Dorothy Weeks (db.weeks @t starband.net) of Bennett, Colorado, USA, has a problem. A register entry from Dr Williams Library dated 31st July, 1837 reads:

William Stovel the Son of William Stovel of Goodwood the County of Susex Tallow Chandler and Elizabeth Jane his wife (who was the daughter of John ? [Lelandson or Flanders]  (of Hitchen Carpenter in the county of Hartfordsheir) was born at the house of the said William Stovel Goodwood in the County of Susex on the tenth day of December 1805

William Stovel X           The Parents
Elizabeth Jane Stovel    abovenamed.

She is trying to trace John ?, carpenter of Hitchin and comments that Elizabeth Jane  b. abt 1774  was 82 when she died 18 Nov 1856 in Mitcham, Surrey. Some descendants were nonconformist/Plymouth Brethren. She also noted that the carpenters listed in The Universal British Directory under Hitchin in 1794 were Chapman, William; Lane, John; Swann, Thomas; Waller, Thomas junior; Waller, Thomas senior

While Dorothy will be well aware of the problem, some other readers of this page (who have yet to try reading original documents) may be mystified as to how anyone could confuse "Lelandson" and "Flanders". The problem is that many scribes at the time would write very florid capital letters - and then become lazy in shaping letters at the ends of the words to the point where they are almost unreadable. (On one occasion I misread "William" as "Miller"). Allowing for this we are comparing Lelandson and Flanders, and while I haven't seen the original the most certain thing is that there is "land" in the middle. (See My Ancestors in the 1901 Census for some real examples of the problems of reading old handwriting.)

If we are to identify John the first problem is the date at which he was in Hitchin. Dr Williams Library was used by non-conformists to officially record births, and this was often done many years after the event, with the parents, or sometimes the midwife, providing the evidence. In this case we have a birth in 1805 being recorded in 1837 and the mention of a John who was probably born about 1750. If John was a carpenter in Hitchin this could have been at any time between say 1770 and 1837 (assuming he was still alive), although a later date is more likely.

A good place to start looking is to see if any John with a possible mis-read surname is recorded as being buried in at St Mary's Hitchin in the 1800-1850 period (conveniently the dates covered by the National Burial Index). During this period 344 John's were buried - none with "land" in the middle of their name. However if John was a non-conformist, which seems very likely, he may well have been buried in a graveyard associated with a chapel. However another more general search showed that there was no burial for anyone called Lelandson anywhere in the database, while there were 19 burial entries for Flanders at Baldock, a town close to Hitchin. On this basis it is reasonable to assume that Flanders in almost certainly the correct reading of the document, while Lelandson appears not to exist as a valid surname on any major database that I tested. (It does not even occur on Google.)

A quick check on familysearch for possible Flanders references in Hertfordshire or Bedfordshire near Hitchin revealed one possibility:

Elizabeth Flanders was born on 15th June 1777, as recorded in the Baptist records of Little Staughton, Beds. Her parents were John and Mary Flanders.

Little Staughton is a small village just off the Great North Road, some 25 miles north of Hitchin, and a carpenter might well find a move to a larger town, such as Hitchin, better for business. However there is no guarantee that this is the right birth, as many non-conformist records of the period have not survived.

May I suggest you take the following actions to try to clarify the situation

1. As Elizabeth died in 1856 in Mitcham, Surrey, a top priority must be to find her in the 1851 census, and this should give her place of birth - and may confirm that the above birth record is the one you want.
2. Possibly the best records for tracking John down in Hitchin would be the land tax returns, which survive for Hitchin between 1753 and 1830. They are held at HALS and you will need to check the LDS library on familysearch to see whether they have microfilm copies. If there are any old account books of the period he may be recorded as working as a carpenter.
3. It may be useful to try and find out if the Baldock Flanders were in the building trade. For instance if familysearch shows some baptisms in the parish church after 1813 the register should show the father's occupation. The 1841 or 1851 census might also help. If they were in the building trade, particularly carpenters, they may well be related.
4. It could be worth finding out more about Little Staughton from Bedfordshire sources, and the Flanders family connections there.

July, 2004

Dorothy writes: Local Studies Centre [local.studies@merton.gov.uk] writes Jul 21, 2004 :

I have checked through a variety of sources with regard to Elizabeth Stovel. She is listed, together with William Stovell in the Merton & Morden Census record for 1851. According to this entry, William was 72 at the time of the Census, he was a retired tallow chandler and his place of birth was Farnham, Surrey. Elizabeth was 74 at the time of the Census. Her place of birth is listed as Hitchin, Hertfordshire. The address for the couple actually appears as Winterflood's Cottages, Morden Road , which is an area running from High Street, Merton, to Morden Hall.

Her death certificate reads:

Certified Copy of an Entry of Death  General Register Office, Somerset House, London  Application : 064460
Registration District: Croydon, Surrey
Death in the Sub-district of Mitcham in the County of  Surrey  1856
#392
When & where: 18 November 1856, Winterflood Cottages, Merton
Name: Elizabeth Jane Stovel  female 82 years
Occupation:  wife of William Stovel, formerly a tallow chandler
Cause: decay of nature, certified
Informant & Residence:  Elizabeth Byrne, present at the death.  # 41 Stafford Street, Marylebone
When registered: 19 November 1856
Registrar: George Charles Searle, registrar

The problem is that the new information about Elizabeth does not match the details from familysearch relating to the 1777 baptism. However the mismatch is not so bad as to totally rule it out as a possibility. 

You may well be coming close to the point where, to make further progress, you have to look for all references to Flanders (and close relatives) in the Hitchin area (and over into Bedfordshire) in the hope that they will fit into a coherent pattern. This can be hard work, possibly involving scanning unindexed microfilms from end to end, and perhaps looking at document which can only be seen at HALS or the Bedfordshire records Office. I have already suggested you look at the Baldock Flanders families and the records of Little Staughton, Beds. The key question is how much time and effort you are prepared to put in for no certain result, The fact that there may be non-conformist connections is not a promising sign.

The real problem is that all lines come to an end at some stage, due to lack of appropriate surviving records. Some end with abruptly - but many come to a stage where there is so much uncertainty one cannot be sure it cannot be pushed further back. My personal recommendation is that at this point it is often best to switch to another part of your ancestral tree with a view to returning in a year or two, when you have more experience of old records, are better at reading the old handwriting, and can bring a fresh view to the problem.