Joseph Henry was apparently 11 years old when baptised in Ponders End Independent church on 16 May 1907 – this detail is from film No. 0596989 seen at the local FHC. The good minister John Knight also noted Joseph’s date of birth on his record - 29 March 1796 - but where this information came from is not recorded. Throughout his life Joseph stated that he was born in Enfield, at that time in Middlesex – I have all census records from 1841 to 1881. He died aged 87 on 23 May 1883 in Leyton, Essex – I have that record too and also a note of his marriage on 1 Jan 1815 to Phebe Nash at St. Margaret’s Westminster. Shortly after the marriage they moved to Essex where I have records of the birth of five children between 1816 and 1823 in Wansted, but by 1841 they were in Layton, where Joseph lived for the remainder of his life. He was a farrier (shoeing blacksmith). So I know much about my 3x gr. grandfather Joseph Henry Bosworth – but neither the names nor other details of his parents. My family tree is stuck at 1796 and has been for over two years. Could one of you more experienced researchers out there please help me to go further back in time? Thank you in advance Mike in Denmark

Presumably, the birth info came from his parents. To be baptised at 7 or 8 is a little old - perhaps his family had just converted from the Church of England? There might be baptisms of siblings and even possibly the parents too, at the same time, though it would also be worth checking this register a few years either way for more traditionally-spaced baptisms of siblings. Another possibility is that the family moved into the area after several years not having proper access to a chapel (or to a chapel the family approved of) for their son's baptism. In this case there might be individual family baptism records in Independent chapel registers spread over quite an area. I would check Dr. Williams' Library and the London Metropolitan Archives to see if any other records survive for this particular chapel. For instance, a minute book might record the admission of the family into the congregation. Even a modest mention of a Mr. Bosworth making a contribution or performing some service for the chapel might provide a possible first name for the father. By the way, in case you hadn't realised, Layton and Leyton are the same place, spelt Leyton these days, and Wansted is now spelt Wanstead. Both places are only a few miles from Ponders End, which is generally considered to be an outlying part of Enfield. There is a good local history unit in Enfield Town that is partly aimed at researching local family history, so they would also be well worth checking out for anything on the surname. I realise that you're abroad, but you should find all these repositories on the interweb. Cheers, Lawrence -----Original Message----- From: essex-uk-bounces@rootsweb.com [mailto:essex-uk-bounces@rootsweb.com] On Behalf Of Mike Bosworth Sent: 08 July 2008 07:27 To: essex-uk@rootsweb.com Subject: [Ess] Joseph Henry BOSWORTH Joseph Henry was apparently 11 years old when baptised in Ponders End Independent church on 16 May 1907 – this detail is from film No. 0596989 seen at the local FHC. The good minister John Knight also noted Joseph’s date of birth on his record - 29 March 1796 - but where this information came from is not recorded. Throughout his life Joseph stated that he was born in Enfield, at that time in Middlesex – I have all census records from 1841 to 1881. He died aged 87 on 23 May 1883 in Leyton, Essex – I have that record too and also a note of his marriage on 1 Jan 1815 to Phebe Nash at St. Margaret’s Westminster. Shortly after the marriage they moved to Essex where I have records of the birth of five children between 1816 and 1823 in Wansted, but by 1841 they were in Layton, where Joseph lived for the remainder of his life. He was a farrier (shoeing blacksmith). So I know much about my 3x gr. grandfather Joseph Henry Bosworth – but neither the names nor other details of his parents. My family tree is stuck at 1796 and has been for over two years. Could one of you more experienced researchers out there please help me to go further back in time? Thank you in advance Mike in Denmark ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Any problems, please contact the List Admin: Essex-UK-admin@rootsweb.com ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to ESSEX-UK-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message No virus found in this incoming message. Checked by AVG. Version: 7.5.524 / Virus Database: 270.4.5/1537 - Release Date: 06/07/2008 05:26 No virus found in this outgoing message. Checked by AVG. Version: 7.5.524 / Virus Database: 270.4.5/1537 - Release Date: 06/07/2008 05:26