SPARROW, Hertford, 1840's
January 2002
Son Eric born 22/6/1843 in Hertford
Son Arthur born4/6/1845 Fore St, Hertford
Son Frederick born 17/1/1851 St Marychurch (Torquay, Devon?)
Have only diaries and letters from his life in NZ although many references to customers and animals attended before he left England are recorded in his Vet Day Book.
A check of the 1839 Pigot's Directory for Hertfordshire shows that George James Sparrow was a Veterinary surgeon at St Andrews Street, Hertford. The 1850/1851 Post Office Directory shows that a Henry William Sparrow was a veterinary surgeon of New Road, Ware. [Ware is immediately to the east of Hertford.]
A search of the online familysearch provided the following baptisms:
The 1851 census for Devon is available on CD and I couldn't find the family in St Marychurch, or for that matter anywhere in Devon.
You should have no difficulty in ordering and obtaining the relevant birth and marriage certificates and the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons may be able to help you with his registration, which could include his father's name and address. (I am not sure if lists of their students have been published.) If not the 1841 census for Hertford should provide you with the information about his approximate age and whether he was born in Hertfordshire or not. [There may also be further relevant information on familysearch as I have not carried out an exhaustive search.] In fact you have the right starting point for what could be a very interesting genealogical adventure into the past.
However you have something that could be of particular interest to historians in Hertfordshire - which is the Vet Day Book. This kind of record can be very helpful to serious historians, researching agriculture, etc., in the past - as well as to family historians whose ancestors where your ancestor's customers. I was recently involved in helping to save the St Mary's, Aylesbury, Bucks, Visitors Book and it was deposited in the Bucks Records Office, with a CD made to allow other people to have copies for research. The day book may well be of interest to the people at HALS - and I suggest you contact them - and if a CD was made I could be interested in a copy. [In fact I am thinking about making a copy of my Great Grandfather's scrapbook to pass round relatives and to make it possible to deposit a copy in HALS.]
On the information available to me (in September 2005) there is no explicit link with SPARROW, Christs Hospital, Hertford, 1822
There is a web page for Hertford
If you can add to the information given above tell me.
Page updated September 2005