Genealogy Chat

My wife is struggling on her tree.She has a Marriage cert naming the father of the bride as Joseph John Beellen in 1938 address 7 St.Johns Hill Grove Battersea.(County of Surrey in 1800s) We cannot find His birth date around 1885, or any record of his parents, The spelling of the name is absolutely definate as BEELLEN. We are baffled, can anyone help Hoping for a miracle. Maurice

Name Age Where Born Administrative County Civil Parish Occupation Albert Beellen 12 London Islington London Islington Arthur Beellen 15 London Islington London Islington Umberlla Maker Charles Beellen 21 London Islington London Islington Coach Henry Beellen 26 London Highgate London Islington Painter Phoebe Beellen 58 London Marylebone London Islington William Beellen 34 London Holborn London Islington ... Maker William Beellen 59 London Clerkenwell London Islington Carriage Painter 1901 Census. Any of these?

Thank you Gerri. Sorry to say none of those mentioned are mine. He was definitely John Joseph Beellen and worked in the sugar factory (Tate & Lyle) I believe in South London around 1913. His wife named Sarah Field. Their daughter was born in March 1913 and they were living at Meyrick Road, Battersea, London at that time. We have heard that there may be a foreign connection, but not sure. Thank you for looking. Regards Maurice

Intriguing! The surname (with that spelling) is very rare in the UK - so rare that Ancestry doesn't even pick up the 1901 Census entries posted by Gerri above, and FreeBMD lists only three Beellen events. (See below.) A quick Google suggests that the name looks Dutch or German, so you are probably right about the foreign connection. From what you are saying, you can't find a marriage record for JJB and Sarah Field. Perhaps they didn't even marry in this country. FreeBMD lists only three Beellen events, as you probably know. All births in the Wandsworth registration district within the space of three years. John Joseph (Mar 1905 v1d p637), Henry George (Sep 1906 v1a p569), Daisy Sarah (Mar 1908 v1d p568). If I were you, I would be sorely tempted to get a copy of the first certificate. Because of the first names, it looks suspiciously like the first son of JJB and Sarah Field. This suggests a marriage around 1902-1904. I would also be tempted to contact Tate & Lyle (Sugar Quay, Lower Thames Street, London EC3R 6DQ). With any luck, they'll have archived records for the relevant period. Hope this helps! Dave

Found a possibility for the marriage - the name may have been mistranscribed, either on FreeBMD or on the original index itself. I guess that a double 'e' in scrappy handwriting could look like a 'u': Marriages Mar 1904 Bullen Joseph Wandsworth 1d 620 Field Sarah Wandsworth 1d 620 The date ties in with the three births that David found above. Richard

Richard, What a brilliant solution, we are so convinced that you are right, the certificate is now ordered , well done , even if in the unlikely event that it is wrong , it is worth a try. I owe you a pint , my wife is really pleased , as this was her brickwall. You have made her day , thank you very much. How does it feel to be 'Top of the class ! Our best regards Maurice

No probs, Maurice! Fingers crossed that it's the right one! I couldn't find him in 1901 though, so maybe he emigrated to England sometime between 1901 & 1904? Anyway, if the cert is correct then at least you'll get his father's name. Cheers, Richard

Dave, Thank you for your time on this, but you fell in to the same trap we did. (1d 637) We ordered the cert, message came back ' Reference does not relate to names given' GRO researchers could not find Beellen in March quarter. partial refund. We will be following your other advice , as , yes it is likely. BUT read on, look at Richard's effort - sorry to say this, but you and I only managed 'Could do better' Scotland 1 England 0 Regards Maurice

Dawn, Hope you are reading this, thank you for your direct help on this, I have replied to you direct. Maurice

Maurice Not sure about Dutch, but when I read your posting I thought it sounded like a German name which would probably have been spelt Balen with an umlaut ['] over the a. Might help you trace him back. nell

I have to say when I first looked at the name, I saw it as Bellen

Maurice I'm a bit concerned now that you say that the 1905 birth wasn't one of Joseph & Sarah's. If their only child was born 1913, then it's odd that they would have married in 1904, 9 years before having children? One thing that I've found with the GRO is that if the details don't match exactly with what you specify, they don't send the cert - e.g. if you specified his name as Joseph John Beellen, but the cert didn't have the middle name (as appears to be the case with the marriage entry above), then they might not have sent the cert. Odd too that there does't appear to be anyone else of that name in the area at that time - in which case, where did those three born in Wandsworth 1905-8 come from? Probably better then just to specify Sarah's name when you order the marriage cert. Just a thought!!

Bite the bullet Richard and stick to your guns ! I have ordered the cert as BULLEN/BEELLEN John (Joseph) Wife as Field Sarah I think it will be ok. If you write Bullen badly as you say it is easy to confuse the two. Pressures on us now ! relax Maurice