Benjamin Budgen (1719-1794) and Mary Lee (1719-1794).
My 6th great-grandparents.
Benjamin Budgen was the son of one of the first Budgens to live in the Sussex village of West Hoathly. He was baptised there on 25 October 1719 at St Margaret’s Church. His parents were Thomas Budgen and Sarah Comber, and he married Mary Lee at the same church on 12 January 1740.
John Howes, who’s researched the Budgens and written about them in the Sussex Family Historian magazine, believes that Benjamin was the brother of a William Budgen who lived at a house called Winhams in West Hoathly. I’ve not found a reference to this property but, in his will proved in 1782, William was described as a yeoman – a farmer who usually owned his own land – so he was better off than some. John Howes has identified that some family members in the West Hoathly area, including yeoman William, manufactured hoops used in the making of barrels. Indeed, one member of the family was still working in the hoop-making business in the village in the 1950s according to a Crawley Observer feature of 13 February 1953. John suggests that the Budgens took up the trade in the 18th century, at around the time the first known Budgen settled in West Hoathly. And that was Thomas – William and Benjamin’s father.
William was the oldest son, Benjamin one of the youngest and therefore would’ve been lower down the inheritance pecking order in the family. I’ve not been able to find out what Benjamin did for a living.
Benjamin died in 1794 and was buried in West Hoathly on 26 December.
His wife Mary died in West Hoathly in 1804 and was buried in the village on 25 September. She was said to be aged 82, which suggests she was born around 1722. No Lees were baptised in West Hoathly around this time, but there are candidates who were baptised on the following dates: 25 April 1725 Lyminster, 15 December 1717 Littlehampton, 30 May 1714 Warbleton, 11 April 1721 Amberley, 28 May 1722 Patcham, 14 July 1719 Burpham, 16 Feb 1720 Newhaven, 24 April 1718 Boxgrove, 12 April 1719 Aldingbourne and 4 July 1725 Clayton. More work is needed to slim the list down.
Benjamin and Mary had a number of children. Tracing what happened to them is difficult as the various Budgen siblings at this time all called their children similar names. More detective work is needed to discover what happened to them, particularly through the use of any surviving wills.
- Benjamin Budgen (1741-1803), my 5th great-grand uncle. Benjamin was baptised on 5 April 1741 at St Margaret’s Church in West Hoathly, Sussex. He is likely to be the man who married Ann Snell at Holy Trinity Church in Cuckfield, Sussex, on 26 March 1761 because the banns were also read at West Hoathly church and he was described as a resident there. Ann may be the girl baptised at All Saints Church, Lindfield, Sussex, on 24 Apr 1739 to Thomas and Jane Snell – Lindfield is a couple of miles from Cuckfield – but I have no proof. An Ann Budgen was buried at West Hoathly on 30 August 1791 aged 51, putting her birth at 1740 and thus making her a good candidate for being Benjamin’s wife. Benjamin was buried on 10 August 1803 at West Hoathly. The couple had a number of children, all of whom were baptised in West Hoathly:
- Elizabeth Budgen (1761-????) could be the woman who married John Langridge of Worth in his home village in 1781. She was said to be of West Hoathly. However, several Elizabeth Budgens were baptised in the area at the time and I may be confusing her with the daughter of my 6th great-grand uncle John Budgen.
- Jenny Budgen (1763-????). I’ve found no further mentions of a Jenny Budgen in the records so perhaps this was an error by the clerk and her name was Jane? To make matters even more confusing, Jane Budgens were baptised in West Hoathly in 1762 and 1764 to other family members!
- Susannah Budgen (1765-????). Again, after her baptism there is no trace of Susannah.
- Ann Budgen (1767-????). Several Ann Budgens were baptised in the area at around the same time, making it difficult to confirm what happened to her with any certainty.
- Benjamin Budgen (1768-????). Again, several Benjamin Budgens were baptised in the area at around the same time, making it difficult to confirm what happened to him with any certainty.
- Elizabeth Budgen (1743-????), my 5th great-grand aunt. Elizabeth was baptised on 4 September 1743 at St Margaret’s Church in West Hoathly, Sussex. She is probably the Elizabeth Budgen who witnessed her brother Benjamin’s wedding in Cuckfield in 1761 (see above). It’s unlikely that she was the Budgen who married William Stiles in the village on 27 May 1773 as this couple were still having children when Elizabeth would’ve been 53. Another potential husband was Edward Read of Steyning in Sussex, who married a Budgen in 1775. However, there were several Elizabeth Budgens baptised in West Hoathly at about the same time so pinning them all down has not been possible so far.
- William Budgen (1745-????), my 5th great-grand uncle. Baptised on 3 July 1745 at St Margaret’s Church in West Hoathly, Sussex, young William must’ve died as a subsequent child was christened William. But I’ve yet to find a burial record for him.
- Mary Budgen (1746-????), my 5th great-grand aunt Baptised on 10 July 1746 at St Margaret’s Church in West Hoathly, Sussex, I’ve not been able to find further confirmed records of her.
- James Budgen (1749-1792), my 5th great-grand uncle. James was baptised on 14 May 1749 at St Margaret’s Church in West Hoathly, Sussex. It’s more than likely, based on a lack of alternatives, that he was the man who married Martha Gower at All Saints in Lindfield, Sussex, about five miles south of his home village. Martha was the daughter of John and Martha Gower and had been baptised at Lindfield on 30 March 1740. The lack of baptism records suggest the couple were childless. James died young and was buried in Lindfield on 38 January 1792. Martha was buried there on 11 May 1819.
- Richard Budgen (1751-????), my 5th great-grand uncle. Baptised on 26 May 1751 at St Margaret’s Church in West Hoathly, Sussex, he was one of two Richard Budgens born in the same year in the village. The other was in December to John and Elizabeth Budgen. This makes it difficult to track him as an adult. One of them could’ve married a Mary Taylor in Worth, Sussex, on 16 February 1775. A Richard Budgen aged 44 was buried in West Hoathly on 10 May 1796 but which of the two is unknown.
- Thomas Budgen (1754-????), my 5th great-grand uncle. Thomas was baptised on 19 May 1754 at St Margaret’s in West Hoathly, Sussex. Was he the Thomas Budgen who married Mary Peckham in West Hoathly on 18 April 1776? Or was that the Thomas who was born in the village in 1751 to William and Elizabeth Budgen? Again, there are too many candidates.
- William Budgen (1757-1845), my 5th great-grandfather. He lived and worked in West Hoathly, dying in his 80s.
- John Budgen (1759-1828), my 5th great-grand uncle. John was baptised on 21 January 1759 at St Margaret’s in West Hoathly, Sussex, the same day as William (above). There was a John Budgen recorded in the Land Tax Redemptions for 1798, as proprietor and occupier of a house and Winham Croft in West Hoathly to the value of 8s. I suspect, however, that he was from a wealthier branch of the family (see the note above about a William Budgen, resident of Winhams) and there were several John Budgens living in the village at the same time. A John Budgen was buried in West Hoathly on 7 April 1828 and given his age on the record, this is more likely our man. I’ve not found a relevant marriage record.
- Martha Budgen (1764-1840), my 5th great-grand aunt. Baptised on 10 July 1764 at St Margaret’s Church in West Hoathly, Sussex, Martha married John Gander in the village on 25 April 1787. He was probably the infant baptised to John and Catherine Gander on 11 March 1765 in Horsted Keynes, a few miles from West Hoathly. Martha had a large family. John Gander died aged 73 in 1838 and was buried on 16 February in West Hoathly. He was described as a farmer on his daughter Martha’s marriage record and his residence was listed as West Hoathly on the burial record. Martha was buried in West Hoathly on 2 December 1840 but the record mentions Worth as her abode, which suggests she had gone to live there (perhaps with family) after her husband’s death. Martha and John’s children included:
- John Gander (1787-1869) was baptised in West Hoathly. One suggestion is that he married Eleanor Goodsell in Iden, Sussex, in 1815. She was buried in West Hoathly in 1826. There are problems with the records though as, in later years, he was living with his daughter Elizabeth’s family in West Hoathly (1851 and 1861 censuses) but there is no record of her birth. John worked as an agricultural labourer and was buried in West Hoathly in 1869.
- William Gander (1789-????). I’ve found no records that match this William.
- Mary Gander (1792-????). Another of the Gander children for whom no records match.
- Elizabeth Gander (1794-????). Again, I’ve found no records that match this child.
- Thomas Gander (1797-1874) was baptised in West Hoathly and married local woman Elizabeth Landridge in 1828. They had a family, lived in various Sussex villages but later settled in Brighton. They raised a family while Thomas worked as a labourer. He died in the town in 1874. Elizabeth died there in 1884.
- Sarah Gander (1799-????). Another of the Gander children for whom no records match.
- Benjamin Gander (1802-????). Again, I’ve found no records that match this child.
- George Gander (1804-????). Another child I’ve not been able to trace.
- Martha Gander (1807-????). But again, she disappears from the records after her baptism.
Sources: Sources: Birth, marriage, death and burial records including civil registrations from the General Register Office, census returns and other records at Ancestry.co.uk, Findmypast.co.uk and Sussex Family History Group. John Howes’ Budgen family research featured in September 2008 and December 2012 editions of Sussex Family Historian published by Sussex Family History Group. St Margaret’s, West Hoathly parish church website (includes transcribed parish registers).