On 13/04/2013 David Moss wrote > Here I am, back again after a long time and still with much the same > problem. James Moss death certificate says he died 20th October 1859 > registration district Rochford, aged 58 years (confirmed on his grave > marker in Great Stambridge Parish churchyard) therefore birth date would be > 1801. Census 1851 says he was born in Hatfield (probably Peverel). After > looking everywhere I can think of, I still cannot find his birth > certificate so I can get his parents and make some progress. So > frustrating! Please, can anyone help? I have received a lot of > information from mailing listers in the past, but I believe I must have his > birth certificate in order to not continue on guesswork. Anyone with any > advice?" And on 13/04/2013 Caroline Bradford, Mike Fry, Lawrence Greenall, Suffolk Sue and Dave Dobbin wrote variously in reply. From time to time requests for assistance on this list engage my attention, and often require considerable time and effort to respond. I'm sure the same is true for some other longstanding listers. It is therefore more than somewhat irritating to see the original enquirer posting substantially similar queries, especially when the earlier work is not quoted, causing people to duplicate effort. David Moss and I were in extensive correspondence in 2008, and in May last year I posted the information below in response to a query from David when he wrote " James Moss b1801 in "Hatfield" (he says on the 1851 Rochford census) d1859 Great Stambridge. Have had ERO check all three Hatfields for his birth/christening with no success. They also checked surrounding parishes with no success. Does anybody have any information on his birth/christening or can suggest alternate sources of this information?" Quote About three years ago I was involved in protracted research for and correspondence with David Moss about the origins of his ancestor James. I thought we had established the following facts about James, who died on 20 Oct. 1859 and was buried at Gt. Stambridge (where his tombstone shows his age as 58, as does the burial register). James was the son of James Moss, a farmer, according to his second marriage on 30 Nov 1838 at Rochford to Maria Peters, who was born about 1820. His first wife was Lucy, the widow of a Mr. Wright. She was buried 6 Jun 1837 at Rochford aged 46. James and Lucy were married at Runwell on 11 Nov 1823. So James first married a woman some ten years his senior, and then one about half his age! James’ second marriage was witnessed by Benjamin and Sarah Moss, who were farming at Barstable Hall in 1841; Benjamin was baptized at Gt Totham on 18 Nov 1804. His parents were James Moss and Martha Nunn, who were married 6 Oct 1803 at Gt Totham; both had been married before. The father James had (probably) previously married Sarah Chad on 7 May 1799 at Hatfield Peverel, and it seemed reasonable to assume that the James who died in 1859 was their son, although he wasn’t baptized there. There are quite a number of entries in the years before and just after 1800 for what appear to be several Moss families in Little Braxted, despite it being described in White’s 1848 directory as “a small parish, on the east side of the river Blackwater, one mile east of Witham, containing only 126 inhabitants, 563 acres of land, a few scattered houses and cottages, and a water mill”. The Braxteds adjoin Gt Totham parish, and all three are near to Hatfield Peverel (where there are quite a number of entries). But the Familysearch entry can’t be ‘our’ James if the father’s name on the 1828 marriage is correct. By 1841 no one named Moss lived in either Little or Great Braxted. James’ marriage to Lucy Wright at Runwell was witnessed by Susan Sains, and it seems likely she is the person who married Thomas Moss there in 1830. And it seems likely that it was this Thomas who witnessed the marriage of Benjamin Moss and Sarah Stock at Fobbing in 1829 (who are presumably the witnesses to James’ second marriage in 1838). My gut feeling is that the Moss line is centered around the parishes to the south of Witham (the Tothams, Braxteds, Hatfield Peverel etc.) at around the turn of the 18th century, and there was a drift to the southwest over the years. Certainly by the mid 19th century several of them were doing quite well. I suspect the widow Lucy Wright was either already related in some way to James’ family, or she was the legatee of her late husband's property. And I think it's also clear that James, Benjamin, and Thomas are all related, and may well be brothers - although James almost certainly is Benjamin's half brother. What needs to be done next in my view is to extract all of the Moss and related entries for the parishes where relevant records have already been found so as to piece a much larger tree together to prove where James fits in to it. I’d also look at wills and leases and farm accounts at the Essex Record Office – although this won’t be easy for David as he is in Canada. End Quote If anyone wishes to assist David further, they might find the above synopsis useful, and if they would like further details they can contact me via the list. Dick Mathews in Southend on Sea

On 13/04/2013 3:53 PM, Dick Mathews wrote: > James’ second marriage was witnessed by Benjamin and Sarah Moss, who > were farming at Barstable Hall in 1841; Benjamin was baptized at Gt > Totham on 18 > Nov 1804. His parents were James Moss and Martha Nunn, who were married > 6 Oct 1803 at Gt Totham; both had been married before. The father James had > (probably) previously married Sarah Chad on 7 May 1799 at Hatfield > Peverel, and it seemed reasonable to assume that the James who died in > 1859 was their > son, although he wasn’t baptized there. Is it possible that James (b. about 1801) was the son of Martha NUNN, born prior to the marriage, and baptized James NUNN? Is there a burial for Sarah MOSS (previously CHAD)? Or the baptisms of any children to James & Sarah MOSS? Could it be that James, jnr. was the son of Martha NUNN and her previous husband, but knew no other father but James MOSS snr., and took his surname? Kind regards, John Henley