Jane Bashford and my other Bashford ancestors

Jane Bashford (1806-1885).
My 3rd great-grandmother.

The first Bashford to marry into my Finch family was Jane Bashford, who was born on 13 May 1806 in the village of Chipstead, Surrey. She was baptised at St Margaret’s Church on 15 June that year. Her parents were James Bashford and James Harman (see below).

She married Henry Finch on 8 April 1826 at St Mary’s Church in Reigate, Surrey, and spent much of her life having children, including triplets and twins. In fact, I’ve counted at least 11 sons and daughters. Henry worked as an agricultural labourer and he and his wife lived in Reigate throughout their married lives. They died there on the same day – 22 January 1885. See details about their family here.

The Bashford surname is reasonably common in Surrey, but it was sometimes written as Bashwood and Bashpool by the parish clerks and vicars.

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James Bashford (1770-1832) and Jane Harman (1773-1817).
My 4th great-grandparents.

Jane’s father James Bashford was baptised on 6 January 1771 at St Margaret’s Church in Chipstead, Surrey, to parents James Bashford and Sarah Grigg (see below). His siblings were christened in Chipstead and Ewell, a few miles away, suggesting that his parents were moving around for work.

James married Jane Harman at St Mary’s Church in Reigate, Surrey, on 29 November 1801 but the couple then returned to Chipstead to live, work and raise a family. On the baptism record for one of his sons James was described as a labourer and, considering the area, it’s more than likely that he worked in the fields.

Land Tax records for Surrey in the late 18th and early 19th centuries list a James Bashford Snr and Jnr, who are likely my 4th great-grandfather and his father James Bashford – who lived until 1818. From about 1804 up to 1817 they show them occupying land belonging to Hylton Jolliffe Esq, valued at 5s 2d or 4d. By 1828 James Jnr was occupying a cottage and garden valued at 6s 7d, also belonging to Jolliffe. William Jolliffe had purchased the Quarry Dean limestone quarries at nearby Merstham in the late 18th century and the family became lords of the Chipstead manor. William’s son Hylton became an MP in the 1830s and the family construction firm built several central London bridges.

There were several James Bashfords in the Chipstead area around this time but I believe it was my ancestor who died in December 1832. He was buried on 21st of the month – but at All Saints Church in nearby Banstead.

Jane Harman was baptised on 24 January 1773 at St Michael’s in Betchworth, Surrey, a mile or two west of Reigate. Assuming I have the correct woman (and I have doubts), her parents were John and Elizabeth Harman. I suspect she is the Jane who died in 1817 and was buried at St Margaret’s in Chipstead on 21 December. However, the record states that she was aged 37. This means one of several things – the age was written incorrectly, I have the wrong baptism record or she died at a different time.

Jane and James had several children:

• Richard Bashford (1804-1871), my 3rd great-grand uncle. Richard was born on 29 April 1804 and baptised at St Margaret’s Church in Chipstead, Surrey, on 27 May. He married Sarah, but who she was is a mystery. I’ve yet to find a baptism record for her but census records suggest she was born in Sunderland, County Durham, in around 1811. As a couple they were living with their children in Church Street, Walton-on-the-Hill, Surrey, at the time of the 1841 census, Richard working as an agricultural labourer. In 1851 and 1861 they were living at Withybed Corner in Banstead. Sarah died in 1867 and was buried at St Andrew’s in Kingswood, Surrey, on 5 December but Richard continued to live in Banstead. He was buried at St Andrew’s in Kingswood on 1 November 1871. Their children were:
  • Emily Bashford, who was baptised in Reigate, Surrey, in 1837.
  • Thomas Bashford. Baptised in Reigate in 1839 and an agricultural labourer, he disappears after the 1861 census and was probably the man whose death was registered in the area in 1868.
• Jane Bashford (1806-1885), my 3rd great-grandmother. Her details are above.
• Thomas Bashford (1808-1879), my 3rd great-grand uncle. Thomas was born on 19 February 1808 and baptised at St Margaret’s Church in Chipstead, Surrey, on 20 March. He married Sophia Istead there on 1 July 1832 and together they had a number of children. Sophia was born on 16 January 1807 in West Hoathly, Sussex, to Henry and Sophia Istead. Census returns show that Thomas and family continued to live in Chipstead, where Thomas worked as an agricultural labourer. In 1871 he was a shepherd at Gatwick Farm, Chipstead. Thomas died in 1879 and was buried in Chipstead on 22 August. Sophia went on to live in the Mugswell area of the village and died there in 1901. She was buried on 15 March. Their known children were:
  • Harriet Bashford was baptised in 1834 and married John Harbour / Harber in 1853. They lived in and around Kingswood and Banstead in Surrey and raised a large family. They both died in 1899.
  • Sophia Bashford was baptised in 1840 and married labourer and bricklayer John Burrows in 1859. They raised a family in the Chipstead area. John died in 1915, Sophia in 1922.
  • Maria Bashford was baptised in 1844 and married Gloucestershire-born agricultural labourer George Grubb in 1865. They too had many children and remained in Surrey. George died in 1915, Maria two years later.
• Sarah Bashford (1810-????), my 3rd great-grand aunt. Sarah was born on 26 June 1810 and baptised at St Margaret’s Church in Chipstead, Surrey, on 15 July. She married John Charlwood on 18 November 1828 at St Mary’s Church in Ewell, Surrey, both of them living in Kingswood in Surrey at the time. A labourer, John was baptised in Reigate, Surrey, on 11 March 1810 to Charles and Hannah Charlwood. I’m unsure what happened to them but their daughter Charlotte, who was baptised in 1833, was a resident of the Reigate Workhouse at the 1841 census.
• James Bashford (1814-1861), my 3rd great-grand uncle. James was baptised at St Margaret’s Church in Chipstead, Surrey, on 20 November 1814. He married Harriet Istead at St Margaret’s on 30 August 1840 and the couple went on to have at least eight children. The 1841 census showed them living at Gatton, a few miles south of Chipstead, with James working as an agricultural labourer. Ten years later they were living in Tadworth and in 1861 in Banstead. James died in the same year and was buried at St Andrew’s Church in nearby Kingswood on 9 August. Harriet, who came from Sussex, survived him, and in 1881 was living with her son in Carshalton, Surrey, working as a laundress. She was buried on 3 January 1891 at St Andrew’s in Kingswood. Their children were:
  • Harriet Bashford, who was baptised in Gatton, Surrey, in 1841. She married Samuel Coombs, who worked as an agricultural labourer and carman, in 1862 and raised a large family. For many years they lived in Sutton, Surrey. Harriet died in 1906, Samuel in 1913.
  • James Bashford was baptised in Banstead, Surrey, in 1842. He married Caroline Duffell in 1866 and they lived in and around the area for a while, having children. They then moved to Streatham in what’s now South London. He worked as a gardener and ostler. James died in 1914.
  • Thomas Bashford was baptised in Banstead, Surrey, in 1846 and married fellow resident Amy Coombs in Kingswood in 1870. They lived locally and raised a family but then moved to Croydon, Surrey, where he worked as a bricklayer’s labourer and scaffolder while Amy had more children. Thomas died in 1904.
  • Jane Bashford was baptised in Banstead, Surrey, in 1847 and married labourer William Palmer on the same day as her brother Thomas in Kingswood. She died in 1874 and William remarried, but he too died young in 1892.
  • Mary Ann Bashford was baptised in Kingswood, Surrey, in 1849 and married gardener William Samuel Simpson in Upper Norwood in 1869. They lived in Croydon, Lee and Wandsworth in what’s now South London, bringing up their family.
  • William Bashford was baptised in Kingswood, Surrey, in 1851 and married Tamer Tingley there in 1873. They lived mostly in Croydon, where Tamer gave birth to their children and William worked as a coal porter and labourer. He died in 1910, Tamer in 1904.
  • Sophia Bashford was born in around 1859 and married Charles James Wignell, a railway porter and later a dock worker, in Croydon in 1890. She died in 1897. Charles served in the Labour Corps in the First World War and died in 1947.

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James Bashford (1737-1818) and Sarah Grigg (1745-1825).
My 5th great-grandparents.

James Bashford’s origins are a bit of a mystery. I can find no record of anyone by his name being born in or around 1737, which is his year of birth based on his age at death. However, I suspect the James Bradford baptised at St Mary’s Church in Ewell, Surrey, on 28 September 1737 is our man. The surnames are so similar and the Bashfords are known to have moved between Ewell, Kingswood, Banstead and Chipstead. His parents were Thomas and Elizabeth Bradford/Bashford.

The marriage banns from 1764 add further evidence of his origins. Those published on 22 and 29 April and 6 May refer to James being from Ewell. Those from 27 May and 3 and 10 June say he was from Chipstead. He married Sarah Grigg at St Margaret’s in Chipstead on 11 June – the record referring to him as ‘Bashford’. Sarah was born in Chipstead to George Grigg and Mary Hatcher and baptised there on 8 November 1745 and the couple remained in the area for the rest of their lives, Sarah spending much of it having children.

As referenced above, Land Tax records for Surrey in the late 18th and early 19th centuries list a James Bashford Snr and Jnr, the former most likely being my 5th great-grandfather, occupying land belonging to local bigwig Hylton Jolliffe Esq.

James died in 1818 and was buried in Chipstead on 24 July. Sarah died in 1825 and was buried there on 17 April.

• William Bashford (1764-1830), my 4th great-grand uncle. William was baptised on 9 September 1764 at St Margaret’s Church in Chipstead, Surrey. He married Sarah Shepherd in the village on 23 January 1786 but her origins are unclear. Sarah was buried at St Margaret’s on 14 January 1827 and William followed on 25 February 1830. Their one known child was:
  • James Bashford baptised in Chipstead in 1802.
• James Bashford (1766-1766), my 4th great-grand uncle. James was baptised on 9 January 1766 at St Mary’s Church in Ewell, Surrey, but was buried on 4 March at St Margaret’s in Chipstead. The records state that his parents were from Kingswood.
• Edward Bashford (1767-1848), my 4th great-grand uncle. Edward was baptised on 15 March 1767 at St Margaret’s Church in Chipstead, Surrey. He married Sarah Kimber there on 24 February 1789 and the parish register notes that they were poor (other couples had a ‘tax paid’ notation). The couple spent much of their lives in the Kennington and Walworth areas in what’s now south London, raising a family. He worked as a labourer. In the 1841 census, Edward was listed at Milk Street in Walworth with his son Richard and he died in the area in 1848. Sarah died at Milk Street in 1851 and was buried at St Peter’s Walworth on 10 August. Their children included:
  • Mary Elizabeth Bashford (1792-????).
  • Ann Bashford (1794-1794).
  • James Bashford (1795-????), Elizabeth’s twin.
  • Elizabeth Bashford (1795-1798), James’s twin.
  • William Bashford (1798-????).
  • Thomas Bashford. Baptised at St Mary’s in Lambeth, south London, in 1802, Thomas became a bookseller and lived in the area and Camberwell all his life. He never married. He died in 1873.
  • Edward Bashford. Baptised at St Mary’s in Lambeth, south London, in 1805, Edward married Hannah Partridge in 1823 and worked as a carman. They lived in the Lambeth area.
  • George Bashford (1808-????).
  • Richard Bashford. Baptised at St Mary’s in Lambeth, south London, in 1811, Richard worked as an ostler and married Mary Ann Simper of Bow in Middlesex in 1957. He died in 1861.
• Sarah Bashford (1769-1827), my 4th great-grand aunt. Sarah was baptised on 12 March 1769 at St Margaret’s Church in Chipstead, Surrey. She next crops up in the parish records when banns for her marriage to George Shepherd were read out in the church on 4 and 11 October, 1789. Unusually, her father James objected to the ceremony taking place. However, the couple were eventually married at St Mary’s in Ewell, Surrey, on 10 February 1790, when both were said to be living in the Liberty of Kingswood a few miles away. Sarah died in 1827 and was buried at All Saints in Banstead, Surrey, on 14 October. I’m unsure where George was born but the 1841 census, by which time he was in the Epsom Union Workhouse but listed as an agricultural labourer, noted that he was from Surrey. He died there in December 1842 and was buried in Epsom on the 16th. The couple had several children:
  • George Shepherd, who was baptised in Chipstead in 1790. He married Martha Bashford in Newington, Surrey, in 1817 and remained in the borough of Lambeth for the rest of his life. He worked as both coal porter and road labourer and fathered children of his own. He died in 1865, Martha in 1881.
  • Amy Shepherd (1792-1792).
  • Sarah Shepherd was baptised in Chipstead in 1793.
  • Amy Shepherd (1796-1796)
  • Mary Shepherd was baptised in Banstead in 1800.
  • James Shepherd was baptised in Banstead in 1803.
  • Ann Shepherd was baptised in Banstead in 1806.
  • Richard Shepherd (1808-1808).
• James Bashford (1771-1832), my 4th great-grandfather. His details are above.
• George Bashford (1774-1839), my 4th great-grand uncle. George was baptised on 3 October 1774 at St Mary’s Church in Ewell, Surrey – with his parents described as of the Liberty of Kingswood. George married Elizabeth Emmery at St Margaret’s in Chipstead, Surrey, on 27 November 1802 and for a time lived in the Liberty of Kingswood and Walton-on-the Hill before settling back in nearby Chipstead. Baptism records for his children refer to George as a labourer. He died in 1839 and was buried there on 13 January. Elizabeth’s death has been harder to pin down. The couple’s children were:
  • Richard Bashford, who was baptised in Walton-on-the-Hill in Surrey in 1805. There are numerous Richards making him difficult to track.
  • Joseph Bashford, who was baptised in Walton-on-the-Hill in Surrey in 1808. Again, there are too many candidates.
  • Maria Bashford, who was baptised in Chipstead in Surrey in 1810. Difficult to trace because of the number of Maria Bashfords in the area.
  • Caroline Bashford was baptised in Chipstead in 1813 and married Richard Rampton Etser in Camberwell, Surrey, in 1835. They settled in the area, where Caroline brought up their children and Richard worked as a greengrocer on the Old Kent Road. Caroline died in 1872, Richard in 1879.
  • Emma Bashford was baptised in Chipstead in Surrey in 1814.
  • Amy Bashford, who was baptised in Chipstead in Surrey in 1815. As with her siblings…
  • George Bashford, who was baptised in Chipstead in Surrey in 1817. Another with potential duplicates.
  • Peter Bashford was baptised in Chipstead in 1820 and married Rosina Tuck in Camberwell, Surrey, in 1846. They lived in and around Banstead while he worked as a labourer and gardener. Peter died in Kingswood, Surrey, in 1882; Rosina died there in 1895.
• Thomas Bashford (1776/8-1854), my 4th great-grand uncle. There is some debate over this Thomas as he may have died as an infant. A Thomas Bashford was baptised on 3 December 1776 at St Mary’s Church in Ewell, Surrey, to parents James and Sarah. Another Thomas was baptised at Ewell on 7 March 1778, also to James and Sarah Bashford. The first of these could’ve been the Thomas Bashford buried in Chipstead on 16 January 1777. I suspect Thomas, in whatever year he was born, married but I’ve found no evidence of this. He was a widower in the 1851 census, when he was living as a lodger with the Shove family in Chipstead. In the 1841 census he was also living in the village and described as an agricultural labourer. Thomas died in 1854 and was buried on 5 October at St Margaret’s in Chipstead.
• Moses Bashford (1782-1830), my 4th great-grand uncle. Moses was baptised on 5 May 1782 at St Margaret’s Church in Chipstead, Surrey. He married local girl Martha Waller there on 16 February 1805 and the couple had at least five children. One of the baptism records names the mother as Patience but this is either an error or a name Martha went by, as there were no other Moses Bashfords in the area. A series of Land Tax records from the 1820s and thereabouts show that Moses occupied a cottage and garden in Chipstead owned by a Richard Poulter and assessed, in 1831, at 6s 7d. By the time of the 1841 census Moses was living in Banstead and working as an agricultural labourer but 10 years later he was in Hooley, close to Coulsdon in Surrey, with his daughter Ann. Martha died in 1850 and was buried in Chipstead on 22 December that year. Moses died in 1859 at the Croydon Union Workhouse and was buried on 16 February back in Chipstead.
  • William Bashford, who was baptised in Chipstead in 1806.
  • Maria Bashford was baptised in Chipstead in 1810 and married Wiltshire-born John Gilbert in the village in 1830. They settled nearby in Coulsdon, where John worked as a farm bailiff and they raised a large family. Maria died in 1877, John in 1889.
  • James Bashford (baptised 1815), Richard Bashford (baptised 1819) and Ann Bashford (baptised 1824).
• Mary Bashford (1784-), my 4th great-grand aunt. Mary was baptised on 28 November 1784 at St Margaret’s Church in Chipstead, Surrey. She married Joseph Hale, a native of Headley in Surrey, in Chipstead on 4 August 1810. They had at least three children – James, William and Eliza – in Chipstead, where Joseph worked as a farm labourer. I’ve yet to find any record of the couple’s deaths but they were still alive and living in Chipstead at the time of the 1851 census.
• Amy Bashford (1788-1789), my 4th great-grand aunt. Amy was baptised on 17 July 1788 at St Margaret’s Church in Chipstead, Surrey. It’s possible she was the Amy Bashford buried in Chipstead on 16 June 1789, although the burial record does not state that she was an infant. However there are few if any other candidates.
• Elizabeth Bashford (1791-), my 4th great-grand aunt. Elizabeth was baptised on 25 December 1791 at St Margaret’s Church in Chipstead, Surrey. She may be the Elizabeth buried there on 25 May 1792 but, again, no age is given so it’s difficult to be certain.

Sources: All BMD and census data has been gathered from Ancestry.co.uk, FindMyPast.co.uk, FamilySearch.org, the websites quoted in text and visits to Surrey Family History Centre in Woking.