The elusive James Bradley (Parish Records)

by marycallen2 , Saturday, March 23, 2013, 11:58 (4255 days ago)

My 3x great grandfather James Bradley was married in Walford in 1811 to Elizabeth Harris and lived there until he died in 1864. He gave his place of birth as Ruardean in the 1851 and 1861 censuses and his age indicated a birth year of ~ 1784.

Things were going well but there is no record of a James Bradley being baptised in Ruardean in the right time frame. Years have passed and I've found some anomalies in other parts of my family tree which made me ask more questions about James - was he just not baptised, was he born of an earlier marriage with a different name or were his parents not married etc etc?

I've been looking back into the records and have found a James Griffiths baptised on 18 Feb 1785 in Ruardean - mother Mary Griffiths. I then looked for a marriage of Mary Griffiths and found John Bradley of Ruardean had married Mary Griffiths in Monmouth in 1787.

It sounds a plausible explanation and I wonder if anyone has any more information that might confirm my suspicion or show me to be on the wrong track again?

James and his family were brought alive for me recently when I found a report in the Hereford Times April 8 1848 in the National Newspaper archive (http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/) about an attempt to steal a bee hive from his house. I'd recomment the archive if you haven't already had a look.

Mary Allen