Thomas and Sarah Ashby

[dajashby]

I'm looking for the marriage details of Thomas & Sarah Ashby whose children were registered in Frant between 1777 and 1789. They don't appear on the Sussex Marriages CD, so I suspect that Sarah might have come from West Sussex, Kent, Surrey, or somewhere further afield. The marriage isn't on the IGI, though the children are. Any suggestions as to where I could look would be greatly appreciated. My specific interest is that I think one of the children (James, b. 1785) is my great great great grandfather who I am trying to find out more about (His children were born in Tunbridge or Tunbridge Wells, and he lived in Canterbury in the 1840's and 1850's)

I should say that this isn't Thomas Ashby (b. 1754) & Sarah Sayers who lived in Lamberhurst at around the same time (and had a James), nor is it Thomas Ashby (b 1746) and Sarah Dench, who had their children in Mayfield, even though Thomas later married Elizabeth Hoad and lived in Frant. This genealogy caper would be a lot easier if the ancestors had had more than about four names between them! The Thomas in question might be the one born in Wadhurst in 1749, but this isn't clear.

I already posted this in the Sussex forum, and someone suggested I try here.

[Trevor A]

Hi, would your James have been born between 1785 and 1788, as I have two James' in my tree, one of which obviously died in infancy, and the other one had a twin by the name of Frances, and they were born in 1788 to Thomas and Sarah? My ggg grandfather is William married Susannah Latter, and Thomas and Sarah are also unfortunately my brick wall.

[dajashby]

Hi Trevor,

We've corresponded through ancestry in the past. Since I posted this I have made a certain amount of progress. The Frant parish registers record 1 James Ashby, born in 1785. A James Ashby died in 1787, and I have assumed that this is the same individual. The registers record two Frances Ashbys born to the same parents (unless there are multiple Thomas & Sarah Ashbys living in Frant at the same time...). Both Frances' were baptised/christened on St Valentines Day, one in 1788 and one in 1789. There are no other James Ashbys recorded. For what it is worth, my theory is that one of these Frances' is in fact a second James whose name was transcribed incorrectly. According to the PRs Thomas and Sarah had 10 children, 4 of whom we know died in infancy. The deaths of William (b 1777), James (b. 1785), Amelia (b. 1786) and Lucy (b. 1790) are all recorded in the Frant PRs, but there is no record of a Frances having died. There is no indication of twins having been born in 1788. The bishop's transcripts for Frant are of no help, since the entries for 1789 in them are exactly the same as for 1788 - yet another transcription error.

My evidence for my James having been born in Frant is solely from the census transcription of 1851, and it is of course possible that he wasn't born in Frant at all. He was apparently a cutler, and it would be nice to locate some apprenticeship paperwork that might throw some light on who at least his father was, but I'm not sure how likely I would be to find that. I know that his 4 children were born in Tunbridge in the 1820s and 1830s, so it's likely he practiced his trade there for some time. His wife was born in Shoreditch, so he might have been in London at some stage, but I haven't found their marriage record anywhere.

Thanks for posting.