumerators obviously found it easier to record actual ages...... It's always wise (where possible) to check the corresponding entry on the 1851 census, as it is more reliable.