French

[vabre]

Could some kind soul please help me, my g.g.grandfather was John French.
He was born in 1832 in Sussex, parents were Mary and Henry, and the Death Certificate states his father was a Mariner. I don't know when he came to Australia or by what means. He was married in Sydney in 1855 to an Irish girl Ellen O'Halloran whose details are sketchy with the only information known is she was from Limerick. Could someone please look up the Census or any other source for information.
Many thanks, Pam.......Sydney

[Jane M]

Hi pam,

There are two likely marriages on the Sussex marriage Index for the parents of John,

Hastings St. Clement, East Sussex, Date: 24 Mar 1824:
Henry FRENCH
Mary FINCH

My money's on this one, although it doesn't state he's a mariner. First the licence details then the actual marriage,

Archdeaconry of Lewes Marriage Licence, Date: 14 May 1832:
Henry FRENCH, bach 21+ Brighton
Mary WELLER, a minor otsp
Extra Information: SRS 25

Brighton, East Sussex, Date: 14 May 1832:
Henry FRENCH, bach
Mary WELLER, sp wcom My W botp (lic)

wcom = with consent of mother, who would be another Mary Weller. This could be an indicator that Mary's father was dead.
Hope this helps,

Jane

[vabre]

Hello Jane,

Many thanks for your reply, I agree with you on the second one. Would it be possible for you to look up the Death Certificate for Mary French nee Weller.

Kind regards,

Pam Walton........Sydney

[Jane M]

Pam,

I only have the Sussex Marriage Index, so can't help with any death records. I would suggest looking at FreeBMD for a death record for Mary WELLER (not French as you said) and the census for 1841, 1851, 1861 etc, where you will be able to see them together as a family.
If you get stuck, try asking the Sussex Family History Group (SFHG) for a look-up. Both these sites can easily be found using your search engine,

Jane

[vabre]

Jane,

Thank you for your help. I will do as you suggest.

Pam

[Chris in 1066Land]

Hi there Vabre & Jane

Thank you Jane for the marriages of French in Sussex.

Vabre, that first listed marriage looks as though it did not produce any children (John would have been about 9 in 41 and 19 in 51)

1841 census East Beach Street, Hastings
Henry French, 39, Fisherman & Mary 40

1851 census, 8 Undercliffe, St Leonards
Henry Finch, 50, Seaman & Mary 50

Unfortunately I do not have the 51 for Brighton and the 1841 which I have has lots of very faint or blank pages in it - very difficult to find people without an index of some sort.