Filling the gaps........

[Merry]

BK6 updated from this thread

I just want to know if anyone can think of anything I can do to fill these gaps in my tree (and don't say give up, as that's not an option! lol)

Here's what I know about one twig of my difficult Maynards:

Thomas Maynard was b probably in the 1740s and probably in Kempston Bedfordshire or somewhere near there, father William Maynard, yeoman, mother unknown.

Thomas Maynard was reputed to have four children. I have traced two of them:

Levi Maynard b abt 1776 (date from age at emigration), don't know where, who emigrated to South Africa with wife (have marriage and kids details OK) and children in 1820.

Leah Maynard b abt 1775/80 possibly in Herts (1841 census) who married Levi Lavender (don't know when but maybe about 1793?) had several children in Herts (bap mainly at an independent church in St Albans) and died in 1846, probably in Watford, Herts.

Another of the four children must be a girl and she married someone surname Millwood. I have a definite child for this couple called Sarah Millwood who was b about 1792 but I don't know where. She married her second cousin, Robert Francis McCrery in 1816 at St Geo Bloomsbury. After his death in 1829 Sarah went on to marry her first cousin, John Lavender, one of the sons of Leah Maynard who I've already mentioned. Sarah died in 1845 in Redbourne, Herts. She only had one child, and that dau, Mary Ann McCrery, died the day after her mother in Redbourne.

I don't have any clues about the fourth child of Thomas Maynard, but I do know that the Maynard/Millwood couple were supposed to have had three children: One who married a McCrery (turned out to be Sarah), one called William and another, unknown name and sex!

I have found a Willam Millwood who could conceivable be the brother of Sarah, if he isn't related some other way. He is certainly connected as he and his first wife, Caroline nee Biggs, are mentioned in some family letters from Australia. William was b abt 1807, or maybe slightly earlier. Censuses give his birthplace as St George, Middlesex. He married twice, and the second time was 1850; a transcript of the marriage entry on Ancestry shows his father's name to be James Millwood (occ not given - maybe I should get the cert, but I'm having trouble believing St James Westminster isn't in the LMA records!). William was another one who only had one child and she died without issue. This is another problem with these lines, so many of them fizzle out that no one else is researching them!

If you think the above sounds complicated, just remember this is only a tiny bit of my Maynard tree and the whole things is like this. A complete nightmare!!

Please ask me Qs about these people as that might make me think of something too!

[Phoenix]

When you say "reputed" do you mean details from wills or side mentions in letters? How long after the event are some of these details being mentioned?

[Merry]

From the diaries of the nephew of the Thomas Maynard mentioned at the start and from a tree drawn up by an unknown relative in 1858. I expect much of the info on the tree came from the diaries. I wouldn't have taken much notice of it really, but I've only found one mistake on the tree so far and have been studying it for about five years and the whole line for about 20.

[kiterunner]

So have you checked to see whether William Maynard left a will?

[Merry]

Yes he did! Though it's obvious that the person who drew up the tree in 1858 hadn't seen it as the one mistake I've found so far on their tree wouldn't have been made had he/she seen the will. The will is the only other source I have for the names of William's children (other than the tree), so the tree would appear to have been drawn up by someone with some personal knowledge of the history of the family. Though I said they may have got much of the info from the diary of Thomas' nephew (my gg-grandfather), I don't think the diary includes anything so basic as a list of sibling names.

[Phoenix]

It looks as if the family is dyed-in-the-wool nonconformist.

So, no baptisms are likely to survive. If they deigned to cross the portals of a church to get married, they would do so by licence if possible.

Wills would e in the highest possible court - again to avoid contamination.

What about land tax? TNA have volumes covering the entire country in the 1790s. A trawl through those might pull out a concentration of the name, to give you an area to go back & look at.

Having a brother & husband, both called Levi suggest another cousin marriage, if not a very small community with similar views.

[Merry]

I absolutely agree about their non-conformity. As time went on and they lost their land and what bit of money they had, many of them drifted back to the C of E, but that was a couple of gens later mainly.

I hadn't thought about an earlier link between the Lavenders and the Maynards, so maybe I should try looking backwards with the Lavender line? Thankyou.

It would be nice if some of them died as well! William wrote his will and it was proved within the year, but he must be under the patio or something. Same goes for his wife, who was supposed to have died when her youngest (my ggg-grandfather) was 18months old and I have his date of birth from his own memoirs!

My g-grandfather believed the Maynards were Huguenots, spelled Mainard, but his daughter, my grandmother, told me they came over with William the Conquerer! :rolleyes:

[Merry]

As I said earlier, John Lavender m Sarah McCrery, nee Millwood, in 1832 at St Andrews Holborn.

There's a marriage at the same church in 1829 for a Charles Christopher Lavender (widower) and another Sarah McCreery (spinster). If anyone can find out anything more about this couple I would be very grateful! I can't think there isn't some connection? One of the witnesses is Alexander McCreery. Don't know who he is either!

The first McCrery married into the Maynard family in 1759, much to the distress of William Maynard who cut his daughter out of his will 'so long as she remains living with her present husband'. I feel this may have been a religious intollerence (can't help thinking a McCrery may have started out a Catholic?!) but I'm only guessing.

[Merry]

What about land tax? TNA have volumes covering the entire country in the 1790s. A trawl through those might pull out a concentration of the name, to give you an area to go back & look at.



Sounds interesting. I may be able to get to the TNA when the kids have grown up :rolleyes:

[Merry]

Oooh, I've just googled Charles Christopher Lavender (done that loads of times before!) and found a tree stating that he was the father of one Sarah Jacques Lavender, so am going to have a look at that idea.

[Merry]

Dau, Sarah, married by licence at All Saints St Pancras. Father, Charles Christopher Lavender, gentleman! Husband Frederick Charles McQueen (I hate looking for Mcs :mad:)

[Merry]

Hmmm.....found them in 1851:

Charles C Lavender head m 60 annuitant b Dublin
Sarah Lavender wife m 60 b York, North Riding
Sarah J Lavender dau 17 b Middlesex

Hmmm......Don't like the idea of a possible Herts Lavender being b in Ireland!! And the McCrerys haven't been spotted north of Watford before (literally!), but anything's possible (that's the problem though!!)

[Phoenix]

If Levi Lavender was prepared to pay £400pa rent to someone, he was not a pauper. His family must appear all over the place in Beds & Herts archives. And the Maynards, surely, must be similar status?

[Merry]

William Maynard's eldest son, Nathan, became an ag lab! But that was after the enclosures act, so maybe they lost some property?

Where did you see that about Levi Lavender?

I saw this on the Beds Archives site:

Indenture 7 February 1771 between
1) Levi Lavender, yeoman of Kempston and Jane his wife, previously Jane Reynolds, spinster etc etc etc

Interesting to see one of the earlier Levi Lavenders (possibly the father of the one who married Leah Maynard) was 'of Kempston' which was where the Maynards were supposed to live. I have the PRs for Kempston and I don't remember seeing Lavenders in them, but that light be because I didn't know about the Lavender connection at the time I went through the fiche. Will have to have another look.

[Merry]

In my first post I mentioned Levi Maynard who went to South Africa to live.

Someone with Levi on his Ancestry tree has a note:

The MAYNARDs were related to General WOLF, the hero of Quebec,and the
street on the mountainside of Maynardville is Wolf Street.

I'm surprised I've not heard that before, but it seems highly unlikely!




It's not all good news though as Levi was supposed to have raped a woman in SA but was let off. I think that was more because of his social status than because he didn't do it :(

[Phoenix]

Google books "levi lavender" second item is full view, in 1790s.

[Merry]

Thanks Phoenix - have to dash out now, so will have a look later.

[Phoenix]

In my first post I mentioned Levi Maynard who went to South Africa to live.

Someone with Levi on his Ancestry tree has a note:

The MAYNARDs were related to General WOLF, the hero of Quebec,and the
street on the mountainside of Maynardville is Wolf Street.




It's not all good news though as Levi was supposed to have raped a woman in SA but was let off. I think that was more because of his social status than because he didn't do it :(

I did notice that - and drew similar conclusions. I am very glad that a few hundred years separate me from some of my ancestors.

[Merry]

I did notice that - and drew similar conclusions. I am very glad that a few hundred years separate me from some of my ancestors.

Indeed!

[Merry]

I think the bit about General Wolf may related to the 'other' Maynards at the beginning of this:

http://archiver.rootsweb.ancestry.com/th/read/SOUTH-AFRICA/2003-10/1066071040

My lot are the ones they call the 'another Maynard family'!

[HarrysMum]

There's a baptism for Nathaniel Lavender, son of Lvei and Leah in 1800.

Then chidlren of Nathaniel.....Levi and Leah born 1834 and 1835. You probably have those.

[Merry]

Thanks, your right, I have those! Just endlessly looking for further back people. They are almost worse than Agatha - in fact, they are worse as there's more of them and it's, at least in part, my direct line!

[HarrysMum]

Merry...there's Maynards on the non-con register back to 1660, mainly in Wiltshire, Glous and Somerset.

It's always a pain when the records connecting the families aren't all there.

There's also a swag of Lavenders, and a few of the others you mentioned earlier.

[Merry]

Thanks Libby. I'll have another look later. I will try more of the connected surnames too, in case I can get a lead that way.

[HarrysMum]

Merry............I'll give you a list of spouses. Maybe you'll find a name that rings a bell. Trouble is the only non-con marriages are the Fleet ones.

[Merry]

And Quaker!! (which I'm SURE they were not!)

Thanks for offering me a list! *searches for my own bits of paper* lol