We all have them: those fascinating, well-documented ancestors that aren't ours, but we wish they were.
My genea-envy is evoked by Henry Ambridge, the paternal fifth grandfather of my best friend. The son of Henry and Ann Ambridge, he was christened in
St. John at Hampstead on September 16, 1694.
[Original Data: London Metropolitan Archives, St John at Hampstead, Camden, Composite register: baptisms, marriages & burials, 1560-1737, Images produced by permission of the City of London Corporation Libraries, Archives.
Ancestry.com. London, England, Baptisms, Marriages and Burials, 1538-1812 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA]
On June 9, 1720, Henry, bachelor, and his bride-to-be Ann Briggs, spinster, were named in a marriage bond in the parish of
St. Andrew Holborn.
[Original data: Marriage Bonds and Allegations. London, England: London Metropolitan Archives. Images produced by permission of the City of London Corporation Libraries, Archives.
Ancestry.com. London and Surrey, England, Marriage Bonds and Allegations, 1597-1921 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011.]
Then there are their marriage lines, dated June 12, 1720, also from St. Andrew Holborn. Note that the couple were married by
Lycence* which enabled them to marry without the banns being announced in church for three successive Sundays, a choice that cost more but was more private and had become fashionable.
[Original Data;London Metropolitan Archives, St Andrew Holborn,Register of marriages,1720-1735/6, Images produced by permission of the City of London Corporation Libraries, Archives.
Ancestry.com. London, England, Baptisms, Marriages and Burials, 1538-1812 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA]
As a member of the
Worshipful Company of Butchers, one of the
Livery Companies of London, Henry was granted Freedom of the City** in 1723.
[Original data: Freedom admissions papers, 1681 – 1925. London, England: London Metropolitan Archives. COL/CHD/FR/02. London Metropolitan Archives
Ancestry.com. London, England, Freedom of the City Admission Papers, 1681-1925 database on-line. Provo, UT, USA]
On July 22, 1748, Henry signed an Indenture by which his son Harry*** apprenticed himself for the token sum of one penny to learn the butcher's trade. Four years later Henry did the same for his youngest son William (without the fee).
[ Original data: Freedom admissions papers, 1681 – 1925. London, England: London Metropolitan Archives.
Ancestry.com. London, England, Freedom of the City Admission Papers, 1681-1925 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010.]
We know that Henry's address was in
Little Swan Alley in 1750 from a Poll Book**** of that date.
[Original data: London, England, UK and London Poll Books. London, England: London Metropolitan Archives and Guildhall Library.
Ancestry.com. UK, Poll Books and Electoral Registers, 1538-1893 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA]
[Plan de la Ville de Londres et aes Fauxbourgs, Paris, 1764; Bellin, Jacques Nicolas Bellin, 1703-1772.
Source: Davis Rumsey Historical Map Collection.]
And from here on we have too many records for Henry. Or rather we have too many Henrys. Is he the Henry Ambridge who owed a land tax for two properties in
Faringdon Without in 1764?
[Original data: London Land Tax Records. London, England: London Metropolitan Archives. Images produced by permission of the City of London Corporation Libraries, Archives.
Ancestry.com. London, England, Land Tax Records, 1692-1932 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA]
If so, he can't be the Henry Ambridge (from London) who was buried at
St. Mary at Finchley, Hendon on June 3, 1755.
[Original data: Church of England Parish Registers, 1538-1812. London, England: London Metropolitan Archives. Images produced by permission of the City of London Corporation Libraries, Archives.
Ancestry.com. London, England, Baptisms, Marriages and Burials, 1538-1812 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA]
Then there's the Henry Ambredge who was buried at St. Martin's Church, Ruislip, in 1762. I wonder who he is?
[Original data: Church of England Parish Registers, 1538-1812. London, England: London Metropolitan Archives. Images produced by permission of the City of London Corporation Libraries, Archives. Ancestry.com. London, England, Baptisms, Marriages and Burials, 1538-1812 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA]
I've managed to trace the Ambridge line in Hampstead two generations farther back, to the 1640s. The thing that impresses me the most about them is that, from the earliest time when signatures were required on documents, both male and female Ambridges were able to sign their names even when their spouses could only make their mark.
*License
**
Here is a short video explaining about the Freedom of the City, "one of the oldest surviving traditional ceremonies still in existence today."
***My friend's fourth great grandfather.
****As a freeman Henry was eligible to vote for the Mayor and Sheriffs of the City of London.
© 2015 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.
