A wife for Benjamin Coles?
The London Metropolitan Archives are in the process of digitising their genealogical resources in association with Ancestry.com. These resources are being progressively made available, and having recently upgraded my subscription to Ancestry, searches for Benjamin Coles have uncovered some new information.
Benjamin Coles was buried on January 30, 1815 in the parish of St Luke, Old Street in Islington, Middlesex. He was aged 48 years, giving an estimated year of birth as 1767.
Benjamin Coles was married to Elizabeth Adam on August 12, 1799 in the parish of St George, Bloomsbury in Camden, Middlesex. The IGI has an extracted record for the baptism of Elizabeth Adam on March 8, 1772 at Cannongate, Edinburgh, Midlothian, Scotland. She is the daughter of John Adam and Elizabeth Boyd. A transcription of the parish register for March 1772 reads as follows:
John Adam White Iron Smith and Elizabeth Boyd his Spouse had a dau: born 5th. bap. 8th. Named Elizabeth witnesses David Coulter weaver and James Boyd barber in Leith
Everything seems to point to Benjamin’s wife having finally been found. When considering that the 1841 census records Elizabeth Coles’ place of birth as Scotland, together with the use of Boyd as a second given name for two of Benjamin and Elizabeth’s children, it seems more probable than not that the 1799 marriage of a Benjamin Coles to Elizabeth Adam records the marriage between my 5 × great grandparents.
People: Benjamin Coles (c.1767-1815), Elizabeth Adam (1772-1849), Elizabeth Boyd, John Adam
Places: Camden, Cannongate, Edinburgh, Islington, London
Fab news Russell, I am at the moment going back through the Mells film and have found the following:-
9/11/1760 Bap. Mary dau. of John and Charity Coles
29/11/1761 Bur. Mary Coles
11/6/1762 Bapt. Benj and Joseph sones of William and Jane Coles.
??? 1762 Buried William Coles
10/10/1762 Buried Joseph Coles infant
24/4/1763 Bap. Thomas son of James and Mary Coles
28/8/1763 Buried Benj. Coles infant
7/3/1764 Buried Hannah Coles
22/12/1764 Bap. Sarah daugh. of James and Mary Coles
6/4/1766 Bap James son of William and Jane Coles
24/2/1767 Bap. Benjamin son of James and Mary Coles – LOOKS LIKE HIM
30/11/1769 Bap Ann daugh. of James and Mary Coles
24/3/1771 Bap, Joseph son of John and Charity Coles
Some of the entries are hard to read at the moment the FHS has to get the readers serviced. Will search for James and Mary next week.
I really have to get my head around all this 2 months ago my Coles family was a tiny, 2 people having 3 children (with only 1 of those producing offspring)a brother and parents now in the space of this short time this family has done a Topsy – and if these are the grandparents of Joseph and Henry Boyde there are another 3 siblings to count in. Exciting, definitely only trouble is how do you actually go about proving they are ours. Dates certainly fit but is that proof?
You have done a marvellous job and managed to fit in so much to your trip, I would have expected the genealogy to take up so much time but you saw such a lot of things that interest you and that was really good.
By the way wonder what a White Iron Smith is but it certainly sounds like it fits into Henry Boyde’s occupation as an Ironmonger.
Talk soon
Robyn