2. ESSEX, England: 1783–1873
by Alan Craig Download the PDF for this page (34.3 MB)
On the previous page, we saw how the Shorter, Wright and Brand families of Suffolk slowly merged over the period 1659–1830 in the village of Barrow. Susanna Shorter left the town and made her way to London sometime before 1866, and there she met and married Thomas Edwards, whose family had mostly come from the Chelmsford area in Essex.
N.B. — Throughout this text, all of Robyn’s direct ancestors are marked in purple. All blue text [inside brackets] represents additional information or corrections, and did not form part of the original documents. Copies of the original birth, death, marriage and census records are held by me and stored in the Cloud, and can be made available to interested parties. When reproducing the baptismal, marriage, and death records below, I have kept the original archaic spellings and text, and also generally laid them out to reflect how they appear in the parish records.
PART A: EDWARDS–Finch
Stock, Chelmsford & Springfield
The earliest records we can find in the Edwards/Finch line are index listings for the births of John [2] Edwards and, possibly, Thomas Finch (both 3g-grandfathers). Thomas seems to been born first, and we have a possible baptism recorded at Maldon, Essex, on 7 December 1783; his parents were given as William and Elizabeth Finch. There has been no marriage record found for Thomas (or his parents), and we next find him, and his wife Sarah (no surname given), when they started to baptise their children. Thomas and Sarah had 8 children: Mary Ann (1809); Sarah (1811); Rebekah (1814); Thomas (1815); Hannah (1817); John (1819,; Elizabeth (1821); and William (1824).
Their first child, Mary Ann, was born on 14 December 1809 at the village of Stock, 8km / 5 miles south of Chelmsford. However, she was baptised in 1810 at the “Old Meeting House, Baddow Lane” in Chelmsford. This was a Quaker (Society of Friends) baptism, and is one of only two in our family history (there was also a grandson, and that will be mentioned shortly). Their second born was our Sarah (Robyn’s 2g-grandmother), who we know from the records was born in 1811, although there is some confusion as to her birthplace (more on that later too).
1814 ENGLAND Non-Conformist BAPTISMS: Stock, Essex 1Source: FINCH, Sarah; 1814 England Non-Conformist Baptisms; RG4/780; Stock, Essex.
Sarah Finch Daughter of Thomas and Sarah Finch
of the parish of Stock, Essex, was born on the
29 of September 1811 – Baptised July 31 1814
By me Benjamin Hayter
Dissenting Minister
Wherever she was born, she was baptised in 1814 (perhaps re-baptised) at the village of Stock, 8km (5 miles) south of Chelmsford, and on the same day her younger sister Rebekah was Christened (see left). However, this was not a Quaker baptism, but at a non-conformist ‘dissenting’ church. Quakers didn’t have ministers, so this church must have been either Congregational or Baptist. English ‘Dissenters’ had separated from the Church of England during the 16–18th centuries. They opposed state interference in religious matters and founded their own churches, educational establishments, and communities, while agitating for a Protestant Reformation of the Established Church.
1805 ENGLAND BANNS & MARRIAGES: Springfiled, Essex 2Source: EDWARDS, John [2] & FRYANT, Sarah; 1805 England Marriages; D/P 211/1/4; Springfield, Essex.
Nº 92 (No Impediment was alleged)
Banns of Marriage between John [2] Edwards Bachelor, and
Sarah Friant, Spinster both of this Parish of Springfield
in the County of Essex were published on three Sundays:
on Sunday 14th of July 1805 by me H. Gretton, Rector
on Sunday 21st of July 1805 T. Dennis Mnr
on Sunday 28th of July 1805 by me H. Gretton, Rector
—
Nº 85 John [2] Edwards of this Parish Bachelor, and
Sarah Fryant of this Parish Spinster Married in this Church
by Banns the Seventh day of August [1805] By me John Morgan Minister
Solemnised between us { John Edwards { Sarah Fryant
in the Presence of { Mary x Edwards { George Ashman Parish-Clerk
Apart from Mary Ann, all the other children in Thomas and Sarah’s family were baptised by Benjamin Hayter, the Dissenting Minister at Stock. We have only one other event for this family before the 1841 census was taken, and we’ll reveal that below. However, we do have more details about John [2] Edwards.
He was baptised at the All Saints Church in Springfield, Essex, on New Year’s Eve 1786, and his parents were given as John and Elizabeth Edwards. They paid 3d. (threepence) tax for the baptism, and the Rector was Henry Gretton.
Then, in 1805 when John [2] was 18, he married Sarah Fryant (or Friant) at the same church, after publishing Banns on the three previous Sundays — and Henry Gretton was still the Rector (see right). Alas, no record of Sarah’s baptism has been found.
John [2] and Sarah’s first child may have been Sophia, born in 1806 at Hatfield Broad Oak (about 20 km / 12 miles north-west of Springfield) — however, there are a lot of ‘John & Sarah Edwards’ in the Essex records, so we’re not sure if this is our family (and it does seem a bit away from their stamping ground in and around Chelmsford). However, the next three children that we know of were all born in Springfield: Eliza (1807); Daniel (1812); and John [3] (1815). Eliza and Daniel were both baptised at the All Saints Church, but no record has turned up for John [3], though all later census records confirm his birth at Springfield in 1815.
The Finch and Edwards families eventually came together in 1834 at Great Baddow, which lies on the southern outskirts of Chelmsford. It was then that 19-year-old John [3] Edwards married 23-year-old Sarah Finch at St Mary the Virgin, and they would be together for the next 42 years (see below).
1834 ENGLAND MARRIAGES: St Mary, Gt Baddow, Essex 3Source: EDWARDS, John [3] & FINCH, Sarah; 1834 England Marriages; D/P 65/1/10; Great Baddow, Essex.
Nº 238 | John [3] Edwards of the Parish of Springfield,
Bachelor and Sarah Finch of this Parish Spinster
were married in this Church by banns this twenty fourth Day
of November [1834] by me John Boumster, Vicar
In the Presence of { Daniel Edwards { Sarah Ann Edwards
St Mary the Virgin Church, Great Baddow, Essex.
Their first three children were born before the 1841 census: William Frederick (born October 1835, and baptised 4½ months later in the Quaker Meeting House in Baddow Lane); Sarah (born April 1839, but only a Birth Index record); and Rebecca (born January 1841, and again, only a Birth Index entry). From here on, we have no more connections with the Society of Friends, or Dissenting denominations.
Two views of the All Saints Church, Springfield, Essex.
The Years 1841 – 1851
When the 1841 census was taken, John [2] Edwards and his wife Sarah Fryant were living at “Wickliff House” in Springfield. I haven’t been able to locate that particular property on old maps, but it lay to the north of Springfield Street before the eastern side of Springfield Green :
1841 ENGLAND CENSUS: Wickliff House, Springfield, Essex 4Source: EDWARDS, John [2], 1841 England Census; HO 107 / 326 / 7; Springfield, Essex.
John [2] Edwards; 55; [born Essex]
Sarah Edwards [Fryant]; 65; [born Essex]
As you can see, this record has almost no useful information at all. Given that adult ages in the 1841 census were routinely rounded down to the nearest ‘5’, we cannot overly rely on this record for John and Sarah’s ages. The enumerator even forgot to mark whether they were born in Essex or not! I guess we can, at best, say they were still living. However, their son John [3]’s census record is somewhat better, and we find him with his wife and his in-laws at “New Street” in Chelmsford:
1841 ENGLAND CENSUS: New Street, Chelmsford, Essex 5Source: FINCH, Thomas; 1841 England Census; HO 107/325; Chelmsford; Essex.
Thomas Finch; 57; Maltster Journeyman; born Essex
Sarah Finch; 56; born Essex
Hannah Finch; 23; born Essex
John Finch; 22; Fellmonger Journeyman; born Essex
William Finch; 16; Fellmonger Journeyman; born Essex
//
John [3] Edwards; 26; Bricklayer’s Labourer; born Essex
Sarah Edwards [Finch]; 29; born Essex
William Edwards; 5; born Essex
Sarah Edwards; 2; born Essex
Rebecca Edwards; 3 months; born Essex
The old map on the right shows the general ‘enumeration district’ for this record. New Street can be seen running north from Tindal Square at the top of High Street. Our family would have lived on the right side of New Street, but south of Victoria Road. Thomas and Sarah Finch had by this time moved into Chelmsford proper, and still had three children living at home, and we can see he is recorded as being a “maltster”. Thomas would have worked in a malthouse, turning grain into malt for brewing. Indeed, a malting facility can be seen at the top left of the map, and this is likely where he was employed. His two sons worked as “fellmongers”, and their job would have been to cure and prepare animal skins for tanning.
His daughter Sarah and her husband lived next door with their first three children, and John [3] was marked as being a “bricklayer’s labourer”. However, we have no more records for our Edwards/Finch families until Robyn’s great-grandfather, Thomas Edwards, was born in October 1844 at Chelmsford. Again, we don’t have an actual record, but only a Birth Index listing. After that we need to wait till just after Christmas 1847 — it was then that Thomas Finch passed on at Chelmsford, and we have his death certificate (below right). He was buried on 2 January 1848 at St Mary the Virgin in Great Baddow:
1847 ENGLAND Register of DEATHS: Chelmsford, Essex 6Source: FINCH, Thomas; 1847 England Register of Deaths; Nº 312; Chelmsford, Essex.
1847 DEATHS in the District of Chelmsford in the County of Essex
Nº | Died | Name | Age | Profession | Cause | Informant
312 | 28th | Thomas | 65 | Labourer | Influenza | Elizabeth Perry x mark
December Finch years 7 days Present at Death
Chelmsford Chelmsford
Presumably, Elizabeth Perry was a nurse. Thomas was buried on 2 January 1848, at St Mary the Virgin, Great Baddow. Sarah Finch had lost her father; however, only three years later, her husband, John [3] Edwards, was to lose his mother.
1848 ENGLAND BURIALS: All Saints, Springfield, Essex 7Source: EDWARDS (Fryant), Sarah; 1848 England Burials; D/P 211/1/19; Springfield, Essex.
Nº | Name | Abode | Buried | Age | by whom
164 | Sarah Edwards | Springfield | April | 74 | Arthur Pearson
[Fryant] (Street) 9th years Rector
Sarah Edwards née Fryant was very likely the one in this April 1848 burial record at All Saints Church, Springfield (below left). The image of this burial record only became available in 2025 (as with some of the records above), and had to be purchased directly from the Essex County Council (for about £5). Given that it’s the only record for a “Sarah Edwards” at the right place, the right church, of roughly the right age, and happened between 1841 (when we know she was still alive) and 1851 (when her husband was recorded as a “widower”), then we can be reasonably confident this is our ‘Sarah’. About the time that Sarah Fryant died in 1848, John [3] and Sarah Finch had their fifth child, Alfred — but, again, we only have an Index listing for his birth.
At the 1851 census, her widowed husband, John [2], was still at Springfield, and he was living next door to one of his two sons, who was also a widower (see below):
1851 ENGLAND CENSUS: Springfield Street, Springfield, Essex 8Source: EDWARDS, John [2], 1851 England Census; H.O. 107 / 1776; Springfield, Essex.
Daniel Edwards; Head; Widower [of Eliz. Roberts]; 38; Labourer; born Springfield, Essex 🧬
James Edwards; Son; 9; School; born Stepney, Middlesex
//
John [2] Edwards; Head; Widower [of Sarah Fryant]; 64; Agricultural Labourer; born Springfield, Essex
The son Daniel had married Elizabeth Roberts at St Marylebone, London, in 1842, but she had died before this census, and they had one son. Daniel remarried at Clerkenwell, London, in 1857 to Catherine Suckling, and had three more children — Robyn has two DNA connections to Daniel’s descendants.
However, at the 1851 census, Thomas Finch’s widow was living with her daughter’s family at Prospect Row which, from the description of the enumeration district, lay somewhere between Broomfield Road and the Rectory (see map below). There was now two more children in Sarah’s family:
1851 ENGLAND CENSUS: Prospect Row, Chelmsford, Essex 9Source: EDWARDS, John [3]; 1851 England Census; H.O. 107 /1775; Ingatestone, Essex.
John [3] Edwards; Head; Mar.; 36; Lea Draper’s Labourer; born Springfield, Essex
Sarah Edwards [Finch]; Wife; Mar.; 39; Nil; born Brentwood, Essex
William Edwards; Son; Unm.; 15; Lea Draper’s Labourer; born Springfield, Essex
Sarah Edwards; Daur.; Unm.; 11; School; born Chelmsford, Essex
Rebecca Edwards; Daur.; Unm; 10; School; born Chelmsford, Essex
Thomas Edwards; Son; Unm.; 6; School; born Chelmsford, Essex
Alfred Edwards; Son; Unm.; 3; at home; born Chelmsford, Essex
Sarah Finch; Mother-in-law; Widow; 68; Formerly Washer; born Great Burstead, Essex
Enumeration District 1851: East of Broomfield Rd from Railway Street to Rectory Lane, all of Townfield to the Railway including Victoria Row, Railway Terrace and Townfield Street. Prospect Row is not marked.
John [3] and his eldest son are marked as “Lea Draper’s Labourer”, but we’re not sure what this could be — perhaps a local employer. We also find out that his mother-in-law was born at Great Burstead, which was about 14 km (9 miles) south of Chelmsford. If her age is correct, we can calculate that she was born c.1783.
By now, Robyn’s great-grandfather, Thomas Edwards, has entered the world, and his birthday we know from his great-grandson (Alf Edwards of Sydney, Robyn’s 2nd cousin) as 10 October 1844. Unfortunately, we haven’t found his baptismal record to verify this, but we have always been confident that Alf knew the date.
We also know from the England Birth Indexes that their last child, Catherine, was born in 1855. It seems that after their first son, William, John [3] and Sarah had ceased baptising their children — no church records have been found for the last five at either All Saints, or any of the Independent churches.
The 1861 Census
When the 1861 census came round, the only children left in the family home were Catherine and her older brother Alfred — but their widowed grandfather, now a pauper, was also living with them:
1861 ENGLAND CENSUS: Compasses Row, Chelmsford, Essex 10Source: EDWARDS, John [3]; 1861 England Census; RG 9/1079; Chelmsford, Essex.
John [3] Edwards; Head; Mar.; 46; Messenger; born Springfield, Essex
Sarah Edwards [Finch]; Wife; Mar.; 49; bornBures, Suffolk[Brentwood, Essex?]
Alfred Edwards; Son; 15; Brickmaker’s Labourer; born Chelmsford, Essex
Catherine Edwards; Daur.; 6; Scholar; born Chelmsford, Essex
John [2] Edwards; Father; Widower; 75; late Ag. Lab., a pauper; born Springfield, Essex
A wider view of north Chelmsford showing the general enumeration districts for both the 1851 & 1861 censuses.
John [3] was then given as a “messenger”, and Sarah Finch says she was born in “Bures, Suffolk”, and does so again in the following census. Bures is a small hamlet on the border with Essex — but she gave “Brentwood, Essex” in the 1851 census, and the Births Index of 1811 gives “Essex”. Given her family’s general locality from all other records, I think Essex is correct … but there remains some doubt.
‘Compasses’ can be seen at the top left of the map sitting to the left of the Roman Road heading north. This road is usually named Broomfield Road on most old maps. The family’s previous address at New Street is at the bottom right of the map.
Old John [2] was actually 74, and is given as being an “agricultural labourer, a pauper”, and this was his last census. The England Civil Registration Death Index records what is likely to be his death in March 1865 at Chelmsford, but no image is yet available. But, where is young Thomas Edwards? Well, a search for him in the census records finds just one possibility:
1861 ENGLAND CENSUS: Infantry Barracks, Colchester, Essex 11Source: EDWARDS, Thomas; 1861 England Census; RG 9/1097; Colchester, Essex.
=== Multiple Entries ===
Thomas Edwards; Unm.; 18; Private Army; born Chelmsford, Essex
=== Multiple Entries ===
An illustration of the Colchester Infantry Barracks as they were in 1856.
This record is from the census taken at the St Botolph Infantry Barracks, just south of the town of Colchester. If this is our ‘Thomas’, then he was only 16, not 18 — but there are several soldiers at these barracks who are recorded as being 16, so this need not be a preclusion in itself.
Perhaps young Thomas has enlisted, and his occupation given in the 1871 census would certainly tend to favour some connection with the military. However, another possibility is that he had become a seaman, and was ‘at sea’ when the 1861 census was taken — and there is some evidence that might support that scenario when he marries.
PART B: Thomas Edwards & Susanna Shorter
Great-grandparents (Plumstead, London: 1866–1873)
1866^ENGLAND MARRIAGES: St Nicholas, Plumstead, Kent 12Source: EDWARDS, Thomas & SHORTER, Susanna; 1866 England Marriages; Nº 209; Plumstead, Kent. (Original document held by me).
married: December 30th, 1866
Married in the District Church, according to the Rites
and Ceremonies of the Established Church, after Banns
—
Thomas Edwards, Seaman (Bachelor) age: Full [22] of: Plumstead
father: John [3] Edwards, Labourer
—
Susanna Shorter, (Spinster) age: 21 of: Plumstead
father: John Shorter, Labourer
—
minister: Thomas Parr, Curate
witnesses: John Banks; and Mary Ann Banks
You will remember from the previous page, that Susanna Shorter was not with her family at Burthorpe Green in Suffolk for the 1871 census, so we knew she had left home.
In fact, our family has always had an original copy of her marriage certificate (see right), so we knew that by 1866 she was living in Plumstead, an area in south-east London in the Royal Borough of Greenwich. The area is south of the Thames near Woolwich, and is about 18 km (11 miles) east of Westminster. In 1974, Robyn and I had just started doing our family histories, so we visited the old church we she married, and could view the parish entry for ourselves.
Two paintings from the late 1800s showing what St Nicholas Church, Plumstead would have looked like when Thomas Edwards and Susanna Shorter married in 1866. It was decidedly more rural than it is today, but the church still looks much the same.
You will note that when he married, Thomas was given as a “seaman”, so perhaps he had left the army and joined a ship’s crew on the Thames — or maybe he was never in the army in the first place; no one can say. Just how Susanna Shorter and Thomas Edwards found each other is open to conjecture, but the 1871 census offers a clue:
1871 ENGLAND CENSUS: 138 Plumstead Road, Plumstead, Kent 13Source: EDWARDS, Thomas; 1871 England Census; RG10/791; Plumstead, Kent.
William Shorter; Head; Mar.; 42; Labourer Royal Arsenal; born Barrow, Suffolk
Hepzibah Shorter [Hull]; Wife; Mar.; 42; born Inworth, Essex
//
Thomas Edwards; Head; Mar.; 26; Labourer Royal Arsenal; born Chelmsford, Essex
Susannah Edwards [Shorter]; Wife; Mar.; 24; born Barrow, Suffolk
Our couple were living in Plumstead Road, and at the same address was one of Susanna’s older brothers. No children are recorded in the household, but from later records we know that Susanna had just fallen pregnant — but there is evidence that she had, alarmingly, already lost five children in infancy! These must have been tough times for this family.
William and his first wife, Hepzibah Hull, were living next door to them, and both the men were labourers at the Royal Arsenal in Woolwich. Is this a military connection that validates the idea that Thomas had been in the army? Does this tell us that William had come to London after he married, and that his sister had left Suffolk to join him? Was William working at the Royal Arsenal with Thomas, and somehow introduced him to his younger sister? We don’t know the answers to any of these questions, but it’s fun to speculate! Meanwhile, back at Compasses Row in Chelmsford, Thomas’ parents were living by themselves, and all their children had left the family home:
1871 ENGLAND CENSUS: 13 Compasses Row, Chelmsford, Essex 14Source: EDWARDS, John [3]; 1871 England Census; RG10/1662; Chelmsford, Essex.
John [3] Edwards; Head; Mar.; 56; Messenger; born Springfield, Essex
Sarah Edwards [Finch]; Wife; Mar.; 59; bornBures, Essex [Brentwood?]
1881 ENGLAND BURIALS: St Mary, Gt Baddow, Essex 15Source: EDWARDS (Finch), Sarah; 1881 England Burials; D/P 94/1/54; Chelmsford, Essex.
Nº | Name | Abode | Buried | Age | by whom
2646 | Sarah Edwards | Union | Jany. |72[69] | J. Parmiter
[Finch] [Work] House 3rd years Curate
This was to be the last census for this couple. We only have a Civil Death Index listing for John [3], which shows he died in June 1877, aged 62. Sarah’s burial record (see left) shows she died at the Union Workhouse (later St John’s Hospital), which is in south-west Chelmsford off the New London Road (on the modern Wood Street). She was buried at St Mary the Virgin in Great Baddow, and she was actually only 69.
After this, we know little more about the Edwards/Shorter families in England. We don’t have a birth certificate for Thomas and Susanna’s first child, but the England Birth Index records that Martha Eliza Edwards was registered at Woolwich in January 1872.
The next we hear of her was when she boarded the S.V. “Landsborough” with her parents at London on 15 July 1873 to sail for Queensland, Australia. There were 358 passengers aboard this ship when it departed on its 101-day journey. While at sea, three passengers died, and there were four births — so 359 souls disembarked at Rockhampton on 24 October 1873.
Fitzroy River Docks, Rockhampton, Queensland. The photo on the left is from 1864, and the one on the right (looking north) from 1870.
See the relevant maps (maps open in new browser tabs):
References
Thank you whoever did this family tree, it is a goldmine for me.
Susanna Shorter was my great grandmother, grandfather Reginald McCartney, mother Marie McCartney. Now the connection to Edwards is clearer for me.
Regards
Kerry
Hi Kerry,
Glad you’ve been able to make the connection to your Shorter-Edwards family.
I think you wrote to us many years ago with some information about Alf Edwards in Sydney. We’re very pleased you’ve made contact again.
I have a lot of documents and pictures I could share with you.
You’re related to my wife, Robyn; Susannah Shorter was her great-grandmother too. I also have some information on the McCartney connection as well, including James’ first marriage.
Cheers,
Alan Craig
Hello. I have Edwards relatives from the early 1800s in Chelmsford and Little Baddow. I wonder if you’ve done your DNA and might be related?
Hi Mark,
The Edwards family are my wife’s ancestors, and she does have a DNA test on Ancestry.com: her user name there is “Robyn Craig” – and she has a good number of matches to Edwards/Finch descendants.
Hope you can find a connection. 🙂
Unfortunately no DNA matches to my wifes tree that connect her Edwards to your wife’s.. but I’d certainly be interested to see the tree.
I actually think there may be an error in your tree regarding The Sarah Edwards buried in Little Baddow 5Sep1850 as I believe this Sarah Edwards b1816c d1850 (nee Middleton) was the wife of Samuel Edwards b1808c d1884 Springfield. I have her death certificate where she died in Little Baddow and her husband the informant and a carter. I slso have birth certificates for some of their children. They married in 1844 and i believe her and Samuel are both buried together and appear on the same parish record’s held at Essex Records Office. I’ve yet to visit the graveyard but I think this is the case as Sarah Middleton and Samuel Edwards are my wife’s 3x great-grandparents.