Sarah Ann BRITTAIN (or variant) Gamlingay

[Genevieve]

I am trying to find out more about Sarah Ann BRITTAIN born circa 1853 Gamlingay (or Gamlingay Heath). This is what information I have so far:

1901 census
Sarah A HOUSDEN aged 46
living Hornsey Middlesex
born Gamblinghay Heath (I think Hunts i.e. Huntingdonshire but transcribed on Ancestry as Hampshire)

1891 census - I have not yet managed to find her

1881 census
Sarah A HOUSDEN aged 29
living Back St., Biggleswade
born Gamlingay, Cambridgeshire

1871 census - also not yet managed to find her

On the birth certificate of one of her sons Albert George HOUSDEN born 10 August 1883 her maiden name is given as BRITTAIN.

I and a cousin have separately searched extensively for her marriage to Albert George's father George HOUSDEN but have been unable to locate a marriage certificate. Either the marriage did not make it into the index or they were not actually married.

I have been unable to find a birth entry in the index in the right location or that otherwise stands out as being the right one.

Can anyone help? If she was born in Gamlingay or Gamlingay Heath where could I consult the parish register(s)?

Thanks

[Peggy]

Has me stymied. I see in 1891:

Housden, Sarah Ann 36 Gamlingay, Cambridgeshire Wife Biggleswade

But the head of household is John, 28, and there is no Albert George.

There's: Housden, Albert 7 Bedfordshire Son St Paul Bedfordshire

Head of household is George, 45, but the wife is:

Housden, Priscilla 47 Gamlingay, Cambridgeshire Wife St Paul Bedfordshire

In 1871, looking only for Sarah and Gamlingay, the closest I can get is a Sarah Ann Hinton, 16. Could some accent have caused Brittain to be recorded as Hinton?

:confused:

Peggy

[Genevieve]

Peggy

Thanks. I haven't had time to digest what you've sent but I will look at it along with a number of Housden census downloads I need to try to make sense of. (I had a 'pay as you go' subscription to Ancestry that was about to expire so on a use it or lose it basis I downloaded a number of images that looked interesting).

I had a spot of luck yesterday on Genes Reunited and found a third cousin of my grandmother who has given me his tree which will hopefully help me sort out 'my' Housdens from 'his' because of course they all use and reuse the same first names!

Housden is quite an unusual name in the general population but not in Biggleswade.

I suppose Hinton and Brittain do sound similar and an H and a B could look similar when written down.

Thanks again.

[Peggy]

[I suppose Hinton and Brittain do sound similar and an H and a B could look similar when written down.]

No, I checked, and it is clearly written as Hinton. Just wondered if Brittain could have sounded like Hinton to the census taker.

I can send you the images for the people I mentioned, if they don't turn out to be among the ones you downloaded. And for Hinton, if you think it is worth a look. Let me know.

Regards,

Peggy

[Genevieve]

Peggy,

Thanks for the offer of the images - I'll take you up on that. Also, the HINTON one - you never know.

Looks like I need to get my thinking cap on.

Many thanks

GEN

[Peggy]

Hi Gen,

Sending by e-mail.

Peggy

[Lorna Warren]

Just found your post on this site while looking for Housden ancestors. I think Sarah Ann Brittain was my great grandmother except that my cousin who has done the research has her maiden name as Dennis, daughter of John Dennis.Other than that we have similar information. My grandmother was her daughter Rose Isobel Housden, born in Biggleswade in 1879. She left there at the age of 12 to go into service with her father's sister Martha,by then married and living in Ealing. I didn't know that my great grandmother was living in London also. I couldn't find my grandmother on the 1891 census either but she appears in 1901 married to her first husband Benjamin Parsons.

[Genevieve]

Hi Lorna

Since I started this thread I have been in touch with Brian Hurst, a descendant of Rose Isobel, is he the cousin who you refer to? He told me that from Rose's birth cert Sarah Ann's maiden name is DENNIS. He was also able to send me some photo's of the sisters which was great.

It is quite puzzling and I would be interested to find out what the other siblings' birth certificates say. Certainly neither I nor a cousin of mine who has done quite a lot of work have been able to find any trace of Sarah Ann BRITTAIN.

There are a number of possible explanations and we may never know the reason.

I haven't had time to look for Sarah Ann DENNIS as yet - I have a young family including a 7 week old baby so I am doing well to be checking my email!! Thanks for letting me know her father's name.

There are quite a few people looking into the HOUSDENs who I have come across on this forum and others - we should start our own forum/website!

I don't know what info you have. I have details back to William and Elizabeth HOUSDEN both born late 1700's if you are interested - let me know. And if you have more than that I'd be interested!

I too was born in Harringay in 1966 though now living in Northamptonshire having moved up in the 70's.

Gaynor