WARNER, Walkern, Mid-19th Century August, 2003	Answers Places Walkern
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Kathy Wade (nee Casey) (kathleenwwade @t aol.co.uk) of Bicester, Oxfordshire, says:  I am having trouble finding my gt-grandmother, Mary Ann Warner, born I believe in 1845 in Walkern, Herts.  She married my grandfather, Edward Gowland Casey, (born 1840) on 15 March 1863 at St John The Evangelist, Notting Hill, London and her father was recorded as Nathaniel Warner, Labourer.  They were living in Cheshunt at Blindsman Lane in 1881 census and by 1891 (still in Cheshunt) Edward Gowland Casey had died (I know not when)

The Warners of Walkern seem to choose the same first names, making it difficult to trace them.  I would like to know who her parents were and her date of birth, so I can apply for her birth certificate. I already have one wrong Mary Ann Warner of Walkern.

The situation you mention relating to first names is well known and very common - see The Inheritance of Single Christian Names and Right Name, Wrong Body?

I have had a quick poke around the information available to me at home and on line, without coming up with an obvious lead. My suggestions for further work are:

(1) Have a look at the 1851 census for Walkern to try and track down Mary Ann in her parent's household.

(2) The IGI on shows a lot of Warner entries for Walkern which come from some private research. While this does not include a Nathaniel Warner, someone has already researched the surname in Walkern, and you might find it worth your while to visit your local LDS Family History Centre (see for familysearch address) to see if it is possible to arrange to look at the microfilm.

(3) It may be quicker and cheaper to buy birth certificates for all Mary Ann Warners born at or near Walkern between say 1840 and 1850. (I have had people say they have been looking for ancestors for years without success ... when the delay was simply due to the failure to spend a few pounds on certificates.)

If you have never visited a Records Office this would be a good time to start. HALS has an index for the 1851 census for Walkern, all relevant parish registers on microfilm, and other material. There is a small charge, but if, for example, you find the family in 1851 you can go straight ahead and look at 1861 census, etc.