Genealogy Chat

For William Kettle 1841 Census living in Bearsted, Kent with his family. He is listed as being 30 years old, birth out of county. By 1851 census he has died. I've got the references etc. (24/12/1848 Bearsted Kent) So I know he is born around 1811 but not where. I have checked IGI and although his marriage is on there is has nothing on his birth. Would the death certificate give details of where he was born? If not how do I go about finding it? Thanks SiM

Death certs didn't have birth info until 1969. I think this is a toughie. He could have been born anywhere, but the chances are he wasn't too far away - probably a neighbouring county like Surrey. You could look for other Kettles on www.familysearch.org to see if there were family in any places near the border - ideally on a main road that leads into Bearsted! But it is very tricky. You are lucky in that Kettle is a rarer name than Smith. I sympathise, I have a relative not born in county and in the neighbouring county are two married couples with the right names, but I don't know which is mine or how to find out which is mine! Nell

Thanks HLN, not looking too hopeful is it? Still on the bright side I saved some money buy not requesting the death certificate at the moment...Think it will have to go in the 'come back to later' file. S

The one thing the death certificate will give you is an age at death which (always providing whover reported the death knew how old he was and didn't just guess) might be a little more accurate than the 30 in 1841 which could have meant he was born anywhere between 7th June 1806 and 6 June 1811 as ages in 1841 were rounded down to a multiple of 5.

Thank you... Perhaps in the 'sooner rather than later file then...'

there are a few William Kettles on familysearch born 1811 do you know the parents names ?

Hi I don't think this gets you any fursther, but might be a relevant snippet, if you don't have it already... I googled the name & placename: http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.*com/~mrawson/extr11.html (remove *) Source: Archdeaconry Court of Canterbury, Vol. 110 folio 313, Probate 23 Apr 1839 George Willson of Bearsted, victualler (Royal Oak), will dated 5 Nov 1838 Property in Maidstone of my late brother John deceased William Beale of Maidstone, gentleman, trustee Daughter Ann Willson, executrix Sons George, Stephen and William Daughter Jane wife of Robert Paxton Daughter Mary wife of Stephen Hollum Witnesses Chas Hoar, Maidstone - William Kettle, Bearsted. Christine

Did William marry? If so, the banns just might mention his previous parish. Did he have a son, who MAY have been named after William's father? Does his occupation help? Could he have come from another area noted for that work (no help if he's an ag. lab like many of mine) Did he leave a Will? Can you find other KETTLE people born about the same time and who lived after 1851? This would suggest a birthplace, which you could follow up by searching their parish registers for William.

Oooh - now you've got me thinking... He did marry, a Sarah Allman - according to IGI on the 26/12/1833 in Chatham, Kent. I know you need to take these with a pinch of scepticism and I have been able to back it up yet! As for occupation he is described varyingly as Codswainer (?!) and Shoemaker. I believe Sarah's parents were Edward and Hester (I have not substantiated this yet though). They too were in Bearsted. The part about a being a witness is very interesting! Thank you Christine. I did wonder about his marriage certificate giving his address at the time - might be worth a go... How would I go about finding out about wills and banns (I'm a relative newbie if you hadn't already guessed!!!)

A cordwainer is another name for boot and shoemaker. H'm he could have come from anywhere but chances are that if he was a witness, he was wellknown to the writer so hadn't recently moved. As he married before 1837, ( if that's the right one) you won't be ableto get a marriage certificate but the banns may say something like, .... and William Kettle, of the parish of...... Often you can see banns, if they've survived, at the same place as that parishes registers, usually a county record office or nearby main library or archive. The problem is that that still might say Bearsted as it gives place of residence, rather than birthplace.

Thanks Gwyneth. I had a look at other possible relative - unfortunately there are rather a lot of Kettles spread over the country so he could indeed have come from anywhere... Out of interest - are the LDS family centres any good as I'm not based down south anymore and getting to the parish records with two little ones in tow does not bode well! Sarah

I haven't been to an LDS centre but I know of someone on here who goes most weeks,in the Midlands, ordering films from other parts of the country for a small fee. I think you can view them then for about 2 months. If there's one near you it might be worth a phone call to check their hours and booking system.

Sarah Have you tried ...Kettle Family Genealogy Forum... in Google search? There might be someone there who could help you.

Thanks Gwyneth - nothing I can see that fits at the moment - will leave a message on their boards to see if anything comes up. Have a good weekend! Sarah