Bassett - Kingsland/Homerton/Haggerston area

[Kazlou]

I am wondering if anyone can help me find my ggrandmothers parents George and Mary Ann Bassett?

My ggrandmother is Bertha Florence Bassett, b Dec 1894 in Homerton. Her parents are listed on the baptism record as George Henry (labourer) and Mary Ann Bassett.

I think that George must have been born about mid 1850's (although someone else has a GH Bassett born in 1864, Hackney)and died between 1897 when his last child was born and 1901 when Mary Ann is listed as a widow on the census. I have no idea where he is from - the family rumour mill says Ireland but then it also stated that he drowned on a ship coming over from Ireland with my ggrandmother which clearly isn't true!!

Mary Ann (maiden name unknown) has listed her birth place as Kingsland on both 1901 and 1911 census.

I cannot find a marriage anywhere, nor birth details for either George Henry or Mary Ann. Other children are George Henry b 1891, Charles William b 1893 and Jane b 1897.

There are other children - 1911 has 7 listed as living, but I don't have names. Also on 1911 census it states that Mary Ann has been married for 33 years giving a marriage date of about 1878?

I am pretty sure they are not linked to Bassetts in West Ham that keep popping up but am willing to be proved wrong!

Any help would be appreciated!:)

Thanks, Karen

[Mary from Italy]

If you get Bertha's birth certificate (you say you only have her baptism record) it should give her mother's maiden name.

These are the details you'll need (obtained from http://www.freebmd.org.uk/cgi/search.pl ):

Births Mar 1895
Bassett Bertha Florence Hackney 1b 535

and you can order the certificate online here:

http://www.gro.gov.uk/gro/content/certificates/

It costs £9.25.

[Kazlou]

Hi Mary

Yep, I think that's going to have to be the answer given that I'm drawing ablank everywhere else! It's just maddening, can't find them on census prior to 1901 either, I'm starting to think they were avoiding the authorities!!

Thanks for replying.

Karen

[Mary from Italy]

This is the birth of George Henry (again from FreeBMD), so too late for the 1891 census:

Births Dec 1891
BASSETT George Henry Hackney 1b 577

[Mary from Italy]

I thought this marriage might have been a possibility, although it's a bit late:

Marriages Dec 1885
>> Bassett George Hackney 1b 817
JAMES John William T Hackney 1b 817
MYALL Emma Maria Hackney 1b 817
>> White Mary Ann Hackney 1b 817

but I've checked on the Ancestry London marriages, and that Mary was 59, so too old to have Bertha 10 years later.

[Mary from Italy]

I still can't find them in 1901. Where were they living?

[kiterunner]

Is this them in 1901, at 63 Felstead St., Hackney?:
Mary Ann Bassett Head Wid 34 Washer London Kingsland
Florrie Do Daur S 6 Do Homerton
Jennie Do Daur S 3 Do Clapton Park

[Kazlou]

yes kiterunner, that's them! It took me a while to locate it.

Mary Ann's age is incorrect on the 1901 i think as in 1911 she states she has been married for 33 years (even though widowed many years earlier) and she would have been exceptionally young to have been married for 23 years at the age of 34!

Thanks

Karen

[kiterunner]

There is a death registration for George Henry Bassett Jan-Mar 1899 Poplar, age 31, which could be him?

[kiterunner]

Mary Ann's age is incorrect on the 1901 i think as in 1911 she states she has been married for 33 years (even though widowed many years earlier) and she would have been exceptionally young to have been married for 23 years at the age of 34!


How old does she claim to be in 1911? Also it could be the 1911 info that's wrong.

[Mary from Italy]

Oh yes, that looks right. That'll teach me to omit the age when I get stuck with a search.

There are 4 baptisms at Homerton St. Barnabas for this couple: Bertha Florence, Charles William and George Henry, all baptised on 3/5/1895, who Karen already had, and James Edward, born on 3/6/1896 and baptised on 14/5/1897. The family were living at 16 Crozier Terrace when he was baptised, and 1 Shepherd's lane when the others were baptised. George was a labourer in all cases.

[Mary from Italy]

She says she's 52 in 1911, born Kingsland. 9 children born, 7 living.

[Kazlou]

In 1911 she is listed as being 52 or 54 (it is overwritten so one of these is wrong) widowed, married for 33 years, 9 children 7 still living.

I have found 5 of the children, the earliest birth being 1891 (post census) and I think the others are likely to be earlier than this given that the husband died between 1897 and 1901. There are no family indications that she married again.

Karen

[Mary from Italy]

There's a George Hy Bassett aged 8, "workhouse child", in the Central London District Schools, Hanwell in 1901:

http://search.ancestry.co.uk/iexec?htx=view&r=5538&dbid=7814&iid=MDXRG13_1206_1209-0290&fn=George+Hy&ln=Bassett&st=d&ssrc=&pid=33682134

[Mary from Italy]

This is the only likely birth I can see for Charles William:

Births Sep 1893
Bassett Joseph Charles W Hackney 1b 554

so this could be him in 1901 (born Hackney, patient in a convalescent home in Sussex):

http://search.ancestry.co.uk/iexec?htx=view&r=5538&dbid=7814&iid=SSXRG13_917_919-0807&fn=Joseph&ln=Bassett&st=d&ssrc=&pid=6352666

Possible death:

Deaths Dec 1901
Bassett Joseph Charles 8 Hackney 1b 383

[Mary from Italy]

James Edward's birth:

Births Sep 1896
Bassett James Edward Hackney 1b 510

and possible death:

Deaths Sep 1903
Bassett James Edward 6 Tendring 4a 337

[kiterunner]

Oh, that's interesting, Mary - I was assuming that James Edward in the baptism entry was a mistake and it was supposed to be Jane / Jennie!

[kiterunner]

It might be worth keeping an eye on this thread so we don't duplicate effort:

http://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php/topic,581368.10.html

[Kazlou]

Oh, that's interesting, Mary - I was assuming that James Edward in the baptism entry was a mistake and it was supposed to be Jane / Jennie!

Yes, can't find a baptism for jane - odd that she is the only one but she was born in Clapton Park so different form the others?

Hope it's ok to have the query on rootschat as well - just wanted to cast a wide net and every one seems to have loads more experience at this than me!!

Sorry if it has caused any problems.:confused:

Karen

[Mary from Italy]

No problem, it's just to avoid us duplicating searches that other people have already done.

I've also looked for a baptism for Jane and not found one, but not all parishes are in the Ancestry London records.

We still have 4 missing children, still living in 1911, but I can't find any likely births in Hackney, so either they were born elsewhere or they belong to a previous marriage/relationship.

There's a possible baptism for George to Charles and Jane Bassett in Stoke Newington in 1864, and there are two brothers, Charles William and James, also baptised there:

http://search.ancestry.co.uk/cgi-bin/sse.dll?rank=0&f3=&f4=bassett&sx=&f16=&f17=&rg_f18__date=1864&rs_f18__date=5&f24=&f19=&f9=charles&f13=jane&f25=&gskw=&db=lmabirths&ti=5538&ti.si=0&gl=&gss=rfs&gst=&so=3

So far I haven't found the family after George's birth, but this looks like them in 1861:

http://search.ancestry.co.uk/iexec?htx=view&r=5538&dbid=8767&iid=MDXRG9_150_152-0465&fn=Charles+William&ln=Basset&st=d&ssrc=&pid=5165000

This may be George in 1881:

http://search.ancestry.co.uk/Browse/view.aspx?dbid=7572&path=Hertfordshire.Ware.ALL.3.13

[Mary from Italy]

I don't think we're going to be able to get much further without Bertha's birth certificate, because there's too much guesswork involved.

My feeling is that the other children may have been illegitimate or born to a previous marriage, and Mary Ann has extended the length of her marriage in 1911 to include them.

If that's the case, then they may well not have the surname Bassett before 1891.

[Kazlou]

HI Mary

That looks good, the names carry on to his own children (could be a coincidence but he has a Charles William and a James) - just need to find the missing children!!

Karen

[kiterunner]

It will hopefully be easier to find them when we have Mary Ann's maiden name.

[kiterunner]

By the way, I checked 1 Shepherd's Lane on the 1891 census and they aren't there.

[Kazlou]

Hi All

Thanks for your help. I have ordered the certificate so will hopefully have an update soon!

Karen