George Welham 1813-after 1861.

The IGI contained an entry for the baptism of George Welham, son of Joseph Welham and Lucy at Coddenham on 2nd May 1813. This has not yet been checked in the parish register.

The next entry occurs in the Marriage register for Barking and is dated 18th August 1839. The groom was George Welham, a labourer of full age living in Barking and the son of Joseph Welham, labourer. The bride was Eliza Wright, also of full age, living in Needham Market and the daughter of John Wright, labourer. The marriage was witnessed by Sophy Welham, presumably Joseph’s wife, and they all “made their marks” implying that they were illiterate.

The next records for this family occur in the Battisford registers, implying that George and Eliza moved to Battisford before October 1845. These were the baptisms of five children between 1845 and 1856 and in each case George is described as a labourer living in Battisford. The children were Joseph and Benjamin (both baptised 26th October 1845), Emma (baptised 25th May 1849), George (baptised 3rd March 1853) and William (baptised 19th October 1856).

They may also have had a daughter Eliza, born around 1842, since the marriage register for Battisford includes the marriage, on 6th November 1863, of Eliza Welham, daughter of George Welham to William Edwards. The witnesses were Joseph Welham and Ann Welham - Ann may have been George’s sister (baptised in 1826 and so 37 in 1863). To be “of full age” in 1863, Eliza would need to have been born in 1842.

                       |-Eliza Welham b.1842 mar 1863 William Edwards
                       |-Joseph Welham 1845-? mar Emma. 5 children.
                       |-Benjamin Welham 1845-? mar Emma Cooper. 8 children.
George Welham 1813-?   |-Emma Welham 1849-?
mar 1839   ------------|-George Welham 1853-? mar Sarah Scopes. 7 children.
Eliza Wright 1818-?    |-William Welham 1856-?

In the 1861 census, the family were living at Battisford. George, the head of the family, was 48, a labourer and born in Needham Market. All the rest of the family were said to have been born in Battisford and the ages of the children are consistent with their baptism dates. Eliza, George’s wife, was said to be 42 in 1861, implying that she was born in 1819.

The IGI contain some records which might relate to this family, but the actual registers for Edwardstone need to be checked. The records appear to show the baptism of Eliza, daughter of John Wright and Mary, in February 1818, but the marriage of John Wright and Mary Kingsbury does not occur until September of that year. If John was the son of John Wright and Elizabeth Sexton baptised in Edwardstone on 31st July 1802, then he was only 15 when Eliza was born and the marriage might have had to be delayed until he was 16. The form of entry for John’s baptism is unexpected, since John Wright married Elizabeth Sexton on 26th May 1795 and once married she would not normally be known by her maiden name.

Page maintained by Susan Laflin. Last updated December 2004.