Elusive Birth Cert.

[rookie]

Hi! this is my first posting and as my user name suggest I am rather green.I am looking for a Fanny Pilbeam. The 1881 census lists her birthplace as Headcorn, the 1891 census lists it as Tenterden. She was married in 1878 aged 21 so her birth year would be c1857. Her parents were John and Harriet and he was toll gate keeper at Westwood Lane St. Peters Isle of Thanet. Any information would be appreciated as I have drawn blanks at the FRC an 1837.com.

[Ladkyis]

When you searched the index for the birth record how far each side of the date you believe is correct did you look. You say 1857 so did you just look at 1857 or did you start at 1850 and work through to 1865 because one of the first things to keep in mind is that our ancestors were *flexible* when it came to giving their correct age. Did you look at any alternative spellings of the surname? because that is something else they were very flexible about.
Ann

[rookie]

Hi Ann. thankyou for your quick response. I checked between 1855 and 1863 because (a) her mother was born around 1836 and (b) I was also looking for her younger sister, Jane. Pilbeam does not appear to be a very common name as the entries are very few and seldom more than two or three on a page. As to variations I do check the immediate area for anything that might be a corruption of the name. She had an "elder" ? sister, Ellen who was born in October 1858 and was very easy to find. Any more ideas are always welcome. John.

[Di&Trev]

Don't know for certain if these are yours but...
I wondered if Fanny might not be her christened name so had a look for Ellen Pilbeam on the 1871 census. Its possible this is your family and in that case Fanny is probably Frances

Harriett (aged 39) is widowed and a toll keeper.
Living at (What looks like) Boroyess Gate. Steep nr Petersfield.

Harriet Pilbeam 2 Steep, Hampshire, England Daughter Steep Hampshire
John Jas Pilbeam 11 months Steep, Hampshire, England Son Steep Hampshire
Ellen Pilbeam 12 St Peter, Isle of Wight Daughter Steep Hampshire
Frances Pilbeam 13 Headcorn, Hampshire, England Daughter Steep Hampshire
Harriett Pilbeam 39 Beddendon, Kent, England Head Steep Hampshire
Jane Pilbeam 10 Bedindon, Kent, England Daughter Steep Hampshire
Julia Pilbeam 8 Bedindon, Kent, England Daughter Steep Hampshire
Mary Pilbeam 7 Markscop Rotherfield, Sussex, England Daughter Steep Hampshire
Source information: RG10/1221
Registration district: Petersfield
Sub-registration district: Petersfield
ED, institution, or vessel: 11
Folio: 43
Page: 12 (click to see others on page)
Household schedule number: 57

Hope it helps

[rookie]

Hello Di & Trev, Thankyou for all the information from the 1871 census. It all ties in with the information I have collected, ie Harriets husband John was stated as deceased on Fannys Marriage cert. and his occupation as Toll Gate Keeper in St. Peters Isle of Thanet. His death was recorded in the March quarter of 1871 so Harriet would be a widow in the census.
I also have the birth and marriage certs of Ellen, the former recorded in the Isle of Thanet. As usual much of census information is to be viewed with a healthy dose of suspicion, as in the 1881 and the 1891 census Frances was born in Tenterden Kent and Headcorn Kent.
Anyway I only became interested in the Pilbeams because Ellen and Fanny married into the maternal side of my family (Fowkes) which is the main thrust of my research. However the information you supplied will be digested and incorporated into the larger picture if I ever last the distance. Thankyou once again for information that at least confirms some of what I already have.
Regards, John.

[Clive Blackaby]

Frances Pilbeam 13 Headcorn, Hampshire, England Daughter Steep Hampshire
Harriett Pilbeam 39 Beddendon, Kent, England Head Steep Hampshire
Jane Pilbeam 10 Bedindon, Kent, England Daughter Steep Hampshire
It would be quite likely Fanny would have been registered under her "Sunday best" name of Frances, as that is the name her parents gave the census enumerator. On the other hand, if her registered name really was Fanny, an enumerator may well have put her down as Frances.

The inaccuracy of enumeration is amply illustrated here
· Headcorn is in Kent
· I reckon Bedindon / Beddendon Kent could be Benenden, which is not too far away from Headcorn. But then again it could mean any one of a number of similar sounding places not in Kent
I've looked on FreeBMD, and there is no record in or around 1858 under Frances or Fanny (though I have spotted Frances Hannah Pilbeam birth in Ticehurst registration district in 1870, and a "Frances Fanny Pilbeam" married in the same district in 1869. That looks like New York New York to me!)

But 1857-58 is not a good couple of years on FreeBMD - births are only about 10 - 15% complete. Looking at the images it is not surprising - they are virtually illegible in places. But I can offer you two possibles which I have found on 1837 online

Fanny Pilbeam, registered 1857 Q1 Ticehurst Vol 2b page 77
Francis Pilbeam registered 1858 Q1 East Grinstead Vol 2b page 118

I'd go for the first one, as Francis is usually male, and Ticehurst is fairly near Benenden.

I have looked at the images for Q1 1857 --> Q2 1858, and these are the only two that are on there.

(If that's what you are looking for it's 60p well spent, eh!)

[rookie]

Hello again Di & Trev, As I said before I am really researching the Fowkes Family and although purists will probably say that I am wrong to go off at a tangent, I think it is far more interesting to add flesh to the bones rather than pursue a direct line of descent and end up with a list of names and dates that are really rather meaningless.
Now, to get off my soapbox and back to Fanny. I to found Fanny registered in Ticehurst and noted it for future reference, then in desperation after I had gone back over the same ground several times I applied for the cert. Unfortunately her father is Edmund & mother Hannah, so this is another cert. I shall be posting. As for the birth place I have come across every possible spelling for Biddenden and decided to pay very little attention to specific names and accept any location in Kent as worth a second look.
I shall make a note of the East Grinstead reference but as Ellen was born in December 1858 the timing seems a bit tight although considering that Harriet had 10 children that I can account for nothing would suprise me.
Meanwhile I shall just plod on and hope. Cheers. John.