Progress 2021

London Electoral Roll 1832-1965

I mounted a mini-project to summarise some of the entries in the London Electoral Rolls 1832-1965 held by the London Metropolitan Archives.

These have been transcribed and digitised on Ancestry:

Brechts in the London Electoral Roll 1832-1965

London Metropolian Archives

I found some information on Ancestry which I think is new to me:

Commercial/Business Directories

Robson London Directory 1820

Hy Brecht, Colour Manufacturer
12 Fashion Street, Spitalfields

Robson London Directory 1830

Hy Brecht, Colour Manf.
12 Fashion Street, Spitalfields

London Tax Records 1692-1932

1798 Christ Church

Bricht, Fashion Street Rent £20 Sums Assessed £2 3s 4d

1812 Christ Church, Spitalfields

Bricht, Fashion Street Rent £20 Sums Assessed £2 3s 4d

This shows that Henry Brecht was in business in Fashion Street, Spitalfields from at least 1798-1830.

Certainly by 1833 he was operating from Bonner Street, Globe Fields/Bethnal Green (per bp of son Henry in Bethnal Green).

Note

Heinrich/Henry Brecht was a colour maker in Fashion Street, Spitalfields and died in 1838 (age 54) making his birth 1783/4.

It appears that he was christened in Germany in 1784.

As mentioned above, when researching the Electoral Rolls in London 1832-1965, I found an entry under:

London Tax Records 1692-1932

Christ Church 1798

Bricht Fashion Street

This entry throws into doubt the previous entries and what they mean. A timeline illustrates this:

Heinrich/Henry Brecht

Christening 1784

Land Tax Records 1798 (age 14?)

Married 1808 (age 24)

Died 1838 (age 54)

The Land Tax Record date is not impossible but very unlikely.

Lucy Ann Cornwell/Cornwall & George Henry Brett/Brecht

An error of long-standing came to my attention.

From the outset, I was informed that Lucy Ann and George Henry had a son Charles Albert Cornwall born in a workhouse. In fact records show it was Albert Ernest Cornwall.

I have corrected the articles about this family.

Search for John Christopher Brecht & Susannah Pardom, Widow

I did another random search on Ancestry and found an intriguing marriage:

St John the Evangelist, Smith Square

Godfried Pardom (suggesting that he is German)
married 26.12.1777
Susannah Phillips

Pardom was a rare name in London and it had been transcribed incorrectly. Godfrey and Susannah lived amongst the German community including sugar bakers in Alie Street

Susannah was widowed and married John Christopher Brecht who appears to be Jurgen Christoph Brecht a sugar refiner in London in 1784 (and possibly the Uncle and Godfather of Heinrich/Henry Brecht).

Certificates Held

I provided a Names Index for the 60 odd certificates held:

Brecht Certificates Held

Elizabeth Piper Brecht

Reviewing for which of Henry Brecht's children Harriet Piper was the mother, I noticed for the first time that the Parish Records of St Dunstan & All Saints gave the birth date of Elizabeth Piper Brecht as 13.1.1830, when she was christened as an adult.

William Thomas Brecht

I knew William Thomas Brecht married Ellen but I found her surname in an Ancestry search:

All Saints, West Ham, Essex

William Brecht (age 26) Father George Brecht
married 25.12.1895 (Christmas Day)
Ellen Hall

Colin Bower
21 December 2021

Bracht Family - Main Index