A DNA Connection

It is a while since I have posted a story and this ones comes with thanks to close relatives who have done DNA tests.

Mary Head’s origins were unknown to me until I solved the puzzle using DNA*.

May Head was born about 1768 in Willingdon, Sussex, a village just north of Eastbourne. Willingdon is thought to be the setting of George Orwell’s novel “Animal Farm”.  Mary was the daughter, and oldest child, of Edward Head and Elizabeth Balcomb**.  Her siblings, also born in Willingdon, were Edward, James, William, Henry (or Harry), John and Elizabeth. My uncle and I share DNA with descendants of Edward and John.  Curiously, Edward and his family lived very close to where I now live.

In 1788, Mary Head was in London where she married Thomas Bisgood in St Martin-in-the-Field Church, London, England, on 4 June.  Thomas Bisgood was one subject of a previous post.  The church is now well known for being next to Trafalgar Square and the National Gallery.  Both Thomas and Mary signed the marriage register with confident looking signatures, so they must have had some education.

St Martin-in-the-Field Church,
 photo taken by me.

Mary and Thomas Bisgood had 8 Children that I know of, they were: Elizabeth, Charlotte, Mary Ann, John, Harriet (my ancestor), Henry, Thomas and Nelson.  Sadly, Mary and Nelson died in infancy.  The other children all survived childhood and outlived their parents.  I share DNA with descendants of Elizabeth and Thomas.

I am not sure what Thomas Bisgood senior’s occupation was.  The family appear to have been middle class rather than working class, the children all signed marriage registers rather than putting their mark.  Thomas Bisgood junior was a solicitor.  Daughter Elizabeth married a confectioner, Thomas Adolphus Kienlen.  Harriet married Thomas Elliston, an Accountant and Surveyor.  In the 1841 Census, Charlotte was listed as a widow of independent means.  On the other hand, son Henry was a servant in his teens and got into some trouble with the law aged about 17, when he apparently stole a pair of shoes.

The Bisgood family lived in the East End of London, with significant events such as baptisms and weddings taking place in Holborn, Shoreditch and Whitechapel.  Daughters Elizabeth and Charlotte had a double wedding on 26 June 1817 at St Mary’s Whitechapel.

Mary lost her husband Thomas in December 1816, he was aged about 59.  Mary passed away only a few years later in May 1822, aged 54.  Both were buried at St Leonard’s, Shoreditch.  The East End of London was not a healthy place to live in the early 1800s.

Both of Mary’s parents outlived her, Edward died in 1823 and Elizabeth died in 1827, aged 87.  I wonder if the country air and living not far from the sea was much healthier that livening in early 1800s London.

Without the help of DNA matches and their family trees, I could not have connected the Mary Head born in Willingdon, Sussex, with the Mary Head who lived in 60 miles away in central London.  Mary Head is a reasonably common name and people moved from all over England to London, so there were a lot of possibilities and no records to confirm where my Mary Head came from.  I do not know why she went to London or, alternatively, if Thomas travelled and met her in Sussex.  I am thankful that DNA has helped reveal some of Mary’s story, even if there are still a few mysteries to solve.

*I used techniques such as a modified version of the Leeds Method and DNA painting to confirm my conclusions, as well as studying the trees of DNA Matches.

**Also Balkam and other spellings.

Notes on Lineage: Me > Dad > John Edward Blake > Alice Mary Elliston > George Elliston > Samuel Joseph George Elliston > Harriet Bisgood > Mary Head