Jane Laws of Godmanchester

[helen57]

Hi everyone

I have a |banghead| with Jane Laws born about 1828 in Godmanchester, Huntingdonshire

I know she married William Huskinson, and have found a marriage in Lincolnshire in 1847. It's the only one I could find but not sure whether, or not, to buy the certificate (have to watch the pennies :( ).

But I cannot find any information on her parents, and have no idea where to look. Can any one help me please?

Regards to all who read this :)

[blue eyes]

Hi Helen,

There is an extracted record on the LDS site. Jane Laws christened 13-12-1829 Godmanchester, father John Laws, mother Maryann.

[helen57]

Thanks Julie :)

Please excuse my ignorance :( (only been on the internet a few months) but what is the LDS site? I am still in the early stages of learning htese places

Regards Helen

[davidcarca]

There's no marriage of John Law(s) and Maryann on Hunts Marriage Index, so presumably they were from out of the county.

There are no Law(s) burials in Godmanchester after 1800, nor can I see the family in 1841

All in all, not a succesful morning so far!

But....

There were two Law families in Godmanchester c1810 -

- William & Susan who baptised Thomas on 16 Sep 1811 (born 31 Jul 1810)
- Edward and Ann née Towry who baptised Frances Henrietta on 3 May 1812 (born 11 Feb 1812).

I notice that Jane's eldest daughter was Henrietta and whilst it may just be coincidence I wonder if her father John may have been connected to Edward and Ann. And I can't find anything more about Edward!

David

[blue eyes]

Hi Helen,

Heres a link to the LDS site (Latter Day Saints/Family Search)

http://www.familysearch.org/ENG/default.asp

This is a good site , but be carefull of submitted records as they could be based on guess work. I've been caught out on this and was put right by another member on this forum.

[helen57]

Thanx David,

Your delving has opened up some new avenues for me to explore :)

I have looked on 1941 & 1951 census but can't find John & Maryann, will have another try with variant spellings.
Jane & William Huskinson I know had Frank in 1871 in Boonfield Peterborough (I have a copy of his birth certificate, kindly donated by my aunt :) )

Regards Helen

[helen57]

Thanx Julie I will give it a go :)

[Peter Goodey]

If you're a beginner, I would strongly recommend a trip to your local library to look out some beginners' guides to genealogy.

There are some recommended online beginners' guides such as http://www.genuki.org.uk/gs/ and http://www.genuki.org.uk/gs/Newbie.html

I see someone has pointed you in the direction of the FamilySearch site. There are many many health warnings associated with this site which needs to be used with a lot of caution. There are several threads about it on this site. Remember that nothing on that site should be treated as a substitute for checking the original records yourself.

You mentioned an 1847 marriage. Yes, you should get the certificate. There is no substitute for original, definitive, official paper records. I would strongly advise you never to by-pass original sources in favour of secondary sources which by their nature are less reliable.

[helen57]

Thanx Peter

Having been on LDS I found a marriage for John Laws & Mary Ann Robinson in Lincolnshire, that might explain why Jane was in that area. I will certainly get the marriage certificate now to verify my thoughts :)

Regards Helen

[helen57]

I received the marriage certificate of Jane Laws and William Huskinson this morning :)

Not sure that it is much help though :(

Both William and Jane were Minors so have no age to help verify them with the later census dates.
Janes father is noted as John Laws (which fits)
Williams father is noted as Henry Huskinson
The witnesses are John Taylor and Mary Ann York.

Did witnesses of marriages have to be known to those getting married?

And as they were both 'minors' did they both need parental consent to get married?

Helen

[janbooth]

Hello Helen,

The marriage certificate does narrow down the age range for you to look in early census records as it shows that they were probably between 16-20 when they were married. This fits in very well with the census records for them both once they were married. They seem to have lived in Peterborough, Northants most of their married lives. William gives his place of birth as Orston, Nottinghamshire and there is this 1841 census entry:

HO107/854/1, folio 5, page 4
Orston, Notts

Joseph BRANSTON 45 Framework Knitter Born in county yes
Elizabeth do 55 no
William HUSKINSON 15 Ap yes

Which does not help you much with his parents. In the 1851 census of Peterborough (HO107/1747, folio 479, page 4), William and Jane are living at Boongate with daughter Henria (Henrietta?) aged 4 months.

According to the IGI, there is an extracted baptism on 29 April 1826 at Orston of a William HUSKINSON, mother Mary. What was the occupation given for Henry on William's marriage certificate? It could be that Mary was a single mother and the father's name shown on the marriage certificate was a spurious one.

I have just found an extracted marriage record on the IGI of a Mary HUSKINSON to a William KEY on 6 May 1832 at Orston and an 1851 census record of this couple in Newark where it states that Mary was born c1811 in Orston and the KEYs had a daughter Jane born c1836 in Lincs - perhaps this is William's mother???

The HUSKINSON name has a variety of spellings in the census records, i.e HUSKINSON, HUSKISSON and has even been mistranscribed as HUDDLESTON by Ancestry in the 1871 census of Peterborough although it is pretty clearly written as HUSKISSON. By the 1871, William & Jane have 7 children - let me know if you would like details.

I think the only way you are going to solve the parentage of William is to look through the parish register of Orston.

I am also having great difficulty finding Jane LAWS in the 1841 census so it may be that you will have to look through the parish register of Godmanchester to try to trace her lineage.

Sorry not to be of more help.

Janet

[helen57]

Hello Janet

Thank you for your time & response :)

I was in the middle of trawling through the 1841 census in the vain hope that I could find the family mis-transcribed when my washing machine blew the house fuse and everything went down :(

I was looking to see if I could find a John Laws with occupation (as on the marriage certificate) a Boot Closer.
And for the witnesses to see if they were neighbours etc but no joy

Williams father is noted as Henry Huskinson Labourer, which is not much help.
One site that has some of my Huskinsons on it say that Williams mother was Mary Ann Huskinson who married Henry Mees (this is also on IGI), again needs verifying :(

I am looking at the possibility of a name change, as it has come down through the family that we were once Huskissons.

I think I will have to invest in the parish registers for both William and Jane and hope that they are there.

Thanks again for your help

Helen