Saddingtons who appeared at the Old Bailey, London's Central Criminal Court

Following the completion of The Proceedings of the Old Bailey (1674 - 1913), this post is intended to give a snapshot view of those Saddingtons who appeared at the Old Bailey, either as defendants, as prosecutors, as members of the jury, as witnesses, or who were in any other way mentioned in criminal cases. The entries will be presented in date order.

3 September 1766

Bateman Saddington was the prosecutor in the trial of Alice Weaver for "stealing a pair of shoes, value 4s". Verdict - Not Guilty.

6 September 1769

Bateman Saddington was a witness in the trial of Joseph Simpson for highway robbery. Verdict - Guilty. Punishment - Death.

13 April 1774

Robert Saddington sat on the Second London Jury for the Proceedings on the King's Commission of the Peace, Oyer and Terminer, and Gaol-Delivery, held for the City of London.

6 December 1775

Bateman Saddington was a character witness for Richard Baker, when he was tried along with John Radcliffe and Elizabeth White for coining offences. Verdicts: Baker - Guilty, Radcliffe - Guilty, White - Not Guilty. Punishments: Baker - Death, Radcliffe - Death.

10 September 1777

William Barnard, "assistant to Mr Saddington, a surgeon and apothecary in Fleet-street", was a witness in the trial of John Knutt for murder. Verdict - Not Guilty.

13 January 1790

William Saddington, of the Pied Bull in Islington, was the prosecutor in the trial of Joseph Pollard for housebreaking. Verdict - Guilty of stealing sheets, but not of breaking out of the house. Punishment - Imprisonment.

7 December 1791

William Saddington, of the Pyed Bull, was a witness in the trial of George Banks and Robert Barnes for grand larceny. Verdicts: Banks - Guilty, Barnes - Not Guilty. Punishment - Transported for 7 years.

1 December 1819

John Castle, "clerk to Saul and Saddington, who are wine and brandy merchants", was a witness in the trial of Thomas Broom, Thomas Harrison and Richard Brooks for grand larceny. Verdicts - Not Guilty.

23 October 1822

Joseph Saddington, "foreman to a working jeweller", was a witness in the trial of Edward M'Williams for burglary. Verdict - Guilty of stealing in the dwelling house, but not of breaking and entering. Punishment - Death.

15 June 1835

John Saddington, "governor of the Poor House, and vestry-clerk of Woodford [Essex]", was the prosecutor in the trial of John Hawkins for stealing from his master. Verdict - Guilty. Punishment - Transported for 7 years.

16 December 1844

William D. Saddington sat on the Fourth Jury for the Proceedings on the Queen's Commission of the Peace, Oyer and Terminer, and Gaol Delivery for the City of London, and Gaol Delivery for the County of Middlesex, and the parts of the Counties of Essex, Kent and Surrey within the Jurisdiction of the Central Criminal Court.

24 October 1853

George Smith, alias William Saddington, age 36, pleaded Guilty to the theft of 1 mare and 1 collar, value £18 and 17d, the property of Henry Edmonds. Punishment - 4 years Penal Servitude.

15 June 1857

James Saddington, age 24, was tried with Alfred Barker for robbery on William Forsyth, and stealing from his person 1 key and £12 in money, and William Quin for feloniously receiving the same. Verdicts: Saddington and Barker - Guilty, Quin - Guilty. Punishment: Saddington and Barker - Confined for 2 years, Quin - Confined for 6 months.

26 February 1866

Thomas Saddington, age 40, pleaded Guilty to feloniously marrying Jessie Kimpton, his wife Caroline being alive. Punishment - Confined for 18 months.

28 May 1877

Joseph Saddington, who kept "the Eagle in Farringdon Road", was a witness in the trial of Henry Jones for unlawfully uttering counterfeit coin. Verdict - Guilty. Punishment - 15 months imprisonment.

19 October 1885

Ellen Saddington Woods, the illegitimate daughter of Mary Ann Woods and a potman named Saddington, was the victim and a witness in the trial of her mother for "feloniously cutting and wounding Ellen Saddington Woods, with intent to murder her" and "wounding her with intent to do her some grievous bodily harm". Verdict - Guilty. Punishment - "Strongly recommended to mercy by the Jury on account of her previous good character, and the trials to which she had been subject." - 7 years' Penal Servitude.

11 January 1886

Joseph Saddington, who kept "the Eagle public-house, Farringdon Road", was a witness in the trial of Frederick Maskell for "unlawfully uttering counterfeit coin, having another in his possession." Verdict - Guilty. Punishment - 18 months' Hard Labour.

8 March 1886

Elizabeth Saddington, who was "employed at the Tiger Tavern, Sidney Road, Hackney", was a witness in the trial of William West for "feloniously uttering counterfeit coin". Verdict - Guilty. The prisoner then pleaded Guilty to a previous conviction at the Old Bailey on 11 March 1878. Punishment - 18 months' Hard Labour.

16 May 1904

Charles Saddington, "a guard in the service of the London and North Western Railway", was a witness in the trial of Frederick Langham for arson. Verdict - Guilty. The prisoner then pleaded Guilty to a conviction of felony at Chester on 26 July 1884. Punishment - 10 years' Penal Servitude.

28 March 1911

Lewis Saddington, age 50, an agent, was prosecuted for "stealing one banker's cheque, the goods of William Elkane and others and feloniously receiving the same; feloniously uttering, knowing the same to be forged, a cheque for £80 14s, with intent to defraud". Verdict - Guilty of uttering. The prisoner then pleaded Guilty to a conviction of felony at York Assizes on 31 October 1908. In total, he had five previous convictions. Punishment - 3 years' penal servitude and 5 years' preventive detention.

10 September 1912

Mabel Saddington, 'manageress, "Railway Hotel"', was a witness in the trial of Frederick Ernest Clark for "feloniously demanding with menaces from William Alfred Clark, 3s 4d, one check, and one knife, with intent to steal the same". Verdict - Guilty. The prisoner pleaded Guilty to a previous conviction of felony at Thames Police Court on 24 November 1902. Punishment - 9 months' hard labour.

This last entry was a great find for me, because it refers to the Railway Hotel, Silvertown, which is the public house which my great grandfather, William James Saddington, ran for many years. He would have been the manager at the time of this event, and Mabel Saddington is probably his sister, Mabel Gertrude, who should properly have been described as Mabel Brown, as she married in 1909.

If any of these entries relate to members of your family, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Wanted! - Descendants of John Jonathan and Jane (nee Hewlett) Saddington

Firstly, please accept my apologies for the lack of posts this month. Full-time job, part-time study, family commitments and getting ready for Christmas have all got in the way of research and posting.

Secondly, I would like to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year full of successful research. If there is anyone out there who is planning to attend the Family History Conference at University of Essex, Colchester at the end of August 2008, let me know and we can arrange to meet up.

Now to the post itself. Following the creation of the Saddington DNA Project last month, I am now looking for direct male line Saddingtons from my own Saddington family tree. The ideal is to test two distant males from each tree to validate the common ancestor. So my current plan is to work backwards through the generations in the hope of finding distant Saddingtons in my own tree that will agree to be tested.

John Jonathan Saddington (1831-1912) and his wife, Jane Hewlett (1839-1899) are my 2x great grandparents. They had 10 children, 5 sons and 5 daughters. Of these, 4 sons and 4 daughters had children. For some reason, my line lost touch with the majority of the rest, so what I am hoping is that descendants of the other children may have kept more in touch.

So, taking the children from the top, here goes:

Elizabeth Ann (1861-1912) married Simeon Cundy, and had three children: Elizabeth Clara (1893), Simeon (1894) and Jenny Louisa (1897). Elizabeth married Len Woods, Simeon married Nellie Pamplin and Jenny married Cecil Roberts.

John George (1862-1928) married Bessie Allen, and had five children: George Henry (1893), Winifred (1896), Frank Alan (1898-1905), John Philip (1905-1934) and Maisie. George married Mary Elizabeth Price.

Clara Jane (1864-1950) married Robert Henry Whitaker, and had four children: Robert Henry Hewlett (1891), Thomas John (1893), Clara Elizabeth (1895) and Grace Jane (1899). Robert married Ruby Florence Lane, Thomas married Mabel Bentley, Clara married Harold Higginbottom, and Grace married Harold Turnbull.

Joseph Walter (1866-?) is believed to have married, but to have died without issue.

John (1868-1947) married Mercy Simpson, and had nine children: John Charles (1892-1901), Elsa Mabel Grace (1893), William Edwin (1894), Elizabeth Amelia and Sarah Jane (1897-1897), Mercy Gwendoline (1898-1902), Robert Crispin (1899-1899), Lilian Blanche (1900), and Frederick Archibald (1905). Elsa Mabel Grace married (1) Thomas Anthoney and (2) Henry Cowland, Lilian Blanche married Philip Marshal Hall. William Edwin married, but his wife's name is as yet unknown.

Albert Edward (1872-1949) married Rosa Crush, and had five children: Albert E (1895), John (1896), William T (1899), Constance (1901) and Clara (1909-1926). Constance married a Mr Bailey.

William James (1874-1973) married Emma Leonard, and they were my great grandparents.

Sarah Jane (1877-1906) married John Thomas Moore, and died without issue.

Grace Maud (1879-1921) married Alexander Brown, and had three children: Alec (1908), Cyril (1909) and Peter Kinnear (1914).

Mabel Gertrude (1883-?) married David Brown, and had two children: David (1909) and Mabel (1915).

So, if any of these names are familiar to you, do please get in touch - there's no such thing as too many relatives!