Hertfordshire geography Q

[Merry]

Nothing to add to BK6 from this thread

If 89 year old George Maynard , living in the Isle of Wight, says he was born in Ashton Herts, does he mean Aston or does he mean somewhere else?

If he is who I think he is, his father, William, was 'of Cottered' but there's no IGI bap for George Maynard around the 1760s in either place, father William. Perhaps because they were non-cons or maybe because Ashton is elsewhere?

Here's the census page (first entry):

http://search.ancestry.co.uk/iexec/?htx=view&r=5538&dbid=8860&iid=HAMHO107_1664_1665-0590&fn=George&ln=Maynard&st=r&ssrc=&pid=5881995

[Uncle John]

Might be Ashwell, sort of midway between Baldock and Royston.

[Merry]

Hmmmm, yes, that's nearly too. No bap their either. *sigh*

[Viv in Herts]

Aston is near Stevenage .... possibilities in the vicinity are Broadhall, Shephall, Knebworth, Walkern, Bragbury End, Gravely, Little/Great Wymondly, Hooks Cross.

[Viv in Herts]

Merry,
Have found a baptism in Bennington in 1758 for George Maynard with father William and mother Hannah. Bennington (now called Bennington Lordship) is just across the fields from Aston. Any help?

[Merry]

Merry,
Have found a baptism in Bennington in 1758 for George Maynard with father William and mother Hannah. Bennington (now called Bennington Lordship) is just across the fields from Aston. Any help?

Honestly, I have no idea! lol

I have a family of seven children (William, the supposed father of George being one of them.) I don't have baptisms for any of these children and only know when one of them was born. I only know who was the oldest and youngest, but not the sequence of the ones in between (William is one of theones in between). I have marriages for six of the children (they all married) including one for William and two baptised children for him - those events are in his supposed birth parish of Kempston Beds. This family are the only Maynards in Kempston at the time, as far as I know, so it seemed safe to say this was my William, wife and two children.

HOWEVER, according to the tree I have (drawn up in the 1850's), William moved to Cottered where he had three sons (wife not mentioned); 'William of Cottered' (not found); 'Joseph of London' (not found) and 'George of Niton'. As Niton, IoW is hardly local I had thought it was somewhere else, maybe in Herts, that I didn't recognise, but then I found the chap in the IoW born in Herts, which suggested he was 'the one'.

HOWEVER, (again! lol) If George was born as early as the late 1750s or even if his age at death (93 in 1853) is correct, there is a bit of a problem as my William was still in Kempston in 1770 when he married and was there at least the next five years or so (baps and burials of his children), so what would he be doing having other children before this and further away? I had guessed he was likely to only be in his eary 20s at this 1770 marriage, so he probably wasn't old enough to be the father of a child b in 1758 or even 1760. Yet this George in the IoW seems a massive co-incidence if he isn't the right person. I'm wondering if I somehow have a generation slip along the way? I only have burials for two of the original seven children (the eldest and youngest) and it has always worried me that their ages at death suggest seven chidren in about nine years, which of course is just about possible, but if that is wrong I might be dealing with different gens without realising it!

Another annoying bit (lolol!!) is that the marriage I have for William in Kempston in 1770 is to the unusually named Judith Stokes. If I could find a burial for her I might be able to more positively identify William or more records for his family, but the only burial for a Judith Maynard I have ever come across is for their infant daughter, buried in the 1770s in Kempston.

I expect you are really glad you asked me that question now!! :rolleyes::p:d

[Merry]

It looks as if William and Hannah had several children bap at Benington between 1747 and 1758, which would push William back a generation, which is tricky as my William's father was also William and these are not his children! lol.

Of course, it could be that the 1850s tree I have is wrong, but I do feel 'George of Niton' did exist and really should be this IoW chap - it's just working out how they all fit that is driving me nuts!

[HarrysMum]

Merry...this is where you start looking for my Agatha again....

That will make your tree look simple......lol

[Merry]

*takes flight to Italy* :d

[Uncle John]

*takes flight to Italy* :d

*kidnaps Merry at Heathrow, marooned by volcanic ash*

[Viv in Herts]

Merry,

Niton IOW could have been NORTON in Herts. Norton was a villiage until Letchworth Garden City (the first garden city) was built and then Norton was incorperated as part of LGC.. Now, Cottered is on the Buntingford Road which runs into Baldock and then on to Norton. If you Google Map these places (including Aston) you will see just how they all connect.
Viv

[Merry]

Right, thanks Viv - that's just the sort of local knowledge I was hoping this thread would throw up. Doesn't mean I can discount George, but gives me another avenue! lol

Thanks again......

[ElizabethHerts]

I seem to have missed most of this thread but I haven't really got much to add except to offer you the following, Merry!

http://www.hertsdirect.org/infobase/docs/pdfstore/parishmap.pdf

This might help with those parish boundaries! You can see Norton at the top.

[ElizabethHerts]

Do I sense an impending trip to Hertfordshire Achives? :)

Just yell if you want me to do any look-ups, Merry.

[ElizabethHerts]

There are quite a few sets of transcripts available, including Norton.

http://www.hertsdirect.org/libsleisure/heritage1/HALS/famhist/parregs/trans/

[ElizabethHerts]

This is a useful tool, Merry.

https://www.hertsdirect.org/ufs/ufsmain?esessionid=2B746EECF5C01860BF89B7EE45B73E4 9_1

Results for Maynard:

Your search returned 251 results.

Apprentices: View 1 result
Archive Catalogue: View 2 results
Fatalities: View 1 result
Miscellaneous Names: View 40 results
Marriages: View 150 results
Newspapers & Magazines: View 47 results
Newspaper Pictures: View 10 results
Removals: No results
Settlements: No results

[Merry]

Buys bus tacket for Elizabeth* lol

I'd been playing with the HALS search do-dah over the weekend - I like the way it works, but haven't found anything to help me as yet.

I'm just wondering about this, written at the bottom of the HALS PR Transcripts page:

The Allen index of Hertfordshire marriages between 1538 and c1837 is available at Hertfordshire Archives and Local Studies and at all other Hertfordshire Libraries via the Online Reference Library

Do you know if that means there are more marriages available than the ones that come up on the HALS search? (*wonders if Elizabeth uses the Hertfordshire Online Reference Library?*)

[ElizabethHerts]

Buys bus tacket for Elizabeth* lol

I'd been playing with the HALS search do-dah over the weekend - I like the way it works, but haven't found anything to help me as yet.

I'm just wondering about this, written at the bottom of the HALS PR Transcripts page:

The Allen index of Hertfordshire marriages between 1538 and c1837 is available at Hertfordshire Archives and Local Studies and at all other Hertfordshire Libraries via the Online Reference Library

Do you know if that means there are more marriages available than the ones that come up on the HALS search? (*wonders if Elizabeth uses the Hertfordshire Online Reference Library?*)

I have looked at the Allen Index before when I have visisted HALS.

I have access via my library ticket to the Online Reference Library so I'll have a look later and see what I have been missing!

Seriously, Merry, make a list of anything you would like me to look at. In about 10 days I shall be a lot less busy so a trip to Hertford would be nice!

[Merry]

*wonders what a 'tacket' is in my last post* lolol

Thanks Elizabeth. I dio have some things which hopefully won't take very long.......I will be pming you! lol