Brush Families of the British Isles

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Section 33
Webb, Freeman & Smedley

33.A
Webb

Laura Nellie Webb was my paternal grandmother; she married Arthur Wesley BRUSH in 1922. His history is in chapter 29.E . My own Webb family is considered in chapter 33.C . However there were several WEBB families in Coventry at the same period and making the connections can be difficult. This chapter contains a more general look at Webb families in Coventry in the 19th century.

Using Ancestry search from 1800: John and Mary baptise William 21/11/1806

The starting point are the entries in the registers of Holy Trinity church, Coventry, as transcribed many decades ago by my father.

From the baptism registers 1813 to 1833 we can see three WEBB families.

Thomas and Sarah WEBB of Radford, Labourer. Baptisms 1820 & 1822. Their marriage predates the first recorded marriage.

There is a burial of Thomas Webb age 29 of New Street in 1820

Henry and Jane WEBB of Mill Lane, Miller. Baptism 1820. Their marriage predates the first recorded marriage.

There is also an illegitimate birth of Sarah, daughter of Sarah WEBB, Well Street, Servant. Baptism 1820.

There is a burial of Sarah WEBB, Well street age 2 weeks on 17 August 1820.

There is a burial of Ann WEBB, age 20, Well St in 1828

John and Sarah WEBB of Well Street Gate Without/GasStreet, Carpenter. Baptisms 19/11/1831(John) & 20/2/1833(Richard).

There is a marriage of John Webb and Sarah Cheshire in 1829 which fits with these.

But there is also a marriage of John Webb and Sarah Mason of Weston, Stafford in 1832.

There is a burial of a Thomas WEBB age 1 month, well Street Gate without. and of John Webb age 5 months in 1832 The next set of baptisms (1833-1840) show further baptisms by John and Sarah Webb, Gas Street, Carpenter in 1836 and 1839. There are also baptisms by John and Sarah Webb, Swanswell, Scrivener in 1833 and 1834. an adress and occupation which clearly distinguishes them and fits neatly to the marriage of John Webb and Sarah Mason of Weston, Stafford in 1832. There is a baptism of an illegitimate child by Ann Webb of Far Gosford Street in 1834. There is a baptism by John and Anne WEBB, Far Gosford Street, Publican in 1837. There is a baptism by John and Ann WEBB, Harnall Place Victualler in 1839. There are no marriages that fit with John and Ann. There are baptisms by William and Charlotte WEBB, Freeth Street Weaver in 1840, 1842, 1847 and 1850 There is no marriage that fits with William and Charlotte. There were no WEBB marriages in the period 1813-1824. In the period 1824 to 1832 there were ten. The parties to the marriages were all 'of this parish'. Three Webbs were women, seven were men. Kezia was descried as a spinster, Elizaabeth was not described but Mary was identified as a widow. Of the men, two were Henry, two were William and two were John and one Thomas. The two Henrys may be the same man. On the second occasion he is described as a widower.

On 13 December 1805 at St John the Baptist, Coventry a John WEBBE was baptised. The hard to read parish register entry shows the mother as Ann and seems to show the father as Thomas. My father, having looked at a large number of Brush register entries in Coventry, concluded that the parents of John were Thomas and Hannah who had married in 1802.

On 23 September 1829 at Holy Trinity, Coventry a John WEBB married Sarah CHESHIRE. This may have been the John baptised in 1805. An alternative suggestion, in the Ancestry tree of Zoe Webb tree says he married Sarah Smith 12 Oct 1818 at St John Coventry - FHL 502207 - but that would make him only 12.}.

As already mentioned, the 1851 census lists three couples each named John and Sarah WEBB. In 1841 and 1851 one of these couples lived at Gas Street, with husband John identified as a carpenter. Whether this couple is John WEBB and Sarah CHESHIRE from 1829 is not 100% certain but the fact they were in the same Holy Trinity Parish is supportive. In 1841, three sons are listed Richard age 8, John age 5 and Thomas age 2.

The entry is hard to find in Ancestry as it is listed under Holy Trinity rather than Coventry.

In 1851 only two sons are listed, Richard age 19 and John age 14. Father and both sons are all listed as carpenters. Their mother is listed as a ribbon weaver. John is shown as age 45 (equating to DOB 1805/6), Sarah as 44 (1806/7). John's age matches neatly to the 1805 baptism mentioned above. https://www.ancestry.co.uk/imageviewer/collections/8860/images/WARHO107_2067_2068-0281?treeid=&personid=&rc=&usePUB=true&_phsrc=jmV6383&_phstart=successSource&pId=9394752

Richard had been baptised on 20 February 1833 at Holy Trinity, Coventry. The Gas Street address and carpenter occupation make a perfect match.

John 24.9.36 confirmed ancestry search father a carpenter, gas St Thomas bapt 10 October 1839 (image) buried 17 April 1842. It is possible that there had also been a fourth child John who was baptised 19.11.31 (died 9.2.32) The FHL record shows And a fifth - Thomas who FWB records as being buried on 22 July 1830.

Richard Webb and Elizabeth MILES married on 28 March 1857 at the Southport Street Register Office in Coventry (source: marriage certificate). He was 24, she 22. He is described as a carpenter journeyman and his father John as a Carpenter Master. His address is given as Bond Street in Coventry.

On 23 August 1857 there is a baptism record for Ann Elizabeth on 23 August 1857 with father Richard shown as a carpenter and the address as Far Gosford Street.

A son Richard was baptised on 10 May 1859 at St Peter's Coventry by Richard, a carpenter, and Elizabeth of Far Gosford Street. His birth was (from a later record) on 30 April 1859. A tree on Ancestry shows multiple descendants from Richard (though I do not agree with all the ideas in it).

In the 1861 census they are at Charles Street Yard in the Holy Trinity parish of Coventry with two children; Elizabeth age 3 and Richard age 1. Richard senior's age is given as 28, which is exactly what we would expect, and his occupation remains a carpenter. Elizabeth's occupation seems to be a 'winder'.

A few months after the census Thomas WEBB was born on 22 (June?) 1861 at "1 Court 1", Charles Street in Coventry - as shown on his birth certificate. The certificate identifies his mother as Elizabeth nee Miles.

On 7 December 1866 another son Frank is baptised, this time at St Michaels church, with parents named as Richard a carpenter and Elizabeth of East Street. Frank's birth date is given as 7 August 1866.

Strangely, Richard born 30 April 1859 and Thomas born 6 July 1864 are baptised on the same day as Frank. Strange because Richard had already been baptised in 1859 and because the birth date for Thomas differs wildly from the birth certificate of 1861. At Thomas's marriage in 1892 he is said to be age 30 - which fits correctly to the 1861 birth - not to the 1864 date in the baptism register.

On 7 July 1869 Richard dies age 36 at 19 East Street. [Death certificate]

In 1871 Elizabeth is listed at 95 East Street Coventry as Head of the family and widowed. She and the eldest child Elizabeth age 14 both work as ribbon weavers.

They had four children. .

FWB records two instances where the name Farley also appears (though there is no indication of where these might fit):
Mary Ann Wilson Farley WEBB d.1850
Richard Farley WEBB b.1859

There is an army service record for Richard Webb of Trinity Parish, Coventry joining up in 1879 age 20. A good fit. he is not a good soldier - tried and imprisoned for three yeaers and one year.His mother is identifed as Elizabeth. He is discharged in 1886 after serving in Egypt. There is anot on his record sayin that his brother Thomas was serving in ? 21 B.de? Thomas Webb serves until 1891 At 1881 he is at Chatham as a bugler withthe 52nd regt.Also a bugler later in his service.

At 1891 Sarah Helen is the head of a household with brother William Henry. There is a death registration for their mother in Q1 1891.

Sarah was my G2-Grandmother. She married Thomas WEBB in 1892 in Coventry. (On 16 April from FWB scroll) They had two children, my grandmother Laura Nellie on 15 January 1894 in Leicester and William Burnal John on 4 December 1898 in Coventry. His baptism record on 14 December 1898 says his father Thomas was a painter and gives his mother's name as 'Lellie". Their address is 1c 8r Hertford Street.(or 1 Court 8 house?)

Burnal is an unusual forename. It was the maiden name of Sarah's mother Marie Helen of which more below.

At 1901 Sarah is listed as the head of the family, working as a ribbon weaver. Thomas has disappeared and we have no clue of where he went, or why. My father's notes say ( with no qualification) that "Thomas deserted his family". I belive it is likely that this ws information he had been given first hand by his mother Laura Nellie. Sarah and the two chidren are living at room 8 in 1 court on Hertford Street Coventry. Although my grandmother lived until I was 24 I cannot recall her saying anything of her childhood - which appears to have been fairly grim. An omission which illustrates perfectly the need to interview elderly reltives while they are still with us.

By the 1911 census Sarah Hellen and Bernal are still living in 1 Court in Coventry but are now in house 3 with three rooms - which they share with a boarder. Sarah is a silk Weaver at (the/a) silk factory. Silk weaving had been an important and dominant industry in Coventry for centuries but seems to have been well into its decline by 1900. The big name who may have been her employer were the Cash family. my father's notes ( from where?) state that at 1913 they were at 4 court 3 house in Cox street and in 1918 at 3 court 4 Cox street. Sarah Helen dies at 19 April 1928 (from fwb scroll).

Laura Nellie was not with them in 1911. She was then living as the adopted daughter of Fred and Mary Elson at Meeting House Lane in Berkswell in Warwickshire, assisting in the family business. There is lots of information about the Elson family in my father's autobiography. How and why she was adopted I am sad to say that I did not know.

While she was there she met my grandfather Arthur Wesley BRUSH, who she married in 1922, as covered in the mainline story of the Brush family in chapter xx.x. She died at Berkhamsted on 4 April 1979.

Her brother Burnal became a Salvation Army Officer and married Irene Florence Warriner Vincent in 1926. They had a son Roy (born and died in 1927) and a daughter Joy Elizabeh WEBB on 27 August 1932, who also became a Salvation Army officer focused on music and reached the UK pop charts with her 1960's group The Joy Strings.

To return to the Freeman story and to the mother of Sarah Helen. She was born in Buckingham in 1836 and baptised as Marie Helen HOBBS. Her baptism is one of the most perfect records a geneologist could hope for and discloses that Burnell was the maiden name of Marie Helen's mother.

This extract from the Methodist register of baptisms identifies not only her date of birth and the names of both her parents but also her mother's parents. Plus the name of the surgeon who attended her birth and another relative who was present at the birth.

At 1841 the family is living at Red Lion Row in Buckingham. It includes not just Marie Helen but also an older brother George.

George Burnel HOBBS had received a Methodist baptism in 1832 in Buckingham. In 1851 he was a carpenters apprentice living with Carpenter and Farrier Robert Holt at London Road Buckingham. He married Sarah Molineux in Ettingshall, Staffordshire and had a daughter Maria Helen Hobbs in nearby Bilston in 1856. Was he the magnet which pulled his sister Maria Helen and her husband Thomas Freeman to Bilston? Only the use of the Burnell family name enables us to securely make these links from county to county.

And from country to country. John Thomas Freeman, the brother of Sarah Helen emigrated to Australia and also named on of his sons Burnal. Contact has been maintained by my family over the years, and to this day, with one branch of the Australian cousins, descended from Thomas Freeman and Marie Helen nee Hobbs.

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Taking the story back a generation, the most likely baptism of George Burnell seemed to be 29 Dec 1805 at Hardwick,Buckingham,England, the son of James Burnell and Hannah (FHL FILM NUMBER:919230). BUT.... I cannot find their marriage but

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