Claybrooke Many of the events described below occurred in Claybrooke, Leicestershire, England. Claybrooke is actually two villages, Claybrooke Magna (also known as Great Claybrooke) and Claybrooke Parva (also known as Little Claybrooke). The villages lie near the junction of Watling St. and Fosse Way, and are about 15 miles from Long Buckby.
The villages of Claybrooke Magna, Claybrooke Parva, Ullesthorpe and Wibtoft form the parish of St Peter's Church, Claybrooke.
In the 1911 census, there were four households of Hall descendants living in Claybrooke. The men heading three of the households were all bricklayers. Timothy Hall, two of his sons, five grandsons, and two great-grandsons were bricklayers. (The Descendants of Timothy Hall and Ann Palmer).
Other sites with background information about Claybrooke include About the Claybrookes, UK Genealogy Archives, Europeana, Leicestershire Churches.
The Problem While the names of the parents of Ann Hall are known from her baptism record (see Ann Hall Research Notes), little more has been learned about them.
Ann's father: Timothy Hall Timothy was residing in Claybrooke parish at the time of his 1799 marriage to Ann Palmer. The 1841 Census says he was not born in Leicestershire and that he was 60 years old, therefore was born between 1776 and 1781 (ages of adults were rounded down).
Timothy was 65 years old at the time of his 23 Aug 1842 death and 26 Aug 1842 burial, suggesting a birthdate of about 1777.
The informant on Timothy's death record was Elizabeth Bassett. Research thus far has not shown any family tie to Timothy or Ann.The only Elizabeth Bassett in 1841 in Claybrooke was a head of household, age 60, born in Leicestershire between 1776 and 1781. In 1851, although the age doesn't quite fit, she is probably the Elizabeth Bassett, wife of Richard, age 68, born about 1783 in East Somerton, Leicestershire. Her occupation is listed as "char woman".
The only marriage found for Richard Bassett was to an Elizabeth Lawrence 12 Oct 1801 in Claybrooke (Family Search, from FHL film 588458). Although Family Search has a number of baptisms from Claybrooke (including the children of Timothy and Ann Hall), none were found for the children of Richard and Elizabeth Bassett, even though the 1851 census says their children were born in Claybrooke.
Northamptonshire and Warwickshire are two likely neighboring counties where Timothy might have been born. Parish records have not been sufficiently indexed for Northamptonshire to provide a thorough search. One clue worth pursuing is the marriage of Timothy's daughter Ann in Monks Kirby, Warwickshire. However, nothing relevant has been indexed there.
Warwickshire Although in different counties, Monks Kirby and Claybrooke were in the same registration district until 1932. They are only about 5 miles apart and both are close to Fosse Way, an old Roman Road. There are a number of Hall families in Monk's Kirby.
Other villages in Warwickshire that are close to Claybrooke include Wibtoft (about 2 miles), which is now in the Rugby borough of Warwickshire, but was at one time part of the parish of Claybrooke.
Ann Hall's mother: Ann Palmer Ann Palmer was residing in Claybrooke parish at the time of her 1799 marriage to Timothy Hall. The 1841 Census says she was born in Leicestershire and that she was 60 years old, therefore was born between 1776 and 1781 (ages of adults were rounded down).
Ann Palmer's birth She was 70 years old at the time of her 5 Apr 1849 death, suggesting a birthdate of about 1779.
Anne Palmer, daughter of William and Mary Palmer, was baptized 30 May 1779 in Claybrooke (Church of England, Claybrooke, Leicestershire, Parish register for 1779). However, there is a burial of Ann Palmer on 25 Jul 1781 (Church of England, Claybrooke, Leicestershire, Parish register for 1781). Ann is probably an incorrect entry for Elizabeth's mother Mary (see below).
William and Mary Palmer William Palmer and Mary Peabody were married 1 Jul 1766 (Church of England, Claybrooke, Leicestershire, Parish register for 1766 p.13). Possible children of William and Mary baptized at Claybrooke (from the Parish Register and/or Bishops Transcripts) include:
A search of the parish register did not identify any other contemporary William and Mary Palmer. No further children have been found for William and Mary. No other burial has been found for Mary prior to William Palmer's remarriage. Ann Palmer's 25 Jul 1781 burial (Church of England, Claybrooke, Leicestershire, Parish register for 1781) occurred shortly after the birth and probable death of William and Mary's daughter Elizabeth. Therefore, the Ann Palmer burial is probably an incorrect entry for William Palmer's wife Mary.
William and Ann Palmer William Palmer, widower, and Ann Cheyney, spinster, were married 11 Oct 1801 (Church of England, Claybrooke, Leicestershire Parish Register, Marriages 1801 p.35). Children of William and Ann baptized at Claybrooke (from the Parish Register) include:
William Palmer, age 87, was buried 30 Apr 1827 (Church of England, Claybrooke, Leicestershire, Parish register for 1827 p.30 no.239). It is thus estimated that he was born about 1740.
Other Palmers in Claybrooke There was only one Palmer family in Claybrooke in 1841 and 1851: Charles and Martha Palmer and their children.
Charles Palmer, was born about 1801 in Claybrooke. He is presumably the Charles Palmer, son of William and Ann Palmer, born 11 Dec 1802 and baptized 9 Jan 1803 in Claybrooke. So Charles could very likely be a half-brother of our Ann Palmer.
Martha (Wilson) Palmer, wife of Charles, born about 1804 in Wotton, Leicestershire (Is there such a place?). She is apparently the Martha Palmer who was the informant on Ann (Palmer) Hall's death certificate. Banns were read in 1832 for Charles Palmer and Martha Wilson (Claybrooke Parish Register p.92). Their children:
Also living in their household in 1841 was Rebecca Palmer, apparently the Rebecca who was baptized 3 Apr 1831 in Claybrooke, dau of Elizabeth Palmer (Family Search from FHL 588458).
Other Possible Ann Palmers There are other possible births for the Ann Palmer who married Timothy Hall. A search in Family Search, for those baptized 1778-1780 in Leicestershire, found others named Ann Palmer:
Unsuccesful Searches:
Summary Evidence regarding Ann Palmer, wife of Timothy Hall, is the same person as Ann Palmer, daughter of William and Mary Palmer of Claybrook:
Positive evidence:
Negative evidence: