Family History, Wheaton Chart 0517 ??? and Rebecca Wheaton

1841 High Street, Bluntisham, Huntingdonshire At this address there was a Robert (born 1781) Catherine (born 1786) and Rebecca (born 1827) WHEATON. There are no others with these names in our family in Huntingdonshire in 1841. Was Rebecca a granddaughter, a daughter of William or Richard? To include the information within the family it has been decided that William and Rebecca were the parents. (See explanation below) Living with the family was William SKINNER (25) Shepherd born not in Huntingdonshire 1842 Manea, Cambridgeshire 1845 Bluntisham, Huntingdonshire 1847 Union Workhouse, Hemmingford Grey, Huntingdonshire 1849 Union Workhouse, Hemmingford Grey, Huntingdonshire 1851 St Ives Union Workhouse, Hemingford Grey, Huntingdonshire No birth or baptism has been found for Rebecca; there are no suitable marriage or death entries in the Civil Registration Indexes for this Rebecca WHEATON. Reasoning for thinking that Rebecca WHEATON is a child of William and Rebecca WHEATON on WHEATON Chart 0601. It was decided to look to see if there were any known Rebecca WHEATONs who could be the same person as this Rebecca WHEATON (of Unknown Parentage)” a. Rebecca WHEATON, baptised 1795 daughter of the daughter of Robert and Catherine. This Rebecca WHEATON married a William WHEATON in 1821 and had two children, Charles and Catherine, both baptised in 1825. William WHEATON was not living with a wife in 1841, and in 1851 said that he was a widower. Therefore, we had assumed that William's wife Rebecca WHEATON had died before 1841. However, if Rebecca (of Unknown Parentage) is the same person as the Rebecca WHEATON who married William WHEATON, Rebecca and William could have parted before 1841, and Rebecca could have had five children with an unknown father. William was still alive in 1870 when Emily (Rebecca's daughter) married and entered the name of William WHEATON as her father on her marriage certificate, so perhaps there had been a reconciliation. On the other hand, if the WHEATON family was a close-knit one, perhaps she was brought up by William's father, also a William. But, this Rebecca WHETON would have been 48 years old when Martha was born, and about 56 at the time of the birth of the second Albert. And would she have given the son by the unknown father the same name as her first-born who was still living? Given the foregoing we think that this Rebecca WHEATON is not the same person as the Rebecca of Unknown parentage. b. Rebecca WHEATON, born about 1827 who was living with Robert and Catherine WHEATON in 1841. As always, problems do not come singly. The ages of Robert WHEATON and Catherine WHEATON née WHITE entered on the 1841 census do not correspond to the ages of the couple to whom the entry belongs. Robert WHEATON (stated as being born 1781 instead of 1772) was the son of William and Elizabeth WHEATON; his wife Catherine died in 1860 aged 87, so was born about 1773 and not 1786 as the age on the 1841 census indicates. There is, therefore, about a ten year difference for the two adults between their actual ages and the ages shown on the census. But what of the Rebecca WHEATON who was living with them in 1841? Her age is given as 14 years old. Robert and Catherine's daughter (No.a above) would have been 47 year old. A 33 year difference is somewhat different to the 10 year difference in the ages given for Robert and Catherine. Perhaps this Rebecca was a granddaughter. In 1843 when the mystery Rebecca had her first child, this Rebecca, the one living with Robert and Catherine in 1841 would have been 15 years old so could just have been the mother of Martha. So, if Rebecca was born in 1827, as calculated from the age on the 1841 Census, and she was a granddaughter of Robert and Catherine, which of Robert and Catherine's children was Rebecca’s parent? Of the sons, Richard is the only one old enough to have been a possible father for Rebecca. (Daniel would have been 13, Isaac 12) Richard married in 1825 and had children in 1826, 1827, 1830 and 1831 so, although possible, it is unlikely that he would be Rebecca’s father. Of the daughters, Jane married in 1812, Ann married in 1820 and Sophia married 1823 so they would have been COUSINS, HALL and AUBREY respectively in 1827 when Rebecca WHEATON was born. Elizabeth married in 1828 when she became LEE and Phoebe died 1829, age 17 years old so both could just possibly be Rebecca's mother. Rebecca married William WHEATON in 1821 (See (a) above) She and William could have been the parents of this Rebecca (of Unknown Parentage), born 1827, and the birth date would fit in with the other two children, both baptised in 1825. If the mother, Rebecca, had died before 1841 as originally deduced from details on the 1841 Census for William, perhaps the daughter, Rebecca, went to live with her grandparents which would correspond with the information we already have. Perhaps Robert and Catherine were concerned that they might not be able to continue to look after Rebecca as they were so much older, which is why they indicated that they were younger than their true ages on the 1841 census. Rebecca, the mother of these three children, named her son Charles, which, if she is part of the William/Rebecca WHEATON family means she gave him the same name as her brother. It would also follow that perhaps, if Emily was in contact with her mother's father, she might have thought of him, not as her grandfather, but as her father. (On the other hand, she might just have wanted a name on the marriage certificate). So, it is possible that Rebecca of Unknown Parentage could be the granddaughter of Robert and Catherine WHEATON, and maybe the daughter of William and Rebecca WHEATON. c. Rebecca WHEATON née WEST or BECK, wife of Robert WHEATON. This couple, part of Carol PYENTA’s family, were together with two of their children in Somersham in 1841, and on their own there in 1851. A Rebecca WHEATON, wife of Robert WHEATON died in 1853, so given this information it seems unlikely that this Rebecca is the mother of Charles and Emily. There are no other Rebecca's in our WHEATON family, nor have we found any others in the Huntingdonshire and Cambridgeshire records. Given all the foregoing, it seems most likely that William WHEATON and his wife Rebecca (née WHEATON), had a daughter Rebecca, whose baptism we have not found. (Given the problems we are having with Non-conformist registers, this is not surprising). From census information it would seem that William's wife died young, at least before 1841, which could have left him with at least three children born before 1827. His wife's parents, Robert and Catherine, would appear to have taken one of the children, Rebecca, born 1827, into their home. They were concerned because they were getting on in years, so when asked for their ages for the 1841 census they made out they were ten years younger than they actually were. Their granddaughter, Rebecca, was at this time 14 years old, and working as a female servant. Two years later Rebecca gave birth to her first child, Martha, followed by Charles and Emily and then the two Arthurs. And one more HOWEVER, this time in large type. The daughter of William and Rebecca WHEATON, one Catherine Ann WHEATON married John FREESTONE in 1847, and in 1851 living with John and Catherine FREESTONE was a Martha WHATTON (WHEATON?) age 7 born Harris (Chatteris?), Cambridgeshire. described as a cousins. Martha, the daughter of Rebecca would have been 7, and although the Martha living with Catherine Ann in 1851 is shown as a niece rather than a cousin we are sure this is the same person. If so, it does suggest that Catherine Ann and Rebecca (of Unknown Parentage) were sisters, just as was surmised in the foregoing notes!”. 1851 Martha is not living with her mother, sister and brothers in the St Ives Union Workhouse, Hemingford Grey, Huntingdonshire in 1851 There is no suitable marriage or death in the Civil Registration Indexes. 1851 37 Gold Street, St Andrew the Less, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire. At this address was Catherine Ann FREESTONE née WHEATON with her husband and family, together with John FREESTONE's mother, Sophia. Living with them was a Martha WHATTON, a cousin born Harris, Cambridgeshire age 7. It is more than likely that this was actually a Martha WHEATON and that Harris should be Chatteris. The only Martha WHEATON of the right age is this one, daughter of Rebecca. This information has enabled us to decide that Rebecca was a sister of Catherine Ann FREESTONE née WHEATON 1861 Not found 1851 St Ives Workhouse, Hemingford Grey, Huntingdonshire 1861 Waited?, St Ives, Huntingdonshire. Gave birth place as Somersham, Huntingdonshire. An Apprentice to George JAMES, Head of house, Age 32, his wife Mary A, daughter Mary A E and son Charles. 1871 High Street, Cottenham, Cambridgeshire Gave birth place as Somersham, Huntingdonshire Lodging with James PAULEY (49) Ag Lab born Cottenham, Cambridgeshire, his wife Mary Ann and 5 children On the death certificate the age of Charles is given as 24, which indicates that he was born in 1850. There are no Charles WHEATON births in the Indexes for 1850. In the Birth Indexes at the Family Record Centre information for all the Charles listed for the period 1840 to 1867 have been found. They went to America, died, or are on the 1881 Census. Except one, and that is the Charles born in 1845, son of Rebecca. We have assumed, therefore, that given he died in the Workhouse his age may have been estimated, which allows for the discrepancy. 1851 St Ives Union Workhouse, Hemingford Grey, Huntingdonshire 1861 White Hall Inn Post Office, High or Main Street, Brampton, Huntingdonshire. Emily is a servant to Joseph ABBOTT (54), Boot Shoe Make, Publican born Thrapston, Northamptonshire, his wife Susana (64) born Eynsbury, Huntingdonshire, son Joseph (30) Boot Shoe Maker born Brampton, Huntingdonshire, daughter-in-law Ann (24) widow Boot Shoe widow born Membury, Huntingdonshire and granddaughter Elizabeth ABBOT (2) born Brampton, Huntingdonshire. Servants were Jane BRIGGS (23) General Servant born Chatteris, Cambridgeshire, Phillip WATSON (15) Servant born Hemingford Abbots, Huntingdonshire. An apprentice was George ADAMS born Over, Cambridgeshire. Visitors were Harriet BAXTER (34) daughter, married born Brampton, Huntingdonshire and grandchildren Thomas A (7) born Cambridge, Cambridgeshire and Harriet E (3) BAXTER Stamford, Lincolnshire 1870 43 St Paul's Road, Islington, Middlesex 1871 9 Clarence Place, City Road, St Luke, Middlesex as Emma born Royston, Cambridgeshire. There are children William (7) Scholar, John (3) and George (11 months) born Royston, Cambridgeshire, St Lukes, Middlesex and Clerkenwell, Middlesex respectively. Should it be Emily, and do these children belong to her? 1881 30 Northampton Street, Islington, Middlesex as Emily born in St Ives 1891 13 Chalfont Road, Islington, London as Emily born in St Ives 1901 12 Hornsey Street, Lower Holloway, Islington, London as a widow 1911 Not found 1851 St Ives Union Workhouse, Hemingford Grey, Huntingdonshire

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This is a Chart for ??? and Rebecca Wheaton