Hambledine home in Haversham

Early Parish Records are not as informative as those of the 19th and 20th Centuries, and therefore some parish records before 1813 (when pre-printed forms for births, marriages and burials were introduced) are patchy to say the least. As there were no detailed Census records before 1841, this makes tracing family history prior to 1800 a bit more of a challenge. Prior to 1698 there are no parish records for Sherrington, although there are some ‘Bishops Transcripts’ before this date. These are not complete and are stored at the Centre for Buckinghamshire Studies in Aylesbury. Having checked the Bishop Transcripts, there is no mention of the Elliott surname in Sherrington before the 1690’s indicating that Edward Elliott had no other family there and had moved there from somewhere else.

Edward Elliott moved to Haversham, in Buckinghamshire, in the early 1700's. Haversham is a small village, and average population figures in Victorian times were 200. In 1801 the village consisted of 43 dwellings. Presumably in the 1700's these figures would have been about the same.

Edward had at least four children with his wife, Ann. His children were called Jain, Ann, George and Susannah. Jain was christened in 1698 and Ann in 1699. George was christened on 14th August 1709 and Susannah on 23rd November 1712. Edward's youngest children were christened in Haversham. From the parish records, we know that Edward was a Blacksmith.

Edward's wife, Ann, was buried on January 23rd 1716. Edward was buried on June 11th 1732, how old he was at that point in time we do not know, we can only guess that he was possibly in his twenties when Jain was born, so maybe his age was 65 years by the time of his death.

Susannah Elliott married John Snelson on 4th December 1732, they had a number of children, including Thomas Snelson, christened in 1735 and William Snelson, christened July 2" 1738. In 2003, Susannah's descendents are living in Australia, (according to their family website on the internet).

George Elliott married another Ann in the early 1730's. George and Ann had at least 7 children, not all of them surviving childhood. As the birth of their first child was only a few months after the death of George's father, Edward, it must have seemed fitting to name their first born after him, although sadly he did not live past infancy. George and Ann lived to reasonable ages, Ann was buried in March 1769 and George outlived her.

William Elliott went on to marry Priscilla Sherrington Hambledine on 4th February 1764. They married in the local church in Haversham, but Banns were not read out in church, they married by Licence. Buckinghamshire Record Office hold a copy of the Licence. William Elliott was able to sign his name very well on the documents, in an age when literacy was not widespread. Literacy rates were less than 30% with towns having better literacy rates than rural areas.

The two pages of the Marriage Licence read as follows: (apologies for the ...... to replace illegible wording, also punctuation and spelling have been left as original)

"February 3rd 1764 which day personally appeared before me William Elliott bachelor of the parish of Haversham in the County of Bucks aged twenty two years and alledged that He intended to marry with Priscilla Sherrington Hambledine of the same place spinster aged twenty two years and at her own disposal, and not knowing or believing any Impediment whatsover to hinder the said Marriage He made oath of the tntth of the allegation and prayed licence for them to be married in the parish church of Haversham aforesaid

Witness Joseph Wheatley

Signed William Elliott

Know all by these presents that .... William Elliott of the parish of Haversham in the County of Bucks bachelor and John Hambledine of the same place farmer are held and firmly bound to John Betterworth Doctor of Laws official in and through the whole Archdeaconry of Bucks lawfully constituted in the sume of one hundred pounds of lawful money of Great Britain to be paid to the said John Betterworth Doctor of Laws, or his Attorney Executors Administrators or Assignes for the true payment whereof.... Bind ourselves and each of every of us by himself for the whole and every part thereof and the .... Executors and Administrators or us and each of every of us firmly by these presents. Stated with our Seals dated the third day of April! in the fourth year of the Reign of our Sovereign Lord George the third by the Grace of God of Great Britain France and Ireland King Defender of the Faith And in the Year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred sixty four.

The Condition of the Obligation is such that if hereafter there shall not appear any lawful ...or Impediment by reason of any pre-contract entered into before the twenty fifth day of March one thousand seven hundred and fifty four, Consanguinity Affinity or any other lawful means whatsover but that the above bounded William Elliot of the parish of Haversham in the County of Bucks bachelor aged twenty two years & Priscilla Sherrington Hambledine of the same place spinster aged twenty two years may lawfully solemnize Marriage together and in the same afterwards lawful by remain and continue for Man & Wife according to the Laws in that behalf provided And moreover if there be not at the present time any Action Suit, Plaine for or concerning any such lawful Impediment between the said parties nor that either of them be of any other parish or of better Estate or agree than to the Judge at granting of the license is suggested and by William Elliot sworn to

And lastly if the same Marriage shall be openly solemnized in the Church or Chapel in the licence specified between the hours appointed in the Constitutions Ecclesiastical confirmed and according to the form of the Book of Common Prayer now by La\v established And if the above bounder William Elliott & John Hambledine do save the said John Betterworth Dr of Laws his surrogates and other his Officers whatsover by Reason of the Premists Then this Obligation to be void or else to remain in full force and.......

Sealed and delivered in the presence of William Elliott (his seal)

John Buckmaster

Joseph Gregory, John Hambledine (his seal) "

By the time of their marriage, Priscilla was already expecting their first child, Mary. After Mary was born William and Priscilla had at least another 7 children. William's name appears in the parish register a few times after his own marriage as a witness to other weddings, so he could have been a prominent member of the local community in Haversham.

By the 1780's William and Priscilla had left Haversham for Castlethorpe, 2 miles away. There is a record of William Elliott voting in an election held in Buckinghamshire in 1798. Also, in the same year, he was listed in the Posse Comitatus (a list of men supposedly fit to fight in a battle if the need arose) with his occupation in Castlethorpe recorded as Blacksmith.

William (the younger, born 1772) also left Haversham at some point in time before 1793 and moved to Wicken, Northamptonshire. He married Mary Jakeman and had 9 children. William also became a Blacksmith, he served his apprenticeship in Wicken before moving to Rothersthorpe to take over a Blacksmiths shop left to him in the will of his uncle Robert Elliott (who died in 1814). Robert Elliott and his wife Rushel had no surviving children of their own.

At the start of the 1800's there were still some Elliotts in Haversham. There was a Benjamin Elliott born 1792, Martha Elliott, born 1802, Anne Elliott born 1804, and a Jane Elliott working as a servant at Little Linford House in 1851.