Progress in 2012

Electoral Rolls 1901-1961

Ancestry recently published the electoral rolls for the London area and in the case of the Brecht family there was coverage over a period of 60 years 1901-1961.

There were entries for 8 London boroughs:

Maximum number of people named Brecht

Poplar...3
Limehouse 1
Woolwich...6
Greenwich...5
Bow & Bromley...2
Stepney...2
Lewisham...1
Baron's Court...2

The largest totals of people named Brecht was between 1939-1958 and the largest number in any one year was 11 in 1949 and 1950.

Mary Somes

Over the years, we have found some parts of the jigsaw that makes up the sad life of Mary Somes. We have not established the names of Mary's parents but a reasonable guess would be:

Mary Somes born circa 1783/4 bp (?) 4.8.1784 (21 days old) at St George in the East
(parents (?) William Somes, Waterman of Lime Yard & Elizabeth)

married Heinrich Brecht 10.7.1808 at St Mary's, Islington

buried 3.1.1819 (age 35) at Christ Church, Spitalfields

Tombstone in St George in the East

My cousin sent me an extraordinary photograph of a large tombstone with memorials to members of the Somes Family from the graveyard at St George in the East:

 

I have extracted a list of the entries on the tombstone and to make sense of the information, I obtained some entries in Parish Records and collated the information from the tombstone and Parish Records into a Timeline:

The Somes Family - Entries on Tombstone

The Somes Family - Timeline

Entry in the Parish Records of St Leonards, Shoreditch

In the Parish Records is the following unusual entry:

St Leonards, Shoreditch

Original Entries (see Note below)

Frances Iron  b 25 or 28.12.1790 bp 27.3.1796
(Parents George & Mary Iron of New Inn Yard)

Robert Iron b 20.1.1793 bp 27.3.1796
(Parents George & Mary Iron of New Inn Yard)

Susanna Iron bp 27.3.1796
(Parents George & Mary Iron of New Inn Yard)

Note

Throughout this entry in the register the name Iron had been amended to Hiron and Sussanna to Hannah. Filed with the Register was a sworn deposition by George Hiron:

"Middlesex To Wit

George Hiron of Nichol Street in the Parish of St Matthew, Bethnal Green in the County of Middlesex and late of Shoreditch in the same County maketh oath and saith that he was present at the Baptism of his Daughter Hannah Hiron who was baptised in 1796 at the Parish Church of St Leonard, Shoreditch and this Deponent saith that his Daughter is by mistake registered as Susanna Iron whereby her true Chtistan name is Hannah and surname Hiron which name she has always borne.

Public Office, Worship Street
Justice of the Peace for the County of Middlesex
this 28th day of October 1825
Signed Wm Bennett"

Conclusions

After the change to the Parish Record at St Leonards, Shoreditch, Hannah Hiron was able to marry Francis Somes next month on 17.11.1825 using her actual name

Though I have not found a link to the above members of the Somes Family, if we can prove that Mary Somes is the daughter of a Waterman named Somes it would be worthwhile researching this family in greater detail.

Colin Bower
31 December 2012

Brecht One Name Study - Main Index