How do I trace my Brandon ancestors?
Q
I am looking for details of my maternal great grandparents, Francis Brandon and Mary Ann Brandon (née Clarke). My grandmother, Marie Ladysmith Brandon, was born on 27 January 1900 in St Saviour, Southwark. She married Walter Manfred Carter on 28 May 1922, and her father is shown on the marriage certificate as deceased. Marie had six siblings: William, George, Fanny, Maud, Frank and Florence. I have managed to find the family in the 1881 and 1891 censuses, but not in 1901. Phil Muskett
A
I can help with Mary Ann Brandon’s parents. FamilySearch ( familysearch. org) has a transcript of the 1891 census for the family. I used the piece and folio numbers to find the relevant image on Findmypast ( findmypast.co.uk). “Essex, Loughton” is the birthplace of Mary Ann (listed as “M”), and “Hounslow, Middlesex” is Frank’s.
In the 1871 census, Mary Ann Clark is a general servant in Loughton, with her place of birth given as “Waltham Abbey, Essex”. This ties in with “Waltham” in the 1881 and 1911 censuses. I believe that the birthplace given for Marie Brandon in 1911 should be “Southwark”, rather than “Southwick”.
The 1861 census shows Mary Ann with her parents John and Mary Clark in the hamlet of Upshire in the parish of Waltham Holy Cross (also known as Waltham Abbey), not to be confused with nearby Waltham Cross in Hertfordshire. John married Mary Gladen in Waltham Holy Cross on 1 October 1842.
Findmypast and Ancestry ( ancestry.co.uk) both have transcripts of the parish registers from Essex.
Searching Ancestry’s collection ‘London, England, School Admissions and Discharges,
1840–1911’ for Brandon children whose father was named Frank or Francis, I found what may be two more of Marie’s siblings, born after the 1891 census: Robert in 1891 and May in 1894/1895. May’s school record puts the family at 6 Union Street, Southwark, in May 1901, but the census (taken on 31 March) shows that address as “uninhabited but in occupation (for business or other purpose)”, with no names. Did the Brandons live in their shop?
And what of Frank Brandon? In the 1851 census, a James Brandon (28 and in Marylebone) gives “Hounslow” as his birthplace. Also, the births of a Lawrence and James Brannan were registered in Brentford Registration District (which included Hounslow) in 1850 and 1853. You may wish to investigate all of these further.
On Ancestry I found what may be two more of Marie’s siblings