Albert Brown (s/o William Henry Brown and Mary Pescott) was born in Brighton in 1854, and baptised there in 1857. I have him sorted from birth to death. Albert, a baker, married Mary Ayling At St Jude Southwark on 21/12/1873 (cert on Anc), he lied about his age. They appear together in 1881 back in Brighton living Kingsbury Rd. and have a daughter Roseta (sic) born 1875 in Newhaven with them - RG11/1086/74/14 In 1891 Albert and Mary are living in Bermondsey - 17 Earnest St. Rosetta is not with them, she is working as a servant in Lambeth - RG12/407/47/27 Albert dies in 1893 and both Rosetta and her mother lead a somewhat colourful life from then on. Mary remarries, and on one census, has one of Rosetta's children living with her, so there was contact - I do have all the info on both of them through to their deaths. What I cannot find is a birth reg/baptism for Rosetta - she always fills in her pob as Brighton, it is only on the 1881 census where her parents fill in the census that Newhaven is mentioned. She is pretty consistent with a birth year of 1874/5 Can anyone locate a birth reg for her? (There is also a James Brown and wife Amelia [Ayling] who baptise children in Hampshire and Croydon, who are nothing to do with my family)
I think that she was the daughter of Richard and Frances and baptised in Horsham on 9th January 1876.
Yes. Found her later. There are a couple of Female Browns in 1874 in Sussex and one Rose in 1875 but I have no idea of what place is where.
If she was born in Newhaven and her birth registered there, it would come under the Lewes Registration District. Brighton would be Brighton. It may be that she put Brighton as her pob as that was the first place that she remembers from when she was a child.
That was my conclusion as well, but it was her birth reg/baptism that I had hoped to find. I cannot find a Rosetta any surname that fits, nor any Brown mmn Ayling (other than the family that I mentioned). I wonder if she was either missed on registration, or a 'private' adoption. It doesn't help that Albert and Mary seem to move about a lot, although the London marriage could have been because of Albert's age, as they were in Bighton 1881, although by 1891 they are back in London again. Thank you both for looking
Clutching at straws here, but there is a baptism for a Rosetta PACKER in Newhaven 5th July 1874, daughter of Martha Ann Packer (no father named) on the England Select Births and Christenings, on Ancestry. I can't find her on the GRO index nor FreeBMD (nor anywhere else, come to that), so could she have been 'adopted' by Albert and Mary, taken the name Brown, and slipped through the registration net?
Thanks Ann, I am back from a morning out, so will look at that one later, it does sound a possible. Finding Martha Ann will keep me busy later on
Probably no connection but in 1881 there is a 15 year old Henry Packham ( similar name to Packer?) lodging with Albert and family.
Thanks AM - I found the original on Anc, by scanning the Newhaven registers and they have the surname as Pache, which is why she didn't show up when I entered Packer The register does confirm illegitimate. No sign of Martha Ann as Packer or Packham (thanks Grizel), that could immediately jump out as being the one baptising Rosetta. Nothing on Henry Packham after 1881 as well. More work needed later today methinks, adding Parker into the mix
This is the original, and as you can see the handwriting is.... challenging (I think the word under the names is illegitimate?)
Just a thought. I can’t find a Martha Ann/or not Packer. Anywhere, apart from one born in 1839 in Brighton. That would make her around 35 years old. Could it be her?
