WELLS/CROCKETT, Tring, mid 19th century

June 2001

Ross CROCKETT (ross_crockett @t hotmail.com) of Perth, Western Australia, says that Lydia WELLS was born about 1837 in Tring and married Robert CROCKETT on the 14th March 1859 in Tring. They immigrated with there family to Western Australia in 1877. From Lydia's marriage and death records her parents are given as Thomas WELLS and Elizabeth QUARENDON (QUARNDON). Is Lydia's family on the 1851 census for Tring.

There are well over 50 people called Wells listed in the 1851 census for the Berkhamsted/Tring area - but unfortunately no Lydia. There is one Thomas & Elizabeth Wells at Bottle Cross, Tring (apparently the area around the junction of what is now Western Road, Aylesbury Road and Duckmore Lane):

This would appear to be the Thomas Wells who married Elizabeth Fennemore at Tring on 25th October 1842. This would appear not to be Lydia's parents. Familysearch includes the Tring parish registers for the period and Lydia is not listed, and neither are the above William or Frederick - but this is not surprising bearing in mind the number of non-conformist chapels in the area.

The Crocket family is listed on the 1851 census living in Akeman Street, Tring:

Joseph and Robert almost certainly worked in the silk mill in Brook Street, Tring, while the straw plaiters would have worked at home. (see The History of Straw Plait.) Robert's christening is recorded on familysearch - and I expect his siblings are listed there as well.

No-one is listed in the 1851 census for the area with a surname resembling Quarendon and the only family listed for the whole of England on the 1881 census is a Reuben Quarendon (55, born Ellesborough, Bucks), a coffee house keeper living at 671 Old Kent Road, Camberwell, Surrey with a large family. Could he be the brother of your Elizabeth Wells nee Quarendon?

October 2008

Neil Wills [neilwills @t talktalk.net] sent some out-of-county information on Reuben Quarendon which I forwarded to Ross who replied with the following additional information on Lydia Wells:

Thank you for the Email, and as you indicated in your reply in 2001 Reuben QUARENDON could be Elizabeth QUARENDON’s bother, and therefore I will follow up with Neil Wills to exchange information and see if we can establish a connection.

 

Lydia WELLS was born in Wilstone abt 1837 and was there on the 1841 census with her parents Thomas WELLS (born 1809 Wilstone) and Elizabeth QUARENDON by 1851 they had moved to Ashton Clinton, Buckinghamshire.

 

Elizabeth QUARENDON from the census information was born Abt 1808 Whiteleaf/Monks Risborough in Buckinghamshire. This is within a reasonable distance of Reuben’s birth place Ellesborough and there was a marriage of what appears to be Reuben’s parents in 1807 in a similar vicinity Great Kimble.

 

I have no further information on my CROCKETT ancestors since 2001 that will take me back past Abraham CROCKETT b abt 1758 died 1814 Tring, however as far as I can ascertain all the CROCKETT’s in the 1841 to 1901 census’s for Tring are his descendants.

Page updated October 2008