Richard Proctor (richard @t proctornet.co.uk) of Reigate, Surrey, writes: I am currently researching my family history and I am trying to find information on my great great grandfather Daniel Proctor. By using census information I have found out that he was born in Long Marston Hertfordshire about 1836. His wife was Mary born about 1835 Markfield Leicestershire. On the 1871 census he had moved with his wife and family to Reigate and on the 1891 census he had moved to Gubblecote, Hertfordshire. I believe he was christened on 20 November 1836 at Long Marston, his father was John and his mother Ann (source FamilySearch). I have not been able to find any information on his birth, marriage or death.

In the 1851 census your Daniel (14, born Long Marston) was living at Astrope, a hamlet of Puttenham,  with his father John Proctor (Agricultural Labourer, 42, born Puttenham) and mother Ann (Domestic, 39, born Puttenham). His siblings were Hannah (18) and Mary Ann (16) born Long Marston; Jane (11), William (9), John (2) and Charlotte (3 months) born Puttenham; and Thomas (5) and George (5) born Marsworth, Bucks. All the children of 5 and over were described as Straw Plaiters, as were most other children of poor families in the neighbourhood. (See Straw Plait). The description of Ann Proctor as a "domestic" seems to be an idiosyncrasy of the local census enumerator - and I suspect he applied it to all women who were at home looking after their own children - when normally their occupation would have been left blank.

While several places are mentioned it is only about 2 miles from Astrope, via Long Marston and Gubblecote to Marsworth - so the family did not move far, and you have already discovered that Daniel had returned to Gubblecote in 1891.

Of the 20 households in Astrope there were two other Proctor households. One included James (39), brother Joseph (26) and sister Rebecca (20) while the other was headed by Job (37). Gubblecote (20 households) had a family headed by Thomas (47) and another headed by David (33). All were recorded as being born at Puttenham or more specifically at Astrope, and were agricultural labourers. In addition Martha Proctor (41) was a widow living at nearby Little Tring. 

Clearly you have a number of Proctors, all of an age to be siblings, living in a tiny area, and I would have thought that at the very least you will need to look in detail at the 1841, 1851 and 1861 census for the area, and the relevant parish records registers. There are other records at HALS - and while I doubt there are many references to Procter in The Church and Manor of Puttenham, one of the appendices mentions that a Thomas Proctor paid rates in 1815.

There are web pages for Long Marston and Puttenham.

If you can add to the information given above tell me.

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