Three John Serjeants and their families
I have at least three ancestors called John Serjeant and this page gives details of all of them, starting with the oldest first. The one shown on my Family Tree is the last one on this page, the one I've called "John Serjeant (3)".
Thanks to Mark Henry, my second cousin once removed, for the information that appears on this page.
John Serjeant (1) and Mary Coy
I don't know when or where John was born.
He married Mary Coy on 16th January 1769 in St. John's Church in Peterborough.
John and Mary had eight children, the oldest of which was John, my great great great-grandfather:
- John Serjeant. "John Serjeant (2)" below.
- Edward Serjeant. Born in 1771 and christened on 31st March 1771 in St. John's Church, Peterborough.
- Mary Serjeant. Born in 1773 and christened on 8th August 1773 in St. John's Church, Peterborough.
- James Serjeant. Born in 1775 and christened on 3rd July 1775 in St. John's Church, Peterborough.
- William Serjeant. Born in 1777 and christened on 20th April 1777 in St. John's Church, Peterborough.
- Robert Serjeant. Born in 1778 and christened on 3rd January 1779 in St. John's Church, Peterborough.
- Henry Serjeant. Born in 1781 and christened on 28th February 1781 in St. John's Church, Peterborough. (Died in early childhood.)
- Henry Serjeant. Born in 1784 and christened on 17th October 1784 in St. John's Church, Peterborough.
John died prior to 1st July 1837, when civil registration of births, marriages and deaths began in England and Wales.
John Serjeant (2) and Elizabeth Southwell
John was born in 1769 and christened on 9th July 1769 in St. John's Church in Peterborough. He was an innkeeper, according to his wife's death certificate.
He married Elizabeth Southwell on 16th (or 19th - the writing is unclear) September 1788 St. John's Church in Peterborough.
Elizabeth was born in 1767, the daughter of Matthew Southwell and Catherine Cooper, who married on 25th November 1761 at Marholm, Peterborough. Elizabeth was christened on 27th December 1767 in St. John's Church, Peterborough.
John and Elizabeth had six children, including John, my great great-grandfather:
- Mary Sargent. Born in 1792 and christened on 11th March 1792 in St. John's Church, Peterborough.
- Charlotte Sargent. Born in 1793 and christened on 29th September 1793 in St. John's Church, Peterborough.
- Constance Sargent. Born in 1796 and christened on 5th October 1796 in St. John's Church, Peterborough. Her baptism record records her name as "Constant".
- John Serjeant. "John Serjeant (3)" below.
- Henry Sargent. Born about 1804 and christened on 13th April 1804 in St. John's Church, Peterborough. His wife was called Frances and they had five children. Henry was an agricultural labourer in 1841 and 1861, but farmed eight acres of land in Crawthorn Hill, Peterborough.
- William Sargent. Born about 1806 in Dogsthorpe, Peterborough and christened on 15th January 1806 in St. John's Church, Peterborough. He married Ann Bodger on 16th October 1831 in Paston, Northamptonshire. They had seven children. William was a farmer, with 100 acres at the time of the 1851 Census and 80 acres at the time of the 1861 Census.
Note that Charlotte, Constance, Henry and William's surname is spelt "SARGENT" in records.
John died prior to 1st July 1837, when civil registration of births, marriages and deaths began in England and Wales. Elizabeth survived John and was living alone in New Town, Peterborough at the time of the 1841 census. She died of apoplexy (a stroke) on 21st September 1848 in Werrington, Northamptonshire.
John Serjeant (3) and Sarah Bland
John was born on 26th December 1801 in Peterborough. He was christened on 3rd March 1802 in St. John's Church in Peterborough.
John married Sarah Bland on 29th June 1824 in Paston, Northamptonshire.
Sarah was born in January 1799 in Werrington, Northamptonshire and was christened on 17th January 1799 in Paston. Her parents were Godfrey Sanders Bland and Elizabeth Edis. She was one of at least eight children, all born in Paston, Northamptonshire - the others being Elizabeth Bland (born 1793), John Bland (born 1794), Benjamin Bland (born 1796), William Bland (born 1801), Godfrey Sanders Bland (born 1803), Harriet Bland (born 1807) and David Bland (born 1810).
The picture above left shows Sarah Bland (my great great-grandmother), with her daughter Eliza Serjeant (my great-grandmother).
John and Sarah had ten children, including Eliza, my great-grandmother:
- Elizabeth Serjeant. Born on 18th July 1825 and died on 21st March 1827.
- Henry Serjeant (pictured below). Born on 28th April 1827.
- Sarah Serjeant. Born on 10th November 1828. She was christened on 7th December 1828 in Paston.
Mary Ann Serjeant. Born on 14th January 1831 and christened on 16th January 1831 in Eye,
Northamptonshire. She never married.
Mary worked as a servant and in 1861 was living in Lambeth, and Tower Hamlets in 1871. She then moved to Northampton, as servant for Solicitor Thomas Scriven and his wife Eliza. She was living at the Scrivens' house, 8 Spencer Parade, Northampton, in the 1881 and 1891 censuses. In 1904 she was living at 23 Palmerston Road in Northampton, where she signed her will on 29th July.
She died in Northampton in 1906 and left her estate to her sisters Charlotte Turner, Jane Jeffs, Eliza Clarke and Constance Barber (£100 each) plus smaller amounts to her friend Emma Soden (£30), her god-daughter Bertha Annie Soden (£30) and her friend Walter Cave (£5 for acting as Executor). In the 1901 census Bertha Soden (a Tailoress, aged 15) was lodging with Mary at Palmerston Road.
Charlotte Serjeant. Born on 20th September 1832 in Eye. She married William Turner in
1858 in Peterborough and died in Peterborough in 1909.
She is variously listed in censuses as a dressmaker (1851), milliner (1871) and milliner and fancy goods dealer (1881 and 1891).
Elizabeth (Betsy) Serjeant. Born on 3rd October 1834 in Eye.
Married George Ashling (1834–1905) in 1855 in Peterborough. They had at least six children - Mary J. Ashling (born c1857), Sarah Elizabeth Ashling (1858 - 1906; married Joseph Carvossa Eayrs in 1883), Charles Thomas Ashling (born c 1864), Anne Elizabeth Ashling (born 1867; married Ernest Albert Purkis in 1900; they had a son, Ronald), Kate Ashling (born July 1869 in Glinton, Northamptonshire and baptised on 16th August 1869; married her first cousin John Serjeant Clarke on 25th December 1895 and died on 25th July 1952) and Grace Ashling (1871 - 1874).
Elizabeth (Betsy) Serjeant died in Peterborough in 1894.
Jane Serjeant (pictured left, in 1917 aged 81). Born on 15th January 1836. Married John
William Jeffs on 11th August 1860 in Eye.
Jane and John had at least twelve children and their family bible lists: Walter (1861 - 1863), Grace (1862 - 1944), John Serjeant Jeffs (1864 - 1865), twins Jenny (1867 - 1881) and Ada (1867 - 1927), twins Constance (1868 - 1955) and James Maxwell Jeffs (1868 - 1903), Arthur (died 1882), Charles William (1874 - 1876), Alethea Helen (1876 - 1962), Horace Edgar (27th July 1879 - 11th September 1944) and Christopher Ernest Jeffs (1881 - 1937). The entire family moved to Australia on 15th February 1889. Jane died at 1 Parker Street in Rockdale (a suburb of Sydney), New South Wales on 10th August 1926, age 90.
Jane's son Horace was born in South Kensington in London. He helped to build Australia's Trans Continental Railway (c1913 - 1917) and fought in the First World War in the 44th Batallion Australian Infantry Force, where he was wounded at the Battle of Hamel on 4th July 1918. He later married Rhoda Mary Radley in Perth, Western Australia. Horace and Rhoda had four children. Horace died in Adelaide in 1944.- Eliza Serjeant. Born on 29th April 1839 in Eye.
Constance Serjeant. Born on 16th February 1841 in Eye; died on 5th
February 1913.
Married William Barber (1839 - 19th June 1921) on 21st December 1869. They had three children: Eliza Marian Barber (c1873 - 14th November 1950), George Harry (c1876 - ?, married Mabel Janet Gray in 1906) and Constance (c1879 - 16th August 1957). The family (pictured below) lived in Orton Waterville, near Peterborough.- John Bland Serjeant. Born on 15th June 1843 in Eye. Married Mary Ann Spires. They had at least four children - Constance (born c1864), Anne (born c1881), Henry (born c1870) and William (born c1873).
The children's birth dates were recorded in the family bible and written down by my grandmother, Emma. Sadly I don't know what happened to the bible.
At the time of the 1841 census, John, Sarah (Bland), Sarah, Mary, Charlotte, Elizabeth, Jane, Eliza and Constance were living at Woodcroft Lane in Eye.
Left above: Henry Serjeant. Right above: Constance Serjeant and William Barber with their children Eliza (on the right), George and Constance.
John died in Eye on 23rd January 1856 from consumption. On his death certificate he was a drover. Family lore holds that he (or his father) was a drover on the estate of the Marquis of Buckingham.
After John's death Sarah lived at the family home in Main Street, Eye, during the 1860s and 1870s, and the 1861 census records her working as a grocer. By 1881 she was living with her daughter Constance's family in Orton Waterville, near Peterborough. Sarah died at Orton Waterville on 26th January 1884.