Martha (Higgins) Buckingham (bef. 1782 - 1862)

Born before 1 Aug 1782 in Wootton, Oxfordshire, England

Wife of William Buckingham — married 5 Apr 1807 in St Mary's Church, North Marston, Buckinghamshire, England

Descendants

Died 10 Jan 1862 after age 79 in North Marston, Buckinghamshire, England

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Ian Walker [send private message]

Biography

Martha Higgins was born in Wootton, Oxfordshire to Mark Higgins and his wife Ann. She was baptised in the parish church of St Mary in Wootton on 1 August 1782.^[1]

On 5 April 1807,^[2] in St Mary's Church, North Marston, Buckinghamshire,^[2] Martha married William Buckingham, a widower.^[2]

Martha had 12 children with William, all baptised in St Mary's, North Marston:

1. Matilda (b. 1808)
2. William (b. 1809)
3. Robert (b. 1811)
4. George (b. 1812 d. 1814)
5. Mark (b. 1814 d. 1823)
6. Ann (b. 1816)
7. Joseph (b. 1818)
8. Matthew (b. 1819)
9. Thomas (b. 1820)
10. Richard (b. 1823)^[3]
11. George (b. 1824)
12. Mark (b. 1828)^[4]

In April 1841 Martha was recorded in the census living in North Marston^[5] with two teenaged young men of the same surname, Richard (aged 19) and Mark (aged 14),^[5] presumably her sons.^[3][4]

In April 1851 Martha was recorded in the census living alone in North Marston, described as a 'butcher's widow'.^[6]

Martha died on 10 January 1862 in North Marston.^[7]

Research Notes

The (GEDCOM) creator of this profile linked Martha's spouse to William Buckingham, but originally it was far from clear which William Buckingham this profile represents and how much, if any, of the information it contained actually related to the William Buckingham whom Martha married.

The date of birth originally recorded for William Buckingham (June 1787) would have made him under 21 years old at the date of Martha's marriage, and Martha married a widower.

Similarly, the date of death (Dec 1866) originally recorded for William Buckingham was inconsistent with Martha's profile: Martha's death registration described her as the widow of William Buckingham, butcher.^[7] She was a butcher's widow in the 1851 census.^[6] Her husband William was not with her in the 1841 census, and she had no children younger than 14.^[5] Thus there is a strong inference that her husband had already died well before 1840.

There is a burial in 1836 which is consistent with her husband being the William Buckingham born 1769 in North Marston to William Buckingham and Ann Franklin.^[8]

The five children whose profiles have been retained linked to this one, have been confirmed by North Marston baptism records. Two linked on the profile William Buckingham as children of the marriage have been removed from this as there is no evidence they were children of Martha.

The profile William Buckingham is in the process of extensive editing to resolve these difficulties with conflation of different individuals named William Buckingham, with the aim of leaving the profile to represent accurately the William Buckingham who was Martha's husband.

On 13 Feb 1803 a Benjamin Higgins, 'base born son of Martha Higgins' was baptised in the parish church in Wootton.^[9] A Benjamin Higgins was buried in the same parish on 8 May of the same year. It is plausible that the mother was the Martha who is represented by this profile. If so, these events might be part of the explanation why Martha left her native village and resurfaced in North Marston, Buckinghamshire to marry William Buckingham a few years later.

Sources

1. ↑ Parish of Wootton (Oxfordshire, England), Register of baptisms and burials, 1759 - 1790, p.42, 12th entry; Oxfordshire History Centre, Oxford, Ref: PAR299/1/R1/3; image online at Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.co.uk/imageviewer/collections/61056/images/PAR299_1_R1_3_024 : accessed 3 October 2023).
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1 2.2} "Buckinghamshire Marriage Index", database, FindMyPast (https://www.findmypast.co.uk/transcript?id=GBPRS%2FBUCKINGHAMSHIRE%2FMAR%2F000166888%2F1 : accessed 1 October 2023), Archdeaconry of Buckingham Transcripts, Parish of North Marston, 1600 - 1827; citing Buckinghamshire Archives, Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, Reference: D/A/T/144 [correct catalogue reference D-A/T/144/1].
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1} Archdeaconry of Buckingham (Buckinghamshire, England), Parish Register Transcripts for North Marston parish, 1813 - 1824, p.34, baptism of Richard Buckingham on 3 April 1823, father: William Buckingham, butcher, mother: Martha; Buckinghamshire Archives, Aylesbury, Ref: D-A/T/217/3; online transcription at FindMyPast (https://www.findmypast.co.uk/transcript?id=GBPRS%2FBUCKINGHAMSHIRE%2FBAP%2F001418393 : accessed 3 October 2023).
4. ↑ ^{4.0 4.1} Archdeaconry of Buckingham (Buckinghamshire, England), Parish Register Transcripts for North Marston parish, 1600 - 182[8], baptism of Mark Buckingham on 24 February 1828, father: William Buckingham, mother: Martha; Buckinghamshire Archives, Aylesbury, Ref: D-A/T/144/1; online transcription at FindMyPast (https://www.findmypast.co.uk/transcript?id=GBPRS%2FBUCKINGHAMSHIRE%2FBAP%2F001418178 : accessed 3 October 2023).
5. ↑ ^{5.0 5.1 5.2} The National Archives, Kew, Surrey, 1851 Census, Ref: HO 107/39, Fol.3, P.6; image online at Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.co.uk/imageviewer/collections/8978/images/BKMHO107_37_39-0498 : accessed 1 October 2023).
6. ↑ ^{6.0 6.1} The National Archives, Kew, Surrey, 1851 Census, Ref: HO 107/1722, Fol.4, P.1; image online at Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.co.uk/imageviewer/collections/8860/images/BKMHO107_1721_1722-0466 : accessed 1 October 2023).
7. ↑ ^{7.0 7.1} England & Wales, General Register Office, Digital Image of Death Registration, Martha Buckingham, Aged 78, 1862, March Quarter, Winslow Registration District, Vol. 03A, p. 305; GRO (https://www.gro.gov.uk/gro/content/certificates/indexes_search.asp : digital image downloaded 1 October 2023).
8. ↑ "National Burial Index For England & Wales", database, FindMyPast (https://www.findmypast.co.uk/transcript?id=BMD%2FNBI%2F01684579 : accessed 2 October 2023), burial on 13 Oct 1836 of William Buckingham, Age 67; [transcription by Local Family History Society, original source not explicitly cited for each record, but in this case as it is a burial in the North Marston Anglican parish church of St Mary, it is presumably from the relevant parish register i.e. Buckinghamshire Archives, Aylesbury, "Register of burials, 1813-1876", Ref: PR_157/1/10].
9. ↑ Parish of Wootton (Oxfordshire, England), Register of baptisms and burials, 1791 - 1812, Unnumbered page headed "Baptisms 1803", 8th entry; Oxfordshire History Centre, Oxford, Ref: PAR299/1/R1/4; image online at Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.co.uk/imageviewer/collections/61056/images/PAR299_1_R1_4_016 : accessed 5 October 2023).