Friday 31 December 2010

Potterspury Registration District Marriage Challenge

The last post of 2010 comes courtesy of Tracy Barrall's Potterspury Registration District Marriage Challenge.

Potterspury Registration District lies in the area between Milton Keynes, Buckingham, Towcester and Northampton to name the biggest towns in the immediate vicinity.

As there are just two marriages to report, I propose to give full details of them.

The first marriage also appears to be the first to be recorded in the parish of Passenham with Deanshanger under the new registration procedure commencing in late 1837.

Marriage solemnized at St Guthlac in the Parish of Passenham with Deanshanger in the County of Northamptonshire

No. 1
5th Oct 1837

James Saddington 21 Single Groom Passenham James Saddington Groom
Pheobe Ayres 26 Single Dairy Maid Passenham - -

Married in the Church of Passenham according to the Rites and Ceremonies of the Church of England after Banns by me, L ? Smith

This Marriage was solemnized between us, James Saddington, Phobe Ayres
in the presence of us, George Buckingham, Martha Buckingham


The second marriage took place just under 10 years later.

Marriage solemnized at St Guthlac in the Parish of Passenham with Deanshanger in the County of Northamptonshire

No. 77
5th Apr 1847

George Clarke 25 Bachelor Labourer Deanshanger Thos Clarke Labourer
Mary Ann Sadington 24 Spinster Servant Deanshanger George Sadington Labourer

Married in the Parish Church according to the Rites and Ceremonies of the Church of England after Banns, by me ?

This Marriage was solemnized between us, George Clarke x his mark, Mary Ann Sadington x her mark
in the presence of us, William Clarke, Sarah Ann Foxley x her mark


Passenham and Deanshanger are slightly south of the A5 between Towcester and Milton Keynes. As yet I have no further information about the Saddingtons in this area, but would be delighted to hear from anyone who has these people in their family tree.

I send my best wishes for a happy and prosperous New Year to everyone who reads this post.

Monday 18 October 2010

Saddington Marriages in the Romford Registration District

Tonight's post comes courtesy of Peter Copsey and his Romford Marriage Challenge.

1) Parish Church of St Margaret, Barking, Essex

No.89
May 20th 1872
George Bacon, 20, Bachelor, Labourer, Barking, George Bacon, Labourer
Elizabeth Saddington, 20, Spinster, -, Barking, Obed Saddington, Labourer
After Banns by me, John Reginald Beckett
George Bacon
Elizabeth Saddington x her mark
Witnesses - Tom Lambert, Sarah Anne Bailey x her mark


This bride in this marriage is believed to be Sabina Elizabeth, born circa 1853 at Tilbrook, Bedfordshire, daughter of Obed Saddington and Eunice Marriott.

2) Parish Church of St Mary, Great Ilford, Essex

No. 389
July 30th 1882
George Saddington, 20, Bachelor, Labourer, Gt Ilford, Frances [sic] Saddington, Labourer
Mary Elizabeth Cummins, 20, Spinster, -, Gt Ilford, William Cummins, Labourer
After Banns by me H.B.Barnes
G.Saddington
X The mark of Mary Elizabeth Cummins
Witnesses - x the mark of William Boxall, x the mark of Mary Ann Boxall


3) Parish Church of St Mary, Great Ilford, Essex

No. 472
Decr 23rd 1883
William Saddington, 23, Bachelor, Labourer, Gt Ilford, William Saddington, Labourer
Margaret Ronan, 18, Spinster, -, Gt Ilford, Patrick Ronan, Labourer
After Banns by me H.B.Barnes
X The mark of William Saddington
X The mark of Margaret Ronan
Witnesses - William Fisher, x the mark of Rebecca Fisher


4) Parish Church of St Mary, Great Ilford, Essex

No. 267
Jany 27th 1901
George Ambrose Saddington, 19, Bachelor, Labourer, 25 Oaklands Park, Ilford, George Saddington, Labourer
Alice Maud Elizabeth Appleford, 18, Spinster, -, 25 Oaklands Road,Ilford, Charles Appleford, Labourer
After Banns by me Arthur G.Evans
George Ambrose Saddington
Alice Maud Elizabeth Appleford
Witnesses - x the mark of Edward Langstead, x the mark of Maria Elizabeth Saddington


5) Parish Church of St Margaret, Barking, Essex

No. 427
Tenth April 1909
George Cooper Saddington, 40, Bachelor, Solicitor's Clerk, 16 Cavendish Street, St Albans, George Saddington, Gentleman
Elizabeth Jane Beszant, 25, Spinster, -, 17 St Pauls Road, Frederick Beszant, Carriage Builder
G.C.Saddington
Elizabeth Jane Beszant
Witnesses - E.J.Saddington, Marguerite E.Harding


This marriage relates to an earlier post regarding Saddingtons in St Albans. The first witness is believed to be the groom's brother, Ernest John Saddington (1874-1958).

If any of these couples belong on your family tree, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Tuesday 31 August 2010

Charles Joseph Saddington (1870 - 1916)

This post comes to you courtesy of Google, without which I may never have come across the Great Explosion at Faversham, Kent which took the life of the subject of this post.

Charles Joseph Saddington was born in Margate in the December quarter of 1870, the second son of Charles Saddington and Ann Long.

The family appears on the 1871 census at 2 Wheatleys Place, Margate, but under the name of Long. This is, I believe, because Charles and Ann are not yet legally married despite having registered their three existing children under the name Saddington.

In 1871, Charles Long (otherwise Saddington) is enumerated as a 36 year old bricklayer born in Oundle, Northants (where many Saddingtons can be found). Ann Long is enumerated as a 33 year old laundress born in Reading Street, Kent. The children were enumerated as Susannah and Louisa, aged 11 and 9, both scholars and born in Lambeth, London, [probably Ann Long's daughters by a previous relationship as they are registered as Long] and Mary A, age 4, John, age 2, and Charles, age 5 months, all born in Margate, Kent and the elder two being scholars.

A second daughter, Elizabeth Jane, was born in the December quarter of 1872 in Margate.

It may be that Charles and Ann were waiting for Ann's previous husband to die or otherwise disappear as they did not marry until the June quarter of 1873, possibly at St Laurence in Thanet, Margate.

The now legalised family was increased by the birth of Isaac Robert in the September quarter of 1875 and Ellen in the June quarter of 1878, both in the Thanet Registration District.

Then tragedy struck. Charles Saddington died in the March quarter of 1881, apparently aged 48. The date of death can be narrowed down to being before 3 April 1881 because Ann Saddington appears on the 1881 census held on that date as a widow.

In 1881, the Saddington family were living at 73 Dane Road, Margate. Ann was enumerated as a 46 year old widow, working as a laundress. Living with her was her son, William Long (presumably from the same relationship as Susannah and Louisa), aged 23 and a fisherman born in Lambeth. All six of the children from her relationship with Charles Saddington were also living with her from Mary, now aged 14 and a general servant, through to Ellen (enumerated as Nelly) age 2. Also lodging with the family was one Ellen L Raymond, a 47 year old single woman born in Gloucester who was living on the income from an allowance.

By the 1891 census, the family had moved on, back to Lambeth. Ann Saddington, now a 52 year old widow working as a 'washer', was sharing 3 rooms at 1 Neptune Cottages, Lambeth, with her three sons, John (a bus conductor, age 22), Charles (a waiter, age 20) and Isaac (enumerated as Robert, a van boy, age 16), and two of her daughters, Mary (an ironer, age 24) and Elizabeth (an ironer, age 19). What has happened to Ellen/Nelly, as yet I do not know.

I have been unable to locate Charles Joseph Saddington in the 1901 census as yet, and there is the possibility that he might be overseas, perhaps fighting in the Boer War in South Africa.

However, by the June quarter of 1906, he has reappeared and proceeds to marry Susan Gibbs in the Steyning Registration District. This is none too soon as their first child, Susan Annie E Saddington, is born in the December quarter of 1906, again in the Steyning Registration District. A son, Charles Joseph, follows in the September quarter of 1908, this time in the Brighton Registration District.

There was obviously something about Lambeth which attracted this branch of the Saddington family because the 1911 census finds Charles Joseph and his family living at 2a Wheatsheaf Lane, South Lambeth. Charles is enumerated as a 36 year old laundryman, married for 6 years with both children of the marriage still living. Susan is enumerated as aged 30 and born in Canterbury, Kent.

The evidence seems to show that Charles Joseph and Susan had two more children whilst living in Lambeth; Kathleen L, born in the March quarter of 1912, and William F, born in the September quarter of 1914.

At some point after the birth of William, the family moved back to Margate and Charles Joseph got a job at the Explosive Loading Company's factory at Uplees near Faversham, about 27 miles away.

At 2.20pm, on Sunday 2 April 1916, some empty sacks caught fire at the factory, resulting in the explosion of 15 tons of TNT and 150 tons of ammonium nitrate. The explosion was so huge that it shattered windows in Southend on the other side of the Thames and the tremor could be felt in Norwich. Details can be found on a number of websites including Faversham's own website, the Kent section of the Roll of Honour website, and Wikipedia amongst others.

The death toll totalled 109 men and boys, including the whole of the Works Fire Brigade and Charles Joseph Saddington. The female members of the factory's workforce was saved by the fact that it was Sunday and women were not permitted to work the Sunday shifts.

Charles Joseph Saddington's body could not be identified following the explosion and so he has no death certificate. Whatever was found of him was buried in a mass grave on 6 April 1916 at the Faversham Borough Cemetery. He is named on the grave as J. Saddington because, as stated in his obituary in the Isle of Thanet Gazette of 22 April 1916, he was generally known as 'Joe'.

According to John Breeze's "Faversham Explosives Personnel Register 1841 - 1934,Part 3: S-Z", he is however listed on the Margate War Memorial as "C.J. Saddington, killed in Faversham munitions explosion".

At the time of Charles Joseph's death, the family were living at 205 High Street, Margate. What happened to them after his death, I am not yet sure. But if you are descended from Charles Joseph Saddington or any of his siblings, I would be delighted to hear from you.

Saturday 7 August 2010

Saddington Marriages in the Thrapston Registration District

Many thanks to David Barrall who has kindly provided me with a whole wodge of Saddington marriages courtesy of his Thrapston Registration District Marriage Challenge.

Thrapston itself is in Northamptonshire on the A14 between Kettering and Huntingdon, and the Registration District covers the area around it.

As there are 30 marriages to list, I will only give the place, date, names of bride and groom, and their fathers' names. If you would like further information, just get in touch

Parish Church of St James, Thrapston
22 December 1842
Samuel Manning, son of Henry Manning, and Ann Saddington, daughter of Robert Saddington

Parish Church of St Mary the Virgin, Woodford
6 May 1844
James Saddington, son of Joseph Saddington, and Mary Abbott, daughter of John Abbott

Parish Church of Holy Trinity, Denford
13 September 1847
Obed Saddington, son of John Saddington, and Eunice Marriott, daughter of Saml. Marriott

Parish Church of St Mary, Ringstead
19 August 1849
Jonathan Saddington, son of John Saddington, and Harriet Coward, daughter of William Coward

Parish Church of St Peter, Raunds
25 December 1849
William Saddington, son of John Saddington, and Hannah Harrison, daughter of Thomas Harrison

Parish Church of Holy Trinity, Denford
13 October 1851
Job Major, son of John Major, and Lois Saddington, daughter of John Saddington

Parish Church of St Peter, Raunds
10 August 1856
James Bars, son of William Bars, and Elizabeth Saddington, daughter of John Saddington

Parish Church of Holy Trinity, Denford
[no date given] 1857
John Saddington, son of John Saddington, and Elizabeth Hannah Wakefield, daughter of William Wakefield

Parish Church of Holy Trinity, Denford
27 January 1858
Stephen Fensom, son of John Fensom, and Charlotte Ann Saddington, daughter of John Saddington

Parish Church of Holy Trinity, Denford
13 July 1858
William Pearson, son of William Pearson, and Mary Ann Saddington, daughter of John Saddington

Parish Church of St Peter, Raunds
13 September 1858
Thomas Knight, son of John Knight, and Mary Saddington, daughter of Samuel Saddington

Parish Church of St Mary, Ringstead
15 November 1860
Henry Smith, son of William Smith, and Sarah Saddington, daughter of Samuel Saddington

Parish Church of Holy Trinity, Denford
28 July 1862
Henry Kettle, son of William Kettle, and Elizabeth Sadington, daughter of James Saddington

Parish Church of Holy Trinity, Denford
24 March 1864
Benjamin Starmore, son of John Starmore, and Elizabeth Ann Saddington, daughter of John Saddington

Parish Church of St Peter, Raunds
1 December 1867
Joseph Burton Saddington, son of Samuel Saddington, and Mary Emma Beeby, daughter of William Beeby

Parish Church of Holy Trinity, Denford
24 December 1879
John William Saddington, son of John Saddington, and Hepzibah Mayes, daughter of Williams Mayes

Parish Church of Holy Trinity, Denford
16 October 1882
George Saddington, son of John Saddington, and Harriet Smith, daughter of Henry Smith

Parish Church of Holy Trinity, Denford
12 October 1885
James Burton Oliver, son of Arthur Oliver, and Mary Jane Saddington, daughter of John Saddington

Parish Church of St Mary the Virgin, Titchmarsh
15 October 1891
John Saddington, son of John Saddington, and Sarah Ann Alderman, daughter of James Alderman

Parish Church of St Peter, Raunds
16 April 1892
Samuel Saddington, son of Joseph Saddington, and Naomi Lynes, daughter of Thomas Lynes

Parish Church of Holy Trinity, Denford
26 March 1894
Albert William Smith, son of Frederick Smith, and Elizabeth Annie Saddington, daughter of John Saddington

Parish Church of Holy Trinity, Denford
24 July 1894
Charles Robinson, son of George Robinson, and Annie Saddington, daughter of John Saddington

Parish Church of All Saints, Hargrave
5 August 1895
George Saddington, son of John Saddington, and Sarah Jane Pettit, daughter of (deceased)

Parish Church of St Peter, Raunds
23 May 1896
Joseph Saddington, son of Joseph Saddington, and Flora Smith, daughter of Alfred Smith

Parish Church of St Peter, Raunds
13 June 1896
Alfred Attley, son of George Attley, and Elizabeth Ann Saddington, daughter of Joseph Saddington

Parish Church of St Peter, Raunds
28 September 1896
Arthur Bugby, son of Lewis Bugby, and Mary Ann Saddington, daughter of James Saddington

Parish Church of St Peter, Raunds
24 December 1898
Francis Frank Tidbury, son of Samuel Mitchell (deceased), and Sarah Lucy Saddington, daughter of Joseph Saddington

Parish Church of St James, Thrapston
24 June 1900
Harry Saddington, son of Solomon Saddington, and Bertha Hodby, daughter of Joseph Hodby

Parish Church of St Mary the Virgin, Woodford
24 December 1900
John James Saddington, son of George Saddington, and Florence Elizabeth Hawkins, daughter of William Hawkins

Parish Church of St John the Baptist, Chelveston
14 December 1908
William Saddington, son of Joseph Saddington, and Amelia Hollyoak, daughter of George Sparks


If any of these happy couples belong in your family tree, please do get in touch.

Friday 30 April 2010

Saddington Archive at Guild of One Name Studies website

I am now in the process of putting on-line some of the basic information that I have regarding the Saddington name.

The information can be accessed here - Saddington Archive.

I will be adding to the information available on a regular basis and intend to put updates on this blog. Currently the archive holds GRO index details for Saddington marriages between 1837 and 1860. It also indicates whether I have any further details regarding a particular marriage.

Please note that you will have to register to view the contents of the archive, but this is only for the purpose of keeping out spammers and data miners. Your details will not be passed on to anyone else.

I hope that you will find the archive of use in your research.

Update No. 3 - Lewis Bryan Saddington, the Habitual Criminal

A couple of new pieces of information about our Lewis - I'm really quite fond of him now.

I bought a batch of certificates the night before the prices went up, and one of them was Lewis' birth certificate. So, having had the end of Lewis' life in a previous update, here is the start.

He was born on 27 September 1860 at Market Place, Wantage. His parents were William Saddington and Jane (nee Cox). William was an innkeeper. The birth was registered by Jane on 22 October 1860.

The place of birth corresponds with the 1861 census when the family were living at the "Crown Inn", Market Place, Wantage.

Having looked into his parents' marriage, according to the IGI, there is a marriage of a William Saddington and a Jane Cox on 24 June 1846 at Old Church, St Pancras, London. This corresponds with the only entry for a William Saddington/Jane Cox marriage on FreeBMD, which is for the June quarter of 1846 in the St Pancras registration district. However, without further information, I cannot be certain that this is the right marriage and so it will remain a possibility for the time being.

The other new piece of information relating to our Lewis comes from the Chelsea Pension records that are now on line at Findmypast.

He enlisted into the Army as Bryan Lewis Saddington at Canterbury on 11 November 1881. [I don't know yet when he was released from Holloway Prison which is where he had been for the 1881 census held on 3 April.]

Lewis said that he was born in Wantage, Berkshire, was 20 on his last birthday and was an ostler by trade. He enlisted for "General Services Cavalry" and was appointed to the 9th Lancers. His regimental number was 2194.

He is described as being 5 foot 7 1/4 inches tall, weighing 143lb, and with a chest measurement of 34 1/2 inches. He had reddish brown hair, brown eyes, a fresh complexion and scars on both knees. Lewis had been vaccinated in his childhood and had two vaccination scars on each arm. Nevertheless the Army revaccinated him on 22 November 1881.

Lewis' service record shows that he was stationed at "Home" (meaning England, Scotland and Ireland) between 11 November 1881 and 31 December 1882. Between 1 January 1883 and 22 November 1885, he was stationed in the East Indies. And then between 23 November 1885 and 14 August 1889, he was stationed at "Home" again, after which he was released from the regular Army and was a member of the Army Reserve from 15 August 1887 to 10 November 1893. He was then discharged from any form of Army service as of 10 November 1893.

During his Army service, Lewis had a number of medical problems. Whilst stationed in Canterbury, he had an ulcer at the end of 1881 and a sore throat in June 1882. He was sent to India on 31 January 1883 and was being treated for orchitis caused by gonorrhea at Umballa in late February/early March of that year. He had another longer bout of orchitis at Rasauli [sp?] in August/September 1883. He suffered a contusion of the foot following an accident in the gymnasium at Umballa in January 1884. He was then sent to Rasauli [sp?] Hill Depot for a change of air in August 1884.

Lewis seems to have remained healthy for the remainder of his time in India, boarding HMS Crocodile for the journey home on 28 October 1885. He arrived back in Shorncliffe, Kent on 24 November 1885, where he appears to have remained until 21 August 1886, when he was posted to York for the last part of his service in the regular Army.

General remarks regarding his habits, conduct etc were "Regular, Fair, Temperate". His character on being passed to the Army Reserve was described as "Fair".

Lewis spent 5 years 277 days in the Army and a further 6 years 88 days in the Reserve. The whole of the 5 years 277 days in the Army counted towards his Good Conduct pay and 5 years 263 days counted towards his pension.

So where do his convictions for assault in Canterbury in December 1882 come in? He would have been in the Army for about a year by then - surely assaulting a police officer in the execution of his duty is not Good Conduct! However, other than that, he seems either to have behaved himself whilst in the Army, or they didn't catch him when he misbehaved!

Still more research needed, methinks! If Lewis belongs to your branch of the family, please do get in touch.

Friday 26 February 2010

40 Years Faithful Service 1922 - 1962: Thomas George Saddington



This post comes courtesy of Ebay and the National Gas Archive.

Last month I was fortunate enough to be the successful bidder for this little gem, which is the size of a 2p. It is a long service award presented by the South Eastern Gas Board. On the back, the inscription reads "For 40 years faithful service. Awarded to T.G. Saddington 1922-1962".

A little research on Wikipedia informed me that the South Eastern Gas Board was created in 1948 when the UK gas industry was nationalised, and that it was formed from a number of privately owned and municipal gas companies in the area covering Kent, and parts of the administrative County of London and of Middlesex, Surrey and Sussex. So prior to 1948, T.G. Saddington must have worked for one of these privately owned or municipal gas companies.

I got in touch with the National Gas Archive to find out if they had any information on T.G. Saddington. The archivist there could only find one reference to him, but that reference was directly related to the little badge that I had won. It was a double spread article in the February 1963 issue of the SE Gas magazine, headed "Forty years behind all these men...", and it listed all the men who had received long service awards. It also gave the area in which they worked and their job title. So under Eltham, there was a reference to Thomas G. Saddington, district fitting foreman. The article also had photographs taken at the banquet that had obviously been given as part of the award presentations, and there, referred to as one of "four from Greenwich and Woolwich district" was Mr T.G. Saddington and his wife. Unfortunately he is sat slightly behind another award recipient, so it is not a very good picture of him. (I only have this in pdf format, but would be happy to forward it to any interested party.)

So now I knew that his first name was Thomas and that he had worked in the South London area for possibly as many as 40 years. If, as seems likely, he had worked in the gas industry for his whole career, beginnng in 1922, he was probably somewhere between 14 and 18 at the time he started work. This meant searching for a suitable birth between 1904 and 1908, but I widened the search to the period 1900 to 1910 to cover all eventualities. I found two possibilities - a Thomas George born in the Lewisham registration district in the June quarter of 1904 and a Thomas George born in the Wandsworth registration district in the March quarter of 1906. In 1922, they would have been 18 and 16 respectively.

In order to try and find out a bit more about these two Thomases, I searched the 1911 census, when they would have been 7 and 6 respectively. Unfortunately I have only managed to locate someone who I believe to be the 1906 Thomas George Saddington. The 1904 Thomas George is as yet unfound.

The presumed 1906 Thomas George is living at 28 Arden Street, Battersea, London SW. He is living with his parents, John Henry Saddington, age 46, a potman in a public house, born in Northampton, and his mother, Clara, age 41, born in Clapham, London. His parents have been married for 22 years [FreeBMD states that John Henry Saddington married Clara Frances Randall in the September quarter of 1889 in the Wandsworth registration district]. The marriage has produced 8 children, 6 of whom are still living, and all of whom are listed on the 1911 census.

The children are John Henry G., age 20, a manufacturer's clerk, born in Clapham; Gladys, age 18, a book folder in a printer's, born in Battersea; Frederick, age 15, a house painter's assistant, born in Battersea; James, age 12, at school, born in Battersea; Albert, age 10, at school, born in Battersea; and Thomas, age 5, at school and born in Battersea.

These eight people shared four rooms, not including any scullery, landing, lobby, closet, or bathroom. It did include the kitchen, so the house might have contained a kitchen, a living room and two bedrooms. This would have presented some problems with five sons (two at work, and three at school) and an adult daughter to accommodate. It is likely that, if there was a living room, that it would also have been used for sleeping as well.

Having checked the Charles Booth poverty map of London for 1898/99, it seems that Arden Street ten years or so previously had been classified as "Purple - Mixed. Some comfortable, others poor." With four wages coming into the house, the family might have been quite comfortable despite the cramped quarters.

A quick check of the 1881 census finds John Henry Saddington, the father, living at 33 Castle Street, Northampton, described as a provision shop. He is aged 16, described as a confectioner, and living with his elder sister, Eliza, age 18, a tailoress, and his younger brother, James Bronham [James Brown, born 1868], age 12, a laborer. The relationships are a bit odd here. Eliza is enumerated as Daur (Head), John as Son (Bro) and James as Son (Bro), which seems to indicate that there is a parent somewhere in the offing.

There is still a lot of research to be done on Thomas George Saddington and his family. However, if he is a member of your family tree, I would be delighted to hear from you.