Among my objectives for genealogical research is to document the siblings of my direct ancestors. Not only does this put my ancestors' lives into perspective, but the documentation of siblings might yield clues pointing to the preceding generation. To this end, I never feel I can rest until I have a full set of BMD Index, parish and census data for an ancestor or a sibling. Or perhaps I'm merely rationalizing an obsessive impulse!
This post presents the available data - at least the data I've found - for Sarah Halton Birkett, wife of William Taylor, solicitor of 3 Cloak Lane, even at the risk of repeating some that I've already referenced earlier on the blog. These are my 4xgreat grandparents, and parents of Charlotte (who married James Denoon Young). At the same time, I will present available data for another of their daughters, Zoe Emmeline (who married James Bertrand Payen Payne). But some loose ends remain.
The post Meet the Birketts expands on Sarah Halton Birkett's family. I begin here with the record of her baptism on 21 July 1799 at St Stephen, Walbrook.
Was baptized Sarah Halton Daughter of
John Birkett and Charlotte his Wife
Born 20th April 1799
Note of the Parish of Stephen Walbrook
This is before the 1837 introduction of civil birth, marriage and death registers for England and Wales, as is the record of her marriage to William Taylor at St Thomas the Apostle in the City of London on 13 December 1821.
The marriage is also recorded in Pallott's Marriage Index:
Taylor Wm b(St Faiths London)
= Sarah Halton Birkett
p. lic[ence]
St Thomas Apostle 1821
The baptismal register at St Michael Paternoster in the City of London on 2 March 1826 records their children William Lonsdale (born 19 July 1824) and Charlotte (born 15 January 1826), giving father's occupation as Solicitor, and address 3 Cloak Lane. William Lonsdale was apparently baptized twice, his first baptism on 1 September 1824 at St Thomas the Apostle gives the same name and birthday for the child, and same names, occupation and address for the parents. As previously reported, 3 Cloak Lane is also the address of the Birketts in 1828 (Articles of Clerkship) and 1848 (Post Office Book).
The next documentary appearance, I could find, is another baptism, this time at St Giles in the Fields Holborn on 27 November 1840 of Zoe, daughter of William and Sarah Taylor. His occupation is given as Solicitor, their address as 59 Gt Queen Street. Great Queen Street is close to The Rookery, Hogarth's inspiration for Gin Lane, but also closer to Lincoln's Inn and the legal district of London. I can find no BMD Birth Index entry for Zoe Taylor. However, Zoe Young proved hard to trace due to difficulties in transcription for the name Zoe, and I suspect that something similar has happened for her aunt.
The marriage is also recorded in Pallott's Marriage Index:
Taylor Wm b(St Faiths London)
= Sarah Halton Birkett
p. lic[ence]
St Thomas Apostle 1821
The baptismal register at St Michael Paternoster in the City of London on 2 March 1826 records their children William Lonsdale (born 19 July 1824) and Charlotte (born 15 January 1826), giving father's occupation as Solicitor, and address 3 Cloak Lane. William Lonsdale was apparently baptized twice, his first baptism on 1 September 1824 at St Thomas the Apostle gives the same name and birthday for the child, and same names, occupation and address for the parents. As previously reported, 3 Cloak Lane is also the address of the Birketts in 1828 (Articles of Clerkship) and 1848 (Post Office Book).
The next documentary appearance, I could find, is another baptism, this time at St Giles in the Fields Holborn on 27 November 1840 of Zoe, daughter of William and Sarah Taylor. His occupation is given as Solicitor, their address as 59 Gt Queen Street. Great Queen Street is close to The Rookery, Hogarth's inspiration for Gin Lane, but also closer to Lincoln's Inn and the legal district of London. I can find no BMD Birth Index entry for Zoe Taylor. However, Zoe Young proved hard to trace due to difficulties in transcription for the name Zoe, and I suspect that something similar has happened for her aunt.
Great Queen Street is where I find them for the 1841 England Census. The reproduction of this census transcript is quite poor - although this may be faithful to the original - and I am rather relying on the index provided by ancestry.com.
William Taylor 40 Solicitor No [not born in the county]
Sarah Taylor 45 No
Berbet Taylor 15 No
Charlotte Taylor 15 No
But I note the absence of William Lonsdale and Zoe, which, without the St Giles baptism, would lead me to doubt that this is the correct family. William Lonsdale may have died by 1841; I have no further record of him. But I do have later records of Zoe, so she may be recorded elsewhere.
I'd suspected that Berbet (age is in the "male" column of the census return) should be Robert, or possibly Herbert. The equal ages of 15 years for the younger two Taylors does not require that they are twins. The 1841 census rounded ages down to the nearest 5 years. As we can tell from the baptismal record, Charlotte really was 15 at census time; but whoever "Berbet" was, he could have been born between 1822 and 1826.
Although there are Robert and Herbert Taylors of about the right age, none of them was constistent with other family data. Looking at the return again I thought to try Birkett as the given name, and found that Christ Church, City of London has a baptismal record on 22 November 1822 for Birkett Wilfred (or rather, Wilfrid) Taylor son of William and Sarah, Solicitor of Paternoster Row, born October 25, 1822. Also for Birkett Wilfred Taylor are Articles of Clerkship dated 1838 and a burial record for 8 July 1843 at St Thomas the Apostle, corresponding to BMD Death Index Dec1843 London 2 111. If I am reading correctly, the Articles of Clerkship bound him to Joseph Bebb for five years from 8 or 10 May 1838, so he died not long after completing his clerkship.
I'd suspected that Berbet (age is in the "male" column of the census return) should be Robert, or possibly Herbert. The equal ages of 15 years for the younger two Taylors does not require that they are twins. The 1841 census rounded ages down to the nearest 5 years. As we can tell from the baptismal record, Charlotte really was 15 at census time; but whoever "Berbet" was, he could have been born between 1822 and 1826.
Although there are Robert and Herbert Taylors of about the right age, none of them was constistent with other family data. Looking at the return again I thought to try Birkett as the given name, and found that Christ Church, City of London has a baptismal record on 22 November 1822 for Birkett Wilfred (or rather, Wilfrid) Taylor son of William and Sarah, Solicitor of Paternoster Row, born October 25, 1822. Also for Birkett Wilfred Taylor are Articles of Clerkship dated 1838 and a burial record for 8 July 1843 at St Thomas the Apostle, corresponding to BMD Death Index Dec1843 London 2 111. If I am reading correctly, the Articles of Clerkship bound him to Joseph Bebb for five years from 8 or 10 May 1838, so he died not long after completing his clerkship.
I have plenty of evidence that Zoe Emmeline Taylor is the sister of the Charlotte whose baptism I have presented above. The first piece is the 1851 England Census at 31 Michael Street, Kensington in the household of Edward Colnett, Boarding House Keeper:
Sarah H Taylor Wid 51 Annuitant Middx, Walbrook
Charlotte Unm 25 Middx, College Hill
Zoe Unm 10 Middx, St Giles
This return I have mentioned before. Interestingly it includes James Denoon Young, who would marry Charlotte a few months later. College Hill, by the way, is off Cloak Lane. William Taylor had died during the preceding 10 years. Finding the death record will be difficult because there are hundreds of recorded death for such a common name.
After this I had no more record until Sarah's death. BMD Death Index has Sarah Halton Taylor Dec1877 Brighton 2b 124 Age:76. This is a death certificate that may be worth having. Had she moved to Brighton? Who was she staying with?
It was in searches designed to find her daughter Zoe that I found her last two census records. I looked for a Zoe Taylor born in 1840 in Lincolns Inn. I found an entry on the LDS familysearch.org site for the 1861 England Census in Kensington for a "... Taylor". But this only shows an individual entry. Searching for the corresponding family group in ancestry.com, I found, at ?? (the return transcript is torn) House near Notting Hill Square, Kensington in the household of Elizabeth England:
Sarah H Taylor Boarder Widow 61 Lives own Means
Middlesex, Walbrook
Zoe Taylor Boarder Un 20 Lives own Means
Middlesex, Lincoln's Inn Fields
The ancestry.com index has them as Sarah H Gaylor and Lo?? Taylor, which is why I hadn't seen this return before. Having seen "Loe" as a transcript variant of Zoe, the next census entry came from an ancestry.com search for a Loe Taylor born 1839-1849. The 1871 England Census for the household of "James Bethany Bayne" at Grange Terraces Tempsford House has:
James Bertrand Payne Head Mar 37 late? Capt Royal Artillery
Zoe Payne Wife Mar 29
Sarah H Taylor Mother Widow 75
James B D do Son 4
Ralph S H do Son 3 m
The address of Tempsford House, The Grange, Brompton is given as the address for J Bertrand Payne in the Catalogue for the Paris Universal Exhibition of 1867. Also, Tempsford House was the scene in January 1871 (not long before the census) of a "Singular Boiler Explosion". In this return (it is actually the census enumator book, a compilation of the householders' returns), Zoe is written above a crossed out Emmeline, and should be indexed as Payne, not Taylor. Sarah H appears as Sarah A; she should, of course be mother-in-law, and only 72 years old, but who's counting. And the sons' last name should be Payne and not Taylor. But apart from that the return is fine!
The marriage of James Bertrand Payne and Zoe Emmeline Young is recorded in BMD Marriage Index Mar1864 St George Hanover Square 1a 387 (a certificate I reported in All These Gentlemen).
The 1881 England Census for 53 Camden Park Road for the household of Charlotte Dunn, I have reported before in Witnesses to a Wedding. Suffice to tell here that it includes Zoe Payne 35 and her daughter Mabel 7. The 1891 England Census return for Zoe also proved difficult to find. I already had the 1901 and 1911 returns, and was drawing a blank. So I searched for Mabel Payne, and found this return at 41 Handforth Road, Lambeth:
James Payne Head M 55 Living on own means London
Emily Payne Wife M 47 London
Mabel Payne Daur S 14 London
Charles Penney Nephew S 29 living on own means Liverpool
Emily may be the name she goes by at this time, although this may itself be a census enumerator's misreading for Emmy. Liverpool as place of birth for the nephew is certainly wrong, as the next two returns for Zoe (Emmeline/Emily) will show.
James Bertrand Payen Payne died in 1898 (BMD Death Index Sep1898 Fulham 1a 253 Age:65). The 1901 England Census finds Zoe Emmeline in the household of her nephew Charles Penney at 7 Aldebert Terrace, Lambeth:
Charles Penney Head S 39 Tutor Dorset, Weymouth
Zoe Emmeline Payen-Payne Aunt Wid 58 London, St Giles
Mabel Zoe Payen-Payne Cousin Daur of widow 27
Clerk in Insurance Office London, Kensington
Plus a visitor and a servant.
And in 1911 at 22 Kensington Crescent, Kensington:
Charles Penney Head Single 49 Tutor Weymouth, Dorset
Zoe Emmeline Payen-Payne Aunt Widow 70 Private Means
Lincoln's Inn Field, London
Mabel Zoe Payen-Payne Cousin Single 37 Clerk to Charity Organization
Kensington, London
Plus a boarder and servants.
BMD Death Index has Zoe Payen Payne Dec1920 Greenwich 1d 1001 Age:80
In all this I have accumulated much documentation for Sarah Halton Birkett (married name Taylor) and Zoe Emmeline Taylor (Payen-Payne). But I lack an 1841 census for the latter, and her BMD Birth Index Entry. One lead, an Emmeline Taylor born in Islington 1840 turns out to be the daughter of John Taylor, Beer Seller (1841) and Licensed Victualler (1861). In this latter census she is a barmaid - not our Zoe Emmeline, whose BMD Birth Index record may be one of the 3 unnamed female Taylors born in central London registration districts Dec1839 to Dec1840.
We now have evidence for four children born to William and Sarah Halton Taylor:
Birkett Wilfred 1822 baptized at Christ Church
William Lonsdale 1824 baptized at St Thomas the Apostle
and St Michael Paternoster
Charlotte 1826 baptized at St Michael Paternoster
Zoe Emmeline 1840 baptized at St Giles in the Fields
It is most likely that there are other children - I would estimate from 3 to 6 - born after Charlotte and before Zoe remaining to be discovered. If any of them survived I might expect to find them in 1841 in the same household as Zoe. This may yield more clues to the family of origin of William Taylor, Solicitor of 3 Cloak Lane.
This return I have mentioned before. Interestingly it includes James Denoon Young, who would marry Charlotte a few months later. College Hill, by the way, is off Cloak Lane. William Taylor had died during the preceding 10 years. Finding the death record will be difficult because there are hundreds of recorded death for such a common name.
After this I had no more record until Sarah's death. BMD Death Index has Sarah Halton Taylor Dec1877 Brighton 2b 124 Age:76. This is a death certificate that may be worth having. Had she moved to Brighton? Who was she staying with?
It was in searches designed to find her daughter Zoe that I found her last two census records. I looked for a Zoe Taylor born in 1840 in Lincolns Inn. I found an entry on the LDS familysearch.org site for the 1861 England Census in Kensington for a "... Taylor". But this only shows an individual entry. Searching for the corresponding family group in ancestry.com, I found, at ?? (the return transcript is torn) House near Notting Hill Square, Kensington in the household of Elizabeth England:
Sarah H Taylor Boarder Widow 61 Lives own Means
Middlesex, Walbrook
Zoe Taylor Boarder Un 20 Lives own Means
Middlesex, Lincoln's Inn Fields
The ancestry.com index has them as Sarah H Gaylor and Lo?? Taylor, which is why I hadn't seen this return before. Having seen "Loe" as a transcript variant of Zoe, the next census entry came from an ancestry.com search for a Loe Taylor born 1839-1849. The 1871 England Census for the household of "James Bethany Bayne" at Grange Terraces Tempsford House has:
James Bertrand Payne Head Mar 37 late? Capt Royal Artillery
Zoe Payne Wife Mar 29
Sarah H Taylor Mother Widow 75
James B D do Son 4
Ralph S H do Son 3 m
The address of Tempsford House, The Grange, Brompton is given as the address for J Bertrand Payne in the Catalogue for the Paris Universal Exhibition of 1867. Also, Tempsford House was the scene in January 1871 (not long before the census) of a "Singular Boiler Explosion". In this return (it is actually the census enumator book, a compilation of the householders' returns), Zoe is written above a crossed out Emmeline, and should be indexed as Payne, not Taylor. Sarah H appears as Sarah A; she should, of course be mother-in-law, and only 72 years old, but who's counting. And the sons' last name should be Payne and not Taylor. But apart from that the return is fine!
The marriage of James Bertrand Payne and Zoe Emmeline Young is recorded in BMD Marriage Index Mar1864 St George Hanover Square 1a 387 (a certificate I reported in All These Gentlemen).
The 1881 England Census for 53 Camden Park Road for the household of Charlotte Dunn, I have reported before in Witnesses to a Wedding. Suffice to tell here that it includes Zoe Payne 35 and her daughter Mabel 7. The 1891 England Census return for Zoe also proved difficult to find. I already had the 1901 and 1911 returns, and was drawing a blank. So I searched for Mabel Payne, and found this return at 41 Handforth Road, Lambeth:
James Payne Head M 55 Living on own means London
Emily Payne Wife M 47 London
Mabel Payne Daur S 14 London
Charles Penney Nephew S 29 living on own means Liverpool
Emily may be the name she goes by at this time, although this may itself be a census enumerator's misreading for Emmy. Liverpool as place of birth for the nephew is certainly wrong, as the next two returns for Zoe (Emmeline/Emily) will show.
James Bertrand Payen Payne died in 1898 (BMD Death Index Sep1898 Fulham 1a 253 Age:65). The 1901 England Census finds Zoe Emmeline in the household of her nephew Charles Penney at 7 Aldebert Terrace, Lambeth:
Charles Penney Head S 39 Tutor Dorset, Weymouth
Zoe Emmeline Payen-Payne Aunt Wid 58 London, St Giles
Mabel Zoe Payen-Payne Cousin Daur of widow 27
Clerk in Insurance Office London, Kensington
Plus a visitor and a servant.
And in 1911 at 22 Kensington Crescent, Kensington:
Charles Penney Head Single 49 Tutor Weymouth, Dorset
Zoe Emmeline Payen-Payne Aunt Widow 70 Private Means
Lincoln's Inn Field, London
Mabel Zoe Payen-Payne Cousin Single 37 Clerk to Charity Organization
Kensington, London
Plus a boarder and servants.
BMD Death Index has Zoe Payen Payne Dec1920 Greenwich 1d 1001 Age:80
In all this I have accumulated much documentation for Sarah Halton Birkett (married name Taylor) and Zoe Emmeline Taylor (Payen-Payne). But I lack an 1841 census for the latter, and her BMD Birth Index Entry. One lead, an Emmeline Taylor born in Islington 1840 turns out to be the daughter of John Taylor, Beer Seller (1841) and Licensed Victualler (1861). In this latter census she is a barmaid - not our Zoe Emmeline, whose BMD Birth Index record may be one of the 3 unnamed female Taylors born in central London registration districts Dec1839 to Dec1840.
We now have evidence for four children born to William and Sarah Halton Taylor:
Birkett Wilfred 1822 baptized at Christ Church
William Lonsdale 1824 baptized at St Thomas the Apostle
and St Michael Paternoster
Charlotte 1826 baptized at St Michael Paternoster
Zoe Emmeline 1840 baptized at St Giles in the Fields
It is most likely that there are other children - I would estimate from 3 to 6 - born after Charlotte and before Zoe remaining to be discovered. If any of them survived I might expect to find them in 1841 in the same household as Zoe. This may yield more clues to the family of origin of William Taylor, Solicitor of 3 Cloak Lane.
No comments:
Post a Comment