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Hi
I have recently been tracing neighbours or employers of my ancestors and found several new leads with my family history. I recently found that my ggggran may have met my ggggrandfather through friends who lived in her village but had connections with Brighton, which is where my ggggrandfather lived.
In the 1861 census, my ancestor Sarah Brain was aged 18, living in Oxford High Street, Oxford. She married in Feb 1866 in London, so that suggests a move from Oxfordshire to London c1862 or 1863. In 1861 in Oxford, she was a servant, living at 10 High Street, Oxford with Henry Sampson Ladd, a fancy stationer. It was only her and Henry living at No 10 so I believe that she was his servant. Her sister lived nearby but stayed in Oxon. Out of curiosity I traced Henry to see if he might have been why Sarah moved to London c1862/1863ish.
In 1863, Henry Sampson Ladd had relocated to Westminster, London because he married a Louisa Porter in Oct 1863, at St James Westminster according to the IGI. Sarah Brain married John Wallaker, a bargeman, in 1866 in Lambeth, London. She was about 4 months pregnant by then.
I believe that shortly after the 1861 census, Sarah Brain moved to Westminster from Oxford with her employer Henry Ladd and that is why she was in London in 1866. I might look up Henry in 1860s London directories,or even get his marriage cert to see if Sarah was a witness.
Ben
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That's great Ben
I discovered not that long ago that what you are doing is called cluster genealogy.
It can be really helpful and very interesting to find out about people in an area.
Some people I've met on line have got really carried away and done whole village or parish genealogies. I'm in contact with a very helpful researcher who is doing one for the Fenlands of Lincolnshire and we've discovered 2 different ways we are related because of that.
Best wishes
Sue
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Nudging my genealogy or family history thread because that mentions cluster genealogy.
Sue
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Hi Sue
Yes, a cluster genealogy can be very useful. It can be good to send off for BMD certs of your ancestors close neigbours or bosses, as this can as you say, break down brick walls, tie up loose end, confirm ancestor theories and lead to new leads.
A professional genealogist does this sort of thing. In them days, people knew people who lived miles apart from each other and they could have met through friends or relations. I think a lot of illegitimates were the children of male family friends, who were often married.
I reckon that Sarah Brain moved to London with her boss, as having traced him on later censuses, he always had an assistant living with him. If I did send off for his cert, that might give me the address where Sarah lived, or help me locate her further during her 4 or 5 years in London.
Ben
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