James How b 1854 Shoreditch

[Jenny Campbell]

'm interested in finding out more about the parents of James. His father was James How ( a builder) and his mother was Eliza Farmer bc 1825 in Cork, Ireland. Got this information from his birth certificate but cannot find the marriage record of the parents. James (1854) married Emily Brady and sometime between 1881 and 1891 moved to Walthamstow, Essex. I am descended from a How family in Walthamstow but so far have not been able to connect this lot to ours. Any help gratefully received.
Jenny

[Geoffers]

'm interested in finding out more about the parents of James. His father was James How ( a builder) and his mother was Eliza Farmer bc 1825 in Cork, Ireland. Got this information from his birth certificate but cannot find the marriage record of the parents. James (1854) You've got a birth certificate for James in 1854 which will give a location. If you haven't already, I suggest you start with looking at the 1861 census for James and his parents - see how many children are in the family and where James (1854) fits in age order. If your James is the eldest and the parents are only about 30 in 1861, you can narow down the period you initially need to look for their marriage.

You can also then go to the 1851 census and see if you can locate the parents living singly (or married). The census returns will help in that James' father's birthplace should also be recorded. If he was alo born in Ireland it may be that they married there and only moved to Walthamstow shortly before James' birth.

Geoffers

[Wirral]

1861 census RG9/247 page 5 folio 63, 6 Herffan[?] Place, Shoreditch, Middlesex
Eliza Howe head M 32 washerwoman Ireland Cork
James Howe son 7 scholar Middlesex Shoreditch

1871 census RG10/472 page 4 folio 52, 10 Samson Terrace Marlboro Road, Haggerston, Shoreditch, London
Eliza How lodger wid 42 laundress Ireland Newbury
James How son U 17 Middlesex Shoreditch

[Wirral]

This could be them in 1851:

HO107/1537 page 1 folio 593, 72 High St, Hoxton, Haggerstone West, Shoreditch
James Howe, servant, U, 19, barman, Essex Walthamstow

HO107/1531 page 19 folio 206
Eliza Farmer, servant, U 26 house servant, Ireland

James snr never appears with Eliza & James jnr in a census. But he does appear with 2 other wives in 1861, 1871 & 1881.

1861 RG9/1056 page 38 folio 88, "Buxton Arms " Barshop Buxton Road, West Ham,, Essex
James How head M 28 master plasterer & beer house keeper, Essex Walthamstow
Rhoda How wife M 30 Hants Brentwood
Amelia How dau 1 Essex Stratford

1871 RG10/1656 page 14 folio 95, Maynard Road, Walthamstow, Essex
C 72 High St, Hoxton, Haggerstone West, Shoreditch
James Howe, servant, U, 19, barman, Essex Walthamstow

HO107/1531 page 19 folio 206
Eliza Farmer, servant, U 26 house servant, Ireland

James snr never appears with Eliza & James jnr in a census. But he does appear with 2 other wives in 1861, 1871 & 1881.

1861 RG9/1056 page 38 folio 88, "Buxton Arms " Barshop Buxton Road, West Ham,, Essex
James How head M 28 master plasterer & beer house keeper, Essex Walthamstow
Rhoda How wife M 30 Hants Brentwood
Amelia How dau 1 Essex Stratford

1871 RG10/1656 page 14 folio 95, Maynard Road, Walthamstow, Essex
James How head M 38 [no occupation recorded] Essex Walthamstow
Mahalah How wife M 30 Hants Bentworth
Amelia How dau 11 Essex Stratford
Catherine M. How dau 8 Middlesex Hoxton
James F. How son 7 Essex Forrest Gate
James How son 6 Forrest Gate [this is not a misprint, at least not by me. There are 2 James']

[Peter Goodey]

"...have not been able to connect this lot to ours"

Ah. Perhaps I'm alone in finding that statement a bit worrying. I wonder if you're dipping into a bit of easily available history and jumping to conclusions.

The surname HOW, HOWE and HOE is not rare and is represented in just about every county. There is no logical reason to suppose that the family you mention is any more than a simple coincidence of name and district, unless you know something else that you haven't mentioned.

I'd venture to suggest that the way to work is the tried and trusted method of working backwards starting with yourself. You'll can then build up a picture of each generation in turn in your own line and if there is any connection with the HOW-BRADY and HOW-FARMER families, it will all fall into place - but only if you work systematically in the way I outlined.

[Wirral]

Hi Jenny

I've been having fun with your family today. It's saved me from the housework! My speculation is that the families are connected through James How b.1832. He may or may not have married Eliza Farmer, but as he is never with her at a census I suspect not. Or he could have married her, then run off and lived with Rhoda. The only marriage I've found so far is to Mahalah Bone 20 Oct 1867 at St Leonards, Shoreditch. It would be interesting to see what that marriage certificate said.
Rhoda Howe died June quarter 1866 West Ham vol 4a page 42, age 35.

[Jenny Campbell]

Thanks to those who replied and their suggestions.
To expand a bit on the various James Hows or Howes.
The James How who married both Mahalah and Rhoda Bone,(I've got the marriage certificate of James/Rhoda) sisters from Hampshire, was the son of Richard William How and Catherine Gardner Tanner who were married in Walthamstow in 1831. James was born c 1833 (not sure of place of birth) but he was baptized in Shoreditch. He had two sons called James, James Frederick bc 1864 in Forest Gate who married Rose Cole and James bc 1865 in Forest Gate who married Maria Shoulder.
After the death of Richard William How, Catherine married his brother Thomas. It is that marriage from which I'm descended. Their grandson (bear with me) Walter How married an Esther Knell whose sister Rosa married Henry (Harry) Arthur How, the son of James How (b1854 Shoreditch) and Emily Brady. Harry How was killed in WW1 but he left two daughters. Cousins of my father who knew the daughters are convinced that Harry How was related to our How family and this is what we are trying to find out - hence the interest in James How and Eliza Farmer. We have traced our branch of the How family back to John How of Sawbridgeworth who married Ann Rumball in 1760. They had a large number of children so it is possible that the connection is through one of them - or maybe there is no connection only coincidence.
Any other suggestions will be gratefully received.
Jenny

[Mythology]

"After the death of Richard William How, Catherine married his brother Thomas."

From the dates and places that you mention, I assume that you are talking about some time in the 1800s in England. If so, such a "marriage" would have been illegal.

[Jenny Campbell]

I know. Richard William How and Catherine Gardner Tanner were married 1st May 1831 at St Mary's Walthamstow and Richard died in 1836 and was buried at St Mary's. Thomas How and Catherine Gardner How were married 30th August 1840 at St Lawrence Church, Thanet, Kent (I have the certificate for this one). They lived in Walthamstow until they died, Catherine in 1882 and Thomas in 1892 - so illegal or not everyone must have known about it.
I hadn't considered that James, son of Richard and Catherine, and husband of Mahalah and Rhoda could also have been the husband of Eliza Farmer. He probably was the James How(e) mentioned in the 1851 census working as a barman in Shoreditch. However Eliza How (widow) is in the 1861 census with her 7 year old son James - so was she widowed (her husband must have been another James How), divorced or was she never married at all??
Any suggestions

[Peter Goodey]

"If so, such a "marriage" would have been illegal."

What name did she use when she "married" and how did she describe herself?

[Wirral]

I think James b.1832 had 2 households, Eliza & James in Shoreditch, Mahala/Rhoda + children in Walthamstow. He is the only James How/e I am finding and he says throughout the censuses that he was born in Walthamstow in abt.1832.
In 1851 he was in Shoreditch, unmarried & living not far from Eliza.
In 1861 he was in West Ham with Rhoda.
In 1871 he was in Walthamstow with Mahalah.

Does anyone have access to trade directories for the area?

[Wirral]

I spoke too soon. From the 1841 census:

HO107/323/18 page 20 folio 47, Wood St, Walthamstow, Essex
Sarah How 65 Ind
Sarah " 30 Ind
James " 25 bricklayer
George " 20 bricklayer
Mary " 12
next door
Thomas How 25 Plasterer journ.
Catharine " 30
James " 9
William " 5
Henry Baker 60 Carpenter journ.
Penelope " 48

page 15 folio 45
William Howe 35 Bricklayer
Susan " 37
Sarah " 14
Mary " 11
Eliza " 6
George " 4

[Wirral]

Lost the last bit of the previous message.

Charles Howe 1
Thomas Coller 19 ag lab

next door + 2, at a confectioner's:
James How 12 M.S.

All born in Essex, ages 15+ should have been rounded down to nearest 5 years by the enumerator.

[Wirral]

From the IGI:

Henry Baker married Penelope How 7 May 1815 Christ Church Greyfriars Newgate London.

I've looked through the GRO index from 1851 - 1854 & there is no marriage listed for an Eliza/Elizabeth Farmer at the same time & place as one for a James How/e.

[wendyjay]

[QUOTE=Peter Goodey]"If so, such a "marriage" would have been illegal."

an ancestor of my husband's married his dead wife's sister - they had to get a private act of Parliament called the 'dead wife's sister act' to make it legal. Don't know when this procedure originated but may have enabled the marriage.

[Ron Leech]

I also had this situation occur in my family that marriage took place in 1882 and as can be seen from the title above this type of marriage did not become legal till 1907.

[arquebus]

If you find any link to these North East Essex, I can probably help you get a lot further. [Ardleigh/Mistley/Manningtree/Lawford/Gt and Lt Bromleys/Harwich/Colchester etc etc

AL.