Re: Benjamin ('Benj') Hodges 1819 - 1857 Somerset and St Thomas
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In reply to:
Benjamin ('Benj') Hodges 1819 - 1857 Somerset and St Thomas
Martin Hodges 3/23/07
I was intrigued by your posting, and although I'm not related to this family - as far as I know - have tried to shed a little light on it.
For a start, I found Sarah and the three children living in St Michael's parish in Southampton in 1861 where, not unexpectedly, she is described as a widow.Details are as follows:
Sarah HODGES Head Wid 40 Bonnet maker b. Hants Southampton
Benjamin Hodges son unm 15 House servant b. Hants Southampton
John Hodges son num 13 House servant b. Hants Southampton
Eliza M Hodges dau unm 8 Scholar b. Hants Southampton
Armed with this information, I posted a query and someone kindly found the following entry for the family in 1851:
3 Bugle St
Southampton St Michaels
Benjn Hodges Head m 37 Baker Somerset
Sarah wife 32 Southton
Benjamin son 4 scholar Southton
John son 2 Southton
This suggests that Benjamin was born closer to 1814 than to 1819.
As it seems likely that Benjamin (junior) is their oldest child, and that he was probably born soon after the parents married, it is therefore worth noting that a Benjamin HODGES married perhaps to a Sarah PITMAN in the December Quarter of 1845 in Southampton (Vol 7 Page 336). This could easily be checked by applying for the birth certificate of one of the children.
I then did a little further probing, and found a Benjamin HODGES, a baker, in Ledbury Herefordshire in 1841:
1841
Ledbury Hereford
New St
Benjamin Hodges 25 baker
Ann 27
neither of them was born in the county
Again, the age fits with a birth around 1815 or 1816.I don't know if this helps, but there is a marriage of a Benjamin HODGES in Ledbury in the December Quarter of 1840, perhaps to Ann WHITTLE (vol 26, page 249).
So, if this were my research, I would want to get at least one marriage certificate, which will give Benjamin's father's name. The most relevant would probably be the Southampton one, but if he had been married previously it should show him as a widower, not a bachelor.
Unfortunately there are many people named Benjamin HODGES, so anything you can find (such as a father's name) that will narrow the search must be an advantage.
Good luck with this inquiry.
Kind regards
Philip Candy
More Replies:
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Re: Benjamin ('Benj') Hodges 1819 - 1857 Somerset and St Thomas
Martin Hodges 7/04/08