AUSTIN, Berkhamsted, mid-19th Century

January, 2013

Answers

Places

Berkhamsted

St Peter's Church, Berkhamsted

Audrey Evers (audevers @t phonecoop.coop) of London asks: Joseph Austin had a butcher's shop for many years in berkhamsted during 1850s. Does the building still exist. If so, where. There were many Austin's in the area, christened at St Peters. Can I get a plan of where they were buried?

AUSTIN, Joseph

Head

Married

M

50

Butcher

Berkhamsted

AUSTIN, Louisa

Wife

Married

F

30

Butcher Wife

Dean Street, London

AUSTIN, Maria

Daughter

Unmarried

F

20

Butcher Daur

Berkhamsted

AUSTIN, Kate

Daughter

Unmarried

F

18

Butcher Daur

Berkhamsted

AUSTIN, Sarah

Daughter

Unmarried

F

16

Butcher Daur

Berkhamsted

AUSTIN, William

Son

M

10

Butcher's Son

Berkhamsted

AUSTIN, Louisa

Daughter

 

F

9

Scholar

Berkhamsted

AUSTIN, Eliza

Daughter

 

F

6

Scholar

Berkhamsted

AUSTIN, Frederick

Son

 

M

4

Scholar

Berkhamsted

AUSTIN, George

Son

 

M

0 (6 MOS)

 

Berkhamsted

1851 Census - High Street, Berkhamsted

Joseph Austin's shop in 1851 was somewhere on the north side of Berkhamsted High Street but the census returns are not helpful. It was probably on the Northchurch side of what is now Lower Kings Road. Most of the properties in this area have probably been rebuilt or significantly modified  since 1851 and it is not an easy task to decide which 21st century buildings relate to which 1851 buildings.

The "standard way" of doing this is to make a note of the neighbours (initially in the 1851 census) for about 5 properties on either side. Ten years later some will still have the same family living in them so comparing the list of neighbours in the 1851 and 1861 censuses should help you identify the properties in the 1861 census. This is repeated at ten year intervals until building numbers are identified in the census returns. Unfortunately this does not happen for Berkhamsted High Street until 1901.  Once you have a building number you can visit Berkhamsted to see what is there now. Of course, if your ancestor lived next to an identifiable public house which still exists, the problem is much simpler.

AUSTIN, Louisa

Head

Widow

F

46

Needlewoman

Weeley, Essex

AUSTIN, Frederick

Son

 

M

15

 

Berkhamsted

AUSTIN, George

Son

 

M

10

 

Berkhamsted

AUSTIN, Thamar

Daughter

 

F

9

Scholar

Berkhamsted

1861 Census - High Street, Berkhamsted

The church yard of St Peter's, Berkhamsted, has been cleared of tombstones - so that if Joseph Austin ever had a stone there it is not longer there. In any case his grave may have only been marked with wooden boards.  When the graveyard was closed another was opened in Three Close Lane, Berkhamsted and a list of memorial inscriptions are online. For instance this shows that Thomas Austin d.1885 and wife Mary d.1854 buried here with Thomas, Mary, and Mary Ann who died in their infancy.

The burial registers for St Peter's are not yet online, but should appear on the FindMyPast web site later this year or early next year.

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

August 2013   Page created and later amended