Major Discovery

Death of Mary (Somes) Brecht in 1819

After I re-published the contents of the web-site in February, I made a major discovery. I had discovered the burial of Mary Brecht in the new Family Search web-site in Feburary but there was no further details. The burial had not been indexed properly in Ancestry but it had in findmypast:

Christ Church, Spitalfields

3.1.1819 Burial of Mary Brecht (age 35), Fashion Street (per findmypast index)

This is a major discovery not least of which is that Mary Somes, Heinrich/Henry's first wife is not my direct ancestor! She is the mother of 3 girls who died young:

Christ Church, Spitalfields

- Charlotte Brecht, Fashion Street born circa June 1909 buried 15.1.1819 (same month as mother died) - age 9 years and 7 months
- Maria Catherine Brecht born 16.6.1812 bp 12.7.1812 buried 16.11.1814 (both Christ Church, Spitalfields)
- Elisabeth Catharine Brecht, Fashion Street born circa Sept 1815 buried 17.6.1821 - age 5 years 9 months

Search for Harriet Piper

Heinrich/Henry Brecht had a number of children after his first wife died:

- Eleanor Brecht, Fashion Street born circa May 1823 buried 24.10.1825, Christ Church, Spitalfields - age 17 months
- Catherine Brecht born Nov 1822 per adult bp 1865 St Matthews, Bethnal Green
- Caroline Brecht born c 1825/6
- Rosnea Brecht born c 1826/7
- Elizabeth Brecht born c 1828/9
- Eleanor Brecht born c 1830/1
- Henry Brecht bp 1833 St Matthews, Bethnal Green died 1855 (age 22)- parents Heinrich Brecht & Harriet Piper
- Christiana Brecht born 1835 per adult bp 1865 St Matthews, Bethnal Green
- George Frederick Brecht, my Great Grandfather, born 1834/5 died 1909 (age 74)

At the moment, we have discovered the baptism of the above children only. 3 of the girls used Piper as their middle name when they got married.

In 1837 Henry Brecht married Harriet Piper at St George in the East and remarried Henry Colvin at the same church in 1838. In the 1841 Census all the surviving children were living with Harriet and her second husband Henry Colvin.

This is a puzzling sequence of events but for the moment I am assuming that Harriet Piper is the mother of all the children born after 1819 and the search is on for Harriet Piper:

Search for Harriet Piper - What we know

Things we wish we knew (update):

- Confirmation of Marriage of John Piper, Harness maker (Harriet's father per her marriage certs - to Henry Colvin)
- Birth/Baptism of Heinrich/Henry's children born after 1819
- Confirmation that Harriet Piper was the mother of these children
- Birth/Baptism of Harriet's daughter Harriet Colvin and sons Henry and William Colvin

 

Also see Summary of Records Held (Completed& To Do):

Summary of Records Held - Piper Family

Colin Bower
30 November 2011

Brecht Family - Main Index

The Big One! - Piper Family